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 |   A third attempt at this blogging business. |
 30-DAY BLOG CHALLENGE WINNER FOR SEPTEMBER 2011 AND APRIL 2012!!  BLOGGING CIRCLE OF FRIENDS "BLOGGER OF THE WEEK" MAY, SEPTEMBER, AND NOVEMBER 2013 JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND JUNE 2014 After 380 entries and over 17,600 views, it was time to retire "Who Do I Think I Am??"  . Expect more of the same shenanigans and troublemaking you've come to know and love from me over the last few years. Tell all your friends, warn your family and hide this from your neighbors...this isn't your average blog.   
Thanks for stopping by and showing your support!    THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED.
Continue along on my journey over at "Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am" . |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Tell and share something about your kiss. What each kiss means. " Yes y'all! It's Monday and I managed to catch up finally from under all the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" prompts I missed over the weekend while I was chillin' in Buffalo...which means I can get back to crankin' out lengthy essays regarding life and shit. Get comfy and dial yourself in, because I have no idea where this ship is going this afternoon/evening.30DBC Creator/Founder   , you cheeky bastard!   Thanks for gettin' all sorts of forward on us today! Like, I, ummm, don't know how I feel about talking about kissing because maybe that'll send the wrong message to some people out there, ya know? I never thought I'd have to worry about this kind of thing, but there are definitely some rockstar-level fans out there who've made me reconsider just how much and of what I should be sharing, and a prompt like this blows the cover off all that.A deep, passionate tongue kiss is a whole body thing to me. I feel it everywhere and want to share that. It's almost better than sex in that there's the exploration of feelings involved without the deep pressings of flesh. I'm feeling you enough on a higher level than, say, an acquaintance. There are implied reasons of a relationship..."this could be more" or "you're hotter than my aunt and we're not related, so this is great". Same thing with hugs, but on a lesser level. I hug with my body and my emotions. I get up in close and tight. A hug is the greatest thing ever. I'm smashing my body up against you in non-sexual ways...the closest conveyance of embrace. There's an exchange of mutual admiration and appreciation in one of my tight hugs. Kissing is a little weirder. I'm part Italian, and I'm liable to kiss you on the cheek (guys or girls) when I see you. Not the Hollywood appreciation obligatorial pseudo-smooch, but a full-on, my lips and your cheek kiss that if it were any harder, it'd leave a mark. I'm expressive that way. It doesn't mean I wanna make out with you...it means I'm glad to see you and you're important to me. I never asked to be significant or worthy of this kind of showing of expressions. I just am. But being in love with someone and kissing them is great times the world's infinity. To be able to feel that deeply for someone and express it orally through the sensual communication only tongues can do in the heat of the moment is breathtaking and awe-inspiring. I advise you all now, if you haven't lately, to deep-kiss your lover. Forget about everything else and collapse yourselves into the moment. Don't be in love; be love. Do it up right, and don't thank me when you're done...name your next kid after me, and we'll be cool. BCF PROMPT: "The serene philosophy of the pink rose is steadying. Its fragrant, delicate petals open fully and are ready to fall, without regret or disillusion, after only a day in the sun. It is so every summer. One can almost hear their pink, fragrant murmur as they settle down upon the grass: 'Summer, summer, it will always be summer.' - Rachel Peden What is your serene philosophy? Or what is summer to you? Chose the question you like best or answer both of them, whichever you like." I don't have a "summer philosophy". As long as I don't have to shovel, I don't care what happens outside. It's been raining all day amidst the backdrop of "summer", and I'm glad now that I at least have an umbrella so I don't have to rely on wide-brimmed hats to shelter me from the bane of summer's existence while I'm walkin' these Cortland streets. But I wonder if I have any philosophy, and I kinda don't, beyond "don't be a dick" and "accept people for who they are" and "hard work only gets you harder work". I guess trying to keep things simple is a philosophy, but you and I both know this world isn't quite built like that. Seems like everything's designed with complications to verify your struggles. If I had the answers for that, we wouldn't have a need for the means of "This one's about my first million, spent." .Tell you what...stay young, make sure you have all the food you need, don't get stressed, and sleep with your head above your body. Baller philosophy, right there. Be the breaks you can make for yourself. It's not a cure for lacking happiness, but maybe it's a start. MUSICAL BREAK!! The closest philosophy I've adhered to in all of my life. "It's my philosophy, on the industry...Don't bother dissing me, or even wishing we'd soften, dilute, or commercialize all the lyrics, cause it's about time one of y'all hear it." Lyrics. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:   "Ten things that you think make people interesting."Really? You can't hold me to this, right?  1) A genuine smile. It's telling and it shows, no matter what. 2) Scars. If they wanna talk about it. 3) Their openness to differing opinions. 4) A coincidental taste in music. 5) Other mutual interests, hobbies, etc. 6) All visual...is that person physically appealing? 7) Personality. People tend to gravitate toward the bigger personalities. 8) A pocket full of nothin' disguised as a Fuck You. 9) Their brains, especially after I said "Fuck You!". 10) Ugh...no, all day, ugh. This isn't a consequential list, nor is it meant to rank traits in any particular order. This would probably change too, depending on the day and my mood.  So yeah, I'm back from my trip west to Buffalo, and I had a great time. Along with visiting some old neighborhoods, I managed to see some old friends and hit up the Our Lady Of The Blessed Sacrament lawn fete, a WNY tradition. I got me some Mighty Taco , and also got a chance to go to Scharf's at their new location, another Buffalo tradition. I sang some karaoke at Garden Park Cafe , one of my old hangouts. All in all, a good trip back through the ol' stompin' grounds.  If you're like me and you've got sleep issues, you'll find this link beneficial...College Humor's Guide On Falling Asleep . Very much a true account of the best-laid intentions. I don't remember if I mentioned this last week, but I'm officially a college student now!! Registered for classes, awaiting a date with my adviser, and technically I coul graduate a semester early thanks to my failed previous attempt at schoolin' many years ago. Yay me!Well, cheers to being caught up now in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" . I think it's a good time to step back, maybe read a little, and come tomorrow resume the normal pace of activities when it comes to this blogging thing. Forgive me for seeming a little proud of myself, as this is the first time in all my years of doing the 30DBC that I've been able to catch up after falling behind and not throwing in the towel just 'cuz I missed a day or two. Serial prompts at the end of the month now have nothin' on me! Peace, I think very deeply, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT (Sunday): "Choose any blog entry from your fellow bloggers here in WDC or outside that you think resonates. Share with us one of your own blog posts that you think stands out this week." There were some pretty good prompts this week that elicited excellent entries from the "30-Day Bloggers Group" . Sometimes I like a topical prompt that exposes the differences in opinion between all of the entrants...a lot of times we all have virtually the same opinion on certain subjects because of who we are as writers. We're wired much the same and tend to see things similarly through our critical lenses...it's not often that occasionally a sentence or two can come along and lead to responses all over the spectrum.I really dug the "Music Monday" approach to this week's prompts...Lyn's a sly fox   dialed up a dandy about songs that tell stories, and included a Gordon Lightfoot classic as an example. It's fun for me as a fan of music (all kinds, except country) to see how diverse our tastes are. Charlie ~  didn't disappoint with "Invalid Entry" ...I love stories with personal/emotional attachments to certain songs. It humanizes us in a way that isn't easily explained any other way, and I would never have pegged Charlie as one for bustin' out that tune. I also liked the Tuesday prompt, "Why are athletes on drugs worse than writers on drugs? Athletes that use performance enhancing drugs are condemned while artists who do the same thing are not. Why is that? Does this double standard make sense?" If anything, the responses reiterated my point that often we all as bloggers tend to think alike, or at least have some common ground. Noyoki 's entry, "Invalid Entry" , nailed what we all were getting at...there's no way to measure a drug's influence on our writing like it's measurable by hard statistics in sports, and the kind of drug(s) used are different anyway. There's no real sense of competition...no rankings for us non-novel warriors who bang out some blog entries; there isn't a league of poets squaring off on Monday nights for the entertainment of the masses. As for me? Y'all know my horn-blower is broken when it comes down to naming a favorite entry of mine. Every day I'll write and post, and then read what others have said, and I'll feel like kicking myself for approaching a topic at a different angle when someone else gets dead-on in their viewpoints. But if I had to pick one, I'd go with "This one's about weddings." ...I got to tackle three prompts on the same subject, and I was able to include bits and pieces from my own life as well to add relevancy to the topic. I said it before...humanizing the blogging experience. It's a fun and eye-opening exercise, and it helps when you're not exactly ashamed of what you've done. That's a glimpse into my life that you might not have gotten otherwise (and yes, I tucked a picture into the comments section of that entry for good measure). I feel like that entry really personified the spirit behind "Who Do I Think I Am??" and "Who do I still think I am??" ...I'm still trying to figure it all out while reconciling today with my past. It's almost my way of saying you can't be mad at me for doing dumb shit when I was younger, because we've all been there and now I'm trying to make sense of everything, as convoluted as it can be sometimes. I'm just grateful that people still read this stuff, and think as highly of it as they do. The day it stops resonating with anyone will be a day I've forgotten about what it's like to live. Or something. |
| I'm still in catch-up mode from the weekend, but if all goes well I'll be back on schedule by tomorrow night the latest. 30DBC PROMPT (Saturday): "How do you spend your first $1M?" I think we've all played this game before...pretend you win the lotto or strike it rich another way, and then map out your plans for what you're gonna do with your windfall. It starts out as a fun little exercise...before you break down in sadness because you're 99.867% positive it's never gonna happen. I've always said I'll be frugal...no wasted expenditures on unnecessary crap. Sure, maybe a reasonable house and a suitable ride might be in the works, but I'm not into mansions and DeLoreans. I could probably update my wardrobe and fill out my closets a little again, but there's almost no need to go crazy here either...I'd probably just get anything I felt I needed that I couldn't find at work. Maybe treat myself to a fancy dinner or two at a decent restaurant, but that would require spending time in public, and I'm not very fond of that. I know I'd blow a ton of dough on music. mainly to replace the cd's that haven't showed up anywhere between my ex kicking me out and my arrival in Cortland...I'd also have to replace the iPod that got stolen off me when I was homeless. I'm not sure I'd even try to estimate the dollar amount I would be spending at the iTunes Store online, but it'd be somewhere between "totally unreasonable" and "damn near ridiculous". And then I'd be doing the smart thing where I let my money make me more money. I'm sure there are ways of making this happen...don't rich people do this all the time? Isn't that related to the phrase "living off the interest"? Yeah, I wanna ride that bus to the promised land. I don't know exactly where I'm at tally-wise. It doesn't matter...I'm spending my first million, so I'm assuming there's plenty more Grants and Jacksons I don't really need to be completely accountable for. Besides, that whole "keeping track" thing...like I said at the top, I don't wanna know how much is going out because there's a certain amount of sadness that comes from seeing the debit side of the ledger. Maybe I've got a bit of a stingy streak in me...I understand I can't take it with me when I die, but I'd rather be sitting on it than having a pile of goods and gadgets with nothing else to show for whatever accomplishment put me into that higher tax bracket. And a million isn't much these days anyway. How much does it cost to get a library or a hospital named after you? After I've taken care of some debts and gave away a little here and there to some family members and friends, and gotten myself the few things I really want, I imagine there'd be just enough left over to have a bar stool named after me in a couple of my favorite haunts. I'd be cool with that. What else do I need? Circumstances now have forced me to become a minimalist, and that doesn't just go away once you've started rollin' in the green. I'd probably be the most homely rich dude you ever heard of...<insert witty remark about how "it's what's on the inside that makes you rich, not what you have" here>. I'll be happy bein' the regular guy with regular shit doin' regular things, with no one knowing the wiser about me because I don't need the drama associated with large sums of money. Everyone's got a hand out for somethin' these days..."donate to this charity", "help me with my benefit", "float me 'til payday", "daddy needs a new nose". You hear it all when you're in a better position. Tell you what...if I'm rich all of the sudden, it can't be that hard for people smarter than me to get just as loaded. Ideas now are derivative...all the cool shit's already been invented; today it's all about finding ways to improve on existing great stuff. But chances are, if you gave me a million I'd be just as likely to piss it away on nickel-and-dime expenditures before I used it to make any real difference in anything. Everyday necessities, the occasional meal out or concert, anything of minimal importance. I'd live life the same way, but with a few extra zeroes on the end of my bank balance. Ain't a damn thing wrong with that. |
| I'm back home from my trip to Buffalo...looks like I've got a few prompts to catch up with if I'm gonna win this month's "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" . 30DBC PROMPT (Friday): "Wardrobe malfunctions: How can this topic not be funny? From nip slips to unexpected wind gusts, share your best/worst wardrobe malfunctions or those you have witnessed." I see it. You see it. If you have functioning eyes you can't get away from the tire fires some people try to pull off as "outfits". There truly are some unfortunate people out there who just don't realize how ridiculous they look once they leave their sanctified mirrors. And as much as I'd love to pile on that gross misjudgment of society, I can't...perhaps it's the self-deprecation gene in me that feels like I have to share more than you want (or care) to know. Sharts. Don't look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about. That moment when you think you have to fart and can let it slip out easily, but you wind up shitting yourself. It's like life hating you, only a bazillion times worse. See, it starts with the crazy ex, and it typically involves a long night of drinking draft beer in a lousy bar you stayed at for two hours longer than you hoped you'd be there, because crazy ex is super cute and fun sex. Only, if she gets too drunk, she starts reminding you that she's batshit cray-crazy, misses her husband in his coked-up glory, and starts beating you because you got a text from another female (while her phone is being blown up by random dudes). When sex isn't salvageable, and you have to work in the AM, you have an appearance to put on. Batshit doesn't wear well on middle management. So I'm at work, doing my managerial duties the morning after a long night of poor decisions. I feel the gas, and I'm prepared to gently let it exit my body...but it feels a lot warmer than usual. Yup, that was a beer poop. On the sales floor. Humiliation washed over me like the worst rain storm you've ever been caught in, multiplied by a ginormous panic attack. Again, don't act like you've never been there. Fortunately, my sister and youngest brother lived down the street from the store I was working at, and Bro Mike was the same waist size as me. Snuck my cell phone into the bathroom, called up Selfish Whore (pet name for kid sis), and was like "Can you, uhhh, bring me some boxers? I, uhhh, had an accident." What else do you say? I shit myself, please help?  She came through though, and I was able to continue the workday free of voided bowels. I'll genuinely take a nip slip or some "oopsie, maybe it was on purpose and maybe it wasn't" panty shot over the shart. There is no possible explaining-away of the shart. It's telltale, and you need to act fast lest it becomes your legacy...nobody wants to be that guy who shat himself! And if you've ever experienced this morning-after draft beer phenomenon, don't be shy about it. I'm with ya, brothers and sisters. Shit happens...to all of us. And if it hasn't yet, someday it will. |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Are Bloggers Better Than US Spies?" What's up folks? I'm comin' at you live, on location at my mom's...made it safely to Western New York a little earlier, had some pizza, and I'm kinda sorta tired, so I'm gonna keep this quick tonight. I know this much...I wanna make all my "online aliases" as cool as "Brown Moses". But I've been using the only one I have for far too long now to ever feel like changing it. Seriously though...most of this is over my head. Where are these vigilante journalists getting their facts and ideas from? Brother Nature  cobbles together a Blog Mob on WDC and no one gets taken out, yet somehow these people have all this crazy clandestine information. I don't get it.Also, remember awhile back when we were talking about conspiracy theories ("This one's about options, a memory, and a conspiracy." )? Now might be a good time to remind people of the idea that the public is usually privy to 5% of all there is to know about something, and you can't always trust what you read on the internet (unless, of course, it's this chunk of internet madness that you use as a source of getting your daily whatever from ). It must be nice to have all this time to devote to trying to figure out who shot down a plane on the other side of the planet. It's even more special when the only thing of note that simple minds like me can make any sense of is "Russia lied." Did you think you were gonna get the truth, or that they'd be like, "Nyet...he's cool, he is civilian" and they'd just start spittin' state secrets? Right my man...when you're done playin' junior sleuth, I've got some of my personal WDC Awardicons to sell you. In my opinion, this is just more propaganda...but it's unclear what they're trying to do. Maybe the game's more advanced, making things easier for hacks to get information while real spies are doing much harder and more detailed work. Then again, I don't know anything about this kinda stuff. I'm not a blogger who's out to save the world one dirty secret about lying counterparts across the globe at a time. I'll leave that up to Brown Moses and whatever his agenda is. BCF PROMPT: "In Aesop's fable about the crow and the pitcher, a thirsty bird happens upon a vessel of water, but when he tries to drink from it, he finds the water level out of his reach. Not strong enough to knock over the pitcher, the bird drops pebbles into it -- one at a time -- until the water level rises enough for him to drink his fill. What do you think? Can a crow actually do this or is it really a fable? Let's hear what your theory is..." I also don't know much about birds, so why not? Why wouldn't a crow be smart enough to do something like that? Of course, that's a lot of work, and it could potentially make the crow thirstier...having rocks in your mouth I assume would do that. And who leaves a pitcher of water laying around with barely enough in it that the crow can't reach it, yet it's still enough that he can't knock it over? What kind of triple-breed crow is this? Tell you what...if it were me and I was having this problem, I'd be making my way over to pool, or a lake, or some other place where water flows like...water should. None of this screwin' around with water levels or rocks or all that effort just for a few measly drops tainted by whatever dirt and crap is on these pebbles. No half-steppin', Aesop. Nothing's worth doing if it's not done right, or something. MUSICAL BREAK!! THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "Write about the rainbows in your clouds."Is there such a thing? I got stuck in the rain yesterday waiting for the bus at school. Apparently the TC3 campus is undergoing some renovations to their main entrance, making it virtually impossible to see the bus from anywhere except literally the boarding point. Time to invest in an umbrella, I guess. That's the one and only time I'll endorse snow over rain...when I absolutely must be outside waiting or walking in either one, snow isn't quite as soaking. Otherwise, snow can go fuck itself every other chance it gets. Y'all know I'm not a silver linings-type of brotha. I have the tendency to see too often life at face value rather than all the hidden joys that occur only when you see things in a certain light and under special conditions. Where you wanna see a rainbow, I see the inconvenience. It's what I do and how I'm wired. Sure, there's good things in life...and I'm not immune to them. They just don't involve clouds. The rainbows in my clouds aren't rainbows in my clouds...I just don't know what all they are yet. It's taken me nearly 39 years to see past the rain, so gimme a li'l more time before I'm ready to move on to the rainbows.  Not much else to report today...spending three-plus hours in a car can do that. Not sure if I'll get to anyone else's entries tonight, but I'll definitely try to catch up on Sunday once I'm back home and settled. Peace, As Salaam Alaikum, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! Ummm, is this person serious? |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "What huge gathering you had reluctantly attended? How were you motivated to attend? Did you enjoy it? How was it?" What up blog fam? Three prompts that I could actually use to write about the same thing today! That makes this entry like, a unicorn, or something, no? The sad part is I've most likely told all these stories before...now though, it's like getting all three for the price of one! A box-set in blog form. Starting with the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" , I can without a doubt say I did not want to go to my sister's wedding. Maybe it wasn't a "huge" gathering itself, but the idea of it all was huge...huge money, huge questions, huge pain in the ass. I wanted no part of it.For starters, I'd only met her soon-to-be-husband once. And while I liked him, I didn't care for the idea that someone who I was at one time very close with felt she was now grown up enough to not care what anyone else thought...when our family started having problems and breaking down, her first instinct was to flee, and she basically said that around the time of her going away party when she moved to Florida. (He turned out to be an alright guy because he loved Wu-Tang Clan, a fact we bonded over before their wedding.) Second of all, it was in Savannah, GA. I was dealing with some legal shit around the same time and to get out of going I nearly convinced my ex (we'd recently moved into a $1000/mo. house) that we couldn't afford it. The hotel, the plane, the meals, the wedding gifts, the souvenirs...none of it. We needed to save money. Plus, I don't like flying. And I wasn't gonna feel bad about telling my sis we weren't coming. But what does my ex do? She goes behind my back, calls up my aunt and uncle, and swings a deal with them to split the cost of a rental car and a hotel room, and pays for it all with her income tax rebate (gotta love the tax breaks for single moms . And to top it off, she bought me a new dress shirt, tie, slacks (are they still called "slacks"? Who says that?) and sport coat. Without me even being there. That's love. And that also meant there was no way of getting out of it now.Finally, my stepmom (my sis' mom) was gonna be there with her shitty new boyfriend, along with my dad. Awk-warrrrrd. The new boyfriend was gross, a total douche tool, and shady as all get-out, and dad was basically the only single person in the whole group (even though him and my stepmom were still technically married). All these things? Big ol' red flags for your boy over here. But we went. Because it was a "destination wedding", there weren't more than twenty of us there (which also, from what I heard, pissed off a few members of my stepmom's family, but oh well). The whole thing went off pretty much without a hitch (except for getting lost on the way to the bed-and-breakfast where the ceremony was to be held from the hotel, after getting stuck in detours), as these things normally tend to. The vacation part of the trip wasn't as fun, with my girl getting stuck with her killer migraines and pretty much not moving out of the hotel room for two days. I guess in the end I had an alright time...could've been better, for sure, and it definitely coulda gone worse. In its defense for being the backdrop of a potential deal-breaking situation though, Savannah really was a beautiful little city...I'd like to go back someday on my own terms. BCF PROMPT: "It's Wacky Wednesday . According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary wacky refers to something 'amusing and very strange' or 'absurdly or amusingly eccentric or irrational'. Write something wacky."Weddings always lead to wacky stuff. Probably because for a few hours there's unlimited booze and a bunch of people you'll never see again. If you do something stupid and you're friends with the bride and/or groom, they don't have to defend you to anyone. Hell, they don't even have to acknowledge you or your presence by name...if they're smart they can sidestep the question of your misdeeds entirely. I've been to a bunch of these occasions, and let me tell you...the receptions are pretty much all the same (except for the example up above). But that doesn't mean they have to be boring! Take me to your next wedding, and I'll show you how to make the best of it...  I got busted on camera once freakin' my friend's mom. I blame the double gin and tonics members of the wedding party were allowed. I danced with an inflatable oversized guitar to AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" . Presumably while under various states of intoxication that I immediately sweated out in 3.5 minutes. While dating the crazy ex, she took me to a wedding she was standing up in. I knew no one there and she barely talked to me the entire night. The only way I could get her attention was by beginning to perform a striptease toward the very end of the night. You could say I was lonely guy sad and drunk. DMFM and I went to a buddy's wedding that was entirely in Polish. After dinner and a few dances our dates were tired, so we dropped them off at home and went back to the reception hall, where two other weddings were going on. Dave had girls in all three rooms. We probably shouldn't have made it home alive because he was too drunk to drive, and I don't know how to start a car using just a screwdriver (his car had been stolen a few weeks beforehand, and since it was pretty beat up there was no sense of urgency in repairing it). This sentence: sneaking off to engage in intimate behavior on playground equipment located on the premises of the reception hall property. While standing up at my best friend from high school's wedding, a few of us dragged him to the bar across the street so we could watch the closing minutes of the series-clinching Stanley Cup Finals game going on. Hilariously, his new bride stormed in and bellowed "Where's my husband??" We went from a wedding to a bar, so...yeah. And then I left the same wedding a little early to go to a coworker's stag party, arriving in my tux just in time for the "entertainment" to start performing.Ladies and gentlemen, prime wedding season is slipping away from us fast...book me for your event now! You won't regret it (and if you do, you still don't have to tell anyone about it ).MUSICAL BREAK!! What good is a blog entry about weddings without some appropriate sing-alongage? Oh, those wacky southerners... "You know I'm still your loverboy, I still feel the same way. That's when she told me a story 'bout free milk and a cow and said, "No huggee, no kissee until I get a wedding vow." Lyrics. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "Have you ever had a red carpet moment? Not like an actor but at a wedding or a special day that is important to you. I would love to hear about it."Yes I have, actually. I've been fortunate enough to have the honor of standing up at a couple of weddings. It adds another layer of joy on to the celebration. Unless you're a jerk like me who had previous relations with both the maid and matron of honor at a wedding you were best man/usher in. Then that layer of joy turns into "chain smoking and drinking from a flask of Crown Royal on the way to the rehearsal dinner". True story bro (not like I need to remind you, but anyhow...). I met this girl after high school and we started dating...when my buddy came back from college on break we set him up with my gf's best friend. They eventually got married; we did not for the typically atrocious reasons guys ruin the lives of young women. Several years later (but still before the wedding) I'd ran into a mutual friend of all of ours, and we decided to meet out for drinks because it turned out we had other mutual friends we didn't even know about. That led to the ill-advised decision to convince her to break up with her long-term boyfriend for me. Needless to say, that relationship between her and I was over very quickly. So my boy and his girl are finally gonna get hitched, and I know what's about to happen. The girl I was dating (who was involved in the setting-up) had married, and her obnoxious, belligerent drunk husband who tried to jump me in a bar once was gonna be there, along with all my ex's family...and the long-term boyfriend who became the husband of the other girl. I tried to break the ice with the angry, snotty ex-girlfriend by offering up some kind of peace treaty or truce or something, "because today's really about them, so let's be civil" or some other shit...and all I got in return was "You just watch your fucking mouth!" I don't know what that was all about, but thankfully the whole thing went off without complications and the other girl's husband had actually said something to the new bride like I was a "nice guy and pretty funny", and that he "misjudged me". Who says that about someone who steals your girlfriend?? Of course, I still felt the need to leave this wedding just to watch another girl get naked for money, because I'm a great friend to all. After workin' all day tomorrow, I get to make a trip back to Buffalo for the weekend. I've probably made mention of it before so I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself, but it'll be a bittersweet occasion because we're finally gonna bury my uncle. But regardless, it's nice to get away and go somewhere that's not where you live, for any reason...you just kinda wish the circumstances were a little different though. Hey! You, reading this! Do you like music? And writing? Then why haven't you signed up for:
yet?? I've been looking forward all spring and summer to this, and now I've heard there might not be enough contestants to put two on a team! That isn't right! Y'all gotta step up and become a part of this! What could be more fun than a barrel of monkeys?  Because who doesn't like pictures of clasical works of art recreated in modern settings ? I love this link because it features a marvel of modern internetting: the slider. Plus, it just goes to show you what happens when you put crayons in the hands of the very, very wrong. "Brilliantly Corrupted Coloring Books" . People who post links to quizzes on Facebook without telling you who they ended up with or don't share the results are people you shouldn't be trusting. Well, it's on...after a little aggravation, I'm officially a full-time college student at Tompkins Cortland Community College , majoring in Computer Information Systems. Registered for classes today, and just waiting on who my adviser's gonna be and the final results of my financial aid. Took a tour of the campus and it's not really too intimidating. Kinda gettin' excited now. Bonus: if all goes well, I may be eligible to graduate a semester early because of my previous failed attempt at higher education. I guess I earned more credits back in '94-'95 than I thought. Go me!And I think I've had enough excitement for one day...I'm already yawnin', but that doesn't mean much. Hopefully I can get myself to sleep eventually and stay that way 'til it's time to wake up...and maybe the day'll go by fast enough that I'll be chillin' in The 'Lo before I know it. Peace, don't put my love upon no shelf, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Why are athletes on drugs worse than writers on drugs? Athletes that use performance enhancing drugs are condemned while artists who do the same thing are not. Why is that? Does this double standard make sense?" 'Sup y'all? Before I begin tonight, give a hand to Lyn's a sly fox for guest judgin' this week's portion of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" and providing some pretty sweet prompts. You can be our judge anytime, Lyn!Now, as for this prompt comparing athletes and artists, I think it boils down to a few different things in play here: 1) The different sorts of pressure at younger ages. Yeah yeah yeah, every kid is subjected to the whole "Don't do drugs!" rhetoric throughout the course of their young lives, but I think young kids coming up in organized sports (at least, in leagues or organizations that do things right), there's more emphasis on staying clean (even though the primary concerns are recreational drugs, as opposed to the performance-enhancing kind). I'm not naive enough to think that there aren't high school kids on the football team juicin', because undoubtedly there are...but at a young age it's so much easier for an athlete to get busted doin' anything, especially if he/she is high. As for the band geeks, sure, they're just given the same occasional "ya booze, ya lose" lecture, but no one's gonna make 'em pee in a cup because they ripped off a killer flute solo, or rocked the trombone with a tenacity similar to the one needed to attack a curveball. At that level, I just think less people care about what the artists are into; the athletes get more scrutiny.2) Lower scrutiny almost always leads to lower expectations. Because there's significantly less interest in the artists on some level than there are in athletes, the drama club can fly a little lower under the radar and take a few more changes, while the jocks need to sorta toe the line. Johnny Quarterback gets caught with an ounce of pot on campus, and it's possible he could face the loss of a scholarship or dismissal from the team...but if the orchestra lead gets caught under the same circumstances, chances are there are lesser repercussions (if anyone cares at all). I hate the saying "That's just the way it is, because that's the way it's always been." but it applies here. 3) After awhile, expectations shift closer toward reality. When athletes hit the major stages of their respective careers, we expect- no, sometimes, we demand- that they produce game in, game out, play in, play out. We want the towering home run and the monster bone-jarring hit. The ooohs and ahhhs. And owners want to protect their investments, so they'll do whatever it takes to help their players stay healthy and boost their systems. The average fan goes to a game to see his favorite teams and players...play, and not sit on the bench with a sprained pinkie finger. It's gotten so out of hand that a group of ex-players is suing the National Football League over the way the league hid information from players regarding the risks and procedures involved in prescribing and handing out painkillers and other meds. Meanwhile, everyone assumes that if Johnny Rockstar makes it to the pinnacle of his career, he'll have a drug habit soon (if he doesn't already), and who's flinchin'? Nobody. It comes with the territory.And that just covers painkillers and rec-use party supplies. Talking about performance-enhancing drugs is a totally different animal. Has science convinced us that smokin' a J will make you a better guitar player? Just as much as other scientists have said it doesn't. But with PED's, the evidence is a lot clearer, and it tilts the playing field. Ever been to a concert where a member of your favorite band was so fucked up outta his gourd that it ruined the experience? Bummer. The losers are the crowd and maybe his band mates. But if your least-favorite baller is straight crushin' records with the force and doin' it against your team, you're gonna be suspicious. Especially if this sort of production is comin' outta nowhere. You're gonna be pissed...and so will a bunch of other athletes who play a kid's game for fun (and millions of dollars) and the lure of a championship. There are trophies in music too, but they're not as regarded as the Stanley Cup or the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Winning a Grammy doesn't necessarily mean you were dominant over the course of a year...could it? Yeah, but it doesn't always translate. PED's have no real value on record sales or an artist's popularity, unlike sports history record books that get rewritten on a yearly basis by guys you're pretty positive, but aren't totally sure, are cheating by putting a substance into their bodies that'll make them better at their profession. It all goes back to science and statistics...it matters more in baseball or football than it does in music or writing. The exception? Rock stars in their seventies still trying to tour. You can't tell me there's not somethin' shady goin' on with doctors for the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney. At least Macca puts out some new music every few years. Jagger and Richards haven't put out a new album in decades and are now barely swaggering jockeys for Viagra and Levitra in a groupie quest. I'm convinced Keith Richards died shortly after the last proper Stones LP, and what we're seeing now is his cloned DNA cobbled from heroin needles and crazed hangers-on who saved spent condoms. But maybe I'm just bitter 'cuz I never really was a big fan of the Rolling Stones anyway. BCF PROMPT: "Write a letter to the personality trait you like least, convincing it to shape up or ship out. Be as threatening, theatrical, or thoroughly charming as is necessary to get the job done." Really...anyone's? It doesn't have to be our own, just "the personality trait"? Cool...that's a little less bleedin' I have to do for you people tonight .Dear people who can't write a proper sentence without swapping out words in exchange for letters: U, R, and C are not words. Please stop doing this, or I will see to it that you are punched in the head repeatedly with a dictionary. This also goes for anyone who doesn't understand that "NE1" isn't a word as well...can we get that straight and not "str8"? There's such a thing as slang, and then there's sheer laziness and/or stupidity...I would hate to have to unlike your Facebook posts because you type like your keyboard is in a language that consists of six to eight letters, a smattering of numbers, and emojis that don't make sense because your fingers spazzed out while your shift key was depressed. Act like the primary language you've been speaking or at least hearing your entire life is English. Please and thank you. Sincerely, The Spelling Jedi. And don't tell me people misspelling words on purpose like that isn't proof on some kind of trait. Being an a-hole is a trait as much as it is a personality flaw, y'all. MUSICAL BREAK!! I was really tempted to go with this song, which I know y'all have seen before (and if you haven't come across it here at "Note: We love this. We're pretty sure you might, t...", surely you've seen it all over your Facebook news feed within the last week or so)...being that this is a writing website and we're people who write and/or enjoy good writing from time to time. And I can't justify Fall Out Boy because I can't stHold up...I've never seen this video before and the monkey in the opening minute that texts "Yo, this band is wack!" has to be the greatest monkey-related thing I've seen since "Barrel of Monkeys" .THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "Family History - Rip out a page from yours and share a story or two."The reasons I remember this are probably the same as my father's reasons for ever sharing this bit of info with us kids when we were maybe in our early teens, if that. And while I don't recall if he'd had too much to drink or not that particular evening (conventional wisdom says he might've), I seem to think the next day...well, I'm not gonna call the man a liar for it, and he never said he was kidding, but something's not adding up for me. My dad claimed in front of a group of his friends that we were somehow related to Al Capone. Yeah, that Al Capone .I forget what our exact reactions were, but it was somewhere in between "GTFO!" and  "You're not serious!" He even tried backing up his claim by saying the next day we'd visit his relative so-and-so, who had a copy of the family tree and could prove it. I believe he also said it was true because his mother's maiden name (my crazy Italian grandmother Rosie) was Capone...and y'all know she's not exactly one you wanna ask about anything ("This one's about the annoying annoyance." ).Of course, the next day came and when asked about it later on he kinda blew the whole thing off and that was the last we heard about it. But that didn't stop me in school from repeating what my dad had said, prefaced by the caveat "Well, my dad said...", which of course at that age gets twisted around into me saying it rather than me saying someone else said it, and y'all know that never ends well for the kid who typically got picked on a lot even when he didn't have to open his mouth and invite it upon himself.  Here's a fun list...College Humor's Nine Fantastic Ways Celebrities Have Replied To Fans . At work we see a lot of things...a lot of things. This was overheard in passing between two of the regulars (and since there's only two of us...I'll let you do the math ): "I'm not sayin' she's fat, but she had a really nice set of abs where her boobs are supposed to be." For some reason my coworkers say they miss me on days they don't come in.Ok, I'm gettin' outta here 'cuz I'm exhausted...woke up this morning with the toothache I was complainin' about the other day being in worse shape, making eating difficult (but I did it!), and then I busted my ass and overdid the standing/walking/lifting totally when we rearranged our entire showroom this afternoon. Plus, ya know...lack of sleep and all. I might loiter around here for a few minutes, but then it's time to pass out for real because tomorrow's gonna be a long day if I can figure out how to fit in everything I've got goin' on. Peace, like you only sweeter, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "I think it is Monday Music Storytellers Day. I feel this particular song is one of the best examples of a modern storytelling in song. It is based on a true story. "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot." What's up, friends? Great prompts today, and since I've wasted a ton of time already this evening I'm gonna get right into 'em, if you don't mind. I'm not ashamed one bit to admit that I'm a Gordon Lightfoot fan...I've got a couple of his cd's and "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" has always been a favorite. Lyn's a sly fox is absolutely right...in my opinion it's the gold standard of lyrical storytelling in music. That's why I decided to go with a group of fellow Canadians and one of the premier lyrical talents as my choice for Monday Music Storytellers Day (hey 30DBC Creator/Founder ...this should be a thing every Monday )...The Tragically Hip with "Fifty-Mission Cap" .Gord Downie (the lead singer) is renowned for his poetic talents (you can check out a book of his poetry and lyrics here ), and in this song he briefly tells the story of Toronto Maple Leafs' defenseman Bill Barilko . Basically all there is to the story is that a few months after scoring the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in 1951, he disappeared in a plane crash and wasn't found until 1962...which, coincidentally, was when the then-powerhouse Maple Leafs would win their next Stanley Cup."Bill Barilko disappeared that summer, he was on a fishing trip. The last goal he ever scored won the Leafs the cup They didn't win another until 1962, the year he was discovered. I stole this from a hockey card, I keeped tucked up under my fifty mission cap, I worked it in to look like that." According to the song's own Wikipedia entry , "The song's lyrics also reference the World War II style U.S. Army Air Corps, or U.S. Air Force officer's cap, mentioned in the song's title. The fifty mission cap was a cloth cap with visor issued to U.S. Army officers in World War II that developed a particular crush from the headphones that the bomber crews wore." I often wondered the significance of the "Fifty Mission Cap"; I'm surprised I never bothered to figure out what it was...or maybe I did know at one point and just forgot. I think the only improvement I would've made in this song would've been to sandwich a different verse in between a repeated opening and closing rendition of the original lyrics. About what? I don't know. Maybe something of personal meaning to Downie? An anecdote regarding the search for the plane that was carrying Barilko? Doesn't matter...the song, to me, is great as it is (but I'm under the impression that nothing The Hip does can suck).The Hip have managed to come up with many, many great songs in their long and storied career, which has spanned over thirty years. I've been fortunate enough to see them in concert five times, and no two shows are ever alike. Their website contains their entire discography available for free streaming, with lyrics, details, and fan-submitted stories included as well. Definitely a treat for both casual and hardcore fans, as well as those who've heard them for the first time. (I'll add a live clip down below...the "lyrics" link includes an embedded player that you can hear the song on as well.) BCF PROMPT: "It is Blue Monday. Write a story or poem about a Blue Monday. If you don't like the color blue then write a story about Monday being your favorite color." Huh...first we've got Monday Music Storytellers Day, and now we've got Blue Monday. And normally I'm not crazy about prompts that include the words "write a story", but I'm intrigued by the sentiment of "Monday being your favorite color". I don't quite have a story in me (although "Black Monday" does sound kinda cool) today, and writing poems...well, there's not enough hours in the day right now for me to attempt that and a blog entry (I need better time management skills , for real though), but maybe I'll bash somethin' out quick-like and see what happens.Black Monday Moon Your day's unceremoniously ground to a halt and you're not staying awake but you can't find the nerve to fall asleep so you look at the ceiling of your eyelids praying for relief in the form of an intervention or mystery or visions of the good things you're supposed to be thinking when you've got nothing else to do but count your winks and blinks and numbers aren't your strongest suit but you're too spent for water or a run around the bedposts and maybe just maybe there's a sandman on the moon who'll throw some magic dust your way and the next thing you know it'll be time in the morning for you to say thanks for the rest and I'll try to do my best me today see it was all because I prayed on the black Monday moon that only comes out every night I'm stuck in the sheets of another long day ended by a longer time of insomnia and preludes to dreams that never come true and fears of stress that lie undue with the reality of another day that'll probably end against the same wishes among the dust in my eyes speckling the night in my eyelid skies as clouds circle and cover my every night black Monday moon so high. Huh...guess that really didn't take long after all, and I can live with it. If it were a real poem I'd keep in a notebook, it probably wouldn't have turned out as good...I'd be thinking about it too much and I'd be too worried about punctuating and syllables and line length and all that high-fallutin' nose-in-the-air grammar snob stuff. I don't have time for that. And it just occurred to me that Deftones did a song once with B-Real of Cypress Hill called "Black Moon" , but it's got nothing to do with moons of any color (or Mondays for that matter), so I'm not even gonna talk anymore about it.MUSICAL BREAK!!  Ladies and gentlemen...from the Canada of your souls: THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "Pick a headline from your local newspaper or favorite on-line news source and share your feelings about it. Be sure to include the headline somewhere in your blog."Well played, Mitchopolis ...nice to see my push for the Sunday "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" prompt getting some good use! (I'm sure it was just coincidental though...not positive anyone knew "The Sunday News" was my idea to replace "The Sunday Review". No big deal...carrying on.)Must be a slow news day, because I wasted so much time on Facebook when I got home from work I didn't see any major stories come up in my Facebook newsfeed this afternoon. All the planes stayed in the sky and landed properly (quick...someone change the number on the dry-erase board that says "We've had no accidents or crashes in...  " from three days to four), Russia hasn't decided to expand its control over anyone else, and Miley Cyrus still isn't wearing pants. All must be sorta right in the world today.With that in mind, I present to you Novoselic Comments On Israel-Palestine Conflict, Defends Vedder from Rolling Stone. It's maybe not national headline worthy, but stick with me for a minute and let's figure this one out.Every time a rock star opens his mouth and starts discussing politics, there's a certain segment of the population that's always "Shut up and play the hits, asshole!". And that's rude...what, because he's famous he's not entitled to his opinion? Because he's on a stage with a microphone all the sudden he's a robot? Wait in line at your local grocery store or ride public transportation for twenty minutes, and you'll hear no shortage of strange nobodies telling anyone with a freakin' ear what a shitty job the president's doin', who the Bills should really have picked up to play quarterback, and why the bachelor guy should've married the sweet, innocent girl she liked instead of that skanky whore he'll divorce in six months anyway. You probably know people who won't stop telling you their opinions as gospel (and bless your sick little heart if you're one of them). That's life. So why should it be any different when a musician comes out and makes anti-war statements? What's wrong with that? Well, apparently Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam has been taking some flack lately for playing a protest song or two in concerts overseas and saying a few words about whatever's goin' on in the world. Mind you, this isn't the first time he's done this before: during the second Bush presidency he'd often bring masks of both George Bush and Saddam Hussein on stage while singing "Bushleaguer" . This is what he does. He's not oversexin' up your thirteen-year-old (and if you think your kids aren't listening to the pop-radio crap that's out there, trust me...they're at least very aware of it). He's promoting music with substance, but that's an argument for another time.Anyway, apparently it was a big deal when Eddie Vedder sang John Lennon's "Imagine" the other day, and I think that's bullshit. I don't understand what the commotion is about. My favorite quote from the article is Novoselic saying, "It is time to stop repeating the same old arguments, dogma and hate speech. It is the knuckleheads on both sides that should be criticized and not the singer from a rock band." Powerful stuff...and yeah, if the common man or woman can say whether they support one side or the other in a general tragedy like war, why can't anyone say they don't support the idea of any war? I don't see the problem.But maybe it's just me and how I see (or perhaps don't see) the idea of celebrity in general. They're human beings too, and with that comes all the stuff we've got to do and deal with and read about in the news. I wonder how others feel about this...is it fair that actors, musicians, authors, athletes, and other "famous people" should only stick to whatever it is they do, or do you care that they show a more "real" side by offering sometimes strong opinions about certain subjects (even though you may not agree with them)? My take is this: let 'em say whatever the hell they want. The general public votes with their eyes and their wallets...if they don't like someone, they're not gonna watch them nor spend money on them. It's the reality of an all-access society that we every one of us lives in. Ok, let's get back to lightening things up a little...here's a list of 13 of the most unfortunate wedding couple names . The twelve-year-old boy inside me is giddy. Speaking of songs that tell stories, I was thinking about it this morning and I almost went with De La Soul's "Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa" , but it wouldn't have been right to post that and not include "Millie Fell Off The Fire Escape" , which is sorta like Atmosphere's version of a sequel. Thanks to the magic of YouTube though, someone mashed up both songs into one mix , if you'd care to hear a sordid and unfortunate tale of child abuse and murder from a hip-hop perspective.And that sounds like a good enough stopping place for this evening...looks like I've said too much again tonight. Oh well...you'll have that. Had to make up for the weekend I lost feelin' like crap and whatnot. Mission accomplished...time to get some sleep. Peace, I worked it in, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "1. What one blog from your peers really caught your attention this past week. Why? Tell us about it. 2. Plus, I would like you to choose one of your own blog entries this week and tell us why it totally rocks! This is your chance to blow your own horn. 3. Finally, I would like to know which prompt you found the most challenging to respond to in your blog in the past week." Greetings dear readers...it's the usual Sunday Review Wildcard Sunday round of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" (glad we got all that sorted out at the beginning of the month ), with an added twist from our celebrity guest judge this week, the one and only Lyn's a sly fox . Follow along as I take you through an abridged version of the week that was in the ol' 30DBC.My pick for favorite blog entry? Geez. Since I bitch about this part of the week nearly every Sunday, I guess it's on me to actually start changing and paying more attention to the entries throughout the week that pique my interest. But since I can't possibly remember all the ones I've read and obviously can't be bothered to notate somewhere physically in secret the ones I've clicked "Like" on or felt moved to make a poignant remark regarding, I'm gonna guess and say it was probably {user oh cool, the "June 2014 Blog Prompts Archive" hasn't been updated to include this week . Balls. Well, that kinda takes the fun work out of getting my attention grabbed.Therefore, in a non-scientific, random straw poll, I'm choosing Charlie ~ 's post, "Invalid Entry" . Mainly because he talked about yo-yo's, which reminded me of my boy DMFM back home, but also because he used a nice Third Eye Blind song to lead off his entry. For bonus points, his entries for the other blogging groups were strong, and the 30DBC segment in particular was a quick, balls-out mini tour de force of an entry that didn't just make me laugh...it gave me that little, out of the side of my mouth, "you cocky son of a bitch" half-grin of approval. That's, like, my highest honor, or somethin'.Moving on to the favorite blog entry from my own personal collection, I think it's only fair to combine this response with the third part of today's queries. Reason being: if I'm challenged and I feel like I pulled off a good entry because of it, there's no sense in repeating myself. My damn entries are long enough sometimes without me saying the same things over and over. Bearing that in mind (and knowing I can at least go back and reread my entire week's output were I so inclined), I'm picking "This one's about suicide, an anecdote, and staycations." because personally it wasn't easy for me to talk about the subject matter at hand, but I think I did ok with it. It was tough though not picking "This one's about talking, hair, and more fiction." , because any time you get the chance to reference the legendary Chris Rock you're on a good path. But I'm only allowed to pick one, and that's where I went. Maybe you liked a different one, or you didn't like any of my entries at all. That's ok. You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled not to care. MUSICAL BREAK!! It's Sunday, and I don't think it's really right (for me at least) to be talkin' about someone else's entry and playin' different music over it (especially when my selection already had a video embedded in their entry). Since there's not really any songs I'm familiar with that reference bloggers talking about their favorite blogs, I'm gonna do it like I did last Sunday and throw up a playlist instead. Consider it a regular feature now (until we decide to do something different again). The Sunday, July 20th Playlist Straight From My iTunes... "The Scrappy" by BS2000"The Go Getter" by The Black Keys"48" by Sunny Day Real Estate"Friction" by Morcheeba"Catacombs" by At The Drive In"I've Got Friends" by Manchester Orchestra"Poor Places" by Wilco"I Feel For You" by Chaka KhanTHE DAILY BOX SCORE:  On the heels of the link I posted yesterday regarding cartoons and the hidden (or maybe not-so-hidden) innuendos in them, of course this morning while scanning my Facebook newsfeed I came across a link posted by College Humor that takes innuendo and uncomfortability to a whole new level (and I'll advise you to skip this if you're offended easily or you're around little kids because OMG you're really not gonna wanna do the 'splainin' when it's all said and done). Meet Furry Force: Episode One and Episode Two ...further proof that all the bizarre stuff on the internet finds me (and not the other way around, I swear). There's somethin' really sucky about waking up in the middle of the night with two (not one, but fucking two!!) nightmares and a toothache, and I can't determine if the wispy little headache I've got goin' on right now is from lack of an appetite, lack of sleep, or the lingering affects of said toothache. I don't remember the first nightmare much but the second was pretty wild and ended with me gettin' jumped and about to get my ass kicked; I woke myself up with two sharp kicks into the air (which would've been the dude's midsection from my position on the ground in the dream). Yeah, don't try sleeping next to me.And with that I think I'm gonna figure out what's left of my night...definitely gonna hit up a shower before bed, but I don't feel like trimmin' up the hair, and I also don't feel like eating any of the food I've got here either so I have to decide if I'm hungry enough to go to the only close place that's open, the Sunoco station down the street. Decisions, decisions. I hope your Sunday is much more relaxing. Peace, do the new dance in town, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
30DBC PROMPT: "The English Alphabet has 26 letters...therefore using all 26 letters write a poem that describes you. If you would rather write a short story describing yourself to us then highlight each word which begins with that letter. Let's see what ya got  ."'Sup y'all? I am not feelin' my creative side this afternoon...it's been a lazy day of lacking motivation and catching up on shows I've missed on Hulu this week, which means I've spent the majority of my waking hours in various states of positioning that weren't upright. One of the last things on my mind right now is writing a poem of some sort, or even a short story...and I've never been crazy about describing myself. I think that means I could be in trouble with this prompt. Here goes nothin'... All-in when I believe in someone or something. Big-hearted. Crazy (and it's up to you if that's in a good way or a bad way). Defiant toward rules and regulations I don't like. Emotional when I listen to certain songs. Friendly once you get to know me. Generous...even if I don't have much to spare, I'll still share. Humorous, if you like that kinda thing. Intelligent, so I've been told. Jackassery, like my love for made-up words. Kleptomaniac of hearts. Loner at times, because it's better than failing at fitting in. Minimalist...I don't need much to make me happy. Norb, the only first name I'll ever be born with. Oh, is this almost over yet? Passionate about my favorite teams. Question everything. Restless...I'm not good at sitting still. Shy in situations where I don't know a lot of people. Taco Cat spelled backwards is "Taco Cat". Unbelievable, some of the situations in life I've had to prove others wrong. Very determined not to let my mistakes define me. X: Have you seen this list of words that start with "X" ? It's ridiculous and I'm not reading them all to find one that suits me.Youthful charm to go with my boyish good looks (when I'm clean-shaven, of course). Zoned out shortly after I take my sleeping pills. There you have it...almost 26 words that tell you a little bit more about me. That's the best I could do for not wanting to think at all. BCF PROMPT: "How much does the clutter that fills our closets describe us?" I think if it's clutter that's accumulated over a prolonged period of time, it doesn't define us as much as it described our past. If it's packed away, that's a likely sign of something we don't use very often anymore, which one can then think maybe it's not relevant to who we are today. I guess in a way I'm lucky that I don't have a lot of crap anymore. My life literally fits into an area roughly the size of a parking space. More junk just gathers dust and is a pain in the ass whenever you have to move. The sad part is...I still could probably really go through all my stuff and get rid of more of it. Mostly knick-knacky crap and clothes that don't fit me anymore that maybe someone else can get some use out of. I see some of the t-shirts and pants and it hits me how skinny I used to be. I once heard someone say that if you haven't used something in six months to a year, you don't need it. We probably hold on to certain items longer though, thinking the day after we throw it out will be the day we'll really wish we still had it, even it's been twenty years since it last saw the light of day. I can understand holding on to some belongings for nostalgia purposes, but what happens when they become obsolete? I feel bad for someone who spent a fortune on having wedding videos shot on VHS, and wasn't able to transfer them to DVD in time before the quality degraded beyond the point of them being watchable. But no, I don't think our clutter is a complete and reliable indicator of who we are. It's just a small part; a sliver...a few chapters in a much longer story. MUSICAL BREAK!! "You're sneaking and peeking and trying to give chase but you ain't never gonna catch me; I'm in your crawl space" Lyrics. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "How do you feel about genetically modified food? Should companies be made to label their food if it contains genetically modified ingredients?"I'll admit I don't know as much about this topic as maybe I should, but hell yeah companies should be labeling their products if it contains this garbage! I understand the purpose of trying to feed everyone and lowering costs (especially for poor families and people trying to eat on a limited budget), but the public has a right to know what's in the food they're about to spend their hard-earned dollars on to put in their bodies. Not that it matters too much...I mean, you can get cancer from damn near everything anyway these days. But the more information we have, the more we can find out about these food and the potential dangers they can inflict upon us. Y'all seen those pictures of the McDonald's hamburger that won't spoil , right? You can't tell me that's whatever in those things is healthy and natural and should be safe for consumption, especially if after 14 years it looks eerily similar to one you could've bought 14 minutes ago. Wouldn't it be nice to know what the ingredients are?I think you'd see a lot of companies changing the way they do business after being exposed. What really sucks is that it's so much more expensive to eat healthy, non-GMO tainted food.  After years of speculation that a show like this was coming from the creator of the comic strip The Boondocks, the extended trailer for Black Jesus was recently released and I've gotta say...if I don't get sick of it really soon (the 10-minute clip was a little, ummm, unimaginative), it might become my next favorite TV show. Speaking of television, I'm pretty sure I posted this link very recently, but it's worth repeating (mainly because I just came across it again and it's hilarious)...Examples Of Just How Innocent Cartoons We Grew Up With Weren't, In Fact, Very Innocent . And finally, treat yourself to 30 pictures of people doing inappropriate things with statues .Sweet...looks like I'm done here and I can go back to laying down and not doing anything. Y'all have a nice rest of your Saturday...peace, renovate or evacuate, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
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