Chatting up the Ladies
I've gotta get my swing back. I saw Over the Rhine last night @ the Chameleon Club. Not their best show ever, but an excellent one. I did happen to chat up a trio of co-eds, not too bright but easy on the eyes. They (OtR) have a chick on tour with them, Kim Taylor. Smokey vocals very similar to Karin's. Karin and Kim had some real unique harmonies on a couple of songs. I picked up the vinyl version of Ohio and have it spinning right now. Vinyl has such a full sound. Back to the point, OtR was road testing a bunch of new songs from thier new album Drunkard's Prayer. Good stuff. I am really looking forward to getting it soon.

Baseball is almost here!!!
- posted by TundraBoy @ 3:38 PM 1 comments

 
Just the Kind of Day It’s Been
A difficult one to be sure, but that is how it goes somedays. I won’t tell you about my broadcast issues this morning. Nor am I gonna get into the details of my current beef with nursing. No, that really doesn’t compare to the one crowning moment of my day thus far, and I know that there are many more hours to go…

So what is it? What is the thing that just makes me slap my forehead? This morning as I went to stand at the urinal at work, I unzipped and was preparing to “go” and I discovered that I put my underwear on backwards this morning.

Top that, I dare ya!!!

NP: Justin McRoberts: Reason For Living – Not Free

- posted by TundraBoy @ 9:40 AM 0 comments

 
I've Got Neighbors
Yesterday I was at a party for a dear friend's little girl who was turning 4. If you've never been to a party for a 4 year old, you have missed an experience. Controlled chaos would be one way to describe it but another way is "waiting for the ambulance." No children were hurt but there were moments I thought that every child there was gonna cry. Not having children of my own, there is a bit of blessing in seeing other parents deal with their kids. Shameful glee. Evil as it is to say, nobody told these people to procreate. So some of the adults at this shin-dig I went to college with and we were able to talk and joke around in the afternoon, an absolutely gorgeous afternoon.

So a number of us are on the deck shooting the breeze, Tommy-Boy, Pudgy the Rocket, Mic the Teacher, and yours truly. As conversations go, we probably would have been fined by the FCC but thank God we weren't on the radio, I started talking about my neighbors. My neighbors in my complex are unique. There have been good and bad, but most recently it has gotten worse.
Currently the neighbors that intrigue and piss me off the most are in two separate apartments. I don't know any of their names so I have given them all their own designates.

The ones that affect me the most are the Convicts. They live in the apt right behind me and on the 2nd floor, so their deck is right across from my bedroom window. The best I can figure that there are anywhere from 2 to 8 people crashing there at any one time. Mostly guys, but that changes when they bring their girlfriends/whores around. They seem to be quiet until about 10 o'clock at nite and then it kicks in. They are out on the deck til 3 or 4 in the morning. And they are loud. This pisses me off because I get up at quarter of 5 in the morning for work. So when this occurs during the week I get irritated. I could see doing this on a weekend, but one would think that during the week they would have to work. All I am left to think is that they are students and go to school, work 2nd shift, or make a living doing something illegal. My tendency is the last option. I call them convicts because during their on deck antics someone is inevitably yacking on their phone to someone (parent, x-girfriend/whore) telling them that they can "call my probation officer" in regards to their whereabouts. And there is never a lack of female companionship at their apt. I've seen groups of 3 to 4 girls show up at a time. They generally look skeezy. I don't get it how that is appealing to women. These guys are asses and they treat these girls bad.

The other apt dwellers that are aggravating are the Whores. Yesterday at the party, Mic the teacher said that it was degrading to women to call them whores. Mic may have a point if I labeled all women as whores, but I don't. Have you seen the Bratz dolls that they sell to little girls, right next to Barbie? If you have, that is the image I have of these neighbors, but as an added bonus, they have dogs. Yipper dogs, punters, kickers...You get the idea. They let their dogs run around making messes and noise uncontrolled at night. It kills me. These two whores have companions as well and they are just as much joy as the Convicts. Out on their patio at 11 at night is a way to make friends and influence people. I don't know what these peole do for work, but regular working stiffs like myself and my roommate Zeke, that shit don't go down.
So when it is all in alignment...The best night of all is when the Convicts are having a party at 1 in the morning and the Whores are doing drunken sing-a-long at the same time and they start in with each other. It is trying. But help is on the way as a 3 time purple heart recipient would say. Zeke bought a house and asked me to come along.

So by month's end, I'll say goodbye to the Whores and Convicts and say hello to quiet suburbia where the biggest irritant on the block are the neighbors across the street that have a #8 flag hanging on their porch. I suppose I'll have to get a #24 flag just to bug them.

As to whether or not my friends understand why I say that I preferred the Lesbians over the Convicts and Whores, or even the anti-social Italians, I can't say, but this I do know, as Pudgy would say "corn is good."

On a side note, the Yankees have won the Division series against the Twins and face off against the Bo-Sux in the championship series. So to my good friend D, I say, no way in hell. I talked to D's husband, Marathon Man, the other day, and he at one point had asked D if it would be good to have the Yankees knocked out by the Twins so the Sox wouldn't have to face them. As Marathon Man told me, her response was iffy. D said it would be good but it would be better if the Sox took em out. Here is the problem with the Red Sox Nation, they want to win a World Series so badly, but that is tempered with hatred for the Yanks. They want to beat the Yanks in order to get there. As opposed to the Empire, that just want to win, and have done it 26 times. I don't care how many midgets Pedro has, it ain't enough to stop the Yankees...

And if you would like some fun reading check out my boys HH and Skinny, they are almost as funny as Ralph Nader.

NP: Over the Rhine- Changes Come LIVE: Changes Come

- posted by TundraBoy @ 1:17 PM 0 comments

 
Ship of Fools or Boat of Idiots.

I don't know which one I am on right now, but I can tell ya that a few need to go overboard. There are just too many stupid people on top making decisions that affect people the work for a living. Why can't people just say what they mean? Is it that hard? Maybe it would be easier if there were a little sign on people's foreheads that spell out what people really mean when they are talking. It would take some getting used to but there would be a hell of a lot less hassle.

Mind you this would be for words that are spoken and not for random thoughts. This would turn into Mel Gibson in WHAT WOMEN WANT. It wouldn't necessarily do away with conflict or problems, but it would move people towards being honest with each other. We often aren't honest with each other or ourselves for that matter. How often do we talk to someone and tell them some bullshit story and it is supposed to be helpful or inspiring, but we don't even believe what we have said.

I am not gonna get all weird about being sensitive to this person or that, we need to treat people with respect, but that means being honest and direct and tempered with respect. So how does that effect my tirade about the forehead signs? It doesn't. It would cause us to think before speaking, and is that really so bad.

NP:U2-The Best of 1990-2000 & B-Sides Disc 2:Discotheque (Hexidecimal Mix)


- posted by TundraBoy @ 11:52 AM 0 comments

 
The Witch Hunt Continues...

It's been well over a month since I've posted, so lets get to it. The FCC hasn't revoked my student license yet for a non-com station, but man, they are pissing me off. It's not the fines that are an irritation, but the way corporations are bending over and taking it up the chute when they should be telling Chairman (thanks for the job Dad) Powell to back the hell off. Case and point of paranoia that feeds into the market place: Clear Play . You ask what this is. What it is a device that edits movies as they are being played. The guy in charge of the company says the timing is coincidental, but man oh man, how it feeds into the frenzy. The FCC is pressuring media on many fronts, and like I said before, it will get to the point where the Kool-Aid is passed and we'll all have to drink or go away on re-instruction vacation, complete with free lobotomy. Lecture over.

Other stuff that is going on. Baseball season has started and I couldn't be happier. I attended opening day out in Pittsburgh last week with Skinny and the cute little blond chick. It was awesome. Game time temperature was about 45F. We were in the bleachers (my first time in far left field) and those were prolly the best seats for the game. We had the sun the whole game, so it didn't feel like it was 45. The Phills lost, I was cool with that. Skinny was not. We all still went out to dinner after. And after dropping off the cute little blond chick, we headed back to Skinnys' place and watched what could be described as a complete rout of a NCAA final. UCONN trashed Georgia Tech, a foreshadowing of what the Lady Huskies would do to TENN the following night. UCONN kicks ass and I am a proud fan.

Skinny and the cute little blond chick will be crashing at my place for the next two nights as we are going to see the Phillies get beat again. We will be checking out the new stadium tomorrow. I actually didn't hate the Vet, I just hated most of the people there. It was an ok place to see a game, even when it was raining (which I hope it won't be doing tomorrow). And I am looking forward to opening day for the Harrisburg Senators on Thursday. I've never been to an opening day there, so I splurged on box seats. No rain.

Good news on the radio... or what I like to call my chance to nail Mystique. Divorce is not a good thing, and I never wish it upon anyone, its time to pop the cork on the bubbly.
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is no longer married to John "have mercy" Stamos. From the realm of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, that marriage was akin to the David Copperfield - Claudia Schiffer and the Billy Joel - Christie Brinkley relationships. So Rebecca is now available?geeks, nerds and dweebs around the world are now applying their acne cr?me in hopes, no matter how far-fetched, of one day getting the girl that can morph into anything. On a completely different note, Kevin Max/Smith/Bono wannabe of DC Talk has gotten divorced . So all you ladies and metro-sexual guys who are real into him, can move to NashVegas and hope to marry the guy, cuz God told you to.

If ya'll love TV the way I love TV, you know that Tuesday is the new Thursday. So many good programs are on, American Idol, 24, The Shield, Queer Eye, Dennis Miller? the list goes on and on. The problem is that the president is gonna yap at us tonight at 8:30pm. This is gonna screw me up big time. No there will be no AI Live. He better have something good to say, or I won't be text messaging my vote for him in the finals in November. I wish I had recorded the Nick and Jessica Variety Hour from Sunday, just in case this sucks tonite, then again, the Sopranos Season 3 box set hasn't been watched in awhile...

Everybody point and laugh at Helmet Head... he watched Gigli... dumbass

NP: Guns 'n Roses - Use Your Illusion Vol. 1: Coma

- posted by TundraBoy @ 6:01 PM 0 comments

 
Clear Channeling the Way To Infinity Broadcasting and Beyond the FCC

Ok? simply put, I am wicked pissed right now. For those of you who don't know, the pendulum has swung the other way. If I were to read this blog entry on the air at a radio station, chances are what I will say will be obscene and indecent. I'd get fired and the radio station's broadcast license could be revoked. I could get fined and sued. How is that for protecting the first amendment? And why are radio stations being attacked?

Well, it could be that all of a sudden people who listen to the radio have figured out that they can't continue to live their lives with out the government stepping in to help them think. Or, maybe people figured that radio and television is a massive cesspool and wasteland and they want more NPR, classical music and hell-fire and brimstone preachers that sound like they are talking into a tin can (Commodore, I am totally looking into your direction). Or maybe it is just about Janet's areola accoutrements.


Are you confused yet??? Don't worry, it's about to get even more so.

The FCC has outlined the regulations regarding obscene and indecent broadcast. Obscenity had pretty much been defined and they're in my mind not much to quibble over. George Carlin used to do a bit about the seven dirty words you can't say on TV or radio. The original seven words were, shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.

How often do you use any of these words? How many of these words have you heard uttered on TV? How many of these words have you heard in a song that is played on the radio? I think that you may have heard them one or twice or uttered them yourself. I know that I have, most of the time whilst behind a dopey driver in front of me.

But the point is that it is clear according to the FCC what is "obscene". What is not clear to me is how Television get away with it and radio cannot. It seems to me that there are two standards, and radio is the redheaded stepchild.

My bigger beef is with the lack of definition of what is indecent. Companies like Clear Channel and Infinity that own many radio stations have the freedom and right to set their own standards and practices about what is appropriate for broadcast. As long as it is not obscene, you can say quite a bit. Where I bristle is when the government says it is going to determine what is indecent and then not properly define it. Basically set and rule and not tell anyone what it is.

Maybe it is a stretch here, but it sounds quite a bit like censorship. The government is going to determine for you and for me what is appropriate for broadcast. Let me say this again: THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO DETERMINE FOR YOU AND FOR ME WHAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR BROADCAST. Stop reading for a moment and let that sink in?wrap your head around that one. Mr. Powell, sir, I'd like to have some of your fantastic tasting Kool-Aid now. Two glasses please.

You say, "Tundra-Boy, you have gone off the deep end, you are crazy for thinking that the government wants to control what you listen to on the radio and television" I say to you, the government would like nothing more than to control the content of what you watch, hear or read. And not just this government. Hello, anyone remember the USSR or Iraq.

The government tried this before, I think we called it McCarthyism. And it went something like "if you have a different opinion than what we say, we wreck your lives." Or a more recent issue was that involving pornographer Larry Flynt. He was sued, and almost shut down, but what he does is not against the law. As much as you and I may disagree with what he does, it is protected as freedom of speech. You can choose to buy Hustler or not. That is how simple it is.

The issue is freedom of speech, freedom of choice, and keeping the governments hands off the creative process. Jack and Jill radio listener are different from town to town and state to state. But this sudden move by the FCC to tell DJ's you can't be indecent, and not defining what it is, is basically making a choice for the people tuning in who like to listen to Howard, Rush, Sean, Bubba the Love Sponge, Mancow, Imus, Michael Savage, Opie and Anthony, The Radio Chick, Drudge, Glenn Beck, Alan Comes, or my personal favorites Radio Gods Don and Mike. A diversity of opinions, perspectives, ways to entertain, offend, and just have fun. If the FCC can tell us now what we cannot say on the air, how long will it be until the government will try to regulate what we think.

I am as a matter of fact and now public record saying that the FCC should keep its fucking hands off the radio. I think that the republican majority in power in Washington ought to support this. They preach about how government should not interfere in the marketplace. Baby, this is a big market place. Radio stations sell advertising space, and consumers hear or see the ads. Then they buy stuff. If you change the radio content of what consumers want to hear they won't hear your precious motherfucking commercials. If they don't tune in and hear the ads, you greedy cocksuckers won't get your money. And that is the thing that drives the boat. The dollar. No money leaves y'all up shit creek with out a pot to piss in.

So in to wrap up my rant, the FCC can take a hike on the issue of indecency, because they want to control what we receive as entertainment. Why, because Janet showed the world her tits. Obscene yes. Indecent, absolutely. Good thing it wasn't on the radio, she'd get fined, lose her broadcast license and maybe be out of a job and that'd be a shame, just a fucking shame.

I could be wrong, but that is the beautiful thing about the freedom of speech, you don't have to agree with me and if you don't like what I have to say, wait a few years, I am sure the net will be regulated for content by then.

NP: Johnny's Blues - A Tribute to Johnny Cash: Garland Jeffereys - I Walk The Line

- posted by TundraBoy @ 9:58 PM 0 comments

 
I Lied and I'm Lazy

Year that was blog?. not written. Will I? Probably not. Suffice it to say it was both good and bad, positives and negatives, dark days and even darker ones. The new year seemed to hold promise, but already both my parents have been in hospital. Things are ok now, but they are giving me grays.

The Super Bowl didn?t suck, how cool was that? Unfortunately JJ?s tit (as if no one has ever seen one before?not quite like spotting a sasquach) became more of a story than the game. Am I shocked??? Hardly. Nothing shocks me anymore. But I do think it was inappropriate for primetime viewing. I really don?t know what the process is over at Viacom, who owns CBS MTV VH-1 BET and a few other stations. Viacom is the ?Parent? company.

Lets look at that for a moment. Viacom owns the following:
CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount, TVLAND, Showtime, Blockbuster, Spike TV, CMT, BET, UPN, Comedy Central, Infinity Radio, Sundance Channel, United Pictures International, and a host of other companies.
Now as we all know, children don?t always play well together. Sometimes it?s hard to make sure they know what their kids are up to. Here?s the thing. As a parent you ought (read: should, must, have to) to know what the kiddies are up to, especially if you are having a bunch of people over for a party. The kids can?t run willy-nilly all over the place.
The fact that Viacom/CBS didn?t know what Viacom/MTV was doing is total bullshit. The Super bowl is the single most watched event on TV for the year. Advertisers base or bust on the night that the NFL showcases. Just about everyone that I know watches. To think that every i and t are not crossed and re-crossed and checked again and again. If they haven?t made sure, then they should be fired. I?ll get off that box and make my way over to the apology box.

Janet and Justin. First off, Janet, honey, that is not the way to generate positive attention for your family right now. Your brother Mikey the kid-toucher, should be locked up for the rest of his life. As to the discussion of will he get locked up is for another rant at another time. Four words for Mikey: General Population Prison Bitch. So back to you, it was in bad taste. I like to think that I am fairly open-minded but there are a few lines that shouldn?t be crossed. One of them is protection of children?s innocence. The world we live in is tough enough on kids with out your ?artistic expression.? I am a supporter of 1st amendment rights, freedom of speech important to me and should be protected, but not at the expense of children?s innocence. You want to bare your bosom, call up Scores or Al?s Diamond Cabaret, don?t do it on network television. If you need that much attention for a most likely terrible album, maybe you should have worked harder on the material. Take a hint from Brittney, skanking it up does not a diva make, look to Aretha, and there is a diva (no skank factor).

Justin, man thanks for that non-apology. ?Sorry if any of you were offended.? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is that supposed to be. That is akin to the burglar getting caught at the bank with his hand in the till and then saying sorry. No, that don?t work bub. If you were sorry (which I doubt you ever would be), say so and be done with it.

And how the hell did you get nominated for a Grammy??? You suck!!! If anyone ever had cranial rectal inversion, it was the Grammy nominating committee. Album sales don?t make something bad into something that is worthy of an award, unless it is a RAZZIE. Warren Zevon should have beat your ass, but, then again, maybe Janet?s kid-touching brother Mikey will just violate you someday. And what was the deal with your mom. Good Lord?I think it would be a good idea to have your mom cover herself up a bit, or at least wear something that doesn?t say to the world (whilst on camera I might add): ?Hey, I am a whore, look at these. Janet ain?t got nuthin? on these. Check out my clamp.? It is just wrong. I mean, at the very least you could have picked up a transvestite, exotic dancer, garden-variety hooker, Lance Bass? just a thought.

We are days away from the opening of spring training?life is ready to begin.

NP: Motorhead - Shut Your Mouth

- posted by TundraBoy @ 3:58 PM 0 comments

 
Happy Chrimbo!!!

It’s a bit late, but now that I am on vacation, I have time to update. Anywho, I want to wish all my dear readers (at least the 2 that I know of) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hopefully you all are well, and will be well in the year ought-four. I am working on a 2003 wrap up post, things that just struck me and other assorted nonsense. Blathering, to be sure. Thoughtful, of course. Meaningful, to me, yes, to you, I don’t care. So I’ll be back with the year that was.

- posted by TundraBoy @ 1:36 PM 0 comments

 
What Could Get Me Fired

Well, a week ago this very night, I was participating in a new event at work. It was a Tree Lighting Ceremony and a Live Nativity. The department of which I am apart, Campus Services, took the lead on making this event happen. I was volunteered to read scripture and give a short devotional. The reading of the Christmas Story from Luke 2 would coincide with the different characters arriving at the stable.

For the inaugural launch of this event, things went very well. I thought that there were a few things that could have been done better, but, then again, when something like this is going to be broadcast to every resident and staff person, I want to do a great job. So I set to the task of writing a devotional. I am really not huge on traditional messages, and would like to think that what I wrote for last Thursday, had impact on how people viewed and will view Christmas. Then again, maybe people will think I am full of shit. Either way, the brief devotional was pretty good and people commented to me how they liked it and how they thought I did a good job. Honestly, I know I did a great job. Was it a great message, prolly not.

But in many regards, it allowed me to keep my job. It went thru two drafts. The first, purely a stomach churning piece of work, even though it should not be considered work. And the last, a completely different thought. I’ll post the version that was used that night. But I am going to tag in what I had originally wrote. It is rough and not complete by any means. I had to stop writing it, because I felt that it ended up not going anywhere. It is also full of spite and bile. Completely unedited, not even spellchecked. So…without further ado:

Come as a Child or not at all

What you’ve seen here tonight is what many people deem as a classic show and telling of the Christmas story. It is often very much a rote thing in the Judeo-Christian tradition. How many time hve we seen a live nativity? How many time have we participated in a live nativity. How many time have we been to church and seen the annual Christmas program, and been told “jesus is the reason for the season”. How many of us have that cristmas card already tacked to our door or on the curio cabinet at home. This is nothing new at all to us. We have been doing this too long, too many years. We have become jaded in our view of Christmas. We often complain about how commercial it becomes. We see the advertisements in the Sunday paper start hawking holiday wares sooner and sooner. It used to be that you could flip on one of you independent tv stations and watch Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” just about every weekend starting in the middle of November (it only on once a year now that General Electric/NBC bought it). I suppose that we’ll just have to make due with White Christmas or Miracle on 34th Street.
Many people lve Christmas music. It helps them get in the mood for Christmas. So some radio stations change their formats temporarily to all Christmas music all the time. The traditional time for that has been Thanksgiving day or Black Friday till the day after Christmas or new year’s day. Now program directors are getting the bright idea to start playing holiday music as early as Halloween to get a bigger piece of that market share. I don’t think that it is any more commercial than it has been in years previous, I believe that advertisers are just more brazen about getting your money. And that leaves us jaded and depressed. Many people claim that the holidays get them down, that they feel a bit blue. Why is that? It cannot be just because of the commercialism of Christmas. Or the stress of being involved in yet another church contada/ live nativity/living crhistmas tree/food drive/soup kitchen/coats for kids/toys for tots/ring the bell for salvation army outreach type thing. What is it that gets us jaded and depressed? Poor family relations? No family relations?



And that is where it stopped. It turned into quite the rant. Not that I still don’t think those things, but it is really not the thing you want to utter in front of residents and your boss. So I wrote something else.

Thanks to the Skinny and HH for the birthday props. And to Mr. Lagoy who has been under the weather in the Rocky Mountains, I hope you feel better soon.

NP: Bruce Cockburn: You Pay Your Money and You Take Your Chances – Birmingham Shadows

- posted by TundraBoy @ 7:08 PM 0 comments

 
I’m Crying if I Want To

It is my birthday today. I am another year closer to 30. I feel 40. I figured that the anniversary of my emergence from the womb is an appropriate day to post.

The positives of today in no particular order:
I got a hug from a co-worker today who also shares this birthing day (Thanks to Bonnie, and Go Penn State!!!).
A shortlist of famous folks that share my birthday:
Brendan Frasier (Encino Man)
Daryl Hannah (Splash)
Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights and Benny & Joon)
Katarina Witt (Ice Skating Babe…makes me wanna drink Diet Coke)
Anna Chlumsky (My Girl 1 and 2)
Holly Marie Combs (Charmed and Oceans 11)
Andy Williams (vocal stylist)

And the granddaddy of them all, the prince of f**king darkness:
Ozzy Osbourne
There was a present on my windshield this morning from a friend (Thanks to Missy) to start my day.
The e-cards from J. and Linda (both special from special friends. Linda is special because she puts up with my inane ramblings. J. is just “special” as in he who would get third place in the Special Olympics)
The 5 text messages from Damien that didn’t come thru (it’s the thought that counts). Eat some pudding and Western Civ is in 30 minutes (I get inside jokes).
Steak and Wine!!!
A pint!!! (it comes in pints)

The not so great things about today:
I had to go to work.
I had to work.
It sucked.
I have more work after the day was over than before it started.
I got propositioned (which would normally be a good thing) but a co-worker wanted to share with me about a “business opportunity”. She wouldn’t go into details when I pressed her for them, much less a name of the business that she works for “part time”. Can anyone say “AMWAY”? Supposedly it has to do with asset acquisition and management. I don’t think I am a mark, pigeon or schlep. So after unsuccessfully trying to get her to reveal the name of the company, I politely told her no thank you and good day. If she wanted to proposition me for something else, we could at the very least have an argument about whose car we’d use.
No b-day card in the mailbox.
Limited celebration due to work tomorrow…and the day after.

I a brief attempt to be serious: I thank my parents for continually praying for me and looking after me, and loving me. I hope I have made you proud at some point in my life.

So all that being said and knowing that I have the freedom of speech (especially today) let me leave you with this:

Marsupials don’t like Bologna (think Christopher Walken).

Bye then.

NP: Paste Magazine Sampler # 7 – Bethany Yarrow: Black is the Color
Drinking: Guinness (what else??)

- posted by TundraBoy @ 4:37 PM 0 comments

 
I Am Not In Mourning

Props to the Marlins. 2003 World Series Champions. They worked hard to get to the big dance. Jack McKeon did a hell of a job turning that team around. Did the Yankees play poorly? No. They didn’t play up to their potential. Next year, will be different. Still kicking the ass of the Red Sox.

Also…I went 10-0-1 in my fantasy football leagues this weekend. I am real happy about that.

NP: 1350 AM ESPN Radio: The Don and Mike Show

- posted by TundraBoy @ 4:48 PM 0 comments

 
I’m Not Dead Yet….

Too many days have passed since I updated, and there is so much to discuss, and too much to fit into a single post. So in order to keep it simple and easy and since the Yankees are getting ready to open a big fat can of whoop-ass on the Red Sox and send them home for the winter… a little something that caught my attenetion over at the Blog Guru's shop is a contest of sorts.

Its called the Album Cover Challenge. Basically its 60 album covers that have had all the words stripped off so all you have is the cover art with which to guess the artist/band and the name of the album. I got about 10 on my first perusal.

NP: Over the Rhine: Ohio Disc 2 – Cruel and Pretty

- posted by TundraBoy @ 4:03 PM 0 comments

 
A Moment of Silence

A Prayer for Strength

A Day I Will Never Forget




- posted by TundraBoy @ 8:56 AM 0 comments

 
I Will Never Forget

I know where I was. I know what I was doing. I know that when I heard the news of the first plane hitting the tower I couldn’t process it fast enough. I watched in horror as the second plane hit. It was one of those OHMYGOD moments. As the wheels turned in my head, and I realised that this was no accident, no foul up at air traffic control, no pilot error.

I remember having a co-worker accident ask me if I thought the towers would survive. I replied in the affirmative. They had sustained a bombing some years ago. What didn’t kill us only makes us stronger. Was my reply arrogant? Absolutely! Unfortunately it was not to be. When the Pentagon was hit, my heart sank. For all the people that lost loved ones in New York, my strongest ties were in this nations capital city. I had family and friends that worked in nearby and strategic locations. My uncle was working at the Pentagon that day. That was my greatest concern. His safety. Thankfully, the most painful thing was sore feet after walking home.

What is most remarkable to me are the stories of those people I know that were delayed or diverted or protected from physical harm that day. I know that many people were not nor their families spared heartbreak over injuries and death. But it is remarkable that people within my circle of friends and family were spared. None of us that call this country home was spared the horror as it was played and replayed incessantly for days and weeks till Lorne asked Rudy if it was ok to be funny again.

No one should ever forget what it means when we are wounded as a nation to step up and be counted, to hold our heads up high, and for a moment realise that we live in the greatest nation, and those that lost their lives should never be forgotten. Their memories should not be forgotten or cast aside for higher TV ratings or political gain. They didn’t know that they would die that Tuesday morning.

I refuse to give in. I refuse to give up. I refuse to let them win. I refuse to forget.

I am shocked. I am grieved. I remember…

In Memoriam of Those Who Died Tuesday September 11th, 2001



NP: Fountains of Wayne: Welcome Interstate Managers – Hey Julie

- posted by TundraBoy @ 6:17 PM 0 comments

 
All Joking Aside

I got this joke from Trevor on the 77's list-serv discussion group.

Two muffins are in the oven baking
One says to the other, "It's really hot in here"
The other says, "Holy Crap! A talking muffin!"

I almost snorted green tea out my nose at lunch this afternoon.

Have one on Kripsy Kreme here.

NP: Over the Rhine: OHIO Disc 2 - She
- posted by TundraBoy @ 3:44 PM 0 comments

 
What The Hell Happened???

I guess that is an apropos query to start with. Its almost been a month, and what a month (and it’s not over quite yet). I think part of what happened was that I was hit full on with mental, emotional and physical stress. One by one.

First the mental: my job. I have written before about the Vil and mentioned how busy I can get. This is not a complaint. Honestly, I truly would rather be busy, than bored to tears with nothing to do for 8 hours. I know it has been more than usual this past month. It’s the season of family vacations, and with that comes staffing shortages. The trick is to figure out what absolutely needs to get done in a facility that houses almost 720 residents and 300 staff persons. You either learn to stretch yourself or you go nuts. Add to that some of the staff that I farm out assignments to had medical problems to attend to, and thus missed two weeks of work. Pile on that a personnel issue that ended with termination of a staff member. It just was a lot to absorb. People everyday ask me: “how you doing?” but they really don’t care to hear my reply. So I often say “fine” or “running around like a chicken with no legs cut off” or better yet, “ some days you are driving the truck, some days you are riding along in the truck, and some days you are clinging onto the bumper while the truck is doing 70 mph.” If you didn’t mean to hear the response, then in the infamous words of Jules Winnfield, “If you find my answers frightening, then you should cease asking scary questions”. Work is supposed to be work I guess.

Emotionally this past month has been filled with some intense moments. There are three things that really stand out.

First, my uncle Pete Nardiello died suddenly. My dad called me at work and said five disturbing words: “I have some bad news.” When you hear that, my mind automatically accesses the index for that phrase. You think of sick loved ones, those with chronic health problems, people who are enduring bad times. My uncle’s name was not one I thought of. Didn’t make the list. He was 58 years old. He had just retired from the New York State Department of Corrections. He was getting ready to bring down his boat to my cousin’s place in Daytona My cousin Brian is a Deputy Sheriff there. Buy a condo so he could golf in the winter, and to be closer to Brian. It certainly seems that it is unfair. He had plans. He had things to do. The message that Pete had died, took my breath away. I felt as if someone had hit me. So with all the “stuff” from work add a death to deal with and funeral and travel and time off from work. The funeral was very well attended, despite of some people who decided to act the asshole part out for everyone else and in front of everyone else. That aside, most of my family was there for the funeral. It was nice to see them all again, but under the circumstances, I would have preferred better reasons. I was one of the pallbearers. I’ll tell you what, my uncle was NOT a big guy, maybe 5’7 and 155-165 pounds, but that casket was heavy. Man oh day! I maybe it was the type of casket, it was oak I think, so that was prolly it. Or some people weren’t doing their fair share of the lifting (Mr. Peffley and Mr. Carlson, I am looking at you two). When I die, somebody is gonna hurt their back carrying my fat ass to the ground. If you think that I will be cremated, fuggedaboutit. If you think I am disrespectful to my uncle, not at all. He at least was watching the Yankees on the YES Network when he took his leave (thanks again Comcast for screwing with me the Phillies). What a way to go.

The second emotional blow was the death of a guy in my church. Now I suppose I should watch what I say here because I don’t know who is reading this and who will hear about it and how it will get distorted. So I’ll take a page from a guy who knows a bit about writing and measure my words (read: censor). I didn’t know this guy all that well, but he was a nice guy, who would do you a favor if you needed one. I hadn’t seen him in quite sometime and had been thinking of him when I got and email from my associate pastor. He let many people know that Tim had died. There was a dust up about the details being given out. Well, my thought on that is that people ought to have enough of the details to understand that Tim didn’t die of a massive heart attack like my uncle, but Tim was in the midst of a battle with addictions and some bad choices lead to his demise. If you don’t tell the truth about a situation in church, people will start sharing what I like to call “Prayer Request Gossip”. It’s the nice way to talk about people and then say, “we should pray for that person”. It is bullshit most of the time, as far as I am concerned and its what gives people outside of church reason not to go in. Be honest! Ok, will do. From my vantage point, Tim died because of bad choices, drink and substance abuse. It sucks. He left a wife and two kids behind. A wife lost a husband and a son and a daughter lost a dad. So why am I pissed off. I don’t even know the guy that well. My dad almost died last year. And if I am rehashing, that is how it is. When you attend a funeral, you tend to reflect on your own life. I attended two funerals on two consecutive Mondays. My own father was in a hospital for over a month and a half last year. He had triple bypass and a second surgery after he broke the wiring on his sternum. It was the second part that almost cost my father his life. He was discharged from the hospital and somehow the doctors and nurses missed the fact that his lungs were not draining but collecting fluid. So when he broke his sternum wiring with a coughing fit, and the trip to the ER and his subsequent admittal where he almost died (my mom was the one to call the nurses when my father started acting strangely and not breathing correctly). If she had gone home that night, instead of staying with my dad thru the night, he’d most likely be dead. I thought about that at two different funerals this past month. How close I had come to being fatherless. That tears me up. I am not ready for that. But then again I don’t know many people who are.

Which brings me to emotional point three. Two weekends ago my dad was yet again hospitalised. I hate getting those phone calls. But then again, that is kinda the reason I finally got a cell. In those times when you are just waiting and waiting for more info about what is going on, you are continually being spent emotionally. So I make phone calls to friends, family, and my pastors, just to talk it out. I am not married, nor do I have a significant other with which to really talk to, so I beat up on my pastors and a couple of friends (my deepest thanks for your support and true prayers and not the PRG). My weekend is shot, I spend a good chunk of time driving, in the hospital, and sleeping uncomfortably. What is discovered is a blood clot in the lower left lung. What a relief! Not a heart attack, no “event”. It is serious, but not even close to the hell I went thru with my family last year. But it still brings to mind all those feelings and desperate thoughts of losing my dad.

The physical stress is related to work. I responded to a fire alarm call on a Monday morning (now that I think of it, August Mondays suck) in the boiler room of our nursing facility, there was smoke pouring out, but no fire. The smoke was coming from the air-handling system. It was a Freon leak. More specifically Freon-22. I was exposed for 15-25 minutes. We had to set up ventilation fans to get the smoke out so it wouldn’t affect the residents. Guess what… it affected me. We didn’t have and still don’t have respirators. So I have been dealing with the physical ramifications of inhaling this stuff. Here is what Freon-22 can do to you when you are exposed. I still have the cough, it’s not near as bad as it was, it’s just a nuisance. I want to be well, and this just adds to the general blasé of the month. This is not to say that the whole month has sucked. Just most of it. I’ll get to that in a day or two. I guess I cope with it all by spending money. Not that I make a lot, but I really need to get some new underwear. As far as I’m concerned, that is money well spent.

NP: Over the Rhine – Ohio Disc 1: Show Me

- posted by TundraBoy @ 9:45 PM 0 comments

 
I haven't posted for a while, there has been a lot going that has wreaked havoc with my life...

word to the wise: treasure every moment with your families, you never know when it'll end
- posted by TundraBoy @ 9:49 PM 0 comments

 
All the Evidence in the World

Mea Culpa! Mea Culpa!
How outraged we are. How upset we are. How could he do it. Look at him. He is such a nice guy. How could he do that to that little girl. He has such a pretty wife. He has such a pretty child. How sorry I am. How I have hurt my family. How I hurt my friends. How I have hurt my wallet. How did this happen.

These are not questions, they are statements. Statements from talking heads. Statements from lawyers. Statements from the accused. They won’t try this case in the public forum of the media. They won’t discuss the facts and procedures of the case.

But yet they will use the public forum to call the other side to the carpet. My question is why should I care? Why should I? He nailed a 19 year old girl. She is an adult. He is an adult. He is a millionaire. She is not. He says it was consensual. She says she was raped. Why should I care? Why should I care? He is an athlete. She is an attendant at a spa. He has a lot to lose. She has a lot to gain. But why should I care?

Television tells me to care because he is a superstar athlete who makes millions of dollars a year. He could go to jail. He may not be able to entertain us anymore. He may not be able to make money for all his endorsement companies. I should be concerned if other millionaires lose a couple million. That they don’t move some sneakers, or sell some soda pop, and I should be outraged at this? They want me to spend my money on their products. I don’t buy their sneakers. And I don’t like their soda pop. I don’t even like the game he plays.

For all the other crimes that are committed in this country, why should this one be anymore important than those? It’s bullshit. I won’t feel sorry for him. I feel bad this happened to this girl (if it is true). But there are worse atrocities committed in this country everyday. Horrible terrible truly shocking things. As far as I can tell, this was just sex. Why should I care?

NP: The Sopranos Season 1 – Episode 4: Meadowlands

- posted by TundraBoy @ 3:12 PM 0 comments

 
All Clear! Fire in the Hole!!!

I won’t rehash. Many of you know that this past weekend, there was a gathering.

Eating, Drinking, and Being Merry, was the order of the day.

As far as to the said activities, I’ll only elaborate about the launcher. To say I was skeptical when it was brought out is an understatement. Puzzled as to where we would be able to use it, is more in line to my thinking. We were in a residential neighborhood. I am not an advocate of wanton destruction of private property. I didn’t want to be party to anything illegal. I don’t need any out of state warrants issued against me; I have enough problems as it is. So when we started launching the rubber bombs, I took cover for a moment. I could not resist the temptation. It was calling to me, “Everybody’s doing it. It’ll make you feel good.” Not only did it feel good, it was like an addiction. I had to have more. More little bombs, more difficult targets, more distance. That became my goal…distance. I was the first to clear the street. I was like Sean Connery on Celebrity Jeopardy saying: “The Day is Mine!”

I think the best moments were when the Team (read: Me, the Viking, and Hillary’s Friend) was on the front lawn. We were rocketing shots over the house at first. But I think the point was to see the actual range of the launcher. I say that we reached distance of over a football field and a half. It was too much fun. So thanks to the Pisans by Camp David for hosting us.

…and now for something completely different…. Some of the current topics that my buds HHJ and Skinny have been stumping about. This is not me trying to pick a fight, but we just may have some disagreements. Get out the Box.

Chuck has clearly misjudged what Ameri-Corps is. And to that point he possibly wanted to illustrate the difference between his organisation and Ameri-Corps. Or maybe, just maybe his point was to get himself noticed. Why do people write to newspapers, magazines, or for that matter BLOGS. I would say ego. I like to think that I have something to say. It may not be coherent, or even smart, but now I have the ability. As far as Chuck goes, he would know the seamy underside of what drives people. He was in prison. That is a kind of animal I don’t know. I can’t speak to what drives most people to do what they do, but money is it for many. For me, I like to think I have a moral certainty that guides what I do. And I have made some serious mistakes when it comes to judgment and actions. I very well could have ended up locked up at one point in my life, and who knows what or where I’d be. I think I’ll give Chuck the benefit of the doubt on this one and believe, he was not trying to be self-serving. Ameri-Corps may not have been the best target, but now it’s out there.

The other thing is with Crazy Pat. Now I have read the statement/prayer, about the Supreme Court justices. From my reading he has not indicated that any of those people should die. They however should consider retirement. The spin on this story is incredible. It is stunning how the (brace yourselves) liberal media has seized upon this and twisted it. I am not an advocate of Pat’s or his ilk. But this was unjustified. Do I agree with the statement/prayer? In some places yes, other spots no. Do I want religious zealots on the bench? No. Do I want extreme leftists or extremists on the right on the bench? No. Surprised? Yes I tend to be a conservative. I am a Christian. But I think extremism in most cases is not good. I am against most “…isms.” It clouds your vision of the whole picture/problem/whatever. There are enough stupid people in the world. I don’t want to add to the number. The point is that the media likes to take shots at Christians, and we somehow seem to be too willing to step up and bend over. That my friends, is turning the wrong cheek. I won’t chastise Pat for his views. Nor will I lend them a ton of credence either. Personally, I blame the media blamers.

Like I said earlier, I am not trying to start a fight amongst friends. We have some differences of opinion, and that is fine with me. Unless we were talking about New Coke vs. Original Formula Coke. In that argument, there is no room for debate. Now where did I put my hand sanitizer…

NP:U2- Wide Awake in America: A Sort of Homecoming
- posted by TundraBoy @ 12:35 PM 0 comments

 
Gimme Gimme Gimmie I Need I Need I Need

I woke up Friday morning around 8AM and proceeded to get ready for my journey to Mecca. So after scurrying around making sure that D and Skinny were up and ready to go, we piled in the car and drove to the train station about 3 miles away. We got there in plenty of time to start acting like total goofs. I often take pleasure in having conversations that reference obscure facts and other whatnot in public. Mostly it makes people look at me strangely and shake their heads. I could just stand there like a drone, or I could talk about how my portfolio is doing and maybe try to get strangers to think I am successful and rich. That is no fun. I rather they be laughing or scared. So the banter was fun on the platform. Finally the train arrived. We boarded and paid our fare. The train then proceeded to stop at every platform on the way to 30th Street Station. It wouldn’t have been so bad if there weren’t a gigantic band of hippies already in our car. The hippy to sane person ratio would not have been bad if no more hippies got on the train. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Hippy after hippy kept getting on. And they all knew each other (that or they were all high), and started hugging. I was waiting for some one to start passing out daisies.

We finally get to 30th and attempt to get tickets for the train that is departing in 10 minutes, but no. Not this day. There was a line, and every dope has to be in front of me. One of my favorite artists whom I’ve mentioned before, Hank, on his Think Tank release talked at great length about waiting in the airport, I felt somewhat similar to him today. Maybe it is how he put it “the mentality of lines”. You could be a PhD, or a Wall Street guru. But you put that person in a line, and they are reaching in their diaper and playing with their own poop. Of course every one of those persons was in front of me. We finally got our tickets, and waited about 30 minutes for the next train to arrive to take us to NJ. I may have mentioned how much I hate the Garden State. It shouldn’t be called the garden state, it should be called "The Oil and Petrochemical Refinery State" . But I guess that is hard to fit on a license plate.

Anyway, I hate NJ. I recognize its existence, but don’t like it. The odd thing is I love The Sopranos. Maybe it’s because I know the Jersey mentality, and I get a kick out of these “Jersey” mobsters and their wacky escapades. Prolly more the fact I love mafia related movies and books and have even gone so far as to read The Psychology of the Sopranos, and I understood it, I think. Why do I hate Jersey? That is another story, for another time.

Back to the trip to Trenton. We get there and get right onto our next train to take us to Penn Station NYC. We get on and get situated. There is an announcement from the conductor, saying that the train across the tracks is an express train and it will get us to NYC faster even though it is leaving 15 minutes later. After a brief discussion, we decided to take the “express” train. We got off and walked to the other side of the tracks. This is where we met up with the conductor and driver. They both asked why we were coming (along with about 120 others) to this train. I explained what the announcement was on the other train, and as I was explaining, the conductors face began to register a look of disgust. He explained to me that, indeed this train was going to NYC, but it WILL NOT get there any faster. At that point he left the platform and as he explained to me later on the train, he went to the manager’s office to relate this incident. To say that I was upset would be an understatement. Furious, would be closer to the truth. I might have had a Michael Savage moment and wished that the other conductor “would get AIDS and die!!!” I don’t think those were the word I would have used, but if I could have laid my hands on the conductor from the first train, he would have landed on the 3rd rail and not gotten up. The conductor from the train we did end up taking was cool about giving us the NJ Transit complaint number. I’ll be nice and post it: 1.800.772.3606 We did make it to Penn Station. We did find our subway, again getting a metro card, was hampered by the fact that not all the kiosks were functioning, and the lines. Oh how I hate lines. So we get our cards, get in get on our sub and make it to the stadium exit.

I really can’t put into words what it is to see Yankee Stadium for the first time in person. I think I could have cried, I think I got misty. I had arrived at the Promised Land. Then hunger kicked in. We all got a cheap hot dog for a buck. The thing I noticed was that the vendor was wearing gloves. That made me feel safer about eating the hot dog, but I kept scanning his cart for some type of hand sanitizer, but I didn’t see any…oh well. I’m alive and that is what counts. We proceeded to the stadium and tried unsuccessful to dump D’s extra ticket, but couldn’t. Tough break. I was desperately wanting to get in to see Monument Park. So of course there would be lines and checkpoints and general disarray (and I know that security had to be tighter on a holiday). Thru the checkpoint, thru the turnstile, and making a dash to Monument Park entrance. As we arrive, the announcement: “the line to Monument Park is closed.” Dammit!!! Five minutes earlier, and I would have made it. Why did I have to have that hotdog?! I could have waited and paid eleventeen dollars for sweet sweet lips and asses in the stadium. I wanted to strangle the attendant who wouldn’t even register that a human being was in front of her. But the thought of Sipowicz’s ass, made me rethink my instinct. So we headed up to field level to see the end of Red Sox bp. I see that there is an area that we can get to and kinda get a look at Monument Park from an angle. I make my way thru the crowd and Skinny follows, I believe that D was looking for No-MAH. I got some pictures, and Skinny got some pics of me in front of the lawn.

We walked around the lower seats. I stopped every 100 feet or so just to look around. Just to soak it in. I just wanted to breathe in where Ruth built a record. To look out where Mickey and Joe played as part of a dynasty. To look to the outfield where Mr. October crushed so many to the history books. And to see where Donnie Baseball never reached as high as Derek did in 14 seasons, and walked away head held high. It was a bit overwhelming. The strains of our travel mishaps faded away. I absolutely love the Stadium. I love its history. It didn’t matter to me that the hated Red Sox won that day. It didn’t matter that I was literally surrounded by Bo Sox fans. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that I was there. I had a great time. I had my friends there to share it with. We had an adventure that day. A day at the park is better than a day at work or watching at home (which is what D and I did Saturday). Our trip back was fine, and had no trouble, just a lot of waiting for the train (no dopes in front of me), and one drunk guy on the train that hassled me for my Yankees garb. I told him to go mate with himself if I recall correctly. That aside we got back to D’s place in Brookhaven around 12:45 AM. Not too bad overall. The story could have been worse if we had driven that day…

Saturday was spent recovering from our journey, watching TWIB, the Boston/NYY game, and going to the Vet to see the Phillies smashed by the Marlins, with a fireworks show to boot. I left on Sunday morning, to come home and rest…. I think I’ll do this again next summer...

NP: Bruce Springsteen - The Rising: Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)
- posted by TundraBoy @ 5:34 PM 0 comments

 
A Vacation……From My Problems

I don’t get to take a ton of time off from work. A random day here or there, and an occasional holiday, but a real vacation for me is hard to come by. I took almost 2 weeks off around Christmas last year. Before that my last vacation came back in the summer of 1998 before I started with the Vil. So when I take time off, I try to maximize it. So in essence, lots of miles to cover and activities to do. Thus is the saga of this past 4th of July weekend. I actually started my time off on the 3rd of July, when I traveled to Brookhaven (a suburb of Philly) to stay with some friends at their home. Since I didn’t have to work that day I got up late (9 AM) and took my time getting ready for my trip. I wanted to make it there before traffic really picked up around Philly, so I left at about 2:30pm.

The PA turnpike is generally an ok road to travel, and for the most part this was true that day. I was talking to my Grammy on the phone for awhile (since I hadn’t spoken with her after her return to the US) about her vacation when traffic slowed down. It didn’t come to a stand still…but both lanes were just at a crawl. An accident to be sure, and rubbernecking ensued. Some big SUV had overturned and inverted (the front end was facing me as I passed by) along with the trailer/camper it had been hauling. Very scary looking (and I ought to know about accidents when you finish upside down) and potentially life ending. The police hadn’t arrived, or any other rescue vehicles, so it must have been very recent. Once I got past that area, it was smooth sailing till I got off the turnpike and got onto 476. I had to go about 7 miles and it took me over an hour (I know since I chatted with my cousin in CT for about 40 minutes) till I got to my exit. I actually arrived at my friend’s place around 5:30pm.

I had to wait for her to arrive home, and from there the beginning of the baseball weekend would commence. She was playing in a softball game that night, and I along with her husband were gonna go to support her/cheer her and play a new game. What game you ask? How about: Guess the Lesbian. I know, many of you (lets be honest here…I don’t have that many readers) are thinking that it isn’t kosher to judge people on their appearance. And I would agree. But some of these chicks…you knew right away. The wicked butch ones stand out. Some of them were real scary, but they had game. Some I wouldn’t have guessed they were gay if D hadn’t said so and let me in on who was paired up with who. Anyway, D’s team lost, but really were in the game till the last inning, when the opposing lesbians, I mean, team, scored something like 10 or 12 runs. It was unfortunate, but on a whole I enjoyed the game immensely, and a lot of the girls had game. We retuned to D and J’s house for dinner and await the appearance of Skinny.

I had Skinny stay with me on his way to Jersey for his vacation and I knew that he would be out on a date (and yes, it was a date dude) that Thursday, and coming over to D’s afterwards. When exactly that would be, was another story altogether. I love my bro, but he has no sense of direction. So, arrival and departure times are always subject to the randomness that my good friend possesses. As the hour was growing late, D asked if we should attempt to call him, and inquire of the time of his arrival. Well, the timing of the call prolly could have been better on our part. He had apparently been chatting her up for about a half an hour in the parking lot when his cell phone rang. We were prolly responsible for him leaving before he was ready (sorry dude and chicky). He finally did arrive in Brookhaven after midnight, and we got the debrief on the date. Now in the interest of this being a public forum, I won’t get in to the minutia of the nights activities save one. The parking lot. This is as a friend, and also as a guy who’s own dating history and ability to “close the deal” is akin to the BSI (so what I am saying is that your odds are much greater than mine) so I obviously should be parsing out advice. This was your third date. She has continued to agree to go out with you when you are in town. She seems to enjoy your company. It is ok to pursue her. It is ok to try to hug her. It is ok to try to kiss her. I wouldn’t go beyond that. If she tells you no, you know your boundaries. You are a man. It is in your design to pursue her. She should be able to let you know what the score is. After busting Skinny’s balls for awhile, we all headed off to bed, cuz we need to catch the express train to New York the next day….

NP: The Clash – Should I Stay Or Should I Go

- posted by TundraBoy @ 5:17 PM 0 comments

 
Too Much Too Soon

I have a lot to say… my sister graduated high school, my mom was in the hospital, my cousin was injured in Baghdad, and I took a trip to New York. Where to start. I guess I’ll start with graduation. My little sister recently graduation and as of this writing just returned from visiting the college that she will be attending in the fall.

You’d think that because of the inclement weather that was expected and forced the graduation inside the brand new multi-million facility, that something so simple as AIR-CONDITIONING might have been a thought. You are about to jam an approximate figure of a couple hundred graduates, teachers, the band (who was in full regalia), parents, siblings, other family, numerous well wishers, and other assorted white trash, maybe not turning on the ventilation system is BAD idea. What the hell do I know? It had to be over 85 degrees in the gym when it was fully packed. Uncomfortable, was one word that came to mind, unbearable for the band and the numerous people I saw on oxygen. The ceremony itself wasn’t too bad. It moved along at a good clip, but at the end of the evening I was really just wanting to get out. I think I have a grasp on what schools try to do to make everybody “feel” good about themselves, and apparently would have let the entire graduating class give a speech if they could, but thankfully, it was limited to 4 or 5 students with unoriginal, platitude ridden, self-absorbed speeches.

This one kid (who was the salutatorian) gave a speech that was so dull and uninteresting, I leaned over to my mom, and said something to the effect that this kid should either be an accountant or a trader (he kept talking about investing for the future). At one point in his speech (which had to be at least 7-10 minutes long), he said some nice thing about all the people who had helped him along the way. It was nice, and the crowd began to clap very loudly. But instead of taking the Constanza out, he continued on and actually spoke over the clapping and said, “I have more!!!” You could hear the collective sigh come out of the audience. I believe I verbalized my general unhappiness with his continuance, to which my mom shushed me. I won’t pick apart all the speeches given that night, because most of them sucked. Except for the keynote speaker. His speech was actually rather enjoyable and interesting, and I wrote some things down he mentioned, but I currently cannot find the programme that I wrote it on. Anywho, he was interesting, and his speech was short. Always a winner in a gym whose round temperature was approaching body temperature. My sister graduated, she has a diploma, and with that valuable piece of paper, I believe she is now disqualified from appearing as a guest on the Jerry Springer Show.

My cousin Josh who is over in Iraq was injured while out on patrol. He was recently rotated to daylight patrols from night. During one of his initial patrols the vehicle that he was riding in either hit a landmine or took a rocket. He took shrapnel and was taken to an area hospital. The army called my aunt to let her know he was injured, so she would not find out by watching the local news. They stated that his condition, on a scale from: Very Bad, Bad, to Ok; he was Ok. This is great relief to me, and to my family, the question of his return to the states is still that, a question. I believe that he’ll prolly stay in Iraq. My desire, as anyone who has family over in a forward area, is for his return, but we don’t get to make those choices, and my family doesn’t have political stroke to get him out. It’ll be a waiting game, and we don’t have any options.

In the continuing saga of parental health, my mom was hospitalised the Monday after my sister graduated/father’s day. I didn’t find out about it until I got home from my radio show that Monday evening. There were a few disjointed messages on the machine from my sister. She was hysterical and crying. I picked up the phone straight away and tried to get a cogent thought from her regarding the situation. Apparently, mom had been complaining of tightness in her chest in the early evening, but it had not dissipated during the church board meeting. So my dad took her to the hospital. My mom did not want to go, and thus, she and my father had an adult conversation about the situation and made her go to the hospital. At that point in my conversation I was ready to scream. Not out of anger, and not out of distress. My desire to scream and holler was out of frustration. It had been about a year out since my dad had his second surgery to repair what had gone wrong during the original triple bypass. And this is me being selfish to be sure. But I don’t need two parents with heart conditions. I don’t need that kind of stress in my life. I don’t need to lose any (more) hair over my folk’s medical conditions. I don’t want to be worried all the time, my job gives me enough to worry about. I love my mom and dad and I don’t know what I’d do without them, I don’t want both of them near the edge. So after collecting a few phone numbers, I stared making the calls, to my job, to my pastor, to my friends from bible study (I’ll make it there one of these weeks), friends from college, and family. Just sending out requests to pray and keeping a good thought. Trying to get ahold of my dad was another story. Hospitals jerk you around good in the daytime, nighttime is a whole ‘nother ball of crap. After getting transferred around 3 or 4 times I finally got to speak to my dad. He told me to sit tight and wait until the tests are done and we get some results. I asked when we should expect to hear, he said that it may be an hour or so. I told him that I’d call back in an hour. In the meantime I stared to pack up a bag for a trip home. I tried to settle myself down, but it is hard when your parent is lying in a hospital bed 2 and a half hours away. I called back and dad told me to come home. Boom. I was on the road in 5 minutes. I called him on the way and he told me to go to the house instead of the hospital. The next day when my dad and I got to the hospital, it was a long wait, as they continued to run test on my mom. I absolutely hate waiting. Most of the time I can be very cool about it, but I detest waiting for important things. I can wait for the movie to start, and I can wait to use the phone. But waiting in the hospital, not a fan. At the end of the day, the tests came back negative for as the doctors put it: “An Event”. Prescriptions for angina and acid reflux. I brought her home and she passed out in the recliner watching the Yankees game with me. She had the flu later in the week, but is better now. To all who prayed for her, my deepest thanks.

I’ll leave my trip to New York for another day….

To my compatriot at HelmetHeadJournal: some additions for the list-

Z. Zevon, Warren; Zombie, Rob;
Y. Yardbirds, the
X. XTC
W. White Zombie
U. Undercover
R. Rock, Kid
J. Jackyl, Jesus & Mary Chain
I. Indigenous
E. Echobrain
C. Cheap Trick; Clapton, Eric; Cocker, Joe; Cutting Crew
#. 77’s

NP: Kinski – Rhode Island Freakout

- posted by TundraBoy @ 10:43 PM 0 comments

 
Running the Bases with David

I feel it necessary to share with you further about my distain for David Justice as a color commentator on one of ESPN’s MLB crew. My previous post about him being as I put it: “dumber than a sack of hammers”, seemed a bit unfair. Ok, to be fair, Mr. Justice is not smarter than one very tiny hammer. I think that is a little more gracious. But not to undersell the drivel that he spews, my dear friend and old roommate from college, Helmet Head, decided to douse my flaming of Mr. Justice with gasoline. He wrote me a quick note, letting me know what other possible things Mr. Justice could possibly say in the future. So I’ll share that with you now:

Hey Nate,

Here's some other insights you may hear coming out of David Justice's mouth soon...

"You know, the batter wants to get a hit, but the pitcher, he doesn't want him to hit the ball."

"I think most players will tell you that they like to win."

"It may surprise you to know that baseball players make a lot of money."

"A double play...that's when the fielding team gets two outs at once."

"They call it a 'walk' because the batter gets to go to base for free...he doesn't have to run to beat the throw there."

"Mmmm...I like nachos."

"If the game is tied at the end, both teams will play what are called 'extra innings,' because they're extra bigger than nine."

So, what do I win if he says any of these? HAHA! You know what--David Justice used to be married to Halle Berry. Can you imagine the conversations they would've had?

"When I hit a home run, I get to run all the way around the bases."

"My movie BAPS was totally misunderstood...it was ahead of its time, really."

Anyway, it's good they didn't have kids...they would've been beautiful, but retarded.

Later


Thanks man, I appreciate your concern
np:Metallica - Welcome Home (Sanitarium) - Middletown NY County Fairgrounds 6/17/94
- posted by TundraBoy @ 4:16 PM 0 comments

 
I am the Sensitive Man

Here is a letter I just mailed to a friend of mine who is currently at Marine boot camp. She is a good kid and I totally wish her well. So this is me being sentimental. I could probably go on about how Joe Morgan said some real dumb things on the Mets/Yankees game last nite, but I would just be restating the obvious. I’ll get back to being mildly amusing later. For now this is how its gonna be….

Nate
NP: U2 – The Best of 1980-1990: Bad

Carly,
Just the other day I was thinking that it must be time to write ya a letter. So hopefully you’ll get this in short order and know that I am thinking of you often and have a good thought for you every day. Your mom said to me a couple of weeks ago to write you, but my reaction time is obviously retarded. So, I could ask you a bunch of questions about training and so on and so forth, but I am not expecting a reply here. Plus I don’t want you to feel obligated to respond to any question that I would have asked. You see, this is me not wanting placing road blocks in front of the Marine Corps turning you into as Gunny Highway said “A heartbreaker and a life taker.” The other thought you may be thinking is: “why did he type out this letter???” If I had wrote it by hand, you would not be able to read it. This is the most efficient way for me to communicate clearly. And one other question you might have is: “is he gonna say anything worthwhile in this letter, or is he just gonna prattle on about nothing in particular???”

This is a good question. One worthy of an answer, but I really am not sure yet. You see, I am kinda writing this stream-of-consciousness. As the thoughts come to me I type them out. It sort of like putting the censor that I normally would have when speaking, in sleep mode. So what you are reading are just the random thoughts I have and are able to articulate. Corn is good. See what I mean. A flat tax system is good on paper but would really hurt the middle class and poor of this country. No censor. My butt itches and I need some water. Now what you didn’t see is me going to the kitchen and getting a big glass of water. I feel better now. I ate at Wendy’s the other day. I thought about getting a big Bessie, but got the chicken sandwich instead. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm……Bessie.

Seriously though, things are going ok here back in South Central PA. We have had a ton of rain. Enough to actually end the drought condition from last year. Today (Monday 23rd) is supposed to be the beginning of a heat wave, with temperatures in the 90’s and high humidity. So, the air conditioner will be working overtime for sure. But enough about the weather, it’s so gay to talk about the weather. I have a radio show on the Messiah College station. It is way cool to get back to doing something that I really love. I am on twice a week for 3 hours each night. I have quite a bit of latitude on what I can play (within reason of course), and that is nice. It is not quite the same as when I was a student, but the improvements are good. Quite a bit is now controlled by the computers, which we didn’t have when I was a student. I probably don’t have a big audience, and the audience that I do have is probably scared off by all the old music I play. But I also play a lot of independent current tunes as well. So I hope I am introducing a couple of listeners to some fresh exciting music. Or I could just be a blowhard.

My job (not that you really care) has been kicking my butt recently. We have had a rash of residents coming down with upper respiratory infections. It is not SARS, but it is still troublesome. We have never had this kind of widespread problem before, so we have been trying to figure out where it is coming from whilst trying to keep other residents and staff from getting it. My mom was hospitalized last week, and that scared me. She was having chest pains and so my dad took her to the hospital on Monday night. I didn’t find out about it until late that night when I got home from the radio station. So that caused me to hit the panic button and take a late night road trip up to Wilkes- Barre. Thankfully all her tests came back negative, and she passed her stress test. The doctors think it is angina. So she is on some meds for a while. On a completely different note, I am growing my hair back, and it distresses me, because I can already see that it is starting to thin out on top. Just what I need. To be a “real” bald fat man. Ah well, that is the way it goes I suppose. Hopefully you will never have to deal with the pain of thinning hair. I don’t know how much news you all get exposed to down there but there is a new product that has come out at McDonalds. I have tried it. It took awhile, but at one point I did want to vomit. “What is your point?” you may ask. A roommate of mine from college has an online journal and he wrote a very enlightened piece about it. I am going to attach it to this letter. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it.
I do truly hope this letter finds you well. Overcome! Adapt! Semper Fi!
Dearest Regards,
Nate

If you want to read my friend's blog entry I sent Carly, go here.

- posted by TundraBoy @ 1:43 PM 0 comments

 
Say it Strong Say it Loud!!!

I am still a Yankees fan and I am proud!!!! What a game last night. They have been no hit since 1958, and haven't been no hit at home since 1952. There had never been a no hitter with that many pitchers involved (a two pitcher combo was the most till last night). So yet again, The New York Yankees are a part of history. Mind you I could have done without this laurel, but that is how it goes from time to time.

Now onto the real problem with last night's game, and I am not talking about the Yankee pitching, or the Yankee defence, or even the Yankee’s ineptitude at the plate. No, what I am talking about is the broadcast team for ESPN2 last night. As I tuned into the game last night and two people appeared before me on the screen, I thought this might not be so bad. Gary Thorne is a great play-by-play guy for hockey and I have heard him on local broadcasts of Mets games, so I know that the call of the game will be good.

The other guy next to him, an attractive black man. I am comfortable is saying that, he is telegenic. He looks good on camera. Who was it? David Justice. A good player in his day. Has a nice spread (he was on MTV’s Cribs). He seems to be a real nice guy. But when he opens his mouth… two words come to mind. Here it is: “Ball Gag”. A deaf mute would have better chance of getting over with me as a color commentator. You know how John Madden (from MNF) is the king of obvious and dumb statements. He a frickin’ Rhode’s Scholar in comparison to Justice. To further expound on this point, here are people I would rather listen to doing commentary than Justice: Magic Johnson (even on his short lived TV show), Joe Morgan (and many of you know how much I despise listening to him), Joe Lieberman (he prolly doesn’t know squat about baseball, but he is tough on the ears), and the Nanny herself Fran Drescher (even the nasal thing would be tolerable).

I couldn’t believe the bones Thorne would throw him and he’d say something so incredibly obvious or stupid, you wanted one of those really long poles with the crook on the end to yank him out of the booth, or that clown dude from the Apollo theater that has the broom, or even better yet, the guy in the dominatrix outfit the blow the trumpet on Sabado Gigagante on Univivsion. I had a Brian (the dog from Family Guy) moment when I uttered the phrase: “Is there anything on this remote lower than mute???” At one point, he actually remarked that the result of the game would come down to pitching. Really??? To pitching??? Stunningly brilliant commentary!!!

Not that it really mattered to whose pitching he was referring to, but the next thing I expected him to say was: “That the team with the most runs at the end of the game would be the winner.” Or even better yet, “There is a fifty fifty chance that either of these teams will come away with the win.” Seriously, this guy sucks. Maybe not in new and mysterious ways, or like Monica and the cigar, or even in that Neil Diamond/Yanni/Michael Bolton kind of way. He just should never be allowed to open his mouth again on TV, unless of course, he hawking those new McGriddles commercials.

………………………………………………………………………………………………
I guess my only hope now is that the Yankees hold on to win this game today, because as I walk in the door from work and flip the game on, much to my chagrin, Mr. Justice (maybe it should be IN-Justice) is in the booth blathering on and on and on. Shoot me now….and I am waiting to hear stellar comment number one…where is the mute button… here it is top of 6th, bases jacked and a fly out to left to bring in the runner at third to tie it up at 3 all. Justice says, “Now it’s like playing in a zero zero ballgame.” I swear, dumber than a sack of hammers.

- posted by TundraBoy @ 12:07 PM 0 comments

 
4 Letters alone can wreck your day. Those 4 letters??? No, not those four. Try MSDS. Those four letters have caused me nothing but headache today, and prolly tomorrow as well. I already am behind in other work, but this takes precedence. The safety/security manager is in the process of making the big book of Village MSDS look less like a set of World Book Encyclopedias and more like Strong’s Unabridged Exhaustive Concordance.
Exhausted is what I am right now. Spent my day tracking down chemicals and going thru inventory. I still have more inventory to go thru, phone calls to chemical companies that have operators who don’t seem to understand the concept of customer service. Would it be that hard to post MSDS on the net??? Apparently some companies are wary of letting that info out of the bag. I really don’t know why, it’s not as if I am asking for trade secrets here. I just need to easily find out that if I decide to ingest 50ml of Lazer Floor Wax, how to make sure I don’t die, or if I spray Scott’s Liquid Gold in my eyes, how long before I have to dust again? Nothing really pressing, but having all the companies (and I know that there are a lot of them) post these sheets online would make my job easier. Even the companies that do post them, they aren’t exactly easy to find or get to. Whatever, I prolly killed a few small elm trees today printing out these things. I guess some trees just have to die (if you believe in Predestination that is) to help me do my job better by being informed.

Stanley Cup Predictions (for those Free-Will Types): Lord Stanley’s Cup will be awarded to the New Jersey Devils after 5 games.

Yankees Predictions (for you Calvinists out there): will finish in first in the AL East and will win the World Series in 6 Games.

My little sister will be graduating high school in about 2 weeks (I am so totally old now), yikes!!!

The NFL does indeed have favorites they would rather see win than other teams. I know this is a point of contention, but comparing them to MLB is gonna make any other league look good. My point though is that any team really can make it, if they are smart with their money, marketing, draft, and minor league programs.

I have had quite a diverse amount of music spinning recently, so a quick breakdown:

Audioslave: self-titled (the remains of Rage against the Machine and the former frontman from Soundgarden have the ability to blow my eardrums with thunderous riffs and scorching vocals. current fave track is Gasoline)

The Thorns: self-titled (Pete Droge, Shawn Mullins, and Matthew Sweet get together and sound like CSN but with an edge. Odd folk/Americana/Country rock with conscience. Tracks to chill to: I Can’t Remember, Dragonfly, I Set the World on Fire)

Norah Jones: Come Away With Me (you saw how many Grammy’s she won, right??? She can sing and play. Awesome to just mellow out to.)

Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash (a really unique album of covers that have so much soul and Johnny’s wry humor in them. Tracks to hit repeat: 2.Cry, Cry, Cry – Robbie Fulks 6. Get Rhythm – Rev. Horton Heat 11. Folsom Prison Blues – James Intveld)

The sun is shining right now, a reprieve from the rain for a brief moment. Ahhhhhh Yes!!! Very good.

NP: The Thorns: Now I Know



- posted by TundraBoy @ 4:21 PM 0 comments

 
For those of you needing a fix from the cold nether-region of cyberspace...it'll have to do for now. Lost but not forgotten, I have some stuff to post but not sure if I will. It certainly seems that I could wax prophetic about something, but in the immortal words of Uncle Junior, he'd say: "What you don't know could fill a book!" So with word of wisdom like that, I don't know what to tell ya.
I am planning on returning to the lightbulb radio station of my college years within the next week to DJ for the summer. I don’t have all the times and days worked out yet, but when I do, its gonna be a blast. Maybe I'll get a few songs banned again that have long since been forgotten (skinny knows of what I type). My understanding that the format restrictions may be loosened during the summer months, which is kinda cool, and if it holds true to form, I have more than a stack of cd's I’d like to play stuff off of (and maybe throw in an Aimee Mann song as well) and test out on the 3 listeners that have their antenna out.

NP: The Prayer Chain – Mercury: Sun Stoned

- posted by TundraBoy @ 6:02 PM 0 comments

 
A quick wrap of the weekend in baseball….The New York Yankees won every game they played against the Minnesota Twins. Their record against the Twins this year is perfect. They may indeed face them again this year, but that will only be true if the twins make the playoffs. Who knows, maybe they will face the Bronx Bombers again, but they will lose.

NP: Rainchildren - Feels Like Summer: Two Dollar Dance

- posted by TundraBoy @ 7:22 PM 0 comments

 
Bobby Valentine Manager of the Year 2002

Last night after the Bruins game on ESPN, I had Baseball Tonight on. I really wasn’t paying attention until they started showing Yankee highlights. I love my Yankees, but sitting thru commentary from former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine is sheer hell. Maybe it’s because he lost the subway series to Torre, but he has some vendetta against the greatest sports franchise in history. Anywho, the highlights from other game kept rolling on and this is when Bobby gave his assessment of a particular pitcher, and how to play them. This is not verbatim, but here is the gist.

He basically said that a manager has to know what kind of pitchers he has on his roster, are the good in cold weather or hot, and pitch tem accordingly. So if I follow his way of managing last year, he played all his good pitchers in the cold weather and not in the hot weather. So, in April, Bobby fielded his good Met pitchers, benched them from May thru August, and brought em off the bench in September. That is wicked smart managing if you ask me. This is why he is on baseball tonight and not managing a team this year. I suppose that if things go as well as they did last year for the New York Metropolitans, then Bobby will have one up on all the other manager candidates, he’s already turned orange from the George Hamilton tanning system. Way to go Bobby!!!

NP: Over the Rhine - Lucy and the Reverend (live)
- posted by TundraBoy @ 3:29 PM 0 comments

 
Wash Your Hands

Talk about lack of discipline… that’s me. Being the day before taxes are due there are a lot of people out there who wait until the last minute. I don’t count myself among that number. All 3 of my returns have been dropped in the mail as of this writing, but I know people who will wait until 9:59 pm April 15th to start em. Is it sheer laziness? Is it the possibility that they are just so busy, that they forget? Or maybe just maybe it doesn’t dawn on them until the 10 o’clock news crew is parked outside the local post office is on the TV and they utter: “D’OH!!!” and rush to get their w-2s out of the pile of mail and receipts that has grown over the past year? All three are real scenarios that I have either witnessed or heard an account of firsthand. As for myself, this past Saturday was my date of destiny, many hours organising papers, stubs, IRA statements, the checkbook, and a pot of coffee. At the end of 5 or so hours I was done with my state and federal taxes. I was pretty proud of my self, and then thought as I sealed the envelope: “I wonder if I’ll go to jail this year???”

My feeling is that the government always tries to screw the little guy (in the sense of the common man, cuz you prolly know I ain’t so tiny) and the guy that is in the highest tax bracket can get away with murder (Orenthal, I am looking in your direction). Not that I am one to instigate or believe in class warfare, but this guy at work, sold a piece of property in Delaware and on first glance at his tax status, he was gonna have to pay 7 Large in capital gains tax. Totally sucks right??? It gets better, he tells me today that he picked up his taxes on Friday night and it seems that the commonwealth of Pennsylvania is gonna take a bite as well, another 7 Large. He sold one, 1, a singular, uno piece of property in another state and he gets nailed twice for 14 G’s, you tell me that the little guy doesn’t get screwed. His tax preparer told him that he should go back into business for himself, he’d do better. He figured that he worked all last year for about 10 K. I don’t think that is right. I got pissed off when I had to pay 300 bucks the first couple years out of college when I had 2 part time jobs and I made way less than 20 K. Where were my democrat reps that were trying to help me out??? Prolly kissin’ France’s ass or trying to take away my AK-47.

Enough about taxes eh? Baseball is here!!!!!!! Whoo-Hoo!!! I am excited and happy, now if only the weather would cooperate. For those of you who know my friend D aka Skinny aka Antonio aka Asphalt then you prolly read his mass email about our trip to Philly and back to Pitt. I need to make an addition to his email on the Philly side of the trip. I hate Philly, not so much the city itself but the attitude it oft possesses and tries to pass off as big league; bush league would be more appropriate. Then again, I’ve been in the boonies before, and Deliverance people would be more charming. Despite going in first to the game, I sat in the wrong section for an inning, so I felt like a horse’s patoot when I figured out that I was sitting in the wrong spot and D is prolly saying to himself, “where the hell is he??” Fortunately I only embarrassed myself in front of Kathy, which wasn’t so bad since I hadn’t met her until I walked up the steps to the seat. At best she’d think I was a dumbass, and at worst she’d wonder if I could dress myself (the answer to that question is “I bent my Wookie”) and laugh at me. But neither happened, as I explained where I had been. She seemed genuinely disinterested I my explanation. I figure that was due to the chill in the air and the fact she didn’t know me. People who know me ought to care about what I say, because it is as important for you all to know and understand what I am saying as it is as important that I say it. That is a joke. Really it’s a joke, I am not that self-absorbed.

Ok, back to the thing about the Philly game (beside the fact they lost to Pitt) was the fans. If you have ever been to the vet than you are undoubtedly aware of the restroom situation. Most of the time it’s a no waiting thing for guys, but that day was different. I think I missed an inning and a half waiting (as you are supposed to do) to take a leak. I never touch anything in public restrooms like that ever, it’s just not worth getting a social disease over. Maybe I’m paranoid about that kind of thing, but literally standing in urine will change you mind right quick. As I patiently waited my turn, other guys walked into the doorway/airlock before actually entering the bathroom, whipped it out, and pissed right on the wall or in the garbage can. I witnessed this occurrence at least 6 times. Once in side the door, I saw guys go right in the sink. Definitely not touching anything now. Puddles of urine to walk thru to take a leak. I hate Philly.

After that ordeal was thru and I was trying to make my way back to my seat, at the bottom of the stairs was logjam, due to 2 guys jawing with each other in the stands so everybody that was trying to leave was watching and everybody trying to ascend the steps was stuck. The crowd was chanting for the guys to fight. What class!!! Then a girl got between the guys and the crowd started in with a chant of “Show your t**s! Show your t**s!” At this point what was a logjam became a mob of people trying to get a look at this girl who may flash the crowd. I literally had people climbing over me to get a look and I get moved back to the concourse. She apparently did not succumb to the crowd’s wishes so another chant of “slut” emanated from the crowd. The closest thing I can associate this experience to is what it must be like to go to a taping of the Jerry Springer Show (the one who has altera-lifestyle people with 3 teeth and a mullet and make me look like a featherweight boxer, saying thing like “you ain’t the father ”) and that is something I guess some people are proud of. What it is is unfortunate. You had family’s there trying to enjoy the game and ya have jackasses like that acting infantile. Some of those kids will grow up and need therapy, others will return to the vet and do what they saw, but maybe this time some one will die. Terrible fans and puddles of urine, that will be my memory of opening day at the vet.

As far as the Pitt game that didn’t happen, I agree with D. I truly enjoyed my time with HH and his lovely wife (who puts up with my incessant dumb jokes…it’s a wonder that I have any friends at all) at dinner and poking around downtown. I am however looking forward to using my ticket this year. HH: maybe D’s show should be named “My so-called life in the PITT”. It’s a bit lengthy, but then again that is why we call him asphalt.

I try to take a few things seriously, and I guess it’s that time for stumping. Iraq. The war continues and the danger is still very real to our soldiers across the sea. I am very surprised/happy that our casualties have been light, and we have retrieved some of our POW’s. I can’t even imagine what those families may be feeling. I am proud of our troops and wish them continued success and safe returns to their families.

Ok…that all being said, what’s up with that Baghdad Bob, the minister of information. That guy cracked me up. We had tanks literally outside his door and he made claims that the Republican Guard was kicking our tail. What a sense of humor he has. If you’d like to read more about him check this link out : http://64.39.15.171/
It may take a while to load and/or you may need to refresh the page to get it to load.
As Cleese would say: “and now for something completely different”

This is directed to Al, Dale told me you don’t get it hope this helps… a few points of reference:
Cuz: because/cousin
Prolly: probably
Thru: as in drive thru
Lack of punctuation or improper punctuation: im lazy or didn’t hit spell check
Lack of good grammar skills: im working on it, this isn’t dissertation, just a blog
Blog: weblog
Weblog: fancy diary on the internet (this is my therapy)
I hope that clears it up for ya. Don’t forget, I love ya Al.

This is a high holy week in the Christian faith, I hope we all can take time to contemplate just what it is that the death of Christ accomplished for you and me. The atonement IS serious, and not to be taken lightly. Think about that when you bite into that rabbit’s ear on Sunday.

NP: James Intveld – Folsom Prison Blues from Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash
- posted by TundraBoy @ 5:50 PM 0 comments