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 |   My fourth blog. Amazing yet disconcerting. Don't worry; this'll go away in a year or so. |
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First there was "I'm Studying You"  ...then there was "Who Do I Think I Am??" . Finally, we reached "Who do I still think I am??" .Until now. Welcome to the Buffalo in your soul...       A THREE-TIME CHAMPION OF THE "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" !   |
30DBC PROMPT: "Tell us what you are going to pack to take with you for your 3 weeks of Survival Camp. Since you signed up to do this unusual adventure, what are your expectations of completing this ultimate challenge. Convince us you are up to the challenge. In addition to that Noyoki   left you a prompt that needs to be answered." This is a shareable image; feel free to use it in your entry. Welcome campers! Lyn's a Witchy Woman  and I are your hosts for the 2014 30DBC Survival Camp! Not only that, but we're your leaders, counselors, and everything else that goes along with your three week summertime adventure. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun and I imagine we'll see a lot of great writing from everyone who participates. I don't have much more to say about it right now...good luck everyone!Noyoki also gave us a prompt..."Think of a familiar trope that could use some shaking up. How about the Mild, Mild West? The Cesspool of Eden? Prince Obnoxious? Make a list and run with it."I have a favorite, and I'm not sure where I heard it first- maybe it was a television show, I don't know- but it seems to get laughs whenever I roll it outta my back pocket. It's not the heat, it's the stupidity. This can be used a couple of different ways, I suppose. The first would be as a response to anyone who thinks they're witty/a meteorologist/not annoying when they say "it's not the heat; it's the humidity". I think everyone knows by now that's what makes us uncomfortably gross in the middle of summer. The second way is when you read a quirky news story about someone who's done something so dumb that you have no other response than to blame it on their stupidity...as if it were a take on the old quip "Crazy from the heat". Try it out at your next barbecue, picnic, or random gathering of people in sticky, stuffy weather situations. Be warned though: people might want to party with you more. BCF PROMPT: "Have you ever written a poem, short story, or essay while you were listening to a piece of music? If so, how did listening to the music effect the story, poem or essay? If not, what is your favorite relaxation music?" I think we've talked about this at some point along the way...I can't listen to anything when I write. I need to be focused, with as few distractions as possible. If I've got more than one thing going on, it's like having nothing going on, and my blog entry sounds flat and boring (to me at least). Listening to music, watching TV, or even trying to hold a conversation with someone is a fairly useless proposition...I've definitely gotten the "Did you even hear anything I just said?" barb slung in my direction on more than a few occasions while trying not to forget the train of thought I was ridin'. I do know I've written a few things both directly and indirectly influenced by music, and I think I've mentioned this before...probably ten or twelve years ago I came up with "Keep Breathing" , which while not being a direct rip-off of Radiohead's "Exit Music (For A Film)" , can claim at least general similarities. The Radiohead melody was definitely in my head at the time, and when you're paying homage to a song that's paying homage to Shakespeare of course there's gonna be some carryover.As for favorite relaxation music, I don't know that I've ever had anything that just makes me chill. No, wait...I do, and I'll know once I start looking for the video that I've talked about this before. Yup..."Soft Serve" by Soul Coughing . Very mellow and relaxing. There are also some ambient techno tracks by Moby I could listen to, but it's hard to know which ones are which and on his older cds there are some heavier songs with guitars and live instrumentation that are aggressive and the very opposite of "relaxation". I guess I don't have a specific playlist to relax by; usually if I'm in the place to take a nap mentally I'll open iTunes on shuffle and adjust the volume so that it's low enough to barely hear, but not so loud that it's distracting. A small amount of din in the area is perfect for me.MUSICAL BREAK!! Time again for another song as part of Team Orangutan for the "Barrel of Monkeys" . Today I've got the letter T, following very thankful 's entry "Words in Music To Ardent" . I can't even cheat and look at what might be an interesting song in my iTunes library...at work today someone donated at least 150 cds, and of course having the first crack at stuff that comes in, the other regular and I scurried to loot through this guy's collection. Don't worry...once I rip what I need I'll bring 'em back to the shop for someone else to have. So yeah...a "T" song. How about "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by The Byrds? I know it's a pretty common song...when I used to work for Eckerd Drugs it would play on the crappy satellite Muzak overhead quite often. I was fortunate enough to work with other music nerds, all of which appreciated stupid humor about most of the garbage we were being force-fed. One day, during random conversation about changing aisles over from one holiday to the next and hearing a sentence end with "...every day.", I couldn't help myself. Instead of singing, I used a facetious, incredulous inflection on my voice and just blurted out "Every day! There's a season, turn...turn...turn. Even some of our old lady cashiers thought that was hilarious...I'm not sure I know how I was able to pull that off with a straight face. See, here's one thing you should understand about me. I will occasionally interrupt you mid-sentence with a random song lyric whether or not it fits our conversation, or if you're familiar with the song, or mainly for no reason at all other than I think it's funny. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "List the 5 most beautiful words you have ever heard."This is just a subjective, opinionated list- it's not meant to be definitive in any way as maybe someday it could change. If you'd like to share your thoughts down below, I'd love to discuss them further with you.  aura: A beauty that radiates...I like words that present a clear image of their definition. Reese's: Because there aren't many inanimate objects as beautiful as something made from chocolate and peanut butter. aroma: Another word typically used to describe something beautiful, like flowers or pizza. almost anything ending in "-licious": Especially when referring to taste or booty. Chlamydia:: I seriously used to work with a not-so-bright girl who once said (out loud, in front of several coworkers), "Chlamydia would be a really pretty name for a girl if it weren't a sexually transmitted disease."  Remember, this is my list, and it's not permanent.  Excellent news! Season Five of Arrested Development is a matter of when, not if. I hope it's not as weird as Season Four...and maybe they can get more than three primary cast members in an episode this time around.  So yeah, work today...I don't usually go in on Wednesdays, but we (the other regular and I) decided to today because we didn't want to keep falling behind on incoming donations. Was it a mistake? No. But I was thinking we'd be out by noon, 12:30pm tops, and that was where I was wrong. More donations kept coming in, we finally got our mannequin fixtures up and decorated, we moved a few things around, reorganized, made a list of things we'd like to see others keep up on, and of course, right before we were thinkin' about callin' it a day we got the humongous drop-off that included over 150 cds and nearly 50 books, which we had to sort through because if the place is another madhouse tomorrow we weren't gonna wanna fight with anyone to get the books and music we wanted (especially if other volunteers show up). I know, we sound like jerks, but like I said, we'll return the cds anyway, and it's our way of justifying to ourselves the work we put in today that we could've put off until tomorrow (and then been twice as busy).And with that said, I think I'mma draw this entry to a close. Maybe I'll get a good chunk of the afternoon off tomorrow so I can screw around with the rest of this windfall of oldies, classic rock, and random great stuff. Peace, I swear it's not too late, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!  |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Things are a little wild around here this morning so I am going to go with picking an interesting article and give your views on it. Personally I have been enjoying Huffington Post links on my Facebook account but you go with what interests you." Hey people! We've got a lot to get to today and I don't wanna lose my place in "Barrel of Monkeys" , so I'm gonna jump right into this tonight, if you don't mind.It's been kinda a slow news day on Facebook...where the saddest thing is that I've joined the many millions of people who now get the majority of their news via any form of social media. I suppose if you use Twitter to hear gossip about your favorite celebs, that's better than getting no news at all about anything. Not by much though  .But yeah, Facebook caught me up on some happenings in WNY...a string of arsons set in a suburb, a 12 year old kid riding his bike at an intersection I grew up near was hit by a car and killed, and of course the daily Bon Jovi bashing speculation about who's gonna wind up owning the Bills. Well, if you're like me, after a long day you almost want no part of any real news. That's why I'm sharing with you 10 Internet Lies That Won't Die , provided by Mental_Floss (and yes, this is the kind of story I'd normally put at the end of a blog entry, but it's too interesting not to use it as the response to today's prompt, given all the crap going on in the world...and I wasn't put here to be the source of anything but your distractions  ).Hopefully, this article puts to bed some of the crazier stories being perpetuated by people who have nothing better to do than read and believe everything they see on the internet (I know I've seen #2 shared word-for-word as a Facebook status more than a few times over the years). Of course, it's making me a little sad that so many people won't see this article or my blog entry about it, and sure enough two days from now someone's gonna post a link to the story about #3, probably from I Fucking Love Science and also probably without having read the article...which will also have the true story, but they just thought the picture was so cool man. Those people need to stop being helped with "the world wide webs" or whatever they called it back in '93.My favorite though is #10, about the Victorian Era man supposedly hit by a car in 1950. If the internet has exposed how gullible certain members of society are, this story claims that YouTube didn't invent the hoax as an art form.  BCF PROMPT: "Can you single out a perfect meal? What was your experience either making it or eating it? Were you alone, at a party or with someone memorable?" Straight up? Nope, I can't. And I've had my fair share of meals over (most of my) 39 years. I know I've cooked some great meals, but something always seems to not be right (or goes flat-fuck wrong) and you can't call that perfect. Same probably for any "special" meal someone's tried to cook for me...especially when the biggest detail I can remember now is not what we ate, or the ambiance surrounding the occasion, or even the bill at the end, but either that we're no longer together, or the fancier restaurants are now closed (or both). But memorable meals don't have to be fancy, or homemade, or shared with anyone. Sometimes, all you need in life is a fresh peanut butter and jelly sandwich...nothing more, nothing less. Well, maybe you want two fresh peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but you know what I'm sayin'. It's ready in seconds, it satisfies, and there's minimal cleanup and wait times to fully relax off the satisfaction of your hunger being assuaged by the original comfort food, as endorsed by six year olds like...oh man...this guy:  If someone tells you you're putting too much PB on your PB&J, don't listen to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life. And really, there's something seriously wrong with you if you fuck up the creation of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Talk about ruining what should be a sublime moment. MUSICAL BREAK!! Looks like it's my turn again for Team O-Tang in the "Barrel of Monkeys" , following Charlie ~ 's entry "Invalid Entry" . My letter is D, and there's so many great D songs to choose from, but I'm going semi-obscure (again) with "Dwarf Invasion" by Reggie And The Full Effect.RATFE is basically a side project of The Get Up Kids' keyboardist, James Dewees , covering all sorts of different genres..."On the various Reggie albums, James has created a series of different personas that appear as "guests" on the album. One of these personalities is "Klaus", the frontman for the fictional Finnish metal band Common Denominator. There have been four Common Denominator songs on Reggie and the Full Effect albums; "Dwarf Invasion" on Promotional Copy, "Linkin' Verbs" on Under the Tray, "Deathnotronic" on Songs Not to Get Married To, and "Dmv Featuring Common Denominator" on No Country for Old Musicians. The other personality present on many of his albums is "Fluxuation", a British techno-pop star. His credits include "Gloves" on Promotional Copy, "Mood 4 LUV" on Under the Tray, "Love Reality" on Songs Not to Get Married To, and "Sundae, Booty Sundae, Feat: Fluxuation" on No Country for Old Musicians." I saw them play a show where they opened up as Fluxuation and played two or three songs, then came out as RATFE and played their standard, post-punk/emo hits for an hour and a half, and then they closed the show with a five or six song set from Common Denominator ("Go buy a t-shirt! You must go buy a t-shirt!") It was hysterical to see a band play an entire three-act gig in a tiny club as their different alter-egos.I chose "Dwarf Invasion" because although "Deathnotronic" is a better song with a funny/weird video, there was an online role-playing game that came out nearly 15 years ago where you were members of all these different emo bands going through these phases while trying to get to a Jimmy Eat World concert (if I'm not mistaken). It was crazy! But it was super fun, and I know I wasted a whole lot of time on days off playing it until it was removed from the internet...until now! It's back! Emo Game ! (I know...original title, right?) Battling the evil Steven Tyler! With more levels! I soooo need to finish off this entry, print down the commands again, and pick up where I left off in 2002!Oh yeah, from what I remember the "Dwarf Invasion" level was both hilarious and super hard. THE DAILY BOX SCORE: "Power corrupts; so does money, beauty, sex, freedom and health." Have you had any experiences with a person who has become morally or politically corrupt? Do people need to be persuaded like Shakespeare's Macbeth or does it happen on its own?"I wanna say in some cases it happens subtly, without being being fully aware that there are powers like beauty, sex and money seducing them. I mean, how many fairly sane people would knowingly become enthralled by something enough to want to kill someone, without having anything to gain? But there are a lot of values and variables at play in this prompt, and I'm having a hard time coming up with a story that isn't lame or doesn't skirt the issue completely. I've seen girls end relationships by cheating because they felt like they had no other way out of a bad situation, and the opportunity to find someone hopefully better presented itself but she wasn't willing enough to risk being alone in case the affair didn't work out. I've witnessed money going straight to some people's heads, only being able to hopelessly stand by and watch them piss it all away. And I've seen the damage done by a person's ego when they're not in the right frame of mind to consider the full consequences of their actions. Is there persuasion there? Sure, most of the time...but that's not to say it also doesn't happen on its own. Not everyone is wired with the ability to keep themselves away from troubling situations. What looks like a no-brainer, common sense situation to you could be the thrill of the chase to someone else. The combination of both forces is really what I think leads people into abyss' end of poor decision-making...the will to pull oneself out of the depths their choices have led them to has disintegrated and been replaced by the lust for power, money, drugs, sex, you name it. The inability to separate the feelings of reason and chance. We may know when we're alone and not tempted, we won't have anything to worry about...but add a second party to the mix that knows how to play to your evil intentions, and all sortsa crazy shit can happen. So I came across this article today while looking for something newsy...Girl Leaves For Vacation; Cubicle Gets "Lego'd" , and I must say, I read it with a certain amount of joy. See, on my last day at Capco before school starts, my supervisor will be in Washington DC for a training seminar...and there are still a ton of Lego's in her office from the outdoor movie night we sponsored a few weeks ago (we were giving out little Lego kits to all the kids...and I was in Buffalo so I missed it). So now I'm thinkin' I have to do this. Somehow, someway.  Speaking of work, I was officially done with my 9am-4pm shift around 10am this morning. The other regular was a few minutes late, the donations we didn't get to on Thursday still hadn't been done (even though I was there yesterday working on more stuff that had been dropped off), a couple of families brought in their obnoxious kids (and lemme tell ya, the apples didn't fall very far from their ridiculous trees), and yeah, it was crazy busy again with drop-offs. Luckily we had some extra help in the afternoon...and one of the Mormon Sisters likes my Radiohead shirt and complimented me on it  . But yeah, I was ready to choke some brats this morning, for real. It was early, I slept poorly (I'm back on that kick again, I guess), I hadn't had coffee, and random loud noises when I'm concentrating on other things jolt my anxiety to levels where if I become uncomfortable, I have to make everyone else uncomfortable as well. And to top it all off, just as we're ready to walk out for the day, another huge donation came in...so we're gonna come in tomorrow while the shop is closed for a little bit to get caught up. Good thing I like going there.And that's my day, y'all...hopin' for an early night as well, but we'll see. Peace, thank you very much for having us in your country, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "August 4 is US Coast Guard Day - to make things more international, write about your feelings about the navy or coast guard. Is the navy still important in this day and age? Why or why not?" 'Sup y'all? Believe it or not, I actually kinda knew before I saw this prompt that it was Coast Guard Day in the United States...a few people mentioned it on Facebook, so it had to be true, right?  I think that's one of the rules governing truthiness online...if you see it in x-amount of places, it's legit. I wonder what kind of calendar I'd have to buy to know what day stuff like this occurs on...seeing as how we're in August though, maybe I should wait awhile to ponder such purchases.I know what I'm about to say may rub some people the wrong way, and that's understandable. I'm not a hardcore fan of the military in any way, shape or form. I'm thankful for the service to our country, but for most people who get deployed, joining up was a choice (even if making that choice may have meant going against your personal feelings because you wanted to make another family member happy). Because I'm anti-war and all doesn't mean I don't feel bad when something goes catastrophically wrong...it's unfortunate and all that, but at the same time that's the chance anyone takes when they've decided to fight with another country so they can protect my freedom to disagree with certain aspects of our government. Maybe it's because I don't know much history, and please, if I haven't been too interested in it by now, it's not likely I'll ever care. I just tend to associate branches of the armed forces with war, because that's when you hear the most about them in the news. War, and some kind of political upheaval. Why else would there be a need for these things? It all seems very "just in case" to me as it is, and that was before Haliburton made buttloads of money as a government-sponsored contractor of war. But I guess it's all in what your interests and personal leaning are...if you were raised in a staunch military family, you have every reason to believe in the need for a Navy or a Coast Guard. Like I said, I only know what I know and I don't really want or need to know any more, to be honest. I'm not gonna run out and enlist because I think my country needs me or I have something to prove, and if we're foolish enough to get involved with the affairs of other countries around the world when we've got too many domestic concerns...well, I think you know where I'm goin' with that. BCF PROMPT: "'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' Write a story or poem about something you think is beautiful but no one else agrees with you. Write and have fun." Again, this is solely a matter of personal opinion. I think there are a lot of sayings that reflect this statement..."One man's trash is another man's treasure", "You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to", etc. Each of us has reasons for why we like certain things that others would find difficult to understand, but that also makes us unique. I shouldn't have to tell you how boring the world would be if we all were into the same few things on similar levels. I could very easily point to the 30DBC prompt today as an example...there are people who enjoy the tactical aspect of war and live for the feeling they get defending the honor of our nation. Good for them, if it makes them happy. I won't try to steal that from you, but I'm not gonna claim understanding of those same feelings either. You may like armed combat as much as I like football, but you don't get sports and maybe you never will, and I can tell you why a running back scored because of the gorgeously-choreographed blocking scheme of the offensive line but I may as well be speaking in tongues if you have no desire to understand where I'm comin' from. The same can be said for relationships. You might like girl X because she's blonde and bubbly, and maybe I think girl Y is more dateable because we connect on an intellectual level. Nothing wrong with that...but our buddy might come around and tell us we're both aiming outta our respective leagues because he knows we don't stand a chance with either girl. And that may not always be what we wanna hear, because who is anyone to tell us who we should or shouldn't be attracted to? In fact, I don't think we really get a say sometimes...there's gotta be something written into our genetic codes that predetermines before we even can comprehend such things the kind of people we'll gravitate toward. To me, the only rebuttal I would have for anyone when they say "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" would be "Live and let live". Life's too short to be so worried about things that are out of our personal control. MUSICAL BREAK!! Here we go, Team Orangutan! I got the letter Y because of Future Mrs. B  's entry "BoM Day Two: Ends With Y" ...and I think if anyone knows where I'm goin' with this, it's gonna be Charlie ~ since we were just talking about this the other day. But instead of going with a song I posted in a comment to his Sunday entry, I'm going with "You Know How I Do" by Taking Back Sunday. Ever hear a band that doesn't have much initial mainstream success at first, but you and your friends love them, and they feel like they're your own little secret? That's how it was for us whenever we'd try to play Tell All Your Friends , their first disc. We'd be met mostly with indifference, because they weren't picked up by local radio stations and there was only minimal exposure on music television stations. Which was fine...we didn't want haters anyway. And of course by the time their second album came out, they'd blown up and had a song on a Spiderman soundtrack and all the sudden everyone loved them. We were like "screw you people! We were here first!"This song is the first song of theirs I'd heard...incredible vocal interplay, driving guitar, and overall awesomeness. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "Tell us about something you follow. (Interpret this anyway that grooves your noodle.)"I won't even talk about Twitter, where I follow like 700+ people, have over 100 followers, and probably haven't posted a significant Tweet in at least a month. If I spend five minutes a day on it once or twice a week, that's enough for me. I know during the "Invalid Item" I follow Charlie ~ , which isn't a bad spot to be in. Apparently our team has been a little prolific so far, which could be prompting some changes already, and we're not even two full days into the contest yet. Team Orangutan, baby!  Sometimes I'll follow up a trip to the doctor's office or a work meeting with a trip to the grocery store for lunch and some shopping, and if I remember to bring a list of things I wanna pick up with me, I'll follow it (but it's the remembering of the list that usually gets, ummm...forgotten). I don't physically like to follow people 'cuz that's creepy, and I hate the idea that I've followed someone immediately after on a public toilet. Always follow your dreams and your heart. Follow a sports team, a band, or an author...or a few of each, if that's your thing. And don't try following anyone up a ladder if they've had a gassy lunch...you don't wanna walk into the cloud unsuspectingly.  This makes me smile...it's the feel-good story of the day. The local Boys And Girls Club that I played ball at a lot growing up burned down awhile ago, but construction is expected to begin soon on a new state of the art facility , right on top of the location destroyed by the fire. Glad to see this happening. The other feel-good story, in case you missed it during last night's football game, is the halftime piece done on former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, chronicling his struggle with cancer and overcoming the loss of his young son. His charitable website has link to the clip on their home page , and even if you're not a fan of sports in general you might find his story inspiring and uplifting. And if you haven't played this game since its arrival into pop culture back in 1978 , you might be lying! I never knew it was based on an Atari handheld game...I never even knew Atari made handheld games.Ok, well...I better get this entry finished up and posted before someone else beats me to the letter Y and I screw up our chain. Peace, I've had all I can handle, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "The Sunday News." Hey folks! Happy Sunday...I hope everyone's having a fantastic weekend so far. I'm pumped because today is the first day of this:
But I'll get more into that in a few...news happens, and that's the unofficial theme of today's unofficial entries in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" , so that's where I'm goin' to start this off.Y'all know I love football, and I'm a diehard fan of my Buffalo Bills. Yesterday was a special day in team history, as Andre Reed was inducted into the NFL's Hall Of Fame .You'll forgive me if the event made me a little emotional.  Those Bills teams of the early nineties, when I was still an impressionable kid, were amazing. They were an offensive juggernaut, led by other HOFer's including Marv Levy and Jim Kelly. Seeing Reed finally getting his due along with his teammates was great...but his acceptance speech was incredible. With all the drama surrounding the eventual sale of the team, it truly was nice to have another reminder of my team's glory days. And to see Jim Kelly up there throwing another pass, after his battles with cancer...man. Makes me all misty up in my sockets. That's what sports are...a couple guys goin' out and playin' catch, and doin' it better than anyone else. Take away all the big money and corporate greed, and it's a kids' game at the heart. Fun times, y'all. Kids these days don't have the same kind of idols...the same heroes. Culture has changed so much in the last twenty years, where Sundays were football and you wanted to be those guys...that's, in my opinion, the one way our internet society has ruined, or at least diminished, how we look at athletes as fans. We're oversaturated now with information, and there's no longer any mystique to these guys we watch on TV for a few hours each week. The Bills of that era embodied the sense of togetherness and community within Western New York...blue collar dudes setting out to put in the necessary work needed to get the job done. I can't tell you how many times I'd be watching a game with people, standing around a television and holding hands through a critical juncture of a tight playoff game...when those guys were on the sidelines doing just that...holding hands, believing in each other, and almost willing a positive outcome. Whether it was in my cousin's bedroom with friends, or at a party thrown by my mom's work friends...that's what we did. It still chokes me up a little just thinking about it. But anyway, today's the start of the NFL preseason, with the Bills and Giants facing off in the annual Hall Of Fame Game. I'm excited...the Bills have a young team that's bound to turn the corner and make some noise around the league. Maybe this is the year they break out and start off on a similar run that nineties team had...unlikely, but hey, what's bein' a fan about if ya can't dream? I'm also looking forward to making my annual predictions regarding the upcoming season...I had a blast with "This one's about your 2013 football preview." , and I was fairly close last year on some of 'em, so anticipate that around the first week of September. I love the game...the spirit, the action, the community. #BILLSMAFIAMUSICAL BREAK!! I'm up for today's round of BoM...y'all need to support Team Orangutan!! I'm going with the letter D, because that was the last entry based on Charlie ~ 's post, "Invalid Entry" . And I'm starting out with Atmosphere because yeah...life-changing stuff if you let it be (and I know some of you will disagree, but too bad...my blog, my rules ).The premise of "Don't Ever Fucking Question That" is that it's a love song. Really! It explores personal statements regarding love and it delves deeper into Slug's very existence. What I take from it is simple...if I love you, don't question it. It's my feelings and my reasons, so go along with it and be blessed that someone cares so much about you that it reroutes their whole thinking about relationships and coexistence. I say I'll never get involved with another woman again, but I don't know how true that is and there's hope from this song that maybe someday I'll take that plunge one more time. For now though, I'm content with not having to answer questions like "Why do you love me?". If I do, it's because I do and for who you are and what you mean to me...details aren't that necessary, are they?  It's not often you get to meet a rapper outside of one of his shows... just hangin' out, killin' time, takin' goofy pictures. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  I friggin' adore Princess Megan Rose 22 Years   ! I feel like she gets a sneak peak at my blog entries sometimes because in the course of writing them I'll come up with a picture or an image I want to use, so I'll carve it up and save it, and boom! There she is, already reviewing it. That's so great! Hugs to you, Megan! Less than five hours to kickoff! I have so much to do yet...I need a shower, and I have some cleaning to attend to. But football!!Ok, well, with all that said folks, it's time for me to shuffle off and see the other songs posted up in BoM before I do, like, life stuff eat beef jerky and watch football. Peace, I hear the whispers of the wind trying to get me to grin, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: Wait...what? No prompt? Stay tuned. Hello friends! I'm here to inform you informally that Lyn's a Witchy Woman and your boy over here in Cortland, NY, Fivesixer  , will be taking over the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" starting August 6th. That means you've got a couple days of fighting amongst yourselves about who's prompt is the phattest and worthy of your response, before we herd you up and take you to an uncharted destination where you'll have no other choice but to rely on each other to see you through your activities. I ain't playin...this is REAL!! Y'all don't know what I had to sit through to find that clip, so you best appreciate it. Even my old stand-by was of no help to me.But yeah, we're takin' this situation over coming 8/6/14. Pack your bags and leave your electronics at home, unless you're prepared to make your own electricity. Either way, you'll still get shocked by what your hut-mates will come up with. Wear ass-hats at your own discretion/risk. BCF PROMPT: "In the group mail I inquired "Why there is minimal interaction between the bloggers in BCOF?" Today's prompt is: What do you feel will make BCOF a better blogging community? What is missing in your opinion that other blogging groups have?" I'm gonna be very upfront with this...when there's an "official" 30DBC challenge going on, I focus on that. I want to make sure I comment on my fellow challengers' entries to stay compliant with the rules/regulations, and there's not enough hours in my day to take care of every other blog on the WDC universe. That's my excuse reason. I'm a grand supporter of this great blogging community, but I can only do so much. Life gets in the way, so I can sorta understand why people tend to post their blog entry and forget that there's a whole 'nother world up in this bitch that they find easy to neglect. That's life. In the "unofficial" 30DBC months, you'll see me coming back around occasionally...popping in to say hi and weigh in on your opinions. It's not my place to tell you how to do what you do, so I won't. To be honest, I always considered blogging a personal experience...then I joined these groups and it became more than that somehow. Everybody with an asshole and an opinion has a blog these days, shittin' out words like they're disposable tacos. Well, I like words, and I like tacos...if you think three sentences compromises a blog entry, no no no no no. That's a taco minus meat, cheese, and supple fillings. Ingenious folk read blogs for information, not fluff. I wrote a blog entry about my life and it was "I got up, took a pee, went to work, it sucked, and I didn't die before I fell asleep in front of the TV". YOU are the reason I don't engage you further in this grandiose blogging landscape! The idea that every company now needs a blog to supplement what they're doing is both my point and a fallacy to me. Corporate blogs are paragraphs...well thought-out (mostly) words done well. Bloggers sticking to specific topics...that's ok too, especially if you're into what they're talking about. But don't piss me off with seven sentences of "people who swear in blogs are bullshit" and "my cat is smarter than your whole ever being". Waste of my clickage....look, I don't know how much more abuse this wireless optical mouse I have can take. It's already being held together by scotch tape in pretty much every place it needs it, and y'all are gonna hear about it the day it needs replacing. Until then, it clicks, and that's all I need. So way off the point now. My bad. I don't have an answer for you, Lyn, regarding the whole "nobody comments" thing. I know I'm an offender and I explained why. I think people need to stop being shy and start understanding that (giving comments = getting comments). There's a healthy give-and-take that exists in the blogging community once you take the initiative. Being humble is your first step, young Jedi bloggeratzians. Step out of your zone and just do it. Never know what info you'll find helpful in your life based on what one or another of us has shared. MUSICAL BREAK!! Because you've got to say it. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "How about a little poetry or maybe a short story...What kind of character seems foreign to you... a homeless man, a zen monk, a suburban housewife, maybe a murderer. Whoever you choose that's the persona I would like you to adopt. Try writing in his or her voice.How about I wouldn't like to be any of them? I've been homeless and Zen, I can't be a housewife and I won't be a murderer (as much as sometimes I'd like to ball out at that kinda job). I know I wrote a poem once called "Fictional Character". If it's not in my port now I'll so do you the emotional solid and bring it here. I think I found it, in the great genesis of poetry I keep forgetting to finish, "Cabin Fever" . If ever someone wants to document my life, start there.And here's the rub, y'all..."Fictional Character" . My joint...my jam. Writing words into a notebook...I have no game and if I did, that'd be it. Like I said, someday I'll finish up Cabin Fever, and y'all can be like "I knew you way back when you just had some shit-crusted blogs, but you were my boy!!" I'll say hi, because authorin' isn't as glamorous as you think, nerds.  Y'all have no idea what it's like to drift into my cave of poetry. Lyn's a Witchy Woman does...she navigated my online stuff (and that takes a lot of love and trust). I'm sweaty and I need a nap from it all. I will probably miss the actual induction ceremony, but it's about goddamned time Andre Reed got into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. Haters are gonna hate, but yo...growing up, the Bills' offense was the most prolific ever. They put teams to shame. And if you're one of those people who puts this article down, shame on you, your family, and a pox I cast on you and the team you root for. Can't for my life see negative comments about this...you people either don't know football, or hate life in general on a bigger level than me, but it's not for me to judge you...sick-ass cretins.I think this is where I say "Enjoy the rest of your day", fair readers who made is this far...I see a nap in my future and a lot of struggle in yours . Best Blog Entry Ever, today edition. Peace, don't keep it inside, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!Ass-hattery knows no bounds. Catch it! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Welcome to My Life" 'Sup y'all? Welcome to August first! We haven't gotten any word regarding an unofficial theme for this month's run of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" yet, so I'm taking the "Follow Me" approach...Prosperous Snow celebrating  was the first one to post and since I've got nothin' goin' on right now and I'm staring at my laptop (maybe it'll do tricks if I keep at it long enough ), I'm gonna use this opportunity to delve into weird lives. Seeing how other people's lives seem more interesting 'cuz they ain't mine .We've all got our traits and tics that endear us to others (and usually drive away the people we didn't really want around anyway). I'll pop this quote as I'm sure I've done time and again..."One man's ceiling is another man's floor" (which can be found in this Beastie Boys deep album cut from an album that will not be made ever again, stylistically ). We're all individuals...we're people. We like what we like and we do what we do and if you're into that and wanna go along for the ride, that's cool...if not, that's cool too, yo.In this day and age there's no shame in being weird, eccentric, or just being who you are. Or at least now that I'm not in high school or living in the communities I grew up in there isn't...mainly because IDGAF about "fitting in" or "conforming". I'm not a happy person by nature, and maybe that stems from never really being accepted because I don't tend to think like the masses and haven't as long as I could remember. The fear of being ostracized because of decisions one makes in their dress, manner of going about things, and general day-to-day stuff fades after awhile. If I wanna wear all-black Chuck Taylors, I'll do that. If I wanna rock Adidas kicks with Nike shorts, that's my choice. So what. Why?  Gotta have enough self-love to get to that point, and it's taken me 39 years to earn that trust in myself to be confident enough not to care what anyone else thinks about my choices. It helps that I've alienated most of the non-believers out there. That's ok...you don't need negativity in your life, and you don't need other people trying to bring you down as a means of making themselves feel better. And I don't feel the need to explain to anyone why I wanted to cultivate dreadlocks or I haven't shaved in one year (exactly, to the day). I'm a grown-ass (short little) man, dawg. I still make questionable decisions and I'm in a position where I can live life on my terms, without having to be accountable for very many others' feelings. Maybe that makes me lucky in my head, much the same as some of you with kids feel lucky for becoming a parent. Maybe I'd be in your boat instead, and life would've been totally different were that my case, but I also know at any given moment since I first started producing legit baby batter I've never been in a fully comfortable situation where I'd want to be responsible for the life of a child. Would my outlook have changed if I was gifted with a reasonable babymomma and the fruit of our loins? Probably...but there's no sense getting into all of that now and I very likely veered off-track from the gist of this cut. I guess the point I'm making is that because there's no one telling me what I should be wearing, or worrying about if I'm clean-shaven, or whether or not I'm presentable for dinner, then it shouldn't matter to you or anyone else...and frankly, as much as I love you guys for reading this, I'm not overly concerned with what you guys and gals are into or look like. Just be you. I judge you more on your words rather than appearances, and even then I'm fairly lenient (unless I'm judging the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" ...then I'm kinda a prick). I'm a fair, halfway decent brotha, and y'all are some mostly good people...no need to tarnish our online exposures to each other by being whack-jobs or the like (and no, I'm not singling out anyone...we've all got our reasons for letting go and gut-spilling). Weird is good, most of the time...it makes us who we are and distinguishes us from the herd. I'm proud of all the looks I get, and I'm excited to call you guys friends, even when I'm pretty sure I won't bump into most of you somewhere along the line. I'm not tryin' to give anyone hope, but hell, I didn't know two years ago I'd be transplanting myself from Buffalo to Cortland, so I guess you can never know what'll happen.BCF PROMPT: "What was the most fun thing you did this summer?" We're still in the throes of summer, my boy CJ Reddick  ! August isn't even over yet (although I guess some kids have already gone back to school). I don't start classes until the end of the month, and typically us WNY kids never started until after Labor Day anyway. I've still got a month to make this the Best Summer Ev-arrrrhhh!!But I probably won't, and that's cool. Ain't much to do around here anyway and it's not like I'm rollin' with wads of disposable income. I'd rather not find myself entrenched with any scenes or new fake friends. Besides, I have too much going on right now that I need to remain upright for. Let's see if I make some sweet friends in the coming year, and then maybe I'll allow myself to get unhooked chain-wise next summer. Confidence is a funny thing like that. But if I'm gonna be real about this summer, my trips back to The 'Lo have been pretty baller...more fun than I have in Cortland, at least. Seeing some old friends, falling asleep to ESPN on my ma's couch, not really having to worry about much...it's been good times. Helping my mom out with a garage sale, hangin' out with my brother and his friends as opposed to not getting along at all growing up, it's been cool. I'm taking part in their worlds. I'm appreciative, thankful, and glad. I'd love to stick a pic of me and Doug in here, but Facebook is kinda broken right now or else I would. Besides, you don't need another pic of my fat ass (yes y'all, I'm still hung up about all the weight I've gained being on anti-depressants and having a leg that wouldn't help me get anywhere enough to eat right). UPDATE: Facebook's back up. Summer funnin', had me a blast...  Now I need me some goin' and eatin's. MUSICAL BREAK!! The first jagoff that fronts with summer lovin' will have them a blast...of my undying dislikeage."I think god is moving its tongue...there's no crowd in the streets and no sun in my own summer." Lyrics. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "In Writer's Digest, I read about Ernest Hemingway having a lot to say about writing. He has been well quoted since his birth 115 years ago. Pick one of Papa's quotes and create your blog entry with that as your focal point. This can go in many directions depending on your choice of quote. If you have a favorite Hemingway book, please share that too!"I feel a little outta the loop...I never had to read Hemingway growing up, so I didn't. I had a book or two of his on my TBR pile, but I never got to them and I no longer have any of the books I worked so hard for as a Borders employee. Stupid hatin' ex, ownin' all my cool shit. But with the help of this website, which accumulates quotes from famous people , I've come up with this: "That terrible mood of depression of whether it's any good or not is what is known as 'The Artist's Reward'." Oh, you write too once in awhile? Is it any good? Me neither...how do I know?Y'all know what I'm talkin' about. It takes a certain bit of confidence to expose yourself to the world just through a blog. Poetry though...is a whole 'nother different animal. We can finish a poem and feel super awesome about it, and revisit it a day or two later and think it totally sucks. "Why did I waste so much time writing that? Nobody's gonna like it!" And maybe a month or two later you stick it in your WDC port...in the minutes coming after that there's a paranoia that sets in which includes thoughts of "OMG, someone's gonna read this" and perhaps you're terrified of negative reviews...or worse, it's not gonna do as well as you thought it'd might the minute you got the feeling of it being finished. I'm a 13+ year veteran of WDC, and I still don't have the answers for you. My port has poems in it, and they're not proof of some system that "works" in terms of getting reviews. In fact, I'm damn near positive most of my reviews have come from folks I don't know, who've clicked the "Random Read" feature (probably during a review challenge). My personal poetry stash far outnumbers the portfolio limits WDC has set up, so for me to add something new, it'd take a hella lotta confidence in me to do so (at the cost of removing something else I really like). Is that our "reward" for being prolific and somewhat talented? I don't know. Is what we do often thankless and unheralded? More often than not. I'd go as far as saying 90% of us (maybe more) will never know what it's like to have a book of any sort published/distributed. We need to get over ourselves, our egos, and our outsized dreams of being big, famous, jerky people who know how to effectively string lots of sentences and thoughts together to be sold for profit. Is it good to dream? Sure...but get real. I'd like to be 26 with a shot again at every single hot chick I ever dated in my entire life, but that's not happenin'. Even if you self-publish...what are the odds you're gonna get stupid loaded off it, or even sniff the Bestseller Lists? Start small...build up your confidence and make sure you're able via word-of-mouth to spread your name (and not your legs). Once you've exhausted all your energy low-cost resources, you should have a better idea whether or not you wanna try to swim with the sharks. Your WDC fans here can only take you so far.  Big ups to my boy Charlie ~ for winning a 12-month WDC upgrade and having it transferred over to me. One less thing I have to worry about soon, and the generosity has not gone unnoticed, my brother.  Science was one of my least favorite classes back in the day...but have you checked out Matt Bird MSci (Hons) AMRSC 's new off-site blog, It Is All Science ? So cool, and informative. Seems like the perfect vehicle to bring the subject enjoyably to the masses. I'm a subscriber...support a fellow WDC member and join up as well.And that's August first in the bag for today...peace, tell me when it's over, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
30DBC PROMPT: "Who says I am forgetting this?  Write everything in 3 part series July 29-31."Ugh, we're still on this? What's up folks? We've reached the end of another month in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" ...good job to everyone who stuck it out to the last day! As always, it's been a pleasure runnin' all month with ya.I still haven't been able to crack the idea behind this month's serial prompt entries. I think we've established that I'm pretty terrible at the three-part thing, and I'm perfectly ok with that. I have no desire to write everything, and I think I remembered everything I've forgotten (or have I forgotten everything I'm supposed to be remembering? I'm so confused...). So in keeping with the theme I established regarding this month's serial, let's continue to talk about forgetting. Do you ever feel like you've been forgotten, or that you're unsure of your own existence within someone else's mind? I find myself wondering about this from time to time...like, what's my purpose to some people? I don't mean that in a bad way, like I'm seeking attention or anything. It's just that you don't see people for so long sometimes that you want some kind of sign that you're still important to them in some way. Most of you know that today's my birthday (and don't feel bad if you didn't know...it's not like I make a big deal out of it, because it's not a big deal), and I think for those of us who use Facebook on a daily basis, would we remember birthdays if Facebook didn't remind us? I wouldn't, I know that. Too many other things on my mind on any given day. My friend list is expanding again...I just cracked 1000 (and that was after deleting over 500 people that I no longer communicate with)...I could never remember that many birthdays. I'd be ridiculous if I did. When I came home from work this afternoon, I had over 100 notifications...mostly the typical "Happy Birthday" stuff to go with the couple early greetings I got late last night. I'm very appreciative of the love and the fact that people took time out of their day to brighten mine, but it blows my mind that so many of these wishes come from all over the globe and from people I haven't seen or spoken to in years (outside of wishing them a happy birthday when it's their turn). Where are we the other 364 days of the year? Facebook itself is funny sometimes that way...you can post the most hilarious thought in your head and nobody will care, yet the most trivial stuff will get tons of likes and comments. My mom posted a couple pictures of me last night from when I was a kid, and you'd think the internet was gonna break by the way people were likin' that stuff. Same thing when I updated my status about going back to college...you'd think I won the Super Bowl or somethin'. But it's cool. Life's not a museum where you just look at stuff and move along with the masses...it's meant to be interactive and experienced. We've all got stories to share and memories and what have you. All I'm sayin' is that you don't have to limit it to one day out of the year. We're here, we exist. We're not forgotten. Thanks for an awesome month, 30-Day Bloggers. It's been all sortsa fun...hope we cross paths again. BCF PROMPT: "Write about a time you acted first and thought later, giving into your impulses." Oh, really? I'm an impulsive bastard at times! I don't mind saying that. Sometimes you gotta do stuff on a whim, because how boring is status quo? Remember what I said up above about life needing to be lived? Yeah...shake things up sometimes. Order a large instead of the medium. Walk backwards. Anything to change the monotony of the world. I think we've all been guilty one time or another of acting first and thinking later...there's such a thing as being lost in the moment where impulse reigns, and later on you're like "Maybe I coulda handled that differently". The cd purchase that turned out sucky. The less-than-desirable girl you brought home from the bar (or worse, a very desirable girl that will never speak to you again after she leaves in the morning). That God-awful $85 dollar sweater that looked like a good deal but makes all your "ugly Christmas sweaters" look like regal formal attire. All the things synonymous with "bucket of yuck". You know you've got your own personal list. I wasn't gonna talk about hook-ups, as I generally consider that to be bad form, but I can't think of anything else impulsive currently. Here's something you should never be compelled to utter: "I hooked up with a boyish-looking girl once." For the record, she was a beautiful woman with an amazing body...she just had really short hair at the time. Hence, "boyish". And I swore I wasn't even gonna try to sleep with her. She was a coworker from another department, and hell, I wasn't even gonna go out that night! But someone offers to buy you a drink, and then some shots, and the next thing you know you're out with your regular bartender and his buddies at the bar they go to when they wanna drink away the demons from serving you and your crew all week. You know your friend wants to hook up with one of the chicks, and he's talking you into helping him out, and you're adamant it's not happening for you. And a half hour later there's the four of you in your living room, your buddy has commandeered your bed, and as soon as the lights go out this stupid hot chick with the boyish trim is fiercely making out with you on your pull-out sofa bed. And that doesn't stop you from trying to go back for seconds in the morning, but you're outta condoms so it's a no-go. It's a rough life, gettin' hammered and thinking with the head that doesn't have the brain. And she was such a nice girl too. Granted, much younger (but still legal, so don't get any ideas). When she finally grew her hair out to chick-length, wow. But she got clingy the first couple of times we bumped into each other after our romantic endeavor, and people started catching on that there was a night of drunken sex moves involved. It didn't have to be awkward, but I guess that's what I do in situations like that. In retrospect, I could've done the gentlemanly thing and started dating her, but I don't think I was ready for a relationship at the time. She wound up dating a few of my friends, and it worked out great for them for awhile, but then she went to study abroad I think and that was the end of that. I'm not proud, and yeah I could've handled the whole thing a lot better. But we've all got stories like that, I'm sure...it doesn't make us any less of human beings. It's how we respond to our bad decisions that eventually define us. MUSICAL BREAK!! Oh ok, fine...I'll share this. But just for today!! THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  "Make a list of 5 things that you never break. Like a heart, promise, your computer...... Just go with it."Normally I like lists...but I can already foresee this one as being tough. I can probably list five things I can easily break, and do so in record time. Way to challenge me!  Gotta get some use outta this image. I don't break faces (anymore, at least). I'd like to think I've totally outgrown the fist-fighting that comes along with being a teenage male. I don't break stuff that isn't mine, because that's not cool. I'm hyper-vigilant with other people's stuffs, because I want them to trust me and I'd rather not be on the hook for a replacement. I don't break hearts...I generally destroy them completely. I don't breakdance. I'm not that coordinated. I don't break my stride . Oh no...I got to keep on movin'. I'm truly overwhelmed with the birthday love and support on WDC from all y'all today...it means a lot and I'm thankful for each and every one of you. Too many to name, but thanks for the C-notes, MB's, notebook messages, shoutouts...y'all really are like a family to me, and you know how to make a kid feel special.  Thank you. Got the love over at work today too...just became Facebook friends with a couple of the girls in the office yesterday, and shortly after I came in today one of 'em popped her head into our room and was all "Happy birthday!" Then it got mentioned over the loudspeaker, and they surprised me with pizza, cupcakes, a fancy doughnut, and all sorts of well-wishes. It was really nice and totally unexpected. I'mma miss that place when I start up classes.Well, that's all I've got for today, y'all. Thanks again...I appreciate you bein' here and all that you do. Peace, we're gonna have a good time, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Serial madness. Write everything." Good afternoon, kind readers! Welcome to the second entry of this as-of-yet untitled new blog creation. It sucks when you've written yourself out of room and your blog becomes measured not in the number of entries or views or ratings, but in megabytes. Nothing like seeing your words reduced, quantified and capped as a commodity. So this serial prompt thing, anyway...what a racket! I'm still as confused as ever, and I don't think I have any stories in my life that merit taking up three entire entries. I guess I'll just continue along the same thread of forgetting, and hope I can come up with something worth both yours and my while. Anyone else out there languishing in the irony that is "write everything" and "didn't think I'd forget"? I've written nearly 1,000 blog entries for WDC, and y'all know I don't like to do things half-assed. I've forgotten more blog entries than some of you have actually written (and that's not a knock at all toward anyone...it's just a fact). That being said, there's no direction to the serial portion of my "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" entries. Y'all know how stupid long my entries are; I don't think there's a math formula available to calculate what or how many blogs I'd need to write everything. We'd be here for a ridiculous binge/purge of my writing, and nobody's ready for that (especially me). And with that in mind, I'm gonna gracefully move on because I have nothing more to add today and I'll likely need the few extra megabytes I'm saving now for when there's a real prompt to write for.BCF PROMPT: "What is your favorite month or months of the year? Write a myth about it." I'm a straight-up summer baby; I may have even used those exact words before. July's the month that gave me life into this world, and I stayed true to form by waiting up until its very last day to make my initial appearance on planet Earth. Even in the womb, I was probably dreading the day of my birth because I was comfortable where I'd been the previous nine months, and the thought of being born on the first of the month was probably scarier than being born at all. It's bad enough that because my last name starts with "A" I was typically first in line for too many things growing up, and being first means your exposed to so many things without having the benefit of seeing someone else go before you. I blame my dad for that...why couldn't his last name start with a "K" or an "M"? Hell, I'd even settle for a "D". I can't fault my mom, who actually moved down the seating chart when she took my dad's last name because her maiden name begins with "Ad", and I'm stuck with "Ai"...although the reason I was born at the end of the month was probably because she served me an eviction notice as a non-rent paying fetus and needed to transition out so I could get on the legal bankroll, or something (just playin' Mom, in case you read this and think I have ill will of some sort for being born). But yeah, I'm hardcore summer all the way. Mainly because I can't stand winter and snow and cold and no. I'm a Zodiac Leo and I'm most of what you've heard about it, but I still need to be experienced to be believed. I'm a land creature and a born leader. I rule fairly and openly...the king of the jungle. Fiercely protective, occasionally very productive, and I know my rights so I'll raise my voice only when it needs to be raised...because the quiet ones only speak up when they have something important that needs to be heard. You can put that on my tombstone. Here's a myth for you that I just created: Every day in July is a freakin' party. So many people celebrate whatever 'cuz hey, Summer. Maybe they have kids in school and it sucks holding outdoor events in snowstorms, or it's just easier to get together when the sun shines and optimism reigns. Things are always better when it's sunny, ya heard? Well, no. July should be the party month, but that would require Hallmark revamping their entire calendar around my birthday, and that should not be a big deal ever. People asking me when my birthday is and me telling them it's in July is like asking where I'm from...if I say NY, they tend to assume NYC because that's New York even though Buffalo is on the exact opposite end of the state, and the 31st is that much farther away from the 1st. So when the calendar hits July I don't run around screaming "It's my birthday!!", but maybe I should. And here's where I go into my yearly spiel about birthdays...if everyone treated people the same every day of the year as they do on their birthdays, we'd be a much happier society. I'm not sayin' we need cake daily (but some might argue with me that maybe...), but just the niceties you tend to expend on people under the auspices of "It's their birthday", well, y'all can do that in real life and in real time. Little shit goes a long way, ya know? It doesn't take much to make people feel special...just a kind word or act of gratitude is all. Doesn't take much to make someone feel important, so try it out soon...you might like it. MUSICAL BREAK!! The Tragically Hip covering their fellow Canadian Gordon Lightfoot singing about a cursed day in North American history. For the longest time I never knew the gist of the song; I'd always made the correlation that it was about me and my struggle. I knew nothing of Detroit; I just took a Sharpie to every calendar I saw and blacked out July 31st, because I don't need the reminder that I'm getting older. "The printing press is turning and the news is quickly flashed And you read your morning paper and you sip your cup of tea And you wonder just in passing is it him or is it me?" Lyrics. THE DAILY BOX SCORE: "Name 3 books that made your childhood a happier place."I remember going to my grandmother's house on Sundays when I was a kid, and immersing myself in the kid lit she had on a bookshelf. It was full of books my mom, aunt and uncle grew up on...ragged copies of Dr. Seuss and Curious George. Long before I discovered cable TV, those were the ends to my means on a Sunday afternoon. Green Eggs And Ham was my joint back then, and who doesn't love a monkey getting into trouble? If ever I was in a situation where I had to give a book as a gift to a little kid, those were my go-to selections. You can't go wrong there. As I got slightly older though, I drifted over to Judy Blume and Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing , taking in the exploits of Fudge. It almost felt like a rite of passage reading those books. I also gravitated to The Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, and Choose Your Own Adventure titles. Musta been the "thirst for knowledge" thing kickin' in.Parents, start your kids off young with the reading thing (or puttin' 'em on ice skates; same thing)...they'll take it with 'em the rest of their lives, and they'll be better off for it (even if they renounce it in their twenties...they'll come back).  How about this? "Note: Well, it's out now with Jack's interview,..."? For all y'all that haven't been members of the great WDC community as long as I've been, it's a big deal to now have faces behind the names of The StoryMaster  and The StoryMistress  . I'm not frontin'...it's been life-changing for me to be able to have an opportunity to take my words out of a notebook and put them someplace where an entire world can see them. I don't even know what life would've been like without the care, love, appreciation and dedication those two have created for all of us. I'm grateful times infinity, and just seeing a cute pic of the two of them is the peanut butter topping of the hot fudge sundae WDC is. Your boy Harry Potter loves Buffalo, and Jimmy Kimmel has declared there will be a war on Canada if the Bills move to Toronto. I love my Canadian friends, but you can't take my football team. Ever. I've stopped listening to every damn news release about the whole thing, because it's not gonna be settled 'til October anyway. But Jon Bon Jovi can eat a dick kielbasa straight up if he thinks he'll be owning this team soon, in my town, where him and his music is pretty much banned from. And speaking of football, there's a new entry up from my favorite off-site blog over at The Broad's Side . Ladies, the NFL hates you. Wife beaters are the new currency, apparently...not drugs or other bad decisions. Sending the wrong message...way to go about "defending the shield", Mr. Goodell.Alright...so I'm done here today, which is great because I'm starving and I can't eat and blog at the same time (coordination problems). Snack time...and then the rest of the day is mine. Peace, why can't we all be brothers, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Who says I am forgetting this?" What up blog fam? Are you just as confused as I am about the July 29th-31st serial prompts? Good...glad to know I'm not alone. For as long as I've been involved with the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" , I've hated the serial portion. And if there's one thing worse than that, it's having to stretch out a directionless topic for three whole days. Please, oh please, 30DBC Creator/Founder , please tell us there will be more to this tomorrow!This is actually kinda good though, because I'm gonna take this opportunity today to tie in with Blog City's prompt...  "What are you afraid of? All of us at one point in our life has feared something, how did you handle it? Please discuss a topic that you have not previously shared. Dig deep."It might sound petty and trivial, but I have a tremendous fear of forgetting important stuff. I'm far from what one would consider someone else "absent minded", but it's the stuff that you forget that always seems to come back to haunt you the most. The worst feeling is the realization that you've let something slip; a meeting, a doctor's appointment, an errand. Something you can't easily get back. That time is gone; the opportunity expired. I'm constantly writing things down because I can't keep track of everything the way I used to, and I don't wanna fuck myself by missing something important because oh yeah, I'll remember. No, no I will not. And that's no way to live when you're used to being on the ball about everything. I feel like I'm a slave to my little pocket calendar some days, but it beats waking up and finding out you're a day late for something...especially when "a day late" means "nope, not ever again, sucka". And I hate having to be accountable for things...it seems like there's never enough hours in a day once you have to be an adult and start managing your affairs. Life's easy when all you have to do is get up and go to work. I can't imagine having kids to look after as well. My pocket calendar might turn into an entire pair of pants if I were responsible for someone else's life on top of my own...either that, or I'd forget so much more. Right now I'm dealing with work and trying to go back to school, plus my therapist and making sure I've got all the little things normally taken for granted...I honestly don't know how some people can function having to do 36 billion other things in a given day. Good on 'em, I guess. I was blessed with the gene of potentially being overwhelmed easily. So in summary, I hate forgetting things, I have no clue what this month's 30DBC serial thing is all about, and...oh yeah...fear. Fear is bad. Live life with minimal fears, and you'll be happier. Avoid the unnecessary, even if that means eye contact and smiling at strangers. The blinders stay on. Less time with people is usually better as long as I have decent enough distractions. As long as I'm in full control of the situations I find myself in, I have nothing to fear but myself. BCF PROMPT: "Describe the most ambitious DIY project you've ever taken on." I'm gonna come right out and say it: I'm a bad finisher. I don't like to start projects because if I can't finish them right away, they'll never get done. I hate that about myself. You can get me to commit to something, and I'm all-in from the get-go, but if it's not complete by the time I'm ready to move on to something else, well, I don't have a timetable for its eventual readiness. I'm sorry, but that's how I work. I also have the tendency to turn things into projects unnecessarily, which doesn't always work out in my favor. I'm like the government; I can't just do something...there has to be a reason, a plan, supplies, mandatory breaks, and lots of wasted resources. I can turn the simplest of tasks into an all-day extravaganza if need be. It's regrettable. And it's probably one of the kajillion reasons why at almost 39 I'm still single, and will be from here on out. But I guess I can hang my hat on organization. I'd rather be meticulous and take time to get things right than having to go back and adjust focus, redoubling efforts. Wasted steps are the bane of my existence...of course, that could explain why I also tend to cut and run occasionally. Back when my cd collection was near 800, that shit was pristine. The jewel boxes were arranged alphabetically on a large shelf, but the cds themselves were in binders according to genre. Hip hop, emo, classic rock, grunge, local bands, British rock, techno, and everything else that didn't fit. And everything was great until I'd buy a new cd...which turned into a nightmare of reorganization that required at least an entire afternoon of resorting, because you gotta keep one band's music together, and next to a similar artist, but if a page in the book only holds four discs and there's five then you've gotta do some rearranging and aaaaarrrrghhhhhh!!! My OCD goes into shutdown mode then. What made it worse is was when DMFM would come over, and he'd want to hear "Dave-friendly" music. Yeah bro, go on, look through the collection, but put everything back where you found it. By the end of the night there'd be a stack of cds all outta place. Great times with a great dude...but that's a mess I had to avoid because of my nit-pickiness. So I often don't start things unless I know I'm gonna finish them right away, and that's followed me long throughout this life. That works for me as far as almost anything goes, including relationships. If there's no promise of a sustained, happy life together, why waste both of our time? If we're just ships passing, then it's just that and there's no need to go through the charade of familiarization. Honk and wave; that's cool. No time for emotional docking where the future is fleeting and non-existent. MUSICAL BREAK!! I will remember to remember to forget you forgot me. THE DAILY BOX SCORE: Wow...I kinda don't know what to do here since I fronted on the 30DBC prompt with "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" 's joint. I guess I got used to livin' in a shack down by BC's river for awhile. Y'all are some 50 Shades fans, right? According to my demographics, y'all are some middle-aged, sexually deprived and/or deviant types, but hey, what do I or WDC really know about you? Nobody's passing judgement here. This is pretty great though...If 50 Shades Of Grey Was Written By A Man . Because selfies are usually atrocious, knock yourself out with 14 Selfies Drawn By Other People . And then for my boy Charlie ~ , as well as Future Mrs. B , amazingsauce is dripping all over this link about grunge bands getting the 16-bit treatment .And with that, I'm out. I've had enough of today. Peace, I'm gonna look out the window, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
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