a little of this, a little more of that...

first off, let me share something with you...

my friend Natascha Hoover has put out her first art photography book, Pressure Washers For Jesus. you can find a preview and more info on the book here:
http://www.blurb.com/b/4967743-pressure-washers-for-jesus

the New York Rangers played decently last night, but decent doesn't get you wins in this league. a 3-2 loss on a goal that the goalie has to make a save on. of course, when the coach can't decide who is the #1 goalie and who is the backup, this kind of shit happens. they play again on Sunday down in Tampa.

after doing the dishes and going through a few hours of email i had to catch up on, i did manage to get a few hours of sleep last night. not much as i was dreaming about the Dateline episode from last night on NBC. as much as i complain about being alone, i do understand it's much better than being with the wrong person.

got up this morning and watched team USA beat Slovakia 6-3 in the World Juniors. i was happy generally with how they played. they do need to clean up all the penalties they take and they must figure out why they always play shitty in the 2nd period. tomorrow morning should be interesting as it is their first back to back days playing. thankfully, they're only playing Germany. that has a chance to get ugly quickly.

that game ended with plenty of time for me to get some breakfast and watch Manchester United play. it wouldn't be a United game this year if there wasn't some injury concern seemingly out of nowhere. Wayne Rooney didn't make the trip to Norwich, resting a sore groin. i'm hoping it's because of the bigger game coming up on Jan. 1st. United looked dreadful in the first half. bring on Danny Welbeck and it all changes. United wins 1-0 with a dramatically better effort in the second half. a much needed 3 points going into the game at home against Spurs.

so i now have the rest of this sunny Saturday to enjoy a couple of victory beers. i imagine i will be watching some college football and taking a long nap for most of today. i do want to watch the WWE Tribute to the Troops this evening. other than that and some ROH, this might end up being a Saturday of doing little shit around the house.

hope this finds everyone well. hope the weather is decent in your neck of the woods. of course, they are saying it's going to rain tomorrow, which will turn into snow. i figured this would happen as i have a ton of trash to take down the lane tomorrow. as long as it isn't too windy. i'm not a big fan of picking the trash up again. now if i could just get the fuckers across the road to understand this concept.

be well. peace and chicken grease.

music:

The Lemonheads - The Best of The Lemonheads: The Atlantic Years
Guided By Voices - Isolation Drills

"Software is like sex: it's better when it's free." - Linus Torvalds

so much for doom and gloom

so i got up this morning ready for the return of the Premier League. hats off to NBC for their coverage of it. i truly love being able to see any of the matches. but the one i paid the most attention to started at 12:30. i had heard for the last week or so how Manchester United was going to fail this season, all the turmoil, lack of player signings, etc etc. so, all they do is go out at the team that finished 9th last season and win 4-1. 2 goals from RvP and 2 goals from Welbeck. Rooney played about 30 minutes and had 2 assists. it's rather obvious that he wants to be elsewhere from his body language. it is also really apparent that the club isn't going to sell him. as long as they win, i couldn't care less. a great start to the season.

the Yankees won last night in Boston 10-3. i had to laugh as Alfonso Soriano stayed hotter than hot with another HR and 4 RBI. Mark Reynolds, recently let go from the Indians, mostly because he hadn't hit a HR in 2 months, goes deep in his first at bat for the Yankees. if they can get some pitching and a few guys can stay hot over a month or so, i really think this team has a chance to make the playoffs. first time i have felt that all season. due to the stupid blackout rules, i'll only be able to follow today's game online. i figure i'll check in from time to time.

i do plan on watching some UFC tonight as i found Fox Sports 1 on DIRECTV this morning. so i have yet another sports channel to occupy my time. i also plan on watching ROH late tonight. an evening of combat.

hats off to my friend Sam Roberts, Professional Broadcaster, for the great interviews he's getting out in Los Angeles. go to his YouTube channel and check them out.
http://www.youtube.com/user/notsam

that's all for today. i have a fridge full of beer and i'm going to go enjoy a great victory.

hope everyone's weekend is off to a good start.

music:

The Dirty Guv'nahs - Somewhere Beneath These Southern Skies

"Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day." - Samuel Goldwyn

oh so close yet so damn far away

let me start with last night. i was feeling pretty damn good about myself until i watched the New York Rangers blow a 3 goal lead. now, they did come back to win the game 4-3 in a shootout. but, no lead like that should be given up with just 11 minutes to go in the game. but, i decided to try to focus on the positive. the win. the 2 points. beating Boston 2 out of 3 games.

now, for today. i did my best to keep my expectations and my emotions level while waiting for the Manchester United game against Real Madrid. of course, once the game started i was my usual loud, obnoxious self. a great goal from Danny Welbeck 20 minutes in and i'm feeling great. then, of course, CR7 ties it 10 minutes later. Real Madrid controlled most of the rest of the game. Manchester United's goalkeeper played the best game i have ever seen him play for the team. RVP had a few chances late to steal the game, but, all in all, a draw is not that bad actually. away goals are huge in these events. so, now just win the home leg in March and the team advances. as for Gus Johnson, not a bad job announcing for that big of a stage. a few mistakes but nothing awful. i was worried the Gus effect was going to take place in the game. thankfully it didn't happen. if you want some fun go here:
http://www.gusjohnsongetsbuckets.com/ and play around. or, if you happen to be at work, piss off a co-worker with it. as for the referee, who the fuck blows the final whistle when a team is getting ready to take a corner kick? there's 20 minutes of screaming i'll never get back. leave it to the Germans to try and ruin everything.

that brings me to the Dayton Flyers. for some fucking reason, they can't beat Rhode Island. a team that has fucking sucked for as long as i can remember and Dayton plays them like they are a UCLA team under John Wooden. so, as usual given the scenario i just laid out, Dayton loses on the road by 3 to a team that now has 7 wins on the season. thank god i didn't have a chance to watch this debacle. the biggest game of the season comes up this weekend (noon Saturday on ESPN2) and i am absolutely not looking forward to it. not sure if i can stomach watching those assholes from down south celebrate on our floor once again.

found out today (or yesterday as it now past midnight here) that my sister won't be here until the weekend. not sure what to expect but hopefully it will be a nice diversion in case Dayton loses again.

also, heard back from Five 2 One Magazine on my poetry submission from back in November. they have decided to pass.

hope everyone has a good valentine's day or at the very least, a better than you expected one. i'm not a big fan of the hallmark holidays, of course, i'm single. i imagine if i wasn't i'd be singing a different tune.

music today:

a random mix of bullshit from my Amazon.com cloud player

go check out the Sam Roberts Show Online #43 if you need a good laugh. look for it at iTunes, Stitcher, and at notsam.com.

"The only thing that comes to a sleeping man is dreams." - Tupac Shakur

find the pleasure in the pain

got a little too much sun yesterday in my 5 hours of mowing grass on the farm. woke up with the shits this morning. the joy of being fair-skinned. my left leg got it real good. combine the heat, sweatpants and where the exhaust comes out on my riding lawn mower and you can imagine all the different colors my left leg is today. fun.

a big thank you to those who have inquired about the broadsides. they will be arriving shortly.

really enjoyed England vs. Sweden today in EURO 2012 action. a spectacular goal from Danny Welbeck to win it for England. certainly makes all of us Man U fans proud.

looking forward to the Yankees and Nationals tonight. should be an interesting test for both teams. hopefully the train keeps charging along.

an early happy birthday to my mother. you don't look your age.

i will spend the weekend writing, staying away from the sun, hopefully posting pictures of my paintings on here and praying for rain. we're more than 5 inches behind where we should be. and the soybeans are certainly showing it.

"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know." - Ernest Hemingway