Change in Audience: My Blog is Slowly Reaching the Masses?

There’s been a significant change in the number of hits on my blog.

“Nice!”

Checking my Google stats: My blog received 400+ hits for the month of August. Since I started this blog in January 2010, ~400 hits has been my monthly average. That changed drastically in September. I’m not sure why or how, but my blog received 2500+ hits last month- over a 500 % increase!

"Awesome!"

I’m not sure if this also means an increase in readership… Although I would like to think more people are learning about the changes in my life and the world… Unfortunately, these stats can only be treated as “hits” or “clicks” and not readers who fully read and digest material- there’s so much ADD in the world. Perhaps more robots or aliens are catching onto my presence, or maybe government agencies like the FBI or CIA are finally red flagging me for the power I convey on change… Or maybe I shamelessly tagged a post with “Justin Bieber” to tap into the large preteen internet audience…

Whatever it may be, I still hope I’ve gained a few new readers and I hope you continue to change and learn about my change by subscribing to my blog.

Also, thanks to your readership, I’ve made a total of $77.24 since I started this blog! THANKS! It’s not the best hourly wage… but I still am one step closer to making money without doing anything- one of my side projects. If I ever get a day job, maybe one day I’ll be able to quit it so I can pursue a CAREER IN CHANGE! Whatever the outcome may be, I appreciate your support!

For the new Changers, here are some of my favorite posts from the past:

2010: A Year of Change (My first post.)

Change at the Party: Move a Car with Your Bare Hands

Change in Waste: Confessions of a Compost Virgin

Change in Sleep: The Filmmaker’s Schedule + Dementia

Change in Money: Suck My Debt!

Change in Lifestyle: Dreaming to Live Out of a Car

For my loyal readers and Changers, I’m sorry I haven’t had time to write in a bit… but I look forward to sharing the upcoming posts in the near future…

Change in Possessions: Lost and Found – Old School

Change in Competence: From a Second Story Ladder in Alaska

Change in Attitudes / Ideas / Beliefs: Freedom of the Hypocrite

Change in Defecation: Pooping Down the River

Keep Changing,

-Lazer

Change at the Party: Move a Car with Your Bare Hands!

Wow! Look at this guy! Someone take a photo, quick! Okay World’s Strongest Man, say, “Cheese!” That was a Kodak moment for sure. Okay, you can put the car down…

Whew! As unlikely as it may seem, this guy and I share a few affinities: We both like acts that are ridiculous in nature and we both like moving cars by hand.

I’m going to discuss the latter…

It’s possible that this guy has wanted to move cars by hand ever since he was a little boy the size of his current bicep… It’s possible that he’s been training his whole life, devoting the majority of his time to the over development of his muscles so that one day, his dream of moving a car with his hands would come true…

When I was a little boy, I played soccer. There are two things I remember my coaches saying:

1. You’re white trash.

I was about 12 years old when I was playing on a premiere league in another, more “affluent,” suburban community. One day at practice, the trainer called me “white trash.” When my mom and I brought this up to the head coach, the trainer said he was only kidding. He may have been an okay trainer but he was a poor comedian. I quit the team a week later to spare myself the poor humor.

2. There is no “I” in “Team.”

I heard this from several coaches throughout my soccer years. Cliché as it is, the possibilities of teamwork are incredible. An individual has the potential to accomplish great things… like change the position of a car with their bare hands… But a good team can accomplish the same task much more efficiently.

This point was proven last weekend when I was at a house party. A friend was trying to leave but his car was blocked in by a large Taurus. We asked around the party to find the owner but no luck…

Now most people may have accepted defeat at this point…

I, however, have been fortunate enough to see the potential of a Group of People Vs. a Car. In the past, a friend backed over a curb during winter and the middle of the car body was hanging over a small ledge. She gathered 6-8 dudes, including myself, and together, we were able to pick one end of the car up and swing it back onto the parking lot. The moment the car lifted off the ground we were all surprised and thrilled with self and group empowerment!

Now I’m back at the party and I’m trying to gather 6-8 people asking everyone, “Who wants to move a car?! Okay, put that beer down and let’s go!” It was difficult to rally people up at first… There were several people who were doubtful… But, “One…Two…Three,” we lifted and the car started moving. Together, it took about 7 people 3 attempts to shift a Taurus out of the drive way far enough for my friend to get out. Every participant was thrilled- especially, those doubtful at first. Immediately after, I heard people on their phone, “Dude, WE JUST MOVED A FUCKING CAR! WITH OUR HANDS!”

Let’s summarize:

1. Both the World’s Strongest Man and Myself like to move cars by hand.

2. Both the World’s Strongest Man and a Group of People can move a car. I prefer the latter approach.

3. The World’s Strongest Man must train for years to prepare and accomplish this task. A Group of People can be ready in about 5 minutes.

4. The World’s Strongest Man uses drugs like steroids to help him achieve the task. A Group of People can be intoxicated with alcohol and other drugs and still move a car.

5. When the World’s Strongest Man moves a car, the accomplishment is only shared with himself and his muscles. When a Group of People move a car, everyone high-fives and shares the joy of their accomplishment.

It’s unfortunate how the media and our society focus so much on individual feats and accomplishments. Professional athletes get paid a ridiculous salary for their exceptional physical skills. In politics, it seems we expect one President to change the world for the better. As we watch abnormally strong individuals pick up cars, refrigerators, boulders, and other tasks lacking utility, we feel more powerless and forget that we too have great potential, especially if we work together.

Nearly anything is possible. Everyone has potential. Individuals can combine their energy to do amazing things. The power of teamwork is incredible!

If you’re feeling down and depressed, it is often from the result of feeling powerless. A great way to empower yourself is to simply pick up a car and move it with a bunch of your friends. It may be a little stupid... But trust me, you will feel empowered by the possibilities of what teamwork can do. Then, take that energy towards a more useful goal in the future!

Make Change. Just Do It!

-Lazer

Change in Hair: Cut the Mullet

I shaved my head when I graduated from college in 2008. It was liberating being hairless and finished with my undergraduate degree. No more exams and no more shampoo and conditioner for the time being.

I told myself I wouldn’t cut my hair again until something significant happened in my life. I decided to wait until I was debt free after paying off my student loans. I made my last payment on my student loans a couple of weeks ago and scheduled a haircut shortly thereafter.

For the great majority of my life, my mom has cut my hair. I’ve only been to a salon or barbershop about 10 times in my life. My aunt, my friends, or myself would cut my hair sometimes, but for the most part it was my mom. She’s given me a variety of haircuts including a shaved head, bowl cut, flat top, mullet, mohawk, and even lightning bolts shaved into the side of my head.

It’s been 21 months since my last cut and I was fond of the mass of hair I grew. I wasn’t totally ready to part with it so I made the perfect compromise: I got a mullet!

This rad mullet was cut by my friend Faye. I went to her because she had experience. She previously cut a mullet for my friend Danny who needed the hairstyle for his character Ben in the indie film Art House. Originally, I didn’t expect to like the style so much… but I’ve been rocking it for a week and half now and I love it- unfortunately to the dismay of my girlfriend Kelly.

Thanks Faye!

Honestly, I have a new fondness for the mullet. After the 80s passed in the U.S., the mullet generally passed as white trash. It seems more passable in European countries…  However, there are several variations, lengths, and modifications of the mullet that blurs its line of hip and horrendous. I feel mine falls in the middle of that spectrum…

It’s been a great conversation starter to say the least. The night I got it cut, I scored 2 high-fives within the first 30 seconds of entering a bar. I talked with one guy for a while. He made a bet with a girl that I was some guy who has been growing out his hair for a long time and got a mullet as a transitional hair cut. Right he was… at that time. However, the more I rock it, the more I think I’m gonna keep it. The guy then told me he shaved a hideous mustache right before a job interview and still got the job. He shaved the mustache off before his first day of work to the surprise of his employer who later confessed that he was confident in his skills but worried about his ugly mustache… But, he hired him anyway. And that’s the kind of people I want to continue to meet: the ones who pass off quick judgments to discover what someone is about. The people who will high-five and shoot the shit with a random person like me, sporting an awfully awesome mullet.

If anyone else out there decides to make the adventurous leap towards a mullet, contact Faye. She is building her mullet resume!

And now for a little pop culture of memorable mullets…

Don't tell me you never faked being sick in the early 90s so you could skip school and catch AC Slater's mullet in Save by the Bell.

This mullet made you hate Billy Ray Cyrus' music even more...

You could always count on Uncle Jesse's mullet to give you advice in Full House.

Remember when this kid got beat up and the principal said it was his fault for having such an awful mullet?

In this magazine ad, Mini takes a condescending attitude towards the mullet saying, "If we made the Mini any cheaper, he'd be able to afford it.  Don't make us do it."

What are you trying to say with this ad Mini?  Come on!  Are you suggesting that the mullet correlates to a certain socio-economic class?  One that you hope cannot afford your stupid car...?  Whatever.

I

And who can forget the contemporary hip mullets of the indie pop duo Tegan and Sara? Their mullets are as catchy as their tunes.

And last but not least, it's a good time to recognize Wesley Willis and his smash hit single, Cut the Mullet.  RIP man.