Three Dead Poems...

    Beer

Laughing eyes and beer highs accentuated her
bare thighs. Wish I’d had an attractive lie…


                    Government

Liquid lunacy fills the goblet of greed and wets

the lips of the unethical which bleeds across the

world. Harbingers of havoc, apprentices of apathy,

creators of chaos, and distributors of destruction.

Soul destroyers and mindless material builders.

Thrust into there lies and bred to consume.

 

                            Julie

 

Standing amidst the chaos of pelting rain, crashing

waves and ocean winds. All I could see was her face.

Mesmerized by her smile, fixated by her laugh, drawn

to her every word. Her heart felt wisdom saturates my

mind with love and laughter. Indeed she is the true definition

of the word lady. Lady; Classy, smart, sensuous, soulful,

sweet, and sincere.

                                                                                                                 Mark (Izzy) Schurr

My bio with an introduction by Heeiz Shure

Forward by Heeiz Shure:

By the age of three, Mark Schurr had written more than two dozen novels. By the time he was 12-years-old several of his books were adapted into screen plays including “Jaws,” “The Graduate,” “Cool Hand Luke” and “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

 

Schurr’s fascination for the written word spawning into books, songs, poetry and movies is just one aspect of his sagacious genius. Schurr can literally do anything he desires except talk to pretty women, play a musical instrument or sing. 

 

Schurr wrote the music and lyrics to more than 50 Beatle songs by the time he was four including the songs “Something,” Because,” “A Day in the Life,” “Revolution” and “Help.”

 

Unfortunately for Schurr, he knew absolutely nothing about copy rights at such a young age. The business predators of the world consumed all the credit and raked in all the money.

 

Schurr is indeed a blessing to the world and perhaps the universe. Legend has it that the human race still exists solely because of Schurr.  

 

When he leaves Earth permanently with no spawns the planet will indeed be lesser place.

If I live to be a 1000-years-old, I’ll never meet anyone as unique and perplexing as Mark Schurr. I’m extremely lucky to have known and talked to him.

 

Heeiz Shure;

Ghost writer for Stephen King, Anne Rice, John Grisham and countless other authors and journalists.

 

Me, by Mark (Izzy) Schurr

 

A ninth grade classmate, Tom Boriolo wrote the following in my year book; ‘Mark, I’ve heard the word unique before, but you’re a true definition of the word.’

 

My existence is somber except when I have to transform into star vapors and sashay across the infinite universe to stop meteors as large as mountains that are directed toward Earth by the sadistic Baleful Ben.

 

Ben won’t be happy until everyone in the universe is dead, and then I think he’ll kill himself if he manages to destroy all life. Ben resides on the dark side of the galaxy in the farthest reaches of cold space. He can’t kill me because I’m much too fast and sly for him and vice versa.

 

Because of Ben I am perpetually alone. Ben has nearly killed the few girlfriends I’ve had; it’s his way to get to me.  Presently, Ben and I are the only cosmic beings I know exist.  

 

The small amount of lady friends who were gracious enough to dabble in romantic endeavors with me soon needed a more successful, communicative and better lover.  I’m the type of person who would thrive alone on an island abundant with warmth, food, water, shelter, the internet and books.

 

The eight plus years working as a preschool teacher illustrated to me what a horrible parent I’d be. Children don’t listen to a word I say, hence I couldn’t teach, or parent.

The few relationships I’ve had with women have shown me what a lousy husband I’d be.

 

When I’m not hurling across outer space in my cosmic form, I really enjoy working with young children once a week at the YMCA in Santa Rosa as a volunteer.  I also enjoy writing poetry, photography, doing journalism for my blog site, driving Irene (my Saturn Vue), while blaring music, riding my bike and laughing with friends and family.

 

“Too weird to live, too unique to die,” a line from the movie “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” is a simple way to describe myself.  

Racy Subject Matter is Tamed Down in the Much Overratted Novel "The Great Gatsby."

The 88 year-old novel "The Great Gatsby" was a great bore and an extremely overrated piece of literature.

Fortunately the book was only a 180 pages which still did not detour its torturous read, yielding a one star rating. Bear in mind I have not seen any of “The Great Gatsby" movies including the latest release starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's third 1925 novel "The Great Gatsby" harnessed all the elements for a superlative story about the roaring 20s, complete with excessive drinking, lavish parties, fornication, adultery, romance and crime.

F. Scott Fitzgerald managed to create two wild and sexy women and insert them into a chasm of nothingness. I'm referring to the two main women in the novel, Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker. Buchanan is married to Tom Buchanan and the Great Gatsby's love interest.

Daisy takes advantage of her youth and beauty by not staying faithful to her adulterous and white supremacist husband yet won't divorce him because of her catholic beliefs. Fitzgerald sets the stage for Daisy to blossom into an adventurous, alluring and riveting character and fails to open the curtain so to speak. Her athletically slender babe of friend, Jordan is equally amidst a delicious recipe for excitement and splendor, yet is never cooked.

Tom, Daisy's muscular husband and former football player from Yale complete with the 'cooler than thou' attitude still didn't set forth any malcontent or like for the guy, due the bad story writing.

The narrator of "The Great Gatsby," Nick Carraway is equally as uninteresting as all of the other characters.

As short as this novel is, it's way too slow in forming any conflict. The first 90 or so pages are just a bunch of people having fun at Gatsby's house, and when the conflicts finally do arrive, there're not tense, nor interesting because of the hapless character development.

Even when one of the above four characters kills a pedestrian in a hit and run car accident, there is no edginess, nor decent resolution. The theme of the novel is an ancient one. If health, wealth, emotional and physical love are captured, then what? How do you live your live and what is true happiness?

How this story is considered an American classic novel is beyond me, then again I liked the Beavis and Butt Head book; "This Book Sucks" released in November 1993. 

The Two Wolves by ?

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
"My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all" he said.

One is evil...it is anger eny,, jealousy, sorrow regret, greed, arrogancd self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiotity, lies, false pride superiority and ego.

The other is good... it is joy peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.

The young grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?" (this battle)

The old Cherokee simply replied: "The one you feed."

                                                                                                              Writer, unknown

The Short Novel "Angel Baby" is a Fast Enticing Read.

"Angel baby" is a heavenly read which sends the senses into a state of fear, anger, love, lust and greed harboring a four star rating.

At a mere 288 pages this heartfelt gangster novel is a fast and highly gripping read. Award winning author Richard Lange immediately arouses the reader’s curiosity and doesn't put it to rest until the very last page. Right from the start, Luz, the main character in the May release of "Angel Baby" try’s fleeing from her husband Rolando on foot in Tijuana, Mexico half naked and beaten.

Luz's attempt is futile. Rolando, known as El Principe is a major player in a drug cartel who rapes and beats her. Luz simply wants to escape from El Principe, flee to the United States and get back to her preschool aged daughter Isabel.

Luz meticulously plots an elaborate escape from El Principe for a year, and when she is rid of her sadistic husband more conflicts arise, especially when El Principe finds out that Luz has a daughter from her first husband.

 Even more tension mount when El Principe hires Jeronimo to find Luz and bring her back to him.

Jeronimo has been a gang banger all his life, in and out of prison and wants out of the gang life for good, and live with his wife Irma and their two children in San Diego or Los Angeles. El Principe motivates Jeronimo to find Luz by kidnaping Irma and their two children. Jeronimo's only way to save his wife and kids is to ruin Luz's life forever.

The start of the stories climax begins when Jeronimo and a thug named Hacker kidnap 4-year-old Isabel, Luz's daughter, so they can lure Luz to them.

"Angel Baby" latches onto the reader’s consciousness and doesn't release it until the very last sentence.  

 

Today's Mainstream Music Lacks Soul

Thus far in this young century mainstream music has a dearth of soul.

By soul, I mean music that is cerebrally sentient with the heart, which captivates our emotions and spirals them into a sense of exploration, opinion and feeling.

"Today's music ain't got the same soul."  Bob Seger's words in "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll", still ring true to this day.   

Today's FM music, no matter what the genre is, latches on to one sound and motions it into a monotonous mirage of lameness. The artists of today cling to the catchy tunes and stick to one style. Take away the vocals in today's hit music and it all sounds the same.

Whether I'm listening to 70s rock, blues, country or even 70s disco, my perception of earnestly is fulfilled. Each band had a distinct sound back then.

The 90s were the last decade in which mainstream  bands had their own sound. What does this have to do with soul? Bear with me if you are still reading. Grunge and alternative were synonymous with FM music for much of the 90s. Grunge bands in the 90s such as Soundgarden, Nirvana and Alice in Chains each had a signature sound. Despite playing the same genre of music, within seconds of hearing any song by these three bands you knew the name of the band. Alternative 90s bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode or The Breeders had their own sound even though it was the same category of music.

The same can be said about country music. Hank Williams III does not sound like his dad or his grandfather. Willie Nelson does not sound like the Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline or Waylon Jennings.

Today's FM music is cookie cutter noise processed for the sole intention of making money and nothing more.

Ian Davenport, a 2010 sophomore from Dixie State College in St. George, Utah said:

"No matter what the genre of today's music is, every band tries to fill the shoes of whatever is the most popular. The feel behind today's music is how much money are we going to make?"

Soul is about individuality and art. Does this mean the old school bands and solo artists were not interested in money? Of course not, but the mainstream artists of the past cared about their art.

What happened to the days when a group of people fresh out of high school or even younger filled a van with music gear, hit the road and wrote songs and lyrics that wound up on vinyl, FM radio, DVD and now itunes.

These types of bands are still around, but you won't hear them on the radio. Personally I recommend getting into the Dusty 45s or Reverend Horton Heat. These two bands are classic examples of how they did it back in the day. 

What is the percentage of today's biggest music stars who actually formed themselves and wrote their own material? I do not have the patience to research this one. What I do know is that rich white old men formed many of today's biggest music stars. These men recruit some cute people with some singing and dancing skills for mass production to be put on VH1 and the radio.

I'll bet dollars to donuts some big name artists from the 90s on down were also formed the same way as today’s mainstream noise, but it was a lot less back then and their music was still much more soulful.

To write this article, I subjected myself to hours of listening to KXBN-FM, 92.1, a  station that played the latest synthetic hits while I was writing for the Dixie Sun in St. George, Utah in 2010-2011. 

During the two hours of listening to 92.1, I contemplated things that would have been much more pleasant. Being chained inside a filthy Porta Potty and thrown off a cliff was one thing that came to mind.

As I subjected myself to the mental torment of listening to 92.1, I noticed the disc jockeys do not say the names of the songs or the artists. Personally I think it is because this abysmal noise all sounds the same.

"Newer stuff is less soulful," said Ryan Chollett, a 2010 DSC sophomore from St. George, Utah. "It's repetitive and catchy."

I asked more than four dozen students the burning question. Does today's mainstream music have more or less soul than older music? Not one student said today's main stream music has more. I would like to submit this as evidence your honor!

While the shallow sounds of 92.1 were coming through my speakers, I noticed the two main themes of popular lyrics are sex and money. 

To be honest, even old school music is not practically known for its lyrical prowess. If you want soulful and insightful lyrics, Rush is second to none in the rock ‘n' roll category, if not the universe.

Listening to today’s hit music is like drinking sandy water amidst an oil spilled beach front overlooking dead bodies. Listening to real music is like sipping the finest nectar of the gods amid an astonishing waterfall viewing nature at its best.

"So much style without substance, so much stuff without style. So much poison in power, the principles get left out. So much mind on the matter, the spirit gets forgotten about," from "Grand Designs" by Rush in 1985.

The first sentence of those lyrics fits today's pop to a tee. The music is secondary to the image.