Kakaako Waterfront Park

A classic photo of me at Kakaako Waterfront Park.

 As you can see, it has beautiful green hills. 

On the other side of the hills is the ocean.

It was meant to be a great place to ride a bike, walk, fish and relax. 

To top it all off, it is in the urban center, just a short distance from downtown, Ala Moana and Waikiki.  

Sadly, it has been shut down indefinitely due to the city's inability to protect its facilities from vandalism.

The homeless have been blamed because many put up settlements within the park.

Most of the homeless don't really bother anyone, but a few incidents can scare people away.

The city  government is now banning everyone from going inside the park to repair vandalized facilities.

Meanwhile, some of the homeless refuse to move to a shelter, and they'll go wherever they can occupy.

As noted in a recent article, the park itself was supposed to be a relaxing place for everyone. A place for residents & tourists, the rich & poor. 

The city  government needs to put 24-7 security at the park to secure property as well as the park users.

When I say "24-7", I'm NOT asking for storm troopers out to harass & profile, just some friendly guards who are ready to intervene when there is real trouble.

The park also need 24-7 maintenance personnel. Some of the homeless can be hired as part of the maintenance personnel. Train them to fix any broken sinks, toilets and fixtures.  Have them replace the toilet paper, paper towels and soap immediately!

Let's make this park a magical place to be again :)

Life & legacy of Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner, an American cultural icon, died last month at the age of 91.  He was the founder of Playboy Magazine, a magazine that revolutionized the publishing & entertainment world with photo spreads of naked women, as well as articles about lifestyles, philosophy and current events. The magazine, which started in 1953, was meant to promote the aspirational lifestyles of the  "Modern Man" in more ways than one.

copyright: Playboy Enterprises

The Playboy brand expanded into other ventures including but not limited to nightclubs, television, fashion and sex accessories (ie condoms).

Playboy Magazine started at a time when cable TV, VHS, DVD, internet and social media did not exist yet.  Information formats that were available to the general public were limited to books, magazines, network TV and radio.  There wasn't many ways to access nude photos in a time when religious conservatives controlled the content of most entertainment. Hollywood wasn't yet the domain of  publicly hedonistic secular liberals (though there was a fear of communists infiltrating the industry).

So the appearance of a magazine with nude photos was scandalous at the time.  It was banned from being sold to minors, though many teenage boys either found their dad's hidden copies, or visited friends whose fathers had hidden copies. 

As time went on, the religious conservatives lost control of the entertainment industry, as new directors produced more risky & explicit content. Playboy had new competitors, with the most famous being Hustler Magazine (founded by Larry Flynt) which was seen as a more explicit and "low-class" alternative to Playboy.

Then of course, was the Internet, where anyone with a computer can post whatever they want. Why buy a magazine when you can find images & videos for free online?  Playboy definitely had an online presence, though some people wanted the sexual content without the high-class aspirational tone of Playboy. 

Hugh Hefner was definitely more than just a seller of sexual content. He was a proud supporter of liberal causes, including the civil rights movement,  legalization of abortion, and the protection of civil liberties.  He was a long-time donor to the Democratic Party,  whose members had mixed feelings towards him. 

For example, when Al Gore was running for President in 2000, he strongly urged the cancellation of a Democratic Party fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion which was to took place around the same time as the Democratic National Convention took place in Los Angeles.  Al Gore was embarrassed by Bill Clinton's sex scandals and wanted to distance himself from anything that would remind the nation about the scandals.  His wife, Tipper Gore, was already famous for her battles against explicit rock & rap music of the 1980s and 1990s.  She wanted the image of someone who wanted to "protect the children" but her campaigns were also seen as a way to get social conservatives and feminists to support her husband's rise in politics.

Social conservatives and radical feminists have had many battles against each other, but they were united (reluctantly) in their dislike of various forms of entertainment, including Playboy Magazine.

Social conservatives felt that Playboy (and similar types of entertainment) led men into temptation to sin in various ways, including sex outside of marriage. They felt such temptations lead to broken families and broken lives.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/451955/hugh-hefner-playboy-legacy-despair-pornography-marriage-family

Meanwhile, radical feminists felt that Playboy (and similar types of entertainment) led men into treating women as nothing more than sex objects. They worry that such treatment would encourage men to sexually abuse women. 

The radical feminist crusade against Playboy (and similar types of entertainment)  led to a backlash not only from men (who of course love the sexy imagery) but also from women many of whom love to present a sexy side of themselves. 

It is THIS VERY REASON why many women were reluctant to call themselves feminists.

Even women working in traditionally male industries were reluctant to call themselves feminists.

Even loud, take-no-crap women were reluctant to call themselves feminists.

In the late 80s and early 90s, women who defended equal rights AND also loved to present a sexy side of themselves called themselves "pro-sex feminists" in contrast to the male-bashing, Playboy-hating stereotype of the radical feminists.

Eventually, even the most radical feminist activists changed their tactics,  now more careful not to "slut shame" women who pose in sexually appealing photos, but now more focused on the men who sexually exploit women (ie, pimps, sex traffickers, abusive porn producers, etc)

Hugh Hefner loved to promote himself as a "gentleman". In response to an online question asking him "how you have so many bitches", Hugh Hefner responded that he had many girlfriends because he don't call them bitches, and that respect can go a long way. 

http://weknowmemes.com/2012/03/hugh-hefner-how-do-you-get-so-many-bitches/

However, not every woman had a good experience with Hugh Hefner. Holly Madison, who was once one of Hefner's girlfriends, later said that Hefner had a very controlling personality with him telling her (and the other women in his harem) when to have sex with him, and basically controlling their daily schedules. 
https://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/holly-madison-burns-it-down 
https://static.currentaffairs.org/2017/09/good-riddance-to-an-abusive-creep

Also, a few woman said that Bill Cosby raped them within Hefner's Playboy Mansion.  One sued Hugh Hefner claiming he knew stuff like this was going on when Bill Cosby visited. Hefner never commented on those allegations. 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/05/showbiz/bill-cosby-playboy-accusations/index.html

Much of this only became widely known after Hugh Hefner died. Yes, some of this information existed online, but I didn't even know about Holly Madison's allegations until I read online articles about Hugh Hefner after his death. 

All this is coming public when prestigious men, both liberal (ie Harvey Weinstein) and conservative (ie Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly) are being publicly exposed for allegations of sexual harassment.  In the Internet Age, nothing stays secret forever. 

The polyamorous and the swinger lifestyle is becoming more accepted by the mainstream. People enjoy having multiple sex partners.  At the same time, people have to be careful and act appropriately with each other.   You should never want the other person to feel sexually abused by you. Consent can go a long way.

============

In personal news, I only had 1 copy of Playboy Magazine (with beach volleyballer Gabrielle Reece on the cover), which I received for free at a student event at UH-Manoa. 

I later used that copy to do a presentation in Sociology 459 (Sociology of Popular Culture).  I hid the magazine in a paper bag, said I'm doing a report on the most popular "men's magazine", then took the magazine out of the bag. The class (with plenty of football players) started laughing out loud. Then I basically talked about the magazine's history and also mentioned Hugh Hefner's contribution to liberal causes. 

============

Yes, I said only have 1 copy. One is enough. Though I did watch a few porn videos at my friend's house as a teenager, that's all the porn I ever watched. Been there, done that, I moved on!  I don't want to sound "holier than thou" but I think it's all a waste of time. 

Learn more from my blog posts at 

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2017/02/time-not-just-money-down-drain.html

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2015/01/money-down-drain.html

Some wisdom from on those blog posts

Watching porn when you're  in your 30's? Really? Yeah, that's every teenage boy's dream, you may experiment with in your early 20's, but after that............................... get a life! You're a big boy now, live in reality, get off your couch, stop wasting your night looking at a screen, stop wasting your money! 

Go to a real nightclub and dance with some real women instead of just wasting your time watching fantasy!  

If you spend at least a decade dancing with women at a regular nightclub, you develop a memory bank of real life experiences that no amount of porn can impress you anymore!   Why would it, real life experience will always over-ride watching fantasy!

Playboy might provide you the fantasy, but it's up to you to live your life!  

Just don't get yourself into trouble! 


=========


Suggested readings
(note: the inclusion of these articles does NOT  imply I agree with everything written in those articles, I just found them interesting) 

Amber Batura, “How Hugh Hefner Invented the Modern Man,” New York Times, September 28, 2017, 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/opinion/hugh-hefner-playboy.html.

Josh Horwitz, “Remembering Playboy’s Hugh Hefner, the civil rights activist,” Quartz, September 28, 2017, 

 https://qz.com/1089321/remembering-playboys-hugh-hefner-porn-pioneer-and-civil-rights-activist/.

Irin Carmon, “Hugh Hefner’s world wasn’t just bad for women. It hurt men, too.,” Washington Post, September 29, 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/09/29/hugh-hefners-world-wasnt-just-bad-for-women-it-hurt-men-too/?tid=hybrid_collaborative_2_na&utm_term=.0b41bb64278d.

Uncle Patrick - 15 years later

15 years ago today, my uncle Patrick Allen Wegesend, passed away. He was 53 years old. 

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Sep/20/ln/ln46aobituaries.html

(he will be referred to in the rest of this article as "Uncle Pat")

Uncle Pat was the older brother to my mother.  Out of her 6 brothers, Uncle Pat was the one she had the closest relations with. 

He was the uncle that I had the closest relations with. 

Uncle Pat was a constant visitor to my mom and grandma's home, and we would have long meaningful conversations about life and current news. We would talk about world events, history and tabloid news. 

Uncle Pat had a very kind & generous spirit.

==========

But even with our close relations, Uncle Pat had some secrets that would only be revealed later.

Uncle Pat was going through some major health problems.

I've heard conversations about him having diabetes.

But I learned the truth in my conversation with grandma that Uncle Pat had AIDS.

That was a shocker.

Usually, when it is announced that someone got AIDS, there are instant questions on how that person got it.

I asked my grandma.

She said that Uncle Pat got it from a man he was living with a few years earlier.

What?

You mean to tell me Uncle Pat was ...............?

That side of Uncle Pat wasn't talked about.

I was naive about the whole thing.

I was assuming that Uncle Pat was living with a friend, not realizing what type of friendship it was.

Uncle Pat didn't exactly fit the stereotype of a gay person "having a limp wrist", never wore feminine clothing, didn't talk with a stereotypical "gay voice", none of that!

While Uncle Pat never had that rugged exterior like some other uncles, he didn't fit the "mahu" stereotypes either. 

There were a few other uncles that weren't married either, but I doubt that homosexuality had anything to do with that! Some people just liked the independence of  living alone. I like the independence of living alone, and I'm heterosexual. 


Anyways, when my grandma informed me about Uncle Pat having AIDS, it was probably somewhere between 2000-2002.  It was within Uncle Pat's last few years. I didn't say anything about it to anyone.

On the day that Uncle Pat died, I told my mother what grandma said about Uncle Pat having AIDS and how he got it, and my mother basically confirmed everything grandma said.

It was also the first time me and my mother having a conversation about Uncle Pat's homosexuality and him having AIDS.

My mother said that very few people understood how much Uncle Pat suffered throughout his life.

She said that Uncle Pat felt misunderstood by his brothers. That grandma wasn't so nice when Uncle Pat revealed his sexual orientation until Uncle Pat told grandma "You think I like being this way?" At that point, grandma understood!  It was a revelation to grandma that sexual orientation is an inborn trait, that many people who are homosexual are suffering with living with such a secret that if they revealed it, it could mean the difference between full acceptance versus being outcasted by loved ones.

To add to that, being that many homosexuals "lived in the closest", the best options that many felt they had was to go to "gay bars"  in secret, where they feel they can live their true selves for a few hours.  Those places were notorious for their hookup scenes, and being that men can't get pregnant, there was less hesitation among gay men to "hook up", making them vulnerable to STDs. 

When the AIDS crisis hit in the 1980s, it was seen as a "gay disease". Among those already outcasted by their families, peers, churches and mainstream society, many gay men with AIDS had no emotional support to help them survive such a brutal disease.  It's bad enough that AIDS was basically a death sentence, even worse when many who suffered  didn't have emotional support from family due to homophobia.

While the AIDS crisis might've enabled a few ultra-conservative preachers to preach homophobia, news reports about the suffering of AIDS patients eventually had the rest of the population rethink their prejudice against the LGBT population. People start to realize that their jokes about homosexuality isn't "just a joke" but something that can traumatize people who are already suffering.

As I learned about Uncle Pat's reality, I feel really guilty about laughing at homophobic jokes and making homophobic comments when I was younger.

I didn't even know what homosexuality was until 5th grade in sex ed, and my brother told me that gay men had anal sex, we were both disgusted.

Nobody in our schools was out of the closet, except for this one loud transgendered person who was a senior when I was a freshmen in high school. In that environment, there was a near consensus that homosexuality was something to be ridiculed. 

Around the same time, this being the 1990s, that same-sex marriage was in the news, as there was a lawsuit in the Hawaii court systems. So it was something discussed in social studies classes. Hearing that issue discussed in 10th social studies class was the first time I heard classmates defending the right to allow same-sex marriage. As far I know, none of them were openly LGBT, but they were already "ahead of their time" on this issue. 

The late 90s was also when Ellen DeGeneres had her "coming out" episode. That was the first time I had any discussion about homosexuality with my mother. My mother defended LGBT rights, but at the time, she didn't mention about Uncle Pat's sexuality. 

Those discussion motivated me to research the issue. Back then, I didn't have internet access (it was the late 90's, the internet was still a new thing), so reading books about it in the back of the library (away from everyone else) was the only option.  Even with that, I learned a lot! I learned that many LGBT had those innate feelings and they knew they had to keep it a secret because they knew even their closest friends would turn against them. Learning that broke my heart. I felt guilty for any homophobic thoughts/jokes I expressed because there's a possibility my comments hurt the hearts of people who might still be in the closet.

It took me a while to openly defend LGBT rights, because others would be like "eww, you're defending same-sex marriage because you gay"

I remember in freshmen year of college (1999-2000) in speech, we had to randomly pick a paper that had a topic written on it. The paper was folded so you can't see what you're picking. The other topics included abortion, gun control and doctor-assisted suicide. I was hoping for those topics. The folded paper I picked happened to have "same-sex marriage" written on it.  One more person had the same topic. One of us had to defend it, the other had to argue against it.  I decided that it was time to defend it, just as boldly as I was already defending my viewpoints on other topics.  I learned then that the university was a different environment than high school, and that you won't be stigmatized for defending LGBT rights. (Remember, this was the turn of the century. Yes universities were already "liberal" but not a single state legalized same-sex marriage yet).


Even at that point, I still didn't know about Uncle Pat's orientation. It was still a "secret".

Had he lived longer, maybe he might've been more willing to talk about it. 

Had he lived until this year, he would've seen same-sex marriage legalized, and maybe, he might be more willing to talk publicly about his orientation. 

Or maybe he just wanted to be left alone in privacy.

Either way, I will continue to miss Uncle Pat, his generous spirit and the discussions we had.

Trump, North Korea, Guam and Hawaii

North Korean rulers have long been testing nuclear weapons and threatening to use it against anyone who offends them!

They're now giving warnings that they will launch missiles towards Guam, a small island in the western Pacific that also happens to be a US territory, and therefore a host to US military bases.

Now Donald Trump is threatening North Korea  with "fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before."

Meanwhile, the US military is also beefing up their missile defense systems to protect their bases in Hawaii as well.

Being in Hawaii, I can definitely feel the nervousness about North Korea's threats.

If Trump wants to attack North Korea, he better destroy all their military facilities fast, because North Korea will use everyone it got! After the first attack, North Korea will launch every single long-range missile in its arsenal!

In that scenario, Guam and Hawaii are screwed, even if the US wins! 


But at the same time, we have to ask the tough questions.


Would North Korea be threatening Guam or Hawaii if they were independent nations?

After all, North Korea isn't threatening  Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands or Papua New Guinea!

That's because they're independent nations that aren't hosting US or European military bases!

This isn't Blame America First, it's just an observation of facts!

Let's be real about this, the US took control of Hawaii and Guam not for the benefit of their people, but to use their lands as military launching pads towards Asia.

But why? Why do the US need a military launching pad towards Asia? Why can't the US learn to mind its own business!

If poverty-stricken North Korea can build nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, why can't "economic miracles" South Korea, Japan and Taiwan do the same!

If North Korea can scare Big Bad USA with its long-range nukes, why can't Taiwan do the same to China?

Meanwhile, it is the USA that abused  the Marshall Islands by forcing their people off their islands and using those islands as nuclear testing sites.

That's right, it wasn't North Korea, China or Russia that abused the Marshall Islands with nuclear testing.

Meanwhile, the radiation has caused so  much medical problems to the Marshallese people, that many of them come to Hawaii to get their medical needs taken care. Sadly, those people face racist abuse in Hawaii after all they've been through!

Many in Hawaii and Guam are reluctant to become independent partly because of the addiction to "federal funds", when much of that money has been taken away from us as federal taxes. Why should we pay money to the US federal government (where senators and reps from other states argue over what to do with it) when we can be independent, we keep our tax revenues here and we tell ourselves what to do with it!

But even a bigger factor of why many in Hawaii and Guam are reluctant to be independent is because of the trauma of World War 2.

At the time, much of the world was under the rule of European empires, and Japan wanted its own empire. 

Therefore, Japan attacked US territories in the Pacific!

But we're not living in 1941 anymore!

I doubt North Korea has any interest in conquering the entire Pacific! They're only threatening Pacific Islands that host US military bases! They're not threatening independent Pacific Island nations! China hasn't even threatened the other Pacific Islands either! 

Guam and Hawaii needs to be defended, but we should stop being used as US military launching pads towards Asia!

 Guam and Hawaii needs to be defended, but we should stop being sitting ducks targeted for retaliation over someone else's rivalries!

Guam and Hawaii should be independent, and collaborate with other Pacific Islands in establishing a military defense system.

Guam, Hawaii and the other Pacific Islands should collaborate in establishing a naval system designed purely for self-defense purposes.

Guam, Hawaii and the other Pacific Islands should collaborate in establishing  a missile defense system to protect ourselves.
 
Guam, Hawaii and the other Pacific Islands should collaborate in establishing an air force designed purely to defend our skies! 

 
If other places can do it, why not us? Why beg for a faraway empire to do it for us, when we should do it ourselves?

All the European, American and Asian empires should just leave us Pacific Island residents alone already! Stop using our lands as "bargaining chips" and "targets" over your rivalries. Leave us out of it !

----------------

For all those US military troops stationed in the Pacific Islands, this isn't personal against you! You joined to defend your country, but you're being pimped by your government! Your government is pimping you to be involved in foreign disputes that your government shouldn't be involved in! 

Now, some of you probably fell in love with our islands while being stationed here.  If it was up to me, a newly independent Hawaii and a newly independent Guam would invite you to join our military, under the condition that you follow OUR rules and you defend OUR interests!

============


You can learn more by checking out this editorial by the Hawaii Independent

The Hawaii Independent. “Rather than keep us safe, U.S. militarism puts Hawaiʻi in the crosshairs.” June 1, 2017.
http://hawaiiindependent.net/story/rather-than-keep-us-safe-u.s.-militarism-puts-hawaii-in-the-crosshairs

Learn Your Geography (part 2)

(note: you can see part 1 at http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2014/10/learn-your-geography.html)

Some kids say "why we gotta learn geography, when are we going to need that information?"


They assume that if their parents don't use geographic information in their jobs everyday, then they don't need to pay attention during geography lessons.

But there's more to life than just knowing things related to  the everyday duties of your specific job!


Your everyday reality is affected by what's going on in other places.

For example, Donald Trump is threatening to go to war with North Korea.

Yet, a bunch of people from the United States can't even locate North Korea on a map

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ugJZhL-cbc

Jimmy Kimmel Live

"How Many Americans Know Where North Korea Is?"

When your country is about to go to war with another country, YOU BETTER KNOW WHERE IT IS? 

But more importantly, if you might be sent to fight (and get killed, or at least amputated), you need to know why you're being sent there! There's a context to the situation, wars don't just pop out of nowhere, there's a reason for it!

And it's not just about wars!

Even for peaceful things like trade, you need to know about it!

If those people can't find North Korea on a map, then they can't find South Korea on a map!

South Korea, where all the SamSung products, as well as Hyundai and Kia cars come from!  (and yes, K-Pop and Gangnam Style too) 

Could you at least have some interest in where the products  you or your peers are using  come from? 

-------------------

Knowing geography can also help you learn where the recent immigrants are coming from!

It can also help you understand their situations better.

I mean, why wouldn't you want information that can help you understand the people around you better?

It's embarrassing that many people in Hawaii ( a group of PACIFIC ISLANDS) know almost nothing about OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDS, some of them sources of new immigrants. 

If you took the time to learn about other Pacific Islands, you would be more understanding about their situations.


I mean I actually heard people in Hawaii assume that Samoa and Micronesia are in the same part of the Pacific Ocean.

What?

The plane going from Hawaii to Samoa is going a different direction than a plane going from Hawaii to Micronesia.

And to hear people not know there are different island, cultural and language groups within what is Micronesia? Those people actually assume they all speak the same language?

Those islands maybe small (that's why the Europeans called those islands "micro", a Greek term for "small", which unfortunately has become a racial slur used against people from those islands), but they are spread out over a large area, of course that would make a difference in the cultural and linguistic evolution of the people of the islands! 

All this is EASILY AVAILABLE INFORMATION!

I remember reading about this from encyclopedias and looking at atlases when I was a kid, ...................which was a few years BEFORE the internet became available to the masses.

But now we have smartphone, which gives you access to the information about the world that can fit into your pocket, but yet people don't even want to learn basic geography?

 Come on people!

I'm not expecting everyone to learn every small town and every small pond that exist!

But at least know the continents, countries and major cities!

And if you hear a country's name being mentioned on the news .........LOOK IT UP!   

You can do that! So let's do that! 

Chester Bennington

Another rock legend died this year.


This time it's Chester Bennington, the lead singer for Linkin Park.

photo by  Stefan Brending for Festival Summer

Wikimedia

Chester Bennington

Linkin Park was known for combining the nu-metal sounds with the rap vocals of Mike Shinoda and the angst-ridden singing vocals of Chester Bennington.

Linkin Park came to fame in the early 2000s, a time when the nu metal and rap-metal ruled the world of rock. Limp Bizkit, Korn and  Kid Rock were the kings of rock of that era! Other bands that were popular at the time included (but definitely not limited to) Disturbed, POD, Papa Roach, Staind, Evanescence, Rammstein and Slipknot!


However, with all due to respect to those bands, Linkin Park became the most popular band of them all! 

Whereas the other bands either faded or disbanded, Linkin Park continued to succeed into the following decade. 

While their base was nu metal and rap-metal, they weren't limited to that. They had albums with more electronic and alternative rock sounds.

While metal tends to appeal to a more macho crowd, Chester Bennington's singing expressions of vulnerability allowed the band to cross over to a less macho crowd, making them the spokespersons of vulnerable youth who might be outcasted by their peers or their family.  It was also balanced by Mike Shinoda's rapping vocals which gave the band an appeal to the hip-hop crowd. 

The band also collaborated with rap mega-star Jay-Z, giving them an increasing appeal to the hip-hop crowd. 



Linkin Park had their first hit album Hybrid Theory in 2000.

Their 1st major single was "One Step Closer" which is about one person who can only take so much crap and just can't hold in his anger anymore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qlCC1GOwFw

"One Step Closer"

Here's the 2nd single "Crawling", about emotional pain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd9OhYroLN0

"Crawling"

Here's "In the End", which you can hear more of Mike Shinoda's rapping vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4

"In the End"

-----------------

Linkin Park continued their success with their 2nd album Meteora, with the hit songs "Numb" and "Somewhere I Belong".  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsCD5XCu6CM

"Somewhere I Belong"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYiU_JCYtU

"Numb"

and of course, the remix with Jay-Z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNPECkESPbU

Linkin Park w/Jay-Z

"Numb/Encore"

========================================


However, even with all those hit records and sell-out concerts, Chester Bennington was suffering from depression.

He suffered from sexual abuse, physical bullying and a family breakdown when he was growing up.

He eventually developed a drug addiction. 

His music spoke to the pain of millions of youth!

As we learned from Robin Williams, all the success and money will NOT erase personal traumas.

Money and therapists can only do so much!

Even with money and success, a person can only take so much suffering. 

On July 20, 2017,  Chester Bennington was found dead by hanging.  It was assumed to be a suicide. 


====================


PS: check out my blog post on Robin Williams and depression
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2014/08/robin-williams-and-depression.html

I like Nightclubs more than Campfires

Those who are on facebook have seen those memes with a photo of a people gathering around a campfire, and a statement saying that that is a better experience than being at a nightclub

http://www.jeremychin.com/thegoods/favorite-things/favorite-things-9 

http://whisper.sh/whisper/051a2105ebc6b5134133be5dc7811fbeff7705/Id-rather-sit-around-a-campfire-with-friends-than-go-to-a-night-club-

Guess what?

I have a different opinion!

I rather be at a nightclub than to be around a campfire!

I love being on the dancefloor!

I love the DJs playing some great music! 

I love bonding with others while dancing to a great song!

And yes, I'll admit, I love dancing with women on the dancefloor, getting as close as she allows me   ;) 

Who needs a campfire when I can be doing that?

Yes, all those photos are mine!

All of show some great and special experiences!

Some of the most special nights in my life were at the nightclubs!

I hang out with current friends, reunited with old friends and made new friends there! 

I also said my last goodbyes to friends who are leaving the island and moving on to the next phase of life! 

I am at the club to celebrate birthdays, New Years, Halloween, you name it! 

But whatever the occasion, we celebrate the moment! 

And when the music matches the moment, it becomes a special moment that lives in my heart a long time!

And when I shared those photos on facebook, people who only see a serious or quiet  side of me are like "damn I never saw that side of you before"!  😄

Yeah, maybe some people at the club are superficial, but don't expect everyone at your campfire to be honest when they're sharing stories with you! 

So you can Virtue Signal all you want about how superior you are for liking campfires!

Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the magical experiences at the nightclub  ;)