The American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican
village
when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.
Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American
complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long
it
took to catch them.

The Mexican replied only a little while. The American
then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's
immediate needs.

The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest
of your time?

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little,
play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into
the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my
amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could
help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds,
buy a
bigger boat, then eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.
Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to
the
processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the
product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this
small
coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually
NYC
where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will
this all take?"To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

But what then, senor?

The American laughed and said that's the best part.
When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company
stock
to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.

Millions, senor? Then what?

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal
fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little,
play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village
in the
evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your
amigos."

By Bryan (Houdini) on Unrecorded Date:

In tribute of Sol's near completed goal of destroying the evil loan hydra, I herby present the lyrics of the song "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan. It can be found on her debut album "Surfacing."

ANGEL-Sarah McLachlan

Spend all your time waiting for that second chance for a break that would make it okay,
there's always one reason to feel not good enough and it's hard at the end of the day.
I need some distraction oh beautiful release memory seeps from my veins,
let me be empty and weightless and maybe I'll find some peace tonight.

In the arms of an angel fly away from here,
from this dark cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear.
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie, you're in the arms of the angel,
may you find some comfort there.

So tired of the straight line and everywhere you turn,
there's vultures and thieves at your back
and the storm keeps on twisting you keep on building the lie that you make up for all that you lack.
It don't make no difference escaping one last time,
it's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees.

In the arms of an angel fly away from here, from this dark cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear.
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie, you're in the arms of the angel,
may you find some comfort there.
You're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here.

By Tony (Sol) on Unrecorded Date:

I wanna be the very best,

That no one ever was,

To catch them is my real test,

To train them is my cause,

I will travel across the land,

Searching far and wide,

Each pokemon to understand,

The power that's inside,

Pokemon, gotta catch'em all,

It's you and me,

I know it's my destiny,

Pokemon, oh, you're my best friend,

In a world we must defend,

Pokemon, oh, a heart so true,

Our courage will pull us through,

You teach me and I'll teach you,

Pokemon,

Gotta catch'em all,

Gotta catch'em all,

Pokemon.

By Bryan (Houdini) on Unrecorded Date:

I heard this song while driving back to work today
after my lunch break. Just can't seem to get the damm song out of my head. It's kinda catchy in a rather anoying, yet entertaining sort of way.

-Bryan

If I had $1000000
by B.N.L.

If I had $1000000
(If I had $1000000)
I'd buy you a house
(I would buy you a house)
If I had $1000000
(If I had $1000000)
I'd buy you furniture for your house
(Maybe a nice chesterfield or an ottoman)
If I had $1000000
(If I had $1000000)
I'd buy you a K-Car
(a nice Reliant automobile)
If I had $1000000 I'd buy your love.

If I had $1000000
I'd build a tree fort in our yard
If I had $1000000
You could help, it wouldn't be that hard
If I had $1000000
Maybe we could put a refrigerator in there
Wouldn't that be fabulous

If I had $1000000
(If I had $1000000)
I'd buy you a fur coat
(but not a real fur coat that's cruel)
If I had $1000000
(If I had $1000000)
I'd buy you an exotic pet
(Like a llama or an emu)
If I had $1000000
(if I had $1000000)
I'd buy you John Merrick's remains
(All them crazy elephant bones)
If I had $1000000 I'd buy your love.

If I had $1000000
We wouldn't have to walk to the store
If I had $1000000
We'd take a limousine 'cause it costs more.
If I had $1000000
We wouldn't have to eat Kraft Dinner
But we would. We'd actually make the treefort from the
first chorus out of it. Mmm.

If I had $1000000
(If I had $1000000)
I'd buy you a green dress
(but not a real green dress, that's cruel)
If I had $1000000
(If I had $1000000)
I'd buy you some art
(a Picasso or a Garfunkel)
If I had $1000000
(If I had $1000000)
I'd buy you a monkey
(haven't you always wanted a monkey?)

If I had $1000000, If I had $1000000
If I had $1000000, If I had $1000000
I'd be rich.

By Bryan (Houdini) on Unrecorded Date:

I gaze outside through my office window.
Staring, watching as the cars race by.
I crack a smile when nobody is looking
because I see rain clouds forming in the sky
I work for an hour then look up again
the rain has begun..pounding the pavement
I laugh with glee and sigh with relief
because tonight we won't bake in the heat

a rainy day isn't allways cause for sadness.

By Starkindler (Starkindler) on Unrecorded Date:

Mindlessly

by: Amanda D. Turenchalk

My dreams were forsaken
Cast away from the windowpane
Shattered were my memories
Inside my mind, I go insane

I paint watercolor images
In a notebook beside my bed
They're faces I can't remember
Made up inside my head

I hum a lost song
As I look out to the sea
Chained up are my thoughts
Keeping me restrained, not free

Whispers plague my mind
Of voices from long ago
I sit upon the swing of time
And I mentally lose control

No more do I know my name
Or where I came from
I listen to the music inside
As I mindlessly hum

By The One Known Only as (Greyfox) on Unrecorded Date:

And now, by popular demand, it's time for Weird Al's epic tale, "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota"

Well, I had 2 weeks of vacation-time coming
after working all year down at Big Roy's Heating & Plumbing...
So, one night when my family & I were gouthered 'round the dinner table,
I said, "Kids--if you could go anywhere in this great big world now, where'd ya like to go 'ta?"
They said, "Dad--we wanna see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!"
They picked the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!

So, the very next day we loaded up the car,
with potato skins & pickled wieners,
Crossword puzzles, Spider-man comics & Mama's home-made rhubarb pie.
Pulled out of the driveway, and the neighbors they all waved 'Goodbye!'
And so began our 3-day journey...
We picked up a guy holding a sign that said 'Twine-Ball or Bust'
He smelled real bad and he said his name was Bernie.
I put in a Slim Whitman Tape, my wife put on a brand new hair-net,
The kids were in the back seat jumpin' up & down, yellin' "Are we there yet?"
And all of us were joined together, in one common thought,
As we rolled down the long & winding interstate in our '53 Desota...
We're gonna see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!
We're headin' for the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!

Oh, we couldn't wait to get there, so we drove straight through for 3 whole days and nights,
Of course, we stopped for more pickled wieners now and then.
The scenery was just so pretty,
Boy, I wish the kids coulda seen it, but you can't see outta the side of the car, because the windows are completely covered with the decals from all the places where we've already been...
Like, Elvis-O-Rama, the Tupperware museum, the Bull-Weavel Monument & Cranberry World,
The Shuffle-board Hall of Fame, Poodle-dog Rock, & the Mecca of Albino Squirrels,
We've been to ghost-towns, theme-parks, wax museums & the place where you can drive through the middle of a tree.
Seen alligator farms & tarantula ranches, but there's still one thing we gotta see...

Well, we crossed the state line about 6:39 and we saw the sign that said twine-ball exit 50 miles.
Oh, the kids were so happy, they started singing '99 bottles of beer on the wall' for the 27th time that day.
So we pulled off the road at the last chance gas station, got few more pickled wieners and a diet chocolate soda...
On our way to see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!
We're gonna see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!

Finally, at 7:37 early Wednesday evening, as the sun was setting in the Minnesota sky,
Out in the distance, on the horizon, it appeared to me like a vision--before my unbelieving eyes.
We parked the car, and walked with awe-filled reverence toward that glorious, huge, majestic sphere.
I was just so overwhelmed by its sheer immensity, I had to pop myself a beer.
Yes, on these hallowed grounds, open 10 to 8 on weekdays, in a little shrine under a makeshift pagoda...
There sits the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!
I tell you, it's the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!

Oh! What on Earth would make a man dicide to do that kind of thing?
Oh! winding up 21,140 pounds of string?
What was he trying to prove?
Who was he trying to impress?
Why did he build it?
How did he do it?
It's anybody's guess.
Where did he get the twine?
What was going through his mind?
Did it just seem like a good idea at the time?

Well, we walked up beside it and I warned the kids, "Now you better not touch it, those ropes are there for a reason."
I said, "Maybe if you're good, I'll tie it to the back of our car, and we can take it home!" --but I was only teasin'
Then we went to the gift shop & stood in line,
bought a souvenir miniature ball of twine,
some window decals, and anything else they'd sell us.
and I bought a couple post-cards, 'Greetings from the twine-ball, wish you were here' won't the folks back home be jealous?
I gave our camera to Bernie, & we stood by the ball and all gathered 'round and said 'cheese'
Then Bernie ran away with my brand new instamatic, but at least we got our memories!
So we all just stared at the ball for a while
And my eyes got moist, but I said with a smile,
"Kids, this here's what America's all about."
Then I started feeling kinda gooey inside, and I fell on my knees & I cried & cried--
And that's when those security guards threw us out...
Ya know, I bet if we unravelled that sucker it'd roll all the way down to Fargo, North Dakota!
'Cause it's the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!
I'm talkin' 'bout the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!

Well, we stayed that night at the twine-ball inn,
And in the morning we were on our way home again,
But we didn't really wanna leave, that was perfectly clear.
I said, "Folks I can tell you're all sad to go,"
then I winked my eye, and I said, "Ya know,
I got a funny kind of feelin we'll be comin' back again next year!"
Cause I've been all around this great big world, & I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather go ta...
Than the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!
I said the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!
Minnesota!
Minnesota!
Minnesota!

By Amanda (Starkindler) on Unrecorded Date:

I wrote two new poems. The first one is about how I feel about life now. Sorry to be so depressed:

Falling Into Darkness

Grey skies surround my world
The rain continues to fall
Leaves plummet from my trees
The streets begin to flood

The raging river drowns me
My soul falls from the sky
Painstakingly I watch, aware
As my world turns bleak

The wind grasps my body
Throwing me to the earth
The soil sinks beneath me
And down I fall, unaware

I imagine I'm an angel
The halo glows above me
Into the white light I fly
Never to venture here again

By Amanda (Starkindler) on Unrecorded Date:

The second of my two poems is another one about life. I feel like I don't know where to go or what to do with my life:

Pathless

Snow decends from the pale sky
Touching the groud, it disappears
The wind begins to gasp harder
Catching me in its mighty drift

Against a tree, I find myself
Once more I try to revive
Numbness starts in my heart
I find I can barely move

A lark sings in the distance
The white flakes engulf
I push ahead farther, anew
To try to find where I'm going

There's no visible path onward
Where could I be heading?
Unclear I make my own path
And forever I'm lost here

By Amanda (Starkindler) on Unrecorded Date:

*chants* I wrote a new poem!

It's called "Reborn":

They have appeared again,
Above the solid ground -
The wind pulls at the trees,
Creating a moaning sound...

I feel the rain falling
From my blue-grey sky -
Drenching my body,
As, up above, a crow flies...

Once again, she wails;
Fortelling a death to be -
An ache within my breast
Shows the one to die is me...

Down I begin to plummet
Below the frozen earth,
Buried beneath the soil;
Ready for my rebirth...

�11/15/99

By Who yo Daddy? (Sol) on Unrecorded Date:

cool! Is it based on the movie the Crow? Or does it merely refer to the ancient legends that surround this bird?

By Amanda (Starkindler) on Unrecorded Date:

Damn! I never wanted to focus on the crow. I'm focusing more one the wailing female spirit, aka a Banshee. I definitely don't base poems on movies. They're my own original creation. And I know nothing about the legend of the crow. What is it?

By The One Known Only as (Greyfox) on Unrecorded Date:

It's a spirit-link between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Sometimes, when the need is great enough, a crow will carry the spirit of somebody back from the grave, and guide it through some sort of task which will set the restless spirit at peace. Many cultures only look at half the legend, and fear the crow as the harbinger of death--much like the native americans view the owl as a sign of death. Any more details and I'll have to do research...

By Amanda (Starkindler) on Unrecorded Date:

Okay, I wrote a new poem. It's a love poem, so don't laugh. It's called "Cruel Desire".

I ache for a love
that burns like fire;
A love that's forbidden-
revealing a very cruel desire...
It exists only in my mind,
and in my heart it stays...
It's as strong as the wind,
deserving my ultimate praise;
Where is he-
the one I long for?
Maybe he's as close as a heartbeat,
or as far as the ocean shore...
Not being with you now
is an awful despair...
Until we meet, my love,
(whoever you are)
I'll be waiting right here...

By Who yo Daddy? (Sol) on Unrecorded Date:

Amanda, that is a wonderful poem. You have a very clear idea (I think) of who this person is, probably always have, but the trick is finding him, eh? No doubt he waits for you, too, wherever he may be.

By Amanda (Starkindler) on Unrecorded Date:

I wrote another poem! It's called "The Power Over Me". Some of you might have seen it on my webpage. For those of you who haven't:

A waterlily painting
in the museum;
Its power over me,
causes tears to flow...

The angels I hear whisper
in both ears;
Their faith overpowers
filling my heart with joy...

His music and words
I feel in my soul;
They enter my heart
and help me love...

My mind ponders
about the spirit;
I wait for the one
who loves me...

By I am (Knight_hawk) on Unrecorded Date:

This poem comes from the Savatage album so the only link to an author of any kind is Paul O'Neil.
It has no title. As an after thought Savatage later became The TransSiberean Orchestra.


For these peculiar institutions
That are so well known to man
When your heart is made of stone
Are quite hard to understand.

It was the year nineteen-ninety
And the Berlin wall was down
And a thousand years regetted
now laid buried in the ground.

And the prophets read the future
And the omens all seemed kind
In the classic words of Dickens
It surely was, the best of times.

And a wind came across Europe
That would twist and turn our fate
For as well as bringing freedom
It had let loose men of hate.

Now these men were few in number
And people threw them out
But in the mind of each man's neighbor
They had planted seeds of doubt.

In every book of history
It is written how it's done
If you want to change the world
You need only change the young.

And Serdjan Aleksic
Stared deeply through the night
But your visions not the same
When you're staring through a sight.

And a rifle's not enough
When you don't wish others well
So he angled his mortar
And he dropped in his first shell.

In the world of death and murder
They're those who do the deed
But waiting in the shadows
Are the men who sowed the seeds.

They make their thirty pieces
Selling guns to all who pay
And when bullets pierce the flesh
They are safely far away.

And back in Sarajevo
A girl stood inside a room
Listening to men called merchants
Offer guns to forstall doom.

They said they came to help
When the Muslim plight they'd heard
But what they had somehow failed to mention
Was they had said the same things
To the Serbs.

The old man had toured the Earth
Playing cello for the learned
Of the thousand foreign cities
Only now he had returned.

To the city he had left once
To the place where he was raised
In the house where he was born in
At the fires he now gazed.

Then he climbed atop the rubble
Of the fountain in the square
And he took his cello out
In the cold November air.

And as the twilight started setting
On the remnants of this day
As the shells began to fall
The old man began to play.

And in the darkness of that night
Each on their own respective sides
The Muslim and the Serb
Would watch their country's suicide.

But now inside each evening
They had found a moments calm
When they hear the thoughts of Mozart
As they filtered through the bombs.

And who will love the incest child
Of ignorance and hatred
Who though she's standing in the rain
No tear has penetrated.

For while they banter 'bout their words
You must be careful where you tread
For no matter what they promise
Rumor is that dead is dead.

And when he came upon the schoolyard
There were bodies on the floor
Every war must have it's bodies
But this my friends was so much more.

For the mind gets used to bodies
Whether singly or in piles
But it cuts the mind more deeply
When the body is a child's.

Now though the old are oft forgotten
They tend not to forget
And the old man came each night
And played his soul's regret.

But this night the sound cut deeper
As if the soul itself would leave
For snow covered the ground
And the night was Christmas Eve.

When the shells had ceased their falling
The young Muslim and the Serb
Listened for the old mans music
But now not a note was heard.

And fearing what had happened
Each did what should not be dared
And made their way through no man's land
To the old medieval square.

They arrived at the same moment
In the cold December air
But neither pulled a weapon
For each knew why they were there.

And they walked over to the fountain
And found him laying there in death
There was blood upon his face
The smashed cello on his chest.

But then a single drop of liquid
Fell from out of the cloudless sky
And it fell upon the cheek
Of the man who had just died.

And the soldier felt a shudder
For the worst had come he feared
When the only sign of pity
Was a single Gargoyle's tear.

He turned to the young women
And he said let's leave this war
But a soldier and his uniform
Was all that she now saw.

Then they left the square together
'Neath the fading fire's light
And the Gargoyle watched and wondered
On that winters silent night.

And so our story's over
And for anyone who cares
As for the old gargoyle
I believe that he's still there.


Merry Christmas everyone - The Knight Hawk

By The Great (Houdini) on Unrecorded Date:

Cool Knight Hawk! I like it!

Gargoyle's rock! *bad pun intended* :)

By The Great (Houdini) on Unrecorded Date:

1999
by the artist formally known as Prince.

Don't worry, I won't hurt U
I only want U 2 have some fun

I was dreamin' when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin'
Coulda sworn it was judgment day
The sky was all purple,
there were people runnin' everywhere
Tryin' 2 run from the destruction,
U know I didn't even care

'Cuz they say two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999

I was dreamin' when I wrote this
So sue me if I go 2 fast
But life is just a party, and parties weren't meant 2 last
War is all around us, my mind says prepare 2 fight
So if I gotta die I'm gonna listen 2 my body tonight

Yeah, they say two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999
Yeah

Lemme tell ya somethin'
If U didn't come 2 party,
don't bother knockin' on my door
I got a lion in my pocket,
and baby he's ready 2 roar
Yeah, everybody's got a bomb,
we could all die any day
But before I'll let that happen,
I'll dance my life away

Oh, they say two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
We're runnin' outta time (Tonight I'm gonna)
So tonight we gonna (party like it's 1999)
we gonna, oww

Say it 1 more time
Two thousand zero zero party over oops,
out of time
No, no (Tonight I'm gonna)
So tonight we gonna (party like it's 1999)
we gonna, oww

Alright, it's 1999
You say it, 1999
1999
1999 don't stop, don't stop, say it 1 more time
Two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
Yeah, yeah (Tonight I'm gonna)
So tonight we gonna (party like it's 1999)
we gonna, oww

Yeah, 1999 (1999)
Don'tcha wanna go (1999)
Don'tcha wanna go (1999)
We could all die any day (1999)
I don't wanna die,
I'd rather dance my life away (1999)
Listen 2 what I'm tryin' 2 say
Everybody, everybody say party
C'mon now, U say party
That's right, everybody say (Party)
Can't run from the revelation, no (Party)
Sing it 4 your nation y'all (Party)
Tell me what you're singin', baby say (Party)
Telephone's a-ringin', mama (Party)
C'mon, c'mon, U say (Party)
Everybody, [two times] (Party)
Work it down 2 the ground, say (Party)
(Party)
Come on, take my body, baby (Party)
That's right, c'mon, sing the song (Party)
(Party)
That's right (Party)
Got a lion in my pocket mama, say (Party)
Oh, and he's ready 2 roar (Party)

Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?
Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?