Looking for a Sign

So once again, Michelle Bachmann has invoked g-d when it comes to her and politics.

This time is that g-d will repeal Obamacare.  As if g-d, doesn't have bigger issues on his plate then oh, you know, helping the ill get medical treatment.

She might want to read her bible more carefully when Jesus talks of helping others....something she isn't willing to do.

Of course, she has brought up g-d before, as he spoke directly to her telling her to run for President.  You think she would have asked him if she'd win.  It seems g-d put her down the wrong path with that endeavour, so why wouldn't he with healthcare?

Fool her once, shame on her.  Fool her twice.......?

Naturally, many others, politicos or not, use g-d as a crutch when trying to make their point. Gay marriage being a big one.

So it is curious to me why they haven't gotten the hint of what they think g-d wants.

Yes, they're going off a book that is 2000-6000 years old and written by men, not by g-d himself.  Men are not infallible.

"They" will tell you themselves that the part about slavery is now outdated, but still remains in the book itself.  They scoff at not planting two different crops side by side or stoning a man for working on the Sabbath.  But the part about men laying with men is still etched in stone.

With all the changes in laws allowing same-sex marriage, why isn't it possible that g-d has answered, but it's just not the answer the likes of NOM, Bachmann and others want to hear?

I've been thinking about a West Wing clip (yes, another one) that on a bigger level speaks to this kind of thought.   You can watch the great Karl Malden, then we'll continue.

There is a shorter clip that gets to the point (at the 1:46 mark) but you can't embed the clip. So play the clip or just fast forward to the 1:46 point.



Yes, the situations are different, but the underlying premise is the same.

Is it possible the religious and political folks who fight so hard against same-sex marriage are just missing the signs?  Or Obamacare for that matter.  36 times it has been brought up in the House for repeal and 36 times it has failed.  And the Supreme Court upheld it.

Maybe that's g-d's sign, Michelle.

How are "they" so sure what g-d wants?  I'm always perplexed by the argument of the bible.  It's a book, just a book.

When caught in a bad circumstance, most politicians or religious folks will say their words or actions were taken out of context, if not alleging they were quoted incorrectly or never said / happened at all.  So how is it that anything in a book that is thousands of years old doesn't get the same privilege?

Hell, we can't even agree on what the framers of Constitution meant with the 2nd Amendment, but someone is sure of exactly what was known back in the day of pillars of salt, human sacrifice and burning bushes?

But no one - NO ONE - will call Bachmann and likes out on this, not even to ask what g-d's voice sounds like when he talks directly to her. Are people not even curious about that aspect?



Song by:  Beck

App of the Month

I'd say this is a useless app, but then 97.4% of the ones on the market are.  So who am I to judge?

I'm Blobby, that's who.

I thought I could use Cartoon Camera FX Plus for fun images for blog posts, but the more I play around with it, the less likely it seems that it will actually play out.

There are a few of these apps out there - that turn actual photos into ones with elements of cartoons - and from sampling a few, this seems to be the best.  At least for the freebies.  You know I ain't payin' for that shit.

One, which I already forgot the name, let you try it THREE TIMES, before they tried to force you to upgrade, at cost.  No way Jose.

It doesn't hurt that the app image is a beagle.  Or a beagle with a ice pack on his head.  I can't quite figure it out.

You know I'm not fond of pictures of me, but for samples, I tried using me, but it didn't work.  Not just because I was f'ugly, but some of the elements worked better for non-humans. Or non-Blobbys.  I didn't test it on other humans.

The FX part is you can make photos (or direct camera shots into the app) into Cartoon, Alien (it just turns you blue), Rice Paper (turns sepia toned), Deep Black (black and white), Sketch and Dreamy.

For my examples here, I'm only doing Cartoon, Sketch and Dreamy.  If you play around you can also put a Sketch photo through the Dreamy FX to get weirder images. I tried it, but not showing it here.  Sorry.

I'm giving two examples, one with the house, one with Petey......because everyone likes a dog.

 The Original 

The Toon Shading

 The Dreamy

 The Sketch

The Sketch does well on details like the windows and the cabinet.

The Original

Toon Shading.  

I think this one came out ok. 

Dreamy. 

It looks a little Seurat-y, if you ask me.  Not that you are. 

Sketch.

Again, this is where live animals and people don't seem to sketch as well as inanimate objects. That being said, lighting of the original picture has a lot to do with how some of these FX come out. 

So, it was something to play with and it was free.  I mean, it was a time suck to finally do it and get eight images, but other than that, there was no money exchanged. 

Wild is the Wind

It's not the popular opinion, but I'm torn on how to feel about events in Oklahoma.

Yes, the twister was tragic and almost unimaginable.

Yes, "almost".

This story has been played out time and time again over any number of central states over decades.  And only a few years ago in this exact same town.

It confounds me when people talking to the media are quoted as saying "how did this happen?".  Oh honey, you moved to Tornado Alley - that is how it happened.  People always say "lightening never strikes twice", which is proven to be untrue. If the environment was right for it to happen once, chance are, it will happen again.

I know they're talking out of shock and no other words come to them, but none of these circumstances should be news to folks who live there.

If you've ever been to Oklahoma, almost every single telephone pole has 10-20 horns on them, facing all directions, to warn folks of just such an event.

NPR's Talk of the Nation was somewhat enlightening yesterday.  People from the area say they have shelters but rarely use them  because they go out to see the storm, because more often than not, it will hit somewhere else in the county.  "Our guests have used our shelter more than we have...."

I'm sorry, but this is Natural Selection at its finest - only these folks didn't bite it.  Other did.  Kids.

Why aren't there better shelters at the schools?  When you have a gathering of any amount of folks, why is there not some kind of built in protection?  Yeah - I hear crap about the water table being too high for them to dig, but then you had better find Solution B.

Of course, you can't have a natural disaster with out politicizing it anymore.  Katrina made sure of that. Sandy too. And it is the latter that is on everyone's mind.

Allegedly, OK Senator, Tom Coburn will refuse federal aid (does he actually have that authority?) for disaster relief unless there are matching budget cuts  He did the same thing for Sandy relief and voted against funding.  Easy enough to do when you don't actually have to answer to the folks in that state.

But now this is his home state.  If funding doesn't pass - this could make for an interesting scenario....except for the fact that it won't.

Any number of political talk shows will say, unless this story hit right at election time, none of the voters will care:  for Okies (or whatever they're called), the issues are still abortion, gays, immigration and Obamacare.  Yes, they'll be outraged now, when they don't get what they want, when they want it, but for all intents and purposes, the Senator will probably get a pass.

The governor,  however, has asked Obama for assistance.  He is not running for re-election (allegedly) so his skin in the game, other than helping his residents, seems legitimate and sincere.

I'm not completely uncaring, you know.  I'll go on record, I do feel bad for the folks who have family, friends, pets and farm animals perish. It must be horrible to lose everything - homes, possessions, etc. I do feel for them, but still I have this nagging undertow of choosing to live in a known disaster zone and choosing your elected officials who aren't with you - not really.

For all those who are against "big" government, I'd like to see each of those families turn down offered assistance - though they won't.  Reports will say that those states who are most against it are the biggest users of such FEMA funding.  Shocking.......not.

What they also don't realize, or care, is that the recovery of the Dust Bowl, centered right where they live, was funded by - you guessed it - "big" government.

If only they feds had kept their paws out of that one, Oklahoma would still be uninhabitable and this tornado would have affected no one.

Stupid government. It's all their fault.



Song by: George Michael

Take a Walk

In the never ending quest to keep Petey entertained, I took the man to Acacia Reservation.

Until less than a year ago, Acacia used to be a country club.  For years, members were wondering if they could save it or sell it - and if the latter, would it be retained as a country club.

Of course, the idea was to sell it for retail development, because if we need anything in this life, it's more stores to shop for nothing in.  Beachwood and Lyndhurst has more than enough of that.

But the powers that be sold (or gave?) it to the metro parks and it is now, as Quasimodo might say "a sanctuary!"

Currently, it is still very much golf course looking. The rough is rougher, but the fairways are still short, as are the greens. But you can see that the plan is to grow it all in to be more wild.

Petey was kind of in his element, though he's never been in a place like this.  The grass we went in (I tried to stay off cart paths) was belly-high.  To be clear - his belly, not mine.  It's like he was on a fox hunt.

But Pete has a walking problem - he doesn't know when too much is too much.  He'll keep plugging away on his jaunt and when it's time to come home, he won't move.  It's not that he can't, but he won't. Perhaps part is that he can't.  He is an aging man.

What he doesn't do on these walks is drink.  I carry his LL Bean collapsible bowl with me along with a bottle of water.  I pour, I set it down, he looks at me like "what the fuck, dude?"  He's panting like a maniac, but he'd rather be stubborn than take his dad's help.  Just like a son!

This walk was different.  The outside temps were pushing 90. We tried to stay in the shade, but there were 1,209,773 new smells to be smelled and 43,001 new trees to pee on.  Eventually we'd sit under a tree (that he didn't urinate on) - forced rest stops for him - and he was hot enough that two of those times, he drank.

It wasn't enough water (my opinion), but it was a start. It got us through the rest of the walk and back to the car.

I find it important to take Petey on car rides that don't end with the kennel or vet. I think he liked it, but there weren't a lot of folks out and about - and we didn't run into another dog, though he did see geese and of course, squirrels.

The adventure completely knocked him out for hours after we got home (where he drank his entire bowl of water).  He was in his bed and out like a light within three minutes.  Tops.

We'll try Acacia again, and maybe get David and Ted to join us, along with Petey's other dad. Maybe we'll walk the back nine that time.


Song by: Eddie Vedder & Neil Finn

My Music Monday

I've changed the image for the My Music Monday post. That gramophone .jpg wasn't working for me.

I'm going back to 2003 for Pat Benatar's last release, Go.  I know, can you believe she hasn't had any new material out for a decade?

I'm not sure if she can't get anything made, can't afford to do it herself or just to busy opening for REO Speedwagon or Cheap Trick on the rib festival circuit (no.....it's sad, but true, that last part).

The music business isn't what it once was, even to former big sellers like Pat.  Her last two releases have been on independent labels since no major will sign her - isn't that sad?

I liked Pat's music (well, for the most part), but could have done without her MTV - Spandex look that was a requirement back in the day.  Oh those black tights and wide red belt....who doesn't remember that?

Ms. Benatar has always had a strong voice even if you might not like her material.  It was the '80s and you had to kind of rely on some sort of talent, not that auto-tune crap that can make anyone a "singer" (i.e. Britney or Key-dollar sign-ha, etc).

I loved her second to last disk, Innomorata, and I want to like Go more, but I don't.  It wasn't as innovative but I do like the title track.  And yeah, I like the album cover too.

There is no video for the song - well, not an official one.  Some fan-based one actually puts together some of the worst early '80s video cliches into once clip and makes a truly horrid video, but one that was totally plausible of being a real one back then.  In good conscious, I couldn't include it here.

So all you get is the player.





I'm open to hearing new Pat, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

Boys Keep Swinging

We've finally arrived at Spring.  Or Summer.

Last weekend it was cold and hailing. The comforter went back on the bed and long sleeves were required.

On a side note, maybe it's the lack of sleeves I'm wearing, but my arm no longer has that lingering pain. The wind doesn't hurt it, so that's a good sign. What's funny (not "ha-ha" funny) is that one notices pain, but rarely notices something no longer hurting.

It was only yesterday afternoon that it dawned on me that the arm no longer hurt.  I mean,  once I get into a dress or sweat shirt we'll see, but I'm hopeful.

Anyhoo....back to Spring.  We were up in the mid-80s yesterday and the upper 70s a few days before that, so we're bordering Summer weather.  I'll take it.  Petey even was out for hours yesterday, not wanting to come in.

Due to the weather, I opted to do something different and went to a driving range to hit a bucket of balls.  Golf balls.

I had not swung a club since 2010.   ..actually, that is not entirely true.  Two weeks ago, I was at my parent's house and went to their back yard to hit a dozen or so balls.  They back up to a driving range and my dad certainly can't use his clubs that are still in the garage.

But for $8, I got a medium sized bucket and knocked through them with a 3, 5 and 7 iron, just to see where I was.

Not much has changed.  I still have rotten shots and then I will hit it 200 yards.  Rarely an in between. My swing is still too fast and I always look up from the ball too soon.  I'm still seven years old in this regard.

On the plus side, PT must have helped, along with me not doing any weight lifting over my head / shoulders.  I had no pain swinging or hitting. In theory, that should have really hurt my left shoulder.

I might go back just for fun and something different. It's not really getting me to want to go play 9 or 18 holes.  I could, with the right people and enough beer.

Oh oh oh.....and on the real plus side, you might remember from that last golf outing, the good thing of only going to the driving range is that the time decrease in the sun is by about four hours - so I don't get burnt like I did last time. 



Song by: David Bowie

Handome Devil

It is Saturday, which is quickly becoming Petey Porn Day.  Not only does that work for me, my viewing public doesn't seem to mind much at all.

How could they?  He's a cuite handsome pooch.

Right or wrong, Pete has been spending time on the grown-up chair, usually with one of us.  He likes jumping into it and lying next to us as we read or watch tv.  

I was sitting there the other day, Sophie at my feet when Mr. Pete jumped and plopped down right next to her.  Clearly she was not phased, nor was he.  I like the peace and harmony of the children.

...and then there's this.  Sometimes he lies flat, and other times, his chin is propped on the arm of the chair.  Hey, whatever makes him comfortable - that's my job to make it happen.  But he's all nose in so many ways, that he shows as all nose is that much cuter.

Song by:  the Smiths

Movieland

Oh, I got nothing going on that isn't basically yoga related.  I've been a yoga monster lately - and nothing really to show for it.

I guess my Balancing Half-Moon is better, but that is about it.  I do find it amazing that every single instructor will tell you how to do Downward Facing Dog a different way.

My hands aren't in the right place, I'm too high, too low, not extended enough, not close enough, not deep enough.

It's like a round of golf with my father. I could do exactly what he says and I"m still doing it wrong. No winning.

About a half mile from us they are filming a new movie with Kevin Costner.  I don't think it is the Postman II.

Believe it or not, it is a movie about the Cleveland Browns. No joke.  Though I'm not sure if it is supposed to be a comedy or not.  I'm guessing not, because I'm not sure Mr. Costner is the "ha-ha" type.  I am doubtful that this will be like Major League.

But Cleveland has been having some movie activity as of late.  A good part of the Avengers was filmed here two years ago, as was that bomb, Alex Cross.  Captain America is going to do three weeks of filming starting next week.

I did walk by the filming of the Costner flick, but there wasn't much to see that wasn't Teamsters and trucks.  They were doing actual filming in a house, but it wasn't enough for me to stick around to see who I could see.  I don't know anyone.

That's it.  That's all I got.


Song by: John Jennings

Random Music Review

I know I already did my Record of the Month post for May, but I didn't do one for April. It's true - go back and check.  Normally if I skipped, I'd just skip and not try to make it up.

Consider this an unofficial RotM.   I am.  I've had this written for weeks and just have to get it off the books.

First off, it's an Ep.  Secondly, it's not a very good one.  Really not a good one.

Yes, I've taken a lifetime of flack for being a Fleetwood Mac fan, but as the years go on, it's harder to defend them with minimal and marginal recordings.  I get that they tour for dough - and that the majority of ticket holders want to see a greatest hits act - and trust me, they're getting it.  But it's all been done before and no need to venture into that arena again.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about their four song Ep.  What had a ten year absence brought (after a 16 year one before that)?   Well, not much - that's for sure.

To be fair, I did not purchase.  NPR streamed the entire four tracks and you could play them as often (or as little) as you'd like.  It beats the iTunes 90 second thing (which is where this disk is ONLY available).

First off, any Fleetwood Mac album since 1987 has been a result of Lindsey Buckingham's solo work being taken and morphed into a Fleetwood Mac album - and it always shows.  'Extended Play' is no different.

Three of the four are Buckingham tunes - and iffy ones at that.  The one Stevie Nicks song is from 1973 - which isn't a shock. Almost all her material for the last 25 years has been pulled songs she wrote in the '70s.  If they weren't good enough to record then.......guess what?

Let's start with her "Without You".  Cat Stevens should sue for plagiarism.  The music and arrangement has "Peace Train" written all over it.

The criticism of Nicks' voice back in the '70s was somewhat unwarranted, but like a prophecy waiting to be fulfilled, she lived up to it long ago.  Professor Sybill Trelawney would be proud.

Nicks' voice has been shot since the late '80's and for the life of me, the people who trip over themselves to sing (ha!) her praises is beyond me. The woman can no longer sing more than three notes and it is painful to listen to - mostly due to nostalgia.

Her vocal limits work when songs and vocals are arranged correctly. But I can think of two instances in 20 years - two! - where that has worked. It didn't hurt that the harmony vocals helped save those two songs.  For this outing, the harmonies are barely there....and they're all hers.

Buckingham's "Sad Angel" is just half right. It's sad.  It might have worked as a solo song, but not as a band one.  And speaking of solo stuff, his "It Takes Time" is just that.  Seriously, if you're going to do a group record, then a song with just you and a piano isn't the one to present in this venue. Save it for your solo work.  Oh - and it is as boring as all get out.

The only song that pseudo-works is the horribly titled "Miss Fantasy".  Buckingham writes notes he can't possibly hit - and doesn't - but doesn't jigger the vocal arrangement.  It is here that Nick's muted harmony on the chorus actually (almost) saves the song.

What is sadder than the actual release is the band's assertion that this is some of their best work.  Yikes.

I get that they're all 64 years old (or older), but has their hearing gone too?

I'm not sure whether to blame Buckingham or co-producer Mitchell Froom.  Froom was a wiz with Crowded House, Forest for the Trees and Suzanne Vega.  But he bombs out here.  Or maybe this is the best he could do with which he had to work.

Either way - skip it.  Save yourself $3.98. I did. Thanks NPR - that annual contribution is really paying off.

Shopping with Blobby

Yet another installment in the drudgery that is everyday shopping. The camera-phone makes it a bit more fun - though I get looks whenever I take pics of products. Like I care what people think!

Yes, I know I normally do a "funny" post when it comes to shopping, but not this time.  Well, this might be humourous, but I have come not to bury Angie's Classic Sweet & Salty Kettlecorn, but to praise it.

My mother had it at her house last Sunday.  If you've been to Costco, you understand the folks who hawk their products to the unsuspecting and hungry public.  My mother was one of these.

Now, I'm not even sure she likes popcorn, let alone flavoured kind.  But she put a bowl of it out for "the kids" before dinner.

Turns out, for me, that was a BIG mistake.

In recent memory, I cannot think of a similar food addiction I might have faced - let alone an instant one.  I ate pretty much the entire bowl on my own.  And half a second one, before my brother-in-law showed up and barged in on my territory (though he wasn't as enamoured of it as I).

It's the wrong (and right) comparison to say it's like chocolate covered pretzels.  The sweet.  The salty.  It's just one of those types of things I assume women crave during PMS.

I knew it was a mistake before we left to allow my mother to fill up a gallon sized ziplock bag full of it for me.  I ate the entire bag (save 17 pieces left as to not look piggy) at lunch the next day.  Not for lunch, but at lunch.

710 came home and said, "this is what you left me??"  I had to joke and say, "I was saving that for me, for later."

It was quite sad.

However, it was not as sad as going to Costco yesterday when I really didn't need anything from there, but figured since I was there, I'd pick some up.

Two bags.  I put the third one back, because I'm nothing if not the model of restraint.

Actually, I am.  12 hours later and I haven't even opened a bag.  But you're talking to a guy who bought  a case of Girl Scout Cookies in March and I've only opened three boxes.  My problem, besides eating everything at once, is once I know I open something, it's gone - possibly forever.  So I just sit on it.

The joke is, I know next time I'm over at my parent's house my mother will have secured me a bag without my asking.  I don't want to be rude, so of course I'll take it home.

Freedom Overspill

I don't begrudge Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota these last few weeks.  More power to them.

After Delaware succeeded in their passage of same sex marriage, 710 and I had a brief discussion over the morning paper.

The dominoes are falling, but mainly in the east. Washington, Iowa and as of yesterday, Minnesota are the only states west of Pennsylvania who allow guy-on-guy action, at the altar that is.  I mean, unless you're a priest, but that's usually behind the altar..........I'm guessing.

But our conversation touched on how long it would be for Ohio to come into this discussion. I mean, truly come into it.

Goooooogle 'same sex marriage ohio' and all you get are Rob Portman references.  Trust me, that is not going to do it for the Buckeye state.  I'm not even sure I want him attached to it, truth be told.  I know people will take their victories where they can, but the man oozes slime to me, and like Roy Cohn or Ken Mehlman, I'd rather any of them have any association with gay life.

My fear is Ohio to gay marriage will be the Alabama of desegregation.  We'll go kicking and screaming, stopping short of the National Guard allowing two guys (or gals) walking down the aisle together.  ....and the only reason we'd stop short at the Guard is that Kent State is still all too real for us.

There are a number of reasons that the Freedom to Marry folks aren't going to get as far as they think. One is that the organization itself put out a press release the day after Delaware saying "let Ohio be the 12th state to welcome same sex marriage".

Ummm.....we have a state-wide ban that hasn't even been up for repeal. let alone a measure to allow same sex marriage.  Those are two different initiatives.  And they had to know that Minnesota was closer to being 12.  Hell, so is New Jersey, Nevada and Illinois.

At the earliest, we can't get repeal of the ban (not actually approving same sex marriage) until November 2013....though I have yet to see anyone with a petition to get it on the ballot.

FtM can't even set realistic expectations with the petition signers, let alone themselves. Don't try to sell me a bill of goods.

We also have a very republican controlled state congress.

Oh - and we have a governor who says he will veto any legislation trying to pass such a measure. There are erroneous reports that he is for same sex unions.  He is not.  Right after Portman came out for same sex marriage, John Kasich seemingly agreed, then then the next day took it all back.

Maybe Kasich will "evolve".  Probably not.  He is the kind to believe in evolution of any sort.  And if he wins another term, we might not see the approval of same sex marriages until 2019.  That is assuming congress can pass the measure to even make it to the governor's desk.

The U.S. Supreme Court might move things along for us faster, even if Kasich retains office, but again,  there are those images of German Shepards, fire hoses and armed guards violently holding back anything a federal law might say.

Ohio is on the wrong side of right and I don't see that changing anytime soon.  Certainly not as fast as Freedom to Marry suggests.

No, I don't begrudge the other states. I welcome them and applaud what they're doing.  Even if Ohio passed it, 710 and I are already married.  There'd be no second ceremony, just being able to snag his social security if he should take the big dirt nap before I did.

I kid....I kid.  You know the plan:  I go first.



Song by: Steve Winwood

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 39th 12 of 12. 

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, a number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Janet Hughes is now hosting the link that puts many 12 of 12'ers together (sometimes she keeps current, sometimes not).  The number of people linking don't seem to be as robust as they once were, but that stands to reason.  

I still continue to do this, because of all my consistent post topics, I actually like this one the most.  

Yes, this month falls on a Monday, but 12 of 12 overrules My Music Monday.  You can all take a breather from my music. 

06:55.  Retained water on a roof.  Gotta go clear out those drains.

08:40.  Not Petey's most photogenic, but he's just waking up.  Yes, in his bed with his 2nd bed beyond that.  Or what I call his "pied-à-terre".  He has a third bed that is put away. A fourth in my office.  And a fifth for outside.  S-P-O-I-L-E-D!

10:00.  Hail.  In mid-May. It would go on to hail on and off for hours. It was 39 degrees. In mid-
May.

10:35.  New Apple store being constructed.  Our current east-side location has one of, if not THE, smallest Apples stores in existence.  New problem is the place where it's going never has a free parking space as it is.  This won't be helping much.

10:37.  Funky flower pot outside of yoga.

10:50.  Anjanai, Judi and Debbie (of the yoga posse) looking at Judi's veg garden before yoga.

12:30.  The house in which my father grew up.  Not to be confused with the house he was born in which I showed back in February of 2011. I pass this house almost every Sunday after yoga. I haven't been in it since 1986.

12:50.  Heart-shaped cupcakes to take out to my mom's for her special day. She won't ever eat one, but the kids will like them. 710 made them while I was at yoga. He's a great son-in-law.

14:30. Petey: the cliche.

14:32.  Thousands of helicopters downed from the earlier storms.

15:30.  Shower time.  You only think you see something. Yes taken with April's App of the Month.

16:40.  I hate to admit it, but it was a last minute trip to Lowe's to get something for my mother for Mother's Day. She wanted nothing, but a plant couldn't hurt, right?

Your Baker's Dozen.

20:45.  I had to put the comforter back on the bed. The temps are in the upper '30s. In mid-May.

Style Kills

Style over substance.

Good for some movies, but not all.

We saw the Great Gatsby yesterday.  It wasn't bad, but meh, it wasn't great.  710 liked it better than I.

I should know that Baz Luhrmann likes his visuals, and in certain movies (Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge) it can kind of work.

But with Gatsby, the visuals, the 3-D and the sounds and music were way more important than an almost 100 year old story. I suppose it is almost fine if you didn't know the book - or if you didn't like the book.  That was not me.

Personally, I like Fitzgerald - and while Gatsby isn't my favourite of his work, I still like it.

That said, Luhrmann stays fairly close to the storyline, with smallish changes - so he didn't fuck that up too much, though the point of narration of Nick Carraway comes from a different vantage point.  That was totally new, but not that distracting.

Since I wasn't a teen-aged girl when Titanic was released in the late '90s, I don't get the appeal of Leonardo DiCarpio (though he has purdy blue in his eyes - though that might be CGI too), but he was fine in this, though he won't be winning any awards that aren't MTV related.

It could be argued (and I do) that Carraway is the main character and Topher Grace Tobey Maguire was a bit soft. Same could be said for Sam Waterston in the 1974 (?) adaptation.  I never read the character quite like that, but maybe it was me doing it wrong.  Actually, Topher Grace might have been a better idea.

Michelle Williams' lesser co-hort, Carey Mulligan, is fairly forgettable as Daisy Buchanan.  She's no Williams (who would have been good for this).  Hell, she's no Mia Farrow.  I've never been wow'd by her and this role isn't making me think she has anything to truly show as an actress. She's pleasant to look at, but no substance that I can tell.

And I get that Luhrmann likes to put modern day music into old stories (see Romeo + Juliet), but I don't really want or need to hear Jay Z, Beyonce, will.i.am and the always horrible Lana Del Rey - especially when accompanied by fireworks and streamers.  Snore. That Jay Z is a producer (which I found out at end credits) is now less of a surprise how his own music eke'd in there.

It is not that the visuals are not good - they are. Luhrmann (like Tim Burton) is an expert at that - his problem is (unlike Burton), he just doesn't know when to stop.  With him, he allows the story accentuate his vision and not the other way around.  Excess is not Enough - seems to be his credo here.  You see and get the story, but you don't hear the words - if that makes sense.

The 3-D was a bit much, especially since this wasn't an action movie (though the technology looked good in the new Star Trek trailer).  It worked in one or two scenes, but overall, like most movies, it's so not needed.

Gatsby was an ok distraction for a cold rainy Saturday afternoon, but for the story itself, I'd either stick with the book, or the Robert Redford / Sam Waterston / Mia Farrow version, unless you're just in it for how Luhrmann tops himself visually.



2013 Movie Count / Goal:   5 of 12. 

Song by:  Robert Palmer

Lying Down

It's the end of a long week and I'm not feeling horribly creative today.   But you know, Saturday's can easily be filled with Petey Porn.

Oh, I'd like to say he was just stretching, but he wasn't.  He was sleeping.  Like this. Yesterday morning. 

I just sat and watched him for a while to see if he'd move.  He didn't.  So instead, I took a snap and then sent it to 710. 

He's a peculiar doggie, but lord he's fun to watch, especially with his beds.  You might notice the cushion to the left of his bed. Sometimes he will stretch and head and legs will be flopping over either side of his bed.  That is when 710 takes said cushion and props it under Petey's head so he doesn't have to have the neck bend over to the floor.  

S-P-O-I-L-E-D. 

...and totally worth it.   

Song by: Kirsty MacColl

Site of the Month

This might be old news to many, but it was new news to me, being the new-ish dog owner I am:

Dog Shaming.

These poor pooches get chastised, in usually funny ways, from their owners for doing things that dogs do.

Or doo-doo.

Yes, most posts have to do with poo - rolling in it, eating it, or pinching a loaf in inappropriate places.

According to their documentation, almost none of them have regrets.

Perhaps it is my imagination, but most of the dogs are pugs, dachshunds and bulldogs (French and English).  Maybe they're all from a very very finite group of users, I didn't pay that much attention.

What I do know is, that we have a pretty easy-going dog that doesn't do nearly anything bad, let alone chew stuff up, and  pee / defecate in icky places.  He's gotten into the garbage like twice, but completely ignore's Sophie's food bowl. He has no interest.

The worst thing he does is beg (only with his sad sad eyes) while we're making dinner.  But he's quiet about it - no barks, no whines, not even the licking of his chops.

It's not that I wouldn't participate in the site if Petey ever did anything bad, but he doesn't.  And if he did, hell, I know I couldn't get him to sit for a picture.  And he always looks guilty, but that just his natural look.

Much of the goings-on with dogs and their owners is predictable, and yeah, the site is a time-killer, but it is kind of cute.

...oh and paging through, i did see two cats and one horse, but it's pretty much for canines only.

Record of the Month

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there! 

It has been since 2006 since the Dixie Chicks put out their last record. While not officially broken up (they are playing a few live dates in Canada this summer), they haven't been in a studio at all.  Shame - at least in my opinion.

Lead singer, Natalie Maines, was never truly a country singer, as she was training at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston when she joined the Chicks.  Still, her voice fit well with the group's music - she was a strong vocalist.

So, while Maines - who seems to be the holdout of the Chicks getting back to recording - thinks it isn't time for the band to record, this week releases her first solo album, Mother.  For the most part, she is recording other folks' music, as she has never been the most prolific songwriter and has rarely (if ever?) done it outside of a group effort with the Chicks.

Produced by Ben Harper, whom I've "heard of" but never knowingly heard (except that he's the ex-husband of Laura Dern), Maines does well overall though Mother was never to be like her previous recordings.

Maines has always had a strong and distinctive voice, and it was well suited to the music that the Chicks played.  She even showed she and the gals could make a wishy-washy song, like Train's "Hey Soul Sister", sound credible.  But solo work, except for a song or two released here and there, she was in uncharted waters.

I don't expect Mother to be a big success in sales. Perhaps in critical circles, but not sales.

Her title cover of Pink Floyd's song isn't a strong start.  While not horrible, it doesn't quite convey the emotion or depth that Floyd was able to pull off.  Taking chances with Eddie Vedder's "Without You" (not to be confused with a DCX song of the same name) improves upon his version - though his was accompanied only by a ukulele. Different forums, different styles.  And it wasn't the obvious lead off release from the album.

"Silver Bell" has some country-ish elements, mostly due to the slide guitar (and possibly because it was written by Patty Griffin), but it soon gets into heavier rock territory - which sounds good, but the mix is all off.  Nat'le's voice is lost in it and the electric guitars are louder than they should be. It might be fine for a concert setting (to a degree), but it is heavy handed for a record.  I get that from a lot of Griffin songs.

"Trained", without a doubt, is the most non-traditional song you'd expect Maines to do (and she does it with Harper).  It's not bad at all - clearly the rockiest thing on the disk, also the shortest song as well. It took a few listens to truly appreciate, but it grabs you from the first 10 seconds.

My favourite song (so far) on the disk is a cover of Dan Wilson's "Free Life".  Wilson was singer / songwriter of the milquetoast-y group Semisonic, but co-wrote a number of songs on the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way album, including "Not Ready to Make Nice".   The arrangement is different than most anything she's done - but in a good way.

I also am digging "I'd Run Away".

I know most will think that Jeff Buckley's "Lover You Should Come Over" is the centerpiece, but I'm not that wow'd by it.  Save a song or two, I never saw Buckley as the saviour of music that many did - and had he not died, I'm not sure he'd have delivered that kind of prophecy.  I also know that folks think because the song is 7+ minutes long it automatically becomes the focal point of art - but it ain't.

If there are songs that could be compared to something she had previously done, "Vein in Vain" would be it.  It's a good song, a good arrangement, but you can see if a little instrumentation was changed, it's not too far off what Maines graced us with before.

Oddly, the one song that could have been a Chicks-like song (but isn't) is actually a discarded song (for being to rock and roll) from Taking the Long Way is "Come Cryin' to Me" though it goes on about 40 seconds too long and I can do without some of those cheesy background vocals.

Also going on too long by at least a minute is an otherwise good song that Maines co-wrote, "Take it on Faith".  A sparse arrangement at first that builds nicely, a strong voice - but that last 90 seconds really detracts from the first four and one-half minutes. It'd be a great song if not for that last minute and a half.

Yeah, Maines possibly went out of her way to disassociate herself with her (former?) band, but overall the record works.  It's cohesive, it's well produced, well played and well sung.   It still won't be a big seller and there is no home for it on traditional radio. 

Urgent

I know the story of the three kidnapped girls (now women) in Cleveland have been making the national news.  It's good news - well, it is now.  Not so much for the last decade.

They even interrupted the Indians game to provide an overhead announcement that they had found them.  At least two of the three women dominated the news for months on end after their disappearance and then about once a year during the anniversary of those days.

That the three were still local and the trail was so cold seems a little creepy.  Creepy that the guy could almost get away with it; creepier than our law enforcement had it right under their nose with nothing.  It's not too different than the guy who had murdered 11 women and buried them in his house or backyard and no one bothered to notice - even with the smell.

Since some of the women were of color (all in the murders and some in the kidnapping) it always goes back to theory that the police and the media don't place as much importance on their plight.

Even Family Guy tackled it in one sentence with Stewie saying:  "We need to get out of here, black guy gone missing, the news will be all over that!"...

It's great these three were found.  How much physical and psychological damage has been done will take a while to determine.  No doubt Law & Order SVU is already drafting the script.  Ripped from the headlines, indeed.

There is much fury over the 9-1-1 call Amanda Berry (one of the women who escaped) made.  To the point, the 9-1-1 operator.  I thought it was questionable how well it was handled.  Go on-line and look, commenters are outraged - not that it takes much to get internet trolls all riled up.

But my favourite - and yes, I'm kind of serious - is the neighbor who found her and helped her escape also mad a 9-1-1 call.   The guy is great and just can't be bothered by the police system's shit:

"Hey bro," Ramsey tells the 911 operator. "Check this out. I just came from McDonald's right? So I'm on my porch eating my little food, right? This broad is trying to break out the f-----g house next door to me, so there's a bunch of people on the street right now and s--t. So we're like, 'What's wrong, what's the problem?' She's like, 'This m--------r done kidnapped me and my daughter... She said her name is Linda Berry or some s--t. I don't know who the f--k that is, I just moved over here bro. You know what I mean?"

He then answers the 911 operator's questions about the woman, what she looks like, and what she's wearing. 

Ramsey tells the operator an address which he says corresponds to Berry's location, not Ramsey's home address. "I'm smarter than that bro. I'm telling you where the crime was, not my house," he says. 

"Are the people that she said did this, are they still in the house?" the 911 operator asks. 

"I don't have a f-----g clue, bro. Like I said, I just came from McDonald's." 

The operator then asks him to check whether Berry needs an ambulance. "She needs everything. She's in a panic, bro. She's been kidnapped, so, you know, put yourself in her shoes." 

"We'll send the police out," the operator responds. 


I'll give it to the families, they always were trying to get on the news and never gave up. I don't know that I would have that kind of faith after a few years, let alone a decade.  Though I totally feel for the oldest woman whose family was not looking for her and always assumed she had taken off on her own accord.  Her re-entry has to be tough, as her family just never bothered to pursue her disappearance.  "love ya.  mean it."   Yeah, that's not gonna cut it.

Look for Mayor McCheese to give Mr. Ramsey a lifetime supply of food for his continued product placement.



Song by:  Foreigner

Strike

Last night was a beautiful night.  Mostly clear and warm enough to make it to the bottom of the 8th inning for our first Indians game of the season.

Not tons of folks there, but it was a Monday and not summer, so......

But we had great seats - first row right past first base.  Oh - and we won.  That is odd - not for the Indians, as so far we're doing ok.  Not stellar, but we're not in last place.

It's odd we won, because I was there.  Almost always we lose when I attend a game.  Though truth be told, I was away from the seats for the first three home runs, so I think I helped somehow.

I'm guessing it is because of my voracious appetite lately. I am always hungry.  Last night it was a brat (not a good one), a slice of pizza (actually not bad) and yes, two scoops of ice cream.  But I had no beer, so I feel I came out ahead on the food pyramid.  Don't ask how - it's science, you wouldn't understand.

What kills me is, the stadium no longer has onion to put on hot dogs and brats.  What is up with that?? Don't get me wrong, it wasn't going to help the food, but it's a good distraction from the snouts and entrails that are in those things.

And what really kills me is Sugardale Farms still has a race around the 6th inning between Ketchup, Mustard and Onion.  Onion shouldn't even be allowed to participate.

Gladly, Onion came in third - though the race is always totally rigged.  And Ketchup has my glasses.

We took our friends Tom and Sal - and it seems they had fun.

We have some good players, and only a few personalities.  Nick Swisher is new to Cleveland (from the Yankees) and he interacted in a good way with the fans - we made him laugh and vice versa.  He seems glad to be here and made that known pre-season when he got traded here.  Hopefully it will work out.

So it was a good first game of the season....for us.


Song by:  Todd Rundgren

My Music Monday

I don't think I've done a John Mellencamp song yet.

Of his 128 albums, I'm sure you could get one really good disk out, if you pulled individual songs from those.  He's not a go-to favourite, but he has his moments.

And I am talking Mellencamp and not Cougar.

If I never have to heard "Pink Houses" or "Jack and Diane" again, I'd be just fine.  I do like his take on "I Need a Lover" better than Pat Benatar though.

I took issue with songs like "the Authority Song".  I never saw anyone call him a thief for that.  "I fight authority / authority always wins".  How is that different than, "I fought the law / and the law won"?  Maybe he tried to pass it off as an homage.

But Mellencamp really came into his own when he took back his name and had enough clout to go up against the record company and not be a stooge for the suits.

He did a nice job on a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Nights" with Me'Shell Ndegeocello, but I think I'll have to go back to the '80s or '90s for my choice.

That said, it turns out I like about seven or eight of his songs (ok, maybe I couldn't get a full album out off all his material); and today's choice came down to three:  "Paper in Fire", "Rain on the Scarecrow", but "Human Wheels" won out.  There isn't any defining reason for how it won, it just did.

I will say, I'm interested in Mellencamp's next project - Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a collaboration with Stephen King and T. Bone Burnette.   I've heard a few tracks that are really good.  Some of the others are sung by Sheryl Crow, so..............there's that. They can't all be winners.

Peel Me a Grape

I suppose I have crud to write about, but this can go into the 'stuff & nonsense' category.

David has been goading me about trying to get me to go to nekkid yoga.  It's not that I truly have any qualms about it, but it is not that high on my bucket list.

If you're truly in your practice, the joke is, you don't notice anyone else in the room.  It's all I can do to get into balancing half-moon. I can't be worried how well the person next to me is doing, or how they're looking in their yoga pants - or you know, what their junk is looking like.

David thought we could 'ease' into the class by being modest and wearing grape leaves.  His actually has an extension, as his has a bunch of dangling grapes attached.  Mazel Tov to him.

So, yesterday, I went to get the mail and in the mailbox, lo and behold, was my grape leaf.  I'd say "singular", but there were actually two.  Boy's sized - medium.

Please.

Of course he's joking about us going to nekkid yoga (I think).  Ditto with the grape leaves (I think). I'm not really considering doing it at this point - bucket list or not, but it doesn't scare me at all.  It has got to be better than belly dancing.

Oh, the mailbox also contained a few treats for Petey and some green poop bags for him too, since David doesn't think our purple ones were manly enough. But I'm guessing right now, none of you are caring about the dog treats.

Just a hunch.


Song by: Diana Krall

Brain Drain

You might not remember but in my 12 of 12 last month, I mentioned how when it rains; it floods.

Ruckiry (not Jon's boss) , we have not had issues with water going into the basement, but we feared it was only a matter of time.

The downspouts, if they worked at all, were really just depositing water into the yard and not into the respective pipes that exist.  We're not sure if this is the same issue that will make the floor of our garage seep from underneath, but it kind of stands to reason that it might.

Anyways - in that 12 of 12, I mentioned that we had plans to get this all fixed, and we hope we did.

The workers showed up Thursday to start, and I have to say, I'm surprised how much damage work they did in that first day.

They completely tore up part of the front yard, and severing the invisible fence wire. But they got the front done (though not yet put back together at that time).  They immediately started on what I would consider the true problem area, though let's face it, they are all interlinked.

Poor Petey - he did not know what to do when we tried to let him out.  His main artery to the yard was literally cut off. ....and g-d forbid he go out through the garage.  He just could not grasp that one.

Though at a night time outing, 710 told me that Petey ended up in the ditch.  It is still not clear to me if he jumped in or fell in.  But it was dark and that had to be either no fun for him, or a thrill of a lifetime.  He's not talking.

But as yesterday's progress continued, I was concerned they wouldn't be done in the two day timeframe they promised.

Not only was I wrong, but I think both 710 and I were pleasantly surprised.

During:  Thursday

Completed:  Friday

Just don't look at the foreground, but keep looking farther and you'll see the backhoe and a big ditch.  The grass looks hardly disturbed.  I mean it is / was, but to those who don't have to cut the lawn, it looks mostly untouched.

During:  Thursday

Completed:  Friday

Again, you wouldn't really know they were there, since most of it was flower garden and not lawn.  I don't know where they pulled all those daffodils from, but I know we didn't have that many in that part of the bed.....but who cares.  I'm surprised they put them back at all.

No doubt this is not what I wanted to spend a few grand on, but it is better than waterproofing the basement in a year or so - and you know it would come at the most inconvenient time to pump water out of there if it had happened.

So it's done.  Oddly enough, we're hoping for rain, just to see what happens.


...and I didn't forget.  It is Star Wars Day.   May the 4th be with you.  

It's also Kent State Day.  They are opening a new center telling the story of 1970. It's high time they didn't ignore it.



Song by:  Marianne Faithful

One Step Forward

I got my fitbit for the holidays last year and usually I am pretty good about wearing it most of my waking hours.

Actually, I feel cheated out of recorded steps as I walk to and from the bathroom when I wake up and am nekkid, so not tracking my steps.

As I mentioned yesterday, I no longer wear it to bed for my sleep activity. It's a great concept, but eh - they say you can't change what you don't measure.  I don't know how measuring my sleep will help me change that aspect of me.

But it took me four full months to actually hit or exceed the set goals for the week.

Yes, I hit one of them on a daily basis, but rarely three and never for an entire week.  Work and weather are the culprits that get in the way.  And yes, it is easy to blame them, but I'm not walking outside for 10,000 steps when it's 18 degrees.  Being chained to a desk most of the days isn't a great way to hit your goals either.

BUT  - it has started to warm up and I'm getting out more with the dog.  On last Saturday, I did almost 19,000 steps.  fitbit called me an 'overachiever'.   Maybe it's just me, but I take that as a slam.  Usually the nerds are called that - and yes, I am a nerd, I get that, but......ouch.

It doesn't hurt that a few weeks ago I returned to the gym.  Yes, I had been doing yoga twice a week, but I'm up to four times per week currently - two of those classes being 90 minutes long.  Now yoga doesn't really get me many steps or floors climbed, but it gets me out - and I purposefully start parking farther away from the gym.

I've also started lifting again. Just curls. I don't think my shoulder is where it needs to be for benching anything and I've come to the realization that it might never be there again.

As much as I'd like to have a more defined body, I have gotten to the place in my head where I am ok with that might not actually happen.  Still, I'm leaps and bounds over where I've ever been, so that might just end up being my peace.

This is not to say I've given up.

No, I'm just mentally resetting expectations.  In certain ways I miss lifting, in others, I don't.  I'd like to be able to get back "there", but I'm an old man in deteriorating body - what can be done until Oscar Goldman is my boss and has extra money in his budget?

I feel better about being back at the gym.  It feels right.



Song by:  Paul Young