My system of thought; Introduction.

First I would like to emphasize I am not trying to construct a new philosophical system at this time, nor do I anticipate I have the dedicated will and discipline to attempt to construct a new system in the future but time will tell. When I write analytic and rhetoric compositions in a rough draft, as I do in the blog, I do so from memory with no conformity to MLA, APA, or any other whatever A format that may be out there. I strive to write from the jargon of philosophy but borrow from all fields of the humanities whenever the context suits my needs, though I will identify the definitions and field of origin when I do so.

When I write I do not use references, to not read sources first and then try to compose some flowing piece revolving around a thesis in accordance to the academic rules of which I am educated and aware. I take what is in my head and try to express it in writing, which I do far better than I do in any other media. When I write I only hope I am following the rules of grammar properly as I had to teach them to myself with a manual I printed off the internet back in 2001. I had to do this because I didn't learn grammar, or much of anything, in middle and high school. Perhaps the last time I learned anything in school was in the 4th grade, which was the last year in which I trusted anything the school system had to teach me. I was verbally abused, bullied, and ridiculed by a teacher in the 5th grade who thought her methods were an appropriate way to motivate me to learn. They weren't but that's off topic.

In the interest of brevity I will try to list the major possible sources of ideas that have contributed to my writing and perspective.  First, philosophically I try to hold to and write using the Trancendental Idealism as presented by Immanuel Kant.  Note, however, my understanding of Kant is imperfect and my education in philosophy is autodiadactic.  There will be errors but this adheres to my belief and position that no human is capable of communicating from one pure system of thought free from influence from ideas outside the system.

I was born to a married Caucasian couple in their twenties, my parents, who were living in poverty. Both were non-church going (practicing?) Christians, my father from the Southern U.S., my mother from the North. I was not raised continuously in any one community but moved from location to location, predominantly in the U.S. Southeast with the exception of 1 year in Texas and 1 year in Pennsylvania, every few years until I was 14 years old. By this age my parents were both working in a career in Clinical Social Work, and before they were getting their degrees in M.S. Social Work for my father and B.S. Social Work for my mother. From 14 to 19 I lived in Chattanooga (Hixson), TN.  From 20 to 26 I was enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Nuclear Field Technician but got out of that school after 6 months and finished serving honorably as a Fire Controlman (advanced electronics, radar repair and maintenance) and attaining the rank of e-5 before being honorably discharged in 2001. In the Navy I went on 2 deployments, one LEO in South America and one Mediterranean deployment. I also participated in RIMPAC. I returned to Chattanooga and have lived here since.

I was not raised in the church but was baptized some time around age 8, disavowed Christianity when I was a teenager at around 14 years old and identified myself as an atheist.  Some times between and 19 and 26 I transitioned into a spiritual self-identity of agnostic and was a egocentric hedonist. I returned to studying Christianity and became a disciple of Christ in 2002. I have been participating in the Methodist denomination though I do not self-identify with denominational categories and believe myself to be a member of the Church Universal and think of myself only as a disciple of Christ.

I have gone to college off and on starting in 1993 and last attending in 2004 (or 5). I started with a major in Fine Arts: Drawing, switched to Computer Science, switched to English Lit, joined the Navy, and continued education majoring in B.S. Psychology with a minor in Business Entrepreneurship. I also have 36 hours towards a LDAC (Licensed Drug & Alcohol Counselor).

I have studied and trained in the martial arts starting at age 3 with my father and over the years in several different styles.  Through training, interest, and practice of the martial arts I studied Zen Buddhism, Taoist philosophy, Confucianism, and Bushido. I studied and was deeply influenced by the works of Miyamoto Musashi and Sun Tzu.

I've read and studied the works of Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, David Hume, Bertrand Russel, Soren Kierkegard, Friedrich Nietzsche, St. Augustine, Machiavelli, Rene Descartes, William James, Alfred Jules Ayer, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Adam Smith, Stephen Hawking and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Also influential literary authors include Jack Kerouac, Hunter S. Thompson, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Maya Angelou, Ernest Hemmingway, George Orwell, Charles Dickenson, C.S. Lewis, J.D. Salinger, Aldus Huxley, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I've read far too many fiction books to count mostly from the Fantasy/Science Fiction genres when I was a teen. Among my favorite authors are Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, Terry Goodkind, R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, Piers Anthony, Douglas Adams, Spider Robinson, Anne Rice, Robert Jordan, Robert Lynn Aspirin, and Dean Koontz. I read the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games series just to be a part of the cultural experience but wasn't overly thrilled with them.

I believe movies, music, and other forms of media to also be very influential in shaping our ideas. I was a cartoon lover, and still am at heart, raised on the cartoons and shows Transformers, He-Man, G.I. Joe, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Gilligan's Island, Gunsmoke, Kung Fu Theater, Knight Rider, MacGuyver, The A-team, Greatest American Hero, Murder She Wrote, The Cosby Show, Rosanne, the Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, Dragon Ball Z (not my choice, long story), The Kids in the Hall, The Sopranos, COPS, Americas Funniest Home Videos, MTV's Real World, MTV Headbangers Ball, Beavis and Butthead, Daria, Southpark, Full Metal Alchemist, FLCL, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Metalocylpse, Star Trek, Firefly, Star Wars, Clerks, and more but these were the ones that stood out in a quick list. I almost started to include movies but realized that list would be too long. I came into age at the same time as the computer, game consoles, VCR and cell phones did.

As a generation X demographic I remember when there were no home computers and then getting my first home computer the Commodore Vic 20, which we upgraded to a Commodore 64 with a cassette tape drive. My first game system was an Atari 2600, but that's only because I refuse to count the Pong paddles as a real video game. I love playing video games, and any games, and I suppose I probably always will. I played both console and desktop games, RPG's (D&D, AD&D 1st, 2nd, 3rd), Magic the Gathering TCG from beta to revised including Arabian Nights, Antiquities, and Legends. I abandoned all but video gaming when I joined the Navy.  I played the MMORPG's Everquest, Dark Ages of Camelot, Planetside, Eve Online, and World of Warcraft. I stopped playing MMORPG's because they became entirely too time consuming. For now I exclusively play Xbox 360, though I have a PS3 and WII, in my spare time.

My first cassette tapes were The Cars, ZZ Top, and Motley Crue through colombia house. I listened to Ray Stevens a lot as a kid. My dad introduced me to Black Sabbath, probably because Ray Stevens was driving him crazy, and I started listening to Classic Rock. Led Zepplin, CCR, Jethro Tull, expanded to include Ozzy Osbourne (before he had a T.V. show), Alice Cooper, KISS, Motley Crue. From there to Metallica, Metal Church, Slaughterhouse, Pennywise, Slayer, Danzig, Misfits, Ministry, Iron Maiden, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, King Diamond. With a wild jump from there to Tom Petty, Patsy Kline, Stevie Ray Vaughn, B.B. King, Stone Temple Pilots, Garth Brookes, Shania Twain, Temple of the Dog, Blind Melon, Paula Abdul, M.C. Hammer, Vanilla Ice, 3rd Base, Public Enemy. Hopping along merrily to The Gorillas, Ace of Bass, Twista, Insane Clown Posse, Tupac Shakur, Korn, Lords of Acid, Cake,  Marilyn Manson, They Might Be Giants, The Beatles, John Lennon, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana. And so forth through Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Christina Aguilara, Eminem, Big E. Smalls, Will Smith, Smash Mouth, The Blood Hound Gang, the Pogues, Gwar, Brittany Spears, Shedaisy, Sean Kingston, Bob Marley, Frank Zappa, Peter Paul and Mary, Pit Bull, Wutang Clan, Fergie, DMX, Skrillex, DJ Baby Anne, DJ Shadow, Crystal Method, the Chemical Brothers, Sarah McLauchlen, Snoop Dog, Dave Matthews, Mika, Rufus Wainwright, Sufjan Stephens, Tenacious D and many more unpredictably diverse with the exception of Kenny G, Smooth Jazz, and anything with an alto sax.

I love watching documentaries and online lectures from TED, Yale, and Harvard. I like the internet humor sites Cracked and the Onion.

Comedians Daniel Tosh, Dane Cook, Dimitri Martin, Chris Rock, C.K. Lewis, Eddy Murphy, Bill Cosby, Zach Galifianakis, Mitch Hedberg, Adam Sandler, Tyler Perry, Bobcat Goldthwait, Richard Pryor, David Chapel, Sara Silverman, and more.

Random facts: When I was 15 I had a poster of Cindy Crawford on my bedroom wall and when I was 22 I met Cindy Crawford at a book signing. I didn't mention the poster when we talked briefly. I sat next to Mario Van Peebles in a bar during the Tyson/Hollifield fight.

I've been divorced once, married when I was 20 and divorced at 22. I have a daughter named Katherine Yvonne who lives with her mother and I miss every day and wish was part of my life. I have a loving, beautiful wife, Toni, 2 step-sons Austin and Jeremy, another daughter Madison, and a son Jacob.

These things are just a partial snapshot of the major ideas and influences to my thinking and personality. There are far more influences and variable than these but I'm hoping a more exhaustive list is not necessary.