This Life

I haven't done the math, but I am guessing, on average we go to a concert maybe once per year.

I do love live music, but it's the other things I loathe - like other people. It took us a full year after the Dixie Chicks to face another group of people.

When it comes to larger venues, I think I'm done done.  I don't care who the act is.....I wouldn't think of going to anything with greater than 2,000 seats.

So I was very excited by the announcement that John Paul White was coming. Assuming (incorrectly) that 710 might say 'no', I purchased the tickets before axing him if he wanted to attend. Even better, it was at a new place in Cleveburgh - which at full capacity might reach 1,000....but probably less.

As it is the Music Box Supper Club, they actually have table food service during the concert. We opted to eat elsewhere before hand and just enjoy the show.  Thank g-d!  While we had to share our assigned table with 4-6 others, I saw no one else in the place eating dinner. That would have been awk-ward!  {yes, say that last word in a gay sing-songy voice.}

White did a great job. The set started off with just him - which I thought the entire things was going to be anyway - but on song three, the additional four musicians showed up for most of the rest of the concert.  I will say, the first band song, the mix was wayyyy off, and the singing was nearly unintelligible. The sound guys eventually cleared that all up.

White only has two albums, plus his Civil Wars stuff.  It is no surprise he doesn't touch the latter - as however that band ended, it didn't sound good, though no one talks about it, though he did allude to his solitude over the last few years since.  He also played nothing from his first solo disk - which left very little.

He did most of his last disk (still stellar material!) and a few covers, including a Dan Seals (not from Seals and Croft, but related to) song, and oddly or not, a version of ELO's "Can't Get it Out of My Head".  The latter song started off extremely well, then got a little weighed down. But by the end of the song, I noticed I was broadly smiling......at the interpretation of the tune.

I'll have to check out more events at places like this. The crowd was manageable and well behaved. Traffic was a breeze.  And it was $18 per ticket!

Score!


....but if Mr. White ever comes to your town, shell out the dough. Totally worth it.




Song by: John Paul White

the Lake

Oooooh......we went to a new dog park.  It was a little hike, but I think it was worth it.

Bow Wow Beach.  I love the name.  If I start a dog park I'll call it Arf Arf Acres.

A really nice lake and gated area for dogs.  No two-footers are allowed in the water. 

And there are paths that go all the way around the lake. 

That big doggie coming out of the water is an Anatolian Shephard. I'd never seen a dog like that.....or heard of one. He was a seemingly nice dog. 

Shep (more like 710) met a little friend.....who was seemingly unattended. 

Turns out two bored teens who we assume mom forced them to take the family dog to the park.  He/she was really cute. 

Shep didn't swim per se.  He was more a of an 'up to the knees' kind of dabbler. 

.....or he's sit.  

But those ears.....and that beaver tail!  The boy kills me. 

Back at home.  Dinner time for both of these two. 

Song by: Laurie Anderson

Date with the Night

Date night - mid-week.  Well, late mid-week.

Dinner, wine, and music.

But it's pushing 12mn, and I'm tired....and I still have to work in the morning, albeit, I'm doing it from home.

A better, fuller post is in your future...it is just not tonight.  Or today.

Whichever.



Song by: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Reaction to Action

The GOP controlled Senate is going to try to bring up their version of DumpCare(®) before July 4th.

Be vigilant.  Call your fucking Senators.  Even the ones who think the House version sucks.

Song by: Foreigner

Dark History Waltz

It's one of these multi-post posts.  One subject isn't enough for an entry, so we'll just lump together a bunch of shit.   'k?


It's Summer. Officially.

I mean, everyone thinks after Memorial Day it is, but it isn't.  Old Mr. Thermometer might argue with me, as we've had at least 10 days over 90.  Still we had a Spring.  Often we do not.  But as my father would have said, just to be the cloud to the silver lining:  "day start getting shorter now".
Thanks Dad!

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A gay football player!  Who knew?

Well, apparently no one. And of course, it's an 'ex' player. It seems they don't turn gay until retirement. Fancy that.

Poor Ryan O'Callaghan was afraid to get bullied.....or fired  All 330 pounds of him. While I feel for his plight, I'm guessing he could have held his own from anyone making fun of fags.

....and of all the former New England Patriots, is there any reason in the world it couldn't have been Mike Vrabel to finally admit he likes guy-on-guy action???


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Oh Daniel Day-Lewis..........do you have a fall-back career? 

Sure you're a great actor.....but your films are few and far between. And while they're artsy and sometimes fartsy, they're not huge money makers. You must get paid a lot of dough up front because the how much of a back-end deal can your rake in from My Left Foot? 

Perhaps it was from the licensing from his My Beautiful Launderette action figures that keeps him in the Benjamins. 

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Apparently the camera adds 10 lbs............to Sean Spicer. 30-40 cameras are on you, wellllll

According to Steve Bannon.  The tubby advisor who clearly is looking down a diagnosis of cirrhosis, is making excuses for why the White House Press Briefings are no longer allowing cameras.  It doesn't excuse the 'no audio' rule. 

If you don't think this is scary and one step closer to no press coverage at all......no accountability.......well then you're a moron. 

Song by: the New York Orchestra

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!

Oh my - it's been since March since I did a Shopping with Blobby segment - that's good and bad. I started some of those placeholders when I had nothing to write. I also haven't done a Site of the Month for a while.

If I'm being honest, I took the snap just for the name, not so much the product. Hehehe.....dryer balls.

Had it been me, it just would have been talc.

My Music Monday

Still tracking those 2017 (or so) releases - for good or bad.

It was only two weeks ago I wrote about the questionable new Arcade Fire release. Well they just released song #2 from that upcoming disk.......and it is a lot more like #2.  All I can say is, I hope those are the two worst songs on the album.

Don't worry - I'm not presenting that here today.

Nah - I'm going with the newly released song by the Killers.

I get that some folks don't like them (Jon!), but I've liked them since their debut. It's part a new take on the nostalgic 80s music. After that, they developed more of their own sound......sometimes to their advantage, sometimes not.

Their new song, "The Man", cherry picks elements from '70s funk, glitter/glam rock. disco and yes, even a little new wave.

I don't think it is my imagination, but the rhythm section just seems so Weymouth / Frantz-esque during their stint in Talking Heads. There is a Bowie vibe, a Gap Band bank of keyboards quality and while not Barry Gibb - there is a Bee-Gee's influence too.

I would say I sat in uncertainty the first few times I heard the song. I like the lyrics, though I think Brandon Flowers is more than a little tongue-in-cheek saying he's 'the man'.

I think "the Man" bodes well for the new upcoming disk. I liked a small handful of songs on Battle Born, so they kind of need a win here with me.   ....I mean, it is all about me.....right?

Maybe I am 'the man'.

Timber, I'm Falling in Love

Thrice we've tried this season to have some trees taken down. Thrice we had been thwarted.

Until this last Friday, that is.

Soggy weather and a soggier lawn stopped earlier attempts. I'd hate to see how bad the lawn would have looked after that  - as it doesn't look so good now.

You can put down wood and whatever for the cranes and such to roll over, but you're still talking 10 tons of equipment trampling your yard.

Trees are fucking expensive to remove, yet 710 was worried about some of the dead ones on the hill. I get the concern:  if they fell, it would be out on the road, and we'd be liable should it have killed someone.

Oh the irony. As many schmucks that have run off the road into those trees, and yet here we are (again) footing the bill. It really grinds my gears.

I will say, 710 made a very good deal. A negotiated price to take down as many trees as they could in a full work day. The last three we had taken down was 13+ year ago and that set us back $1,100 minus the stump grinding. So while I won't tell you what we paid this time, if you even didn't factor in 13 years of inflation, it came out to only a few hundred dollars per tree.

Score.

710 worked from home to supervise. Shep barked at the workers. So I hear.

So, all but two of the trees they took down were dead - and were on the hill. I don't even truly notice they did a thing - which also grinds my gears. 710 says it lets in more light.  yeah yeah.

The other two, well.....big ass maples. One that at the base you could see through. One arborist told me 'not to worry' about it. One said it had critters living in it and needed to be taken down as it was rotted inside. I found it hard not to agree with part of that, as I could see daylight through the trunk.

I'm not sure what was wrong with the other maple, but it's gone too. Well partially.  They didn't quite get it all, so they'll come back and finish.

My takeaway from all this is that I'll have about 144,000 less leaves to rake / blow / bag this upcoming autumn....and from the two trees who held onto its leaves the longest.



Song by: Patty Loveless

Swimming

Another week. More dog park time......and home time.

Shep's first swim. 

He hasn't quite mastered the doggie paddle yet, but he ain't afraid of going right into a lake.  ....and then to a bathtub.

710 will have to sleep elsewhere. 

 

Dog park friend (eventually), Zoe. She's very much the submissive. 

Field dog. 

Pooped out at the park.

Both of these guys love hanging out with 710. 

Is it possible to be a fourth wheel? 

Song by: Florence + the Machine

No Place to Hide

I have to say, I think I was 21 before I had my first apartment. Well, less than that, but in my first one, I lived with my seemingly well-hung roommate.  I never actually found out, but.....well, sometimes you just know things.  ....and let me tell you, that first solo place was an efficiency with a pull-out sofa bed. I believe, I was the only non-Asian in the building. 

Shep isn't even two yet, and he know has his own pad. 

The crate wasn't working for us. Or him. Unlike Petey, he never has seen it as his safe place. The howling after being in it would go on for hours. It was stressful for all. 

By the time we got Petey he had slowed down and was responsible. He was fine to be uncrated and in the house by his lonesome (well.....with a cat).  Shep? Not so much. 

710 set up the over the garage apartment (read: office) so that Shep would have access to the two rooms with vinyl flooring. Should he pee or poop there, it would harm nothing. 

He also set up the webcam so we could watch him. I was nervous about this. I always am. I hated him being alone up there. That said, he had access to two beds and a chair to look out a cracked window - any number of things he didn't have in his crate. 

I rushed home day 1.  No accident. And he was thrilled to see me. 

I opted not to watch the webcam the first day. 710 said he barked for a bit but then didn't. He didn't use the beds either, but crashed on the hard floor.  710 sent me pics. 

Shep was also aware of the camera, as he'd see it move as 710 or I were using it remotely. 

We made it through three weeks of no accidents.  Not one.   And he eventually started using one bed...and then the second. This is a dog who never used any bed in the house. Then a week in NYC, so we thought there might be some backsliding, but nope. He's a clean pre-teen. 

So on Monday, 710 opened up the entire apartment for Shep's use.  The two beds are now in the main room. He's got a window unit air conditioner to keep him comfortable in this heat.

Now either 710 or myself have semi-rushed home to free him, but still - not a drop of pee or one pinched loaf.  I'm impressed. 

While I have checked in on him, sometimes early, he goes window to window (as far as I can tell), but I have heard no barking or howling.  He seems less anxious there.......and I'm feeling less guilty. 

So.......Shep has a one bed / one bath apartment. He has western, northern and eastern exposures. He has great neighbors (psssst.....that's us). He has multiple chairs and a few beds. And a big bowl of water. 

.....and he doesn't pay rent. 

Who's face you gotta lick around here to get that sweet deal? 

Song by: Alison Krauss + Union Station

Long Shot

I wish I could give a flying fuck about the shooting(s) yesterday in Virginia.  But I don't.

I have no ideas who the victims were.....and I don't care.

My memory could be playing tricks on me, but I don't remember the 'if they come for one they come for all' when Gabby Giffords was shot. I think they rallied around the shooters rights to have a gun.

I believe the NRA was giving press conferences on why access to guns was sooooo important. I don't quite see those today.

Sure, it would have been super better had the gunman been a republican, but we couldn't be that lucky, could we.

Do you know what my first thought was when I heard?  Why aren't these fuckhead federal employees working, like they're supposed to be?  Then I hear they were practicing for some benefit game that - get this - "is a traditional event designed to bolster goodwill between two sides of the partisan aisle".


Suck. My. Dick.


Maybe they all deserve to be shot.


Sorry - it's hard to take seriously when the GOP players are practicing with lobbyists. It's hard to care when a GOPer who are so fucking hell bent on no gun control gets shot, by what I'm hoping was a legally obtained gun with laws which they helped craft to keep firearms in people's hands.

The problem now is, people have thought that maybe now the GOP will rethink gun control since it was one of their own.  This is where those folks fail. The republicunts are only going to double-down. It will be more guns for all - with less hassle.

I mean - how do they not see that coming?




Song by: Kelly Clarkson

Telling Me Lies

I have purposefully been avoiding anything SCROTUS related.

There is so much difficulty starting a post about him, because there isn't an ending. There's never a true true ending.

Should I do an Ivanka one? You know, where she says she wasn't prepared for the "viciousness of the media".   Oh honey, you mean the folks asking the hard questions.......or any questions?  And it isn't the media you should be worried about.......it's the peasants!!!   . ....and we are revolting.  But not in that kind of way.

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Or should I do a post on Dump himself?  Because somehow he's vindicated when Comey testified that he believed Dump to by lying and attempting to obstruct justice????  The best part of that tale was that SCROTUS would "100 percent" willing to testify under oath"

O.M.G.

I think it's taken me this long to write something because I haven't stopped laughing.

By the letter of his statement, he might - might! (which isn't 100%) - testify under oath. But who in the fuck would think he'd do it truthfully?  To be fair to him, he didn't say he would be truthful in his testimony.

The man lies constantly and then lies about lying. When running, new organizations would question him on quotes....even play tape.....and he'd deny ever saying or doing something.  .....and people looked the other way, including the media, because they didn't want to lose their access.

So yes, to a degree, Dump is right:  it is fake news.  Or was.  It's getting less fake as they are calling him on shit........you know, the viciousness to which Ivanka Antoinette refers.

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I could go with a Jeff Sessions thing, but man that guy makes my skin crawl.

So I will say this about that. This is the man heading the Justice Dept.  .....and he is skirting the law. Let that sink in.

I'm not even talking about his probable ties to Russia or his flagerent shielding of the "President".  I'm just talking about speaking to Congress and making his own way - which is. not. legal.

.....and yet he got away with it. Because, who is gonna stop him?  The republicans???? The dems don't have the balls.....or the votes....to push back hard enough for a lawsuit.

But here's my thing about this whole crap-fest:  if the GOP is soooooooooo sure there is nothing illegal and no collusion, etc etc etc, wouldn't they want to get to the bottom of it all so Dump & Co can have their names cleared?

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Anyway...........I'm going with Uday Hussein.

Ohhhhh....that was mean............to Uday, that is.

Yes, we've all heard "the comment" about "democrats not being people". I'll be honest, I didn't originally watch the clip or even read the articles that mention the interview.  Fuck I feel bad for his wife.  Can you imagine having to looking into that face as he fucks you??  It's gotta be all doggie style because who could look at that?   Seeing him across the dinner table must be a huge appetite suppressant.

Don't worry about the below clip.  Yes, it's Uday, but fear not. There are other ciips interspersed.

It just goes to show you, that if you go on (I originally typed 'goon') Hannity, that you'll get the story you want out.....with no questions or alternate opinions.

We call that: propaganda

Still, it's important to watch the clip below for perspective.


Song by: Trio

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 87th 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, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore. Now it's just Erik and myself - that I know of. 

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

06:35.  Graphic. 

Seriously - this is the graphic Words with Friends used for 'sex'.  It was a .gif.....and the finger moved up and down the slit.  I shit you not. 

08:15.  Hanging in the office of a Thoracic Surgeon's office, which I had a meeting. 

08:50.  He has a decent view. 

10:00.   Not today wishers.  Not today. 

10:50.  Acupuncture. 

We focused on my fascia yesterday. Both feet. 

10:57.  Spying on Shep. 

He's just chewing on a toy.  ...and a screen capture is still a picture!

14:30.  Passing an establishment on way to my car. 

Technically, Leslie Knope said it. She just happened to be played by Amy Poehler. 

15:22.   And still, 91 would not be the high for the day. 

17: 45.  It's hot. 

You can gauge how hot by the size of the tongue hanging out of the mouth. 

21:35.  Somewhat watching to see if the Cavs will lose tonight.  I'm not that invested, though I'd like to see back-to-back championships.  Statistically it's a tough road. 

21:40.  Dessert. 

Graeter's Ice Cream.  Some of the best. 

22:15   Last pee of the night. 

Him.  Then me. 

My Music Monday

I might not have mentioned it, but I'm going it alone.

Erik, has opted to 'suspend' his blog. He claims he'll do 12 of 12 but he's not blogging per se, which means no Hi-Fi Friday for him. If I so any theme music posts, they're on me. I'm good forgoing themes for the moment.

Right now, I've just been doing new(er) music. Mostly 2017 stuff....but some might older, just newer to me.

Here's the dirty secret about Sirius XM radio.....that is if you're paying attention, which I'm guessing most people do not: of a few hundred thousand songs to pull from, I find that for certain periods of time, they not only rotate only a handful of song, but in the same fucking order. ...at least on some of the channels.

When one is on a car-trip, it isn't that difficult to deduce.

That said, on the way to and from NYC, I heard "It's a Trip!" by a group called Joywave.  I kind of dig it.  The song I like.......the lead singer in the video creeps me out.

So radio isn't all bad.  There are no visuals.

West

To hear my father tell it, the reason we first got a colour television was because of Batman.

The year would have been around 1966.

The story goes, he went out to get a new set and the showroom was playing Batman - in living colour. My father, being my father, had to have the newest technology. He came home with a colour tv.

Mind you, I'm 99% sure my father never saw Batman. I suppose it is possible he happened upon it while I watched it, but keep in mind, I was watching it in re-runs about 7-8 years later, but doubtful.

Growing-up, I loved Batman. I am not even sure until much later did I realize it originated in comic book form. I know it appealed to me in visual stimuli, bad jokes, bad acting, and probably on some level, a weird kind of man-on-man spectrum.

Is it odd I was more titillated by Batgirl then Batman or Robin?    You don't have to answer that.

Even as a child, I recognized the absurdity of the show. I am guessing the comic books were more on the serious nature - at least comparatively.

Still, Adam West played his version of Batman flawlessly. His delivery was spot-on. He did his lines, probably tongue in cheek, but never LOL'd.

I've said it before, and will again, my absolute favourite moment had Batman and Robin at Catwoman's mercy:  tied to spits that turned over an open flame, and they were to be basted in butter. ...and then the complete straight faces of all in the scene:

Robin: Holy Oleo, Batman
Catwoman:  I didn't know you yodeled. 


Where was a man like West to find work after that. While perhaps not typecast, you have to believe he was pigeonholed and the joke factor no one would hire him.  I swear the next time I saw him, he played himself on the Simpsons at an autoshow with the Batmobile.

And of course, he's played himself on other series.

But his probable big break came on Family Guy. 17 years of work on that series alone. For that continual syndication, I'm hoping he made a pretty penny.

Good for West for doing the most absurd lines in tv ever. Whatever it takes to get paid.  I loved that he was part of it.

It's sorry to see that he passed. It's not a surprise at 88, I suppose. But still, it's a part of my early childhood.  I don't know what Seth McFarland will do with Mayor West next season.



Song by: Lucinda Williams

Animals

It's Caturday.  And doggie day.

If you had not guessed, our weekends are filled with dog parks and park parks. Our lives have become all about pleasing this guy.

Spoiler Alert:  we are NOT going to come close to making our movie goal.  ....unless they start letting dogs into the theaters.

City Dog

Being chased in the dog park.

Then Shep humped him (or her). 

Silent Beg. 

He's so excited when 710 comes home.....furniture and carpets get moved. 

I don't get that kind of reaction.....from Shep or 710.    Sigh. 

The dog who chases a frisbee, but has no idea what to do with once he gets to it. 

....and since Calvin wanted a pic of Sophie.  

Here she is, shiatsu'ing my could-be firmer belly. 

Song by: Talking Heads

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!

Regardless of what their press junket claims, this Buckingham McVie album  (out today) was intended to be a Fleetwood Mac disk. Until they opted for it to be a "duet" record (which it is not), they had talked about Stevie Nicks' reluctance to join the band in the studio. 

To read any of their press now, Nicks' name is almost never mentioned and the tagline is that it was always slated for a duo album. We call this "spin" or publicists working overtime. 

Nicks was reluctant to participate. She claimed she didn't want to spend over year in the studio to make an album which people wouldn't buy. Though that came from she doesn't think people buy music anymore......and she has a certain point to that. 

But with that logic, Nicks kind of showed herself as not being as true of an artist as she claimed and someone who wants to make a buck off her songs.....which is legitimate too....though it's a little harder to swallow from a person who has a net worth of some $75 million.  Now you just sound bitter and greedy. 

So the rest of Fleetwood Mac kept making the record they were semi-planning, but with one less member, and opting not to call it a Fleetwood Mac disk. 

While Nicks' reasoning was off / wrong - her gut on not joining was on the mark. I wish my wallet could say the same thing. Back in the day, "Don't Stop" notwithstanding, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie had some of their best work together: "World Turning", "Hold Me", "Think About Me", "Isn't it Midnight" and "You and I". 

Those moments are few and far between here. There are some fine songs, some missed opportunities and some just forgettable moments. Stop calling it 'duets' when they rarely sing together. They trade off tracks in which one takes the lead. Buckingham's songs are just that. You'd really need to isolate vocals to hear if McVie even participates on most of them. 

It might be telling that the opening track, "Sleeping Around the Corner" was a bonus track for Buckingham back in 2011. It's not a bad song, if you can get past the opening 30 seconds or so. 

Buckingham, as usual, has repurposed his solo work for it to be a 'band effort'. And while he used John McVie and Mick Fleetwood for a solo disk that became this one, it doesn't seem that these songs were written or arranged for something like......oh, say, harmonies, which is somewhat of a band staple. His songs still feel like a solo effort. 

As with a lot of his later work, Buckingham loves layered vocals....especially if they're his vocals ("Love is Here to Stay", "In My World"). And he likes that jangly guitar. There used to be a time when he mixed it up with guitar style......those are rare times nowadays. That said, his playing ability is still stellar. 


When the first three tracks were released prior to the disk, I had grim feelings about the album. If "In My World" contains Christine McVie at all - on keyboard or vocals - I am missing it. And auto-tuned Lindsey?  To quote our pseudo-president, "Sad!". 

McVie's song, "Feel About You", is lighter than light rock...even for her. It's Helium Rock. The problem really with it is: it has a hook, an earwig, if you will. But it's not necessarily a song you want stuck in your head........but there it is.  And I know I'd be in the minority, but her "Game of Pretend" is way too melancholy and piano heavy - like someone is trying to recapture "Songbird" way too hard. 

McVie does have strong vocal skills ("Red Sun"). She hasn't seemingly lost that with her very extended break and being in her 70s. She hasn't really lost her range.

Both singers have better offerings on this album....and oddly, they're the last two songs. 

Buckingham's "On With the Show", was in process before McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac. But the phrasing and chorus are nice, though he self-plagiarizes some of the music from "You & I, pt2" (he also lifts from "Tusk" with "Too Far Gone".)

McVie's "Carnival Begin" makes you want more of this type of song (though the organ is almost identical to "I'm So Afraid").  Again, the arrangement and phrasing are familiar enough, but with a departure from the norm that make it interesting. This is where Buckingham shines on guitar - unfortunately it is the literally the last minute of the entire disk. 

Both of these artists have worked well when playing off each other.....but on Buckingham McVie, they're just filling in for each other.  More songs like the final two would have made for an incredible album. 

Unfortunately, it just isn't. 

Tragedy

Channel Flipping can be a real problem.

It used to be a non-issue during "summer", as everything was a repeat. With 1,308 cable channels - plus Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, well, there is always a new show on....and each seemingly worse than the last.

But if there are reasons why straight people abhor the gays, it has nothing to do with hand holding, public displays of affection and the like.

No, it's because television treats us like we are bitchy queens - and the problem is, there are a faction who are all too willing to be that bitchy queen just to get their mug on TV.

I saw it a few years back with the Beekman Boys (dudes.....you're like 50, enough with the 'boy' shit) or PBS' Vicious. They're just nasty men who don't seem to like each other, much less themselves.

But mix those shows with anything on Bravo (like the Housewives) and add in the Real World house-living roommate thingy (or maybe Jersey Shore) and you got Logo's Fire Island.

You know that Far Side.....

Fire Island is "entertainment" at its lowest form.

I hear women at work talk about some "reality" show with 600 lb folks or the mail order brides show. Those seem like PBS material compared to Fire Island.

We only saw a few parts of a few episodes, but you don't need to be a Mensa reject to catch-up quickly.  Six guys - whom I don't think knew each other - go in for a timeshare on Fire Island.  Or read: Logo auditioned guys with 2% body fat and put them up in a furnished house.

The protagonist / antagonist (or possibly antagonist / antagonist) pair in the house is arguably the most fit queen and the more flamboyant bigger queen.

Yes, I'm being disparaging.  They've quite earned it.

The bigger queen was hired to be the instigator, I suppose. Making mountains out of molehills....and yet, contractually, all the others are legally forced to weigh in on the situations with their less than clever catty comments.

Oh no.......the flamboyant queen is just beside herself (yes...I'm feminizing him....though he's done a great job of that himself) because the other guy didn't come to his drag show.

Mind you, the housemate in the drag show doesn't even bother to shave off his creepy John Waters-ish mustache. Oh - and he sucks at drag.  SUCKS at it.   (of course the only reason he's in it, or allowed to be in it, is because a television film crew is there.)

But hundreds of people at this show and he "notices" on of his approximate housemate associates (read: not friends) wasn't in the audience.

DRAMA!

or lack of, actually, though lord they try.


.....and then they milk that for three more episodes.


I can deal with bitchy queens.....as some of the icky feeling I had experienced first hand in my 20s. It was all too real, though the folks I encountered were way more clever and funny. I knew them, but I didn't like them.........just like the guys on TV.


But if you're not into that, you can watch E's What Happens at the Abbey, which are bitchy queens with 1% body fat with some of their hags.   It's totally different!


I just imagine heteros finding these shows and going:  "Fags".    Because....that's kind of what I'm doing.



Song by: the Bee Gees

Hudson

So while taking in the newest portion of the High Line, we were just standing watching the development of Hudson Yards.

Building upon building is being erected.  hehehe......erected.

I'm for development.......to a degree. I'm not for over development.

To the right of this picture, is a unique structure in the process of being built. It was enough not only to look at, we walked over to see it.

The shape, of course, was unique, but at the corners of the base looked to be casters. 710 engaged in conversation with another lookie-loo on what this might be. We already knew the sculpture that was in process of being completed.

710, being 710, did some investigation once he got to a computer.  And it seems very very cool.




.....and yes, it is on casters..........kind of.


If the video is correct and part of the development is to physically cover the train yard, that would be a shame. Erasing the history, the only remnants being the rails in the High Line itself, seems annoying.

How the High Line itself came to be was abandoned rail. I fear there will be no connection to that and the train yard once all is done.  ....and I like seeing the trains.

But no one asked me.



Song by: Vampire Weekend

Leave My Kitten Alone

.

I haven't really written about yoga lately.  Mostly, I haven't been doing it as much....skipping here and there, body parts in pain most of the time making me want to skip here and there.

In my Facebook feed, I "liked" Rescue Village, which is where we got both Sophie and Shep.  So in that said feed, I got a notice for 'Cats on Mats.

Yoga with kittens.

How could I not go? And better yet, how could I not drag David with me?

The class was donation based, but they suggested $10. We went. I gave $30.

I was not anticipating a rigorous practice. I will admit, I had visions of kittens climbing all over me as I did a down dog. Alas it was not meant to be.

There were three kittens, all from the same litter. Part of the reason for this activity is to socialize the kittens to humans. So when we arrived, they were hiding out in a corner in some of their play toy houses.

As we got going in our practice, so did the three. But not with us so much, but with each other. There was a lot of chasing and tackling. One of the three was very very vocal.........it made me smile.

Eventually, some of the folks got some kitty-time.

The one doing his (I'm assuming it was a 'he') is Sun A was the vocal one....and the most social one too. It's also the one I'm holding in the title image.

These little guys were checking out the women....and the great outdoors.


It was then I felt a little bad for the fellas.  Them running around and chasing each other - they cannot do in their cages. Though they do have windows in the kitten room.

As you can see, I did stop to play with some of them.  In a way, I'd love to have another kitten, but I'm 99.6% sure it's for the best that we do not right now, though I'm sure any one of them could put Shep in his place.

Anyway - it was a fun experiment, but I don't think I'll be going to the other two events.



Song by: the Beatles

My Music Monday

Oh, how 2017 is shaping up to be a good year for music releases. Or at least potentially good year. Some of my faves are putting out new music. They all seem to go in this 3-4 year cycle and then it all just lumps together, leaving other years bleak.

Arcade Fire will have a new disk in August. A few days ago, they surprise released their first single, "Everything Now".

So far - I'm not impressed. That said, that happens a lot with their music and it grows on me. I'm hoping that happens here.

Usually the group is inventive. "Everything Now" seems so......blah.  It is not bad, except when they repeat the title 10-12 in a row. It seems like they're staking a little.

Is it just me or does the intro sound like an Abba or any other group from the late 70s disco era?

A fair song from Arcade Fire is still better than most things on the radio, but truth be told, I'm hoping the rest of their upcoming disk fairs better than "Everything Now".

Talkin' New York

So, we are back from "the city".

You saw that we did our Broadway adventure. And my pedicure adventure.

As with many of our long weekend trips, we had almost zero planning, as we opted to go about four days before we actually got in the car to leave.

710 had some ideas, well actually most of them, including the plays, though he didn't reveal all of them to me.

In no particular order:

We went to the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian, which is housed in Andrew Carnegie's mansion. Well, former mansion, I guess. The museum is devoted to design. The tour we tried to take was painful. 20 minutes in, we were still in the first room. We ditched it.

We got there via the newly opened 2nd Avenue subway. We were geeks. We got off at every stop (there are three), so we could see the artwork. I'll post that later. After museum, we walked through Central Park......in the rain, and we didn't mind a bit.

The first day, we walked down to the High Line. Yes, we've seen it before, but the newest (and last?) section opened up since last time we were there. We got there at a good time.....before there lots of people. Afterwards, we hopped on CitiBike and road down to Battery Park. There was one thing in the whole World Trade area left to do:  the new Calatrava subway station.  The job was very well done.

It was also Fleet Week.  Yes, it sounds great.........in theory.

.....until you realize they're all 18 or 19 years old. While some think military boys are hot, I just thought that we send teenagers, who might have fewer opportunities in life, into harms way.


And not because I'm afraid of terrorists, or bad drivers, we attempted to stay away from Time's Square.....though on the way to the play we had to attempt to get that through that hell. But had we not, I would have missed the billboard some guy put up to fuck with his wife.

Oh oh oh.....we also stopped into the Time Warner Center.  No, we weren't looking to see AC360. I had to use their facilities......if you know what I mean. But there we saw their newest store.....

....oh the sweet irony.  amazon's first brick and mortar bookstore. ...and a line to get in. 

We also hit Governor's Island, which is something I've never done.  More on that later.....maybe. Or just click on the link for the drone shots. 

We did a lot of walking. I was averaging about 25k steps per day. Had it not been for CitiBike and the subway, it would have been on the order of 35k steps. 

Food is a big component to NYC.  Most of what we chose was fair....and sometimes poor choices. We did hit it out of the park with one:  Eataly.  A vast complex filled with commerce and food - fish, pasta, cheese, bread, etc.  We opted to eat at the pasta section.  

I was kind of blown away. So was 710. 

Months ago, I stopped eating red sauce with pasta. No matter what I made, or bought just wasn't working for me.  The bucatini was beyond good. There was enough that I thought I'd have to leave some behind. As it turns out, I ate it all. 710's cacio d pepa was even better.  I totally recommend this place.  They do not take reservations, but go, and hit the bar. Great wine selection. 

We also had a nice dinner with my sister and niece. I talked myself out of going to Eataly for a second night. When I mentioned that, everyone would have been on board. So crap on that. 

Unplanned trips like this are good for us. They don't work for everyone. But NYC is like Vegas - you don't need planning for much. There is always something to do.

That was our warm-up. Our big vacation is mid-summer. We are looking for cage-free options for Shep's incarceration during that time.



Oh - the title image is the temporary Jeff Koons installation at Rockefeller Center. I'm not a fan of Koons, but I quite enjoyed this.....and I don't know why.



Song by: Bob Dylan