I Was Thinking About Something Else

Today's Weight

2010-07-10T07:36:00.001-04:00

285.5. Yes, thank you, the tide has turned.

Today's Weight

2010-07-06T00:22:00.000-04:00

...is more than yesterday's weight. This is not going well.

Today's Weight

2010-07-04T02:26:00.001-04:00

289.0. This would be more...
Not what I intended. Never do. It happens because I do not mind, and that is where it falls down. Weight loss is really really hard work. Something I really really do not do well.

Today's Weight

2010-07-02T08:47:00.000-04:00

288.1 lbs.

I am trying to find my way

2010-06-19T00:30:00.004-04:00

Through this new template. With the changeover I lost all the "blogs I read" etc., type things. I do not remember the HTML to do these things as I have been weaned away by the simplicity of facebook, which is really plug'n'play. I am confident it will comeback or I will figure it out at some point down the road. It is so time consuming though, and I really came back to the blog to just write. Moving forward.

I am tired of hearing about fat people.

2010-06-17T00:15:00.004-04:00

Someone I know posted on her facebook page, an article from a feminist blog that concerned a woman who was kicked off the exercise equipment at a women's only gym. She was kicked off for being overweight. The slant from the blog was that there was yet another occasion where fat people were shamed.
I say no. The article mentioned that the woman was offered an aerobics area to work out in or a refund of her membership fee. I say the gym was right. I say the gym protected itself from a lawsuit and protected the woman whose health could be at risk on gym equipment that her body is not ready for. Which is why the alternative aerobics area would have been offered. The fat body needs to be prepared and eased onto gym equipment.
It really frosted me that this, and I do not want to single out this blogger because this does not happen often, was brought under the umbrella of slights against fat people in a sweeping generalization. And anyone will tell you I really hate sweeping generalizations.
I had more but I cannot think of what it was now. I am just so tired of hearing about fat people.

It must be the barometric pressure

2010-06-08T01:50:00.002-04:00

A study in the early 1980's found that school age boys would be much more difficult in class when the barometric pressure was low. I found today to be a pretty good day and I did not feel like misbehaving at any point so the barometric pressure must have been good.

New Name, Old Management

2010-06-06T01:27:00.004-04:00

This is the first post under the new name.
I have been away from blogging for a long time and I hope this will be the new name/new blogger writing and not just typing. A few things have happened since I left blogging. Made some new friends and reunited with old friends (how I really missed old friends), and I think lost some friends.
I want to move forward from this point rather than dwell on the past and what happened while I was away. Maybe I will have the past pop up occasionally as an amusing anecdote. Maybe not. I want a Pulitzer prize. The real deal. I am writing a play to achieve that goal. I hope I start to write betterer, or I can kiss that dream adieu.
I am starting to think now, why do I want to blog. There is essentially a not small group that I do not want to read it, which is so restricting. One needs a place to express their ideas though. Come heck or high water, or the opinions that were not asked for.
Back in the saddle again.

Still Gathering

2008-10-04T16:17:00.000-04:00

...my thoughts

It has been over a year...

2008-10-01T22:10:00.000-04:00

I may say more. I may not...
Not sure,yet.

So long, Frank Lloyd Wright

2007-06-26T18:27:00.000-04:00

This song by the famous Funkel Brothers, Simon and Gar, is what I try and start these days with.

Days seem busier now, especially having lost touch with so many by not blogging.

I do still keep up kinda with reading blogs and occasionally guerrilla comment, but it's been awkward since my own blogging has on the wane.

One of my cars

2007-04-22T23:20:00.001-04:00

6-13-2006 022
Originally uploaded by wordman165.

I'm trying to work out this whole posting from Flickr thing.

Trying something new

2007-04-22T23:18:00.001-04:00

6-13-2006
Originally uploaded by wordman165.

California Girls

2007-01-10T23:02:00.000-05:00

Jump

2007-01-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

Wicked Game

2007-01-08T10:58:00.000-05:00

2006-12-19T02:20:00.000-05:00

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

OK, you didn't ask for it, but....

2006-12-11T00:48:00.000-05:00

FACT:You embody the German principle of Konstantzusammenschaft, which is best described in English (without using the obscure English word "sammenschaft") as "eternal togethermanship".

The Loverboy
Random Gentle Love Master (RGLMm)

Well-liked. Well-established. You are The Loverboy. Loverboys thrive in committed, steady relationships--as opposed to, say, Playboys, who want sex without too much attachment.

You've had many relationships and nearly all of them have been successful. You're a nice guy, you know the ropes, and even if you can be a little hasty with decisions, most girls think of you as a total catch. Your hastiness comes off as spontaneity most of the time anyhow, making you especially popular in your circle of friends, too.

Your exact opposite:
The Billy Goat

Deliberate Brutal Sex Dreamer

You know not to make the typical Loverboy mistake of choosing someone who appreciates your good humor and popularity, but who offers nothing in return. You belong with someone outgoing, independent, and creative. Otherwise, you'll get bored. And then instead of surprising her with flowers or a practical joke, you'll surprise her by leaving.

ALWAYS AVOID: The Nymph

CONSIDER: The Window Shopper, The Peach

Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.

A Meme

2006-11-27T03:13:00.000-05:00

Shmelessly, as always stole this one from Much More Than A Mom, because I'm just that way.

1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?
The Grinch who stole Xmas. What a dick. Am I right, or what?

2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be?
The Rolling Stones. Hey, Get A Clue. It's OVER. Mick, put a shirt on!

3. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?
Barney. 'nuf said.

4. What is your favorite cheese?
LOL. Land O'Lakes

5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. What kind will you make?
Ice cream sandwich

6. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. We are talking no-strings-attached sex and it can only happen once. Who is the lucky celebrity of your choice?
Queen Latifah

7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick?
Melissa Etheridge. Yes, yes. I know she's gay. Hello? MY fantasy.

8. Now that you’ve slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Holy crap, a hundred bucks! How are you gonna spend it?
Definitely either donate it to the Church, or, buy imported beer and higher grade porn. (shouldn't really bank on the Church one)

9. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?
WDW.

10. Upon arrival to the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do?
Souveniers

11. A demon rises out of Hell and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. It is…?
Vodka Sours.

12. Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you traveling to and what are you going to do when you get there? 1981, become good friends with Bill Gates.

13. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?
No anger.

14. You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called and what’s the premise?
'Fuddles'. A goofy, big dog who always comes to the rescue.

15. What is your favorite curse word?
Not so much a word, as a phrase. Fuckin' idiot. As in, "Do you know you're talking out loud? Are you really that much of a fuckin' idiot?"

16. One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?
I'm sorry but, this one was just dumb.

17. Your house is on fire! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the item?
My Brother-in-law.

18. The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and it offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. Whatcha gonna do in that half-hour?
Get lost.

19. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What’s it gonna be?
Flying.

20. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?
A summer afternoon when I was seventeen when I looked around and I thought everything in my life was perfect.

21. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?
Clothes from the 1970's, except for desert boots. A decade of casual sex and fashion that guaranteed you would never get laid.

22. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool stuff… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Bitchin’! What country are you going to live in now?
Canada, eh.

23. This question still counts, even for those of you who are under age. You have been eternally banned from every single bar in the world except for ONE. Which one is it gonna be?
Harry's Cafe in Chicago.

24. Hopefully you didn’t mention this in the super-powers question…. If you did, then we’ll just expand on that. Check it out… Suddenly, you have gained the ability to FLOAT!!! Whose house are you going to float to first, and be like “Dude, check it out… I can FLOAT!”?
Dave Letterman's house. I would be a guaranteed winner of the 'Will It Float' segment.

25. The constant absorption of magical moonbeams mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead famous-person of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life?
Walt Disney

26. The Gates of Hell have opened, and Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person, etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?
I wouldn't be able to handle picking someone to have give up heaven to come back here

27. What’s your theme song?
Jump

Connecticut Yankee Party of 29, Please. Right This Way...

2006-11-26T22:48:00.000-05:00

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving, or as I like to call it, Big Pants Day.

T-Day is a glorius thing for so many reasons that I've listed before.

1. No pressure of gifts.
2. It is a NATIONAL FOOD HOLIDAY.
3. (Most) Folks get Friday off from work/school by virtue of the FACT that Thanksgiving is ALWAYS on a Thursday.
4. No religion involved. Everyone celebrates.
5. Leftovers.

I have hosted Thanksgiving dinner in my humble abode(s) every year since the '80's (because I LOVE leftovers) and have each year had a modest group of family members/guests that numbered from about 8-12 people generally. I have always harbored a dream of having all the family members gathered at my house for Thanksgiving and this year it came true. I fufilled my dream and 29 family members feasted in my quaint colonial home on 2 turkeys, a Carando ham, including a gut-busting amount of trimmings (there is only one way to have stuffing...and it is from the bird) and many homemade (rude and evil, "calories are our friends!") desserts.

I was going to detail some logistical problems that secured my position on why I'm never going to do this again, but this isn't the time. Everyone told me they had a good time and I believe them. An impetuous Australian Shiraz kept my blues away and there were so many great leftovers. A very serious amount. All good. No fruitcakes, if you know what I'm saying.

Oh, I almost forgot the best reason:

6. Friday is TV/Couch/Grazing Day.

Excuse me, I have to loosen my sweatpants...again.

In The Land That Our Grandchildren Knew

2006-11-19T18:26:00.000-05:00

Kind of an ambiguous title for this post because as much as I want to talk about Thanksgiving, the best, and my favorite holiday, I don't know how much will get to it within this post.
Lots of personal tragedies in my life just waiting for me to blurt out in whiney crybaby fashion, and I guess a blog is really good for that purpose, but somehow it just doesn't really say 'me'.
Right now at this moment I want to be heading to Anna Liffey's (a bar with Guinness on tap) and pretending to fit in with the crowd that is way younger than me. All under the guise of me thinking it would be fun and them not thinking, "Whoa, the guy's like twice our age".
It's sort of a Love/Hate relationship with bars. I love them because they have well, y'know...alcohol. And a festive atmosphere. I hate them because the alcohol is so fucking expensive! Still, there is that festive atmosphere.
The money part prevents me from associating with my clutch of ne'er do wells, as often as I would like. Money, or lack of therein, prevents alot of things.
I miss being younger, too. Then again, who doesn't. I'm not really that bad off in the age department, but just for me personally there are just alot of things I miss. One would be school time. Not school itself, but the lifestyle. It always turns out to be an, if-I-knew-then-what-I-know-now, crying in your beer, life story, but that isn't where I'm going. Not dwelling. Just mentioning. Moving on.
Photographs are big helpers for isolating a time. Happy memories of vacations standing in line waiting to get on a ride in DisneyWorld just before a downpour. A sister when she was little looking impish, before growing up and facing countless operations for medical conditions that were dormant. Friends who have come and gone. Favored relatives who have left me behind (That's you cousin Mark, for not taking care of your diabetes).

For my life
Still ahead
Pity Me.

Don't Know Where to Begin

2006-11-19T01:17:00.000-05:00

It's been so long and a lot has happened. I am sure with extreme effort I could put a funny spin on it, and I may give that the college try, but then again...
Since the last time I posted I've only occasionally making comments guerrilla-style on other peoples blogs without giving them a chance to poke fun at me because i hadn't posted anything in a long time. Rude of me, to be sure.
I truly respect the people who post all the time

ah, y'know what? Fuck this, I'm goin' to bed. Maybe more tomorrow.

Wow, this was too close for comfort

2006-09-24T23:01:00.000-04:00

My Personality


Neuroticism	85
Extraversion	28
Openness To Experience	47
Agreeableness	42
Conscientiousness	6

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report
Find your soulmate / pysch twin

MySpace Quizzes, MySpace Surveys and MySpace Layouts by Pulseware Survey Software

You are introverted, reserved, and quiet with a preference for solitude and solitary activities. Your socializing tends to be restricted to a few close friends. You can be very easily upset, even by what most people consider the normal demands of living. People consider you to be extremely sensitive and emotional. A desire for tradition does not prevent you from trying new things. Your thinking is neither simple nor complex. To others you appear to be a well-educated person but not an intellectual. You have some concern with others' needs, and are generally pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative. You like to live for the moment and do what feels good now. Your work tends to be careless and disorganized.

A Day of Days

2006-09-03T23:37:00.000-04:00

Today was the day that the shower water in the upstairs bathtub decided to reroute through the wall. The wall that has all the shower and bath plumbing fixtures, adjacent to aforementioned bathtub. The water did this rather than assume the more tried and true course of the bathtub drain.
The water in choosing this road did not understand the logistical considerations of such a career decision. Things like, oh, unprepared house interwiring, unseaworthy wood and sheetrock, panicing humans when ceiling light fixtures blow because they're filling up with h2o. Sometimes change is not good.
The water was persistent, too. Did not stop until it found a path all the way to the basement.
May I take a moment here to mention the virtues of wet/dry vac's. Good times, good times.
A rule in our house is that we don't purchase the non-free movies available on cable. My son chose to ignore this rule and qeued up Grandma's Boy. I found out when I saw the movie playing and someone said fuck and I thought, hmm, not regular tv, no dvd or tape. Well, long story short, I watched it a couple of times and it was hilarious. it's all Adam Sandler's cronies in their own movie and they do a really good job and I look forward to more from them.

A Bittersweet Thing

2006-08-28T22:25:00.000-04:00

Since the picture was posted I have had what i like to consider a 'bunch' of visitors. Now I feel obligated to write something. There's too much pressure now for anything profound, but maybe a word about the Emmy Awards last night.
DeAnn does a great recap, but I have to put my two cents in with how great the show was. Truly. The pace faltered on only a couple of occasions, and only one bit, two at most, failed comedically.
The show kept moving along. Really moving along for me as I am one of the 17% that Tivo'd the event and then watched it this morning (zipping past every commercial, heh, heh).
There were some "What the Hell were they thinking on that one" award moments.
Why do they bother with any ceremony in a category with Chloris Leachman? Just give her the damn thing. She's going to win anyway (as she deserves!)
I do believe one of the best acceptance speeches ever was the guy who 'had a list of people he would not like to thank'.

There's no shame in it

2006-08-27T23:15:00.000-04:00

Beth on her "So the fish said" blog, innocently asked,

"...anybody who sends me a picture of themselves (which hell yes, I will post) (send to ...) with that [editors note: it was a big purple sticker] stuck to their forehead absolutely get one of Chris's cds"

I saw that and I immediately thought, "Free Stuff". No problem sending a picture as I'm unburdened by any social, ethical, or moral boundaries.

MEME

2006-07-31T03:41:00.000-04:00

Taken from the glowing Nadine:

1. The book nearest me:
Telephone Book

2. Stretch your left arm, what do you touch?
A radiator cover.

3. Last thing watched on television?
Rerun of “Cheers” when Shelley Long was still there and John Cleese was the guest.

4. Without looking, what time is it?
2:20 am EST

5. What is the actual time?
2:29 am

6. With the exception of the computer what can you hear?
The dishwasher, a fan, and as always, 24/7, my tinnitus.

7. When did you last step outside?
Around 10:30 pm. Family had been here for my birthday. I cooked out and we had a gut-busting amount of my favorite birthday dessert item, Bisquick strawberry shortcake.

8. Before this survey what did you look at?
My ever empty email box. Which is my own fault because I’m tardy when it comes to writing back.

9. What are you wearing?
Shorts and a shirt.

10. Did you dream last night?
Yes. It was something about doing meme’s.

11. When did you last laugh?
Couple of nights ago watching Kevin Pollak doing an amazing impression of Christopher Walken on Conan O’Brien.

12. What is on the walls in the room?
The room is the dining room and between to corner hutches is a wall mirror giving the room the illusion of size. And on another wall a painting of stream in the woods in Fall by a family friend.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
A few days ago while I was passing the hospital on my way to work I saw a 2 to 3 foot snake crossing the road. Not a common occurrence in the middle of a city. I managed to avoid the snake. The snake however, did not fair so well with oncoming traffic.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
It would be better if you got a car or something after you successfully complete it.

15. What is the last film you saw?
Band of Brothers. Just watched it over the last two days.

16. Tell us something we don’t know.
I saw Benigno Aquino assassinated.

17. If you could change one thing about the world, what would you do?
Get rid of gnats.

18. Do you like to dance?
Not so much. Technically, I have a condition known as, Udanzlikeafuknidiot

19. George Bush?
No comment...cheater

20. Imagine your first child is a girl…And?
First off, we’d have to rename him.

21. Imagine your first child is a boy.
I guess we weren’t paying attention to question 20, were we...

22. Would you consider living abroad?
If I was independently wealthy, I might like keeping a house in Austria.

23. What would God say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Gotcha!

24. List 6 bloggers to carry on this meme.
I never have the strength for this part. Take it if you wish

2006-07-29T01:38:00.000-04:00

Mike and the Mechanic's Can you hear me?

love that tune

Wine & Cheese Party, unless I think of something better

2006-07-29T01:20:00.000-04:00

Wine and Cheese Party Time!

...and bitching about things? No, we don’t want to be negative, however the loosening of the tongue through fine $7 Pepperwood Cabernet Sauvignon and .535 lbs of delicious LOL (Land O’Lakes, not Laugh Out Loud) cheese from Stop & Shop (It’s time to Stop & Shop!, sing the jingle amongst yourselves) Oh! And I got my XM80’s PC satellite radio on low to get the right ambience for a truly stellar Friday night. This Friday being the first day o’my vacation. A vacation which will include Cleveland.
Rick James’ Superfreak is playing, making me chuckle. I do like to chuckle, kids. Cheap wine, cheap cheese, and a good chuckle. Yes, that’s me, a cheap date. Tada. Wine kicking in thankyouverymuch.
Where was I., ah yes, Cleveland, my Cleveland. A friend’s child is getting married there, so that makes Cleveland a little better. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, so that helps. Drew Carey loves Cleveland. That really doesn’t help, but I do like Drew Carey.
Oh MY GOSH! I just remembered. Ohio is the land of Bob Evans Family Restaurants. For those who don’t know Bob Evans is the shit, man! Mouth is watering just thinking about it now. Sausage gravy and biscuits. Life can get no better. OK, trip worthwhile now.
I’ll apologize now for my mental state is just going free-form now because the wine has me off and running. If you’ve read this far, then Thank you, but it’s going pretty downhill from here. I think I will just write now right now (oooh clever to a drunk) about things esoteric to me.
I want to be younger (my birthday is Sunday), but I can’t decide when younger. I say it that way because when you say you want to be younger it’s not because you really want to be younger now, its that you want to go back to a happier time.
Today I was thinking about my thirteenth birthday, and I can’t figure out why. The only thing I really got out of it was that, oh, now I’m a teenager, which is cool. But there are a lot of rides you can’t ride at the church carnival now because you look like an asshole [laughs].
I toyed with doing a post about (author’s note: the fucking cheese is gone, but Loverboy’s Working for the Weekend came on.)
I have to write something here about the Loverboy song because it is one of my most solid memories of the being stationed in the PI (Philippines). I knew I would miss those days someday, and I hate that, because you can’t dwell in the past, but it was such an exciting time.
OH My Gosh! The Eurythmics’ Would I lie to You? is on now. Annie Lennox. Hot. Period.
The best you can do is close your eyes and imagine a different time. A time before you lost friends. When you didn’t give a fuck about the weather, when you just went out.
Terence Trent Darby’s Wishing Well. Korea. Osan AB 1988. Yes, attended the Olympics and was able to get tickets to events for $5. Can you imagine? Olympic Events. I tried not to waste time in Korea, but I hated it, which had a good and a bad side. The bad side was that as a Native New Englander I didn't appreciate that they are a stoic, hearty, hardworking people. I really believed they were just like me, except they spoke a different language. [keyboarding is getting difficult][laughs] I had personal reasons for disliking it
Pat Benatar’s Love is a Battlefield. I can’t take this. I can’t share it with anyone.
The Korean food was great. The Korea alcohol was a joy.
The good out of Korea, if you can call it that, was where I ran six miles a day. Sometimes twice and occasionally three times. I hated Korea so much I ran. Not their fault really. Interestiong culture as well. Did you know Koreans are pretty much Height wise the same as Americans? The small Asian concept is pretty wrong.
I was an extra in two movies while I was there in the PI, not in Korea. Missing in Action and Opposing Force. Both more fun than humans could stand. Chuck Norris is a very cool guy. It is tragic because in real life, he is completely different. He sucks as an actor, BUT, it’s ok because his coolness makes up for it. Honestly, if you met him in real life you’d want to be friends with him. It’s just that when the cameras start rolling, he puts on his actor hat and it’s all over. I miss working with Chuck, he’s a very cool guy, and a good soul.
Wine is working well.
I have to put an honorable mention in for Tom Skerritt with whom I got a chance to see on
Taking a moment to got IMDB.
Well as it turns out, he ahs no official site, so I can’t send him an email saying, “haey! It was a treat to work with a great actor.
Do you like the woods? I do. I hate the ocean, which is ironic, because I grew up near the beach. Always hated vacations on Cape Cod. Always loved when we did cabins in the woods on a lake. Fishing. I love fishing. I don’t think of it as a sport at all. To me it’s a concept. You go out and you cast your line and you wait. And you think. And you get calm. And nothing really matters.
Mental faculty’s are waning. Should/should not upload this?

Heading for Work

2006-07-26T15:19:00.000-04:00

But, I stopped to post this. So I guess there is progress.

What'd I Do?

2006-07-25T22:26:00.000-04:00

For the past couple of weeks I've been in physical danger. I'm pretty sure I know who's behind it. I'm afraid it's, well...me.

It began when I saw "Unbreakable" on TV. I enjoy the movie quite a bit, so I also recorded it, and watched various parts later. Yes, I think it's a good one. Since that initial airing though, there have been a series of events that all seem to test the idea that I myself am "Breakable". For your consideration:

Shortly after the first viewing, for the first time since I was four years old I fell out of bed. You may think "Rick" (or you can insert a name you prefer, just please not 'Scooter' or 'Todd'), what's the big deal? You fell out of bed. No big whoop. Well friends, let me tell ya, the top of my mattress is a little over 3 and a half feet above floor level (I like it that way, fuck off) and that would not be a problem. Oh, except that I also just happen to have one of them hard plastic milk crates on the floor next to the bed, filled with papers and books and such. I will never really know how it went down, so to speak, it was more like I was thrown overboard because the force with which my left leg hit the milk crate was enough to shatter the crate. That sharp son of a bitch cut actual discernable patterns in my leg as the crate disintergrated. That hurt big time, but on the upside it was basic scratching and no gashing wounds.

The second incident, if you will, involves the traditional homeowner practice of cleaning gutters. No, there were no ladders involved. I did not slip and go careening towards the Earth as some might prefer the imagery of flailing arms and girl-level screaming. No, not that day. It was about a week later and everything went pretty well. I can access the roof of my porch from a second floor window. The trouble began with negotiating re-entry into the house. Without the brutal contortionist-like recreation and an indepth explanation of the magic of non-twenty year old physiology, suffice to say I opted for an incorrect decision at a critical juncture and overextended the credit line of my left knee.

Recovery of the knee one gets better every day, but still, "son-of-a-bitch!"

I'm not trying to kid anyone. I know I'm "Breakable".

Diversion

2006-07-19T14:54:00.000-04:00

As taken from Counting Sheep

GRUB-OLOGY

• What is your salad dressing of choice? Bleu Cheese.

• What is your favorite fast food restaurant? I list Wendy’s as my health club.

• What is your favorite sit down restaurant? On the Border.

• On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? 20%.

• What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Chex Party Mix.

• Name three foods you detest above all others. Lobster, Granola bars, and orange juice.

• What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant? Lo mein.

• What are your pizza toppings of choice? Tomato, basil, garlic, and bacon (with extra cheese).

• What do you like to put on your toast? Butter. And not that pantywaist ‘lite’ crap, either.

• What is your favorite type of gum? I hate gum.

BI-OLOGY

• What do you consider to be your best physical attribute? Hair.

• Are you right handed or left handed? Right.

• Do you like your smile? No.

• Have you ever had anything removed from your body? An ex-girlfriend.

• Would you like to? To what?

• Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? Smell always provokes the biggest reaction.

• When was the last time you had a cavity? Long ago and far away.

• What is the heaviest item you lift regularly? Wine glass.

• Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No.

MISC-OLOGY

• If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No.

• If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? Spanky.

• How do you express your artistic side? Sense of humor, which too often becomes unintentional drama.

• What color do you think you look best in? blue.

• How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison? Till the first ‘lights out’.

• Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? no.

• If we weren't’t bound by society’s conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at? secret.

• How often do you go to church? Spiritually never, but I do grace the building on occasion for other reasons.

• Have you ever saved someone’s life? Yes.

• Has someone ever saved yours? Yes.

DARE-OLOGY

For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much.

• Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? Wish I had known some fool was willing to pay $100,000 to have seen it.

• Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? Yes.

• Would you have sex with a member of the same sex for $10,000? Cost of samesex sex: $10,000. Cost of memory you could never get rid of: Priceless.

• Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? No.

• Would you never blog again for $50,000? Stop. That’s just a ridiculous question. No one even reads me.

• Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? Sure. Just need to make sure that it has a foldout section “if you know what I mean”.

• Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Yes.

• Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? There is always punishment.

• Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000? No, but I would for a tax-free $1,000,000.

• Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? There is not enough money in the world.

Saying Goodbye to Old Friends

2006-07-19T14:22:00.000-04:00

I’m writing this now based on this post by So the Fish Said... It is a wonderful monologue to a friend gone by, questioning not so much why the friendship faded but more to let’s get past it and be friend’s again.
Most of my life has been about watching people fade in and out with many friendships based on situations. There was the guy when I was stationed in the Philippines who worked in the same as me (I worked radios and radar for F4 jet fighters, and yes it was a cool job). We became fast and steady friends. Our wives were amenable to each other. Well time went by and I was sent back to the states, then he was sent someplace else and we spoke on the phone a few times but that’s 20 years ago now.
I do confess while writing this I took a look at White Pages to see what the odds were for getting in touch with him and 300 listings for his name came back, and well, I’m not that aggressive. I would like to talk to him again, though. He was a lot of fun to be around.
I have actively searched Classmates.com for kids (Ha! They’re in there late forties now) that I went to school with. I went to a private high school for boys, so I really focus on my elementary school because those were the kids I grew up with in my neighborhood. I have had success in at least connecting via email with one of the girls (that I haven’t seen since we were thirteen) so that is kind of a rush. I think the desire to connect with the past in that way is really driven by a want to have someone who was there. Someone who knows what you were going through because they were there too. It really is reconnecting with childhood.
Of course, they’re grown now and have a lifetime of different experience that makes them who they are now, but if you can just get a flash of recognition of that common experience then you’ve achieved a goal.
The hardest thing about friend’s that have drifted away is when it happened because of some ‘thing’. An incident where a grudge has formed. From my own experience, I never forget. Ever. It is such a crippling thing and I truly marvel at the folks who can let things go. I know intellectually that is the way to handle it. One will be healthier and live a long fantastic life, but that is not my way.
I suppose it only fair to mention here that I periodically look back over different slices of my life and realize, oh, yeah, I certainly was a major asshole at that particular juncture. This is important in that it figures in greatly when I am going to put myself out there for someone to contact. I wonder why would they want to?

Litany for Thanksgiving by The Rev. Max Coots

Let me say that there is as much thanks to be given
for the gift of people as there is for the harvest
of fields. We ought to count friends more gratefully
than the images of gardens, pantries, and cellar
shelves. We ought to savor friendships and loves
as much or more than we do shapes, tastes, and
textures, of all the fruits of the fall...

So instead of the usual, let me say: Let us give
thanks for a bounty of people. For children, who are
our second planting, and though they grow like weeds
and the wind too soon blows them away, may they
forgive us our cultivation and remember fondly where
their roots are.

I just can't help it. When it comes this time of
year, I just can't help it. Maybe it's the harvest
moon.

So let us give thanks:

For generous friends...with hearts as big as hubbards
and smiles as bright as their blossoms;

For fiesty friends as tart as apples;

For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers,
keep reminding us that we've had them;

For crotchety friends, as sour as rhubarb, and as
indestructible;

For handsome friends who are as gorgeous as eggplants
and as elegant as a row of corn, and the others, as plain
as potatoes, and so good for you;

For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussel Sprouts
and amusing as Jerusalem artichokes, and serious friends,
as complex as cauliflowers and as intricate as onions;

For friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle as
summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful
as dill, as endless as zucchini, and who, like parsnips,
can be counted on to see you through the long winter;

For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening
time, and young friends, coming on as fast as radishes;

For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils, and
hold us despite our blights, wilts, and witherings;

And, finally, for those friends, now gone, like gardens
past, that have been harvested, but who fed us in their
times that we might have life thereafter;

For all these we give our thanks.

Amen.

The photos are here

2006-07-17T05:12:00.000-04:00

I'm still working out the kinks.

Pictures

2006-07-12T23:24:00.000-04:00

I need to add pictures. Then this would be more festive.

Guilty pleasure this past weekend. Failure to Launch, I thought it was hysterical. Also saw Wedding Crashers. Very Funny. ...and also saw The Family Stone, which I thought was good, but the real treat in it was Craig T. Nelson (Coach Hadyn Fox on Coach, one of my all time favorite shows).

I'm Headin'

2006-07-12T00:27:00.000-04:00

fer Wendy's. No mercy is expected. And there will be cheese...

I Know...

2006-07-08T04:00:00.000-04:00

That it is not aesthetically pleasing yet, but I'm working on it.

Diversion

2006-06-27T13:32:00.000-04:00

The Birthday Calculator.

Your date of conception was on or about 6 November 1956 which was a Tuesday.

You were born on a Tuesday
under the astrological sign Leo.
Your Life path number is 5.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 3 & 9.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 8.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 6, 11 & 22.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2436049.5.
The golden number for 1957 is 1.
The epact number for 1957 is -1.
The year 1957 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/31/1957 and ending 2/17/1958.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Rooster.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Salmon; your plant is Raspberry.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Paopy, the second month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 21 April 1957.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 21 April 1957.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 6 March 1957.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 9 June 1957.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 16 June 1957.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 24 September 1957.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Sunday, 14 April 1957.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 5 March 1957.

As of 6/27/2006 1:30:18 PM EDT
You are 48 years old.
You are 587 months old.
You are 2,552 weeks old.
You are 17,864 days old.
You are 428,749 hours old.
You are 25,724,970 minutes old.
You are 1,543,498,218 seconds old.

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 6.99178082191781 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)

There are 33 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 49 candles.

Those 49 candles produce 49 BTUs,
or 12,348 calories of heat (that's only 12.3480 food Calories!) .
You can boil 5.60 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1957 there were approximately 4.0 million births in the US.
In 1957 the US population was approximately 150,697,361 people, 50.7 persons per square mile.
In 1957 in the US there were approximately 1,667,231 marriages (11.1%) and 385,144 divorces (2.6%)
In 1957 in the US there were approximately 1,452,000 deaths (9.6 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

Your birthstone is Ruby
The Mystical properties of Ruby

Ruby is said to open one's heart to love.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Carnelian

Your birth tree is

Cypress, the Faithfulness

Strong, muscular, adaptable, takes what life has to give, happy,content,optimistic, needs enough money and acknowledgment, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied, faithful, quick-tempered,unruly, pedantic and careless.

There are 181 days till Christmas 2006!
There are 194 days till Orthodox Christmas!

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waxing crescent.

Aaron's Broadcasting Network (ABC)

2006-06-26T18:59:00.000-04:00

That was the running gag around Hollywood during the Seventies because Aaron Spelling, who passed away on Friday, had so many shows on ABC. The only ones I ever took to were Fantasy Island and The Rookies. That is tv series only. There were countless tv movies that he produced that I thought were great. Yes, great. Oh boo hoo! Everyone says that it was mostly mindless drivel, but honestly all it was supposed to do was entertain, and it did.
On a more personal note, he was a great dad. Absolutely no one on the planet believes Tori can act...except her dad.

An alarming trend of late is the folks who I saw on tv all the
time during my wonder years, are dropping like flies. A quick list:
Dennis Weaver
Don Knotts
Darren McGavin
Tony Franciosa
Al Lewis (Grandpa on the Munsters)
Maureen Stapleton
Paul Gleason (Clarence Beeks in Trading Places)

Not fair.

Went to the movies...

2006-06-26T18:24:00.000-04:00

Couldn't find the gift card for the movies that we had been given. Been searching the house for months. Did come across the AAA (as in the motorclub) discount tickets, so we were good to go.
We piled into the minivan and went to see X-Men: The Last Stand. So while I was pounding down a bag of pop-pable (sp?) little round snicker balls, I enjoyed some good previews and a thoroughly excellent movie.
it is actually tough to review the movie with spoiling some part of the storyline. Suffice to say that, the good, solid story outweighed every other aspect of the movie, but everything aside from the story was top notch. Very well thought out special effects.
I vote a must see in a movie theater.

Why Blog at all?

2006-06-26T17:27:00.000-04:00

...really.

OK

2006-06-26T15:23:00.000-04:00

maybe short bursts are the answer...

hmmmm, not depressed. more like temporarily lost. I think I know the way, but it is different from the past. Scary.

tragic consequences, if proven wrong.

Hey kids! What time is it?

2006-06-19T19:49:00.000-04:00

A really, really long time ago, that phrase was the queue for every little kid in the 50's to yell at their precious Zenith black and white console tv (along with the studio audience of little kids), "It's Howdy Doody Time!".

It was also a time when television shows varied in length. A show could be 20-23 minutes long or even as little as 15 minutes. Things evolved. Half an hour or an hour became standard. Daytime television was one or two talk shows in the morning, the soaps during midday/midafternoon and then one or two afternoon talk shows (Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin come to mind). This was followed by the 5 and 6 o'clock news and then Prime Time would kick in from 8-11pm. And it would be wrong not to mention Johnny at 11:30 after all the years he put in.

There were other facets to this model that went on for decades. Weekends were Saturday morning cartoons and afternoons on both days were sports (Wide World of...etc.) and Sunday nights were family time (Wonderful World of Disney, Wild Kingdom).

One of the most important components to all of this scheduling were Repeats. Or as we used to refer to them, Reruns.

For many years the flag that signaled the end of the television season was the TV Guide announcing that next week's show was a rerun. There were no big season finales. Actually, it was very rare to have a series finale. Nine times out of ten, the show just never came back in the Fall.

Oh, and about the Fall. Yes, it was cooler weather, school starting, but most importantly...there were the Fall Previews. The shows that were new to the lineup, hitting the ground running and hopeful that they would still be there in the spring. It used to be that they had thirteen weeks to pull it off or wind up as an obscure question in Trivial Pursuit, the Platinum Edition.

Well, that was then. Somewhere around the turn of the century the landscape changed in such a way that, even though it always seemed like a free for all, it really became a free for all. You could make an argument that cable was the culprit, been around since the late seventies, with it's multitude of channels, numbering in the hundreds. But realistically, it's Tivo. With Tivo there is no restriction to when you watch something. That is a really big deal. Routines are no longer based on when you can see something you want to see. That means that if you are a tv show now, your audience is dispersed. It is no longer a matter of the next day, hanging at the watercooler and chatting about 'Lost' from last night. Which means momentum for any show is almost impossible to create because 'Must See TV' is no longer 'Must See Now TV'.

Hey kids! What time is it? ... It doesn't matter anymore.

Opportunity Knocks

2006-05-31T22:57:00.000-04:00

I have two kids (teenagers), and they both sing with two different choirs at the Episcopal Church in town. They have toured with these choirs, one went to England, they have sung at Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral, etc. These are by no means 'hack' choirs. The choirs are part of the church, though. I am not a church goer (except to see my kids sing) so I wanted to be upfront about that. I don't begrudge anyone their religious preferences and, by the same token, I rarely discuss my thoughts on the subject. That being said, during the second week of May on a Thursday, an email from the Church came across my desk. It seemed that when Katrina hit the South in late August of 2005, twelve parishoners banded together and began planning a trip down there to help out in whatever way they could. Flash Forward to now and one of these hearty souls takes ill and can't make the trip. She says that she will fund anyone to go in her place with her plane ticket etc., anyone who wants to volunteer. So I raised my hand and got the spot. I had no idea what to expect but this appeared to me as though it was a rare opportunity, so I had to seize upon it.
As I mentioned, Katrina was now six months ago and it remains in the news but it is definitely not page one. So here I was going without any real preparation. Things I was told to do and to get and bring, I did do, got , and brought. Tetanus shot (intramuscular, so it sucked) Suntan lotion (spf 380), insect repellent (98% good old reliable DEET), and as many crappy clothes as you can find that you'll never want to wear again. Oh, and workboots. It was actually the easiest packing I've ever done. And I knew many items would not be making the return flight.
So on to day of flight. We were flying into New Orleans (International) Airport, getting a couple of minivans and heading to Pass Christian, Miss. which is a stones throw as the crow flies from the Gulfport/Biloxi area.
It is very important to understand at this point that when we stepped off the plane in New Orleans it was literally like we stepped through some sort of Stargate-like Portal and time stopped. The New Orleans Airport was not busy (Stephen King creepy), fairly devoid of activity, and most noticeable were the posters listing many steps that you had to take in order to return to your home (if you were authorized to return home, that is). We got our minivan situation straightened out and were on our way to Mississippi.
At this point I have to tell you that nothing really prepares you for what is, or isn't there, for that matter. The word I use constantly, and I know that I was overusing long ago, is magnitude. You can look at what happened in pictures in news stories or in books now, but until you're standing there and you're able to turn 360 degrees, there really is no way to imagine the sheer magnitude of what happened.
New Orleans was a ghost town. Except for the French Quarter, as we were leaving the city on the highway, which is quite elevated above the city, we saw absolutely no life. No people in the streets, no traffic, and the buildings that wereen't demolished were see-through empty/burned out, or just plain wrecked. So much wreckage.
After leaving the city the most obvious thing are the trees, which are now dead, and bent over like grass waving in the wind. Only there is no wind and these trees don't move. Then you notice the debris in the tree tops, left by the 30 foot swell of water that came through. Not small debris either. It was chairs, refigerators, tables. Sprinkled liberally throughout.
It took about an hour and a half to get to our destination in Mississippi, Camp Coast Care, which is close to the beach and Gulfport/Biloxi. If you click on the link there are pictures that give you just a hint of the disaster.
We got there on a Saturday too late to work that day and as it turned out, they take Sunday off (so as not to burn out the folks that are there for two, three weeks at a time. So on Sunday we ventured into New Orleans and all was as I said earlier abot the emptiness with the exception of the French Quarter (which was not crowded, but it was my first time there, so I had no frame of reference). There was a section of the city that we drove through where it appeared as though someone had walked the length of the city street with a giant black magic marker (El Marko!), marking every building with a straight line about 6 feet above the ground. It was so amazing.
As for the work itself, when did finally go to work, one day my team had to go to this house and vacumn out the insulation and remove housewiring and nails. The deal was this young couple (29yrs old) had bought the house three weeks before Katrina. They had kinda puttered around doing odds and ends for two weeks and actually lived in the house for one week when Katrina took the roof (completely) and storm rain poured in destroying the house. At the point that I saw the house, the only thing left was the brick outside of the house and the wooden frame inside the house. The guy said that they sank every dime into buying the house, then Katrina came and it was like they were back in high school again and broke. That was tough.
We were close to a town called Waveland which is on the beach and quite literally it is gone. Only cement foundations of houses remain.
After the end of each day we would head for the beach at night and drink and talk. Most all the debris had been cleared from the beach leaving this beautiful white sand. Or so we thought. Our last day there we finished early at 4pm so we decided to head for the beach. Well that was a real eye-opener. First time seeing the beach during the day. We were walking onto the beach and getting close to the water and looking down, "Oh, what is that?" They appear to be chicken bones (probably), blanched from being on the beach and small enough to not be noticed at night. Well, the 'ew' part of this story is that looking at the whole beach, it was like everyone in Mississippi had gone to the local KFC and tossed the bones out the car window onto the beach as they were speeding by. I kid you not. We are talking about the 'whole' beach. Not some section, but the whole thing. It was so incredibly creepy.
Anyway, we said our goodbyes to the people down there and when we were touching down in LaGuardia Airport, it seemed like some surreal dream.
The after effects have been most unpleasant. Most things seem trivial now and I really feel the need to go back and help.
To that end there is a job opening at a University down there that got hit pretty bad and looks like a good fit to me.

A Glorius Man Day it was

2006-03-22T20:39:00.000-05:00

Ah Yes! Breathe deep the good air of plumbing and car repair. These things I did on this glorius man day! (Tim Allen grunt noises).
The hot water knob on the shower had gotten to the point where it would not shut off so bad that a once kinda dripping tub faucet was now a significant flow of water. Enter a Connecticut Yankee with a full set of very manly plumbing tools and voila! I plumbed her pipes and she isn't dripping anymore!
My '88 Camry LE is in serious need of a distributor ($400.00 for the part alone) but I'm crossing my fingers that the supplemental parts I bought today and will install tomorrow will be able to hold the car together until I win the lottery...or die. I do love that car.

But...

2006-03-20T02:54:00.000-05:00

a rerun of CSI made it all better.

Sad TV

2006-03-19T22:04:00.000-05:00

Even with all of the things there are to watch, all the channels, everything, there really isn't anything worth bothering about.
Tonight Desperate Housewives is on, but who cares? Rerun. I'm so sick of reruns. Office Space is running a few times on AMC, and granted it's a cult favorite for me as well as others, but ok let's move on! There are a lot of other movies that can be shown as well.
Like Six Days and Seven Nights, a pleasant enough diversion, and I highly recommend it. In contrast, you have that new Bravo show, 'Top Chef', which is top heavy with many whiney crybaby's. On a show like that, what is it that is center stage. Well, that would be the food. And what is just as important as the presentation of the food? The taste of the food. Unlike fashion which is purely visual (you never had that dress on an actual person, did you? because it looks like crap), how the food tastes I would think is at least 50% of the deal. And of course we can't taste it. And to be honest, I don't care if the judges think it's tasty, it's all subjective. So what are you left with. The personalities. Boring.
I didn't get a chance to because of work, but if you do, by all means catch Big. Truly one of my all time favorites.
I do think Joey has bit the big one, too. which makes me very sad. I thought it had real potential.
Depressing post, but blah dee blah...depressing tv.

Jefferson Starship

2006-03-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

First eight-track tape I ever bought was the Red Octopus album, because it had the song "Miracles" on it. I loved throwin' that tape in and cruisin' over to my girlfriend's house. This was all of course, like a 100 years ago before cell phones (actually rotary-dial telephones were all the rage), before cd's, before home computers! Texas Instrument calculators were pushing the envelope then.
But, enough about me.
Who caught Medium? The whole David Caradine thing was very cool. I know I use the term too much, but it was...clever.
And what about Joey? I'm starting to lose hope, but I really do wish it to hang in there, at least until there are enough episodes for syndication.. It worked very hard, and I think succeeded in cutting away from Friends. I really like the theme music too.
Scrubs was OK. Dave Foley was good and it was nice to see Michael Learned.

Young Man,

2006-03-07T20:36:00.000-05:00

there's no need to feel down.
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy.

Young man, there's a place you can go.
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.

It's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
It's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.

They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys ...

This past Saturday for the first time in a longtime I had the wherewithall to be able to go out and I saw that the Village People were going to be at the Mohegan Sun Casino (about an hour from my house) for FREE! Well, with money as tight as it is I said free is good.
I had called a friend and said, "let's hit the road tonight, y'know, the open road, wind in our hair, (well, my hair anyway as his began bailing out years ago) etc". He said OK. When I picked him up, I said, "How do you feel about the Village People?" He replied, "I was thinking that's where we might be going."
A few words about the Village People and the Mohegan Sun Casino.
I love the Village People. Their songs ALWAYS REALLY crack me up. There is no social commentary whatsoever, just inoffensive entertainment. They are kind of like a gay ZZ Top (whom I also love). Oh, how their tunes make me laugh. Pure unadulterated entertainment. Since Saturday I found out that they have a bunch of albums, none of which I own, because it's just the three (four?) hits when they play on the radio that do it for me.
Well, in the mega-huge casino (there are two in Connecticut, the other being Foxwoods) you can park for free. I'm sure this is on the pretense that they're gonna get your money anyway. There are a few arena, cabaret stage areas where there will be acts that you have to get tickets for (the wife and I went to see Victoria Jackson and Norm Macdonald), and there are open spaces right on the casino floor where they would have something like the Village People for free. So in that situation you can continue to gamble whilst you get a floor show (free!).
I'll tell you upfront, the sound sucked, but despite that, they still put on a good show. They had 3 of the original six members and fortunately one of them was the lead singer that you hear on the hits from 25 years ago. It was very cool (and free!)
After the show was over (lasted a good hour) we wondered around the casino and got something to eat. I've gotten addicted to Celebrity Poker Showdown so i wanted to check out any poker tables. Unfortunately, the only ones we came across were tis type of poker called, three card, and four card poker, where there really isn't much skill involved, it's really just luck of the draw. So I watched that for awhile and felt good about knowing which groups of cards beat other groups of cards.
We took off at around midnight and I tell ya, it was a good night. Very relaxing. No stress from fucked-up work, the food was the only cost incurred, and it was good food, and didn't lose anything gambling (but I will go back and try to find the poker game that I know must be there somewhere.

A Good Movie Weekend

2006-02-19T20:27:00.000-05:00

This weekend was pretty good pickin's on the tube. As I watched Platoon I thought, "Geez, if Scrubs could only tie in some footage of John C. McGinley, who was also in Platoon. Rain Man , which I can and have, watched over and over, was also on as well as Hook, which tanked at the boxoffice, but I find quite entertaining on free TV. The late last night guilty pleasure was, Jumanji.

Ten Things I Believe Are True

2006-02-19T01:30:00.000-05:00

1.) No matter how much you talk up abstinence or threaten with AIDS or eternal damnation or eternal parenthood that will ruin your life, sex is still going to feel really good and remain more desireable than anything else.

2.) Pizza is perfect

3.) Although beer is a good chaser for pizza, wine is actually better.

4.) Really depends on when your olden days were, to guage how good they really were.

5.) People are full of surprises. Trite, but nevertheless true.

6.) TV is not as bad for you as people say.

7.) No God. Sorry.

8.) Women and men are the same.

9.) Movie stars are bigger than TV stars.

10.) I hope these will be good olden days.

Boston Legal

2006-02-16T22:26:00.000-05:00

I have followed James Spader's career since the beginning, which was the time of the Brat Pack, of which he was not a member, but is mentioned here purely as a reference point. He pretty much has always played preppie, smarmy, elitist characters, and that portrayl has served him well. In more current times his character on Boston Legal has floated between ethically-challenged (starting out on The Practice) to hero of the underdog. He has had some choice moments on Boston Legal, especially when sharing the screen with William Shatner, but this past week his character was taken out for a drive to see what it could really do, and James Spader shined. In the storyline the evil, priggish mondo-discriminates-against-the-handicapped private school, wouldn't admit a gifted little girl who couldn't smile. The girl's mother, a former employee of Allen Shore (Spader), knew that in order to fell the Goliath private school she needed a prick. And she also knew under the right conditions, that there really was no bigger prick than Allen Shore.
It was a joy to watch the process unfold. It was like watching the culmination of years spent playing a certain type, and seeing taken to a whole new level. It was such a joy.
If I ever get to play a lawyer on TV, Mr. Spader. I want to be just like you.

Desperate Houswives

2006-02-12T22:05:00.000-05:00

They seek to entertain, and they do entertain! It really is 'what are they gonna do next week?' television. Threadbare storylines that would confound the most serious

Found this

2006-02-02T23:23:00.000-05:00

Your Birthdate: July 30

You have the type of personality that people either love or hate.
You're opinionated, dramatic, intense, and very outspoken.
And some people can't get enough of you - they're totally addicted.
Others, well, they wish you were a little more reserved.

Your strength: Your flair

Your weakness: If you think it, you say it

Your power color: Scarlet red

Your power symbol: Inverted triangle

Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Wine and the Superbowl

2006-02-02T22:14:00.000-05:00

A friend just stopped by where I work and we were talking and I mentioned that I wouldn't be in on Sunday (I normally work 4-Midnight Sunday's) because I was taking the night off for the Superbowl, which has become a family tradition the last few years between my son and I. The womenfolk don't revel in it to much, except for the commercials (Hey, who doesn't?).
This year however, my boy won't be home. He has decided to join his youth group to watch the Bowl with (I understand infinitely more fun to be with friends rather than your loser father, but I'm not bitter). I will still have all the accoutremonts (sp?), the dip, chips, sandwhiches, etc. etc. etc.
As we're talking, I switch gears and start talking about the two cases of (incredibly cheap) wine that I bought Tuesday (payday), and my friend didn't switch gears with me fast enough and thought I was going to be drinking the wine with the Superbowl. Which to be honest, I was kinda on the fence about beer vs. wine for the Bowl telecast. To me, wine pretty much goes with everything. A real all-weather fighter in my book. At any rate they said that to their way of thinking wine would indicate there would quiche and quiche like items involved. I quickly nixed that notion with a, "Hey, I'm not gay...not that there's anything wrong with that."
Then my mind was briefly racing about how i just had to see Project Runway last night. OMG. NO! What's to become of me? Nothing. I still desire women. Women only. No men.
I do cook and sew, though. I prefer to think of myself as a Renaissance Man.

I Thought I Was Younger

2006-02-02T20:38:00.000-05:00

I don't like watching me get older. I was looking in the mirror and made a squinty face and saw the lines in or around the eyes the denote, "Oh, it's your turn to appear wise whether you are or not (my case, not).
As I was driving with excellent tunes on the radio, I was thinking that I have no idea of what is current, even in the Pop realm. This was very troublesome because, not that I'm always current, but I do know what's going on basically, around me. Even though I focus on another decade, I enjoy all music (except, of course, country, which I wish was as dead as disco). This is bothersome. I really don't like not knowing. What can I do? I can't hang around Cutler's Records or Strawberries, it would be creepy (can't anyway with the restraining order imposed after the 'incident' in which I was totally blameless, and those walls should fixed by now anyway).

Guilty Thief

2006-01-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

I blatantly stole this from blogging buddy Zoot, who stole it from Deb.

Five of my Guilty Pleasures (in no particular order):

1.) Any version (Gamecube, N64) of Princess Zelda, the greatest video game ever invented. Generally speaking, it's about thirty hours of gameplay to beat any version. I can get lost in their mindlessness and do them over and over. It is a mental vacation.

2.) I've mentioned this before but it's those Time-Life Music Infommercials. They are the essence of evil. They are hypnotic. The worst thing that can happen is channel surfing and some sort of magical lock won't let me continue surfing until the stupid thing is over. I miss the one for the '80's.

3.) Peanut Butter and Butter sandwhiches. A cholesterol nightmare, but I don't care. They are so easy to craft whilst watching CSI or Celebrity Poker Showdown. And they are so satisfying.

4.) Ratty-ass clothes the are incredibly comfortable. Yes, if you come to my house and catch me in them, you'll call the cops and swear that some homeless guy had broken in.

5.) A Charlie Brown's Christmas.

Now what makes you feel guilty?

I feel so used...

2006-01-30T11:28:00.000-05:00

It's finally happened and i don't know when it came to pass, but I've finally been inundated with Project Runway so much that I need to watch the next episode.
Why, oh why?

They're Like Tiny Cab Drivers...

2006-01-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

Where to begin with Scrubs. I'm beginng to think that they are just on a different plane altogether. Zach Braff is a terriffic director, especially for making people shine. Donald Faison definite winner for best dramedy actor for the episode.
And what about the "My Way Home" episode with the Wizard of OZ theme. I didn't get the 'Africa' reference at first until JD said he was taking Toto home. Too many references to list here...and yet, I'll try:
Red Sneakers
Referring to JD as Dorothy
Ray Bolger
Jordan becoming ugly then melting
JD having an surreal accident
The yellow line
them marching as a group down the hall while Ted's group hums the Follow the Yellow Brick Road song
referring to Elliot's head as straw
JD in the bodybag for the poppy fields
Cox behind the curtain
Janitor asking for the oil can because he couldn't move from his position

So many...
I know it's not fair because I know the style of doing 'Over The Rainbow' the way Ted's band did it, has become popular, but it distracted me because it was essentially the same as Dr. Greene's sendoff from ER when he died. I somehow thought there was a reference to that by Janitor running out of the green paint. It made more sense though that the smoker's were the dark forest.
Still awesome job.

Why Do Bloggers Fascinate Me?

2006-01-29T20:59:00.000-05:00

Blogging is a way of putting yourself out there, and if you have a comments section, allow yourself to be judged. You stand on the merits of your own writing. You are standing on a virtual soap box and saying what you think, then asking for other opinions of what you think.
I think of it as a very big step below public speaking, because of the anonymity of the net. Infinitely easier to dodge hecklers on the internet than from a podium.

100 More Things About Me

2006-01-24T22:16:00.000-05:00

I don't have the last list handy, so I'm hoping that I don't repeat myself. Also,I don't have the last list handy, so I'm hoping that I don't repeat myself.

1. Tinnitus. It is constant noise (and this is the important part) inside my head. Yes, just like William Shatner suffers from. The next time you're in the shower listen to the sound of the water. That is what I hear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It will also continue until the day I die when (hopefully) it will finally be quiet.
2. Phobic about stairs and sharks. Haven't been in the ocean more than 5-6 times since 1975. Coincidentally, the same year Jaws hit the theaters, I left the beach in my '64 Chevy Biscayne without looking back. Unfortunately, stairs are everywhere and my loathing stems from balance issues as well as unreasonable and unfounded fear.
3. I don't really hate being fat because i know that if I did hate being fat, I would make an infinitely better effort to not be fat. I am making strides though, as I do realize that for sure, I don't want to die a big fat guy.
4. Love TV. Any TV. I will watch any TV. I love discovering things on TV like CSI: Weekend, when they run the old episodes (which are all new to me).
5. I love comfortable clothes. Of late, during these winter months, I've discovered shirts and such for lounging about the old homestead that are really comfortable.
6. I like blue best. Even Bleu Cheese.
Sub-Category: Things I love
7. Everything Bagel, toasted, with cream cheese, and a black coffee from Dunkin Donuts. 'nough said.
8. The smell of fresh sawed wood.
9. The smell of fresh mown grass.
10. Wine.
11. Anything that's clever or that has a real huge surprise. Examples of this would be, The Sting, The Usual Suspects, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and my most personal favorite, Rollo Tomasi.
12. Driving.
13. Disney World. To me, it very much is, the happiest place on Earth. I've only been six times (including honeymoon), but it gets better every single time.
14. Chicago. I've been a real lot of places, but as a place to go (second only to WDW), Chicago is the best. Even when it sucks, it's still fun.
15. I'm as tall as a 6'3" tree.
16. Sleep Apnea. 89 episodes an hour whilst I sleep. For those who do not know what that means, in the course of an hour I literally stop breathing an average of 89 times.
17. Krispy Kreme Donuts, but not the coffee.
18. I do not believe in chance, only coincidence.
19. Love getting email (but not spam)
20. IM is a Love/Hate relationship at best. I believe when you see someone on your list as available, that it's like riding an elevator with someone you kinda know. You feel like you should talk but you don't want to all the time.
21. Pizza. I KNOW this was on the last list, but, Hey! It's pizza!
22. Middle-Aged, Middle Management, Married, Mortgage.
23. Don't want to die of old-age, but then I just don't want to die, either.
24. Vitiligo. Most won't have heard of this devastating little gem. It is harmless, odorless, and most important, colorless. Really what it does is take the color out of the pigment of ones skin, rendering the skin white. Not like Elijah Wood pasty white, but actual white. Well, that's not entirely true. It creates patches of white which gets really expensive makeup wise as it progresses.
25. I am an awful reader.
26. Many who talk to me think I went to college. But the reality is I was mighty lucky to finish High School.
27. I enjoy a good sense of humor. I love a great sense of humor.
28. Discovered a cockroach embedded in the bottom of a carton of Hood Vanilla Ice Cream and did not eat ice cream for years afterwards.
29. Don't like living where there are less than four seasons.
30. Enjoyed my time in retail, but never want to do it again.
31. Wanna try sky-diving someday. (Don't worry, it'll never happen...small fear of heights. I just think it's cool)
32. Become paralyzed when one of those fucking Time-Life Music Infomercials comes on. Doesn't even matter what decade.
33. I know it's selfish, but I really enjoy me time.
34. The Gag Reel has become my favorite part of most DVDs.
35. Think Sylvester Stallone is a lot better than he gets credit for.
36. Have seen a cobra...in the wild.
37. Am better about eating fish, which is supposedly 'healthier'.
38. Favorite thinking alone thing to do is be in a tall building at night that overlooks a city (view of at least three miles).
39. Despise karaoke. I wish them all a horrible painful death, at least as harsh as when i was subjected to their 'talent'.
40. I like my job, although I don't think I will for much longer, necessitating a move to a different job, as yet undetermined.
41. I miss the Sci-Fi Channel.
42. I do like Bravo, and AMC.
43. Bowling is somewhere on a level with karaoke.
44. My Mom just quit working. Not retired. Quit. She's 83.
45. I eat a lot healthier than the last time I made this list (roughly a year and a half, two years ago). better shape I think, too.
46. Not a big candy fan.
47. Bloggers fascinate me.
48. Have never been able to do a forward roll. Even in grade school.
49. Drink coffee by the bucket. And I'm good with that.
50. I think cows are far and away the funnier of the barnyard animals.

More Later...

A Wicked Pissa!

2006-01-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

My very hot cousin sent me this and it made me laugh enough to have to pass it along. And on a sidenote, I know Feisty Girl will chuckle as she reads these.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM MASSACHUSETTS IF:

You think if someone is nice to you they either want something or they are from out of town

The public transportation system is known as the "T" and you'd rather drive in bumper to bumper traffic for 4 hours to get to Boston than be caught dead on the "Orange Line"

You could own a small town in Iowa for the cost of your house

There are 24 Dunkin Donuts shops within 15 minutes of your house and that's how you give directions

If you stay on the same road long enough it eventually has three different names

53 degrees is "on the warm side"

You've walked to Brigham's for an ice cream cone "to go" in the snow

You cringe every time you hear some actor/actress imitate the"Boston Accent" on TV

You call chocolate sprinkles "jimmies"

A water fountain is called a bubbler. Say it "bubbla".

You can go from one side of town to the other in less than fifteen minutes

You know how to pronounce towns like Worcester, Haverhill, Peabody, Scituate, Chatham, and Leominster

You know what they sell at a "packie"

You keep an ice scraper in your car all year round

Paranoia sets in when you can't see a Dunkin Donuts, ATM or CVS

You've pulled out of a side street and used your car to block oncoming traffic so you can make a left

You've bragged about saving money at The Christmas Tree Shop

You know what a "regular coffee" is!

You can navigate a rotary without a problem

You use the words "wicked" "pissa" and "good" in the same sentence

You know what a frappe is

Saint Patrick's Day is your second favorite holiday

You drink tonic and would never consider using it on your hair

You never say "Cape Cod" you say "The Cape"

You went to Old Sturbridge Village and Plymouth Plantation at least once, in
elementary school, but never to Bunker Hill

You know the Mass Pike and 495 create some sort of strange weather dividing line

You actually get all these jokes and pass them on!

"Take five monkeys, a cage, a banana, string, and some stairs"

2006-01-22T19:20:00.000-05:00

I generally don't like room temperature, except when it's my food. I guess you could class me as a tepid kinda guy. I really like only a few things in the extreme. I am not drunk at the moment, for which I fear of what I'll have the gumption to claim. Nothing outlandish like, "Jennifer Lopez? oh yeah, did her. Had her when she was good."
I confess that I've only read a few other writers recently and I should probably axe half my 'You Must Read These People'list, because I don't read those people hardly and it's not fair to string you all along like that. Not because they're not good people, but it's just misrepresentaion on my part.

I hope this entry or any other of my entries isn't summed up with, "Oh, he's just being a whiney crybaby, boofuckin'hoo." I am going to attempt an unflattering stab at concluding that maybe there is some depression driving my current state of affairs. Not like Clinical Depression, but rather more like 'C'mon! it's time to get it together! It sucks because you're letting it suck. Stop it!' So on, etc.
You have to know that there are things (big things) in your life that you don't want to do because you're afraid of the consequences. So what you wind up doing is nothing and making everything bad. I believe that what people fear most in making big life decisions is someone coming along and telling you, "Man, were you selfish on that one, and for what? It was a dumbfuckin' choice to begin with that you never shoulda gone with." Hurting others is the big thing. Innocents, if you will. How does anyone make big decisions. sheesh.

The entry title refers to my favorite anecdote about how, in an organizational behavior model, policies form and perpetuate. It is a classic story in which you place five monkeys in a cage with a banana hung from the ceiling on a string situated above a set of stairs that would allow the monkeys to reach the banana. When a monkey starts to climb the stairs you turn a firehose with cold water on all the monkeys. Later, when another monkey starts to climb the stairs, spray all the monkeys again. Soon, when yet another monkey tries to head up the stairs, the other monkeys will prevent him. Now, replace one monkey with a new one. The new monkey will see the banana and head for the stairs, and Without having the foggiest idea why, the other monkeys will attack him. After a second attempt and attack the first monkey knows that if he goes for the stairs, he'll be attacked. Next, replace a second monkey from the original five monkeys. The new monkey will try the stairs and be attacked by the other monkeys, including the monkey that replaced the first monkey. Again, replace a third monkey, who upon heading for the stairs will be attacked. Two of the four monkeys that attack him have no clue as to why they're not allowed on the stairs, or why they're beating up the new guy. After the fourth and fifth monkeys have been replaced, none of the original five monkeys that were sprayed with the water is left. Regardless, no monkey will climb the stairs. Why? Because as far as they know, that's the way it's always been.

I've never seen Lost. Is this good?

2006-01-16T04:47:00.000-05:00

You scored as Sayid. You're Sayid! You're ashamed of your past and feel guilty about things you have done.

Sayid

94%

Claire

81%

Michael

81%

Kate

69%

Sun

69%

Sawyer

69%

Shannon

63%

Jin

56%

Boone

56%

Locke

56%

Charlie

50%

Hurley

50%

Jack

44%

Who is your "Lost" alter ego?
created with QuizFarm.com

Xmas Cards - Where the Virtual Meet the Real

2005-12-18T17:42:00.000-05:00

I am a Xmas card whore. If you send me one, I'll send one back and it occurred to me the other day that in exchanging cards with shall we say 'bloggers' that something tangible is getting passed. Whereas, we don't ever really meet anywhere else but on the virtual plane, Xmas cards bridge the span to make people you don't really know, a little more real.
I think that is pretty cool.
True, we're probably never gonna go fishin', even though I would in a heartbeat, it's cool to make that connection.

That Wasn't So Bad

2005-11-16T10:19:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all those willing to bear the mantle of suckage that I might have a better day. it worked because yesterday had it's ups and downs, but I figure I broke even.
I'm trying something a little different at work. I listen to Internet Radio and within the realm of Internet Radio I listen almost exclusively to Awesome 80's. Today however, I am trying AP News (Associated Press), just to have a background noise, because I am to distracted by the Awesome 80's to get actual work accomplished.
That being said, is anyone following the bird flu thing.

Influenza struck without warning in the fall of 1918 and with catastrophic effect. 550,000 Americans died over the next few months (few months!), a casualty toll exceeding U.S. combat deaths during World Wars I-II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined. Approximately fifty times this number, around twenty-five million persons in the Uniteds States, contracted the virulent influenza strain and survived.

The thing about influenza was that it appeared, killed, then stopped. It is still an unknown as to what caused, or why it stopped. We were never able to due anything.
Kind of like...Avian Flu.

Dear Diary

2005-11-15T08:12:00.000-05:00

I'm not used to doing a 'Dear Diary' format, but if you're going to grow as a person, you have to try new things.
This morning was ok. Trying to find a parking spot sucked a little bit, but I eventually did find one. Got my Dunkin' Donuts coffee, so that was good. Am at work now, so that sucks. Work is bad for people. It sucks.
More later as the day unfolds. Although I'm pretty sure it will probably suck.

I like this one

2005-11-13T19:23:00.000-05:00

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy.

You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts.

People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused.

But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Is that dog crap on a paper plate?

2005-11-07T21:35:00.000-05:00

I work nights, roughly four to midnight, so if I go home for dinner it's usually dark out. Tonight I went home and had some taco fixin's and decided to walk the dog after I ate.
Some background on the dog. He was six months old when we freed him from the humane society five and a half years ago. Other than peeing on the hallway floor the very first time he entered the home, he has never had an 'accident' since. We have walked him faithfully for the past five and a half years. A major part of the regimen of walking the dog is carrying a plastic bag and a couple of paper plates. Why paper plates you ask? That is because from the time he first joined us, it seemed like a clever and sanitary way to deal with the dogcrap in the first few moments of purging from his little dog body. A paper plate is easy to pop into a plastic bag for transport to a receptacle. It also gives the dog a big target to hit, even though, I think we all would agree, he really couldn't care less about hitting any targets.
So, I pack a plastic bag and two paper plates and I'm off with the dog into the night.
He's all excited because Fall has arrived and the air is crisp and dried leaves are everywhere. Dog sensory overload to be sure. We got about to the halfway point and he starts to squat and pinch a loaf. As always, I had a plate at the ready and successfully had it in place before doggie gifts started dropping. The dog finished, now stretching his legs and sighing that relief that comes from doing honest hard work. I lived through his happiness vicariously and then reached into my pocket for the plastic bag. But what plastic bag? The plastic bag I had felt in my pocket earlier was now gone! Shit! What are my options? Well, only one really. I can' t leave the plate, because everyone knows who the only person that uses paper plates is. Stuck with the only avenue open to me I pick up the plate and start to search for the bag. That would be the brown plastic supermarket bag resting in the leaves somewhere in the last three blocks...in the dark. i must discreetly traverse back to the home with hopefully no one noticing. Which of course, was never meant to be. Out of the darkness comes a neighbor.
Neighbor: Yank! How's it goin'?
Me: Not too bad. Just walkin' the dog.
Neighbor: I see that. Whatcha got there?
Me: Paper plate.
Neighbor: Is that dog crap on your paper plate?
Me: Yeah, I lost the plastic bag. I'm trying to find it now.
Neighbor: Oh, that makes sense. [unsolicited advice] Maybe you should carry two plastic bags.
Me: Shut up asshole! I already feel like a moron, walking through the neighborhood with a paper plate full of dog crap. [Then out loud I said] Thanks! You're absolutely right! Sure would've made lif a lot easier! G'night!
I found the bag two houses away from my own.

[Author's Note: The plate was folded at all times]

Daydreams

2005-11-04T02:38:00.000-05:00

day·dream
n.
A dreamlike musing or fantasy while awake, especially of the fulfillment of wishes or hopes.

I was pathetically whining to [insert a generic female faux name here] that I needed to write something and that I didn't want it to be some cathartic crap, which is ultimately boring, and in my head I'm thinking I want to top the 'Believing in God is like being Drunk' entry which I take a lot of pride in, but blah, blah, blah, anyway...I need something amazing. She said, "write about your daydreams". Brilliant is what I say now (after a bottle of wine) when earlier I thought it was just intriguing.
Daydreams. What do I daydream about? Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Wine. The freeflow of ideas should be more insightful with you on board.
Simple things at first. DisneyWorld. Yes, I really do in fact daydream about Disney World. I have been approximately six times including my honeymoon, and I do find it to be the happiest place on Earth. Thinking about it is always relaxing because I dwell on how the entire facility, or complex if you will, is designed and devoted to entertaining me in minute detail. Everything is thought of to make me happy while I'm there and things I never would've thought of are taken care of too.
Quick sidenote: I have to thank my terribly hot cousin for the term flights of fancy that she uses in her writing because that is what I'm thinking this is. (Drunkblogging is such a medieval phrase, and yet, 'flights of fancy' is picturesque. However make no mistake, I am drunk) *hic*
So, on with my daydreams/flights of fancy:
A controversial matter. Can I think of one. Not yet. I daydream about why I have no ability to read people. Why can't people say what they mean. (Oh my, this is such new ground we're breaking!) I confess I'm tired. It's been twenty years since the Eighties, which I believe wholeheartedly was my best decade overall. Each of us has a best year, mine was when I was seventeen, and then logically we have a good or best on average decade. Again, mine was the Eighties.
Oh, shifting gears again, I was saddened the other day watching The Godfather and The Untouchables which are the best, top dogs, cream o'the crop, movies, and I was saddened because they are huge movies and even High Definition TV is never going to equal the magic, yes I used the word 'magic', of seeing a huge picture in a darkened movie theater. With the giant movie screen filling your peripheral vision. There just isn't anything like it, and I can't share that with my kids, which bums me out.
I daydream about how technology makes the past so present but really it's not. I'm over 45 (under 50), so the Fifties and earlier are like when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. It's all an abstract concept. And even in the early Sixties when I was a little kid any memories I have are like not world events like Viet Nam, or Civil Rights, just shit around my house that was happening to me, grade school and such. No world events. Nowadays I wonder with all the statistics on sexual abuse, who in my class in elementary school was being abused. Thinking back on the girls who were I thought aloof at the time, maybe at least a couple of them were being abused, and I didn't know. I was a geeky kid (then and now) and as much as I miss those grade school days, I'm glad they are gone. I think I missed a lot of what was going on and I protected myself with TV.
I was going to make a point earlier about how those of you in your twenties would view the Eities and before as when the very same dinosaurs roamed the Earth, but the analogy is lost now. The wine is good but not for writing. I don't know how Hemingway did it (although I'm quite aware he did it better than me. He wrote whereas I type.

Stephen King's Women

2005-10-31T19:35:00.000-05:00

On this, All Hallows Eve, I occasioned to see Stephen King’s Carrie on one of the cable channels that is running all horror flicks during Halloween days. Thank you Mr. King for the great women you’ve given us. Carrie was the first real book that I ever read for pleasure. I had never heard of Stephen King, and I just happened to be in a chain bookstore (first time) that had just gotten Carrie in paperback. I quite randomly picked it up, took it home and read it through in one sitting. He became my favorite author for a few reasons, one of which was that, while reading Carrie, I actually made an audible noise of disgust during the shower scene in the beginning of the story when she gets her period for the first time. The reaction to the imagery and audible comment took me by surprise and I thought, “I’ll read anything this guy writes.” So when the movie came out I saw it (fell in love with Amy Irving, although Spielberg actually nailed her) and was amazed by it.
Watching the movie again some thirty years later I see it in a completely different light knowing the career paths that people had after it. What I appreciate about it now is how outstanding Sissy Spacek was as Carrie, how rich her performance was, and how great the character she got to play was.
The same can also be said of Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes in Misery. Oh my God, before I had seen the movie, she received the Oscar for the role. At the Academy Awards broadcast, when the clips are played showing the actors strutting their stuff, I saw her clip and I said to myself, “she’s won”. I still wince every time I see her start to swing the sledgehammer. Again, another great actress, but a great part as well.
Stephen King writes great roles for women.
Oh, Happy Halloween! And remember, don’t’ be a Halloweenie!

Time to Weed

2005-09-06T18:05:00.000-04:00

I so hate to do this, but by gum, I've got to weed the damn 'these people are worthy' list because they're not posting, or gone, or I just plain don't like them anymore.
Ok, I lied on the last part, but I do miss them. I am toying with the notion of a 'Hey, where the f*&@ are you?' list, which would only house those links that appear to still be active but haven't been written to in a long time. I would then encourage anyone who stops by my page to then stop by their page with just a one liner comment like, hmmmm, oh, I don't know, say like...."Hey, where the f*&@ are you?", or "Post something for crying out loud!".
Mmmmm, yes, I likes that idea.
Saw Spanglish last night. Excellent movie, which is no surprise with James Brooks, writing and directing. Duh. I will say that it was slow, but never in a bad way. I could just see why it didn't make boxoffice magic. The cast was perfect. Adam Sandler and Jim Brooks, a beautiful marriage.
Open Letter to Cloris Leachman: I love you. You are comedic acting genius.
Tea Leoni, I've always like you ever since your tv show The Naked Truth, where you were a journalist and you filled your bra with M&M's so that your boobs would look bigger in order to get some story, but the plan failed and when you were explaining the plan to your co-workers your plan with the M&M's and how it had failed and they (the co-workers) could have the M&M's from your bra, one of the loser guys said, "I don't like M&M's, what've you got in your pants?"
Well I still rank that as one of my all time favorite lines.
Oh, and Paz Vega. Well, um...I just love you. Sorry, that's all I got for you. Great job though!

Could We Just Have The One Who Can Read, Please

2005-09-04T20:50:00.000-04:00

Watching the coverage of Katrina on TV, and as much as I dislike GW, he really is an insensitive boob, who doesn't have a clue in now (count'em) two national disasters. On the flip side, When Laura Bush (the one that can read) speaks, she effortlessly shows compassion and genuine care about what has happened and what we need to do to fix it.
I can't really say anything that hasn't been said already about the disaster itself, but I'm compelled to put two cents in.
After Basic Training in Texas, I was sent to Keesler Afb which is in Biloxi, Ms, for school. I was there for about six months and got to know the area pretty well. I can't believe the photos I've seen of Biloxi and Gulfport, which has the local airport. Someone on tv, I don't remember who, talked about how the area was not just devastated, indicating a rebuilding effort would restore the shoreline community's, but that it was obliterated. A far more accurate and terrible account by my reckoning. When I first saw the pictures, I thought that it was more like erased than anything else. They talk about looters, but the people I saw were taking like, food, which makes sense to me. Taking a tv. To where? You gonna walk it upstate?

Moments of Clarity

2005-08-30T03:39:00.000-04:00

They are so few. It is sad really. But I guess that is what makes them special. Most of mine are silly, like, finding out in my late 30's that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was in fact across, not down (because mathwise, a league equals, give or take, three miles). The ones I like best are in movies. That surprise, if you will, like in The Sting, LA Confidential, or especially The Sixth Sense. I can still feel retarded about the clues that were the size of billboards in the Sixth Sense, and yet, doh dee doh dee doh, I missed'em.
Moments of clarity can let you feel good that way.
I was going to balance this entry out by mentioning the sad ones, but in a moment of clarity, I have decided not to. ha.

Why Believing in God is Like Being Drunk

2005-08-23T16:16:00.000-04:00

It is about giving away responsibility for your own actions, not taking ownership for what you do and assigning it to someone else. In the case of God, it's giving the authority to do things to God and he/she being responsible for the consequences. In the case for getting drunk, you're abdicating your responsibility to yet another ethereal state that can take the blame for you if something happens.
Drinking takes away responsibility, "Oh I was drunk when I did that!", equals "Whew! that was a close one. I feel bad but I don't have to do anything about what i said or did because I was, well, y'know...drunk.
We give drinking the responsibility not unlike we give God the responsibility. While cursing the lives lost in a flood or other natural disaster we'll say,"why did that happen?" The religious response is, "Well, it's His way", so that we can accept it on some level. We justify why God let a bad thing happen with, 'it's OK, because it was God, and he takes the responsibility.'
I was wondering why people drink, generally speaking. Alcohol never gets any good press. It's always bad (save for my favorite movie Arthur) and yet intoxication has gone on since the beggining of time.
I myself am kinda torn because I love drinking. I love the feeling of totally fried/toasted, but hate the lack of control you assume while doing it. I hate giving the authority away to someone or something else, but it is nice to get away without having to pack or plan. Like religion, drinking is a very personal thing, because once you start drinking, fairly quickly you find yourself all alone inside your head.

I Had SUCH a good time

2005-08-23T06:17:00.000-04:00

I did really.
I had already planned to go and my trusty sidekick called to say, "Oh, tonight turns out to be bad, I got offered a ticket to the famous sporting event in town". I say no biggie, we'll go tomorrow night. Agreed.
He calls me later and says they're heading to (good local bar), come join them. Agreed.
I pat my staff on their collective heads with a warning for everyone to be good and I took the rest of the night off. I do love being in charge.
Met my trusty sidekick at the good local bar and they were doing half-yards. I myself had been away for awhile so I decided to ease in with pints a plenty. Good conversation ensued. Time went by and we were beered out at that bar and the others were hungry so they moseyed on for pizza while trusty sidekick and I went to another bar where I opted for grownup alcohol. A great buzz ensued. I have to admit here, I've only had two hangovers in my life despite single sittings of alcohol consumption where test subjects lost their lives. Just lucky me, I guess.
Sleep, although not where I planned it, ensured the good feeling of the evening would pass unfettered into history, the only downside being that it is now 5 o'clock in the fucking morning and I won't be going back to sleep.
Still, a great yet unremarkable evening.

Talk amongst yourselves

2005-08-22T20:52:00.000-04:00

...because, I'm going drinking.

Night Is All Around Me

2005-08-19T03:24:00.000-04:00

The wine glass is filled (again) and I can still type, so let's talk about Tina Turner.

I was surf'n a little bit and came across PBS, where a voice over was narrating while images of what I thought were southern Baptist type churches were passing by. Turns out they were the Tennessee churches that Tina Turner attended and sang at when she was a child and that she was doing the speaking in the voice over. She talked about her childhood some and then it cut to her in concert and she was singing 'What's Love Got To Do with It'.
I'll be upfront and say I'ma kinda fan of Tina Turner. I don't dislike her in any way. I don't go out of my way to here her, still, I have a tremendous amount of respect for her and her music, but I gotta tell ya, she may be 66, but she is gorgeous. I'm watching her sing, not knowing exactly how old she was until I looked it up later, but I was thinking, My Gawd, she is beautiful and so exciting in the enrgized way. I swear I hope I look that good at her age (won't happen). One of the things about her is that to me musically, she is part of the group that epitomized the '80's. In her interview part of the program she said something so profound. She said that she never thinks about her music delivering a message, just that it makes you feel a certain way. And I thought that that is so right. It's never going to mean the same thing to me hearing it as it was to her writing it, or mean the same thing to another person hearing it. But it can make us all feel a certain way.
(Brief pause for the immediate consumption of chicken quesadilla Lean Pockets (the downside of alcohol consumption - hunger) and a wine refill. Yes, I'm feeling much better now.)
Whoa, I've lost my train of thought. God, I love wine,and Screwdrivers, and Gin & Tonics, and Vodka Sours. And for all those left out, oh, oh! Daiquiries with 151, I really love you the best.
Of late I've been mentally lazy, saying to myself, "I wish I was writing...", which of couse isn't true because if I really did wish to write, well, duh, I would fucking write.
There are so many simple truths. Eat less, exercise more. That's true, because I'm doing it. Yes, I'm eating less. I'm exercising more, and I'm becoming smaller! My six pack is still a case (or two), but it's no longer a keg (thankyouverymuch) and I'm donning clothes that people would actually wear other than cleaning the house.
It frightens me to think that I must have been well over three hundred when I decided that "I really don't want to die a big fat guy". That's absolutely true, and I thinkl that constantly. It is what motivates me. It keeps me going through six miles of walking running a day. It is what motivates me to not eat like an idiot, which I've done for an embarrassing amount of years. I hate not getting second looks.
Oh. oh....boring! More wine, Garcon!
I have been drinkinking tremendousa amounts of water which I have elected to substitute with wine this day. Yeah for me! Right now, my wine is a meal in a glass!
I'm thinking I should post soon before degrading to far into unreadability, but then really how far is that from where I be now. (goin' to the kitchen to get more vino!)
Apparently, I say apparently, I miscalculated and this will be as much (well, I squoze (real word?) oout a half a glass from a now complete-telly dead bottle) (now, like a pirate)and there be fresh bottle on deck, aaaarrgghh! (Now back to regular syntax) So this is as good as it gets (hmmmm, note to self: mention to Jim Brooks, would make killer title for movie. Probably Oscar worthy)
Oh horrors, I'm probably gonna post this without any editing. Y'know what, fuck, I don't care, as far as I know i didn't whine too much, I do wish I'd been clever (er?). But as it stands I don't think I offenddeed anyone, but I do miss hearing from some people, and actually you don't know who you are because you don't stop by anymore.
Oh CHRIST! I jsut said I didn't whine! Pussy, I'm just a super Big Pussy (who, now there's imagery that I don't htink I'd like to wake up to).
No. no, I'm doing takebacks,a dn the last whiney thing wrote is stricken. (and I can't believe I worded that grammatically correct).
My wine is nearing the end of the glass, or the bottom rather, and like the ghost of Christmas yet to come...hmmm, I don't know what I was going to write there but it really was pulitzer.
This is your blog. This your blog on alcohol.
They keep begging me at work to get a blog started about work. This without any knowledge that I have been blogging for over a year, because as well you know blogging is personal.
I was just thinking I pity you poor people trying to decipher this, as it's 100% crystal in my head, but I'm all alone in my head at the moment, which is what alcohol does.
Ah, the last swig has been downed and I'm off to reminisce on young ladies I knew in a simpler time when the summer were warm, not hot like they are now. and it was fashionable to be charming. I do miss those days, and I'm sorry if that's whining. I really don't care.
Good night.

My God I have to put some keyboard to screen

2005-08-03T03:15:00.000-04:00

My head is a wasteland right now, so many things going on. I had a terribly successful roadtrip from Cincinnati, OH to home in Connecticut in a mere 13 hours including a traverse across the great expanse of Pennsylvania. And speaking of Pennsylvania, I truley believe the entire length of Interstate route 80 is lined with poppy's to make you sleepy, like in the wizard of oz, because as pretty as the scenery is, as soon as you hit Pennsylvania, you're overwhelmed with a, "I'm not gonna make it across 80, because I'm just to fucking tired!" This feeling dissipates as you hit New Jersey (which is different issues altogether), but man, while you're in it all you hear is those munchkins humming and you're hoping that Glinda's gonna make it snow soon.
On a personal note to fellow traveler's: The very first sign on the highway that a Dunkin' Donuts (their coffee IS the staff of life) is within striking distance was the second to last exit before hitting the state line of New Jersey. I was VERY pissed about that. Very. Water was not a problem. Plenty of hydration. I needed the Dunkin' coffee. I was forced to used substitutes. I'm a simple guy. I like one coffee. I like it black. I have tried many other coffee's, even kona. I like Dunkin'. Ironically, I don't like their donuts. I prefer the yeast-based circles of joy created by the good folks at Krispy Kreme. They are reminiscent of a chain that was around when I was a kid called Bess Eaton, and OMG, the chocolate frosted donuts were to die for.

Kristopher Scott Allen (1988-2005)

2005-08-03T03:08:00.000-04:00

We shall not ever meet them bearded in heaven
Nor sunning themselves among the bald of hell;
If anywhere, in the deserted schoolyard at twilight,
forming a ring, perhaps, or joining hands
In games whose very names we have forgotten.
Come memory, let us seek them there in the shadows.
-Donald Justice (1959)

It was you or freecell

2005-07-25T03:29:00.000-04:00

What the hell was I thinking? 3:27 in the AM. and I really don't have anything to say except a book recommendation. Ha! if you knew what an irony that is. Well some of you do...
Space by Jesse Lee Kercheval. It is awesome. It is a memoir about growing up in Florida in the late 1960's during the heyday of the space program. I grew up in the late 1960's so I identified with the feeling of the era and the way summertime was described.
In a Devil's advocate moment let me say the Mrs. found the book to be OK. Not as awesome as I did. I will describe it now as the Wonder Years for girls. Please don't get me wrong. It was the whole world that was recreated that got to me. I felt the time again, briefly.
Maybe the book is best viewed if you're in your (late)forties, but I love this book. Believe me, if I say I love a book, it has to be a very special book.
I'm gonna go write to other blogger's now that haven't been around for awhile and try to find out what the big fuckin' problem is. If it's alack of wine I got plenty right here. Oops. My bad. There's a lot less than there used to be. I am SO embarrassed.
[edited to note list was destroyed by sober author]

Less Than an hour

2005-07-24T17:11:00.000-04:00

...to do this post, so it will be incredibly short, and only mildly informative. I'm doing a quick in and out of the city of Cincinnati, Ohio this coming weekend. Flying there on Friday early AM. Picking up a car and driving it back to Connecticut.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Oh, Rick. That sounds like the plotline for The Transporter or Vanishing Point!" And on some level you'd be right. And I do expect elite hitmen and spectacular car chases (at least on the Jersey Turnpike), but then again, if nothing remarkable happens, then I would just chalk it up to "well, they didn't catch me again! Woohoo!"

The wine says...

2005-07-22T03:09:00.000-04:00

I'm load'n up on wine at the moment so I'm going to let the wine do the talkin'. It's a California wine, so note the inclusion of words like 'dude' and 'bitchin'. I'm going to retire for the evening for I am drunk now. Good Night.

Dudes and dudettes! It is most pleasureable to be here. I have been lent this forum and I shall now begin to expound.
Rick's birthday is coming up in a week or so (I'm not totally clear). He's on the far side of 45 and not beginning to have those self doubts so much as feeling like being in the middle of them.
Do you ever feel like you just want to lay down on the floor and stretch out because you don't find comfort in any of your furniture? random thought
Where was I? To the best of my knowledge I'm not a manic depressive. I don't have those mood swings (wish I was dead/hap hap happiest guy on earth), but sometimes you just get tired of wondering what people think judging by the facial expressions or tone of their voice, to what you say.
Graduated from high school thirty years ago this year. Best year in my memory. There are of course more significant events, marriage, children, etc. but as a year and a summer it will never be surpassed. I had a car, my first girlfriend, I was young, and it was summer.
Can't really bitch and complain because I have a lot of good things now. Oh, but that nagging feeling like you really fucked up somewhere along the line. I don't wear a nametag in my job. I'm thankful.
I'm not really happy, I think. But I don't know why, so really i can't bitch about it.
I don't read people as well as I used to. Or I should say, I never could really, these days it's just more obvious.Should I write more, save this as a draft...no. I don't want to write more because i'm tired.

Wine and Women Remedy Feelings of the Sky Falling

2005-07-20T01:04:00.000-04:00

The fresh mountain air had a little to do with it, too.

You run around, figuring the way you figure things. You figure by all accounts that you're happy with what you got because you figure you've done your best. About a week before this little excursion to wilds of New Hampshire, my boss was remarking that the night before he had dinner over a friends house that is on the beach. This friend is a self-employed web designer and his wife has some non-specific good paying job. This friends work day consists of heading down to the beach with his laptop, working for a couple of hours (most of his clients are on the West Coast), then heading back to the house, making some phone calls, and thenback to the beach for another couple of hours work. The workday then concludes. My boss said to him, "I know you gotta have bad days", and I'm thinking, "Yeah, like when it's not sunny". But hey, nice life if you can get that kinda work.
So Friday rolled around and the original plan was to start out incredibly early (the dog could not be dropped off at the kennel before 8AM, so that was zero hour) and make our way to Boston to pick up the key for the condo in New Hampshire.
That was the original plan.
8:20AM, I wake up. aaaarrrggghh. OK, no big whoop. Let's make this a more casual mode. Get the dog to the kennel. 9:30AM. Not a problem. Casual mode. Pick up ice, and wine for the cooler and New Hampshire and get back home. Nothings ready to be packed, In fact, laundry is just going in. Not a problem. Casual mode. Other various things prevent leaving until 2PM. Not a problem. Casual mode. We have a smooth speedy trip to Boston, pick up necessary key, are given directions for a less trafficked route, and we're back on the road by 6PM. We easily find the condo in the darkness of New Hampshire at 10PM. And here friends is where the continuous chanting of, "Not a problem. Casual mode." paid off. Stepping away from the air conditioned minivan, I could smell the woods. That is a very important concept to understand. At that moment, all bad things, things that suck, faded into the New Hampshire darkness.
We took our first load of bags up to the front door (my cousins condo is on the third floor) and entered a place we had never been before. The condo was magnificent. Later when we had time to explore, we wound up on the deck stargazing millions of stars you can't see when in a lit city, and listening to the roar of the river going by in the blackness. It was incredible.
The next morning as we ate breakfast on the deck, a hummingbird appeared and hovered for 5-10 seconds only about a foot away from us. This was too much.
My cousin (the owner) showed up at 10:30AM and suddenly it was Bloody Mary time! We ate, switched to wine, explored the river (the pictures above are my daughter and I in a section of the river pictured above us)and had a fabulous casual dinner in a restaurant less than two minutes from the condo. I was totally swept up in this environment. I forgot about absolutely everything.
We were supposed to leave Sunday morning, but we delayed and didn't return until Sunday night. And we didn't stay any longer because there were too many commitments to overcome.
I know with the gentlest of prodding I would drop everything and move there. Yes, I really would. It was that good.
Thank you my cousin for inviting us, and I love you.

Away to the White Mountains

2005-07-15T12:26:00.000-04:00

..of New Hampshire for a few days.

Will be back with tales of wine, women, and song.

Feels better already!

2005-07-12T23:21:00.000-04:00

I'm already receiving positive feedback and let me tell ya,it feels great. I had a momentary, 'I feel like a boob' moment when I was reading jo's comment (Hi jo! It's great to read you!) about my wit and wisdom, only to realize she was reiterating what I had written in the original post. (God, i am such a chucklehead).
BUT, all pales in comparison to the fact that I got FREE STUFF in the mail. You can't beat that with a stick. How did this happen you ask? Ooooooh, let me tell you.
I have a another blog, Silent Running, which is focused on my efforts to not die a big fat guy. Eventually working my way down to a studly form would be a major bonus, but i'm not going to be an idiot about it, and we'll just have to let time tell. I do report good things have happened so far (with only one minor setback) since starting and progress is slow but that is the best way. My methodology includes making little narrative videos whilst I'm on the road about my adventures. This is mainly to serve as an incentive for me to do the exercise, which it does. I also have tunes that i listen to on my pseudo mp3 player and it all makes me happy and the time just flies.
Well, Bloggerdom as a whole, besides being a world populated with people who can read and write, is also at times, very much a support group. You meet amazing people (meet in a way because you'll never actually meet most of your fellow bloggers in real life) and you form bonds, etc.
As a way of adding incentive to 'keep up the good work' a fellow blogger sent me a CD that she mixed without any foreknowledge really of my musical tastes, and it is AWESOME! The road is even more enticing, and as I like to say, "the pounds are just melting away".
I call it free stuff, but I have to figure out how to reciprocate in kind for this wonderfulness. She is my heroine.

It's ME time

2005-07-10T21:57:00.000-04:00

I thought I could just show up here and all the loyal bloggers of earth would greet me spouting a hearty, "Welcome Back! We've missed your wit and wisdom (as well as the other shit you were peddling when last you were here)", and all would be right with the world. At least in my corner of it anyway.
Well, as I stand in my empty virtual house which is sans any festive homecoming decorations, it occurs that I'm going to have to give up the ghost and do some campaigning to get readers back. Doorprizes, contests, balloons? How will this be accomplished. In the old days you could just go into a bar and club the drunk readers over the head and when they woke up they would find themselves stuck reading your blog indefinitely. Oh, wait...no, that was British naval conscription. My mistake. My bad.
While I mull this over, leave a comment on ways I might be able to entice readers to join my stable. Oh, there, wasn't I clever! My first idea turned out to be getting other people to do it for me. Yes. I'm back!

The Saga of Day 19

2005-06-28T23:07:00.000-04:00

The Day I Got To Run With The Gods

A short while back I determined that I really didn’t want to die a big fat guy. To that end I changed, I like to think fairly drastically, everything I did, ate, etc. I started walking/running (mostly walking) six miles a day. While I was stationed on a remote assignment in Korea about 15 years ago I had done this, run six miles a day, sometimes twice, so the concept was not foreign to me. These days I mostly walk out the three miles, then run back (usually just the downhill parts) the second half.
Tuesday was Day 19, and by this point I felt a fair amount of stamina. Sadly, I was later to be spanked very soundly for being very wrong.
That day started out short on sleep (3-4 hours) and many things to do. I had to drop my daughter off at her day camp, then I had a morning meeting that lasted about an hour and a half. Between these two events I downed a major amount of black coffee (the staff of life) with no breakfast or any water (one big change was now I only drink black coffee, water, and wine).after my meeting I determined that I had enough time to squeeze in a six mile run before picking up my daughter (at 3) and I did so hitting the pavement at 12:30pm. So began Day 19 of my six mile runs.
Tuesday was a beautiful day, I believe around 75-80 degrees, I had my tunes, and I felt good. It also meant that I would reach the 90 mile marker at that point and I would be quite pleased. So I ran out the first half and upon reaching mid point I still felt good, no, I felt great, so off to run the second half I went. And as it ended I still felt great, and I even thought to myself, “That was a great run, this was a good day.”
I picked up my daughter at 3pm per schedule and brought her home so that I could get ready for work. A quick brisk shower and it was time to get dressed for work. And then, at 3:30pm, the day of my great run, my very good day began to end.
You know that rush you get when you stand up too fast, that lightheadedness that you momentarily feel. That happened to me. And it was so intense initially that I braced myself. Then it diminished (but didn’t go away) and I thought, not good, but tolerable. The effect I was left with, at first I thought tunnel vision, but it didn’t adequately describe what was going on. My peripheral vision in both eyes was haloed, or whited out. Or better yet it was like when something is digitized on the tv screen to censor it. At the time I had thoughts like, “Hey a nap right now would be great and I’m sure would fix everything.” And that turned into, “...but I might not wake up because what is going on here is that things are shutting down and the vision thing and the dizzy thing are my body’s clever way of saying goodbye.” [ed. Note: this was actual dialog going on in my head. No lie. No kidding.] I dismissed it eventually as all good people do with a, “y’know it really is probably nothing”, or as Ebeneezer Scrooge proffered, “Perhaps it was just an undigested piece of gruel”. Of course, we all know after he said that the Christmas shit really hit the fan.
But, I digress.
I dressed and headed to work, still lightheaded (so essentially I was being incredibly, if not completely, stupid) and that did concern me, but I pressed on because, after all, I am invincible and living proof of immortality. I parked at 4pm, and as I went to dig out quarters from my pants pocket, came the realization that my left hand was of a different mind and was no longer worker for me solely, but had subcontracted out to some company that was on a break. This was also coupled with the numbing of about 50% of my left arm. Now I thought, “This sucks...” Yet, in spite of it all I pressed on. I attributed the arm business to muscle spasm from the day’s run. No real problem. Except of course, that I was being stupid. Tip of the iceberg, as it were.
I got into work and within a few minutes decided to reassess my stance on whether or not I was making a career decision that was in favor of being an idiot. I decided that after all was said and done that I was, and I needed help of a healthcare nature. It was now 5pm and I called my wife to come and pick me up to take me to our healthcare facility. This I felt was a risky decision in and of itself because I was sure that there would be a very high risk of panic that would ensue. There wasn’t. She picked me up and we headed to our healthcare facility. What I gleaned from this experience is that although I’ve known for a long time if you say, “I’m having trouble breathing...”, everyone, including surgeons in the middle of open-heart surgery, will drop everything to help you. It is the #1 phrase that will get you anything. I discovered the second best thing is, “My left arm is sorta numb...” Won’t get surgeons out of surgery, but darn close. At the small facility we chatted, the doctor and I. My symptoms began to dissipate, but they ran an EKG, which showed I was healthy, which was positive. The doctor explained in a, better safe than sorry manner (he nor anyone else I was in contact with over the duration of this event ever alluded to my being an idiot, which I am thankful for) said that I needed to go to the ER at the Big Shot Hospital, where they would do definitive testing and give me the really important answers like, “Sure, feel free to make plans fro Friday”, or, “No, I wouldn’t bother booking anything after Friday, just throw your calendar away”. Of course I said ‘OK’. He then kinda muttered that the ER time would probably take 5 hours. Truer words were never spoken.
The ER portion, and I must say everyone (except for one asshole before the check-in) from beginning to end, the virtual parade of neurologists, doctors, PA’s, nurses, technicians, orderlies, and anyone I have forgotten, I’m truly sorry, was nice to me. The ER was just like on tv, in that it was chaotic, yet had a flow. While there I was treated to a cat scan, x-ray, another EKG, blood draw, and many mental faculty tests (Can you name the day/month/year in that order?) from 7:30pm to 3am. At which point they said, “Oh, actually we want you to stay for a sleep over, ‘cause all though you did great with every test we’ve thrown at you so far, your blood came back and said that you might be a tad fucked up, so we wish to throw bigger more expensive tests with machines that go ‘ping’.”
I am compelled to mention that any and all symptoms I had were gone before I got to the ER, so essentially I felt good again, and felt bad being surrounded by people truly in need of medical help. And there were many of those. The ER was chock full.
So anyway at 3am I was off to my room which I shared with a man who had some sort of loud pneumatic pumping machine thing to help him be alive. I have tinnitus so the noise really didn’t bother me. Come Wednesday morning and the beginning of what was to be through it all, the only bad part of the hospital experience (except of course, that asshole in the ER – a security guard who more than obviously thinks to himself , “I really should have a sidearm”) was the electrode patches. Folks, sorry to have to share this, but I got a hairy chest (not Robin Williams hairy, but still…) and by the time I had to remove those sticky superglued fuckers for the third time, I (dry) shaved those five spots as I knew there would be more tests to come, because you can’t have them on your person for certain tests; x-rays, MRI’s, etc. Tests I hadn’t had as yet. In retrospect, I think they purposely alternated the two types of tests just to see if I would cry (only a little the second time they were ripped off).
I spent the day picking out meal selections, getting tested, watching shows on channels I don’t have at home, and generally feeling bad because I didn’t feel sick at all and I was taking a bed from somebody who actually needed it. The only test related incident occurred during the MRI, which I’ve had one before so no big whoop. If you’re claustrophobic it can be a nightmare, but I usually fall asleep. The test was in three parts and took about an hour. In the third part they injected a dye to watch the highways and byways of the circulatory system in my head. I’m fine with this, except at the time the tech was putting in the injection she said the obligatory, “you’re going to feel a pinch…” duh. But then she said, “and you might notice a taste in your mouth and a smell.” They instantly scooted me back into the machine where you’re not allowed to move and I thought, “why did she say that? Then I could feel the salivating beginning and I’m thinking, ‘well is it the injection or am I just panicking? I knew I was now stuck in the machine and if I started swallowing hard it would screw up the fucking hour long test, but what can I do? I called on much self control and swallowed (again in retrospect I could have just drooled. It was a hospital after all) But everything corrected and I was off again to my room to await more tests, food, and tv. Did get to see Gladiator. This continued through Thursday where we finished up testing with an echo cardiogram, ultrasound of my carotids and a complimentary blood draw.
The paperwork was done then, all the neurologists looked at all the tests, came in and told me, “everything looks great, there is no evidence of a stroke (the first best guess), a heart attack, or coronary heart disease. So based on the evidence that there is no evidence, we find that you may or may not have had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack), which means a clot, or piece of plaque, may have worked itself free and lodged momentarily in a major artery and is now gone. So essentially something or nothing happened…we’ll need you to come back for more tests.” Oh and one of the side deals was ‘no more running’, which was a killer for me mentally. Some walking, OK, I can build up distance, but not running.
That one hurt. So I left the hospital, my adventure somewhat over. I stopped at the diner and got a cheeseburger platter. A farewell meal if you will.

Come On In...Front Door's Open!

2005-06-16T08:24:00.000-04:00

Hi!
I'm back. As soon as I get all the windows opened and the sheets off of all the furniture, I'll do a post about about coming back to the neighborhood and how much I've missed it. There are a few changes. Subtle ones, but you can't live in the past.
Anyway, I'll post real soon, and it's nice to see familiar faces again!

Gentle Readers

2005-02-11T13:09:00.000-05:00

In the light of some recent events, I’m afraid I have to mosey on before the townspeople loosen a fencerail and favor me with a ride out of town on it.

Over the last couple of weeks there have been things I wanted to write but gave up the time to do so without batting an eye. I took this as a sign that it is time to move on and in a different direction. So Doc Bean’s mesmerizin’,tantalizin’ and ever satisfyn’ Medicine Show is going to set up the wagon in some new burg where my reputation doesn’t precede me. I’ll be leaving this evening (under cover of darkness of course!), so adieu gentle readers.

For those hearty souls who would care to go the journey, drop an email boxstuffer and I’ll give you directions for the right exit off the Information Highway.

I do have to say something about last night before I go, though.

Joey – The Lawyer is getting better. Thanks. Overall the show is getting better. Thanks again.

Will & Grace – Great job, with the exception of Ed Burns. His interaction with Debra Messing seemed forced. I don’t like that. I especially don’t like it on shows I like. Stop it. And it was so very cool to see Michelle Lee and Chita Rivera. The dancing the four of them did was great fun to watch.

The Apprentice2 – I fast forwarded through a lot of it, and just hit the highlights. I’m sure I’ll watch the new episode next week. (...and if you're wondering why I didn't link it, it's because it don't deserve it)

So anyway for all those kind enough to take a peek and then hang around I am forever in your debt because it is still amazing to me after a year about chance connections through my blog to people literally from around the world.

I have to leave now because I have pick up some snacks for the road. Goodbye, Go in peace, and as always Thanks for Stopping By!

You found me by typing what?

2005-01-23T23:09:00.000-05:00

I’ve seen other people do this so I’m giving it a whack.

I wondered when people have a desperate need to find me, what sort of search strategy they might use. So for your entertainment I’m revealing the keyword phrases that will, at the speed of DSL, bring you to my doorstep.

A Connecticut Yankee will pop up if you in no particular order use these:

ivana stripping

connecticut jokes

where did the story connecticut yankee take place. (this one was troubling, actually)

hitler was a jerk

appetizer wienies (intriguing)

safety dance conspiracy (I'm pretty sure Zoot is behind this one!)

And last, but not least…

connecticut sucks

2005-01-23T22:52:00.000-05:00

But it did make one dog veeerrrrryyyy happy. (The queer looking pink thing is his tongue)

2005-01-23T22:49:00.000-05:00

It was never even close to the Blizzard of '78

2005-01-12T04:29:00.000-05:00

Do I live in Bedford Falls, or what? Will there be school? Probably...

2005-01-12T00:57:00.000-05:00

snow makes everything so peaceful...

2005-01-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

Snow falling, making work a winter wonderland! Or crappy to drive on.

I taped...I watched...I just don't care...

2005-01-10T03:58:00.000-05:00

...About Boston Legal. It was wonderful watching the interaction between Spader, Bergen, and Shatner. But the way it was filmed overall, sort of a Target version of LA Law motif, and the NYPD Blue type music which didn't fit. I didn't sense anyone relating to anyone else, except for the occasional witty banter. I don't know if I'll go out of my way to tape it again since other family members expressed interest in Crossing Jordan.
Hopes were too high.
Desperate Housewives came through. I confess that storyline with Gabrielle pretendiing to be 'just shopping' was annoying. Ireally don't get the problem Lynnette has with Claire. Tom didn't put any moves on her, it seemed like Tom directed what he was feeling back to Lynnette. Wouldn't that be the right way to go? Was Lynnette cheated somehow? I don't get it.

Tonight, tonight!

2005-01-09T20:56:00.000-05:00

Yippee! Desperate Housewives and possibly a new love, Boston Legal. Candice Bergen, thankyouverymuch.
I've also discovered the original CSI on late night weekends. My viewing pleasure is getting greater and greater!
We are still grappling with the Tivo question. Does anyone record a whole week and then watch it on the weekend in one shot, or anything similar to that scenario?

The Pernell Roberts School of Career Decision Making

2005-01-06T21:33:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time there was a show called Bonanza. It was a western show about a man who owned a ranch where his three grown sons also lived. From week to week the man and his sons experienced western adventures that pleased American audiences on Sunday nights for fourteen years.

Well, not all the sons made it the whole fourteen years. One of the sons thought being on a popular TV show was beneath him. He said so. He complained. A lot. Over and over. The public actually did not care. They liked him in his part, but after six years, the actor could no longer take it so he bailed. He left to go do bigshot movies, and the Broadway stage, and better TV. He left the hit TV show so that his career could soar.

That actor was Pernell Roberts. Do you know his name? I do because I’m cursed with an incredible memory for television and movies. If you don’t know his name, that’s OK. He is a very good actor and does work…occasionally. No real soaring though, just kinda works…occasionally. What makes him stand out is that he is a very good actor (award worthy) and he bitched and moaned about what many would consider a very sweet deal for an actor.

There are others who at a critical juncture (erroneously) decided, “I’m better than this crap.” Most notably; Shelley Long ("Cheers"), Rob Morrow (Northern Exposure) Sherry Stringfeld (left two series! NYPD Blue, ER), and several folks from Saturday Night Live.

Oh, and of course, David Caruso. He left NYPD Blue over ten years ago! Yet he goes on being punished. He’s done a few movies, none memorable. I think of CSI:Miami as his penance. A way to let him back into the fold. If you’ll act in this garbage, Dave, we’ll see about throwin’ you some better stuff later. I hope it works out because I really enjoy his work.

As for Pernell Roberts. He left Bonanza about forty years ago, and Pernell is in his late seventies now. From what I read, these days he often says that he regrets how he goofed when he blew off Bonanza.

Who's Your Daddy?

2005-01-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

I was just reading that this show tanked (as compared with Medium, which rocketed through the roof!). How come? I confess I don't anything about the show except that everyone who called in on the radio this morning HATED it. From what little I know about the premise it seemed like the producers had sunk lower than whale shit to come up with an idea.

But on the up side Committed (which means no Scrubs) is on tonight, so we'll just have to take a look see.