Unconventional Publicity - I'll take it!

ROB'S RANT

I really don't mean to beat a dead horse, but if this is the only way I can seem to get publicity or attention for my writing, then so be it.  I'm not going to turn it away, nor am I going to shy away from it.  Lord knows I have tried all the conventional routes to get my writing, ideas, and concepts out there to share with the public.  So if an article, which was supposed to be one man's opinion about a celebrity's mishap on a plane is the platform that springs my career to the next level, who am I to argue?

Now, do I think it's ridiculous that this has to be the way, of course.  But in a messed up world where 6 seemingly unintelligent, drunk, bafoons have number one ratings week after week on the Jersey Shore and are getting paid millions of dollars, and where delving into the lives of perfect strangers who usually have no shame is all the rave, who am I to challenge it?

For those of you who live in a bubble, last week, Alec Baldwin was thrown off a plane for not shutting off his electronic device on which he was playing a word game.  Being that I was unceremoniously thrown off a flight back in June, and it became world news for some reason, I was contacted by CORKY SIEMASZKO, a reported from the Daily News, who asked me for my opinion about the situation.  (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/booted-passenger-flight-attnedants-power-hungry-tyrants-article-1.989843)  Little did I know that the entire article would be about me and the world-reknown actor would be nothing more than a side blurb.  At first, I was a little uncomfortable with it, but when I went to check on my Kindle account for my book, The Dividing Line, it said that I sold 280 copies in two days.  I don't know if I've been able to sell 280 copies in two years.  As of today, it is up to 319 e-books sold in three days.  That's awesome no matter how you look at it.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dividing-Line-ebook/dp/B00413QFQA/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1323301834&sr=8-1

Will I shamelessly milk this publicity or attention as much as I can, hell yeah, I will.  I didn't take full advantage of the media hype back in June, and I was always a little confused as to why I didn't.  I think I was more afraid of it affecting my Producing career more than anything.  But I'm over that.  Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.  Government conspiracy fiction is what I write about best, and I hope that if you decide to check out the book, you enjoy what you read.

Most recently, I have teamed up with Paul Alessi (http://www.pauljalessi.com/) and Warren Goz to bring The Dividing Line, the movie to the big screen.  I will be updating everyone on those developments as soon as they are finalized.

ROB'S ADVICE

Hmmm.  My advice...well, I would suggest getting thrown off a plane - just kidding.  But if you are someone who finds themselves in a situation that garners this much attention, and you are in a profession where no publicity is bad publicity, then I say use them as much as they are using you.  I did not get thrown off a plane with the intentions of this ever happening, and I didn't do anything to warrant me being thrown off anyway, and I was vindicated on that, but the media sold a lot of papers and got a lot of viewers because of it.  In this social media driven, internet crazy world we live in today, someone in New Zealand is as easy to reach as your next door neighbor.  I guess the one piece of advice that I would tell people is to stand up for what you believe in and work for what you are passionate about.  Whenever I am feeling defeated or get down and think that I am never going to make it, I always look at this card my mother gave me with the most amazing quote by H. Jackson Brown Jr., "Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do."

You're the only one who knows what that means to you.

And please read this link.  It's awesome.

http://whitehottruth.com/white-hot/in-honour-of-the-fact-that-life-is-short/

POEM

The Secret Origin of Mirrors

As I look at myself, rubbing my eyes,

The solid mirror has changed.

Or was its sleek texture just a disguise,

Hiding these men who look strange?

Is this just a dream, can it be true?

The people behind my mirror

Working and moving, are they my muses?

I think it’s begun to get clearer.

I notice they're making something, I see.

A beautiful Angel of ice.

Dipping and gliding she looked to be free,

I couldn't help but look twice.

And in through the mirror I walk where they work

To look at the craftsmen's job.

I keep my distance, they give me a smirk,

As their families form a large mob.

They say they're making an Angel for town,

But do not mention the Witch.

The Angel will help all the families around.

The Other just makes people twitch.

When the workers are done, the Angel is free

To help all those people they talk of.

Her grace, her beauty, and even her speed

Make the people adore her and love her.

This splendid creation for beauty and peace

Sets off to do work for the needy.

She glides and she grooves with the utmost ease

Always helping those sickly and bleeding.

For days she travels and does great good

For women, children and poor.

She even helps a thief, a young sparrow brood,

Never seeing what she is in store for.

The wicked old Witch sits where she can see,

Pretending to cry, spit and choke.

Faking her sickness, she slumps near a tree,

Deceiving by wearing a cloak.

 As the Angel slides in just to do good,

She is met with a terrible fate.

The wicked old Witch is under that hood,

Enticing the Angel like bait.

Enchanted and still, the Angel of peace

Stands frozen like frigid wood.

Her angelic senses are at their least,

For once she cannot do good.

The wicked Witch screams, she cries out for joy,

"I've truly destroyed her…I win!"

Then she struts over there to break her new toy,

Unaware of her terrible sin.

But as she gets closer, her joy fades to fear,

There lay her reflection, she’s seen.

The joke was on her and she shed a tear.

It made her as sick as she'd been.

She dies on the spot from her ugly appearance,

Stumbling back past the tree.

She tumbles and falls just over the clearance

Into a ravine right near me.

When the people find the Angel on sod,

She seems like she’s dead as the air.

But the Angel who helped in the vain of a god

Has defeated the Witch of despair!

But one man calls down when something is seen.

It is an incredible wonder.

The old Witch's plan wasn't so keen.

It was clearly a beautiful blunder.

The Angel stares back, reflecting their image,

Something they love right away.

She has truly granted an amazing privilege,

Now they can look at themselves every day.

The people, they celebrate with wine and with beer,

With food, with handstands, not fear.

With hugs and with laughter and everything good,

Then one of them yells out a cheer…

"Thank God for the Angel who made everything clearer!"

Now I, too, have seen the Secret Origin of Mirrors.

Cash Only This...

ROBS RANT

Is anyone else sick of having to pay cash for everything you purchase?  I mean give me a break. Now when I worked as a bartender and carried wads of cash in my pocket, it wasn't a problem, and when there were a couple of places who pulled this bullshit maneuver, I was fine with it, but when in God's name did the whole Brooklyn area become so brazen?  I once walked into a deli, put all my purchases on the counter, went to pay, and the guy told me "Cash only."  I proceeded to leave everything on the counter and told him he had to be kidding me.  I am proud to say that the deli in question is now closed.  

We all know why businesses ask for cash only, and I think it's time for the IRS to investigate these people. Having a cash only business is beneficial in a few ways: one it allows the company to hide their profits thus allowing them to cheat on their taxes - believe me i know, my family was in the restaurant business for a long time. And two, it allows them to avoid the credit card fees that they are supposed to pay.  

But what I want to say to these cheats is that eventually you will be caught.  And it's called THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS.  If you don't want to pay the fee, then don't open a business.  

And the best is if they don't take credit cards, the least they can do is have an ATM machine in their establishments.  The gaul of these people not only to not accept credit cards, but also not to have an ATM machine in a convenient place.    

CASH ONLY is bull.  I don't go to those places anymore.  And you shouldn't either.

MY ADVICE

i think the only way to stop these lunatics and put a stop to the CASH ONLY movement is to stop shopping and eating there. i think we should all call the IRS and have them investigate these cheaters.  The cost of doing business is exactly that.  They are cheaters, liars, and people who cannot defend their position.  Stand behind me.

Friends, how many of us have them?

Before I go into my rant, on this Veteran's Day, I want to say how much I appreciate and thank the people who do the things I don't have the balls to do, and protect our freedom.  And for all you idiots who think we would have the life we do if there was no military and people to go out there and fight and kill these lunatics who want 9/11 to happen everyday here, you should leave this country, please...From the bottom of my heart, thank you United States Military.

ROB'S RANT

Friends, it's a really interesting word - the meaning even more intriguing.  Think about it.  Who truly is your friend besides some of your family and your Mom?  Who could you call at 3 in the morning from a foreign country when you have just been arrested, and that person would be on the first plane the next morning to bail you out?

There aren't many things we remember vividly from our past - I mean as though we were standing there yesterday - but I will never forget when I was 13 years-old my Mom telling me, "Rob, you'll be lucky when you're older if you can count your true friends on one hand."  And I remember thinking she was crazy because at that time I had about 10-12 guys/girls who WERE my friends.  They came over all the time, we had parties together all the time, we signed each other's yearbooks in June every year, saying "your friend, see you in September."  That was crazy talk.  That couldn't be.  That only happened to her.  But after 8th grade, I learned that her prediction or prophecy, might have had some validity to it because all those supposed friends, 1 by 1, started to disappear.  And it wasn't me, because I have been the same way since I was in kindegarten, it was life.  That's what happens, I guess.  People come in and out of your life all the time.  Some are there for a year, some are there for 25.  Some are there for a minute, and some are there for a lifetime.  But I think why that happens is because a lot of people don't really understand the true meaning of friendship.  I think a lot of people get lost in the drunk talk, and the bullshit of a night out where you profess your undying devotion to each other, where nothing can be wrong, and that life is great.  Well, let me tell you something, I've had a lot of those, and I can barely count my true friends on one hand.

I'm going to tell you right now what being a true friend is about, and I want all of you to think really hard about this and if it applies to you.  You know everyone's a friend when things are going great...  But you'll always know your real friends when you're at the bottom, because they will be there to pick you up.  They will call you first to see if you're ok.  They will take you out when you're feeling depressed and buy you a drink.  They'll talk to you and listen even when they don't want to.  True friends are always friends, even if THEY are having a tough time.  You are always there for each other, no matter what.  Being a true friend is accepting someone for who they are, not for what you want them to be.  It's not judging them, because Lord knows we all have our faults.  It's seeing something in them that either you wish you had or that makes you feel better about yourself and the world.  It's inviting them into your family when they are not your family.  It's trusting them with your deepest fears and your greatest joys, and not having them throw either back in your face.  And it's accepting their faults, and its forgiving them when no one else will.

MY ADVICE


Being a true friend isn't easy, no one ever said it was.  But when you find that person who you think could be like your family, who you have shared intimate moments with, who you feel has your back, don't let them go.  Don't let a stupid argument get in the way.  Life is too short.  We are all grasping for straws out there.  Believe me, you are going to need your friends one day because as good as it's going for you right now, tomorrow it could all change.

Now there are going to be times when you want to kill that person, or when you feel betrayed or feel like this person isn't your friend, but at the end of the day, if you are true friends, you will apologize, shake hands, and forget it ever happened.  I always say this, and I live by this, I don't have money, fame, power, influence, a woman, a life...wait, hold on, now I'm depressing myself :) but what I do have in this world, is my word and my loyalty.  Those are the only two things I got.  And if I'm you're friend, yes there will be depression, and annoyance, but there will also be a lot of fun and laughter.  Because come on, at the end of the day, when you take a real look at the place we live in, it sucks!  If you don't laugh, you'll cry.  Right?

I've added a new section to this blog.  I hope you enjoy.

POEM OF THE WEEK


Music

The wave of Music shocks your body.
Your hands, they tremble.
Your feet, they stumble.

To feel it is to be it,
To love it is to know it.

An experience in which emotions run high,
and tears flow is a special high with which music lives.

It can hold you and comfort you, and it can bring you in touch with life.

That's why music waves your sights and numbs your joints.
That's why music stands you still and breaks your points.

Your hands, they tremble,
Your feet, they stumble,
Your feelings bumble.

And all the while, it's just the music.

Meter-Mutts, I meant Meter Maids...

ROB'S RANT


If Meter-Mutts could all look like this.  We would take tickets with a massive smile :)))  I know I would.

Meter-Maids...  Now listen, maids is a term of endearment in my book.  But Meter Maid is one of the nastiest, grossest, words I have ever heard.  How many times have you parked your car for 10 seconds to go into a deli to buy a coffee or a bagel only to come out to see a Meter-Mutt writing you a ticket for $115?  And when you come out to ask them to PLEASE stop writing the ticket, they look at you like you're the jerk.  How many times have you come out of your parent's house, or your apartment, leaving your car by a fire hydrant with your blinkers on, only to have one of them writing you a ticket?  We have all had this happen to us.  I can't believe that no one has seriously injured one of these people yet.  And I am not saying that it is ok to physically assault anyone, but if these people weren't sweeping the public schools' bathrooms, they would be doing nothing else.  I have even gotten tickets when the meters were broken.  They give them to you in the hopes that you don't have enough time to take pictures, and send in evidence to prove you are not guilty.  And then sometimes, how do you prove it anyway?  Most of them really aren't nice, and then they want us to be friendly towards them.  Who gave them the rite to play God with the laws?  Who gave them the rite to take our money out of our pockets?  They don't own the city.  They don't make a profit from the tickets they write.  But yet they consistently take out that stupid red pad or mini-computer and write down or scan the most ridiculous fines that I have ever seen.  Then we have to fight them and beg the city to reduce them.

I will tell you this much, some of these people should be arrested.  I don't care what country, state, or world you live in, Meter-Mutts should be held accountable for their actions.  They never give you a break, and sometimes even stand there waiting for the meter to expire so they can write that ticket immediately.  They have the city and state's support, and they never have a word to say.  I swear to God, we all have to hold them accountable.

Read this...

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/24/2485.asp

My Advice

This is a hard one.  I really don't have any advice for this one.  I really despise them, as I know most of you do, too - especially in NYC.  They are bound by no laws and can write tickets even if they aren't legitimate.  And they do.  And it's not like the tickets are $30, $40...Some of them are now like $150 just for parking in the wrong area of the street.  And who can understand those signs in the city anyway?  I've lived here my whole life, and I still can't figure it out.  The only thing I can say is that is not right to hurt anyone, but sometime Meter-Maids push us to our limits.  They should have a class for them called customer service.  Lord knows they need it.  I know this is short, but I hope you enjoy.

Bike Lanes -What are they good for - Absolutely nothing - huh - Say it again...

An audio Chapter of The Dividing Line

ROB's RANT

The LINE has been Drawn, or better yet, Painted :)


The Bike Lane...the imaginary line that the liberals have built to divide the ordinary man from the people.  And before all of you start going nuts about me saying liberal, we are all liberals in our own right.  It's defined as: favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.  And I want to add, life.  And who isn't that?  I am liberal, the Pope is liberal, Jesus was liberal...But it has to stop somewhere - the LINE has to be drawn.  When did the street, THE STREET, become a place that is now too small for me to drive my car?  When did it become proper for meter-maids to give me a $115 ticket because my right front tire was barely touching the outside of the bike lane because there was not enough room for me to park properly without my left tire going on the sidewalk?  What happened to just riding your bike, whether it be on the sidewalk or the street, like we all did as kids in whatever state you grew up in or whatever area you resided?  Now, I am not saying that it was the right way, but it was definitely better than this debacle. And what happened to bike-riders being afraid of cars?  They can crush bikes, right?  They are bigger..?   

Somehow, with all the crazy, but good gentrification of Brooklyn, there has invaded this element of the rite-to-biker.  That's correct, that's what I am going to call them, not the rite-to-lifers, the rite-to-bikers.  And they are worse - MUCH WORSE.  This insane cult has taken over all the neighborhoods of Brooklyn.  And I know they have invaded your neighborhoods, as well, but I live here, and can only comment on my constant annoyance.  I know they suck everywhere else, too.  I drive in Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and SI, but if I wrote about that, you'd be here forever.


And listen, I am not saying don't bike, don't get exercise, don't ride your 2-year-old chid on your baseboard as though you are living in Malaysia, what I am saying is PLEASE FOLLOW THE LAWS OF THE ROAD!  Yes, I know that's a crazy sentiment and a crazy notion or idea, but bike-riding- idiots, please follow the laws.  My nice, early 60-year old neighbor, was run over by one of you losers last year and broke her ribs, punctured a lung and put her in the hospital, all because she was trying to get breakfast across the street at the deli.  That was her fault, right?

The laws are there for a reason, and if we could just run red lights or make illegal turns to drive the wrong way down One Way streets or run people over, we freaking would, 100%, but we can't!  And it's probably a good thing that we can't because there wouldn't be enough space in the jails for all of us up here in NYC.  So let me ask you this, when did it become OK for bikers to have their own set of laws?  When did it become acceptable to ride on the STREETS of NY and tell the law to go F itself?  Now back in the 70's and 80's when I was growing up, we rode on the sidewalks and yes, rode in the streets and followed NO laws, but we didn't build bike lanes to define our boundaries. Now that YOU have done that, now that you have told society that, "yes, we are going to have our own space in the streets," there have to be rules and laws.  You have come into my neighborhood and all the other local indigenous Brooklynites - and I know some of you hate to hear that you really aren't from here, but it's the truth so get used to it - and built this lane, so you are now bound by the laws of the road.

And if you are not familiar with the laws, it is pretty much this:  drive the same way on a one way street.  RED MEANS STOP, GREEN MEANS GO.  Do not run over anyone.  Do not yell at people.  Do not ring your stupid bell incessantly.  Do not ride your two-month old in a basket hanging off your front handlebars, that's dangerous.  Make sure to make hand signals since you do not have functioning lights.  And, please, please, please, do not ever think you own the road.

  
MY ADVICE


As Rodney King said, "Can't we all just get along, mother-scratchers?"  Listen neither of us, Car Drivers and Bike Riders are going anywhere.  And we, as Car Drivers, were here first, but we are willing to share the road with you because we have no other Bleeping choice, so here's the deal - we will not run you over, we will not open our doors without looking to see if you delicate flowers are riding up without regard for anyone or anything, we will not lower our windows and give you a gentle nudge so you fly into a park car, we not cut you off because we can, we will not honk at you, we will not take a paint roller and secretly in the dark of night, roll black paint over the outside lane so you no longer have a bike lane, we will not steal your bikes, we will not pop your tires with a nail because that is soooo easy, and we will not contest you building bike lanes that are bigger than our car lanes.  But there is only one goddamn thing we ask of you - PLEASE, FOLLOW THE LAWS.  Thank you :)


Ayeesh!

Life 101: My Intro

Life 101: My Intro: Hey everyone. I have been told by numerous people over the past few months (which have actually felt like years) to start one of these b...

My Intro

Hey everyone.  I have been told by numerous people over the past few months (which have actually felt like years) to start one of these blogs.  I never really GOT them until now.  So I wanted to tell you a little about myself.  I am a 37 year-old writer/producer/pauper/struggling/pissed off adult - oh and by the way, I am sure whoever defined adult didn't mean unemployed, single with no possibilities on the horizon, no children, no hope, no future, and no more whiskey in my bottle.  Maybe I am over exaggerating, but sometimes, in this life, the way things are going, that's how I feel.

I have always had this idea - that I wanted to be a teacher and go back to college and teach a class called Life 101.  And people would ask me: "what the hell does that mean?"  Well, this site will tell you what that means.  I am going to give you the realities of life, not the bullshit they feed you in college and on the news - things that piss me off, things that should piss you off.  And I will also offer you some advice.  I am not going to sugarcoat it, and I hope you will appreciate my honesty.  I want you to write me and ask me questions, debate me, tell me why I don't know what I'm talking about.  I want to see if telling people the truth and waking them up to what's really going on out there is going to be beneficial or just an unmitigated disaster.

Enjoy :)



ROB'S RANT


In every blog, I will bring something up that just flat out annoys the hell out of me.  This will be Rob's Rant, and I want peoples' honest opinions about what they think.  I know already that I will disagree with most of you, especially if you are liberals living in my neighborhood, but that's okay because most of you weren't born and raised here.  And I love the argument.  So bring it on!  And just to let you know, even though I am a Republican, I consider myself a liberal Republican (if that makes sense) meaning that I am not totally against liberal ideals.  And I'm not a right wing nut.  As a matter of fact, liberals are mostly gentle, and the whole government should be re-done.  But I digress, and that's for another rant.


My first rant is going to be this - I don't know how many of you out there are aware of the guy from Brooklyn who got thrown off the plane for cursing, but that was me.  I have given you links to read about it if you haven't already done so. 

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/bomb_scare_mq9RA9umIbZ3OuHeesy8UP

http://www.metro.us/newyork/local/article/888364--brooklyn-man-kicked-off-plane-for-cursing

http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/7872-man-kicked-off-plane-for-cursing

Let me tell you this, as much as me and my family and friends curse, what I said in the privacy of my own seat to another passenger did not constitute me being thrown off a plane. It did not warrant the MALE flight attendant to storm up to the front of the plane, talk to the pilot, and make the ENTIRE plane double back to the gate.  Nor did it warrant the Detroit PD to waste their time to come and escort me off the plane.  NOR did it warrant wasting all the other passengers time and energy.  NOR did it warrant wasting the gas it took to bring us all back to the gate.  

And when I was standing on the tarmac with two DT PD standing next to me, I asked them to please go in and talk to the people around me.  I said, "Please, go in and talk to the people around me.  They will tell you that I didn't do anything."  And when a Delta Rep did as I asked, she came back out and said, "Yeah, he might have overreacted."  Might have overreacted?  Are you kidding me?  I'm surrounded by two armed Detroit Police officers, standing on the tarmac of the Detroit Airport, and that's what you say...  Bullshit.  And she told me to recant my statement in front of the police for some reason.  Like that, all of a sudden, means it's all erased.  Let me tell you this much - I got so much support from people and the media, and even got a phone call from a guy on the plane who said that the flight attendant, JOSHUA, DELTA wouldn't give me his last name, was an absolute asshole to everyone on the flight, that the story ran world wide.  Now listen, I'm not saying that cursing is right or that complaining is always right, but what I am saying is that if I can get kicked off a plane for asking what the Fuck is taking so long to fix an overhead bin, then things are getting out of control.  And, did I forget to mention, that I gave my original seat up for a mother and her baby before the plane taxied out because the oxygen mask didn't work in their seat?  Yeah, I forgot to mention that.  That's a violation, no?  And...after waiting for 45 minutes, the guy who came out to fix the overhead bin, DUCK-TAPED it closed.  And the Captain came on over the intercom and made a joke about how he taped it shut.

I am so tired of the airlines and their bullshit.  They make billions, over-charge in the hundreds of millions, hire morons who are supposed to make us safe, most who don't even have college degrees, and we are supposed to put up with their crap?  Well getting kicked off that plane has taught me a lot.  It has taught me that we have lost all control of our lives, and it has taught me that no matter how old you are, you are still going to have unreasonable parents who can do whatever they want to you whenever they want.

MY ENDING


I am tired of the airlines having cart blanche to do whatever they want.  I totally understand terrorism, and the possibility of it.  My awesome cousin, Jackie, who was more like a sister to me, was killed in 9/11.  But if little old white and black ladies start carrying bombs in their oxygen tanks to blow up planes, the world is over.  I want to leave my rant with two letters I received.  One is from a Coordinator (whatever that means) at Delta, Kathy Johnston, and the other is my first piece of Hate Mail.  I love it!  But the pussy didn't have the balls to give me his address and name.  He typed it out.  That's hilarious.  Read them and let me know what you think.  There is so much wrong about what happened to me on that flight, but the one thing we all have to keep clear is that without us, there is no them.  Without people flying, there cannot be airlines.  But somewhere this has all gotten lost.  And I would love to talk to JOSHUA and ask him why he was in such a bad mood that day.  Shepard Smith said it best to me off air after he was gracious enough to give me an interview.  He said, "Oh, it was a MALE flight attendant."  I said YES.  He said, "Oh, I know what was going on there."  We laughed.  Shepard's a cool guy.  Read and respondski.




MY ADVICE


Ok, my advice for this blog is this - don't conform.  Be yourself.  I mean don't be yourself if you're a serial killer or pedophile, but for most of you who feel like everyone is criticizing and picking at everything you do, you are right, they are.  Don't let them.  When you leave the confines of your house and/or family and college or whatever grade you managed to get through, there are always going to be those assholes who want to bring you down.  And don't ask me why they do it, just know that you are not alone.  We have all gone through it.  No matter how hard it is - keep your damn head up and do what makes you feel good.  Do what makes you want to get up in the morning, drink a cup of coffee, and go onto a plane and curse.  Because that's what I did.  Remember, there is not one action that defines who you are, there is only you who makes those actions come true.


Peace in the Middle East


Robert Sayegh