captkevman

-

I am a human rocket

On a mission of deployment

I’ve been cocked and loaded

Ready for the culmination

I am a human missile

Guided by a secret agenda

That commands my every thought and deed

And wills me on my way.

-

I am a human rocket

On a mission of redemption

I’ve been cocked and loaded

Primed by everything I know

I am a human missile

Guided by a secret voice

That commands my every action

And wills me on my way

There is no turning back,

There are no second thoughts

First things first and all things fair

Be it love or war, they say.

There is no plan named B

On the land in the air or on the sea

This is what’s supposed to be

My duty now awaits me

-

I am a human rocket

On a mission of instruction

I’ve been primed and programmed

Since the beginning of time

I am a human missile

Guided by a secret master

That commands my every motion

And wills me on my way.

I’ve found my target

I’ve reached my co-ordinates

I’m set to detonate, and resonate

The final poem I will create.

I’ve made a video

It tells a story, oh…

I guess it’s time to go

Don’t forget to rewind.

-

<break>

-

I am a human rocket

On a mission of destruction

I’ve been locked and loaded

And ready for the confirmation

I am a human missile

Guided by a secret perfection

That commands my full conviction

And wills me on my way.

-

Large parts of the experience

Will go by unnoticed. We are all

distracted by the lights and sounds

Of everything and nothing

Do you remember the breath

you took? When they let you off the hook

And sent you swimming away

Back into your cell?

-

I am a human rocket

On a mission of reduction

I’ve been cocked and loaded

Since the dawn of time

I am a human missile

Guided by a secret voice

That commands my every thought and deed

And wills me on my righteous way.

—-

Notes:

• This is Track 6 on DEVO’s new album Something for Everybody (iTunes link)
• This is the only track on the album attributed solely to Mark Mothersbaugh.
• Artwork above is a drawing of Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer by mistermoster, macuy19, and SeanE on deviantart.com. (Found via a Google image search of “Human Rocket”.)
• I felt this song contained perhaps the strongest lyrics on the album.
• This happens to be my 10-year-old daughter’s favorite new DEVO song.

Me: “Thanks for the shake, sweetie. What did you put in it?”

Emily (my daughter): “It was vanilla ice cream and cookie dough. I call it a Van-ookie Shake!”

Me: “Van-ookie, eh? That’s funny.”

Angela (my wife): ”You can’t call it a ‘Nookie Shake.’ You should think of another name.”

In conjunction with the launch of Something for Everybody, their first studio album in 20 years, DEVO has launched an online “reality” program journaling the lead-up to release. This is episode 1.

Some brilliant marketing by DEVO for their forthcoming album. I’m completely loving this campaign. You can also listen to the album stream in its entirety on http://www.colbertnation.com prior to its release on June 15.

Full length interview with Steve Jobs at the D8 conference. (Just embedding it here for convenience).

Like many people, I’ve looked back on events in my life at various times and thought, “what if…?” 

What if…

• …I had finished college?
• …I had followed through on those initial contacts I made with Disney Feature Animation or MTV Animation?
• …I had moved out of the area while I was younger, to somewhere like - say - Atlanta or San Francisco?
• …I’d had more confidence in my talents and abilities when I was younger?
• …I had better handled that very first credit card transaction I ever made (the one where I was ripped off for $400 and defiantly refused to pay until the matter was cleared up)?
• …I had felt I deserved better and pushed toxic personalities away from me sooner?
• …I had fought harder for that job I really loved?

Would I still feel that my life is a mess? Would I still feel like I had neglected myself (and my friends, and my family) in some very basic ways? Would I be any happier with the way my life had turned out?

I’m on the cusp of 40, and as I take inventory of my life, I count:

• a wife who deserves better than what I can give her,
• beautiful children who need more than I provide for them,
• a wonderful & extended family that I don’t make enough time to appreciate,
• long neglected friendships,
• a bloated body, broken by abuse and neglect,
• talents that haven’t been exercised for years,
• a mind that can’t stay focused,
• a temper that I can’t keep in check.
• a spotty career that fell apart too soon,
• a fledgling business,
• a list of failed projects that started off as grand ideas but died with whimpers.

The thing is, there aren’t that many huge “a-HA!” moments that I can remember. But there are countless times where I just let life happen and took the easy path, when the more challenging (and rewarding) one was there right in front of me. Stay in an abusive relationship, or leave? Stay in school, or quit? Follow through with that portfolio submission, or just forget it and avoid rejection? Defend my job, or just throw my hands up and stop fighting it? Take time to develop and teach my kids properly, or just yell at them when they don’t behave as I feel they should? Learn to eat right and exercise, or stay fat and sedentary?

I haven’t been living my life for the past two decades — I’ve let life happen to me. I’ve just been drifting along to wherever the seas of circumstance have taken me, without any resistance or intention. I could’ve been a great cartoonist by now. I could’ve been a great father and husband. I could’ve been a successful…well, ANYTHING. But I didn’t act when life presented me with opportunity.

I know that 40 is still relatively young, so I have a chance to change things for the better, and I hope I will. But if my life can serve as a lesson to anyone, I would like to impart these words of caution:

Don’t just let your life happen — live it. Make your choices, and choose the difficult and enriching path, because the reward will be so very worth the effort. You deserve more for yourself than a life of empty choices.

Brilliant interview with Stephen Fry. Long, but well worth a watch.

Aside from spending the first half day or so exploring my new body, probably not much. I’m tolerable (at best) in appearance as a male — I’m sure I’d make a thoroughly unattractive female.

(NOTE: Many people say that my sister Kelly and I look alike. Not true - she makes a cute girl. I’d make a scary one.)

Ask me anything

My blog just turned 3!

Ask me about barbecuing cats for fun and profit! (not really…but I *did* see that on a bumper sticker once…) http://formspring.me/captkevman

I’m an open book! Well, if you ask, anyway -> http://formspring.me/captkevman

DEVO performs their new song “What We Do” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. After a 20-year hiatus, these spuds still bring it! Can’t wait for the new album this June!

Well, I happen to think all of my Apple products are pretty cool. ;^) Currently, the two I use the most are my MacBook Pro (it’s my main workstation) and my iPhone 3Gs (my portable lifeline to the world and all-around wondergadget). I’m looking forward to picking up an iPad (which I hope to use as my main on-site/service call/payment processor machine) as soon as I’m able to do so.

Ask me anything

I’m using http://www.formspring.me to post to all 3 simultaneously. I figure this way, at least one person is getting content they actually want to see (and I think it makes for more interesting/interactive content in general).

Ask me anything

This is actually true. When Comic Life was first released as shareware in 2005, I left a review on VersionTracker.com (which I can’t find to link to, since it was for an older version). One of the developers contacted me and asked if they would mind if they used it on the upcoming boxed version of the title. I gladly agreed. Now, if you look, you’ll see a quote attributed to “Kevin Copeland, Father” (since I really had no prominent tech affiliations at the time).

Ask me anything