The Trojan is Here

MIKE PORTNOY LEAVES DREAM THEATER!!

here’s the letter of my idol….

Wednesday September 8th 2010

I am about to write something I never imagined I’d ever write:

After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater….the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century.

To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision…it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so….

After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater…

Please don’t misinterpret me, I love the DT guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them…it’s just that I think we are in serious need of a little break…

Dream Theater was always my baby…and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985…24/7, 365…never taking time off from DT’s never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was “off” between cycles)…working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band…

But I’ve come to the conclusion that the DT machine was starting to burn me out…and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my DT spirit hungry and inspired.

We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here & there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a “hiatus” to recharge our batteries and “save me from ourselves”…

Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather…I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be…

While it truly hurts for me to even think of a Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy (hell, my father named the band!!), I do not want to stand in their way…so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes….

Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of DT and I talked about “always following your heart and being true to yourself”…sadly I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with Dream Theater…and I would simply be “going through the motions”, and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed.

I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come…I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played….

I’m sorry to all the disappointed DT fans around the world…I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work…I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)…but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within….

You DT fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me….(and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future MP projects!)

Sadly…
Your fearless ex-leader and drummer,
MP

SO sad my idol.. i hope u will be back soon again in DT

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people, there was a Doctor who visited many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.  Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it, and many died. The doctor came upon one farmer, and to his surprise,  everyone in the household was very healthy.  When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different, the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home (probably only two rooms back then).  The doctor couldn’t believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope.  She gave him one, and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion.  It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.
Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ.  She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop.  To her surprise, none of her staff got sick.  It must work… (And no, she is not in the onion business.)
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home.  If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere.  Try it and see what happens.  We did it last year, and we never  got the flu.
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home.  If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere.  Try it and see what happens.  We did it last year, and we never  got the flu.
Thanks for the reminder. I don’t know about the farmer’s story…but I do know that I contracted pneumonia, and needless to say I was very ill.  I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion.  Put one end on a fork, and then place the forked end into an empty jar…placing the jar next to the sick patient at night.  It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs.  Sure enough, it happened just like that…the onion was a mess, and I began to feel better.    Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago.  They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.     This is the other note:  LEFTOVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS!  I have used an onion which has been left in the fridge.  Sometimes I don’t use a whole one at one time, so I save the other half for later.  Now with this info, I have changed my mind.  I will buy smaller onions in the future.
I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, makers of mayonnaise.  Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family.  My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.  Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.  The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed..  He’s one of the brothers.  Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula.  He’s even developed sauce formula for McDonald’s.  Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz.     During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise.  People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil.  Ed’s answer will surprise you.  Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe.  “It doesn’t even have to be refrigerated.  No harm in refrigerating it, but it’s not really necessary.”  He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment.  He then talked about the quintessential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick. 
Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the ‘victim’ last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?).  Ed says it’s not the mayonnaise (as long as it’s not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors.  It’s probably the onions, and if not the onions, it’s the POTATOES.
He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions..  You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.  He says it’s not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.     It’s already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put on your hotdogs at the baseball park!)     Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you’ll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put it on your sandwich, you’re asking for trouble.  Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.     So, how’s that for news?  Take it for what you will.  I (the author) am going to be very careful about my onions from now on.  For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.
Also, dogs should never eat onions.  Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.     Please remember it is dangerous to cut onions and try to use it to cook the next day.  It becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

when the time that i met u..

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