halloween

i've got my last load of laundry in the dryer, so i figured i would get this out of the way while i'm waiting for that to get done.

it started raining here a few hours ago and is only supposed to get worse as the day goes along. so i'm trying to get all my shit done before the power has a chance to go out tonight. the winds are supposed to get pretty bad and i live around a ton of old trees. not a good combination.

American Horror Story last night was really good. it certainly put me in a creepy mood. that could explain why i was up to 3 in the morning watching a bunch of crazy shit on YouTube.

tonight will be some channel flipping between the NFL game, which has major fantasy implications in my matches this week, the New York Rangers looking for their second straight win, the Saturday Night Live Halloween special, and maybe some horror movies as well. kind of depends on whether the weather gets the better of the satellite feeds and whether my mother is watching the same tv as me. she absolutely hates anything that is remotely horror related. which probably explains why i love the shit.

i almost feel sorry for the kids who will have to trick or treat in this shit tonight. hell, i think some of the towns around here are pushing it to tomorrow. that should piss the bible thumpers off for sure.

i'm hoping to get to bed at a decent hour tonight as i have to go with my mother tomorrow to the medical tests she's having. the doctors told her she wouldn't be feeling good enough to drive after them. lovely. all i'm hoping is they finally figure out what the fuck is going on with her.

i did find out last night that the little bit of corn cleared off the other night was much more than the guy farming out here expected. he's pretty confident that we're going to have a really good yield.

that's pretty much all for me. i need to get some lunch and get my clothes put away before i sneak in a quick shower before the winds of hell come.

hope this finds everyone on a sugar high, sugar being whatever you need it to be.

music:

Rob Zombie - Past, Present & Future
Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar

"It's as much fun to scare as to be scared." - Vincent Price

and from the fog comes the monster...

yet another day of dense fog here. didn't really burn off until noon and it has already started creeping back in. i would understand if i lived by a body of water, but i don't. the guy who farms out here got a couple of rows of corn off last night before it started to rain. i have no clue when the rest of it will come off.

The Voice last night was really good. can't wait to the live shows. i think each team has a person that can win the show. but, the reason i think Blake has won 3 seasons in a row is the army of loyal fans he has built up. if he wins this season, i will be convinced it's simply because he has more loyal fans than the other 3 coaches.

i did watch a little of the start to the NBA season last night. i always try to watch a little of anytime LeBron plays. he's the best player on the planet right now, and quite frankly, it's not close.

i did watch more of the New York Rangers game than i thought i would. the highlights below will tell you why.

i did get a good number of the players i wanted in fantasy football. plus, it's always nice when you can plan ahead a few weeks and stash players away on your bench. hopefully i have 2 wins coming this week.

i'm looking forward to American Horror Story tonight. that should put me in the mood for Halloween.

i strongly recommend everyone check out episode 77 of the Sam Roberts Show Online. you can find it on iTunes, Stitcher, notsam.com, or by going down the right hand side of this blog. listen to it before you go out and potentially embarrass yourself with your Halloween costume.

that's all for today. i've got a dinner to put on and a shower to take. and i'm not exactly sure what order i'm going to do that in.

be well.

music:

Black Joe Lewis - Noise Trade Eastside Manor Sessions
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.

"I guess the definition of a lunatic is a man surrounded by them." - Ezra Pound

and now the damn song that's been stuck in my head for the last 2 days

a day on the computer

so, with Manchester United playing this afternoon but not on television anywhere, i had an afternoon at the computer following along. thankfully, they won 4-0 to advance to the next round of the Capital One Cup. the next game is this weekend at Fulham, which lost today. hopefully the good run of play can continue on.

i did watch bits and pieces of The Voice. got a little bummed when 2 of my favorites got eliminated. but, i was happy to see Cole end up on Team Blake. he's one i have my eye on.

Monday Night Raw started off great with Cena getting the shit beat out of him. but, of course, he somehow wins, which really pissed me off. i would have turned it off but the creative team won me back with the interactions of the Wyatt Family with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. that has the smell of genius at work in my mind. i can't wait to see where that goes. the rest of the show was just sort of there for me.

the New York Rangers played hard, but once again, not good enough to win. a 2-0 loss. i certainly wasn't in love with the officiating last night. i doubt i will feel any better about it tonight against the fucking Islanders. i wouldn't mind a victory, but i'm not getting my hopes up.

the football game last night was a fucking bore to say the least. i split my fantasy football matches. but, i did go 11-2 on the week picking games. i spent most of my day today going between the United game and figuring which players to target on waivers. my fingers are crossed.

so between another night of The Voice, another Rangers game, the NBA season starts tonight. i suppose i will check that out in commercial breaks until the last 5 minutes or so.

we're supposed to get some rain tonight. i'm really hoping it doesn't as the corn still needs to be harvested.

that's all for today. i hope this finds everyone well. peace and chicken grease.

music:

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Live from Alabama
The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen
Paloma Faith - Fall to Grace
Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - Seesaw
Otis Redding - Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul

"After all is said and done, more is said than done." - Aesop

satellite of love

let me get this shit out of the way before i talk about what i really want to talk about...

the Sunday night shows last night were excellent. i think Boardwalk Empire won out for me for the damn near perfect fight scene at the end.

my fantasy sports were up and down all yesterday. i'll know how that mixed bag turns out after the game tonight.

the New York Rangers have their home opener tonight. hopefully they get a win. Monday Night Raw should be interesting this evening after last night's ppv. and The Voice starts the knockout rounds tonight. needless to say i'll be jumping around all evening.

ok, now to the show...

i was sitting in my chair yesterday watching The Red Zone Channel as my mother was sitting at the table, reading the news off of her laptop. she casually said aloud "Lou Reed is dead." she said it so casually that i actually thought i didn't hear her correctly. i said what? and she repeated, "Lou Reed has died." i sunk down in my chair and just felt numb. immediately thought back to the years i spent in my room listening to his music and nearly every fucker that was influenced by him. i didn't really start to process it as i was so wrapped up in my fantasy football shit. but today, it's really hit me hard. i was out feeding the birds earlier, singing satellite of love and i stopped and watched the leaves start falling off the trees. i walked to the next feeder and started to cry. and then i thought about how the greats can turn sadness and grief into art. and how it's best for the rest of us to just wallow in it. that's pretty much what i've been doing today. so, a thank you to the man that made me love words, love songwriting, love drugs, love debate, love punks, love New York City, and most of all, helped give me the courage to fail. not sure how much peace you'll be getting, but you've certainly earned the rest.

music:

Lou Reed - Transformer
Lou Reed - Rock n Roll Animal
The Velvet Underground - 1969: The Velvet Underground Live with Lou Reed: Vol. 1

"I think life is far too short to concentrate on your past. I rather look into the future." - Lou Reed (March 2, 1942 - October 27, 2013)

when the unexpected meets the amazing

so, after i got done with this blog last night, i grabbed a beer and started to watch the New York Rangers. they fell behind of course, but for a change, they actually came back. fell behind again, but, holy shit, came back again. and then the game went into overtime. below are the highlights:

and in the true sense of the sun shining on a dog's ass, all 3 guys that scored for the Rangers scored their first goals of the season last night. long overdue would be an understatement. i'll be enjoying that beer later today.

all the while that epic early season win was going on, Ohio State was taking Penn St. behind the woodshed and ripping them to shreds. 63-14. i laughed the entire time as the kids from Penn St. looked like they just got out of the shower with Sandusky. i love a coach who doesn't mind beating a team, rubbing their faces in it, stomping a mud hole in them and walking it dry. 20 straight wins for Ohio St. now. life is good.

and at least for one glorious day, my sporting life was fucking fabulous.

Saturday Night Live last night was pretty good. nothing really stood out as fucking hilarious or horrible. i do think the douche commercial was pretty damn funny. if i find it on YouTube i'll post it on here.

ROH last night was excellent. the match between Davey Richards and Rickey Marvin was excellent. and the storytelling between Eddie Edwards and Kevin Steen was off the charts. and i do like how the Mike Bennett interference in the beginning of the match sets up the next week of television. always good to see that kind of continuity in television that's taped a few weeks in advance.

so, i'm a little behind on my Sunday as the adrenaline didn't go away until 3 or 4 in the morning. i have a ton of dishes to do (i've been a bit lazy the last few days), trash to pick up, cats to feed, and injured fantasy players to check on in the next 90 minutes or so. reminds me of my favorite saying from my mother in my youth...

busier than nine cats covering up shit in a windstorm.

that's the joy of having parents that came from briars.

tonight will be the usual Sunday night fare. Boardwalk Empire, Eastbound and Down, Homeland, Masters of Sex with a little Sunday night football as well.

hope everyone has a great day. i'm going to somehow try to sneak in some hockey today as my fantasy team pissed away a nice lead last night. hopefully i get some goals scored today. or my opponents' goalie shits the bed. if not, i see a 5-5 week. not what i wanted considering i'm playing the top team in the division.

enough of my babbling. adios.

music:

Beastie Boys - Solid Gold Hits

"The land of my fathers. My fathers can have it." - Dylan Thomas

unexpected happiness

so i got up this morning and for some reason, took 3 mighty shits in 45 minutes. not sure what the fuck caused that, so i took some Imodium so i wouldn't have to deal with that for the rest of the day. knock on wood, so far so good.

then, listened to mom bitch out some asshole at this rental company who flat out lied about when the lift we needed out here would arrive. it showed up 2 hours later than we were told. i'm encouraging her to not pay that portion of the bill.

after a little breakfast and getting the animals fed, i settled in for Manchester United. so, of course they would fall behind early. when RvP tied it before half, i decided i wasn't going to take my shower just yet. when they fell behind 90 seconds later, off to the shower i went. so i missed the first 8 minutes or so of the second half. which, quite honestly, i didn't miss anything. thankfully, Rooney ties the game again later and then Chicharito saves the day with another header to win the game. 3-2 in a when the fuck is the real Manchester United going to show up kind of game. but i'll gladly take the 3 points and the victory beer.

after that, off to the University of Dayton Arena to watch some college basketball. Dayton was playing Ryerson, a team from Canada. i was hoping for a blowout and that was what i got. Dayton won 89-62. for the first game of the season, i thought Dayton did pretty well. one thing i know for sure, this team is going to be much deeper than last year. next game is in a week.

after that, a trip to the sports bar where my cousin works. then, back home.

so, after getting through the 40 emails i had, i'm writing this, while sort of listening to the New York Rangers game on the television in the background. i don't have really high hopes for this evening. i'd love to see them win, but that would be a little too much to ask for.

after the first period or so, i will flip to the Ohio State game. they play Penn St. this evening. hopefully they can extend their winning streak. at best, give me a reason to not flip back to the Rangers game.

Saturday Night Live is new this evening. i will be watching that as Edward Norton is one of my favorite actors of all time. and i do believe ROH is on as well. so, sometime around 2 or so, i will be passing out. after a few victory beers.

hope everyone is having a great start to their weekend. big fantasy football day tomorrow. i have a few injuries i have to keep an eye out for early. so, it will be a morning of checking injury reports. sleep will be required.

until late tomorrow, after the Sunday night shows. unless something tonight pisses me off to the point i just have to bitch about it in the morning.

music:

Alice in Chains - Facelift

"A goal is a dream with a deadline." - Napoleon Hill

seeing the sun again

amazing what a little sunshine can do. i shouldn't be in a good mood today, yet amazingly i am. and with the sun out, some more work was able to get done on the barns. it's actually starting to look like a farm again.

the New York Rangers played pretty good last night, but good doesn't equal wins. a 2-1 loss that didn't surprise me much given the number of injuries the team has. more importantly, the injured are the 3 best players on the team. i'd hate to see where this team would be if Brad Richards didn't start off the season hot. one more game on the road trip from hell before the home opener.

The Big Bang Theory was pretty damn funny last night. i did get a good laugh from the song near the end of the episode.

i did watch plenty of that shitty NFL game last night. i'm down by 26 points in one fantasy league now. needless to say i wasn't very pleased.

i was happy to see the Red Sox lost.

i had a good laugh watching the 1 kitten that has survived rolling around in the sunshine today. mind you, it's still well below normal temperature wise. and it was on concrete. not sure if the cats like that we are having the place fixed up or not. they seem to enjoy the mess.

a big sports weekend coming up. it's that time of year again where i venture out into public for college basketball. that's where i'll be tomorrow afternoon for the University of Dayton's first exhibition game of the season. they usually draw around 10,000 or more fans for each game. given my hatred of people, that tends to get interesting. also, tomorrow Manchester United plays in the morning and Ohio State plays in the evening. hopefully, 3 victory beers.

that's all for today. hope everyone has a great weekend. i'll try to find a few minutes between games tomorrow to give some updates. and given that we only had 3 pieces of mail in the box today, i'm guessing tomorrow or Monday it will be full. hopefully, as i'm waiting on a few things.

be well, take it easy, and if it's easy, take it again.

music:

Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO (& other American stories)
The Charlie Daniels Band - A Decade of Hits
Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks (Deluxe Edition)
Gin Wigmore - Gravel & Wine
Valerie June - Pushin' Against a Stone

"The chief enemy of creativity is 'good' sense." - Pablo Picasso

a cold, miserable day

i said to my mother last night that i guess that we've skipped right to winter. i said it as a joke. but after yet another day where it struggled to get to 40 degrees, i guess 3 days of autumn are all we get this year. and i just love these fucking days where the sun never shines and the corn is still in the field. only good thing is this weather is made for fat people. so, my wardrobe gets to expand.

Duck Dynasty was pretty funny last night. i've never been much of a Halloween guy myself, though i do agree with Willie about scaring the shit out of little kids. good fun.

American Horror Story was excellent last night. i didn't see the ending coming at all. i'm kicking myself for only catching bits and pieces of this series in the past.

so, after The Big Bang Theory tonight, i have a decision to make. do i watch a shitty NFL game tonight that i unfortunately have fantasy players in or do i watch a hockey game with 2 shitty teams in it, one being the New York Rangers? decisions, decisions. of course, i do think there is come college football on around the same time...

sorry for being so short today. i've got some underwear to go fold from the dryer. i always think about what my mother said once on days like these... i'll make some woman a wonderful wife one day. i do dishes, laundry, vacuum, toilets, take out the trash and mow the lawn. i want to believe she was saying it in jest...

until tomorrow. peace and chicken grease.

music:

Social Distortion - Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
The Cure - Galore

"Art is either plagiarism or revolution." - Paul Gauguin

welcome to winter?

so i woke up this morning to snowflakes and the need to take a shit for the first time in 41 hours. thankfully, it was just a dusting, the snow that is. the shit was like dropping boulders off a skyscraper. painful for those below.

changed our water filter today. amazingly, it wasn't nearly as bad as i feared it would be after 2 weeks. maybe it's slowly getting back to normal.

back on the winter tip, another damn freeze warning here tonight. i'm typing this as i sit and look at the corn still in the damn field. not good.

watched Manchester United in Champions League play this afternoon. had a bad feeling about today as 3 main pieces were missing from the team. not even on the bench. thankfully, United started out strong and got a lucky own goal to go ahead just 69 seconds in the game. i thought this will be the game they break out of their doldrums. shows what i know. they created chance after chance, hit a couple more posts, but didn't score. thankfully, the opponent never scored either. i'll gladly take the 3 points and the victory beer. but, this team needs to wake the fuck up soon. and in case anyone wonders why most of the United fans have been begging for Kagawa to be playing, today was the perfect example of why he should always be in the lineup. perhaps Moyes saw that or maybe he was sitting on his hands wondering where he was coaching once again.

i did watch the African Americans on PBS last night. being the history junkie that i am, i was very interested in it. and by not choosing to live my life as an ignorant white American, i pretty much knew everything that was talked about in it. but, it was still a good episode. i do plan on watching the entire series.

The Voice was pretty good last night though the battle round i wanted to see was just a 30 second highlight. the knockout rounds should be pretty interesting. i don't think any surprises made it this far so far.

tonight is the season finale of Duck Dynasty. also, i will be watching American Horror Story. hopefully both of those episodes are good tonight. i might flip to the World Series tonight. might not. i really don't care.

always fun to get on the internet after a few hours away and realize your favorite goalie, who happens to be your starting goalie in fantasy hockey as well, is injured and won't even be on the bench tomorrow night. i always feared this road trip to start this season was going to become the trip from hell for the New York Rangers. with Nash, Cally, and the King now all injured, my fears have become one shitty reality. not good.

i didn't get all the guys i wanted for fantasy football. so, this morning basically became a scramble to get some decent guys. on one team, i have 5 guys on a bye week. that was fun. hopefully my picks pay off for me.

with it being Pearl Jam week on Jimmy Fallon this week, i've been getting to sleep a little later than normal. if i have any energy left after one of these nights, maybe i'll do some writing. i know i need to bust out a few here soon.

that's pretty much all for today. be sure to check out the new podcasts on the right hand side of this blog. some really good ones in case you need to fill some time in your day with a distraction or two. hope this finds everyone well.

music:

Metallica - Master of Puppets
Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire

"I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself." - Johnny Carson

one of those days where nothing happens

it might snow some tonight. probably no accumulation, but still...

nothing really happened today. got the mail, none for me. read the paper, same old news. watched some Champions League on tv but fell asleep. looked at porn. jerked off a few times. tinkered with the waiver claims for my fantasy football teams. another bye week where i could get fucked over. all in all, one of those days where it's just blah.

i really enjoyed Monday Night Raw last night. i think it was a strong show going into a ppv.

The Voice was pretty good last night. i was a little stunned at a couple of the selections. tonight should be a really good one.

i think there is a show on PBS this evening that i want to watch as well. i suppose i should actually check to see if it is on or not first.

other than that, i might flip between hockey games this evening. looks like the injury bug is creeping into my fantasy hockey team. not good.

hopefully tomorrow i will have something of substance to report on or bitch about. today was literally one of those days where i looked up at the clock and was like shit, it's 5 PM, i suppose i should do something more than just the dishes today.

music:

AC/DC - Blow Up Your Video
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
Guided By Voices - The Bears For Lunch

"Learning how to operate a soul figures to take time." - Timothy Leary

in case you ever wondered where the magic comes from

let me peel back the onion on a 30 minute snapshot of my life and basically, where all my poetry comes from.

at 12:30 each afternoon, i am usually getting the stuff together to feed the cats. today, i happened to be on the toilet. no big deal, i'll just feed the cats later. about 20 minutes later, i'm feeding the cats. didn't see many of them, but it was sunny out and i figured they were hunting. i got back inside and the phone was ringing. it's my mother. i talked to her for a few and then got ready to go into town to get the mail. as i started down the 1/4 mile lane i got an urge to shit. at the end of the lane, i picked up the empty trash cans and threw them in the back of my barely running old truck. i raced back up the lane and ran inside. i made the old bathroom and pulled down my pants. shit was falling out of my ass right as i sat down on the bowl. i looked up and there is a mirror right above the sink where you can see your face as you are sitting on the toilet. i said out loud

AND YOU WONDER WHY YOU'RE  STILL SINGLE?

i laughed and started a conversation with myself as the bowl filled up with brown liquid. i don't think it could be called shit at this rate. and if you ever wonder where many of my poems come from, it's those damn conversations with myself on the toilet.

enjoy the visuals.

the Sunday night shows were pretty damn good last night. i have no complaints with any of them.

i feel bad for my mother. she sits there all day long on Sunday listening to me bitch and moan about my fantasy teams. and then i checked them late last night and i'm up by 34 in one and by over 60 in the other. and all i can think about is if i would have started this guy i'd be up by... i'm not quite satisfied until it's perfect. that's why sports are so insatiable to me. perfection is beyond rare.

no need for me to watch the NFL game tonight. while both of my opponents have players going, they could have the greatest game ever and still not catch me. so, it will be a night bouncing between The Voice and Monday Night Raw.

when i got up for my morning piss i heard on the radio that there is a chance for snow later this week. i just shook my head and laughed.

well, that's all for today. hopefully i will come to you tomorrow without yet another shit story to share.

music:

Rhye - Woman
St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Greetings From St. Paul & The Broken Bones
The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St.
Korn - Follow the Leader
Leonard Cohen - Various Positions

"No mind is thoroughly well organized that is deficient in a sense of humor." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

some quick hits

i changed my mind and decided to blog this morning as i want to get some sleep tonight. what a concept.

so here are some quick hits...

got an email this morning saying my poem "pour the blues" was published in Miracle Magazine #7, The Flower edition. you can purchase a copy of the issue here:
http://miracleezine.wix.com/miracle-e-zine#!shop/csgz

and you can find a preview of the issue here:
http://issuu.com/miracleezine/docs/issue_7preview

i did manage to stay up to watch ROH last night. i did mark out a little bit when Kevin Steen came out to confront Mike Bennett. and the more i see Red Dragon perform as a tag team, the more i really think they are one of the best teams in the world. a really good episode.

watched Tori Amos and Shovels & Rope on PBS last night. made me think about the 2 times i've seen Tori live. i'm hoping to catch Shovels & Rope sometime in the near future. their set on Austin City Limits did not disappoint.

most of the college football games late last night were blowouts. i'm still a little stunned at how easy Florida St. destroyed Clemson. i didn't see that coming.

i've got my fantasy football lineups ready to go. nearly half of both of my teams are playing this evening in the Broncos at Colts game. that will make tv viewing this evening a little interesting.

should go something like this; football, Boardwalk Empire, Eastbound and Down, back to football, Homeland, Masters of Sex, over to the NFL network to watch highlights.

i have a decent lead in fantasy hockey going into the last night of the matchup. hopefully when i get back on here late this evening i will have won.

that's all for now. i have trash to pick up and get down to the end of the lane, a Sunday paper to read, cats to feed, and some football pregame shows to watch.

hope this finds everyone well. enjoy your Sunday. it's in the 30's here. and that's in the sun. i guess we're just going to skip right to winter. lovely.

music:

Niki and the Dove - Instinct
Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways

"TV is chewing gum for the eyes." - Frank Lloyd Wright

a rainy day of what could have been

so i got up this morning in a pretty good mood. rare, as it was raining and cold. after eating a little breakfast and feeding the cats, i settled in for the Manchester United match. RvP scores in the first half. a couple of bad breaks but a way too flat second half leads to once again my biggest gripe with Moyes. their is no killer instinct, hence, no one is afraid to play at Old Trafford anymore. a 1-1 draw that is beyond unacceptable. not the start of the day i was hoping for.

so, after a quick shower, it was a stop at a friend's baby shower. saw some of my sister's friends and some people i grew up next to. wasn't too bad as i was only in there for 20 minutes at most. then, off to the Red and Blue Game at the University of Dayton arena. anyone that knows me knows that i love basketball. played it for years. had arguably one of the best shots of anyone in the area i grew up in. i have rooted for Dayton in college basketball since 1983 or so. the women's team is going to be really good once again. they are deep and very talented. the men's team is deeper this year but have a few holes to fill to reach their potential. Scoochie came as advertised from NYC. i love guards from there. i have no doubt that kid will be starting sometime this season and will be a star. Dyshawn Pierre looks stronger and should be in line for a monster season. if this team can shake off the rust from the players that sat out last year and if the newbies can contribute when needed, this team could be sniffing the tournament. but that will mostly depend on who becomes the reliable scorer in crunch time. can't wait for the season to start.

so after that got over, my mom and i went to our favorite sports bar and caught a quarter or so of the Ohio State game. looked like the usual take my opponent lightly game that became a tussle. i watched the end of the game back at home. Ohio State pulled out the game in the 4th quarter. 19th straight win. and sadly, my only victory beer of the day.

the New York Rangers laid a fucking egg this evening against one of its biggest rivals and the only team in the NHL without a victory. i felt like such a fool to actually believe that the Washington game was the real team. no Nash, no Cally, no fucking goals. a 4-0 drubbing at New Jersey. thankfully, i didn't bother to watch after the first period.

so the rest of this evening will be some more college football, some music on PBS, and hopefully i will still be awake for ROH.

tomorrow will be a day of fantasy football and the usual Sunday night shows. i will probably blog again after all that. in the middle of the night here most likely.

hopefully everyone is enjoying the new photos. i really think they are some of the better ones i have done.

hope this finds everyone well. a big thank you to Natascha Hoover for the kind words over on LinkedIn. i really appreciate it.

music:

The Dirty Guv'nahs - Somewhere Beneath These Southern Skies
Red Wanting Blue - Live at City Winery

"You don't know a ladder has splinters until you slide down it." - Bum Phillips (Sept. 29, 1923 - Oct. 18, 2013) (my favorite football coach of all-time)

too good to be true

so the other day my artist friend from Sweden said that he missed my rants on Frontier Communications. i laughed and said they hadn't fucked up here lately but i was sure they would show their true colors around the holiday shopping season. funny, just 2 days later and the internet was out for almost 9 FUCKING hours today. it just came on a little but ago. i guess it was out all over the area as it was out in town as well. around 8 tonight i asked mom if she thought anyone actually told Frontier that it was out to begin with. she laughed and called just in case. thankfully it's back on tonight.

so, to waste time today i've had a couple glasses of wine, carried some shit in for my sister (she's down for the weekend), watched a little college hockey and listened to some music. right before the internet went down i posted some pictures i took today. 24 of them to be exact. my sister joked that i crashed the internet myself. who knows, she could be right. here are my favorites from today. the rest of them can be seen on my Google+ page or in the slideshow on the right hand side of this blog. enjoy.

The Big Bang Theory last night was fucking hilarious. i love the writing on that show.

my kicker paid off for me last night in fantasy football. i'm up by 12 points in both matches.

i also wrote a poem today that had been swimming in my head for almost a week. hopefully that opens the floodgates.

big sports weekend kicks off tomorrow. Manchester United in the morning. Ohio State in the afternoon, which i will miss most of because i will be at the Red and Blue game for the University of Dayton basketball program. i can't wait to see how the new players look.

not sure when i will actually blog tomorrow. i'm guessing in the evening. hopefully it will be after a few victory beers.

hope everyone has a great weekend. and hopefully your internet service provider is better than the piece of shit service provider i have.

music:

Stone Temple Pilots - Core
John Mayer Trio - Try! Live in Concert
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily

"I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours." - Hunter S. Thompson

a recipe for disaster

so i woke up this morning a little later than i normally do. it was raining. my back was killing me. and for some reason, my right wrist was (and still is) in pain. not sure if i slept on it wrong or i was masturbating in my sleep again. nevertheless, as i made it down the stairs, i knew the morning shit was going to become an adventure. and it was.

i sat down to watch the New York Rangers last night with a frozen dinner freshly out of the microwave and a glass of wine. much to my surprise, the Rangers played like the team i have been waiting to see for weeks now. aggressive, plenty of shots on net, blocking shots, cycling the puck down low, taking advantage of the opponents mistakes. a 2-0 win was a beauty. i realized after the game this is the 3rd straight game King Henrik has shut out Washington if you count the playoffs. here are the highlights:

Duck Dynasty reminded me last night why i don't want to have any children.

American Horror Story was creepy and beautiful at the same time. loved it.

tonight after The Big Bang Theory i will be watching the NFL game. i have the kicker for Seattle on both of my rosters this week. i want to get an early jump on the scoring. so, hopefully he has some long field goals tonight. other than that, i will probably be flipping between some hockey, maybe a little baseball, and who knows what else.

spent a portion of the afternoon on Noise Trade. found some music that i really liked from a group i have never heard of before. so, i urge you to go check out St. Paul & The Broken Bones. click on the link down in the music section to find their ep and download it for FREE.

that's all for today. hope this finds everyone well. if the weather clears up in the next few days, i'll try to get my lazy ass out and take some pictures of the colors on the trees out here on the farm.

music:

Guided By Voices - English Little League
St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Greeting From St. Paul and the Broken Bones
Willie Dixon - I am the Blues
Various Artists - Millennium Party: Funk
Radiohead - Kid A

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past." - Thomas Jefferson

the last 18 hours or so...

i woke up this morning to some potentially great news from my Swedish artist friend, Janne Karlsson. we may have a publisher for our collaboration. and a very good one at that. i spent a good portion of this afternoon emailing the poems off. while i'm not quite ready to start popping champagne, i do have a pretty good feeling about this. when i get some more details i'll pass them along.

so, i was watching the USA vs. Panama match last night when Panama took the lead late. i didn't really react or get pissed off much. my mother asked why and i explained to her if the USA lost that would snuff out any chance of Mexico making the World Cup. she wasn't understanding it so i explained it like this. the Yankees lose a game to Tampa and it keeps the Red Sox from making the playoffs. she finally understood what i was saying and within seconds the USA scores to tie the game. and then about a minute later the USA scores again to win the game. that was one of the weirdest victory beers i have had in years. below are the highlights:

The Voice last night was pretty good. the talent this year is really good. of course, none of my "potential winners" have gone yet in the battle rounds.

tonight the New York Rangers play in Washington. hopefully, a game against the Eastern Conference brings them back to life. or, it could very well be another ass whipping. and if the rumors are true, more changes will be on the way. this team could be a team of rookies before too long.

Duck Dynasty and American Horror Story are on tonight as well. i'm home alone for the evening as my mother is at a conference. all that really means is i can take a shower at 2 in the morning and not worry about waking anyone up.

i got all my waiver wire moves in fantasy football, which shocked the shit out of me. these next 2 weeks are huge as i have a ton of players on bye weeks. if i can survive this and still win, i'll be in really good shape.

that's all for today. hope this finds everyone well and feeling good. or inebriated.

music:

Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks (Deluxe Edition)
Shovels and Rope - O' Be Joyful
Van Halen - Fair Warning

"Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde

and in rolled the rain...

right as i was beginning to write this, the wind picked up and it started to rain. not what i was hoping for at all. this is always how it goes when there is corn to take off it seems. never fails.

where to begin... i had a conversation with one of the guys working on the barns out here. he said he was clearing some brush and came across the largest raccoon he has ever seen. that got me thinking that maybe that fucker is the one behind the cat deaths here lately. especially the 3 kittens that suddenly vanished. of course, if that raccoon gets too big, the coyotes will love to eat it. i tell ya, it's like a wild kingdom out here some days.

watched most of England's win over Poland today. was happy to see that Wayne Rooney scored the goal that sends them to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup. i will be watching team USA play in Panama tonight. after i watch The Voice of course.

from what i saw last night, The Voice was good. i was surprised so many steals were used so early. hopefully tonight will be just as good or better.

Monday Night Raw was excellent last night. CM Punk was great once again and i love that the next match with Ryback will be in the Hell in a Cell. throw Heyman in there and it has the potential to be a classic. the tag team titles changing hands at the end of the show was perfect. ties in a few storylines and has the potential to go a few different directions. i really enjoyed the show.

i'm not surprised the New York Rangers are making some changes. better to do it now than wait until it is too late. plus, i always like when the young guys get a real chance to stick up with the big boys. hopefully Rick Nash gets better from his concussion soon. his goal scoring is going to be missed, not only on the Rangers but on my fantasy team as well.

i haven't left the house in 2 days other than to feed the animals. and i don't feel like i have really missed anything. i know it's a delicate line i'm walking between the recluse and functioning human. most days it's just a flip of a coin...

hopefully i will do some writing tonight over a victory beer.

until we meet again...

music:

Houndmouth - From the Hills Below the City
Valerie June - Pushin' Against a Stone
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

"We have art in order not to die of the truth." - Friedrich Nietzsche

with a body like yours

my poem "with a body like yours" was published this morning at The Camel Saloon. you can find the poem by going here: http://thecamelsaloon.blogspot.com/2013/10/with-body-like-yours.html

what to do on a holiday Monday

i'm sure there was plenty of productive things i could or should have done today... but i spent a good portion of it watching afternoon hockey and the rest looking at porn. that might not sound productive to normal people, but no normal people should actually be reading this blog. so the creative junkies understand where i'm coming from.

my uncle is in surgery today. not sure what for or how it is going. we've never been really close, probably due to one of his daughters molesting me as a child. but i do hope everything goes well.

had a pretty good Sunday in fantasy football. i'm leading both of my matches going into tonight. and those leads should only get larger after tonight's game. plus, if the Colts win, i will be 11-4 on the week. not too bad.

the Sunday night shows were pretty good. Boardwalk Empire made me think about the previous seasons as a few characters from last season showed up. i really enjoyed that. Eastbound and Down was fucking hilarious as always. Hello Ladies has lost me for good. as much as i want to like the show, it doesn't give me a reason to. so that half hour is back to sports. Homeland was really good. would love to know how Brody ended up in Caracas, but, i remembered, it's Homeland, logic is not supposed to play any role. Masters of Sex was much better this week. i think it's funny that the same behind the scenes bullshit in hospitals back then still goes on today. and we wonder why the same bullshit keeps repeating itself.

the usual hectic night of television viewing awaits. The Voice and Monday Night Raw on at the same time. let alone some baseball and hockey i should be watching. plus the football game that i have fantasy players on both teams starting for my teams. i'll probably keep a closer eye on The Voice as the battle rounds start tonight.

the weather has been pretty damn spectacular here today. sunshine, a light breeze, nearly 70 degrees out. as close to perfection as it gets out here. hopefully the rain holds off until the corn comes off this week. then it can rain all it wants.

i caught that Jay Z documentary on Showtime over the weekend. i enjoyed it. watching Tyler the Creator talk to Ron Howard was mind blowing. as often as i just shake my head at the clowns of this current generation, i equally am amazed by how bold and unrelenting they can be as well. and the creativity of the digital age is really amazing. especially to a guy who can remember when lite brite was the coolest shit around and no one would ever want to have a phone in their pocket, let alone on their wrist.

so as i'm slowly being dragged by my knuckles into this era, i tip my hat to the much, much younger fuckers runnin' this shit.

that's all for today. hope everyone has a good week ahead for them. i probably need to get the pen out and start writing some more. i'm sure these cool nights can produce a few gems.

music:

Imagine Dragons - Night Visions
Butch Walker and The Black Widows - The Spade
Jimi Hendrix - The Essential Jimi Hendrix Volumes 1 and 2

"To destroy is always the first step in any creation." - e.e. cummings

so much for my good mood

so after i got done with this blog yesterday, i had some lunch. and 10 minutes later i had the shits. i laughed as this is my life now. i got that stopped and then started drinking water. and more water. hoping to flush my system out. not exactly what happened but at least i'm not spending 30 minutes at a time on the toilet so far today (knock on wood).

the New York Rangers played better last night but better doesn't win you shit in professional sports. a 5-3 loss in St. Louis. too many damn turnovers. they have to clean that up before they can expect to win, let alone compete with the best in the league.

at least the Red Sox and Michigan both lost last night. that brought a faint smile.

Saturday Night Live was funny at times last night. don't get me wrong, it dragged in spots as well. but this was by far the funniest bit last night

ROH was good for what i could stay up for. it aired way later than normal here because of NASCAR. i believe i know the results so i'm not too pissed.

breakfast so far hasn't ruined my stomach. the cats are fed and the trash is picked up. now, it's simply sit around and wait for the injury reports for the NFL to come out. i've got a couple of injury concerns for one fantasy team. thankfully they are on the same team. that makes it easier. i feel like i should do well today. i have some favorable matchups. hopefully i'm correct.

my fantasy hockey team took a step backwards last night. i think i have constructed the team the best i possibly can. just one problem. no one is scoring any fucking goals. unless that trend changes today, chances are that i will lose this week. thankfully, it won't be too bad, so i should still be good in the standings.

tonight will be my usual Sunday night programming. Boardwalk Empire, Eastbound and Down, Hello Ladies, Homeland, and Masters of Sex. i haven't seen any previews for any of the shows, so i'm hoping they are good.

lastly, a big thank you to everyone who views, reads, shares, and comments on this blog. this post should take the views over 10,000. never thought i'd get to that number as quickly as i have. hopefully the next 10,000 come even faster.

hope this finds everyone well. at least as well as you want to be. i know there are some miserable fucks out there that enjoy that life. and yes, i have my days...

music:

Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
Pearl Jam - Live 5/9/2010 Cleveland, Ohio

"Miami Beach is where neon goes to die." - Lenny Bruce

a sunny start to the weekend

let me start this off with last night.

i sat down to watch team USA take on Jamaica. i was very happy with the starting lineup. sadly, that lineup did absolutely nothing. what i do love about the coach is his willingness to make the right subs at the right time and to change formations in doing so. the 3 subs do the trick and the USA wins 2-0. highlights below:

after that game and a very tasty victory beer, i did something i've been meaning to do for years. i took out my lip piercing. i've had that damn thing, in one form or another, since i was 23. not sure if i'm going to put something else in it or just let the hole close. but it certainly feels different.

i surmised that the removal and me shaving my beard off earlier today all stems from the New York Rangers losing streak. also, my goatee looks twice as long without the beard.

the Rangers play tonight in St. Louis. i would be looking forward to the game if i thought they would win. i will watch though as i am a fucking glutton for punishment. of course, they could win and i'll take credit that my superstitious ass was the reason.

other than that today, it's mostly college football. no Ohio State today so i'll be jumping around from game to game. sometime i will eat some lunch or just an early dinner at this rate. tonight will be Saturday Night Live and ROH. been getting some decent sleep lately so i should stay awake for both of them.

took a little walk today around the barns that are in the process of being painted for the first time since 1969. i can't wait to take pictures of them. they look like they are brand fucking new.

that's all for me. hopefully this finds everyone in good spirits. or drunk enough that the evil spirits are having a good time.

music: (you should notice a theme)

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Live from Alabama
Tom Waits - Glitter and Doom Live (Deluxe Edition)
AC/DC - AC/DC Live (Collector's Edition)

"I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong." - Bertrand Russell

surprisingly happy

i got a check in the mail today that i wasn't expecting until next week. good times. got my shit together and made it to the bank before 2 PM. made a nice deposit, nice enough that i will be able to pay for some shit i bought recently without any problems.

i was hoping the New York Rangers were going to play better last night. coming off a 9-2 ass whipping, i figured they would be chomping at the bit to get back out there. i was wrong. the effort may have been marginally better than the previous game, but nothing else was. a 6-0 loss in Anaheim. needless to say, this shit is getting frustrating and the season is only a week old. fuck me.

The Big Bang Theory was hilarious as always last night. funny at how dirty the show really is, especially for 8 PM.

Chicago won last night which keeps me alive for another week in the NFL knockout pools. this is the longest i've survived ever.

i plan on watching team USA play Jamaica here in a few hours in World Cup Qualifying. i'm hoping they win as i haven't had a victory beer in quite some time.

other than that, i imagine this evening will be spent flipping through shows on the Food Network and the zillion music channels i have. and if i get really bored, i might turn on some baseball or catch some high school football somewhere in the country. or, watch a movie. i'm putting my money on just sleeping.

that's all for today. i got the sweeping done early and will soon be in my chair, getting the voice ready. i hope everyone has a great weekend. hopefully the weather cooperates and the drinks are flowing freely.

music:

Matthew Sweet - Acoustic & Live Noise Trade Sampler
Counting Crows - August and Everything After

"I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places." - Henny Youngman

amazing what some sleep can do for you

i actually woke up in a decent mood today. maybe it was the shower yesterday, maybe it was the 2 extra hours of sleep i got. probably both.

i did watch American Horror Story last night. looks like it should be a pretty damn good season. the cast is amazing. i think it's funny that the older i get the more i seem to be getting into horror and shit like that. i guess i'm living my life in reverse.

Duck Dynasty was pretty funny last night. not being a fan of beef jerky myself, i had a few extra laughs at their attempt at jerky coming out tasting like shit.

busy night on the television this evening. The Big Bang Theory, a big NFL game, some playoff baseball, the New York Rangers out in Anaheim, plus all the other shit i tend to watch to avoid commercials.

i am hoping the NFL game turns out the way i want, i took Chicago in the knockout pools i'm in. i somehow have managed to not lose yet. plus, there are some fantasy implications this evening as well. i am favored in both of my fantasy matches. here's hoping that comes true.

spent most of today listening to music on YouTube and then i stumbled upon this video:

if that doesn't make you tear up a little, you have no fucking soul.

in a little poetry news, i heard from my good friend Janne Karlsson on a submission he sent out that included the cartoon he did of my poem "a faint notion of sweetness". apparently that has been accepted for publication in Tree Killer Ink. and i believe we are getting closer to seeing more of our collaboration be unleashed upon the earth. i really hope that comes to fruition. it's some of my best work ever.

that's all for today. hope this finds everyone well. a welcome back to reality to my friend in Sweden. put down one glass of wine and pick up the pen my friend. you have 2 hands for a reason. and they make special hats if you truly need more alcohol at once.

music:

Phantogram - Nightlife
Starlit - Starlit
Guided By Voices - Down by the Racetrack
Fossil Face - Pirates on a Bootleg Binge
Crazy Joe and the Mad River Outlaws - Sweatin' Bullets Over You
Pearl Jam - Ten
Black Joe Lewis - Noise Trade Eastside Manor Sessions

"The only thing I'm allergic to is criticism." - David Lee Roth

glutton for punishment

i've pretty much been in a shit mood for most of the day. anyone that knows me knows why.

the New York Rangers lost last night 9-2. completely outplayed would be an understatement. it was beyond fucking embarrassing. and i, the glutton for fucking punishment that i am, watched all of it. hopefully last night was the wake up call. on a fantasy note, i wasn't pleased with the elbow Rick Nash took to the head early in the first period last night. he didn't play the last 2 periods and most likely has another concussion. that puts a major fucking hole not only in my fantasy team but also the Rangers. just one of those nights you wish you could erase from your memory forever.

i did watch a good portion of The Voice last night. looks like the battle rounds are going to be good.

most of last night was spent watching the concussion documentary on the NFL that aired on PBS. wow, talk about a league getting absolutely buried. but, like most rich people, throw some cash at it and hope it goes away. mom looked at me halfway through it and said i'm so glad you never wanted to play football. i chuckled as i know if i would have played i would have been charged with some crime. i'm a tad bit competitive and have been known to fight dirty if i need to. and that sport is one where dirty is commonplace.

as for tonight, i will watch Duck Dynasty of course. not sure if i'm going to watch American Horror Story or not. chances are i will as that cast looks amazing. maybe a little baseball and hockey as well.

i was a little surprised by the news today that the Yankees are bringing back Joe Girardi next season. i thought for sure he was going to take the Cubs job. 4 years and 16 million are the numbers i'm hearing. hopefully that is the first of many good signings this hot stove season.

that's all for me. i need to go shower and do the dishes. if i could figure a way to do both at the same time, i would take an instructional video for you.

check out the many podcasts on the right hand side of this blog. i recommend all of them. if you need a laugh or just some background noise to get you through your day, give them a listen.

music:

Warren Haynes Band - Live at the Moody Theater
John Lee Hooker - The Best of Friends
Bettye LaVette - The Scene of the Crime

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." - John Lennon

late nights

the one thing i hate about when any of my sports teams play on the west coast is getting to bed right around the time the sun is coming up. that was fine when i was in my early 20's. sadly, those days are long gone.

but, i do love being up that late when my teams win. a huge win by the New York Rangers last night 3-1. they played like a team that actually had a sense of what to do, compared to their other shitty efforts so far this season. if they can bottle that performance and play like that all season, they will be a playoff team. another big game tonight in San Jose. here's some highlights from last night:

The Voice last night was pretty good. i might watch the highlight show tonight. might not. i am looking forward to the battle rounds.

Monday Night Raw last night was excellent. watching The Big Show knock HHH the fuck out was priceless. not sure where all of this is heading, but i am watching. that's all that matters.

i hung on to win my fantasy football match on NFL.com. by a measly 1.70 points. i will take luck over skill every fucking time i can. especially when the winning points is sitting on my opponents bench.

was able to air the house out a bit today. it actually feels like fall now. about fucking time.

that's all for me. i got to get my shit together for later this week. got visits to the bank and post office coming up. i think i wasted most of today setting up my wish list on amazon.com. yes, i know, like most of my travails with technology, i'm roughly a decade behind everyone else.

music:

Lenny Kravitz - Mama Said
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die

"I made about 28 movies, and I think about five of them were good." - Chevy Chase

my 2 poems in Gutter Eloquence Magazine #28

my poems "the chance to just let go" and "random thoughts on the second day of august" have been published in Gutter Eloquence Magazine #28. you can find the issue by going here: http://www.guttereloquence.com/issue28/toc28.html. as for my poems, click on each title below to go the poem...

the chance to just let go
random thoughts on the second day of august

now that's a damn cold front

woke up this morning to temps in the 40's. it was in the 80's just the other day. i know we got well over 2 inches of rain yesterday. had a little minor flooding in the lane, but nothing compared to some of the shit we've had before.

after i wrote my post for yesterday, i decided to take a chance and get the trash out early. i figured it was heavy enough that it wouldn't go flying in the oncoming storm. (i was right) i figured since i was going to be out in the rain, i might as well feed the cats. all was fine until i got to the second stall in the big barn. there was my cat Michael Jackson deader than dead. must have died in the last 18 hours or so. so, i went and got a shovel and walked in the rain towards the back of the property. said my goodbye and tossed it down the hill. took the trash down and then had to go change my wet clothes.

i thought i was having a decent day in fantasy football until i noticed one of my opponents changed his starting QB to Tony Romo. sadly, that was the same opponent i was already down 41 points to. my team scored 94. he had three players score 91. needless to say i lost by 40. and if i would have played all the highest scoring players, i still would have lost by 19. tip your hat and move on. as for my other match, i have a slight lead going into tonight. but i don't like my chances. i have the kicker for Atlanta while my opponent has the RB for the Jets. i will hope for the best but know that my chances of winning are slim at best.

i did enjoy that shootout yesterday between Dallas and Denver.

as for the Sunday night shows, Boardwalk Empire was great last night. a very gripping episode from start to finish. i thought the suicide at the end was perfectly shot. Eastbound and Down was absolutely hilarious. you can never go wrong when you have an episode that has kids calling their father a dick licker. Hello Ladies was really disappointing for me last night. i didn't find it funny at all. i suppose i will give the show another week, but if next week stinks that time slot will go back to sports. Homeland was good, not great. but it appears that this episode was used to set up the next one that looks really interesting. hopefully that is the case. Masters of Sex was my biggest disappointment of the night. the first show was so damn good and last night just dragged, start to finish. i'm really hoping next week is a much better episode.

tonight will be the hodgepodge of The Voice, Monday Night Raw, some Monday Night Football and after all that, the New York Rangers are playing out in Los Angeles. i really hope they can get the win tonight. the captain is back in the lineup, that should be a boost. i don't want to start the season on a long losing streak.

in my grogginess this morning (went to bed at 4 AM and was up at 8 AM), i emailed 5 poems to Zygote in My Coffee. when i hear back from Brian i will pass along the verdict.

that's pretty much all for today. oh yeah, another thing, i had an excellent glass of Sauvignon Blanc from France last evening. here is a link to it: http://us.nakedwines.com/wines/villebois-sauvignon-blanc-2012.htm

music:

Ivan & Alyosha - The Cabin Sessions
Guided By Voices - Half Smiles of the Decomposed
Charles Bradley - Victim of Love
Foy Vance - Joy of Nothing

"The work of art is a scream of freedom." - Christo

what to do when the power goes out

so i was sitting in my chair last night watching Ohio State struggle and out of nowhere everything goes black. and unlike most times out here, the power didn't come right back on. lovely. so, there was the blind scramble to find flashlights, radios, etc. that was comical. thankfully most of the flashlights we have don't need batteries. so after a few cranks, we had some light at least.

i finally found the radio, which still worked shockingly. i found the Ohio State game and listened through the static. they came back to win 40-30. it went just about as i feared. they took Northwestern lightly and nearly paid for it. i haven't enjoyed that victory beer just yet. i imagine that will come during Sunday Ticket.

the power came back on at 1:50 AM or so. i caught the last few minutes of ROH. love the heel Adam Cole. i missed all of Saturday Night Live. after i got clocks set once again and checked all the things out here that need to be checked in power outages, i got on the computer and tried to update myself on the 3 hours i had missed. looks like i missed some great college football finishes. not sure how good SNL was, i've only seen a few clips so far.

tonight will be an odd one, or at least has the potential of it. the rain is supposed to get heavy later this afternoon. we are under a flood watch. mom said the creek down at the end of the lane is pretty high. could be interesting when i have to take the trash down. i'm hoping to wait until all the bad weather goes through. so, i might be taking down the trash at 3 in the morning. lovely.

so, if the power stays on and the satellite doesn't get swamped my mother nature; it's a full day of football, the Sunday night shows (Boardwalk Empire, Eastbound and Down, Hello Ladies, Homeland, Masters of Sex) and then some more football. and somewhere in between i need to feed the cats and eat. i picked up most of the trash last night while Ohio State was pissing me off.

a quick poetry note: the 2 poems i've had published or accepted recently were not the poems i thought were going to be used. it's funny how often an editor or publisher surprises me. i didn't think either poem was great. goes to show you what i know. so, i suppose what i'm saying is don't let your own head stop your submissions. throw as much shit against the wall and hope something sticks. that being said, i have some poems i really love that need a home. i figure i'll be sending out some poems in the middle of this coming week.

that's pretty much all for me. hope this finds you dry and laughing at a guy in Ohio wondering how his old truck is going to do on a water covered bridge in a few hours.

music:

Valerie June - Pushin' Against A Stone

"A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing." - Emo Philips

insomnia

my poem "insomnia" has been published at Dead Snakes. you can find the poem by going here: http://deadsnakes.blogspot.com/2013/10/jj-campbell-poem.html

a star is born

it was somewhere around the halftime whistle that i really felt a need to put fists through concrete walls. i didn't act on that impulse though, i decided to wait. i am thankful as are my hands that i did. after trailing 1-0 in a dreadful, and by saying dreadful i'm being kind, display by Manchester United, the 18 year old boy wonder, Adnan Januzaj, scored twice to rescue the team from absolute disaster. they were playing the worst team in the league by the way. i'm happy for Adnan and at the same time fearful at how much it will cost to resign him later this season. also, the fact we still struggled against such a shitty team worries me beyond belief. i will enjoy the victory beer for the 2-1 win of course, but i have no doubts this is going to be a long fucking season.

i did really nothing of note last night other than fuck around on YouTube most of the evening. as for this evening, it will be all sports once again. a little Hockey Night in Canada of course and Ohio State on the road at Northwestern to follow. hopefully Ohio State doesn't fall into thinking they will have it easy tonight. if they take the team seriously, they should win.

a little Saturday Night Live and ROH unless i fall asleep before that all ends.

it's raining here yet again, and it is a warm rain. maybe the corn will be harvested by Halloween. i'm not a happy camper.

i did get the players i wanted off of waivers for my fantasy hockey team. i have a decent lead so far, so hopefully that will continue. my fantasy football teams look good injury wise for tomorrow, fingers crossed.

i'm now off to go have some lunch, a beer, and start flipping between soccer in Europe and college football here in the USA.

hope this finds everyone drunk, naked, caught in a compromising position by a dominatrix with an evil eye for torture. yes, i am in a mood.

music:

Hayes Carll - Trouble in Mind

"Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer." - William S. Burroughs

response from The Camel Saloon

i heard back from Russell at The Camel Saloon on my poetry submission from yesterday. my poem "with a body like yours" has been accepted for publication. 

some days just bleed together

i was up way too late last night and up way too early this morning. needless to say, i feel like i have been in a damn fog for the last 18 hours or so.

first off, i did send out 12 poems today. 6 to ZYX and 3 each to Dead Snakes and The Camel Saloon. when i hear back from these places i will pass along the verdicts.

i did watch most of the New York Rangers 4-1 loss last night. too many fucking mistakes, too many defensive lapses, too many mind cramps, and way too soft at times. a thank you to Rick Nash for dropping the gloves last night when none of his pussy teammates would. mostly, a thank you for the 5 penalty minutes. much needed for my fantasy team. hopefully they get Captain Cally back by Monday and figure some shit out or the 9 game road trip to start the season could be really fucking ugly.

The Big Bang Theory was hilarious last night. really great writing. nothing else really struck me as funny on television last night.

i did watch a good portion of the NFL game last night. i picked the right team to win but i didn't care for how they won. i'm now 41 points behind in fantasy football. that's a big fucking hole to climb out of. especially when your QB is facing the best defense in the league. so much for my momentum from last week.

i actually had to turn on the A/C today. first week of October and it's in the mid 80's. fucking ridiculous.

not sure what i'm watching this evening. i might just turn on some baseball so i can fall asleep.

i'll be back on here after the Manchester United game tomorrow afternoon. if they lose again, expect a rant that might get me banned from the internet for life.

hope everyone has a great weekend. or at least a better one than the assholes you hate.

music:

Beastie Boys - Solid Gold Hits
Jay Z - Hard Knock Life
Outkast - Aquemini
Run - D.M.C. - Tougher Than Leather

"Evil is always possible. Goodness is a difficulty." - Anne Rice

one of those days where the rain feels like i'm stuck in Florida

it absolutely poured today, on and off. and it was around 80 degrees with humidity around 90%. felt just like the rain in Florida. not exactly the best thing when you're hoping for some dry days to take the corn off and paint the barns. i wouldn't be shocked if we got close to 2 inches today.

i had an interesting day of waiting. waiting for the plumber, waiting for the Fed Ex guy. it's kind of funny, as i remember when i lived out here alone. whenever i wanted someone to call or show up, i always did something else. i'd take a shower and the phone would ring. take a shit and there's a knock on the door. no such luck today.

the plumber showed up around 2 to see what the fuck is up with our water softener. i laughed as none of the shit he brought with him actually worked, so he took a sample of the water and will return sometime. didn't say when, but this is all under warranty, so i don't really care.

the Fed Ex guy finally showed up around 5 with my wine. so i'm enjoying a glass of red while typing this. should be interesting to see how quickly i drink this. i'm not a big wine drinker but just felt i needed to upgrade my alcoholism finally. so expect some ramblings about wine every now and then.

i got a closer look at my cat Michael Jackson last night. looked like a young coyote got him on his right side and has rendered his hind legs useless. i noticed this as the dumb ass was trying to climb underneath my truck. last i saw him he was going under the corn crib. i didn't see him when i fed them today, so i figure he has probably moved on. hopefully no longer in pain.

The Bridge last night was good. it didn't answer many questions but brought forth some more. and a few more twists and a huge plot point for the next season. which will come in 2014.

Duck Dynasty made me laugh, as always.

the New York Rangers play late tonight out in Arizona. hopefully they start the season off good. also, there is some playoff baseball and the NFL this evening. so, after The Big Bang Theory it will be nothing but sports.

hopefully i will get cracking on sending out some poems tomorrow. i don't always like a Friday submissions but i really don't feel like waiting until next week. so, a morning of typing awaits me. unless of course i get the nerve to type around 2 in the morning. who knows.

that's all for now. hope this finds everyone well.

music:

Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks (Deluxe Edition)
The Dirty Guv'nahs - Somewhere Beneath These Southern Skies

"Is this not the true romantic feeling; not to desire to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping you." - Thomas Wolfe

not a happy camper

so i settled in to watch Manchester United play this afternoon in the Ukraine in Champions League group play when the breaking news came on. Wayne Rooney was ill (then later reported to be injured, who the fuck knows what the truth is) and not available for today. so, i was prepared for the worst. they had the lead at halftime 1-0, but were lucky at best to have that. then, they decided to play the second half by just sitting back and trying to defend. you probably know how this story ends... 1-1. they are extremely lucky to get a point. they didn't deserve it. what i loved about Sir Alex's Manchester United teams was they always went forward. sure, it kept the other team in the game as well, but it was always entertaining. sadly, those days are fucking gone. perhaps they play better this weekend against the worst team (so far) in the premier league. or, this fucking nightmare continues.

at least my fantasy hockey team got off to a good start last night.

The Voice was pretty good last night. i find it funny that every 4 chair turn at the end of the night goes to Adam. creative editing i imagine. i guess next week will be the final picks for teams. then the show will pick up the pace.

after a new episode of Duck Dynasty, i will be getting ready for the season finale of The Bridge. my hopes are set pretty damn high for this one. i really hope it leaves me begging for more or scratching my head trying to figure out the questions left unanswered. sure, i'm setting myself up for disappointment... i'm 37 and live with my mother, you think i don't understand disappointment.

sometime either before or after all this, i need to work in a shower.

my cat Michael Jackson is still alive. it dragged itself underneath the summer kitchen today. my best guess is it went under there to die. i suppose i will know in the next few days.

i was a little stunned when i saw the news about Tom Clancy. and then i thought about all the writers that were secretly celebrating, hoping that maybe they would get a chance now to sell some books. dog eat dog world out here my friends.

that's all for today. the New York Rangers play their first game of the season tomorrow. i might be a little edgy tomorrow. just a little.

music:

The Lone Bellow - The Lone Bellow
Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble - Live at Carnegie Hall
Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms

"Success will ruin your life." - Tom Clancy (April 12, 1947 - October 1, 2013)

new month same fog

when i woke up this morning you couldn't see the corn, which is less than 50 feet from the house. to say it was foggy would be a huge understatement. i was shocked that i didn't hear about any major accidents or anything. the fog didn't really burn off until 11 am.

had a long, heartbreaking conversation with an old friend this morning. not an easy position for me to be in as i'm basically unable to offer much help and what little i can do isn't being accepted. oh well. hopefully my old friend finds the right spot in the world for themselves. they deserve at least that much.

i enjoyed what i got to see of The Voice last night. i was flipping between baseball and wrestling. but the voices i did get to hear i enjoyed. i'll be paying a little closer attention this evening. emphasis on little.

Monday Night Raw was great last night. kudos to CM Punk for even having me fooled that he injured himself. easy to see why he's my 3rd favorite of all time. all the storylines advanced pretty well going into the ppv this Sunday. they (the creative team) have at the very least kept me interested in what's going on. been awhile since i was at that level.

i did go through some poems this morning and came up with 12 i'll be sending out later this week. i've got 3 places in mind.

a big thank you to Drew Brees for his outstanding performance last night, which allowed me to win both of my fantasy football matches.

the NHL regular season starts this evening. say hello again to the sport i have the most passion about. and if any of my new readers think my rants about baseball are something, wait until the New York Rangers go on a losing streak. only 3 games this evening. i'll be watching bits and pieces, as of course, i have some fantasy players going tonight.

i imagine i will be writing on this again after the Manchester United game tomorrow. hopefully while enjoying a victory beer.

i won a $100 voucher for some wine last night. of course, it was one of those where i had to spend $160 to be able to use the voucher. so, in a week or so, my alcoholism will become a bit more sophisticated.

and speaking of that word, can you think of a better christmas gift than my book Sofisticated White Trash. get your copy today.

plenty of music to get to today. hope this finds everyone well.

music:

Pantera - Far Beyond Driven
Deftones - Deftones
Ben Harper - Welcome to the Cruel World
Ray LaMontagne - Trouble
Tom Waits - Alice

"Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive." - Elbert Hubbard

under construction again

my poem "under construction again" was published today in Regardless Of Authority #3. you can find the poem by going here: http://regardlessofauthority.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/j-j-campbell/