cooling off

i decided i would take a few hours before i wrote this blog today. if i would have got on here right after the Yankees game, i'd be in jail.

i mentioned to my mother yesterday about not liking how many pitches it took for the Yankees closer to get 3 outs. and then i uttered, watch, that will come back to bite him soon. sure enough, soon was today. first pitch of the 9th, the Twins homer to tie the game at 2. this started my tirade of language that would have made sailors blush. the Yankees go on to lose 7-2 by the way. i know that DRob is not the hammer of god, but the dumb fuck has got to be better at getting outs quickly. shit, i know most everyone playing defense behind you is close to getting social security, but fuck, use them once in awhile. the trying to strike everyone out method isn't working. i really wish they had the guts to try Betances at closer just once. he, apparently, can strike out everyone. took 19 pitches to get 6 outs, striking out 5. it took DRob 26 pitches to get 2 outs and give up 4 runs. they play again tomorrow, probably getting humbled by King Felix yet again.

at least Team USA won today, 2-1, in their friendly against Turkey. i liked that they really tried to attack as much as possible. i'd love this if their defense played like something better than dog shit. you can't play 90 minutes of emergency defending in the World Cup and expect to win. and please, for the love of god, be clinical when you do get a chance. they should have scored at least 5 times today. that being said, Turkey should have had 3 at the very least. but, a victory beer is a victory beer.

the NBA Finals is set. a rematch from last season. if the finals are like last year, i will be entertained.

i did watch ROH last night. another really good episode. i'm really going to have to consider getting that ppv later in the month.

my good friend, Swedish artist Janne Karlsson drew me my bio today. i'm going to use this fucker whenever i can.

i'm going to somehow try to watch most of Game 7 between Chicago and Los Angeles and try to watch all my Sunday night shows and get to bed before 3 in the morning. i don't like my chances.

the usual shows for tonight; Total Divas season finale, Penny Dreadful, Californication, Nurse Jackie, Veep, Silicon Valley season finale (way too soon for that sadly), and Last Week Tonight. i should be able to get most of the first period of the hockey game in before the shows come on.

i'm starting to wonder if the raccoon has eaten some of the cats that are missing. i only saw 6 cats yesterday and 9 today. i do believe one of the 15 is dead. but five more would be quite the shock. i did some snooping around today as i was putting out some raccoon repellent. i didn't see any signs of death, but i know we have had this in the past.

the corn is really coming up nicely out here. we're supposed to get some rain this coming week. that and some sunshine should have the soybeans coming up before too long.

that's all for today. not a bad start to the month. of course, it could have been better.

hope everyone is well. hope you have had a great weekend. and hopefully the upcoming week of work won't fucking suck for you.

peace and chicken grease...

music:

The Crystal Method - Busy Child
LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
Portishead - Glory Box
Tricky - Aftermath
The Glitch Mob - Can't Kill Us

"If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything." - Marilyn Monroe

another stellar day... so far

yet another day where the sun is out, the temps are reasonable, low humidity, and no rain. one could get used to this. of course, it's Ohio, so it will be different tomorrow. too much of a good thing is discouraged in this state.

the guy who farms out here got the rest of the soybeans planted today. so, i do hope we get some rain soon so all the crops can get a good soaking. and then it can go back to being sunny.

i had a nice little run in with a raccoon this afternoon. caught the fucker trying to eat the cat food. of course, i had nothing to kill it with so i scared the shit out of it with a broom and a 2x4. at least i know why we're going through so much damn cat food here recently.

the Yankees won today 7-1 to split the series with the White Sox. Tanaka went back to his winning ways and Jeter had 4 hits. they play tomorrow in St. Louis.

i did watch most of the F1 race this morning. i'm not a huge F1 fan, but i do follow it occasionally. i also watched most of the Indy 500. i really wanted my favorite driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, to win, but he came in 5th. his damn mistake on pit road did him in. it was a great finish to the race with the lead going back and forth. after i get done with this i'll be watching a little NASCAR until the hockey game tonight.

the New York Rangers play a MUST WIN Game 4 tonight. my blood boils anytime i think about the game tonight. i really, REALLY hope they fucking kill Montreal tonight. and i'm not sure if i'm speaking figuratively or not on that. i do want to see them get a 3-1 advantage in the series. not sure how the Rangers cope with their top center out to injury. i'm hoping the crowd gives them a huge lift and some role players step up HUGE. i'll be completely wired in on that tonight.

after that, i'm going to try to figure out how to fit in Nurse Jackie, Californication, and Penny Dreadful in along with the HBO movie tonight, The Normal Heart. i've got the feeling that i'll end up watching the HBO movie some other day.

i wrote 8 poems last night and submitted them for the Midnight on the Stroll Poetry Contest. you can find more info on that at http://midnightlanegallery.wordpress.com/. the early feel i get from the editor is that i'm going to have a few poems accepted for it. more on that in a week or so.

i always love when i can write something on the spot and someone else really likes it.

well, that's all for me today. not sure when i'll be on here tomorrow. might be doing the cemetery tour tomorrow for Memorial Day. it will be probably after the Yankees game. or, if the weather somehow turns to shit, it might be early.

hope everyone is having a great weekend. if you do have plans for Memorial Day tomorrow, be safe. have fun. only fuck the ones that cough.

peace and chicken grease my enemies...

music:

The Allman Brothers Band - Whipping Post
Muddy Waters - Champagne & Reefer (Live)
Love and Rockets - So Alive
The Delta Riggs - Anybody Home
Trampled by Turtles - Where Is My Mind? (Live)

"Money can't buy love, but it improves your bargaining position." - Christopher Marlowe

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

what happens when you can't find the pleasure in the pain

i don't know if it was because i slept wrong or not enough or did something i completely don't remember, but my back and my left ankle have been in tremendous pain today. this is always fun when you don't have anything in the house for the pain other than alcohol. and being trashed by 2 in the afternoon is something i would like to hold off on until i have lost all hope. and believe it or not, i'm not there yet.

the Yankees must have decided winning 1 game was enough last night as they completely mailed in the second game of the doubleheader. that did free up plenty of time for me to watch hockey. more on that later. the Yankees start a series with Tampa tonight which could go a long way in determining if they will still be in shouting distance of first place in the division or one spot from the basement of the division. as you can tell, this season is destroying my nerves.

the hockey game last night reminded me of hockey when i was growing up. 6-5 win in overtime for Chicago. this series has seven games written all over it.

and speaking of game 7, the last game of the NBA season is tonight. i might pay a little more attention to it than i normally do. but not much. and that's because...

Wilfred comes back on FX tonight. one of the few shows that makes me laugh out loud literally.

quick critter update: 1 more raccoon caught. i believe that is all of them. still no sign of the skunk or the groundhog. i figure they either have ran away or the nursing coyote in the back of the property wanted a snack or two.

the Manchester United rumors are heating up. anything i read i take with a grain of salt until i read it on the official website. i'm not exactly thrilled how the schedule for next season starts out. Moyes better have the team firing from the start. many tough fixtures in the beginning. get those out of the way in good shape and another title could be coming.

a quick shout out to the muse. i do hope stress isn't beating you down today.

i did figure out what poems will be going where tomorrow. i figured since i have had a pretty damn good week in the poetry world, i would send them out on a Friday. it's something i normally don't do, but since this has been a superstition busting week, i figured i might as well continue that trend.

i hope this finds everyone well. until tomorrow...

music today:

Gin Wigmore - Gravel & Wine
Guided By Voices - English Little League
The xx - Coexist
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

"I like dark places." - James Gandolfini (Sept. 18, 1961 - June 19, 2013)

the fun in dysfunctional

yesterday was pretty much a day i would like to forget. although, the demons inside of me don't allow for such things. i can remember shit from when i was 2 years old. what makes me think i'll be able to forget a stupid argument with my mother and an 18 inning baseball game that was something resembling a slow death.

first with the baseball...

the Yankees lost 3-2 in 18 innings yesterday in one of the most frustrating games i have had the pleasure/horror of watching since i became a Yankee fan in 1982. i would rather eat paint chips than describe how the fuck a team could leave a small village on base in just extra innings alone. they start a series tonight in that house of horrors in Anaheim. not sure if i will watch the game or not. i have so many bad memories of games from that place that i might end up watching 'whatever' instead.

as for the argument...

when it happened i was a little dumbfounded how a shit day at work could become taking some shots below the belt. but, while bagging my 6th bag of shredded paper (that number is now at 10 by the way) it dawned on me. yesterday was the birthday of my stepfather. throw the gasoline of grieving for a true love on top of a bad day at work, and i understand why i was caught in the gunfire. that's the beauty of dysfunction i suppose, there's always some psychological seed that shit comes from.

so, in case my mother reads this, contrary to what you may believe when you are angry and simply pissed off because you are turning 60 this weekend while the love of your life rests in an urn, i do love you. always have and always will. and i know i'm not exactly the best at showing it. but, i am trying to get better.

a hello to the muse. see, i told you i would find a way to get you into this blog. i hope you feel better soon and have a great weekend.

my sister will be coming down this weekend. i'm interested to see her new car. and hopefully talk her into buying some poetry.

other than that, hopefully this weather continues for the weekend. mid 70's with decent humidity, can't get much better than this. so, of course it's supposed to rain.

no critter update as the last raccoon and the groundhog have grown wise to the traps. little fuckers.

i hope everyone has a great weekend.

music today:

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away
Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See

"Great things are done when men and mountains meet." - William Blake

at least the storm waited until the game was over

i watched nearly every second of game 1 last night between Chicago and Boston. that was one of the best Stanley Cup Final games that i can remember. especially watching Chicago come back from a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3 in the 3rd overtime. the goal went in right around the stroke of 1 am here. the rain knocked out the satellite feed roughly 10 minutes later. good timing.

the Yankees last night had their usual pathetic offense show up again and lost 5-2. they play a day game today, so i think i know what i will be napping to. i truly hope they get all this bad baseball out of their systems in the first half of the season. they are in a team wide slump and it's beyond frustrating by now for me. i can't imagine how frustrated they are. i'm not sure if millionaires get frustrated.

i'm enjoying the silly season and all the rumors involving Manchester United. given the fact that there is a new coach for the first time since 1986, nearly every good player in the world is being linked to the team. it's funny. i have no doubt David Moyes is going to put a great team together and be right at the top again next season.

we did get a good dose of rain last night and this morning. not much flooding though, so it does appear the drainage issues have been solved for now.

quick critter update: i watched a raccoon last night reach into the trap, pull out a marshmallow, eat it, get another, eat it, and then leave without ever going into the trap. damn fucker. hopefully he's forgetful this evening.

a quick shout out to the muse, hope you feel better soon my beautiful friend.

i imagine i will watch a good deal of the NBA Finals game 4 tonight, as long as it is somewhat competitive. i can surely find something else on during a blowout.

that's all for today. peace and chicken grease.

music today:

Buddy Guy - Living Proof
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Shovels and Rope - O' Be Joyful

"My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." - Charles Kettering

a goodbye and a hello once again to more rain

we start off this blog with a plug for my friend, Sam Roberts. check out his latest podcast and everything he has going on at notsam.com.

a quick critter update: 1 trap by the summer kitchen: 1 nursing female raccoon; 1 trap by the windmill bird feeder: 1 baby raccoon. we have 2 more traps set up now, hopefully we get the groundhog and/or the other raccoon i've seen out here. i believe the skunk caught wind of all this going on and has left. much to that little fucker's surprise, his former home will be sealed up before it gets back.

not sure if we will catch anything tonight given the storms that are supposed to come overnight. it certainly has been warm enough today to provide the fuel for some shit tonight. i don't really like night storms, but, i hardly sleep anymore anyway.

The Voice played out how i kind of figured last night. Sasha overplayed her hand and the Swon Brothers swooped right in. so the final is basically Usher vs. Blake. none of the final 3 have had that holy shit moment yet. they might want to get that on Monday if they want to win.

Deadliest Catch was great as usual. as much as i think i could do that job and would really enjoy (and NEED) the money, there's no fucking way. i worked outside for nearly 7 years. i've had my fill of that life.

the Yankees had the bases loaded in the first inning last night. they didn't score. i didn't bother to turn back until the soccer game was over. and though the Yankees made it somewhat interesting, judging from everything i read this morning, the only thing close about the game was the score, 6-4. thankfully i have hockey to watch instead of another shitty pitching performance tonight.

team USA played a dominating game against Panama, winning 2-0. a much needed 3 points to take them to the top of the group. things are definitely looking up for qualifying for the World Cup. highlights below:

that was a victory beer i enjoyed.

i might have watched a minute or two of the NBA last night. every time i saw the score, it was never close. and one team beating the shit out of another is really no fun for me unless i have money on the game. and those days have passed me by years ago now.

i am looking forward to a little original 6 Stanley Cup Final action tonight between Boston and Chicago. i will be rooting for Chicago as i couldn't root for Boston in anything.

the rest of the evening will be spent watching the weather. i really wouldn't mind them being wrong again. i don't think the crops really need a few inches of rain in the next couple of days. a little rain with no wind damage would be fine thank you.

music today:

The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power
Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

"Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it." - Thomas Fuller

and i leave you with my new favorite song stuck in my head forever:

trying to turn a gloomy day into a productive one

had a little thunder this morning and some fog. add to that a persistent drizzle that sometimes became a pouring rain. just a gloomy day to say the least. toss on top of that that my mother is feeling sicker than shit... you can just imagine the mood in this house at the moment.

a quick raccoon update: no new hat. the little fucker made it down from the tree while i was watching the hockey game last night. it was up in the tree for nearly 5 hours. during the intermission between the 3rd period and the first overtime, i caught the little fucker and its other raccoon buddy enjoying a bird feeder meant to keep out squirrels. i chased them both off. hopefully the rain does that job today.

i did send out some poems today. i had a quick change of thought this morning and decided to send out to a few different places than i originally thought. i guess in the coming days we'll see if my gut has shit for brains or not.

i sent out 3 poems each to Dead Snakes and Pyrokinection. 5 poems went to BoySlut. when i hear back from these places i'll pass along the verdicts here.

i found myself flipping between the hockey game and the Discovery Channel most of the night. i laugh at how interested i am in science now at 37, given that i hated it growing up. i imagine that's probably due to all the shitty teachers i had on the subject. i can think of 2 that i actually enjoyed. that's pretty sad given all the years of science class i had. oh the joys of public education. amazingly, i still graduated with honors. i suppose it helped that i refused to simply learn what they wanted me to know.

the hockey game was great. overtime hockey in the playoffs is the best. i could have watched 4 or 5 of them last night. had to settle for 2. i'm shocked at how Boston has absolutely beaten the dog shit out of Pittsburgh.

i figure tonight i will bounce between some hockey and the start of the NBA Finals. and then the Yankees come on at 10. so, i figure i'll be hitting the bed around 3 or so in the morning, unless there are some blowouts. then i might actually get to bed at a "regular" time.

one thing i did notice messing around with that raccoon yesterday was i have some dead limbs to cut down on the tree it went up. i'm amazed it's still standing after getting hit with lightning a few years ago. i guess when it gets dry again i'll break out the saw.

that's pretty much all. here's hoping i don't get whatever my mother has. getting sick in the summer months totally fucking sucks.

peace and chicken grease.

music today:

Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - See Saw
Charles Bradley - Victim of Love
Gin Wigmore - Gravel & Wine

"Love dies only when growth stops." - Pearl S. Buck

and then the madman comes out to play

i was feeling pretty damn good. just watched the Yankees win again to sweep away Cleveland. i was just getting ready to open a victory beer when i noticed one of the bird feeders was down. after a big swig i looked a little closer and saw the raccoon that must have knocked it down. so much for the spray fucking working i thought. so, i bolted out of the house and chased the fucker up about 40 feet. i went back inside to enjoy some more of the victory beer. then i noticed the raccoon was getting ready to go back to the bird feeder. it was at this time i really wished my father would have taught me how to use a gun. instead, like a fucking madman, i went out with a hoe and a large rock. this is one of the reasons why i have told my mother i prefer not having neighbors. i just missed the fucker once, but i did scare it up another 10 feet or so.

sadly, i don't think that raccoon understands i'm a very patient person and have nothing but time and gravity on my side. and someone is going to pay for the suet feeder that is now missing. i'll let everyone know if i have a new hat by tomorrow.

very nice wins by the Yankees yesterday and today. just enough offense and good enough pitching. a big complete game today by CC was very much needed. the bullpen could use the rest. a big 4 game series in Seattle starts tomorrow. looks like i will be on west coast time at night for a little while.

Deadliest Catch got me once again last night. having survived blood clots in my left leg and all the hellish pain that went with it, anytime i hear about someone else that has it and is near death... to say i'm lucky is a bit of an understatement. easily, one of the best shows on television.

and i watch Backyard Oil after it just to remind my mother that is where her kin are from. good laughs.

i was pleased when the first 3 people saved on The Voice were the 3 i said had the best chance to win it all. makes me feel like i actually know what i'm talking about. i was a little sad to see Holly from Team Blake go, but it was bound to happen sometime.

watched a little of the hockey game last night. i was pleased that the Kings won as it means more hockey before the finals.

i've got some dishes to do and a raccoon to out wait, so i believe that is all for today.

music today:

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
Niki & The Dove - Instinct

"An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have." - Andy Warhol