a shower can't wash away everything

i was all fired up for the hockey game this afternoon. USA vs. Russia. winner goes to the gold medal game. i had "lucky" clothes on, was in a good frame of mind and the voice was at full force. these are the days where i'm sure my mother wishes she didn't work from home. the USA scored first and had another shot hit the post in the first period. sadly, that would be the last time they would come close to really having a chance to score. size and skill, which was basically 2/3 of the Russian team, will always beat skill. that's one of those unwritten laws of hockey. Russia scored twice in the second period and more or less, just choked off the game from there. Russia won 2-1. third fucking year in a row they have defeated us in the World Juniors. the USA will play Sweden tomorrow morning for the Bronze medal. i'll be interested to see if either team gives a shit, seeing that both teams lost to a rival the day before.

so after the game i took a long shower. i was hoping the hot water on my back and neck would feel good. sadly, it didn't. it's finally winter here and sure enough, my back is tighter than shit. i did find it funny that the news were making it sound like a blizzard was coming this morning during the morning commute. we didn't get anything here other than frost.

i went 8-8 on my NFL picks yesterday. that pretty much sums up my picks all damn year as i was 19 games worse than last season. in my eyes, that's a complete fucking failure even though i was 151-105 for the regular season.

i have two YouTube videos in my head that just need to be filmed now. one is pretty simple. the other i'm trying to pull off some shit that i have never tried before. i'm trying to make 2016 the year where i don't give a shit about failing. we'll see.

enjoy some music kids:

and now some of this and that:

i will be watching Monday Night Raw tonight and the season finale of Breaking Ground on WWE Network. i will also try to catch some college basketball tonight as well.

speaking of college basketball, i see that the Dayton Flyers are now number 25 in the AP Poll. it sucks as it always seems we end up losing as soon as we get ranked. hopefully that doesn't happen this Wednesday at home against UMass.

amazingly, the New Orleans Saints won yesterday 20-17. i was flipping between that and the heartbreak my mother had watching her Jets blow a chance at the playoffs. i know that made my sister happy, as she is a Steelers fan.

i will be on here tomorrow after the Bronze medal game. hopefully i will be in a good mood.

i hope everyone had a great weekend. i think it's starting to sink in that it is 2016 now. 17 more days until i turn 40. or how a bumper sticker says it, until life begins.

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:

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks
Wolfmother - Joker & The Thief
Deftones - Minerva

"Stand-up comedy and poverty. Those were my main two endeavors." - Dave Foley

and your whatever the fuck i wanted you to see video of the day:

exhausted and happy

like an old man, i fell asleep before 10 last night. i woke up at 11:30 and for some fucking reason, felt refreshed. i might have slept a few hours here and there the rest of the night because i knew what was coming in the morning. i made sure i got a good breakfast in me and tried my best to loosen my back up because i knew i was in for some tension.

USA vs. Russia. Olympic hockey. in Russia. if you didn't get to see the game, you missed out. if saw the game and weren't excited, i'll ask you to please die now. as for the rest of us, what a fucking game. i was completely fucking exhausted by the end of it. and i do hope T.J. Oshie never has to buy a drink in this country again. a big 3-2 win in an instant classic shootout. and the best part, doing it all in front of Putin and shutting a crowd the fuck up. now, i hope the USA have it out of their system, for they have to go out tomorrow morning and win the group. and it won't be easy.

after that, i checked out some FA Cup action and some more hockey in the Olympics, but mostly got some more sleep. hopefully that means i'll be able to stay up tonight for ROH.

thankfully, we got plowed out this morning. we probably got close to 5 inches. i truly felt like shit watching my mom try to shovel it. i offered to do it but she doesn't want me to injure myself more. of course, the guy that plowed us out told my mom he was planning on doing it. if he would have got here 5 minutes sooner, he would have. but mom was thankful as she needed to get to the store.

i imagine i will be watching some of the dunk contest and the three point shooting contest tonight for the NBA All-Star weekend festivities. and some of the college basketball games as well. all while sipping on a victory beer. i think NBC is going to show the shootout when they start their Olympic coverage tonight. i'll happily be watching that again.

that is pretty much all for today. i hope this finds everyone well. i'll be on here tomorrow after (hopefully) another team USA win in hockey.

peace and chicken grease.

music:

Run DMC - Tougher Than Leather
Broken Bells - After The Disco

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you." - Oprah Winfrey

trying to warm up in a cold sunshine

i figured i would write this before i go to feed the cats. that also means i'm writing this before i go put on 2 more layers of clothes.

last night i truly felt like an old man. had a victory beer and next thing i know i'm waking up at 4 in the morning. i'm not mixing booze and pills mind you, but i certainly didn't expect 1 beer to knock me out for 3 1/2 hours.

the New York Rangers played a back and forth game last night that had me cussing like a sailor, mostly because i had to listen to the call from the Pittsburgh announcers. what a bunch of minor league hacks. needless to say i was fucking thrilled when the Rangers won and shut those 2 fuckers up for awhile. a 4-3 win in a shootout. a great way to head into the Olympic break.

as for the Winter Olympics, i only saw the part of the opening ceremony where there was a fuck up. of course, Russian tv never showed that. glad to see some things never change. i did watch the USA play Finland in women's hockey this morning. at least part of it. the rest of my morning has been pills and European soccer.

Dayton plays at St. Bonaventure this afternoon. i don't like their chances, but i'd love to be wrong. the game is supposed to be on television, but not on DIRECTV. so, it looks like i'll be pacing and listening on the radio. i suppose that will be my exercise for the day.

i did type up the 2 poems i wrote the other day this morning. i also figured out how to solve a paper jam on the new printer. that was fun for my bad left arm. anywho, love the new poems. i will be sending them out once i get off my lazy ass and get the 15 poems i need to send out for that poetry project. that might be my goal for this evening.

i did watch the tree house show last night on animal planet. have to admit, never thought of having one on a cliff of a beach. that was pretty funny and cool to watch.

other than the Olympics tonight, i suppose there will be some hockey and some college basketball. and if i truly get bored, it will be whatever my mother wants to watch. or, the novel concept of me actually just sleeping.

hope everyone is well. the cats are waiting for me. hope today is the start of a great weekend for you, and maybe for me as well.

peace.

music:

Gary Clark Jr. - The Bright Lights EP

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." - Muhammad Ali

and now for the coolest thing i saw last night:

my life in a frozen hell

i couldn't sleep for shit last night until i jerked off for the first time in weeks. and of course, being the asshole i am, i used the bad arm to do it as i sadly tend to enjoy the pain. that bought me at least 2 hours of sleep. so, i might have got 4 hours last night in total. the right amount if i was 23 or so. sadly, at 38, i'm living more like a guy who smokes pot and naps all day long. i wouldn't mind the pot part, but napping all day long isn't for me.

in between the naps today, i did manage to write 2 poems. i will hopefully type them up this weekend.

the New York Rangers lost 2-1 last night. they had so many chances to win last night but lost the game in the last 2 minutes of the 3rd period. that could end up being some huge lost points. of course, go out and beat Pittsburgh tonight and no one will remember last night.

i spent 45 minutes in the damn cold today feeding the cats and filling the bird feeders. thankfully, there was no wind and i'm smart enough to dress in layers. and i made damn sure to take some oxy before i went out to do that.

i do enjoy this dream/awake stage the pain pills put me in at times. takes me back to my youth and the glorious moments where i really expanded my brain. glory days.

i suppose tonight i'll be watching some of the opening ceremony in Russia for the Winter Olympics, but not that much. there are some hockey games i need to watch and some college hockey i need to watch as well. and that damn tree house show that has become a guilty pleasure to watch on Friday nights. i suppose because i never had one as a kid.

The Big Bang Theory was really good last night. it also reminded me that i haven't had a girlfriend at Valentine's Day in damn near 20 years. money saved i suppose but so much other shit i have missed out on. hello depression.

not sure when i'll be on here tomorrow. probably sometime before Dayton plays tomorrow. maybe i'll make it a morning post while i'm high on pain pills. i do know the women's hockey starts over in Russia in the middle of the night tonight. i know damn well what i'll be watching if i can't sleep tonight. and not in a sexual way you perverts.

that's all for me. be well and stay warm. continue with the good vibes as this is one tough motherfucker of pain i'm trying to beat. and in the words of Ice Cube, today was a good day.

peace and chicken grease...

music:

Various Artists - Millennium Funk Party
TLC - CrazySexyCool

"If you have no critics you'll likely have no success." - Malcolm X

contemplating a blank canvas

so i got a phone call from the doctor's office today with the results of my 10 x-rays from last week. no structural damage that shows a new injury but there is some chronic issues with my neck that will be discussed tomorrow at the appointment. so, my mind immediately goes to a bulging disc or even better, worse neck damage that will need to be surgically repaired. of course, i won't know exactly until i talk to the doctor, but i am a worst case scenario type of guy.

we got almost 6 inches of snow last night, followed up by 1/4 inch of ice. that actually helped cap the snow and not have it drift all over the damn place. the guy who farms out here plowed the lane this morning and did most of the shoveling for me. a big thank you to him. i did the other two parts of the sidewalk that don't get used much. it was a very heavy snow. needless to say, i didn't feel great afterwards. and i still had to feed the cats. saw all but one of them. i figure he was out sneaking around looking for something to fuck.

the New York Rangers really impressed me last night with how they jumped on Colorado from the beginning and played a complete 60 minutes for a change. highlights are below:

tonight, the Dayton Flyers play at George Mason. i'm really hoping Dayton wins, seeing that GM is 0-7 in the A10 so far. Dayton really needs to get on a run to make up for the month they pissed away.

other than that tonight, i suppose i'll be flipping between some hockey games and god knows what else. most likely, as it has been for the last few nights, i'll fall asleep watching something and wake up in the middle of the night sore as fuck.

i've been having a good laugh reading all the horror stories from reporters over in Russia for the Winter Olympics. hopefully the games end up being better than what i have read so far. not thrilled with the times i will be getting up to watch the hockey games, but it's not like i sleep anymore anyway. of course, knowing my luck, i'll be having surgery and won't be able to watch any of the Olympics.

that's all for me today. i know damn well i won't sleep for shit tonight as i'll be busy wondering what the fuck is really wrong with my neck. i see the doctor at 11 in the morning tomorrow. not exactly sure what the plan is after that appointment. i do know it is going to be cold as fuck here tomorrow.

hope everyone is well. wish me luck and send me some positive vibes. or cash, that works as well. i'll provide some updates the next time i'm on here. until then...

peace and chicken grease.

music:

Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming

"Don't let the same dog bite you twice." - Chuck Berry

welcome to the deep freeze

when i went out this morning to feed the cats i didn't bother to look to see how cold it was. i knew it was COLD. i had on 5 layers and was determined to spend no more time outside than i absolutely had to. might be the quickest i have fed the cats in years. when i got back in, i checked to see how cold it really was. -11 degrees and a windchill of -38 degrees. well, at least the sun was out.

we probably only got an inch of snow yesterday. but, the inch of rain we got froze about as quick as i have ever seen anything freeze. thankfully, i did put out some ice melter when i woke up this morning. the stuff said it worked down to -7 degrees. it was -4 at the time. true enough, it melted the ice. that made me really happy and confident i could get out to the cats without falling on my ass and breaking something.

as for the birds, i threw out some birdseed for them on the ground. there's no use putting any in the feeders as the wind would just whip all of it down to the ground. it hasn't been this cold here since 1994. and i don't think the temps are done going down. but, it's supposed to be near 40 by the end of the week. just about as everyone will be sick with something. good times.

i did manage to get one playoff game right over the weekend as i called the 49ers win over the Packers. hopefully i do better this coming weekend.

my fantasy hockey team shit the bed this past week. and i got news this morning of an injury to one of my key players. hopefully it's not really serious. thankfully, i still have a 10 game lead in my division.

i did watch that Jimmy Fallon special last night. i had seen most of the stuff they covered. all i really hope is he does the same silly shit on The Tonight Show. might actually have to switch over from Letterman if that happens.

the New York Rangers play tonight at home against Columbus. not thrilled that i have to watch the Columbus broadcast of the game. hopefully the Rangers can actually start playing good at home for a change.

i am looking forward to the old school Monday Night Raw tonight. that should be a fun swim in the rivers of nostalgia.

other than that, my main focus will be staying warm tonight. i'm contemplating sleeping out in my chair as that room stays much warmer than my bedroom. of course, i might not sleep at all as i'll probably be up making sure the pipes don't freeze. good times.

a big hello to whomever is finding this blog in Russia. i'm hoping it's more than one person as there has been more than 300 hits in the last week from Russia. or, hello to my stalker from Russia. hope you enjoy.

that's all for me. i would type more but the heater out here in the computer room sucks. so i'm off to my chair in the only room in this old house that has adequate insulation. that's the joy of a cold winter on a farm. you'll always have a few layers on, inside or out.

hope everyone is warm and drunk. be well.

music:

Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
Little Green Cars - Absolute Zero
Fine Young Cannibals - The Raw & The Cooked

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." - Khalil Gibran

misery, snow, poems, and other forms of madness

when i woke up this morning, the clock read 4:18 am. i took my glasses back off and said fuck that. i didn't have to be up until 6 am. you guessed it, i woke back up at 7:30 am. needless to say, i wasn't pleased. i quickly flipped over to what i was getting up at 6 to see and got even more pissed.

team USA lost to Russia today 5-3 at the World Juniors. i only got to watch the 3rd period. once again the inability of team USA to stay out of the box was just mind blowing. but, i also have to give Russia credit for making them pay for their mistakes. i'll still watch the tournament but i doubt i'll make sure to be up to watch it live. the ouch part of all this was the player from Russia that really stood out today was a draft pick by the New York Rangers. hopefully he has that same kind of fire and skill when he's wearing a blue jersey.

so after that wonderful start to my day i started to pay attention to the weather. the snow kept steady but the winds kept getting worse and worse. the guy who farms out here plowed the lane. hopefully it will still be passable once the wind and drifting stops. like a dumb ass, i shoveled the sidewalks and put some ice melter out hoping it would make a difference. thankfully, my back felt much better today. i felt it a few times while i was shoveling, but it never felt like it was going to seize up and give out. of course, there is plenty of winter left for that to happen.

so after all that joy, i decided to send out some poems today. might as well do something in 2014 to get my mind off of shit. i sent out 11 poems today, 3 each to The Camel Saloon and Dead Snakes, and 5 to The Blind Vigil Revue. a big thanks to Russell at The Camel Saloon for the heads up about Blind Vigil. when i hear back from these places i will pass along the news here on the blog and all the other sites i whore myself out to.

i made the mistake of looking at the temps for the weekend and early next week. when i saw that one day the high temp is going to be -2, i just laughed. mom wants to bring the cats in and i told her no. we will get to see which ones really want to live now. hopefully the power doesn't go out and the propane is still full. i've got a feeling every damn heater we have in this house will be running.

i'm looking forward to The Big Bang Theory tonight. it's a new episode. other than that, i'll be watching some college sports. probably some NHL games as well.

spent most of last night flipping between college football and Aerial America on the Smithsonian Channel. don't ask. my brain is able to make sense of why i do the shit i do and that's all that matters.

hopefully i'll be able to get out to the post office tomorrow. and maybe tomorrow we'll get a paper as well. thankfully i didn't make the trip down the lane to check. the guy who farms out here was kind enough to do that.

alright, enough of my rambling. i'll be on here tomorrow with more stories about prepping for the great freeze of 2014. be well. peace and chicken grease...

music:

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Zac Brown Band - You Get What You Give
Beastie Boys - The In Sound From Way Out!

"People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." - Isaac Asimov

the end of the year

where the fuck did 2012 go? i laugh as i get older as i remember bitching while i was a child about how slow things were. now, in the age of social media and nearly everyone living through their phones, i seem to enjoy my pauses more than ever.

i feel like i haven't slept for days. between shoveling snow, walking on ice, waking up in the middle of the night to watch hockey, fantasy football coming to an end, etc etc., i don't think i've had more than 4 hours of sleep in a row for a few days. fuck, i'm too old for this shit.

after 2 really heartbreaking losses for team USA at the World Juniors (both 2-1 to Russia & Canada) they came out today on fire to beat Slovakia 9-3. they advance to the medal round, but i will be pleasantly blown the fuck away if they get one. they are a good team but not great when it matters. too undisciplined to win any big games. hopefully, they prove me wrong. i won't hold my breath. as for the other teams, i will be shocked if Canada doesn't win the whole thing. of course, when you have a handful of guys that should be in the NHL right now, you should win. could be a much different tourney if the lockout wasn't going on.

listened to the Dayton Flyers lose in overtime last night to USC. i'm sure that was a great red eye home from LA after that loss. of course, when you shoot like shit and have that many turnovers, you shouldn't win. thankfully, i wasn't able to watch the game.

enjoyed the Manchester United win over the weekend and will hopefully enjoy another tomorrow. i'll surely enjoy all the rumors this coming month with the transfer window open, but i truly don't expect any moves.

won my 3rd place game in fantasy football on NFL.com for the 2nd time in 3 years. i will win that league sometime before i die.

got a few poems in mind to send out in early 2013. more news on that later in the week.

i firmly believe that a baby from Kanye and Kim K. is a sign of the apocalypse. or perhaps i'm hoping.

i do hope everyone has a safe, happy, fruitful, enter your favorite word here, great new year.

music today:

Metallica - Beyond Magnetic
Grouplove - Never Trust A Happy Song
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." - Albert Camus

the day after the storm

we got around 9 to 10 inches of snow here yesterday. that was more than we got for the entire last winter. as the snow was falling yesterday, i had the pleasure/torture of watching Manchester United. never having the lead until the Mexican god Chicharito scores right on the 90th minute is not good for my heart i believe. a really entertaining 4-3 game, made all the better with Manchester City losing. lead is now 7 points. only bummer from yesterday, besides the usual shitty defense, was the injury news for Wayne Rooney. out at least 3 weeks with a knee injury. not good. hopefully more miracles are to come and Wazza comes back healthy and ready for the Champions League play.

shoveling this morning was not bad at all. to go with that 9+ inches yesterday was a 40 mph wind. the drifts happened to help me out partly. one sidewalk was basically clear. the other was a bitch to shovel, but not much ice at all to deal with. now, getting over to feed the cats was a bit more tricky. negotiating drifts of snow over a foot deep while still sleepy was a bit funny. saw all but one of the cats this morning. not sure if it's missing or was just hiding. not many of them have seen snow like that.

got done with all that to finally watch some meaningful hockey for the first time since the summer. team USA destroyed Germany in the World Juniors 8-0. was happy to see them play a great game, but the real test starts tomorrow. having to play Russia in Russia will be a huge step up. one piece of advice, stay out of the penalty box. if they get a point out of the game, i'll consider it a win. was also very nice to see Rangers draft pick JT Miller play well and score. hopefully he can keep that up.

my mother is sick so i'm doing my best to avoid that shit. so, i see myself spending the rest of the day in my room reading some books i got for Christmas.

music today:

Of Monsters And Men - My Head Is An Animal

"Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret." - Marlene Dietrich