Friday, January 31, 2014

before the drugs kick in

here's a quick verdict from the doctor's visit today... he believes there is a 99% chance i have a pinched nerve somewhere in the neck/shoulder area. he prescribed 3 drugs, 1 for the pain, 1 for the nerve, and 1 steroid for the inflammation. i start that tomorrow. i've got a feeling that i'm going to be really fucked up when i'm taking all 3 at the same time. good times.

the rest of the details i believe will come out in some poems. i did have a couple rush to my mind while i was out from 9:30 this morning to 4 this afternoon.

last night, i did really enjoy The Big Bang Theory. the Saturday Night Live sports special brought back some good memories.

the Rangers play the Islanders here in a bit, so that's why this is so short. the victory beers may get a little tricky on these drugs.

i won't be going to the Dayton Flyers game tomorrow afternoon. since i don't really abuse prescription drugs like most of my friends and family, these things usually knock me on my ass.

i think the USA national soccer team plays tomorrow as well. and so does Manchester United. i guess i'll be back on here sometime when i'm awake and not watching sports.

that's all for me. wish me luck. i really do hope these drugs do the trick so i can actually sleep again and not be in constant pain. if they don't, i get to go the MRI route and then it will be cortisone shots and possible surgeries. thank god i have health insurance. not that it's really that good. i know damn well today alone is going to cost something with a number to the left of the comma. lovely.

hope everyone has a great weekend. the weather here has the sound of the apocalypse coming. hopefully i'll be too damn high to give a shit. be well. be creative. be nasty. be naughty. be late because you are having too good of a time to care anymore. be.

music:

Lou Reed - Rock n Roll Animal

"I'm not here for your amusement. You're here for mine." - John Lydon

Thursday, January 30, 2014

it almost started to melt today...

i nearly got 4 hours of sleep in a row last night. i was sort of shocked to say the least. maybe it is all due to the impending visit to the doctor. i don't know, but i did feel somewhat refreshed this morning.

American Horror Story was excellent last night. i always love a season finale where i don't see the ending coming. i loved this season. might even have to get it on DVD sometime.

i might have watched a few minutes of Duck Dynasty last night. from what i saw, it was much better than the previous weeks.

the Dayton Flyers lost on a last second three last night, 60-57. this season has slowly turned into a nightmare. they overcame a 15 pt second half deficit to lose to a 3 from the exact same spot that USC beat them from earlier in the year. of course, if they wouldn't have started the second half with their heads up their asses, they would have won. Dayton was up by 5 at halftime. thank god i didn't go. i would have cut my arm off by now.

thankfully, the New York Rangers beat the fucking Islanders last night, 2-1 in Yankee Stadium. the Rangers are now 3-0 in outdoor games. not too shabby. they play again on Friday night. hopefully i will get to watch it. i have to say, the games at Yankee Stadium were a complete success.

the highlight from last night was this bit of nostalgia on Jimmy Fallon:

tonight, i'm looking forward to a new episode of The Big Bang Theory. looks like my inner geek will enjoy this one. also, i think there is a Saturday Night Live sports special as well. between that and trying to forget my arm really fucking hurts, my night is set.

my doctor's appointment is at 10 am tomorrow morning. i'm planning on being a good boy and waking up early and feeding the cats before i go to the doctor. i'm assuming i will be having tests in the afternoon or so, so i will get back on here whenever i get the chance tomorrow. hopefully full of drugs and good news.

hope everyone is well. and warm. and sick of fucking winter.

music:

Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
Tori Amos - To Venus and Back

"I think you have to pay for love with bitter tears." - Edith Piaf


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

the white flag

i finally have given in. the pain is just too much for me. the wine only goes so far. i see the doctor on Friday morning. i'm sure that just starts a round of x-rays and tests to see what really is going on. in other words, my weekend is probably shot. although, i wouldn't mind scoring some really good pain drugs out of this. something to make me sleep would be great.

i tried to catch a nap this afternoon to no avail. amazes me that i step away from the computer for a few hours and i have 51 emails to answer. lovely. i never thought of myself as popular enough to get that much email in a few hours, let alone an entire day.

i'm not going to the Dayton Flyers game tonight. i couldn't see myself sitting there for 2 hours holding my left arm in agony and trick myself into thinking i was enjoying this. i'll watch the game against St. Joe's on television. hopefully they can end their damn losing streak tonight.

at 7:30 tonight, the New York Rangers play the New York Islanders at Yankee Stadium. needless to say i will be flipping between both games. i really want the Rangers to kill them tonight.

also tonight are episodes of Duck Dynasty and the season finale of American Horror Story. i might miss Duck Dynasty but i will not miss American Horror Story, no matter what time i have to catch it at.

that's pretty much all the pain will allow for today. i celebrated the temperature getting over zero today by filling the bird feeders up. hopefully they enjoy it and don't eat much so i don't have to fill them for a few days. the cats enjoyed the sunshine today. looks like it will warm up this weekend, but of course with those higher temps comes a nasty rain/snow/sleet mix as well. just my fucking luck.

hope everyone is good. warm. in a better mood than i am. with less pain. or with drugs to send me.

peace.

music:

M83. - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.

"Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice." - Anton Chekhov

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

so cold it hurts to think

this weather has me in a constant state of pain. between my left arm absolutely fucking killing me at the moment to the general soreness that i haven't been able to sleep well for 2 weeks and the windchill is somewhere around -30. when i went out to feed the cats i took a breath through my nose as i figured it would be less painful for my nose to freeze than my lungs. all cats are still alive by the way. Kit Kat is back to using all 4 legs again.

i did watch Manchester United get a 2-0 win today over Cardiff City. amazing what a big signing will do. Mata gets an assist, RVP and Rooney are back healthy, and the sun decides to shine on the ass of that dog Ashley Young. 3 very badly needed points and a very badly needed victory beer.

not exactly sure what i'm going to watch tonight. i will find something as i will not be watching the state of the union.

Monday Night Raw was pretty good last night. it started off with the HHH middle finger like i thought it would, but by the end of the show, the fans got what they wanted. plus, it looks like the Wyatt Family and The Shield are going to feud here soon. i definitely like that.

i have no clue if i'm going to the Dayton Flyers game tomorrow. i believe if i am in this much pain again tomorrow, there is no fucking chance i'm going out. i do believe the game is on television. plus, the New York Rangers play another game at Yankee Stadium against the fucking Islanders. i really would love to see them whip those assholes just like they did the Devils.

that's all for me today. i'm going to go roll up into a ball and cry myself to sleep. and i'm sure every smart ass thinks those tears are from the fact that i'm unable to suck my own dick while in that ball. you would be correct.

stay warm. be well. be creative. and do something destructive.

peace.

music:

Broken Anchor - Broken Anchor Sampler
Escondido - Escondido EP
Kristy Lee - In This Room

"It's a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with." - Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919 - Jan. 27, 2014)

Monday, January 27, 2014

who needs sleep... this guy does

the wind was whipping the house so damn hard last night/this morning, that i couldn't fall asleep for the life of me. maybe 4 hours tops. i've been trying to steal some sleep this afternoon, but no luck.

i did watch all of The Grammy's last night. i was a little surprised at how well Daft Punk did, but happy at the same time. the performance of the night was Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons. that truly blew me the fuck away. i was a little disappointed with them cutting short the Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age finale. but, a pissed off Trent Reznor is always a good thing.

the Sunday night shows were good. True Detective was brilliant once again. Shameless was also brilliant, loved the last few scenes. as for the other ones, i should have tried napping then.

i'll be interested in how the fans decide to shit all over Monday Night Raw tonight. from what i saw online, they weren't very pleased with the Royal Rumble last night. i completely understand their frustration. the unwillingness of the company to put guys that the fans actually want to see in the main events is beyond infuriating. usually, the next night is a mea culpa from the company or a giant middle finger. if i had to guess, i'm going with the HHH middle finger. which hopefully sets up the rumored Wrestlemania match of HHH vs. CM Punk. i could always go for another Summer of Punk.

the weather here has took yet another turn to cold as hell. i believe when i was out feeding the cats the windchill was somewhere around -18. sadly, the sun has been out for most of the day as well. looks like all the heaters will be on tonight as the low is supposed to be around -15. i suppose that would put the windchill around the oh fuck me it's too fucking cold to do math stage.

my mother should be returning tonight. hopefully the roads are better today. at least the lane still looks good out here on the farm.

that's all for me. i'll be on here tomorrow sometime either before or after the Manchester United game.

peace and chicken grease. if you don't hear from me, i have probably frozen to death. it's cold.

music:

Imagine Dragons - Night Visions
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

"You are remembered for the rules you break." - Douglas MacArthur

Sunday, January 26, 2014

i almost forgot what winning felt like...

as i watched the Rangers get down 3-1 today at Yankee Stadium, i started to think about the horrible string my teams happen to be on at the moment. and then, the worm turned my friends. the Rangers scored 6 straight goals to whip the fucking Devils 7-3. that victory beer tasted so damn good.

my mother made it up to Columbus without any problems. of course, i wasn't thrilled when she told me she nearly fell down at the hotel because they didn't bother to clean off their parking lot.

thankfully, the winds stopped long enough for the lane to get plowed and for my mother to get out. i flirted with the idea of taking the trash down. but then the winds started back up and that notion quickly left my brain.

i got my laundry done today as i was trying to find something other than worrying about my mother driving to occupy my mind. i imagine i'll put those clothes away here in a little bit.

i do plan on watching The Grammy's tonight, which means, if i have mapped this out correctly on the television, i will be up until 3:30 in the morning catching up on the Sunday night shows. and i need to do the dishes sometime during that time frame as well. good times.

the bottom is going to drop out here again with the temperatures. i believe we will be in the -15 area in the next couple of days. i'm not exactly thrilled to say the least.

i did get some decent sleep last night, but i'm pretty sure that's because of the 1/2 bottle of wine i drank last night.

i am interested in what happens at the Royal Rumble tonight, but i'm not going to pay for it. i will follow it online as i'm watching The Grammy's.

that's all for me. i've got clothes to put away, a quick shower to take, figure out how i'm going to calm down my arm and then a long night of television ahead of me.

hope everyone is well and warm.

later.

music:

Butch Walker and the Black Widows - The Spade

"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy." - Wayne Gretzky

Saturday, January 25, 2014

something wicked blowing in the wind

my, my, how quickly my day turns. i actually got some decent sleep last night. was actually able to lay in a bed and stretch out and decompress my body for the first time in days. i felt really good when i woke up this morning. and then i looked outside.

we probably only got 2 to 3 inches of snow but the wind has been blowing all day long. anywhere from 10 to 50 m.p.h. we have drifts around the house that are near 10 inches high. needless to say, we're going to have to be plowed out before anyone can even attempt to leave the farm. and my mother has to be in Columbus tomorrow. so, life will be interesting for the next 24 hours or so.

i was able to shovel a path to get to the cats to feed them. none of them looked really thrilled, and neither did i.. the birds did appreciate that i threw some more birdseed on the ground for them.

we're supposed to get another 2 to 4 inches tomorrow. there is no fucking way i'm putting the trash out as the wind is supposed to keep howling like this until Monday.

i did watch a portion of the New York Rangers practice at Yankee Stadium today. should be an interesting outdoor game against the Devils tomorrow. i do plan on watching a bit of the game tonight from Dodger Stadium. that should be quite the mind fuck.

sadly, i did watch most of the Dayton Flyers being humbled yet again by a really shitty Rhode Island team, 88-76. maybe one day this team will learn that if you don't play defense you can't win. and hopefully it is sometime before i die.

my arm has been in excruciating pain most of the day. there is finally some discoloring on it, which my mother believes may be an indication of a badly pulled muscle. my fear is that i have pulled it off the bone. i'm really fucking hoping to be wrong on this one. looks like i'll know for sure sometime next week. mom has to go get her wrist looked at so i think we're just going to make it a double visit. good times.

i did happen to catch ROH this afternoon so i won't have a need to watch it tonight after Saturday Night Live. although, the match between Bobby Fish and Jay Briscoe was good enough to watch again and again. i'm really hoping SNL is really good tonight and i'm able to get some decent sleep afterwards.

as for now, i'm going to get the scissors and do something more drastic to my hair. and if that doesn't work, i'll just be shaving it all off. yes, i don't handle losing well. especially not when i am struggling to handle some intense pain.

that's all for me. not exactly sure when i'll be on here tomorrow. i'm hoping for before the Rangers game. if not, it will definitely be before The Grammy's are on. and if i somehow miss that deadline, it won't be until 4 or 5 in the morning after i've caught all the Sunday night shows i missed while watching The Grammy's.

like anyone is waiting on pins and needles for my next blog post.

hope everyone is warm. if not, drink more whiskey.

music:

Jamey Johnson - Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran

"You cannot find peace by avoiding life." - Virginia Woolf

at least i did have one good thing happen today:

Friday, January 24, 2014

sometimes pain wins

i got up this morning at 4:45, roughly 3 hours after drinking this liquid that is supposed to help you sleep longer. lets just say it didn't quite work. i went upstairs to try to stretch out and really loosen my body up, and then pain decided it wanted to play. my left arm started to spasm and really get painful. on the scale of 1 to 10, it was somewhere around 8 or so. and of course, we have no pain pills, so all i'm left with is lotions, ice bags, and alcohol. the way the weather is here lately, i'd be better off just sticking my left arm in one of the snow drifts out here. if this pain continues... we're supposed to get 6 inches of snow this weekend.

i'm not exactly thrilled with the forecast as my mom needs to drive to Columbus on Sunday, right in the middle of the snowstorm. not good. plus, Sunday is the day the trash goes down to the end of the lane. i don't think that's going to happen which basically means the next time i take it down i will be taking down a month's worth of trash. yikes.

the windchill was -20 when i went out to feed the cats today. let's just say i was less than thrilled when i had snow blowing into my face as i was trying to open a gate to get to the barn. good times. the wind is hopefully going to stop before the snow hits. if we get that kind of wind along with a few inches of snow, it will be blizzard time. and all i can think about is shoveling sidewalks with one arm.

sorry for being so short today, but that's about all the typing i can do without feeling the need to cut my arm off.

hope everyone has a great weekend. please send some positive vibes my way or cash. that works as well.

be well. stay warm. and unless i kill myself in the snow tomorrow, i'll be on here before Dayton plays in the afternoon up in Rhode Island.

peace

music:

Bassnectar - Freestyle Mixtape
Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight

"Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope." - Edith Wharton

Thursday, January 23, 2014

a long cold day in hell

i got a little better sleep last night. a little being instead of 4 hours i got 4 1/2 hours of sleep. my arm has been killing me all day long. i've made the mistake of simply trying to block out the pain and do what i normally do with my left arm. reach for things, sweep the floor, the dishes, etc. etc. not good. and with my sports teams slowly killing me by not giving me any victory beers, i believe i am on the road to a slow death. either that or a home amputation. i'll keep you posted.

just got done watching the New York Rangers lose a tough one to St. Louis 2-1. just one of those games that just wasn't meant to be. oh well.

last night, the Dayton Flyers got humbled at home by VCU, 80-66. quite frankly, the game was never that close. i'm pretty happy i didn't go.

we only got an inch of snow last night but the winds were holy shit cold this morning. when i went out to feed the cats and throw some birdseed on the ground the windchill was -20. i came back in and told my mother, how ever many layers of clothes she thought she needed when she goes out, put another one on.

i made some chili and cornbread for dinner tonight. if it's anything like it normally is, by 5 this morning, this entire house will be full of farts. good times.

Duck Dynasty last night was ok. i haven't really been impressed so far this season.

American Horror Story was excellent last night. kept me glued the entire episode. really set up the season finale next week so well. i can't wait to see it.

i heard from my publisher today on my book, Sofisticated White Trash. he now has it set up where you can get the book at 50% off the regular price. email me for the special code to take advantage of that discount.

not sure if i believe that Juan Mata is actually going to go to Manchester United or not. i suppose when i see the club announce it, then i will believe it. not sure if he can be the savior of this season or not. he no doubt will be a great addition, but probably way too late for any trophies. at this rate, i'll be thrilled if they can finish in the top 4 yet again. that even seems like an unlikely mountain to climb at this point.

that's pretty much all for me today. i'm going to drink a glass of milk and decide if i should shave my head completely bald or not. if i don't go that route, i do see some scissors and a bottle of whiskey nearby. there's a good chance come morning these bangs won't be in my eyes anymore.

be well, be warm, be drunk, be creative, be a good boy and ask where to cum, be loud in quiet situations, and be the freak you always wanted to be.

peace.

music:

Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses - Junky Star

"I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me." - Warren Buffett

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

when you don't sleep it all becomes a nightmare

i might have got 3 hours of sleep last night. so i spent all morning taking little cat naps trying to catch up. during one of those naps, the phone rings. it's the mechanic and my truck is finally ready. so, that set forth a manic plan to get the paper, mail, hit the bank for a post birthday deposit, get my truck, get gas, and hopefully get back in time to watch Manchester United this afternoon.

when we hit the mechanic's place up, i knew i was going to miss most of the first half of United. but, i really didn't mind. the truck is like brand fucking new. new tires, a major tune up, oil change, fixed the shitty steering and holy shit, thing rides like a dream. well, a dream built in 1992. but, it should last me for a few more years.

got back home in time to see that United had scored. then like the assholes they are, they tried to sit on the lead for the next 90 minutes. all they had to do was score another one in regulation and the game would have been over. but no. so, on to extra time where United's goalie makes a horrific mistake with only 1 minute left. thankfully, Chicharito scores in the final seconds to send the game to penalty kicks. for some fucking reason Moyes sends up 3 defensive players out of the 5 to take kicks. as any child could figure out by now, United loses and is eliminated from the Capital One Cup. this season is beyond a fucking nightmare now. they could buy the entire Spanish national team this transfer window and it wouldn't help. LOST FUCKING CAUSE.

on top of that misery, the New York Rangers decided to shit all over my birthday last night by blowing a 2 goal lead to the fucking Islanders, losing 5-3. fuck me. thankfully, they traded the massive fucking headache Michael Del Zotto to Nashville today for the steady and signed for the next 4 years Kevin Klein. i like the trade, mostly because it gets rid of wasting talent. they play the Blues tomorrow night. another tough one.

i will not be going to the Dayton Flyers game tonight against VCU. 1) it starts in 15 minutes. 2) the weather is supposed to take a shitty turn tonight and we take nothing but back roads there. no thank you. especially not when all the towns around here have already said they are low on salt and are only going to treat the main roads. joy.

but, today was not all gloom and doom. i got off my lazy ass and got my new camera figured out. it's a Nikon CoolPix S3500. here are 3 of the 11 pictures i took today.



i will load the rest of them in the slideshow on the right hand side of this blog sometime soon (they are in the slideshow now). you can always see the rest of them on my Google+ page.

after the Dayton game tonight, i'll be watching Duck Dynasty and one of my favorite shows, American Horror Story.

lastly, i want to thank the New York Yankees for my birthday gift, although it was a day late. the 7 year, $155 million dollar contract to Masahiro Tanaka. thank you. now go win some fucking games.

hope everyone is well. my mother got me some stronger sleeping medicine, so my fingers are crossed that tomorrow i won't be whining about the bags under my eyes. peace and chicken grease.

music:

Metallica - Death Magnetic

"A picture is a poem without words." - Horace

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

response from My Favorite Bullet

i heard back from David at My Favorite Bullet on my poetry submission from a few hours earlier. my poems "to the dancing fool" and "a brand new year" have been accepted for publication.

happy birthday to me

today i turned 38. to celebrate, i gave myself a ridiculous haircut and sent out some poems. nothing quite like being a genius that has grown bored and tired.

as for the haircut, my best way of describing it... it's like a bad toupee. my mother hates it so i immediately love it. we'll see how long it lasts.

as for the poems, i sent out 5 to My Favorite Bullet and 6 to ZYX. more on this in the next post.

the weather has took a turn to shit here. a windchill somewhere in the -15 area. it certainly was not fun clearing off the walks this morning and feeding the cats. i'll hand it to the cats though, they are amazingly all still alive and generally healthy.

i had a good laugh today at all the Manchester United rumors. ah, just love the silly season.

also some juicy New York Yankees rumors going around as well. more on that hopeful good news later in the week.

Monday Night Raw disappointed me last night. it had all the makings of being great but just seemed a step off at times. not surprising, considering the building they were in is a 13,000 seat dump. with the worse parking design ever. sort of happy i didn't go now.

tonight, for my birthday, the New York Rangers play the team i have hated since i was a child, the New York Islanders. sadly, the King is sick tonight, so i'm really hopeful Cam Talbot continues his great play. i'll be really fucking pissed if i'm not drinking a victory beer sometime tonight.

other than that, i'm sure i'll be bouncing between some college basketball, other hockey games, and some NBA games since they are FREE this week. might as well take advantage of it.

hopefully my arm feels a little better tomorrow and i'll set up my new camera and maybe take some shots with it.

a big thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday today. i really appreciate it.

hope this finds everyone well. hope your heat is going strong. let's just say that every heater in this joint will be on at some point tonight.

peace and chicken grease.

music:

Valerie June - Pushin' Against A Stone
Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - Don't Explain
Cheap Trick - Authorized Greatest Hits

"Girls are like pianos. When they're not upright, they're grand." - Benny Hill

Monday, January 20, 2014

i have a dream

where i actually sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. where i live in a climate that doesn't get below 30 degrees. where i have a lovely woman by my side that actually loves the fact that i'm a poet and a dreamer. where my sports teams win more than not and my liver can easily handle any alcohol ever made.

i have a dream.

when i was a child, i enjoyed this day for the day off of school and my grandmother's birthday. since she died in 1993 and i haven't been in school since 1994, this day is more about MLK and it's the day before my birthday.

hopefully i'll be getting my truck back tomorrow. and hopefully it will be above zero degrees when i get it.

the deep freeze is coming back from the way it looks on all the weather forecasts. thankfully, the propane tank got filled today. and we got plenty of cat food over the weekend. so, knock on wood, we are prepared for it.

i got half of the Super Bowl correct. picked Denver but missed the Seattle game. hopefully the big game will be played in a blizzard.

i really enjoyed the Sunday night shows last night. True Detective and Shameless won the night for me. the other 3, Girls, House of Lies, and Episodes were their normal train wrecks. but i'm the asshole blocking traffic and watching.

the other good thing about this holiday is the afternoon professional sports. been watching some hockey and basketball while hoping to fall asleep this afternoon. i think i got 20 minutes or so watching some soccer in England.

i am looking forward to Monday Night Raw tonight. i was hoping in my birthday gifts over the weekend there was going to be tickets to it, but oh well. it's about 30 minutes away from me. i can understand my mother and sister not wanting to enable my love of pro wrestling. should be a great show tonight.

the New York Rangers continued their hot streak with a 4-1 beat down of Washington last night. they are now in second place in the division. and on my birthday, they play the fucking Islanders. needless to say, i will be in full throat for that one.

also, that Rangers victory helped give me my second straight 10-0 week in fantasy hockey. i believe i have a 22 1/2 game lead in my division. this is starting to look like my best season ever. and given the amount of injuries i've had, i'm a little surprised to say the least.

other than Raw tonight, i will be going through some poems trying to find 11 that i will be sending out tomorrow. i think i have a good number in mind, just not sure if it's 11 or not. if not, i guess i'll be doing some writing at 2 in the morning. lord knows i won't be asleep anyway.

hope everyone had a great weekend. hope it is warmer wherever you are. and why haven't you invited me to visit? be well. peace and chicken grease.

music:

Tei Shi - Saudade
Shannon Labrie - Just Be Honest

"You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old." - George Burns

Sunday, January 19, 2014

running out of options...

amazingly, i think i got almost 6 hours of sleep last night, albeit in 2 hour increments. i was feeling pretty good until i took my shower this morning. the pain got a little much in there, especially along the bone in my upper left arm. either that, or i was bizarrely pissed that Manchester United lost again today. take your pick.

Manchester United lost 3-1 to Chelsea. i just wish David Moyes would pick a fucking lineup and run with it for a few games rather than changing it before every fucking game. i turned the game off at halftime and really didn't bother to turn it back on.

the Dayton Flyers lost yesterday 73-64 at Richmond. hard to win playing 5 on 8 as Richmond made almost twice as many free throws than Dayton took. more horrific referees. it's truly what sucks when you have no choice but to play a few freshman and sophomores against seniors and the refs decide they need to teach the kids a lesson.

thankfully, the New York Rangers played a complete and dominating road game at Ottawa yesterday, winning 4-1. hopefully they can keep the good momentum going when they play Washington tonight at home.

Saturday Night Live was better than i thought it was going to be last night. i'm not a big fan of Drake, but the show was good.

Ring Of Honor was excellent once again last night. they are on a really good string of shows here recently.

after the football games today, it will be the usual Sunday night shows. True Detective, Girls, Shameless, House of Lies, and Episodes. of course, depending on when the games end will depend on how late i'm up watching the shows tonight.

i did get some really nice gifts last night from my mother and sister. the highlights being a Yoda t-shirt, a new hoodie, some new sweats, a Batman tin sign , and a new camera. i can't wait to play with that later this week. all in all, pretty damn good. plus, they bought me lunch today at my favorite sports bar. it would have been great if my arm wouldn't have been shooting pain the last 30 minutes i was there.

the wind has been playing havoc with the 2 inches of snow we got last night. we have a few drifts over 6 inches now. plus, i'm not sure why i bothered shoveling the walks if it was just going to get blown right back on them.

i ask all of you to check out the poem of mine that was published this morning. "this mystic ride" is one of the best ones i have written in quite some time. love to know what any of you think. feel free to email me or leave the comments here on the blog or over at The Camel Saloon.

that's all for now. i'm off to go watch some football and down a bottle of whiskey. good times. until tomorrow.

music:

Fitz & The Tantrums - Free EP 1&2

"Stupidity is a talent for misconception." - Edgar Allan Poe


this mystic ride

my poem "this mystic ride" was published this morning at The Camel Saloon. you can find the poem by going here: http://thecamelsaloon.blogspot.com/2014/01/this-mystic-ride.html

Saturday, January 18, 2014

at least the sun is out

i did manage to get some more sleep finally. but it was so disjointed; a few hours in the chair, 1 hour in my bed, 2 more hours after 3 pain pills... not fun. the cold treatments aren't working much better than the heat was earlier in the week. looks like i'll be going to the doctor before too long. joy.

my sister made it down here yesterday without any problems. she made some great pumpkin doughnuts this morning, for my birthday. i believe i might be opening gifts tonight, not sure yet. but i know i have 2 full bags of stuff from her, so i'm at least intrigued.

hopefully my mother and sister get back here before the weather turns to shit later on today. the sun is out now and we've hit our high of 22 degrees, but there is some snow headed this way. hopefully, we're not in the area that's supposed to get 6 inches or so.

the New York Rangers play up in Ottawa in a few hours as part of the Hockey Day in Canada festivities. hopefully they can get a win and enjoy the flight home for the game tomorrow against Washington.

roughly at the same time, the Dayton Flyers will be playing at Richmond, a place they haven't won at in 10 years. i'd love to see them break that streak today. a few victory beers could go a long way to making my arm feel better.

other than that. i know i will be watching Saturday Night Live tonight and ROH as well.

i suppose there will be plenty of college basketball and other hockey games i'll flip through today as well.

as for tomorrow, i'm not exactly sure when i will be on here. Manchester United plays in the morning at Chelsea. then the family is taking me to a sports bar to watch some football. and then those games will lead right into the Sunday night programming. so, maybe a quick blog at 2 in the morning as i'm struggling to fall asleep. or, if something happens tonight that i just have to talk about, maybe an early morning post before all the Sunday shenanigans begin. time will tell.

hope everyone is well. no blowups as of yet with my sister and mother and myself. all bets are off if a couple of teams lose today and my arm starts to hurt more.

be well. enjoy some of the podcasts on the right hand side of this blog. i have to go find a missing cat and decide how the fuck Kit Kat broke her damn left hind leg. all while not falling or freezing my ass off. though, burying my left arm in a snow drift has crossed my damn mind.

music:

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

"I don't like painting flowers in my music. I like painting guts and pain." - Jonathan Davis

Friday, January 17, 2014

accepting the pleasure i find in pain

so my last night played out almost according to script. like a dumb ass, i fell asleep and woke up in my chair and decided to try to sleep in my bed. i couldn't get comfortable at all. and it's mostly about finding a spot where my left arm isn't throbbing the entire fucking time. so, there i was in the shower at 3 in the morning. the water couldn't get hot enough. i took some sleeping pills, which got me almost 3 hours of sleep this morning. there was no Dan Patrick Show today and it was snowing pretty bad out, so i got another hour of sleep. that makes almost 5 hours, which is double from the last 2 days. so, i'm damn near completely refreshed, other than the whole pain part.

it was interesting trying to shovel the snow this afternoon. i was trying to avoid using my left arm as much as possible. let's just say that didn't work for long. so, hello adrenaline. at least the walks were clear when my mother got back this afternoon. we had to get the lane plowed as my sister is coming this evening. last thing i want is to have to dig her out. i don't have enough adrenaline for that.

finally heard back from the mechanic. the tires i had on the truck are obsolete now. figures. so, we're going with a newer version that is supposedly better. as they long as they aren't flat in a week, it will be an upgrade over the previous ones. not sure when the truck will be done, but it is sounding like it will basically be a new truck. thank god.

the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings put on a show last night. end to end action and 2 goaltenders absolutely standing on their heads. it was a pleasure to watch, mostly because the Rangers won 1-0. first time shutting out Detroit since 1976. highlights below:

i'm pretty happy that the New York Yankees have signed all their arbitration eligible players and got that potential mess out of the fucking way. now, hopefully they can get some pitching signed for this season. SOON!

it is supposed to get down to the single digits here tonight. so, the heaters will be blasting and the pipes will be exposed to some heat. and just my luck, my birthday morning will be below zero. good times.

not sure what i'm going to be watching this evening. if my sister has a say in it, i imagine it will be Dateline or 48 Hours or something like that. if i get my way, it will probably be some hockey.

i will most likely be on here tomorrow either before or right after Dayton plays at Richmond tomorrow. early afternoon most likely. the next round of snow is supposed to come tomorrow evening. so, i get the feeling tomorrow morning is going to be trips to the store and returning my mother's rental car. can't wait to see how i'm going to lift huge bags of cat food with one arm. hopefully my back is up to it tomorrow.

that's all for me today. hope everyone has a great weekend. stay warm or if you happen to be one of my few friends that live where it's always warm, i've got 2 words in mind as i get ready to go put some more ice melter out... fuck off. but i say that with nothing but love.

be well.

music:

Leonard Cohen - The Essential Leonard Cohen

"The man who has no imagination has no wings." - Muhammad Ali

my 6 poems in ZYX #66

my poems "an elaborate apology", "a chance of coming true", "not enough smiles", "weird in a few spots", "it should be obvious", and "fresh out of hope" have all been published in ZYX #66.

others with work in the issue include David Stone, Alan Catlin, John Grey, Normal, Spiel, Nathan Whiting, and B.Z. Niditch.

for more information or to get a copy:

ZYX
c/o Arnold Skemer, Editor
58-09 205th Street
Bayside, NY 11364

Thursday, January 16, 2014

insomnia meets insanity and the result is bloody

i suppose if i added up the number of hours i have slept in the last week, i wouldn't have to take off my shoes to count. last night was beyond ridiculous. i tried nearly every bed and chair in the house and couldn't fall asleep in any of them. i've nodded off today for maybe 45 minutes or so. which honestly, makes no fucking sense as that basically means i've been up for 46 of the last 48 hours.

somewhere in the insomnia last night i wrote 4 poems. i actually typed them up this morning. 2 of them i really like.

i watched the weather this morning and chose to get some shit done instead of fighting to sleep. so i got the animals fed, the paper and mail collected and a little breakfast all before 10 am. the snow started at 11:30, which made my decision a wise one. it was snowing sideways for a little while but is nothing more than some flurries at the moment. this is how it is supposed to be for the next 3 days. joy.

i've ditched the heat for my neck/shoulder/arm nerve problem and am now trying the cold treatments. basically, just freeze the fucker so i can't feel anything. my life has turned into a shitty country song. and to prove that point, my asshole started to bleed today. this is why i don't question why my sister won't even entertain the thought of me living near her when mom dies.

the Dayton Flyers got off to a horrible start last night, trailing to a Fordham team they had no business trailing to at all. amazingly, the defense picked up and the offense got instantly better (funny how that works) as Dayton turned a deficit of 9 points into a lead of 3 at halftime. thankfully, they started the second half on fire and never relented. they got the lead out to double digits where it stayed for the rest of the game. Dayton wins 80-68.

Duck Dynasty was pretty funny last night but i was in and out of it for most of both shows.

American Horror Story was creepy and spectacular last night. a really bloody episode. all setting up for some more twists on the way to the season finale.

i believe The Big Bang Theory is a rerun tonight, so i will either stick to the New York Rangers game against Detroit or watch the NBC comedies tonight. i guess it depends how that first period goes.

hopefully, sometime later tonight i will pass out and sleep for a few hours at the very least. i'm also hoping to take a shower, but if sleep prevents that from happening until 3 in the morning or so, so be it.

thankfully, the heat is still working here and the power has only gone out once since mom left. i'm sure she's going to be thrilled to have to set her clock in her room yet again.

that's all for me. please send any positive vibes or good thoughts or cash or drugs or backwoods remedies you may have on hand to me so my present situation can change sometime soon. and i ask this as much for your sake as i do for my own. i can imagine all of you are tired of reading this horseshit over and over again.

peace and chicken grease.

music:

Metallica - Garage Inc.

"The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla, the more you want to avoid people." - Dian Fossey

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

and here comes a little snow as well

well, taking more sleeping pills didn't work out for me. i'm at the point now where i might as well just drink the pain away. the bags under my eyes are pretty incredible at the moment. thankfully, i am able to get little cat naps in every now and then. if i couldn't do that, i'd be incredibly unbearable at the moment. i'd like to report that the pain is getting better, but it's not. i'm getting better at blocking it out from my mind.

i'm truly amazed at how quickly people forget how to drive around here. took my mother forever to get to her conference this morning because some places got almost a 1/2 inch of snow. i suppose people are too busy on their phones while driving. we're supposed to get a couple inches of snow in the next few days. i put down a preemptive round of ice melter down since i am in no shape to shovel at the moment. hopefully that will work. or, hopefully i can get out early tomorrow and get everything done before the snow hits.

the New York Rangers lost last night 2-1. really a case of running into a hotter goalie and not getting much help from blind officials. they play again tomorrow against Detroit.

tonight is going to be a tricky one for me on television. the Dayton Flyers play at Fordham tonight at 9. that is on television, though i may listen to it on the radio. Duck Dynasty is back tonight as well as another episode of American Horror Story. hopefully, all of that is good enough that i won't remember that i can barely move my left arm without some kind of pain.

and since my bed has become mostly useless over the last few nights, i might just end up sleeping in my chair tonight. usually i can find the right spot and with the help of the heating pad, get a few hours at least.

and if the whiskey starts flowing tonight, maybe i whip out some watercolors and get a little of this insanity down on some paper.

waiting for the mechanic to call me back with prices on new tires. i guess my truck also needed a tune up on top of an oil change. and the tires were about 60% used up. so, it is definitely time to get some new ones. happy birthday to me i guess.

other than all that, just the usual day in the life of a poet. caught up on some pornography, listened to some music a little louder than normal, and basically filled my Google+ page with tons of nonsense.

i do highly recommend the latest podcast from the Sam Roberts Show Online, #86, Naked Girls. you can find it on iTunes, Stitcher, notsam.com, or on the right hand side of this blog. well worth your time.

that is all. back to your regularly scheduled lives of debauchery.

music:

Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bad Company - 10 from 6

"There's always a little bit of personal satisfaction when you prove somebody wrong." - Drew Brees

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

adrenaline and pain, quite the mixture

so, as i was driving my truck to the mechanic today (new tires, oil change, etc) my left arm started to throb beyond belief. of course, i had no pain pills on me, so i did the next best thing. turned the radio up loud and stomped on the fucking gas. needless to say, i left my mother in the dust. i was a little surprised that my truck could still get up to 60 mph and not start to fall apart.

had a nice oh shit moment last night. the local fire department was doing a controlled burn/practice scenario on the road behind us. of course, they never bothered to inform the public of this. so, you can imagine my thoughts when i look out the window and see a huge fucking fire less than a mile away from the farm. with the damn wind blowing. they appreciated the phone call but said they had everything under control.

Monday Night Raw was excellent last night. can't go wrong with CM Punk getting fucked over as this will only make him more bitter (which actually makes him better) and seeing Daniel Bryan on top of a steel cage to end the show was classic. i guess he could only stomach the Wyatt Family for a couple of weeks. i'm the same way with my family.

the New York Rangers play tonight at home against Tampa. i'm hoping the game is good enough to keep my mind off of the pain.

i'll be upping my sleeping pills tonight in hopes that i get more than 4 hours of sleep. and i will make sure to take them long after a hopeful victory beer this evening.

spent a little time on Noise Trade today getting some new music. you'll see that down below. i'll provide some links.

that's pretty much all for now. my mother leaves in the morning for a few days at a conference in Cincinnati. i'll have her vehicle if i need to get around. i imagine that will all depend on how well i'm managing the pain. i'd really love for all of this to go away by the weekend. that's when we're celebrating my birthday. of course, knowing my luck, i'll finally go to a doctor and be in a hospital by the weekend. good times.

hope this finds everyone well. peace.

music:

Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Little Hurricane - Mixtape for Storm Chasers
Humble Wolf - The Stack Sessions

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school." - Albert Einstein


2 new poems up at Dead Snakes

my poems "the creepy ones" and "the process of being erased" were published yesterday at Dead Snakes. you can find the poems by going here:
http://deadsnakes.blogspot.com/2014/01/jj-campbell-two-poems.html

Monday, January 13, 2014

a better mood on a rainy day

i was actually able to get almost 5 hours of sleep last night. i figure that was due to the mix of pain pills and alcohol. of course, it wasn't 5 hours in a row. just my luck.

i would say the pain is becoming a little more manageable. of course, by saying that i'll be in agony later tonight.

i had a pretty good night last night. got all 4 playoff games right over the weekend. my fantasy hockey team responded well after a losing week by winning 10-0. and all the Sunday night shows were really good.

the New York Rangers got off to a great start last night, basically putting the game away in the first period with 3 goals. the Flyers did their usual shit, which helped my fantasy team with the penalty minutes. Rangers get a huge win in the division, 4-1.

i watched a few minutes of the Golden Globes last night. i thought what i saw was pretty funny. i watched some more of the highlights this morning on YouTube.

as for the Sunday night shows, True Detective was great. i can see that show quickly becoming a favorite of mine. has the potential to be really fucking creepy in the psychological kind of way. i liked the first episode of Girls more than the second one. Shameless was great as usual. looks like another crazy season is in store. House of Lies was back to being really good. Episodes is usually so bad it's good. just like last night.

as for tonight, after Monday Night Raw all i really wanted is a nice long shower and for the pain pills to work a little better. i'm sure i'll be watching some college basketball as well.

the silly season is back in full swing and i'm really enjoying all the "news" going on with Manchester United. if i have learned anything under David Moyes, expect nothing and be told it's a good thing.

as for all the A-Rod news with the New York Yankees... i'm really at the point where i don't give a shit. hopefully he is gone for all of 2014 and that money is used for better pitching. and hopefully one of these castoffs can be a decent third baseman for them this season.

that's all for me. hopefully everyone is better off than i am. be well, be drunk, be creative, be...

music:

Tom Waits - Franks Wild Years

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." - C.S. Lewis

Sunday, January 12, 2014

and sometimes the whole body just aches...

hello again world. so, after yet another night of 3 hours of restless sleep (i mostly remember just tossing and turning and popping my left shoulder countless number of times) i'm back at it. i'm still trying to wrap my head around the end of the Saints game yesterday, but more on that later.

i typed up the 3 poems i wrote the other day at 6 this morning. i think they are pretty good, which probably means they are really good as i'm cranky and really feeling the pain today. i imagine i'll do my birthday submission here in a few days and these poems will be part of it.

got all the other shit i had to do around the house done without waking up my mother. that included changing out the water filters in the cellar. that 40 lbs. of salt didn't feel real good this morning. but, good thing i learned at a young age to find the pleasure in the pain.

cats are fed and the trash is down to the end of the lane. hopefully mother nature decides to not blow it over like 2 weeks ago. so, i'm in the house for the rest of the day... hopefully getting some sleep during the playoff games. tonight is a crazy night for me on television. all of this is roughly going on at the same time. the New York Rangers play a huge division game against the Flyers tonight. the Golden globes are on tonight. probably my favorite award show. and then, all the Sunday shows start tonight on HBO and Showtime. True Detective is the new show i'm really looking forward to. and then there are Girls, Shameless, House of Lies, and Episodes. another long night is in store. but, if i'm not going to sleep, i might as well...

ROH was excellent last night. the match between Chris Hero and Kevin Steen was top notch, as i expected. hopefully i'll get to see all of them when they come to town in a few months.

the ending of the New Orleans Saints playoff game against Seattle still has me shaking my head. the Saints did absolutely nothing in the first half, other than a few big mistakes. finally in the 4th quarter the offense started to click. i thought they would struggle in the game, but not for that long. the defense played as well as i thought they could last night. Brees throws a TD to Colston that set up the onside kick, that the Saints recovered!!!! but what i can't get my head around is why with 8 seconds left, Colston didn't get out of bounds to set up a final play in the end zone. instead, he throws a forward pass that ends the game. i'm not saying they would have converted on the final play and tied the game and eventually won in OT. i just would have liked to see them have the chance. Saints lose 23-15.

that's all for me. i have a Sunday paper to read and a heating pad to hopefully help me either sleep or not feel as much pain. if you see another post from me today it will be out of frustration and a call for drugs.

hope everyone is doing better than i am. be well. take it easy, and then take it again.

music:

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Live from Alabama
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well." - Jack London

Saturday, January 11, 2014

quick hits

just got back in and done with lunch. i'm typing this as fast as i can so i don't miss any of the Saints game coming up.

the Dayton Flyers basically beat themselves today in a 67-59 loss to St. Louis. the good thing about them playing bad was it was easy for my anger to block out the pain in my neck/shoulder/arm. might be the worst home game i remember in years. pitiful.

went with my mother to Best Buy south of town so she could pick up her new laptop. i browsed around the store and came across the Manchester United game. much like i predicted, since i wasn't watching it, United won 2-0. figures. i'm happy they got the points though.

last night, the New York Rangers got a miracle goal from Rick Nash in the last 2 minutes to win 3-2. here are the highlights:

i know SNL is a rerun tonight so all i'll be watching is ROH. i believe Kevin Steen is wrestling Chris Hero tonight. i'm really looking forward to that.

as i was trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep in last night (i never did by the way), i did write 3 new poems. i will type them up sometime this weekend.

that's all for me. i'll be on here tomorrow in the morning after i get all the trash picked up. the weather is in a crazy stage at the moment. in the 50's with a strong breeze that makes it feel like the 30's. good times. glad i put the birdseed in the feeders this morning before i left. it's mostly on the ground now.

hope everyone is well. peace and chicken grease.

music:

Beethoven - Symphony No. 9

"I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man." - Alexander Hamilton

Friday, January 10, 2014

a dreary fog

yet another day with hardly any sleep. the pain has really subsided, other than a huge fucking knot i have in my upper left arm. the heating pad is no longer doing anything for me. and neither is ice. so, it's time i turn to the alcohol. good times.

it has been incredibly foggy here today. like a Stephen King type of fog. i'm not sure if i've been able to see down to the road at all today. the temps have got into the 40's today. so, most of the snow is finally melting. the stubborn ice is hanging on though.

the Big Bang Theory was pretty good last night. after that, i flipped between basketball games and the Treehouse Masters show on Discovery Channel. as usual, another thrilling night.

the New York Rangers play at home against Dallas tonight. hopefully they can keep the good momentum going.

other than that, tonight i see a shower and hopefully more than 3 hours in a row of sleep in my future.

not sure when i'll be back on here tomorrow. Dayton plays St. Louis at 11 am (ESPN2), so we'll be leaving here around 9:30 or so. and after that, i know mom needs to pick up her new laptop, so i imagine we'll be going south of town for that and some lunch. and then the New Orleans Saints play at like 4 or so in the afternoon. so, maybe i'll be back before that and sneak in a quick blog. or, maybe at halftime of the second playoff game tomorrow.

the best thing about tomorrow is there is about a 100% chance i won't be seeing Manchester United playing. knowing my fucking luck, they will win.

the new printer mom got last night is pretty cool. i might actually get a chance to print out some of my photos as there is a slot for photo paper in the printer. i'm thinking i may do a calendar next year where i mix some photos and my poems. i figure that could be my artsy fartsy Christmas gift next year for my friends and fans. who knows, 11 months from now i might be on a completely different brainwave.

if i can find a comfortable spot to write in, i might do some writing tonight. either that, or i may go crazy and literally work this knot out of my arm. be it with the handheld massage thing i have for my back or my handy swiss army knife... settle down, i'm too hairy for self surgery. that has big fucking mess written all over it.

11 days from now i'll be 38. i'm not exactly typing that with immense joy. but, if you'd like to get me something, you are more than welcome to do so...

hope everyone is well and warm. may all of you have a wonderful weekend. peace.

music:

Steve Earle - Copperhead Road
Various Artists - Millennium: '80's New Wave Party
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Elvis Costello - The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years

"If you optimize everything, you will always be unhappy." - Donald Knuth


Thursday, January 9, 2014

my personal day long battle with pain

so i woke up at 3 and again at 5 this morning with my left shoulder and neck barking like a rabid dog. i tried stretching, i tried some cool pain ointments, i tried pain pills, i tried. nothing really worked. so, today has been the battle of mind over matter. i figure i really strained some muscles very badly. if i get my body in the right spot, i can stand the pain i feel. if i somehow lose that spot, it's like i'm dealing with my sciatic nerve back when i was 32. the worst is i have a hard time while sitting down. this is going to be fun, seeing that i have a basketball game to go to on Saturday morning. if today has been any indication, i'm going to have to up the adrenaline and brain waves for Saturday. of course, i get the feeling i would have been better off this morning just downing the bottle of whiskey i got for Christmas.

American Horror Story was excellent last night. so good to have that show back. the guest spot by Stevie Nicks was great as well. i can't wait to see next week's episode.

the New York Rangers shocked the shit out of me last night. jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. then the team i have come to know this season showed up and pissed away that lead in the second period. but, they found a backbone last night and actually developed some heart. big goal in the 3rd and a HUGE win over Chicago 3-2. below are the highlights:

i believe my mother is on a mission today to get a new printer as she has FINALLY grown tired of our old one fucking up all the time. hopefully she gets one that i can get used to quickly.

i'm looking forward to a new episode of The Big Bang Theory this evening. other than that, i see a long night of basketball and heating pads in my future.

that's pretty much all for me today. wish me luck at defeating this pain. i figure if it still feels worse after the weekend, i guess i'll be breaking down and going to the doctor.

hope everyone is warm. amazingly, all the cats have made it through the deep freeze. little fuckers still want to live. might actually make it above freezing here by the weekend.

be well my friends. peace and chicken grease.

music:

Warren Haynes - Live at Bonnaroo

"I may not believe in myself, but I believe in what I'm doing." - Jimmy Page

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

the outside world still exists...

so, the temps got high enough today that i didn't need 5 layers to go outside. a few of the cats actually came out from their bunkers. and the winds subsided enough that it made sense to put the bird food in the feeders instead of on the ground.

my mother and i actually made it to the post office for the first time this week. i always love a full PO Box. and i was amazed that 3 days of newspapers were still in our box across the lane. and to fully escape the cabin fever, we hit the local sports bar we always go to. nothing like some mid day alcohol to lube the joints.

last night was a mixed bag for me. i was flipping between college basketball games and a forensic science special on PBS. usually, when i can't find anything i really want to watch, i will choose to educate myself.

tonight, the New York Rangers play in Chicago. as much as i would love to think the Rangers have a chance in this game, my brain tells me differently. i'll watch until it gets ugly.

thankfully, American Horror Story comes back on tonight. so, i will have something to turn to in case the Rangers lay another turd tonight.

i did watch the announcement for the baseball hall of fame today. i was a little shocked only 3 players made it. 1 fell short by 2 votes. ouch.

that's pretty much all for me today. i'm getting that poetry itch once again, so i'll probably do some writing here soon.

before i forget, i highly recommend the Nerdist podcast with Jim Norton. you can find that by going here: http://www.nerdist.com/2014/01/nerdist-podcast-jim-norton/

that's all for now. i'll be on sometime tomorrow, between the light snow showers i imagine. be well.

music:

Jean Sibelius - The Best of Sibelius

"I'm an instant star. Just add water and stir." - David Bowie

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

another day in the cold

i woke up this morning with the same headache i had yesterday. i figure it's from these mind numbing cold temps. we had a big warm up today as we actually got to positive numbers. but the windchill still made it feel like it was -30 out. good times. and the pinched nerve in my neck/shoulder/back is driving me fucking insane today. nothing quite like your left arm going numb and you get excited because you think you are getting ready to die but soon realize, no, you have been sitting in the same spot too long and the nerve is pinched again. so much fucking fun.

i watched Manchester United lay another steaming turd today at Sunderland in the Capital One Cup semi-finals. to lose to that team 2-1 takes such a lack of giving a shit it's comical. of course, the second goal was a penalty kick after a fucking dive. but, what the fuck Cleverley was doing sticking his body in there to begin with is the real question. better yet, why the fuck is he still on the team? this team is totally fucking lost without RVP and Rooney, let alone with that dumb fuck Moyes calling the shots. if he had any soul, he'd step down because he knows he can't do the job necessary for this fan base. and as much as i would love to see that happen, i know it's not happening. and honestly, if i see that fucker say one more time that the team doesn't need new players i'm going to go through the fucking roof.

and while we're on disappointments, the New York Rangers lost 4-3 in a shootout last night. thankfully, they got the 2 goals they needed in the 3rd period to at least get one point out of that shit show last night.

and i've got another major injury to my fantasy hockey team as well. looks like i'm going to have to go day by day with the team now if i want to keep my lead. both of my injured players won't be back until after The Winter Olympics. good times.

thankfully, Monday Night Raw was pretty damn good last night. i loved the ending with the Jake "The Snake" Roberts surprise. made me feel like a kid again.

i did watch the last quarter of the national title game last night. reminded me of a NBA game. all you really need to watch if the last 5 minutes. one of the better endings i have seen in awhile. and i finally got one of the big bowl games right.

i have absolutely no clue what i'm going to watch tonight. i may spend most of the evening trying to break in the new boots i got today. thankfully, the UPS truck was able to get up the lane without any problems. first birthday gift from my mother this year. first new boots since 2001. i guess it was time.

hope everyone is warm. be well. peace and chicken grease.

music:

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
Tori Amos - Live at Montreux 1991 & 1992

"I've always been interested in people, but I've never liked them." - Henry James

Monday, January 6, 2014

welcome to the deep freeze

when i went out this morning to feed the cats i didn't bother to look to see how cold it was. i knew it was COLD. i had on 5 layers and was determined to spend no more time outside than i absolutely had to. might be the quickest i have fed the cats in years. when i got back in, i checked to see how cold it really was. -11 degrees and a windchill of -38 degrees. well, at least the sun was out.

we probably only got an inch of snow yesterday. but, the inch of rain we got froze about as quick as i have ever seen anything freeze. thankfully, i did put out some ice melter when i woke up this morning. the stuff said it worked down to -7 degrees. it was -4 at the time. true enough, it melted the ice. that made me really happy and confident i could get out to the cats without falling on my ass and breaking something.

as for the birds, i threw out some birdseed for them on the ground. there's no use putting any in the feeders as the wind would just whip all of it down to the ground. it hasn't been this cold here since 1994. and i don't think the temps are done going down. but, it's supposed to be near 40 by the end of the week. just about as everyone will be sick with something. good times.

i did manage to get one playoff game right over the weekend as i called the 49ers win over the Packers. hopefully i do better this coming weekend.

my fantasy hockey team shit the bed this past week. and i got news this morning of an injury to one of my key players. hopefully it's not really serious. thankfully, i still have a 10 game lead in my division.

i did watch that Jimmy Fallon special last night. i had seen most of the stuff they covered. all i really hope is he does the same silly shit on The Tonight Show. might actually have to switch over from Letterman if that happens.

the New York Rangers play tonight at home against Columbus. not thrilled that i have to watch the Columbus broadcast of the game. hopefully the Rangers can actually start playing good at home for a change.

i am looking forward to the old school Monday Night Raw tonight. that should be a fun swim in the rivers of nostalgia.

other than that, my main focus will be staying warm tonight. i'm contemplating sleeping out in my chair as that room stays much warmer than my bedroom. of course, i might not sleep at all as i'll probably be up making sure the pipes don't freeze. good times.

a big hello to whomever is finding this blog in Russia. i'm hoping it's more than one person as there has been more than 300 hits in the last week from Russia. or, hello to my stalker from Russia. hope you enjoy.

that's all for me. i would type more but the heater out here in the computer room sucks. so i'm off to my chair in the only room in this old house that has adequate insulation. that's the joy of a cold winter on a farm. you'll always have a few layers on, inside or out.

hope everyone is warm and drunk. be well.

music:

Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
Little Green Cars - Absolute Zero
Fine Young Cannibals - The Raw & The Cooked

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." - Khalil Gibran

Sunday, January 5, 2014

here comes the rain again...

mother nature threw quite a curve ball today. it started to lightly snow around 9 this morning. and that snow quickly turned to rain. and the rain has only gotten stronger ever since. i'm hoping it does snow a little before all this fucking freezes.

i had my best Saturday night in quite some time. first off, the New York Rangers shocked the shit out of me with a 7-1 beat down of Toronto. here are the highlights:

then, the Dayton Flyers won in OT on a game winning 3, 83-80. not bad when you're playing most of the game 5 on 8. the officials were horrible last night. below are the highlights:

after that, the New Orleans Saints shut the fucking world up and won a playoff game outdoors, 26-24. i loved the game plan in this one. run the ball, control the clock, win on the last play of the game. hopefully this postseason will be the killing off of past demons. next game is at Seattle.

the game went so late that SNL was about a hour later than normal. so i was flipping between that and ROH. ROH was excellent as it was highlights from the last ppv. and a great main event that marked the return of Chris Hero. the WWE will soon learn how they dropped the ball with him.

so, i was really happy this morning... and then Manchester United pissed all over my parade. a 2-1 loss to a Swansea team that had NEVER won at Old Trafford. just fucking pathetic. as one sportswriter put it after the game, just when you think it can't get any worse, it does. i've got a feeling this team isn't going to win shit this season. of course, there will be some excuse why no FA Cup again this year. what i can't wait to hear is the excuse why they didn't finish in the top 4 of the league for the first time EVER.

i did watch a good portion of the World Juniors today. Russia won the bronze 2-1 over Canada. second straight year Canada doesn't get a medal. music to my ears. Finland pulled a huge upset and won the gold in OT over Sweden 3-2. that Finnish team will be gods for the rest of their lives after that one.

my laundry is done. now i need to put it away. i'm going to go watch the rest of the playoff football today. i do plan on watching that Jimmy Fallon special tonight. other than that, it's all about watching for the temps to start falling and making sure nothing fucking freezes. by morning, it's supposed to be 40 degrees colder than it is right now. oh joy.

hope everyone is having a great weekend. i haven't picked a playoff game right yet and i'm losing in fantasy hockey. thankfully the 3 victory beers from yesterday helped lube my soul.

be well.

music:

The Ragged Jubilee - B-Sides

"When I knew nothing, I thought I could do anything." - Robert Duvall

Saturday, January 4, 2014

not what i was hoping for...

last night left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth.

the New York Rangers had so many damn turnovers in their own end last night that it looked like 9 of the 10 guys on the ice were playing for the Penguins. a well deserved 5-2 loss. they play in Toronto tonight. i'm not really expecting anything better.

Ohio State lost 40-35 in a pretty entertaining game, if you were lucky enough to not be an Ohio State fan since birth. and what pissed me off the most were the stupid mental mistakes by seniors. simply unacceptable. if most of the defensive coaches aren't fired by the end of today i'm going to be even more livid. i haven't seen an Ohio State defense play so bad in my entire fucking life. on the good side, that was the last college football game i'll give a shit about for a few months.

i haven't been too pleased with the updated weather reports i've seen. the most dire model has us getting a foot of snow tomorrow and then spending the next 48 hours below zero. as i told my mother, that's akin to mother nature taking a shit down my throat. it's pretty warm (all things considered) today. i saw all the cats when i fed them earlier. if i can say the same thing by Wednesday i'll be shocked.

today is a pretty busy sports day. i did watch a good portion of that Sweden vs. Russia game in the World Juniors. always nice to see a game end in a brawl. i wasn't surprised that Sweden won. they seem to have the Russians number as of late. i'll try to catch a good portion of Canada vs. Finland later as well.

the Dayton Flyers play down at Ole Miss tonight. i'd love to see them get a victory but a close loss wouldn't shock me.

the New Orleans Saints play at the Eagles tonight. i'd love to see them get their first outdoor playoff win in franchise history. i'm bracing myself for the usual disappointment as something always bounces wrong for them in outdoor games. but i'd really love if they could shut the world up and win tonight. that would be one sweet victory beer.

other than all that and some more college basketball, i'll be watching ROH late tonight. i believe SNL is a rerun. i might check out some of Austin City Limits tonight as well.

i'm really hoping that i can get out to feed the cats tomorrow before the snow starts. especially if we're getting a damn foot of snow. i've already done the things i usually do on Sunday today. i only want to have to go out once tomorrow . and i have my tomorrow all planned if that goes my way. a mix of laundry, playoff football, and Manchester United playing in the FA Cup. i'm also old enough to know nothing truly ever goes as planned.

i'll be on here tomorrow sometime. probably bitching about something.

be well. peace and chicken grease.

music:

Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble - Blues at Sunrise
The Civil Wars - Live at Eddie's Attic
fun. - Before Shane Went to Bangkok: fun. Live in the USA

"You grow up the day you have the first real laugh at yourself." - Ethel Barrymore

update: Finland beat Canada 5-1, which made me chuckle. Sweden vs. Finland for gold tomorrow at the World Juniors. Canada vs. Russia for bronze for the second straight year.

Saturday Night Live is a best of the season tonight, so i'll check that out.

the latest weather report has the snow arriving at 3 am. so, no chance of me getting up before that to feed the cats. sadly, the snow looks to be ending at 5 am Monday morning. 10 inches or more. lovely. and then the coldest temps since i was a senior in high school, 1994.

Friday, January 3, 2014

in the full swing of things

woke up this morning and it was 4 below zero out here on the farm. hello true winter. i was sort of amazed that i saw all but one of the cats. of course, the older ones were struggling. sadly, i think a few days from now could be a true test to see if they want to keep living or not. i'm fully prepared to find one of them dead, frozen stiff. one thing about living on a farm... if you are uncomfortable with death, don't do it.

thankfully, the ice melter i put out yesterday really made shoveling today pretty damn easy. but since the weather is going to take a turn up shit's creek here soon, mom and i went out and got another 100 lbs. of ice melter. that should last us the rest of the winter. also got another bag of cat food as i'm sure these little fuckers are going to be really hungry when it's 20 below zero out.

i believe i came up with the best synopsis of my life today while cleaning the toilets... as soon as i clean the toilets i need to shit. just chew on that for awhile. not literally though, that's how diseases spread.

The Big Bang Theory was pretty funny last night and then a took a serious turn out of nowhere. that really caught my attention, which i believe the writers were trying to do.

my bowl game picks have shit the bed here recently. i was a little shocked at how easily Oklahoma beat Alabama last night. tonight, Ohio State plays Clemson in the Orange Bowl. needless to say, i will be a little pissed if Ohio State loses again tonight.

at the same time that is on the New York Rangers will be playing in Pittsburgh. Captain Cally returns tonight from yet another injury. here's hoping i will be enjoying 2 victory beers later tonight.

and on top of all that, got my first poem of 2014 accepted for publication. always good to get that train rolling again.

that's all for me. we are currently in a heat wave as we have reached double digits. it's 12 degrees at the moment. thankfully, we have enough heat in the house, knock on wood.

hope everyone has a great, warm weekend. i'll be on here before the playoff games start tomorrow. be well.

music:

AC/DC - Highway to Hell
Trampled By Turtles - Burn For Free

"I have learned that a bitter experience can make you stronger." - Mel Gibson

response from The Camel Saloon

i heard back from Russell at The Camel Saloon on my poetry submission from yesterday. my poem "this mystic ride" has been accepted for publication.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

misery, snow, poems, and other forms of madness

when i woke up this morning, the clock read 4:18 am. i took my glasses back off and said fuck that. i didn't have to be up until 6 am. you guessed it, i woke back up at 7:30 am. needless to say, i wasn't pleased. i quickly flipped over to what i was getting up at 6 to see and got even more pissed.

team USA lost to Russia today 5-3 at the World Juniors. i only got to watch the 3rd period. once again the inability of team USA to stay out of the box was just mind blowing. but, i also have to give Russia credit for making them pay for their mistakes. i'll still watch the tournament but i doubt i'll make sure to be up to watch it live. the ouch part of all this was the player from Russia that really stood out today was a draft pick by the New York Rangers. hopefully he has that same kind of fire and skill when he's wearing a blue jersey.

so after that wonderful start to my day i started to pay attention to the weather. the snow kept steady but the winds kept getting worse and worse. the guy who farms out here plowed the lane. hopefully it will still be passable once the wind and drifting stops. like a dumb ass, i shoveled the sidewalks and put some ice melter out hoping it would make a difference. thankfully, my back felt much better today. i felt it a few times while i was shoveling, but it never felt like it was going to seize up and give out. of course, there is plenty of winter left for that to happen.

so after all that joy, i decided to send out some poems today. might as well do something in 2014 to get my mind off of shit. i sent out 11 poems today, 3 each to The Camel Saloon and Dead Snakes, and 5 to The Blind Vigil Revue. a big thanks to Russell at The Camel Saloon for the heads up about Blind Vigil. when i hear back from these places i will pass along the news here on the blog and all the other sites i whore myself out to.

i made the mistake of looking at the temps for the weekend and early next week. when i saw that one day the high temp is going to be -2, i just laughed. mom wants to bring the cats in and i told her no. we will get to see which ones really want to live now. hopefully the power doesn't go out and the propane is still full. i've got a feeling every damn heater we have in this house will be running.

i'm looking forward to The Big Bang Theory tonight. it's a new episode. other than that, i'll be watching some college sports. probably some NHL games as well.

spent most of last night flipping between college football and Aerial America on the Smithsonian Channel. don't ask. my brain is able to make sense of why i do the shit i do and that's all that matters.

hopefully i'll be able to get out to the post office tomorrow. and maybe tomorrow we'll get a paper as well. thankfully i didn't make the trip down the lane to check. the guy who farms out here was kind enough to do that.

alright, enough of my rambling. i'll be on here tomorrow with more stories about prepping for the great freeze of 2014. be well. peace and chicken grease...

music:

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Zac Brown Band - You Get What You Give
Beastie Boys - The In Sound From Way Out!

"People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." - Isaac Asimov

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

happy new oh whatever...

i woke up this morning with a runny nose and a back that felt like it had been placed in a vice and nearly squeezed to death. just how i wanted to start 2014. and here it is nearly 12 hours later and i still can't get my back to loosen up. good times.

needless to say i didn't go to the Dayton game today. i did watch it on television. Dayton won 81-47. i can't really complain as i think nearly everyone that played scored. they play their last non-conference road game this Saturday. if they can pull off the win at Ole Miss and get to 12 wins before conference play starts, this team just might be a NCAA tourney team this season.

Manchester United lost today 2-1 in a unbelievably frustrating game to watch. and watching was what most of the defense did all day long. they could have pulled within one point of 5th place in the league. instead, they have decided to take the tough road once again. thankfully Dayton rescued what was quickly becoming a miserable new year's day.

i did watch most of the Winter Classic today. Toronto beat Detroit in the shootout. i think there was over 105,000 fans there for the game. with the light snow falling, it had the snow globe feel once again. the Rangers play 2 outdoor games later in the month.

i had a tough time falling asleep last night. so, i broke out the pen and paper and wrote my first poems of 2014. i typed up the 3 this afternoon. if i can write poems this strong for the rest of the year i will be in incredibly good shape. i'll be sending some poems out in the next week or so. got a few places in mind to send to.

we're supposed to wake up in the morning to a few inches of snow and temps in the single digits. just what my back needs. if you don't see anything from me tomorrow i'm in traction somewhere. hopefully it won't come to that.

that's pretty much all for me today. i do hope everyone had a great evening and a great start to 2014. or at the very least, a better start than mine. i leave you now to go do the dishes and see just how much pleasure my back can find in the pain.

be well

music:

John Lee Hooker - The Best of Friends
Tom Waits - Alice
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

"I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life." - J.D. Salinger

for those of you who are interested, the New York Rangers won yesterday in a shootout. below are the highlights: