Intended Zing: Maynard James Keenan Would Like You To Stop Effin' Around
I base my life and my movements throughout it on quite a few assumptions. These may or may not be accurate, factual, or even realistic. And until they actually prove themselves to be inaccurate, I follow them without question. (Insert silly comment about assuming here.) 
Today's rant is centered on one of my previous assumptions regarding one's chosen path.
As children, we do things. Sometimes, the things we do are met with accolades from the
surrounding huge people. And in chasing more of these overly animated approvals, we begin the long process of repeating and honing the actions praised.
See also:
Villagers
Events and Rituals
What is Puscifer?
Rochambeau Myself
These Are The "End of Days"
Maynard James Keenan (Puscifer, Tool, A Perfect Circle) on The Importance of Keeping It Local
The assumption is that these early spark sparks drive us toward a particular path. And that as our years click on, we either consciously or unconsciously find our way toward a career based on these little successes.
Whether we've come by these accolades through predisposed natural talent or by blood,
sweat, and tears is of no consequence. The assumption is that we've continued on the
path because of the balance between praise and passion, and that we strive each day to
do better at our chosen task. I used to believe this. I was wrong. Apparently,
this perspective applies only to a handful of people.
It came up the other day while speaking with Sarah, with whom I'm working on my semi-autobiography. She was tasked with covering the new Puscifer EP announcement
for my hometown newspaper. She'd been browsing through some press clippings from
recent years, and after the business end of our conversation, she commented on how
forthcoming I was during her interview. She said it stood in direct contrast to some
-- but not all -- of my tight-lipped discourse she'd found online. Her guess was that the journalists in question lacked enthusiasm.
Her understatement was correct. This is not the case with all journalists I've encountered,
but unfortunately, it's the norm. The awesome writers strike up a conversation
and my publicist has to cut us off 'cuz we're having too much fun. We call these people
journalists. The lazy ones have a list of questions to which they've already anticipated the answers, so they don't bother listening to my responses. We call these people never again.
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