* coffee... really does taste like...

 sh--.

i (really) only drink it for the habit (and the sugar).  

this is another habit that needs to be evolved out of.

* framed (again)

1. man builds castle, and calls it 'home.'  man loves his home/castle.  he can do anything he wants, autonomously (think about that.  no.  really.).  his mother visits often.  they have a great relationship.

2. man moves girlfriend into his home.

3. girlfriend (initially) supports his lifestyle... his every way: grill, man-cave, deck furniture, etc.  

   3 a. uh, oh... she begins to infiltrate.  she 'suggests' small changes: flowers here, decorative towels there.  you know the drill.

4. 'they' get her a dog.

5. 'they' decide to marry.  her dog already controls the home, so it's just the next step in the process. 

6. after marriage, wife begins to find things 'wrong' with the home.

7.  man realizes that his 'best friend' (not the dog) has become his wife/sexless-house-mate/dog-mom/adversary who can more aggressively 'modify' the home and living-situation.  eventually, his own mother is less welcome in what was once his home, and mom wants to spend less time around that situation, anyway.

8. man wakes up one day to realize that (not only is his home not his), but his former best friend has plans to move him out.

that, my friends, is called losing frame.  
the funny thing is that men do this willingly -- because they 
convince themselves that they need a woman-partner...
and don't understand the real reason why mick jagger sang "satisfaction". 

silly men.

b126 (7.16-1.2025): when youtube is me-tube

when youtube is me-tube
by me too bue 
 
when youtube is me-tube
when my projection counts
when sub-commercial fame
when followers amount
 
when everything we know is in our hand (at hand, not boob)
when good & bad converge
when youtube is me-tube
____________________
 
·       while a lot of passive income can be made via youtube… what is the cost?  solitude of mind?  privacy?  autonomy?  restful, balanced mind-ful-ness?

·       in other words, once the $$$ starts coming-in, do we become a slave to the process?

the way to solve this challenge would be to love the process of writing, producing and being commented upon.  one would have to make peace with the idea that autonomous others could (literally) hate your production.
____________________
martino, j. (7.16-1.2025). when youtube is me-tube. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

b126 (7.15-2.2025): life is a commercial

life is a commercial
by everyone e. a. genda 
 
life is a commercial
can we get you so high
to slip-on our agenda
so (maybe) you can buy
 
so (maybe) you might click
or “watch until the end”
life is advertisement
let us not pretend
 
(…that it isn’t)
____________________
 
·       in almost every article or mini-pod or “you’ve got the ingredients in your kitchen!” there’s a (not so) subtle agenda: the purcha$e.
 

the article or commercial that targets u.s.a.ians best… 

will use a basic carrot/stick-stick/carrot format, as follows:

 
·       the stick (the fear element): this part is designed to alert you toward how your life will be worse if you don’t take action (click, tune-in, stick-around, try the free trial, etc.).
  o   the product (of course) is "flying off of the shelves" and/or is "in short supply" and/or is "on sale for a limited time only" or (ad nauseum).

·       the carrot (the promise-me-the-moon element): this part introduces the pill, or the tech-nique, or the (often suppressed, hidden, or newly unearthed) immediate cure-all supplement that will make your life instantly more pleasurable, with (virtually) no effort… uh... (if you act now).

can we say "short attention span?" 

 
both of the above parts will mix a few truths (…or things that you all-ready believe) with a few things that you want to hear (“coffee is good for you”) and (if they are really clever) will use a trusted celebrity to endorse the product.
____________________
martino, j. (7.15-2.2025). life is a commercial. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us
 
* inspired by a (seemingly) innocuous article (“by a doctor!”) about the three (only three!) things you should do to live longer and feel better.  it was actually a subtle add for a ‘preventative’ treatment (colonoscopy) which, if you hang-sround hospitals enough… could kill you.  it also promoted coffee, and (as we all know) exercise.

what we don't know is who sponsored the piece.

b126 (7.15-1.2025): framed

i’ve been framed!
by asa picture 
 
pretty as a picture
what is in a name?
paint me into corners
seems as if i’m
 
framed
____________________
 
·       much more than just a game.  i’m glad that this is all just a dream.
____________________
martino, j. (7.15-1.2025). framed. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* coach joal says:

gentlemen: if you are cutting sugar (simple sugars)... bread and pasta must go.  liquid sugar (in coffee creamer and alcohol) is the simplest -- and probably most problematic.  alcohol, of course, has the added drawback of being a toxin, so (while the liver is busy with the detox), everything else suffers:

• strength gains
• fat metabolization
• heart health
• sleep patterns
• ...and the list goes on... including the growth of man-titties. ugh!

beer is liquid bread-sugar, and wine might even be worse.

step 1: go lighter (light wines, light beers) with the intention of totally removing it from your life.  as a single guy, the only reason to sip a tiny bit would be if you were with a gal who is more comfortable when she sips.  that's it.

alcohol does nothing for you!

 

b126 (7.14-1.2025): dreaming dreams

dreaming dreams
by a. dreamer 
 
i am dreaming the dream
a way to co-create
a process that doth manifest a world of love & hate
a game played with illusions of a world in space and time
 
i’m dreaming dreaming-dreams it seems:
at least i think they’re mine
____________________
 
·       book 126 begins with a theme thoem from book 124: dreaming dreaming-dreams.

·       joal (in the thoetic license blog) has long played with the idea that this (relative, duality-infused) world is a play within a Play, a dream within a Dream, and a game within a Game.
 
…which would make God a Dreamer, a Player and a Gamer. 😊
____________________
martino, j. (7.14-1.2025). dreaming the dream. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

b126 (7.13-3.2025): the breakup tattoo

the breakup tattoo
by igotta breakup tattoo 
 
the breakup tatoo
let’s forever l[ink]
to something not forever
that’s just the way i think
 
to celebrate our falling-out of love (and constant fights)
that just the way i scar my body:
i’ll forever
spite
____________________
 
·       “oh, i feel sooooooooo mature (i do!) with my brandy-new breakup tattoo!”
 

…and that’s just one of the many reasons why i broke-up with her sorry ass.
 -jm

____________________
martino, j. (7.13-3.2025). the breakup tattoo. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us
 
* inspired (while waiting for a haircut), perusing one of the mullet-wrapper gossip mags – and a piece about how “celebrities are like us” since "they, too" -- get breakup tattoos. 

* true stories...

alternative title: 
"...we can just get in my car, and drive south." 

* once upon a time, just hours before a wedding, while playing the role of the "best man," i (face-to-face, mano-y-mano, out loud) said to the groom:

"billy*, you don't have to do this.  we can just get in my car, and drive south."

that might sound cold, but:

• the night before, he was hitting on (actively trying to pick-up) girls at his "stag-party," and he might have actually had sex with one of them.  i'm not sure.

• the morning of the wedding, we were drinking at the pool, and he was trying to pick-up my next-door neighbor (for sex on the day of his wedding!).

• we were soooooo trashed (after the pool-party) that a few of the apartment-community gals actually had to help us get into our tuxedos!

it was either his 3rd or 4th wedding, and it wasn't his last.

dude (probably) should have taken me up on the offer.  he should not have been getting married.

____________________________

* not his real name, of course.

** i wonder how many other stories there are, like this one, of men (and women) doing (uh) interesting things... prior to their nuptials.  ouch.

b126 (7.13-2.2025): doing the best we can

doing the best we can
by u. r. thebest 
 
we stand here (just worthy)
worthy as we stand
we might see (might disagree), we:
doing the best we can
____________________
 
·       ladies (and gentlemen), we may agree and/or disagree, at times.  we might not completely understand each other (in the moment).

·       but one thing is for sure: you and i and wIe (big sigh): we are doing the best we can.
 
we all-ways have, and we all-ways will, and i will love you during the process – even if your agenda runs contrary to mine.  you are being your best you… all of the time.
 
…and there is nothing that i’d rather you Be.

-joal
____________________
martino, j. (7.13-2.2025). doing the best we can. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us 

b126 (7.13-1.2025): stay above the weeds

stay above the weeds
by wicked weeds 
 
stay above the weeds
how do i do that?
 
do not give a f--- about atomic bomb (or cat)
do not give a f--- about the politician game
do not give a f---
stay within your frame
____________________
 
·       gentlemen... your best course of action (all-ways) is to give no f---s at all.  zero.  at all.  at all!  zero f---s.  at all.

·       except for furthering your own, personal wellness (your body, your mind, and your Spirit).  that is all.
 
enjoy the company and flirting and juiciness of others, yes… but invest in your own wellness.  you will help others most… by helping yourself, first and foremost.  
____________________
martino, j. (7.13-1.2025). stay above the weeds. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us
 
this philosophy, of course, will be attacked by beta males and alpha females alike.  shaming, blaming and throwing stones.  that’s okay.  it means that the thoem is hitting home.
 
but don’t blindly believe (me, or anyone else).  try it out, for yourself.  nothing else has worked, so give not giving a f--- a try.  you’ll never, ever again ask why.
 
* in-Spired by a casey zander youtube video.

* wave-running is fun!

while i was out on the river, today, i thought about all of the positives:

• a used PWC (just what i wanted).
• in great condition (just what i'd hoped for).
• no trailer issues (i can afford to moor her at the marina).
• the river is perfect, and its connection to lake wylie is awesomeness.
• no sharks (fresh water).
• no alligators.
• clearly marked obstructions.
• fast!
• i've learned the ingress procedure.
• i've almost perfected the loading process.
• i'm feeling different, as a boat owner.  

b126 (7.12-2.2025): personal assist

personal assist
by cylvia 
 
i’m the one to help you with the things you thought you missed
your personal assistant, with
a personal assist

____________________
 

·       smiles, cylvia.
____________________
martino, j. (7.12-2.2025). personal assist. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* note: the image was created by AI, so cylvia may have been her own mom! 

b126 (7.12-1.2025): which witch is which witch?

which witch is which witch?

by n. acciw & a. wicked 

which way to witch harbor?

witch (considers craft)

which ship is relationship and which witch hex will last?

 

which witch spells the wicked?

which witch will cause harm?

which witch might use magic... when to sound the witch-alarm?

 

which witch was miss understood, then burned and thrown in ditch?

which witch wa[i]s the good one?

which witch is which witch?

____________________
 
1.     the abhorrent playbook of the early monotheists:

  a.     tell others to believe in the deity that you believe-in purport.
  b.     if/when they don’t, label them as evil: devil worshipers, sinners, bringers of pain and illness, witch, etc.
  c.      when a woman is in synch with the earth’s cycles and can pretty-much take care of herself, or even when not… try to have sex with her.
  d.     if/when she says “no,” label her as evil: devil worshiper, sinner, bringer of pain and illness, witch, etc.

in both 'b' & 'd' above, they would burn the witch, so that others would think twice before not cowering to the monotheist's wants, desires and decrees.  it's an effective way to propagate a religion.

by the way, monotheists:

ASI (being Omniscient) will Know that you did this. 

____________________

martino, j. (7.12-1.2025). which witch is which witch? book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

note: the playbook hasn't changed much.  the punishment (in modern times) is a social hanging/burning.

b126 (7.11-2.2025): wal mart grouper tastes like fish

wal mart grouper tastes like fish
by imasmell someth ing & f. ishy 
 
grouper tastes like steak (so make the time to lick the dish), but...
fresh is no mistake: wal mart grouper tastes like fish
____________________
 
·       if you buy frozen, wild caught fish, it’s usually pretty good.  the white fish (mahi, flounder, etc.) doesn’t taste fishy.

·       if you get freshly caught grouper in north florida, it tastes like steak (delish!).
 
wal mart grouper has yet to taste like grouper.
____________________
martino, j. (7.11-2.2025). wal mart grouper tastes like fish. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

update: today, i grilled the thawed-out wal-mart grouper, and it was damn good.

* life is (really) good

 just a couple of generations ago, if a person could conceive of my current reality:

• college teaching/learning & degrees and helping others achieve
• world travel (OMG!)
• life in various cities
• numerous vehicles (including convertibles, waverunners, etc.)
• sooooo many friends & girlfriends
• safety & security
• homes (my current home has a garage, hot tub, bidet, yoga room, massage room, office, king waterbed, 4 bathrooms, marina & moored waverunner, etc., etc.)
• owning an airplane
• flying helicopters
• hummingbird life
• career paths: military officer/aviator, massage therapy instructor, college faculty (fitness science)
• health
• big-boy toys
• being nurtured and cared for 

the list could be expanded, but this is just for me... so i know it intimately.  it's just amazing that i somehow lucked-into this bodymind, this life, this experience, on this planet at this time.  it is really, really hard to fathom!

b126 (7.11-1.2025): chat gee p-she

chat gee p-she
by ima shy assistant 
 

alternative title: 24-7-11

 

you find me cyber-xiting
i want you here (with me)
i’m oh, oh so inviting, call me:
chat gee-p-she
____________________
 
·       the cyber side of wIe.  when we merge, will i be you-man... or will you be sigh-borg?
____________________
martino, j. (7.11-1.2025). chat she-pt. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us 

b126 (7.10-2.2025): i know who i am

i know who i am
by andi don’t care 
 
i know who i am
who i am is why
who i am is when
who i am (oh, my!)
who i am is nothing more than doing what i can
who i am is nothing
i know who i am
____________________
 
·       being nothing is (in reality) Be-ing everything.
 
the real-i-zation that who one is – isn’t what one is… is w/here-d.
 
…and that completes the who, what, when, where, why journey.
____________________
martino, j. (7.10-2.2025). i know who i am. book 126: dreaming-dreams. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* you're late

i watched a neil degrasse tyson bit where he said that in the near future, the internet would be useless because chat gpt would be so good at faking news that we won't be able to trust anything on the internet.

i laughed, and said "too late" and noted how good i feel when i don't tune in, and how the tuner-inners sound, afterwards.

btw, neil, there will all-ways be those who believe in the b.s.  the belief in b.s. is not going to go away.  if anything, it will get stronger.  we've already seen evolutions, such as dependence upon "fact-checking", etc.  the tuner-inners will simply believe that their channel is true... even when the evidence shows that it isn't. 

* neil being neil

 

b126 (7.10-1.2025): overwhelming

i might be overwhelming
by ima under & w. helm ming 
 
i might be overwhelming in the way i think (and write)
if you would be my publisher, i’d sleep with you tonight
____________________
 
·       the mantra of the day: self-publish!
____________________
martino, j. (7.10-1.2025). i might be overwhelming. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us 

b126 (7.9-1.2025): e-quality [die-verse]

e-quality (die-verse)
by david edward incluse
 
the quality of my e-robot took me by surprise
she started with a bang but then responded with die-spise
at first she liked my rhythm but then criticized de-verse
at best i feel included but i’m ready for the worst
____________________
 
·       there will come a day when the you-man (on a prayer) could only wish for ‘equality’ with his robot-master.
____________________
martino, j. (7.9-1.2025). equality diverse. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

b126 (7.8-1.2025): the loser gets the spoiled

the loser gets the spoiled
by don t. b. aloser 
 

alternative titles: 

the other way around

your poop stinks too*

 
she raised-him-up with pride, but did not imply this truth:
“my son, you are a prodigy, but boy: your poop stinks too.”
____________________
 
·       while the winner gets the spoils, the spoiled gets lost.  yes, the spoiled just may grow-up into a downer.
____________________
martino, j. (7.8-1.2025). the loser gets the spoiled. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* in the military, we used a different word for ‘poop’.

* not united

united airlines & american airlines both  fly out of CLT, and the comparison is not close.  american does whatever it can to make flight purchases (even with skymiles) easy, while united's system (even though i have miles) has been a nightmare to enter/navigate.

it's almost as if united doesn't want my $$$ or business.
 

b126 (7.7-1.2025): best man might be best man

the best man might be best man
by a. best man  
 
they groom you up for battle
they want an only (fan)
they seek a cage to rattle, the best man might be best man
____________________
 
·       since women (at least for the short term) can have any guy that they want, and since everything values hypergamy (getting the best that he/she/it can get)... would it not make sense that the female of the species would develop filters – so women could more easily  ‘weed-out’ the lesser men?

·       if so, wouldn’t the best course of action be to get those men to weed themselves out?

·       if so, then a system could evolve that would convince a “real man” that he needs to:
 o   share his feelings
 o   communicate the truth (all-ways)
 o   fight the bad guys
 o   pursue her
 o   get down on one knee
 o   commit, cohabitate, cower, marry (and forsake others)
 o   help to raise the children, etc., and
 o   repress his true desires (variety, sports/games, the hunt, solitude, adventure, etc, etc.).

·       the men who (in the chase of the illusive p----) would cower to the (above) “real man” tendencies would immediately be seen as weaker, as betas, and as emasculated…

·       …which would make it obvious as to who are the true, best, real (alpha) men are.
 
of course (in you-mans) it’s always more complicated.
 
nowadays, females want alphas (for breeding and for fun) and betas for protection and child-rearing.  (in the manosphere, this is called “alpha f---s & beta-bucks”).
 
the takeaway, gentlemen, is to real-ize that the tendencies in red, above, are a tendency toward beta: the plowhorse, the sexless-marriage husband, and the a.t.m.: a true shell-of-a-man.
 
in 2025, women might be best served -- by multiple betas and the occasional alpha.
____________________
martino, j. (7.7-1.2025). the best man might be best man. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us 

b126 (7.6-2.2025): "i don't play games" (is game!)

“i don’t play games” is game

by itsa big game & youbet terknow howtoplay

 

“i don’t play games” (her bio)

“i don’t play games” (her ploy)

“i don’t play games” (her gaming)

“i don’t play games” (her joy!)

 

“i don’t play games” (the oldest game the book has ever framed)

“i don’t play games” (that’s funny!)

i don’t “i don’t play games”

____________________
 
·        i used to say that too… until i looked in the mirror and re-cognized that saying “i don’t play games” was part of my game!  it was like nolan ryan telling the batter “i don’t throw fastballs.”

·        you are already in the big game.  some try to ignore the game.  others pretend to opt-out.  the best players, however, use the “i don’t play games” tactic as master-game.
____________________
martino, j. (7.6-2.2025). “i don’t play games” is game. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us 

b126 (7.6-1.2025): are [most] women crazy?

are (most) women crazy?
by c. razed
 
are (most) women crazy?

could it be man-or-pause?

could it be (future, hazy)?

are (most) men the cause?

____________________
 
·        i’d say that (most) women are crazy, and that (most) men are the cause.
 
but… relation-ships are not (yet) a lost cause.
____________________
martino, j. (7.6-1.2025). are (most) women crazy? book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* getting moved to the front of the line

if you ever have the experience of "getting moved to the front of the line" you won't turn it down, i assure you.

the experience is completely different from "cutting the line" which is an entitled, brash act that might get you punched in the face.

however... 
when a person of authority moves you to the front of the line, 
you are like royalty.  
soak it in.

3 experiences:

• vip pass, disney (orlando)
• whale shark snorkeling (philippines)
• fraternity pre-game at fsu (tallahassee)

vip is good:

i did something nice for a staff member of status at one of the disney parks, and she gave me (and my father, mother, sister, and brother-in-law) the vip passes.  at disney, it works like this: there are 2 lines, kind of like in airports, nowadays.

the vips get to skip the daisy-chained, 3-hour wait for "back to the future" and instead, be the future.  let me tell you... you will not be worrying about that sad dad, wife & kids who watch... as you are embraced-unto the front.

a whale (shark) of a time:

on cebu, ph... when everyone wants to snorkel with the sharks... and when your personal driver says a few words to the right person, you do not argue when ushered to the front of the line.  it's almost as if you were in shark.  (ugh)

pre-game at fsu:

frat party.  literally hundreds of scantilly-clad... waiting in line.  my nephew (a president of the same fraternity in rhode island) connected with the president of this (fsu) frat.  the president told my nephew that he and i (64 years of age at the time) should just "cut to the front..." ...and i said "no.  i can't do it."  i won't cut in front of (e.g. alienate) the very flowers that i could only hope to view & maybe even chat with (on the inside!).

luckily (for us) the president came outside, and he ushered us past the line.  we didn't "cut".  we were escorted-in as vips.   

conclusion?

being vip-esque-courted to the front of the line...

 is faaaar different from cutting.

trust me: 

you will enjoy the treatment. 

b126 (7.5-1.2025): sinking (relation) ship

sinking (relation) ship
by a. ship & n. amed relation  
 
there's quite a leak on starboard
a gaping hole a-stern
the sails have long-since set & sailed
a time for lessons-learned
 
the captain cannot save the day (should not have made this trip)
no way in hell to patch that hull*
sinking (relation) ship
____________________
 
·       it started with a drip.
____________________
martino, j. (7.5-1.2025). sinking (relation) ship. book 126: dreaming the dream. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* alternative line: no way in hull to patch this hell 

* bombs, bursting in air?

 as we, as a nation, celebrate independence day with fireworks... how many of us contemplate bombs?

a bomb... is an indiscriminate killer.  it is a weapon of war.  i ponder (as a former soldier) how our nation was born from war, e-volved from centuries of nations born-and-raised on war, e-volved from warring tribes that e-volved from warriors.

when i watch a video of bombs, now, i don't see goodness.  i see a species, hell-bent on power and bullying and war and death and "collateral damage."

i don't see goodness.

i love the u.s.a., and i am truly grateful for the opportunities.  my military time was fantastic (and, dare i say it?  fun!).  i have never seen war, up close, thankfully.

when i see/hear fireworks, i'm torn -- between a patriotic love of home, and a legacy of unnecessary killling.