the happiness lasted for maybe 6 hours at best

i was not shocked at Manchester United's loss yesterday. thankfully, i didn't watch so my frustration with the lack of goals was muted somewhat. i was not thrilled to see that Cleverley came off with an injury. if he can't go this weekend, one of the old men (Giggs, Scholes) may have to play the whole 90 on Sunday. fuck, hopefully RvP is ready to destroy City and leave those blue fuckers crying for the rest of the season.

i was pleasantly shocked to see Dayton beat Alabama last night. easily, the most complete performance they have had all season. they finally looked like the team i thought i would see for the most of this season. hopefully they remember to play that way again when i see them on Saturday.

and any happiness i may have had from last night ended when i saw the Yankees offered a contract to Kevin Youkilis. fuck me, has it really turned to this? i mean, i had to accept Boggs and Damon even though it felt like part of my soul was dying, but, Youk? fuck me. turn to one of the kids and allow them to fail before you waste money on the Red Sox trash. knowing my luck i'll wake up tomorrow and he's accepted the deal.

bad enough my NFL.com fantasy team is going against someone who has half his roster playing tonight. i know i have already clinched the regular season title, but 1 loss looks much better than 2, i'm just sayin'.

got all the music i needed to burn for gifts for my family done today. so, now it's just waiting for one more gift for my sister to arrive and then time to break out the newspaper and wrap gifts. where the fuck did this year go?

NFL and The Big Bang Theory tonight. maybe a little of Dave's Old Porn as well later on. that and trying to keep up with everything going on with my google+ account. my thirst for knowledge will eventually drive me insane.

(somewhere i hear my family laughing, muttering eventually? more like already.)

music today:

Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land

"All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy." - Spike Milligan

so close to a perfect day

got 3 poems accepted for publication

the Yankees beat the shit out of the Red Sox to win the division and the best record in the American League.

on the bad side, Manchester City gets a 90 minute pk from Balotelli to salvage a point in Champions League play.

so damn close to a perfect day.

i did type up the one poem i had sitting around. got a few places in mind i will be sending to in a week or so.

music today:

The Right Now - Half As Much (Free MP3 Single)
Van Morrison - Moondance
Guided By Voices - The Grand Hour
Humble Wolf - Paper Thin (found this gem on NoiseTrade.com for FREE)

"The first mistake of art is to assume that it's serious." - Lester Bangs

how could i ever forget

i remember 11 years ago today like it was yesterday. the phone constantly ringing and waking me up in the morning. i go downstairs and listen to the messages on the voice mail. i turn on NBC just as they are showing the second plane going into the tower again. i just kind of stood there for a second and said in my own mind, welcome to the next war. i don't think the TV was turned off for the next 2 weeks. I'm not sure if i slept either. so, yeah, i remember. kind of hard to forget when you watch people jump out of buildings. not an everyday occurrence, at least in my world that is. part of me would like to see every never forget bumper sticker or tweet be changed to quit making the same fucking mistakes. that might get a little more attention.

now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. after a day of relaxing, recovering from the music festival and enjoying schizophrenic TV for a bit, i feel much better. congrats to Andy Murray on his first grand slam. i was a bit scared he was going to blow a 2 set lead. you don't recover from those. was flipping back and forth from that, Monday Night Football, Monday Night Raw and The Voice. let's just say that listening to Jerry Lawler nearly die was a bit sobering. and when i saw the look on Michael Cole's face, i knew this was legit. always a little spooky when pro wrestling gets real.

as for football, none of my players did much of anything last night. i held on to win 2 of my 3 fantasy football games. plus, i picked 11 of the 16 games correct. I'll take that start. just a little tinkering today as i get ready for the fun tomorrow (waiver wire and making picks). i think 2 of my teams have legit chances to win it all. the third one will be a struggle all year long.

did some heavy leg work with my poetry today. figured out what poems were going to go where. always fun when you are sending to places you have never sent to before. i might as well pick with fucking darts. now the fun part. typing and submitting. with a shitty internet. fuck me.

i remember when Yankees vs. Red Sox meant something for both teams. hopefully, the Yankees beat the shit out of Boston the next 3 days and make life a little easier for themselves. I'm not holding my breath that they will take that path, but it would be much fucking easier for me.

i will pay most attention tonight to the USA national team's game vs. Jamaica. a must have 3 points tonight if they actually want to make the World Cup. after watching them play down there and lose, I'm a bit interested in seeing how much do they actually give a shit or not. it would help if they actually remembered how to defend. that's always a good start.

music today:

Father John Misty - Fear Fun
Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation
Of Monsters And Men - My Head Is An Animal
Shrug - Whole Hog For The Macho Jesus
Guided By Voices - Sunfish Holy Breakfast

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." - Pablo Picasso

the day turned to shit around noon

so, i got in this morning from feeding the cats and birds just as Manchester United was getting scored on. fucking great, this is going to be a long day i start thinking. thankfully, RvP decides he's going to pull a spectacular goal out from his ass and sets Old Trafford on fire. 2 more goals in the first half from the boys and i'm feeling good. then the usual try to not lose instead of trying to win costs them and their shitty, shitty injury filled defense. they win 3-2 but it wouldn't be a Manchester United game without an injury. a nasty, nasty, NASTY gash to Wayne Rooney's thigh. seriously, i'm talking fucking shark week nasty here. early reports are he's going to be out a month. just fucking great.

scouted out a few new places to send poetry to and did the dishes between soccer matches from Italy, Spain and Germany. thank you DIRECTV.

and then the Yankees. after watching Tampa Bay lose earlier in the day, here's a great chance to stretch the lead a bit. of course, Kuroda has one bad inning and the Yankees only can muster one fucking hit with runners in scoring position (out of the 9 damn at bats they had) and lose 3-1. this will go down in the wasted opportunity column if they blow the division this year. at least they were kind enough to get the damn game over in under 3 hours.

kind of shocked Magic Johnson would do something good for Boston, apparently hell has frozen over. hopefully the Red Sox blow that quarter of a billion dollars they are saving in the trade on more shitty players. makes it more fun for this Yankee fan.

music today:

The Who - Who's Next
Matthew Perryman Jones - Land Of The Living

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." - Neil Armstrong

a matter of free speech

was having a pretty good day. another cool morning, so i opened up the house to air it out. rare when i can do that in August. watched a few teams i hate (Liverpool, Arsenal) struggle in their openers over in England, which brought an even wider smile to my face. and then came a little email from Russell over at The Camel Saloon.

the email was about G. Tod Slone, publisher of The American Dissident, and his bizarre bullshit situation going on with the Sturgis Library in Barnstable, MA. for the complete story, i urge you to go here http://thecamelsaloon.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-library-defender-of-freedom-of.html and if you so desire, you can email the library here sturgislibrary@comcast.net.

i know i try not to get political on this blog but free speech is one of those topics as a poet that gets my blood boiling. between this and the whole Pussy Riot fiasco, hopefully everyone wakes the fuck up already. enough is enough.

i now step off the soapbox and return this blog to regularly scheduled programming...

thanks to MLB and their asshole blackout rules, looks like i will be following the Yankee game today online. hopefully another win after the home run derby display of last night. the foot is on the throat of the Red Sox, now apply pressure.

music today:

The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." - Alice Walker

embrace the insanity

just got done typing up the five poems i wrote last night. not quite sure what i think of them or where they will end up going. hopefully i have another writing outburst in me for the weekend. if a few certain things happen, it may be more than an outburst. time shall tell.

hopefully the Yankees take the Red Sox out behind the barn this weekend and put them out of their misery.

RvP is officially on Manchester United now. their revenge on the world tour begins this Monday. if he and the rest of the team can stay healthy, i will have some fun watching them run up the score on nearly everyone they play. if the injuries from last year crop up again... let's just say it won't be pretty.

the weather is supposed to have a touch of fall in the air this weekend. i'm at the point of who the fuck knows anymore. hard to be happy with the weather when i can look out the window and see dying crops. not fun at all.

other than some sports and writing, not really sure what my weekend plans are. maybe a trip over to the other home to clean some more shit out. maybe i'll get bored enough to go to the movies. or maybe i'll just sit in my room and listen to some old music. your guess is as good as mine.

music today:

Warren Haynes Band - Live at the Moody Theater
Jeff Buckley - Mystery White Boy
Oasis - Definitely Maybe
Terence Trent D'Arby - Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby

"A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve." - Joseph Joubert



FREE PUSSY RIOT

so there's a few good ones left after all

i want to start this off with a big fat THANK YOU to Russell over at The Camel Saloon for recommending a poem i sent him would be better off at Jellyfish Whispers. i can probably count on one hand the number of editors/publishers that have done that for me before. whenever i'm near your neck of the woods, the first round is on me my friend.

not exactly sure what my feelings are about the Yankees signing Derek Lowe. it's bad enough that my mind won't let the 2004 epic collapse ever go away, but to see a member of that Red Sox team wearing pinstripes makes my stomach turn a little. of course, if he wins a championship here like Damon did, i'll get over it.

big home stand this week for the Yankees. get some timely wins over Texas and Boston and that should help put the AL East to bed. struggle this week and the last 6 weeks of the season will be nail biting time.

another rather cool day here. the weather this summer has been totally bizarre. and each day i drive down the lane to get the paper and mail i try not to look at the corn. just too fucking depressing.

hoping to have another writing session sometime this week. i feel like i have some good ones coming given all the shit going on in the world. let alone going on with people i know. i need one of those couple of hours where i bust out 10-15 gems and my fall will be looking good.

i did catch a little of the closing ceremony of the Olympics last night. hadn't seen Fat Boy Slim in quite some time. when he popped up my mind quickly thought back to my drug filled teens/20's. good times.

music today:

The Chemical Brothers - dig your own hole
Metallica - Beyond Magnetic
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Placebo - Without You I'm Nothing

"Always make the audience suffer as much as possible." - Alfred Hitchcock

reverse psychology

rained a bit overnight, thankfully. right now it's starting to thunder and sprinkle. tomorrow there is supposed to be more rain. i suppose i should have told fuck you to mother nature sooner (see my last post).

after a nice win last night, the Yankees got bitch smacked by King Felix today. 2 hits over 9 innings aren't going to amount to much when they don't leave the yard. 1-0 loss. Kuroda really only made 1 mistake. just not a good day for offense. oh well. hopefully the Red Sox overpay for Felix in the off season and he never pitches like this against the Yankees again.

watched a bit of Olympic soccer today. brutal match with Brazil and Honduras. and who would have thought Great Britain would lose on penalty kicks. must be part of the DNA by now. Mexico or Brazil will win it all i do believe.

also enjoyed a little tennis as well. always nice to see Serena win. always nice to see her period. didn't enjoy the USA men's volleyball team choking away a 2 set lead to lose in 5. and it was nice to see the men's basketball team actually struggle and LeBron come through again as everyone stood around and waited for him to do something. best player in the world right now. just wish he wouldn't have to be prodded to do everything all the time.

with most of my sports viewing done for the day, sans a little UFC this evening, i'll be busy going over the rough copy of my book. i need to come up with a bio. i've got the dedication and quotes all taken care of. i truly want to have "Sofisticated White Trash" just blow people away. kind of scary to think i wrote all 175 or so pages in that book over the years. quite the road my friends. hopefully many of you enjoy the ride.

music today:

Paul Thorn - What The Hell Is Goin' On?
Elvis Costello - The Best Of - The First 10 Years

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - Alan Kay

sunday dreaming

watched team USA (basketball) sleep through a first quarter where they couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. and, as always with basketball, play better defense and offense becomes easy. sure enough. a nice wake up call and then a blowout of France.

as that was going on i was watching Neymar  put on a show at the Theater of Dreams. while watching that, it was hard not to think of him one day wearing a Manchester United kit on that field. and with the back heel for the third goal, i really hope those dreams come true one day.

speaking of Man U, Giggs and Cleverley look to be in pretty good shape. nice win for GB.

a night of schizophrenic television awaits for me. Red Sox vs. Yankees, Big Brother, The Newsroom, Weeds, Episodes, Big Brother After Dark. thankfully i already know the results of the events (swimming, gymnastics, etc.) going to be shown this evening. i don't care for tape delay in a world where i can find out what happened in seconds.

speaking of Big Brother last night, finally an episode on Showtime where i could laugh my ass off. PLEASE, keep giving them tons of alcohol.

music today:

Melissa Etheridge - Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled
Florence & the Machine - Lungs

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." - John F. Kennedy

a saturday without humidity

so, due to MLB's stupid blackout rules, i wasn't able to watch the Yankees game today/tonight (thanks rain delay). and after seeing them fall behind 6-1, come all the way back and then lose 8-6, i was pretty sure i didn't want to see the highlights. and after seeing the highlights, i was right. hate losing to that team especially on fluke plays and after a great (i guess) comeback. fuck. (thank you to crawls on the bottom of MLB Network and ESPN2)

so after that i, for some reason, flipped to PBS and watched the rest of The Hustler. made me think of my early 20's drinking for free in local pool halls. the more drunk i got the better i played. made the drives home interesting.

absolutely loved the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. i thought Danny Boyle put on a great show. i've watched bits and pieces of the events off and on today. when the basketball starts i'll really start giving a shit.

always fun to watch Chelsea lose. this time to AC Milan. good times.

music today:

Korn - Issues

"Hatred is a very underestimated emotion." - Jim Morrison

here comes the weekend

yesterday was my father's 66th birthday. i haven't seen my father since Jan. 23, 1995. by choice, mostly his. that was the day he showed up two days after my 19th birthday and handed me $50 and said sorry i forgot your birthday. i took the money and closed the door in his face. needless to say, July 26 and i aren't good together.

a busy sports weekend awaits. Red Sox vs. Yankees. the start of the Olympics, (if you don't count that Olympic soccer has already been going on for 2 days), the Brickyard 400 and i'm sure i'll try to squeeze in an international friendly or two as well.

in other words, my ass will be glued to the television for the majority of the weekend, let alone the next 3 weeks. i will hopefully only post some positive shit and not as much bitching and moaning as the past 2 weeks.

i'm not really sure why the illusion of America voting is going to somehow stop the coaches from getting in the Big Brother game. no matter what the vote, the coaches are coming in. and once they do, then it should get really interesting.

laughed my ass off last night at Wilfred and Louie. maybe the best hour of comedy on tv. at least FX is one network that knows what it's doing.

music today:

AC/DC - Back in Black
Beastie Boys - Check Your Head

"Housework can't kill you, but why take the chance?" - Phyllis Diller

amid oncoming storms

you know, it never fails. whenever i want something to happen, all i need to do is start doing something else and then... case in point. back oh so many years ago, when i had a girlfriend, if i wanted her to call all i had to do was go take a shit or a shower and sure enough the phone would ring. back to today.

i was watching Manchester United this morning and the game was boring as hell. so, i decided to go into to town before it got really hot, get the mail, maybe a little breakfast and come back. as i was driving down my bumpy ass lane to the road, i laughed and said to myself, you know when you get home Man U will be winning 1-0. and sure enough, i get back and they are up 1-0, 5 minutes left in the match. nice goal from Kagawa by the way. i'm reserving judgement on the team until i see all the pieces in place.

a big fucking thank you to Jayson Nix for his bases loaded double to help the Yankees pull out a win in Seattle, 5-2. my constant bitching and moaning but the inability to do the small, fundamental shit was answered by that double in the gap. win the series and come back home to face the Red Sox. hopefully whipping their asses will get the stench of a horrible road trip out of sight for a while.

had my first taste of the Cherry Wheat beer from Sam Adams this evening. Holy Shit that was good.

had a good laugh watching Chelsea lose to the MLS All-Stars 3-2. i believe the last 2 times Manchester United played in that game Man U won by a combined 10-0. i will sleep with a smile on my face this evening.

music today:

Metallica - Kill 'Em All

"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde

if you don't see a post from me tomorrow, chances are the storms they say are coming has knocked out the power. or, i'm too busy masturbating. or writing, whatever you choose to call what i do.

i'm back

wanted to come back to this blog and gloat after a Yankee sweep of the Red Sox but sadly they only took 3 of 4. but, anytime the Red Sox can be in last place at the All Star break, i'm a pretty happy boy.

didn't watch much of the home run derby, especially after Robinson Cano put up a big fat ZERO. no need to watch after that.

after a few days of over 100 the heatwave finally fucking broke. nearly 2 weeks of 90+ every damn day broke to only 87 today. of course, we're nearly 9 inches below where we should be for precipitation for the year so far. i get the feeling we would have been better off growing dirt this year. thank god for crop insurance i suppose. and thank god the heatwave was just about broken when the a/c decided to go out.

managed to write 4 poems over the last few days. actually think they are pretty good. want to write another batch before i think of another round of submissions. i'm also toying with the thought of entering this poetry contest i got a postcard about in the mail today.

laundry day today (Monday). also a nice trip to the bank to deposit my rebate check for my health care (thank you Mr. President).

music that sneaked into my ears:

Ana Tijoux - La Bala
Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town
Tom Waits - Orphans (Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards)

speaking of Tom Waits, great appearance on Letterman tonight. he's going to be on Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night.

"Men do not fail; they give up trying." - Elihu Root

another morning in the 80's

always great when it's over 80 degrees before 8 am. looks like their forecast for about 2 weeks in the 90's is looking more and more correct. fuck.

i don't know what it is about that dump where the Rays play, but the Yankees have now lost 8 straight games there. quite a time for Tex to have his first error of the season. a house of fucking horrors. hopefully Nova can right the ship tonight as i don't want this week (2 more with the Rays, 4 with the Red Sox) to be the week where the Yankees shit away a 6 game lead before the all star break.

i had a cat that i thought for sure was dead suddenly reappear yesterday. Weezie Jefferson had been gone for over a month. came back rail fucking thin. if it makes it through this heat i'll be stunned. but welcome back my whiny friend. and yes, those small kittens are not toys.

as of 3 in the morning, the muse was back. always nice to hear her voice. best of luck with your big interview. you'll do great.

music this morning:

Gary Clark Jr. - The Bright Lights EP
Tracy Chapman - Collection

"Expect problems and eat them for breakfast." - Alfred A. Montapert