a summer full of rain

when i was in pain around 4 this morning, i didn't bother to get up. i knew it had to be raining. that rain lasted the entire morning. it looks like yesterday could be the last dry day for another week or so. fuck me.

the people that take care of my uncle's grass cut both our yards yesterday. not a big deal, except the grass was cut 2 days before that. i have never lived in a community where fuckers treat their lawns like they are made of gold. any fucking time the rain has stopped, some fucker on this street has his mower out. if i truly was as nuts as people think i am, a shooting spree wouldn't be too far from reality given how much the sound of a lawnmower drives me nuts. i blame that one on my father. he had me on a riding lawnmower when i was 8. i was barely strong enough to turn the wheel, but did that matter? so, like any asshole to be would do, i crashed the fucker into a tree. didn't do much damage, but i was punished by standing in the corner for 3 hours. if anyone ever wonders why i constantly talk to myself, it's because i spent most of my childhood doing it. good times.

i'm keeping an eye on the water in our backyard. considering that's where the phone lines and electric are, i'm just waiting for a OH SHIT moment to occur.

a quick music break before i get to last night on television:

the New York Yankees lost yesterday 3-1 to split the series with Houston. hard to win any game when you only have 2 fucking hits. they start a series with the Angels tonight. west coast baseball. that means i will be one tired fucker for the next few days.

i did get a little nap in yesterday while flipping between NASCAR and golf.

Big Brother was pretty good last night. sadly, i follow most of the shit online, so the tv show is about a week behind what is actually going on in the house. True Detective last night was great. that had a truly HOLY SHIT ending. Ballers was good. The Brink was pretty funny. the series finale of Nurse Jackie was good. i thought the ending could have been better. i thought death would have been the right way to go out. but, it was nice to see some characters from past seasons in the finale. the season finale of Happyish had me laughing. i doubt i will get Skidmark Jesus out of my head anytime soon. Penny Dreadful was excellent last night. it certainly has set things up for a bloody finale next Sunday. finally, Last Week Tonight was great once again:

i haven't bothered to even check for the mail today. i was hoping it would start to dry up. but, apparently i'll go out in the drizzle. my luck, it will all be shit that i won't want to get wet.

i'll be flipping between Monday Night Raw, the Yankees game and Big Brother After Dark tonight on television.

just a few days before the silly season starts in the NHL and NBA.

i hope everyone had a great weekend. and i certainly hope your Monday hasn't been as fucking dreary as mine.

be well. be creative. be cool. be quick to send me CASH, panties, hate mail, love letters, broken promises and dirty pennies from heaven.

peace and chicken grease...

music:

The Allman Brothers Band - It's Not My Cross To Bear
Ryan Bingham - Guess Who's Knockin'
Jason Isbell - 24 Frames
The Band - I Shall Be Released
L.A. Guns - The Ballad of Jayne

"When you're in love it's the most glorious two and a half days of your life." - Richard Lewis

and your pro wrestling video of the day:

recovering from hell

i believe the heat index was somewhere in the mid 90's. any sane person would have waited until later in the day. thankfully, i'm not sane. so at 2 in the afternoon yesterday, there i was, long sleeve shirt, sweatpants, hat, gloves, SPF 105, sunglasses, and not much of a choice. i figured the faster i mowed, the better off i would be. 4 hours and not enough water breaks later, i was done. it looks good. and i got it done before the next round of rain. now i get to pay for it the rest of the weekend. the beauty of having sensitive skin is i usually spend a weekend on the toilet after a few hours in the sun. good way to become a hermit.

i've figured out over the years that when i truly want to slip through the cracks and fall off the grid, i will have no problem doing so. case in point, i had my doctor's appointment for 3 months before yesterday. somehow, i wasn't in the books for having one. this happens all the time with these type of places. the beauty of being poor. all building blocks for my insanity.

saw the parents of my best friend of my childhood yesterday at the grocery store. was a little weird. let's just say none of us that stay in this area age well.

the Yankees got some great pitching last night from an unlikely source, finally hit some damn home runs, and emasculated the Red Sox 6-0. that was a victory beer i wasn't expecting. they play again tonight with Tanaka on the mound. i believe it's on FOX, not sure if i'm going to watch or not.

the World Cup starts back up today. should be 2 pretty good matches. at least i'm hoping they are. Brazil vs. Chile and Colombia vs. Uruguay.

thankfully, i had just enough cat food to feed the cats yesterday morning. but, seeing that this is my life, one of the new bags of cat food had a hole in it. i didn't figure this out until i put it over my shoulder and was carrying it into the house. good times.

the doctor put me on some new arthritis medicine that i start tomorrow. i take this one twice a day. hopefully it works a little better than the previous one. my neck pain is doing pretty good. i could feel it yesterday while i was mowing since the pills weren't ready while we were at the grocery store. thankfully, mom picked them up while i was mowing, because that was the first thing i reached for when i got done. and then some water.

i believe ROH has a new episode tonight. hopefully i'm awake to see it.

i did watch a good portion of the NHL Draft last night. i'll probably end up watching a good portion of it today as well. the league set the salary cap at 69 million. i believe most teams thought it was going to be at 71. the New York Rangers were one of those teams. so, looks like many of the guys from the run to the Stanley Cup Final won't be back. i'll know for certain when July 1st rolls around.

if i somehow don't get sick today, i may do some writing. starting to get that itch again. plus, anytime i go out into public, i'm a people watcher. some people think that's creepy. i think it's simply that observant fuckers make better writers. hopefully i have proved that over the years.

that's all for me. i do hope everyone has a great day doing whatever the fuck normal people do on weekends. i know, that's a BIG assumption by me that normal people actually read this blog.

be well. be creative. be well hydrated.

peace...

Royal Blood - Out of the Black EP
The Jezabels - Dark Storm EP
Old Crow Medicine Show - Down Home Girl EP
Nightwish - Ghost Love Score (Live)

"Humor is just another defense against the universe." - Mel Brooks

busy ass day part 2

since my mother got home much later than she thought she was going to last night, i didn't end up going to the store. so, that turns today into one giant clusterfuck.

i might have enough food to feed the cats this morning before i go to the doctor, might not. that should be interesting. regardless, after the trip to the doctor, we have to go to the tractor supply store to get cat food and then to the grocery store to pick up medicine and our food. and since today is the only dry day for the foreseeable future, i then need to get back here and start mowing the grass. i imagine that is going to take the rest of the hours that the sun is up. i'm really hoping i get it done by then as it is supposed to start raining again tonight.

now imagine my stress if i don't have enough to feed the cats this morning and have to squeeze that in after the trip to the grocery store. oh, and i need to figure out when i'm going to eat today. good times.

the only thing i plan on watching this evening is the Yankees vs. Red Sox. if i miss most of it because it took me so long to get the grass cut, so be it. given who is pitching for the Yankees, i probably won't want to watch anyway.

i was not upset when the USA lost to Germany yesterday, 1-0. mostly because CR7 scored for Portugal to ensure that the USA would be advancing. and seeing that it was the first time ever they have advanced out of the group stage in back to back World Cups is HUGE. and, none of the soccer experts in this country had them getting out of the group of death. that was great to see them eating some crow last night. now, the real fun begins.

to recap the scores from yesterday, Germany won 1-0. Portugal beat Ghana 2-1. Belgium (with 10 men) beat South Korea 1-0. Algeria and Russia played to a 1-1 draw. a HUGE draw for Algeria. that means the USA plays Belgium and Germany plays Algeria in the next round.

that sets up the knockout round. here is the bracket...

i have Brazil beating Argentina in the finals, mostly because i don't have the guts to pick something else. i do have the USA upsetting Belgium. that's the only real upset i see happening. i almost chose the Netherlands to make it to the finals... almost. i did pretty well in the group stage, got 3 groups completely correct and at least had 1 team right in all of the groups. yes, i'm playing fantasy soccer, get over it.

the knockout games start tomorrow with Brazil vs. Chile and Colombia vs. Uruguay. those two games should be fun.

i did watch Big Brother last night. not sure what to think of the cast this season. as long as i am entertained, i really don't care. it will be interesting to see how the twists play out over the course of the season. i'm not sure many of the players are smart enough to know what is going on at all most of the time.

i also watched the NBA Draft last night. i only watched it to put a bow on the college basketball season. of course, i would have needed to watch the European leagues to know many of the players.

that's all for today. i need to get some breakfast in me and scrounge the bottom of the barrel for some cat food. i really don't want to feed these fuckers in the afternoon while i should be mowing. i've got parts of the lawn that is over 12 inches high. this will not be fun.

hope everyone has a great start to the weekend. hopefully you have some great weather and free drinks to enjoy.

be well. be creative. be a nuisance. be helpful. be a shining light of destruction and mayhem.

peace and chicken grease.

music:

Arcade Fire - Wake Up
Rival Sons - Electric Man
Dinosaur Jr. - Feel The Pain
Trampled By Turtles - Where Is My Mind (Live)

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller

just how i wanted to start my holiday weekend

in case you don't know me, i hate fucking losing. hate it with a passion that most people believe is psychotic. so, last night was one tough pill to swallow.

the New York Rangers lost in OT last night, 3-2. i was thrilled when they scored late to force overtime, given that they had been outplayed for nearly 40 straight minutes. but, 72 seconds into OT, the game was over. i was very pissed at how many times the Rangers refused to make the simple play. the KISS theory (keep it simple stupid) works amazingly well in the playoffs. of course, it wouldn't be a playoff game this year without some HORRIFIC officiating. and i'm talking about shit that refs in the minor leagues don't miss. the Rangers are still up 2-1 in the series, but Game 4 is a MUST win to regain all the momentum in the series. sadly, they don't play again until Sunday, so this loss will fester for way too long.

the New York Yankees lost 3-2 last night in a game where they were manhandled by the White Sox for most of it. 3 damn hits for the entire game. i was a little amazed that they actually had a chance to win the game late. the White Sox starter owns the Yankees in his career, so i wasn't very surprised. hopefully they can win tonight.

so, i had a night of some shitty sleeping in great sleeping weather. i got up this morning to get all the shit done i needed to do today so i could get the grass mowed and over with so i might actually have a chance of enjoying my evening. so i go down to get the paper and for the second straight day, it wasn't where it was supposed to be. we have a tube for it with the paper's name on it, so you would think any dumb fuck would think to put it there. at least yesterday it was in plastic. today, it wasn't. and the wind tends to fucking blow out here in the sticks. and, i wasn't about to walk over planted fields to get the parts of the paper that had blown across the road. people get shot for shit like that out here. we're supposed to have another one brought out here, which i will believe it when i see it.

as you might imagine, my frustration level at this point is through the fucking roof. now i get to go out and mow the grass with this thick ass playoff beard on me that will only make me hotter and more pissed. can't wait to count the number of insects that get caught in it while i'm flying around like a madman in about 30 minutes. good times.

not sure what i'm going to watch tonight. probably some baseball. if my anger hasn't gone down, there might be some writing or painting in my future. i do like how my anger often leads to creativity. i suppose that's better than the alternative, murdering the world.

not sure when i'll be on here tomorrow. chances are it will be after the Champions League final.

hope everyone has a great weekend. hope everyone enjoys the holiday and has some fun. i'm off to go get a sunburn and scare the shit out of some cats.

peace and chicken grease...

music:

Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Anthrax - Antisocial
Metallica - Bleeding Me
Iron Maiden - The Trooper
In This Moment - Whore
Pantera - I'm Broken

"To attempt to advise conceited people is like whistling against the wind." - Thomas Hood

oh sunshine, why do you hate me so?

i got the grass mowed yesterday. a little under 5 hours. but, my left leg took most of the punishment. the heat from the engine of the mower just happens to hit my left leg for the entire time i'm mowing. so, my lower left leg looks like i'm a burn victim. good times. but the yard does look nice. the birds love it and the cats hate it, as i've taken away their hunting advantage. and like i tell them all the time, they are free to leave anytime they want to.

so i got my shower and dinner in before the Rangers game started last night, just like i wanted to. a must win game that i was fully invested in. sadly, the Rangers were better but still not even close to being good enough to win. at least they finally fucking scored. but pissed away all the momentum of the goals by giving up ones to Pittsburgh way too soon. a 4-2 loss that pushes the Rangers to the brink. i've got the feeling my playoff beard will be coming off on Friday night. that will make my mother happy. i on the other hand, will be pissed off for the summer. good times.

thankfully, the Yankees came to life last night right from the start and put the game away early. a 9-2 win to take the series out there for the first tine in years. it was good to see Jeter finally get one out of the park. they are off tonight and start a series in Milwaukee tomorrow night.

Legit was fucking hilarious last night. i didn't watch Ali G as the Yankees game was actually good from the start last night.

tonight will mostly be the NFL draft on my television. i will of course watch The Big Bang Theory and probably a good amount of the American Comedy Awards. and probably a decent amount of playoff basketball and hockey as well. mostly, i just want a night to sit in my chair and chill out. it's really warm here today and we just have fans on. no A/C just yet. we usually wait until it gets really hot to turn that on. and 87 apparently isn't really that hot.

i did manage to write 5 poems today. i typed them up and REALLY like them. i'll be sending those fuckers out soon. that finishes up the notebook i've been writing in for 10 months i do believe. that's always interesting to go back and see if you've changed any in that time. thankfully, just getting better with time.

that's all for me my enemies. i have a sweaty nap in my future before dinner. hope this finds everyone well.

until tomorrow...

music:

Valerie June - Pushin' Against A Stone
The Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast
Beth Orton - Sugaring Season
The Allman Brothers Band - Whipping Post
Metallica - Bleeding Me
Deer Tick - Goodbye, Dear Friend

"Show business is my life. When I was a kid I sold insurance, but nobody laughed." - Don Rickles

bleary eyed insanity

it figures, the Yankees would win last night as i fell asleep somewhere around the 7th inning or so. i woke up at 2:30 AM and the tv was black with a little message on it saying that this broadcast is blacked out in your area. so, at least i know i was watching the game when i fell asleep. i checked my email and saw they won. saw some highlights on the internet and then enjoyed my victory beer. i had hoped that would help me sleep longer, which of course it didn't.

i was a little shocked at the results on The Voice last night. how Sisaundra didn't make it to the semi-finals is fucking crazy to me. she joins Judith Hill and Sarah Simmons as three of the best "voices" not to win The Voice. it also reaffirms my belief that America is still racist and dumb as fuck. they save the girl with 3 letters, KAT. not that she isn't great, but shit. the show is basically between Josh and Christina and her millions of YouTube fans. i'm secretly hoping Jake wins and all these fucking hipsters that don't know shit about music get so fucking outraged that they boycott the show. and then maybe some "real" singers get a chance. good thing i'm smart enough to know that will never happen.

i did enjoy Deadliest Catch last night, and i really enjoyed Wild Bill saying the word motherfucker. that made me laugh out loud. hopefully someone uses that in a rap somewhere, it was fucking hilarious.

none of the playoff games really surprised me last night. Minnesota beating Chicago by 4 goals was a little surprising, but that is a tough building to play in.

i'm really hoping the Rangers get their shit together tonight and even the series. this falls into a MUST win game tonight. i have avoided mowing the grass on days they play. seeing they have lost 2 in a row, i'm changing that up today. i suppose you could say i'm a little fucking superstitious.

and i will be falling asleep during the Yankees game again, just in case that helps them to get a win and win the series. once again, i'm crazy.

and somehow i'll try to squeeze in Legit and Ali G. tonight as well.

if you need a good cry or need to understand why i'm a pro wrestling fan, please check this out:

and if you watched that and didn't cry, either kill yourself or find your true profession and go into politics.

i'm not looking forward to mowing the grass today, though just by looking at it i know it really, REALLY needs to get cut. and given my shitty skin, i have to wear long sleeves and pants and SPF somewhere around 100 or so. and chances are, i'll still have a sunburn. good times.

hope this finds everyone well. hope you have or had a great day. if you read of some fat fuck dying on a riding lawnmower, chances are...

peace...

music:

The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight
Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy
Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers

"Ignorance is not innocent but sin." - Robert Browning

please watch this and share it. each view raises money for the March of Dimes:

funny how a few wins can ease the mind

i figured the Yankees were in for it last night as they were facing a pitcher they have had no success against. being down 4-1 didn't help my mind either. but, a couple of hits and the starter leaves... and the White Sox bullpen starts throwing batting practice. 3 pitchers and 5 runs later and the Yankees are up 6-4. oh yeah, this all happened in the bottom of the 8th. could just be the best win of the season. just 2 games out of a playoff spot. get the sweep tonight and the next four against Boston could be some fun.

Hard Knocks last night was great. i thought the scenes of them pulling the names off of the jerseys show just how cold the NFL truly is. hard to believe the season starts tomorrow. guess i'll spend most of tomorrow getting my fantasy lineups in order.

mowing the grass yesterday went much better than i thought it would. there was a good breeze all day long so it didn't feel hot at all, even though the sun was out the entire time. took me a little longer than normal given all the high grass/weeds i had to cut down. but, no sun poisoning and no extended stays in the bathroom the day after. good times.

the usual Wednesday night viewing is on tap tonight; Big Brother, Duck Dynasty, and The Bridge. i'm really hoping the baseball game is over by the time The Bridge comes on. tonight's episode looks like it will be a classic.

amazingly, my sister's birthday gifts got here early from amazon.com. so, i have spent most of this afternoon getting the rest of her stuff ready. i guess my mother and i are going up there Friday night to see her. a little early birthday bash so to speak. i guess her friend's band is playing. reggae music i do believe. so, it should be an interesting evening.

that's pretty much all for now.

music:

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
Beth Orton - Sugaring Season
AC/DC - Powerage

"I've never seen a monument erected to a pessimist." - Paul Harvey

say hello to frustration

so i went to bed last night thinking Manchester United had signed 1 player from Everton and got 1 player on loan from Real Madrid. much to my surprise, the loan never happened because the paperwork was faxed in late. who the fuck in 2013 faxes anything late? this whole transfer window reminded me of how much i miss Sir Alex and David Gill. none of this shit would have gone like this with them in charge. my fear is we now become what Everton always was, a 6th place team just good enough to not be mediocre. hopefully Moyes and Woodward understand that none of this is acceptable. sadly, i don't really know if the Glazers give a shit or not. they simply own the club to write off the debt. hopefully i'll be in a better frame of mind when they play again in 11 days.

Monday Night Raw was interesting. i'm not sure how much more they can kill Daniel Bryan before he has nothing left to give. the Big Show constantly crying has to stop. i am intrigued with the Cody Rhodes angle. with him mentioning his father and the McMahons last night has me thinking that something much larger is in play. and considering that Dusty runs NXT down in Florida, perhaps yet another invasion angle is coming. if that brings up some new talent, i'm fine with it. if it goes to more "Dusty" finishes, count me out. i lived through those days of the NWA and WCW. what i really hope is the CM Punk angle with Heyman ends after this ppv and then Punk joins Daniel Bryan against HHH. then, the possibilities are endless.

after reading that paragraph you'd never know that i've been watching wrestling for 35 years.

the Yankees had a laugher yesterday. Hughes pitched to 5 guys before the rain came. which shows that even mother nature wants David Huff starting over Hughes. the Yankees were leading 1-0 before the rain delay. when the bats got going, i flipped over to the Chicago station so i could listen to their misery. it was great. Yankees win 9-1. hopefully Kuorda pitches well tonight and the Yankees can keep the train moving.

the plan today is to take advantage of the better weather and get the grass cut. parts of it are maybe an inch high and other parts are over a foot high. such fun. hopefully it won't take me all afternoon to do. but, if you happen to email me this afternoon and don't get a reply until later tonight or tomorrow, you now know why.

after a long shower and hopefully with no sun poisoning, i will be watching the season finale of Hard Knocks tonight. should be interesting to see how painful the final cuts were.

with 4 more poems to the pile to send out here soon, i have to rethink my submissions before i send them out now. but that's a task for another day. i have to get gas and get some other shit done so i'll be mowing before 1 this afternoon.

that's all for today. hopefully i'm in a better mood by tomorrow.

music:

Imagine Dragons - Night Visions

"Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever." - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

at least there was some cloud cover

got the grass mowed today in a little under 3 and 1/2 hours. thankfully the temps were in the 70's and there were some clouds. of course, i did get a little sun. i'm sure i will be paying for that later tonight and tomorrow. i wonder why i bother when SPF 100 doesn't do much better than the other shit.

so while i was mowing there was some Yankees news. A-Rod suspended and appealing, Jeter back to the disabled list, all coming off yet another fucking series loss. do you get the sense i'm tired of all of this... i doubt i will watch much of the circus this evening.

the kid i grew up next to will be the home plate umpire in the intermediate world series on ESPN2 @ 7pm. i'll check that out just so i can feel older than shit.

the shows last night were pretty good. Big Brother was what it was, creatively edited bullshit from CBS. The Newsroom was great. the acting and the writing was superb. Ray Donovan was excellent. as someone who has had a few "bad trips" in his life, boy that episode brought back some memories. as for Total Divas, last night's episode showed me that the WWE certainly isn't what it was 10 years ago. if the lies last night would have taken place in the past, they would have been fired on the spot. not sure what system i like better.

tonight, a little Monday Night Raw will be in order. after that, hopefully i will get some sleep. i was up until 3 this morning trying to get shit done on the internet. a big thank you to Frontier Communications for once again being a big piece of shit. i just love it when the signal is slower than dial-up.

if i feel up to it, sometime this week i will bust out the camera again and take some pictures. just don't hold your breath.

tomorrow, between laundry and podcast listening, i will go through some poems and figure out where the next 10 or so are going.

hope this finds everyone still willing to give a shit about something.

music:

Black Sabbath - 13 (Best Buy Deluxe Edition)

"I believe that every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises." - Neil Armstrong

what to do when karma comes for you

i had a pretty damn good morning. made a good breakfast for myself (eggs, sausage, toast), was able to get through all my email without the internet fucking up, actually wrote a poem that spawned from a conversation with myself in the kitchen, and had an in and out session in the bathroom that didn't leave me in pain.

so as i'm driving into town to get the mail i start having stomach pains. the kind of pain i hadn't felt since my sciatic nerve was fucking with me years ago. on my way back in from town (of course i didn't turn around, i'm a man) i nearly hit 2 deer that were crossing from my wood lot into the soybeans across the road.  as i'm going roughly 30 mph up the lane, the pain is getting worse. i get inside and make it to the toilet. as i'm pulling down my shorts and sitting in the same motion (that does wonders for my bad back), something akin to an explosion takes place. thankfully, most of the shit made the bowl.

so after cleaning up that nightmare, i read the newspaper. then, i go type up the poem i wrote this morning. (i really like this one) just as i'm getting ready to hit the grammar check, the fucking power goes out. after a few expletives, it comes back on after 10 seconds. just long enough that everything in the house needs to be reset. fuck me. so i retype the damn poem and get it saved.

i'm very curious who i pissed off in a previous life. i figured nearly dying at 32 was my karma for this life.

Big Brother last night was not the surprise CBS made it out to be. i wish they wouldn't get so fucking creative with their editing. by the way, the other racist white female is the new HOH. i guess we get to play the race angle once again this week.

Wilfred last night was excellent as well. i'm a huge fan of subconscious thought so the episode made me laugh my ass off. especially when i think of how fucking weird some of my thoughts and dreams get at times.

a quick note to TNA, if your big surprise is a washed up MMA fighter at the end of your show, you're not going to be attracting any new fans. and if you are a fan of it, more power to you. but i won't be wasting those 2 hours for that shit again.

the Yankees are out in San Diego this weekend. i'm hoping for some wins as Granderson makes another return from the disabled list. at the very least, win the damn series. i figure i'll be bouncing between that, WWE Smackdown, and whatever music i can find.

i see the CR7 rumors and Manchester United have started up again. i don't believe them but i certainly wouldn't mind if he came back.

thanks to all the kind people that dropped me some lines this week on Google+ and LinkedIn. i really appreciate it. the old ego needs a shot every now and then.

i had a change of plans giving how i felt today and the rain we're supposedly going to get this weekend. i decided i'm going to mow grass on Monday. there's no way i would be able to sit in the sun today the way i'm feeling. i would be better off just putting the shotgun in my mouth and getting it over with. plus, if we do get all this rain, i'd rather have the grass high. it tends to help the soil collect and drain properly when it's high.

that's all for today. i hope everyone has a great weekend. hopefully i'll write some more and get another batch ready for submissions later this month.

music:

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
Pantera - Far Beyond Driven
Little Green Cars - Absolute Zero

"If you're going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill

where nostalgia meets apathy

this weekend has been misery for a ginger with sensitive skin. i'm not a real big fan of heat and humidity. i decided to do mother nature a solid yesterday and mow the grass after 5 pm. i was pretty pleased i was able to get it done before the sun went down. now, hopefully mother nature returns the favor and gives us a little rain in one of the next 5 days we have a chance.

after my shower last night i settled down to eat some pizza and watch some hockey. quite frankly, neither one of them excited me much. i was happy to see Boston lose though.

a quick hello to the muse, i do hope your allergies subside and life gets a little easier for you this evening. best of luck finding some new music.

the Yankees had a chance today to win the series against Tampa. and seeing that it was Old Timers' Day, i was feeling pretty good. of course, the offense the Yankees had found in the previous 2 wins didn't show up today. hell, i think the old timers had more offense actually. but, that's Yankee baseball in 2013, where nostalgia meets apathy. a day off tomorrow before a series with Texas.

i did watch a good bit of soccer this weekend. the Confederations Cup is down to a pretty good final four. Brazil vs. Uruguay and Italy vs. Spain. that will be some must see television coming up in a few days.

not exactly sure what i'll be watching tonight other than Veep. i suppose i might watch the guy trying to walk across the Grand Canyon, or i just might go write instead. not sure.

i do hope everyone has had a great weekend.

music this weekend:

The Steel Wheels - Live @ Ignition Garage
Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - Seesaw
Deftones - Deftones

"It always seems impossible until its done." - Nelson Mandela

the day after

i did my best to get the grass cut yesterday as fast as possible. so, like a dumb ass, i only took 1 water break and got it all done in just about 3 1/2 hours. not the smartest decision i've made and i'm paying for it today. but, it's out of the way.

i was a little surprised to learn that the New York Rangers fired their coach while i was out mowing the grass. surprised as in i thought it would happen much sooner, like the night they got eliminated. none of the names mentioned so far really excite me. i just want them to find the right guy who gives them a chance to win another championship sometime before i die. that's all i'm asking for.

i am completely fucking dumbfounded how the Yankees have made the Mets look like a good baseball team. more shitty pitching and not enough offense. and to give up 9 runs to a team that couldn't score 9 in a week if they tried is totally fucking embarrassing. final game of the series is tonight. i have no clue if i'm going to bother to watch or not.

i did catch a good bit of the team USA soccer friendly against Belgium. until the USA finds better defenders or actually learns how to play better defense, they are NEVER going to be able to compete at the highest level.

and i did watch most of game 7 between Detroit and Chicago. when the ref made a horrible call in the 3rd period to take away a possible winning goal from Chicago, i laughed. at that point i was hoping Detroit would win just to see if the ref would make it out of the city alive. Chicago won in overtime on a goal by a guy (Brent Seabrook) who has been on my fantasy team for years. i'm very happy for him. so the final four in the NHL are the last 4 teams to win the Stanley Cup (first time since 1945). i don't think there could be a bad final with any of the four teams. hopefully, the games are great and have plenty of overtimes.

i did watch that concert for Oklahoma last night. i thought it was pretty good. hopefully they raised plenty of money, seeing that the towns are under a tornado threat again today. crazy.

looks like we'll have a chance at a few inches of rain over the next couple of days. as long as it all doesn't come at once and kill the crops, i'm fine with it. should be a good chance to see how the changes to the drainage here on the farm are actually working. hopefully, they are working. i really don't want to see two years in a row of major crop loss.

if we do get all this rain, it should give me plenty of time to get some writing in. the summer months tend to be when i slack off from it. i'm hoping to change that this year.

that's all for today. i'm off to go find a cold bed and some cold washcloths to help deal with a bit of a sunburn. i guess 110 SPF is only so good. fuck me.

music today:

Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs - God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise
Waking - The Maze
Seven Mary Three - American Standard
Candlebox - Candlebox

"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me." - Fred Allen

a hump day quickie

not much time to do some blogging today, so i figured i would do a quick hitter.

Deadliest Catch last night was great. looks like Jake has to put on his big boy pants. honestly, i would have made the same decision.

the Yankees once again forgot their offense. but, they had a chance to win and then hell froze over. for the first time in his hall of fame career, the hammer of GOD blew a save without getting an out. fucking stunning. the series shifts to Yankee Stadium tonight. not sure if i really give a shit or not.

game 7 between the Sharks and Kings was great. i had the Sharks goalie in my fantasy league, i guess i'll have to change that for the next round.

i did watch a good bit of the Heat and Pacers last night. i always wonder why officials think fans came to see the best player in the world foul out of a game. never makes any sense to me. and it is truly hard to watch a basketball game that has no flow. it sucks.

i was stunned at who got voted off of The Voice last night. Judith and Sarah (both from team Adam) were front runners to win it all. it's rather obvious that team Blake has the upper hand now. Judith was my pick from the beginning, so i really have no clue who is going to win now.

given the unpredictable weather (chance of rain for the next 4 days after today), i have no choice but to mow the grass today. that will be interesting as the temps are supposed to get near 90 today. so, my goal today is to get it done without having a heat stroke. and seeing that my sensitive skin will be covered with long sleeves and sweatpants, i see a few more water breaks happening today.

music today:

Beck - Guero

"You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake." - Bob Hope

say hello to the pain

mowing the grass yesterday was brutal. the grass was way too high in places. the weather was much warmer than they said it would be. and 5 hours of baking in the sun didn't sit too well with me. luckily, expired sunscreen still works just as good so i'm not burnt. just the aches and pains of too much sun when you're fair-skinned and rarely outdoors.

after mowing and a long shower, i sat down to watch the Yankees play. i knew they were in for a long one going against King Felix. but, thankfully, Felix only went 6 and the Yankees came to life. always nice to trail 3-0 and end up winning 4-3. the hammer of god with yet another save. if anyone doubts that Mariano Rivera is one of the greatest pitchers ever, please stop watching baseball.

i did watch most of The Voice last night. thankfully, NBC showed the performances from the previous night in the first hour which really helped me make up my mind on who should be eliminated. needless to say my 2 choices weren't the 2 now gone. i did have 1 right. how Usher's male model is still in the competition is beyond me. i figure this season will come down to if America is in the mood for country (team Blake) or a little of everything (team Adam). Sasha (team Shakira) is probably the only "outsider" that has a chance. hopefully her coach picks the right songs or Sasha picks them for herself.

i was trying to watch Deadliest Catch last night but fell asleep halfway through. when i woke up 10 minutes later i gave up and just went to bed. i think i was out before midnight. and i know i was really tired when i woke up this morning and had no clue that the phone rang at 1:30 in the morning. lord knows i needed the sleep though. i haven't had 6 hours in forever it seems.

i think i'm scrapping my bookstore plans for Sofisticated White Trash. if the book would have been self-published i would have had a much better chance of getting it in some places. looks like the distribution companies have pretty much got the bookstores on lock down for the small guys. so, i'll simply direct as much traffic as i can to Interior Noise Press and hope that some good reviews and word of mouth propel the book down the road.

i figure i will bounce between some sports tonight and probably either some music or some animal shows or some lesser known documentary found while flipping through the channels avoiding commercials. hell, maybe i'll be falling asleep again early. i'm surely getting old now.

music today:

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away
Youth Lagoon - Wondrous Bughouse

"If you want to make someone feel emotion, you have to make them let go. Listening to something is an act of surrender." - Brian Eno

feeling good on a Tuesday

i got the grass cut before it rained. hopefully it does rain tonight, as that was the point of me busting my ass to get it done. thankfully, the guy that farms out here has decided to use about 80% of a front field i used to mow for crops. that took almost 2 hours off my mowing time. i won't bitch nearly as much if i can get all of it cut in under 4 hours like today.

i'm still happy as hell with the Manchester United win yesterday, 3-0. appropriate i suppose that title number 20 comes on a hat trick from number 20, Robin van Persie. nothing like all the goals coming in the first 35 minutes. gave me plenty of time to relax and soak it in. and here's a little picture for all the jealous fuckers out there.

i watched CC give up 4 runs in the first inning last night and never bothered to turn the Yankees back on. they lost 5-1. i don't think they'll do much better this evening either. i'll take a look during commercials i suppose.

if the New York Rangers win their MUST WIN game at Florida tonight and if Winnipeg loses in regulation, the playoffs are clinched. needless to say, i'll be a little focused on both games this evening. hopefully the Rangers step on the neck early and put a shitty team to bed before the end of the first period.

and in-between all that, i'll try to fit in The Voice, Deadliest Catch and the NBA playoffs. wish me luck.

i did enjoy The Voice last night. the talent seems to be a little better than last season. i can't wait until the live episodes.

as for Monday Night Raw, i enjoyed it but i knew i didn't love it with the number of times i flipped the channel to see other shit. it had some good moments, especially The Shield vs. Undertaker & Team Hell No, but not enough to keep me glued. hopefully that changes next Monday.

the poet of the day on my Google+ page is Donal Mahoney. one of the most consistent poets going today, i always enjoy his work. do yourself a favor and seek it out.

music today:

John Prine - Souvenirs
Queen - Greatest Hits I & II

"Ego is the immediate dictate of human consciousness." - Max Planck

an odd Sunday

woke up at 6 AM. i wasn't exactly thrilled considering i went to bed only 4 hours earlier, but i knew i had plenty to do.

got my fantasy shit done, fed the cats (much earlier than they like it), ate breakfast, and got the trash all picked up before Manchester United played.

given all the emotion going into this game, i figured Manchester United would be in for it. and they played pretty much how i thought they would. but a nice red card on Liverpool near the end of the first half got my hopes up. i took down the trash at halftime only to come back into the house to see Liverpool score. fuck me. thankfully, that was the wake up call. 5 minutes later Rafael scores a fucking beauty to tie it up. then, holy smokes, Valencia draws a penalty kick. RvP steps up and finally makes one. very happy they got the 3 points. and honestly, any time i can see Liverpool in misery, i'm even happier.

after that, a quick shower and some lounging around before the NFL games started. now, keep in mind, i've been dealing with a bleeding asshole for the last 2 days. so imagine trying to keep up with my fantasy stats, which DirecTV does a marvelous job of doing, while making trips to the bathroom. fuck, forgot to turn up the volume loud enough, etc etc. as for the games (admit it, you still have that visual in your mind), i have no fucking clue how i'm winning 2 of the 3 games. i did my worst job so far picking games. i need Green Bay to win on Monday night just to finish above .500. but, i've done this long enough to appreciate being surprised when checking the stats around midnight.

didn't watch probably more than 10 minutes of the Yankees today. given that they lost and had 3 errors, i doubt i missed anything. thankfully, Baltimore lost as well. 1 game up with 10 to go. if they fuck this up, they only have themselves to blame. series against the Twins coming up. step on the throat early and make it easy on yourselves for once.

i have a nice long day of mowing grass in store for me. 6 hours of sunshine and dust. i really hope this will be the last mow of the season. and i really hope the bleeding has subsided long before i'm 3 hours into sitting on my ass.

and with that lovely thought dancing in your heads...

music today:

Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar

"I don't want to be interesting. I want to be good." - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

the joy of having a bad back...

knowing when it will rain 12 to 36 hours before it actually does. such a sweet fucking pain. and nothing really helps. pain pills, hot water, ice. nothing. if i wasn't born with an absurdly high pain tolerance i would absolutely be dead by now. not a single doubt in my mind.

i wonder if the ones in the fantasy football circles still believe i'm crazy for wanting Green Bay's defense. the same defense i won a fantasy championship with last year even though they were something below horrible. after last night's performance (4 INT, 7 Sacks) maybe some people will actually realize i know what i'm taking about.

in the holy shit moment of last night, the Yankees actually won 2 games in a row for the first time in a month. hopefully they crank it back up on this home stand and take advantage of Baltimore being on the west coast. lets just say i'm not going to be holding my breath.

got a great laugh watching Big Brother last night. why these stupid fucks still trust Dan is beyond me. and the looks on their faces when he blindsided Shane and evicted him was fucking classic. i nearly cried i was laughing so hard.

a big weekend of sports coming up. and the weather is supposed to feel more like fall, which will be nice. looks like i will have to mow the grass again, but i want another good dose of rain before i do that. hopefully, that will be the last time it will need it.

hope everyone has a great weekend. best of luck to the gamblers. may the poets find the right words. may the hookers be disease free. and may all the right teams win.

music today:

Guy Clark - Songs and Stories
Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
Beastie Boys - Anthology: The Sounds of Science

"He has the most who is most content with the least." - Diogenes

what to do when the day starts with death

i must have been 9 or 10 years old at the time. i was playing with my best friend in the woods across from his house. we came across a trash bag that had a stench that was unbelievable. we went and got his father to open the bag. he did. inside was a dead dog. stuffed in the bag to die we all thought. that stench has stayed with me ever since.

fast forward to today. i go out to feed the cats. i open the side door to the barn most of them stay in. as soon as i opened the door i smelled that smell. i looked around and sure enough, there was my cat T.S. Eliot deader than dead. i last saw him 2 weeks ago and he was looking ragged but i thought nothing of it. he certainly wasn't the same after he lost his war with Neal Cassady over who was going to be the dominant male in the group. i shall raise a glass to you tonight my lost friend. hope you are in a better place, where ever the fuck that may be.

now for the cherry on top

i'm talking about 5 hours of mowing grass in 90 degrees with never being quite sure if i had mowed that part before or not. it was better the more weeds i saw. easier on my eyes. first time i have mowed since June. amazing how much dirt i was wearing at the end of the five hours. too fucking dry out here. chance of rain later in the week. not sure how many times i have been bullshitted by mother nature on that one this summer.

so tonight i plan on catching the rest of the Yankees game, a little Deadliest Catch (behind the scenes, i love that shit) and then Hard Knocks on HBO starts this evening. just about anything HBO Sports does is worth your time. and i'm hoping to avoid the sun shits and bad sleep this evening.

i'm hoping any betting people took my advice on the men's Olympic soccer. i said Brazil and Mexico would play in the final. and they are. don't ask me who wins, but if you like a future bet, that will be the final of the next World Cup as well. nothing like making a prediction a few years ahead of time.

music today:

only what was playing in my head while i was out mowing the grass/weeds. thank heavens i have listened to just about everything in the last 36 years. plenty to choose from.

"So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing." - T.S. Eliot

enjoying sports drama 101

if anyone happened to watch the USA vs. Canada in women's soccer earlier today you now understand why Manchester United's stadium is called The Theater of Dreams. what an amazing match. and seeing a late goal at the Stretford end of the stadium brings back some warm memories for sure. not long until Alex Morgan is the best female player in the world.

actually got some poetry work done today. opened up the files and picked out 8 poems that i will send out later this week. i would do it tomorrow but that day appears to be fully devoted to mowing the grass/weeds for the first time in over a month. fun fun fun.

also sent back my rough copy of Sofisticated White Trash so it won't be long now until that monster is on the streets. absolutely the best collection of my poems you will find anywhere. and each of my personal "holy shit i wrote that" poems are included. i will provide further details as they become available.

a little baseball, pro wrestling, maybe some Olympics and who knows what else is on tap for tonight. i will hopefully be resting my voice as i watch the USA men's basketball team play. ask anyone that knows me, when Alex Morgan scored that goal, the roar could probably be heard down the street. that's saying something when you live in the sticks.

music today:

Ana Tijoux - 1977
Outkast - southernplayalisticcadillacmuzik

"If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing your grandmother with her teeth out." - George Brett

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