happy pi day

i haven't been outside yet, but it doesn't look like we got much more snow overnight. i don't think we got an inch even. but, it does look windy as hell out there, so i'm guessing it feels much more like early January than mid March.

i did watch Cries from Syria last night. the first scene of the documentary will stay with me until the day i die. it was a very powerful documentary, overwhelming at times. i highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance.

i did like a few of the performances last night on The Voice.

the New York Rangers lost last night to Tampa Bay 3-2. the loss doesn't hurt that much as Tampa needed the points much more than the Rangers do. i like where the Rangers are right now in terms of playoff seeding. the first wildcard spot would put them against the other division in the playoffs. that's an easier path than trying to go through the toughest division in hockey.

Monday Night Raw was pretty good last night. i think it was the last time they are going to be at that building in Detroit, so they pulled out all the stops. HBK showed up, HHH beat the shit out of Seth Rollins, who was saving Mick Foley, etc. etc. you can definitely tell WrestleMania is coming up quickly.

enjoy some music:

and now some of this and that:

on the DVR tonight will be Vice News Tonight, WWE Smackdown and The Voice. i'll watch 205 Live sometime tonight or tomorrow on WWE Network.

i'll be at the First Four games tonight at UD Arena. the first game will be Mount St. Mary's vs. New Orleans. the second game will be Wake Forest vs. Kansas State. hopefully, it will be two good games of basketball.

that's all for me kids. i have trash to pickup and plenty of things to do before i get ready to go to the games tonight.

oh, just remembered, i heard back from Hobo Camp Review on my query about the poems i sent last year. more or less, they were forgotten about and are no longer under consideration. that always makes me happy.

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:

Brett Dennen - Queen of the Westside
Low - Stay
Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man (Live)
Guided by Voices - Don't Stop Now

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." - Albert Einstein

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

you ever get a song stuck in your head

when i got home around 12:30 last night, i was pretty damn tired. but i had this fucking song trapped in my head that they played before each basketball game last night. it became my mission to find it on iTunes before i went to bed. by 4 AM i had completed my mission. welcome to my crazy life.

the first game last night between Albany and Mount St. Mary's was a back and forth affair. both teams had hot and cold stretches that at least kept the game interesting. Albany gets its first ever win in the NCAA tournament, 71-64. that brought on the NC St. vs. Xavier game. the hatred for Xavier was really in the air. there were enough of the pricks from down in Cincy up there that my blood was boiling. now mind you, i'm in the first few rows of the second deck, so basically my yelling was simply entertaining the fans around me. but, they were totally fucking entertained. as i explained to my mother, since those assholes weren't on the schedule this year, i had it all inside of me to get out last night. and i was on full fucking blast for 40 minutes. it was great. NC St. advances to face Saint Louis, 74-59. i enjoyed every fucking second of that beating.

as i figured, since i wasn't watching, the New York Rangers would win last night. sure enough, they won 8-4 in Ottawa. Hank becomes the franchise leader in wins by a goalie. here are the highlights:

and during my search for that song stuck in my fucking head, i did get to see most of what happened on The Voice last night. hats off to Usher for still having nearly his whole team still involved, either through wins or steals.

tonight, i will get to see Cal Poly vs. Texas Southern and then Iowa vs. Tennessee. hopefully, both games will be good. i'm getting prepared for the sea of fucking orange tonight. sadly, those fans from Tennessee travel well.

the plan after dinner tonight at Waffle House, is to watch Legit, Ali G., and Duck Dynasty when i get home. hopefully i will have enough energy left to do so.

now, i'm off to watch a little of Manchester United before i hop in the shower. in there i'll have to get prepared to listen to another night of the mid 50's hipsters sitting behind me at the basketball games. nothing like a talk about South by Southwest that lasts for 3 DAMN hours. god help me.

hope everyone is well. i'll be on here tomorrow probably after Dayton plays Ohio State. i'll either be sky fucking high or really depressed. good times.

peace and chicken grease...

music:

Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (Sport Chant Stadium Remix) (MP3 Single)
Nelly w/Nicki Minaj & Pharrell - Get Like Me (MP3 Single)
Icona Pop - I Love It (MP3 Single)
Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know (MP3 Single)
The Crystal Method - Busy Child (MP3 Single)

"The artist must bow to the monster of his own imagination." - Richard Wright

time for some basketball

these next 2 days are going to be a blitz for me. even less sleep than i normally don't get, people from all over the country, 4 games in 48 hours, and hopefully, some stress free entertainment.

the First Four starts tonight at the UD Arena. i believe you can catch it on TruTV if you are interested. first up will be Albany vs. Mt. St. Mary's, two 16 seeds. after that, it will be North Carolina St. vs. Xavier. now, i have hated Xavier since i was a child. so, it will be some fun booing those fuckers once again. and hopefully, i'll get to see them lose once more on that court.

what i'll be missing on television tonight will be the next installment of the battle rounds on The Voice. i did catch a good portion of them last night. i really don't have any qualms with the decisions made. i suppose i'll catch most of tonight's episode on YouTube when i get home.

also, the New York Rangers play up in Ottawa tonight. i figure since i won't be watching, they'll probably win. at the worst, i'm really hoping they start scoring some fucking goals.

Monday Night Raw was pretty good last night. i laughed when HHH added himself to the main event at Wrestlemania. that is, if he beats Daniel Bryan. honestly, if that does happen, i will probably turn off the ppv and go watch HBO or something. the more i watch the show the more i see why CM Punk left. they never push the right ones and i think really enjoy stuffing the same people down our throats. that being said, i could use more Bray Wyatt on my screen. also, the turn of The Shield to babyfaces has been interesting. of course, the writing team will probably fuck that up.

i did catch a little of the Yankees today. had a runner on 3rd base with no outs and couldn't get him in. they are in mid-season form already.

just about have all the cats named now. still trying to decide on the last one. it has to be something i remember, especially since this cat has a tendency to hide as much as possible.

if i am not dead tired by the time i get home tonight, i might try to get some writing done. i've got a few words swimming around in my head.

was up late last night playing around on iTunes. it amazes me the amount of music i remember from my teens. i didn't buy any of it last night though. i wasn't in that kind of mood. when you see what i did buy, you'll know exactly what kind of mood i was in.

hope everyone is well. i'll try to be on here tomorrow before Manchester United plays. i have a feeling i won't want to be on here after the game.

peace and chicken grease bitches... if you happen to be going to the games tonight or tomorrow, get in touch with me.

music:

The Black Crowes - Oh Josephine (MP3 Single)
Justin Townes Earle - Racing in the Street (MP3 Single)
Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies (MP3 Single)
Ryan Bingham - Until I'm One with You (MP3 Single)

"Kisses are a better fate than wisdom." - e.e. cummings

will spring ever arrive?

so, we didn't get the 7-10 inches of snow they thought we would get over the last 24 hours or so. i believe we got around 4 inches, with a few drifts out here on the farm around 5 inches. it's a pretty wet and heavy snow, not much fun for my bad back. but, got the shoveling done, got the cats fed. now, just got to get my lazy ass down to the end of the lane to pick up the trash cans and get into town to get the mail. not sure if either are actually going to happen or not. if they do, it will be before dark.

watched 2 glorious basketball games yesterday at UD Arena. might be the best doubleheader of basketball i've gone to in years. first game was Ohio State vs. Iowa State. a real back and forth affair that saw a little of everything. missed free throws, big time dunks, a string of 3's to get a team back in the game, a few blown calls, and to top everything off, a game winning 3 from a guy who couldn't hit the broadside of a barn if you gave him 30 chances to do it. Ohio State wins by 3.

next up was Indiana vs. Temple. i feel bad for the players from Temple. they had the lead for nearly all of the 40 minutes in this game. Indiana took the lead for good with just over a minute to go. it wasn't a pretty game but the intensity of the crowd certainly made it memorable. Indiana wins by 6.

hats off to all the fan bases for making the 10 games i saw over the last few days really fun. as a guy behind me said yesterday, the hatred flowing in the arena was spectacular. especially once all the Ohio State fans started rooting for Temple to beat Indiana. out of all the fan bases, Indiana had more fans than anyone. kudos to Iowa State's fans though, even with the threat of a huge snowstorm, i don't think any of them left early.

mom and i got home with a little pizza just before the storm started to really hit. pretty damn good timing as just a few hours later it was pretty close to a whiteout. after some pizza, i settled down to watch the New York Rangers. sadly, another must win that ended in a shootout loss. time is starting to run short on this season. hopefully they can find something other than inconsistency to be consistent with.

big game tomorrow in World Cup Qualifying for team USA at Mexico. if they could come out of it with a draw, i would over the moon happy. a win would be so mind boggling that i'm not even allowing myself to think it's possible.

also tomorrow i get to go to the doctor's office and get more blood drawn. i guess they finally got around to reading my lab report from awhile back. fun fun fun.

not exactly sure what the fuck the New York Yankees are doing trading for Vernon Wells. i don't think he's had much left in the gas tank for the last few years. he's simply sticking around because he's making a ridiculous amount of money. even at my most optimistic i would think this move is borderline insane. the season starts soon enough. maybe i'll be wrong and he'll rediscover some power and decent play. hopefully.

in fantasy sports news, i won last week in hockey 8-2. still going strong in 3rd place in the league. as for the NCAA brackets, got 9 teams right in the Sweet 16. that's basically one step above pathetic. i do have the 2 teams i picked to play in the finals still alive. but, those are the only teams i have left for the Final 4 as well. basically, if i somehow finish this March Madness with a winning record, it will be a minor miracle.

i'm really looking forward to the return of The Voice tonight. should be interesting flipping between that, Monday Night Raw, and whatever hockey game i feel like watching.

hope everyone is well. hope the weather where you are isn't the cold, sloppy fucking mess it is here. until we meet again.

music today:

The Allman Brothers Band - The Allman Brothers Band
Jimi Hendrix - People, Hell and Angels

"Sports is the toy department of human life." - Howard Cosell

basketball, fire, oncoming snow

i spent 12 hours yesterday watching basketball at UD Arena. 4 basketball games, with only 1 being competitive. and sadly, that was the first game.

Temple Vs. NC State - NC State started out brain dead and got down big early. so, as i've seen a few million times, they didn't have quite enough to dig themselves out of the hole. i give them credit for making it interesting, but, still a loss by 4 points.

Indiana vs. James Madison - this game was over about 3 minutes in. when one player is outscoring the entire team for nearly the first 10 minutes of the game, saying a game is lopsided is an understatement.

then, thanks to the NCAA having their heads shoved up their asses, the next game started less than 60 minutes after the previous one finished. so, everyone has to leave the building and go wait in line with session 2 tickets. thankfully, mom and i parked in handicap parking, so we just waited in the car, had a few snacks, and stayed out of the cold. more on the cold later.

Ohio State vs. Iona - why the dumb fucks from Iona would provide OSU with bulletin board material before the game is beyond me. foolish youth. Ohio State flirted with 100 points in this game and by the end had 3 players on the court that people from Columbus were saying never play. that pretty much sums up that game.

Iowa State vs. Notre Dame - was a little surprised with the lack of Notre Dame fans there, as was the fuck behind me who couldn't shut up 2 minutes to save his life. Iowa State destroyed Notre Dame fairly easily. easily enough that there was probably less than 3 thousand people left at the end. both sessions drew over 12,000.

so, on Sunday i will see Indiana vs. Temple and Ohio State vs. Iowa State.

thankfully, these games will start at noon. i say thankfully as they are calling for 6-10 inches of snow on Sunday. and here i thought it was spring. it appears (as of right now) that most of that snow should come after the games are over and my mother and i are back home. sadly, mother nature has a tendency to not go as planned. my fingers are crossed. and my back is already being iced. good thing i didn't put up the snow shovel just yet.

don't ask about my brackets. when you lose a final four team (Georgetown) before the first weekend is over, you can absolutely forget about winning anything. now, i have to hope i have some magic in the round by round games.

and now for the fire.

the guy who farms out here is finally burning off the brush he cleared to help with our drainage problems. if i wasn't so damn tired i might have actually walked down there to get closer shots. be thankful i walked up the stairs to get the camera at all.

and here's one of my cat Kit Kat just for shits and giggles

i will try to get pictures if we really do get all that snow. and i will try to get some pictures of the cats so names can be put with images. i imagine that will be mostly for my mother as she can't keep any of their names straight.

music today:

Grizzly Bear - Shields
Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
Beach House - Bloom
Robert Glasper Experiment - Black Radio

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein

life was much easier when i was young

i've been running on empty for most of today. 4 basketball games in 2 days can do that to you. of course, i have 4 games to go to tomorrow. i think my Saturday may be either a coma or one powered by alcohol.

did manage to sell off some music today. got $15. that's the most cash i've had on me in 3 months. certainly enough to cover the poems i need to mail out. i'm hoping to get that all done before having to get down to UD Arena for the afternoon session of basketball. which means plenty of the little shit to do tonight. cover letters, bios, etc. etc. i guess i can get that done between basketball, hockey and the dishes this evening.

as for the 2 games last night. neither were that close. both had much better flows than Tuesday's games. made the evening go much quicker. actually got out of the arena before midnight. not sure if that's going to happen or not on Friday.

another must win for the New York Rangers tonight. with the way Florida is playing right now, hopefully the boys put the foot on the neck early.

my brackets are ok of right now. (fingers crossed)

my order from Amazon.com arrived early. so, you'll be seeing a few new music (at least new for me) selections popping up.

had a very nice lunch with my mother today while watching some tourney games. helps that i was drinking. and not having to pay.

i'm interested to see how i survive tomorrow. i'll be sitting in a section of the arena that i haven't sat in in over a decade. should be interesting. i'm really hoping the games are good enough to trick my mind into not giving a shit that i'm around nearly 13,000 strangers and i really don't like people for the most part.

at the very least, i'm hoping for a few poems to pop up out of nowhere.

hope this finds everyone well. until i grace you with my presence again.

music today:

Guided By Voices - Down By The Racetrack
Youth Lagoon - Wondrous Bughouse
Japandroids - Celebration Rock

"Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you." - Ogden Nash

let the madness begin

another damp, dreary day here on the farm. had some freezing rain overnight. no down power lines or anything, but it certainly didn't do any favors for my back. i always love waking up stiff as a corpse.

found out last night the teams coming to Dayton for the NCAA tournament. i was half right in my guess. Indiana and Ohio State are the big teams. i suppose i could throw Notre Dame and NC St. in that mix as well. here are the 10 games i will be seeing in person this week:

Tuesday:
North Carolina A&T vs. Liberty
Middle Tennessee St. vs. St. Mary's

Wednesday:
LIU-Brooklyn vs. James Madison University
Boise St. vs. La Salle

Friday:
Indiana vs. LIU-Brooklyn/JMU winner
NC State vs. Temple
Ohio State vs. Iona
Notre Dame vs. Iowa State

Sunday:
Indiana (most likely) vs. NC St./Temple winner
Ohio St/Iona winner vs. ND/Iowa St. winner

the thought of Ohio State playing Notre Dame on Palm Sunday has me thinking of how much money the tickets could be scalped for. also, thought it was a little cruel for the outgoing Xavier AD to put 2 A10 schools here while the Dayton Flyers season is done. of course, Xavier isn't playing in the postseason either.

filled out a few brackets. a few less than last year. my main bracket has Louisville winning it all. i think i filled out about 15 or so brackets, plus a few round by round ones as well. my fingers are crossed. i'd really like to win something this year. anything would be nice.

spent a little time today thinking of names for the new cats. got a few good ones in mind. the key will be what ones i can remember. plus, so many of these little fuckers look alike, it probably doesn't matter what i name them. i'll probably call them the wrong name anyway.

i am going to try to weave some poetry submissions around the basketball games this week. not sure how i'm going to do that, seeing that a few have to be sent via the post office. but, i enjoy the chaos of running around at times. it would help if the sun or some heat would make a surprise appearance this week. neither are expected for some time.

the New York Rangers play tonight. hopefully, i won't have many reasons to stop watching them tonight. at least until Monday Night Raw starts. if their past few games are any indication, i'll be grumpy sometime way before 8 pm.

music today:

Jamey Johnson - Living for a Song (A Tribute to Hank Cochran)
Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See
Trampled by Turtles - Stars and Satellites

"A man is given the choice between loving women and understanding them." - Ninon de L'Enclos

before i start day drinking

i'm not sure a Saturday morning gets better than waking up to see Manchester City lose 2-0. add to that, albeit a totally fucking lackluster game, a 1-0 Manchester United victory and now the lead in the Premier League is 15 points. with 9 games to go. i'll step out on a limb and say i think United has it in the bag now.

i watched maybe the first 3 minutes of the New York Rangers game yesterday. watching them give up a goal and having to listen to the Pittsburgh announcers was simply too much for me to handle. they lost 3-0, which sucks. but, since i have the Penguins starting goalie on my fantasy hockey team, the shutout helped me. i've got a 9-1 lead going into today. would be nice to get on a roll before the fantasy hockey playoffs start. and it would be nice if the Rangers woke the fuck up soon and realized the season is already half over.

i noticed the Yankees didn't score a run in 2 different games yesterday. wow, i'm really looking forward to this season. fuck me.

i'm thinking i'll probably end up seeing Louisville and Ohio State next week in the college basketball games at UD Arena. i'll know for sure at 6 pm tonight. all i'm really hoping for is some great games.

enjoyed ROH last night. i'm really hoping the SCUM angle doesn't become yet another NWO poorly done rehash of a gimmick from the 90's.

i'll try not to get too drunk that i sleep through my Sunday night shows. no guarantees though. i feel like 37 going on 70.

hope everyone has a great day. be safe. get the hangover food ready.

music today:

Shrug - Whole Hog For The Macho Jesus
Cat Power - You Are Free

"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." - William Butler Yeats

maybe the weekend will be better

yesterday was not a good sporting day for me. spent the afternoon watching the Dayton Flyers lose to Butler. they did what they have done all season, tease. play good, get some rebounds, get some stops, get a lead, make stupid turnovers, quit playing smart defense, panic when the lead goes away, dig out of the hole, rinse, repeat, lose. a fitting end to one fucking frustrating season. 17-14. one less win than i thought they would have after watching the first few weeks of the season. well, hopefully next year will be better, regardless of what conference they are in.

after dinner and The Big Bang Theory, i sat down to watch the New York Rangers. yet another lifeless game where they couldn't capitalize on any chances in what was basically a playoff game in Winnipeg.

that went off just in time to flip over and watch team USA lose in the World Baseball Classic.

as you could imagine, i was a little less than pleased when i went to bed last night. thankfully, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has been pretty damn good all week. that has helped get rid of some of the tension at least.

i woke up this morning to 3 deer walking across the front field. it was just light enough that i could see them. i doubt my camera would have been able to get them. hopefully one day i'll have the damn thing on me when i see some wildlife out here.

at least the New York Yankees won a meaningless spring training game this afternoon. no victory beers for that though.

as for the weekend, tomorrow will be a double dipper of the Rangers playing in Pittsburgh and Manchester United playing a classic trap game against Reading. both are on at the same time basically. i get the feeling i'll be watching United more to begin with. if both lose, this weekend will be a little hard to escape a complete shit storm. so, hopefully one will win at the very least.

i've got to come up with a little money to get some poems out. i figure i will be selling off some music, if the truck gets me to the music store. fingers will be crossed for the next few days. for the truck and for the weather. at least it made it to the 40's finally. of course, there might be snow on St. Patrick's Day.

also on the 17th is Selection Sunday. i'll get to find out which teams i'll be watching in person over the next week at the UD Arena. hopefully some good ones with some decent fan bases. or some rivals would be nice as well. any emotion makes the games pretty fun. especially when you're only rooting interest is whatever your bracket is. i'm going to win a damn bracket challenge sometime before i die. and by the looks of things, i better get to it quickly.

hope everyone has a great weekend. be safe and enjoy the alcohol.

music today:

The Allman Brothers Band - Eat A Peach
Lenny Kravitz - Mama Said
JD McPherson - Signs & Signifiers

"I don't have a moral plan, I'm a Canadian." - David Cronenberg

what a lovely Saturday

a nice southern breeze taking the temps into the mid 60's. some sunshine and some college basketball. i couldn't ask for more.

went to UD Arena to see the Dayton Flyers open up the season for real. a sluggish game with plenty of hope. when your best player doesn't score in the first half and you are up by 7, i always think that means you have a team with great depth. and when that best player finishes the game with 12 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds and you know he played like shit for most of the game, you can smile. this team has plenty of good parts. but relying on freshmen the way they have to, this season will have plenty of warts as well. a win by 13 is a nice way to get the season going.

then, a little bite to eat and a trip to the grocery store. wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it would be. seeing that Ohio State is off this week, i kind of figured everyone would be at the store instead of in front of a television. it was packed but i managed it. when i'm calm i have a real fuck off look to me, so i'm usually left alone. makes it easier for my mother to get through the aisles, i know that much.

got home to see that Manchester United won 3-2. the usual, go down 2-0. enter the Mexican God, Chicharito, and just like that, 3-2. i learned a long time ago, this team has a will that can't be extinguished. no matter the players, the conditions, or the odds, drama is never far away. been a fan since the early 90's. they probably have taken a few years off my life, but it's been enjoyable.

then, enter chaos into college football as Alabama loses at home. down goes the number 1 team in the land. i smell a god conspiracy going on to make sure Notre Dame plays for the national championship. just sayin'.

and since the NHL can't decide if it wants to be relevant or not, this Saturday night will be spent with a beer, some more football, waiting for Saturday Night Live. i'd much rather be watching Canadians fighting, just sayin'.

music today:

Bassnectar - Freestyle Mixtape
Escondido - Escondido EP
Joshua James - Build Me This
Yellow Red Sparks - Simply Put Me In Your Place EP

"The beginning is the most important part of the work." - Plato

by the way, as some of you may have noticed, not that any of you should really care, a part of my soul got robbed last night and i'm now on google+. the world has officially started to end. you're welcome.