Monday, October 31, 2016

My Music Monday

Since it's Halloween, and My Music Monday - with the 'title track' theme - I thought I'd combine to the best of my ability.

I'm going with "Haunted" by Poe.

Poe only had two albums before getting dumped from her label when it was acquired by a larger entity. Oddly enough, she had just gone gold and was opening for Depeche Mode on a national tour.

Her album Haunted was her last and released in 2000.

Parts of the album, and this song, have audio tape recordings of her deceased father, and there are parts of the album that tie into her brother's novel, House of Leaves - which I have mentioned before is one of the most original and strangest books I have ever read. But the house in the book title is also 'haunted', so there is some tie-in.

Haunted is a good album, but not a great one, yet it has some great songs - one being the title track.

Technically, it's not Halloween-centric, but who doesn't like a good haunting on this day?


Sunday, October 30, 2016

g-d and the F.B.I.

It's been a few tense evenings around Casa Shep.

Damned World Series. Damned Election.

Game 3 of the World Series had my stomach all in knots. I find having scoreless inning after scoreless inning to be gut-wrenching. The longer it goes on, the smallest infraction could mean a loss.

Safe to say, there were lots of sighs, yells and curses from yours truly - mostly in the bottom of the 9th. Two on (for the Cubs), two outs and us winning only 1-0. The margin was too thin.

Ruckiry (not Jon's boss), we eke'd it out and I went to bed well after midnight. Praise be it wasn't a school night.

Game 4 wasn't nearly as strenuous for me. I can't say the same for the Cubs.  BIG win for the Indians. It erased my angst from the night before.

The WIndians lead, 3 games to 1.  I am GIDDY.  All we need is one more win for Blobby to be headed downtown to a parade and celebration. I didn't go to the Cavaliers victory bash, mostly because I didn't care  - - but this is the Indians !!!!!!

I do have to say, I felt bad for the Cubs fans during last night's game. They look so dejected. I would (kind of) be ok if we lost to the Cubs - more so than any other team. But I won't lie - I REALLY want us to win.



And none of this World Series stuff is as strenuous as it is for Hillary. Or possibly the director of the F.B.I.

So close to the election and this turd of a news story comes out - more emails.

The F.B.I. is as fucked up as the media on this. They both skew such a (non?) story.

Snore.  More of what, exactly?  Oh that is right - they don't know. Or they do, and are just baiting the public.

In reality - if these emails to Weiner's wife are anything of substance (or even if they weren't) - they came from or went to Clinton's email server........which the F.B.I. already had. So aren't these actually duplicates that they've already fucking seen?

Sure, the F.B.I. finally stated that they did not 're-open' the case, because it was never closed, but the damage was done. The general public believes there is on-going criminal activity and a new investigation - 10 days prior to the election.

This is one time (t)Rump doesn't even have to do anything. He can just ride this new cycle, which should take him to Election Day.

"People" are calling for F.B.I. Director, James Comey, to be discharged. It might be right. It might be wrong. But if Obama or Clinton (should she be elected) do that, it just seems retaliatory. Not a good way to end, or start, and administration. It's extremely partisan - and you can dress it up anyway you want to, but you end / start on a sour note. Even if he resigns, it will be deemed as "under pressure".

This entire election has been one big cluster-fuck. Honestly, I'm so fucking tired of both of them. Less of her than him, but she's not that far behind. Donald is a buffoon of course, but Hillary keeps touting 30+ years of public service and political know-how. Then why is she continually stepping on landmines?  She should be smarter than this. WAY smarter.

Actually, I'm glad to be focused on the Series. I'm trying and trying and trying to stay away from the news - well, news that isn't baseball.

oooh. I sound so butch.




Song by: Janis Ian

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Your Adorable Beast

Shepporn.

It's a short pic week. There are only so many pictures of awesomeness that my iPhone can handle.


Shep likes the bench. Actually, he's smart enough to jump up there when it's time to get his harness on for a walk. He's very accommodating.

The man is all tongue. ...and he's not afraid to use it. 

Frankie and Louis are Shep's friends. They're very intrigued by him.  Shep likes Barbara. Barbara has treats. Barbara thinks Shep has one of the best faces and nicest coats she's ever seen. Blobby loves Frankie - he's a love sponge. Blobby likes Louis too, but loves Frankie.

...and when he's not playing crazy hard, Shep is a snuggler. It's frickin' adorable.



Song by: Bobby Bare Jr. 

Friday, October 28, 2016

One Way Ticket

I think I've mentioned that we reside in an extremely liberal neighborhood.

Our suburb is known as being very liberal, and for the few dozen houses in our 'hood, we even kick that up a notch. The one known republican move out about two years ago.

I'd say 'good riddance' but they were actually very nice people, though their dog was annoying as fuck.

As we were walking Shep a few weeks ago, we stopped by our neighbors, Jerry & Molly. We actually stopped over because their dogs were barking to see Shep....so we let them visit.

We moved up the driveway and 710 nudges me to Jerry's bumper sticker.

He nudged me incorrectly, but the split-second of nudge and realization were over by then.

710 saw - as did I - the '(t)Rump' part of the sticker and almost read no further. I got the nudge before he read beyond the dash.

Jerry is a great guy, and no one who would ever vote for Donny boy - ever. So yes, it momentarily surprised both of us that he had a (t)Rump sticker - even though he really did not.

My second immediate thought was: why would you put this sticker on a very very expensive car?

Then I flashed to my friend Morty (as I am apt to do), and his Impala, and the taping a political bumper sticker on his back window.  I believe it was for Lee Fisher.

I admired Morty's practicality of not slapping on an adhesive backed endorsement for something that would be temporary in the big scheme of things. Yes, I semi-privately mocked him (ok ok...publicly) for not being able to commit to adhering it to his car.....that he didn't have full faith in Mr. Fisher.

I put an Obama 'sticker' on my car. Except that it was a magnet. Genius. It didn't hurt the car one bit.

But back to Jerry.

I certainly get the point he was making. But like everything else (t)Rump touches, unlike what was on Jerry's car, it doesn't stick.

Anyone who isn't already voting for Don would smile at the sticker. Anyone who is, wouldn't or couldn't see the possible / probable ties to Putin.

Jerry probably gets the finger from those folks.



Song by: LeAnn Rimes

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

As it turns out, I did work from home today, albeit, as little as possible. Mostly emails and a conference call or two. But on the other hand, I did not nap either.

As such, I am tarred.

I don't think I can stay up for Game 2. I'm not sure I want to. It's not looking good for Cleveland as of yet - and it's already the 6th inning as I pen this.

I really have nothing.

But for Game 1 - and maybe they do this all the time now - at the 7th Inning Stretch, they sang "G-d Bless America". Then they followed up with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".....as is the song that is usually the standard.

For some light-heartedness, why not show you the Parks & Recreation version - as sung by Chris Traeger.

It's spot-on

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Wicked Game

Surprise!

We went to Game 1 of the World Series !!!!!!

(that's why this is getting posted later than my usual posts - the game went until almost 12mn.)

I wasn't purposefully holding out on telling you. I just wasn't sure.

I know last week I said I would love to go, but couldn't even afford Standing Room Only......and I can't. Well, I could......I just wouldn't. My friend Phyllis mocked me via text going, "$1600 vs a being part of the historic two championships in one year story......PRICELESS"

And it is. But her text-mocking didn't get me to fork over the dough.

As it turns out, one of the lawyers my mother previously worked for has been good to her. While he left town long ago for other career options, she and my father (and 710 and myself) have been the recipient of his generosity and / or connections.

When Bill worked at the White House - we got private tours of the residence, West Wing and the OEOB. My parents attended the 1996 DNC convention and attended the inauguration and one of the balls - in what is now the Trump Hotel in DC {shudder}.

And I've been to more than one Indians game  - front row, behind first base, thanks to Bill.

While Bill has been gone from Ohio for at least 16 years, for some reason he's kept his season tickets.

And while he certainly wants to attend a few World Series games, he cannot attend Game 1.

Those two tickets were offered to my mother. And while I think she'd like to attend, being almost 88 and the game starting after 22:00 (she's not supposed to drive after dark) and a planned temp of 40 degrees, she passed along the tickets to 710 and myself.

In a way - this was a problem. Right next door to the Jake (I still refuse to call it Progressive Field), the Cleveland Cavaliers weren't just having their season opener - but it was the Ring Ceremony for their 2016 championship. It was to be a huge crowd downtown for sure - if it was just one event, but it was two.

We left work early (16:00), so we could get home and take care of Shep - then it was off to downtown.


The game itself - if you watched - was incredible. Well, the first inning was. Then there was a lull, but I was surprised how many people wanted to sit and for lengths of time. It's the fucking World Series. I felt the need to be on my feet.

Seventh inning was a slight nail-biter, where in theory, Chicago could have tied the game, but long story short: they didn't. Not a run for them. And the eighth inning was just pure joy. I've never high-fived so many people, let alone strangers, in my life.

The crowd was a mix. People who had tickets, but clearly could care less about being at the game vs being at the World Series. The guys a few from us never watched a thing and were both playing with their phones the entire time.

The guy in front of us - video later - was what would be the crazy drunk uncle who yells, "You bums" at the tv screen.....except he was in his early 30s and doing it real-time. Some of this comments were funny - some fell flat.

The girl next to us was annoying as fuck. And not just because of her ugly-assed septum ring. Partially because she smelled of lots and lots and lots of banana peppers. But she had a horrible high pitched scream and she was trying to trash talk some players. Ugh.

As 710 said - "can you imagine your mother sitting here during this?", meaning these two mentioned, plus their plus ones.

Yet everyone was super friendly. Some guy behind me asking if I wanted a beer. I think that was code for: 'I've got a room at the Residence Inn', but I wasn't sure. He wasn't my type and oddly, I didn't drink at all. Not one.

Good thing too. If you had to pee, the lines were forever to get in. But I did eventually, and wouldn't you know it, I ran into one of my cousins who was in from out of town there. We both did double takes, did our business and caught up outside the restrooms.

After, it occurred to me: fuck - this is the second World Series I've attended. Two different decades. Two different centuries!

So now it is time for bed. I'm considering working from home today. I'll decide when I wake up.

We are up 1-0. Only three more to go.



Song by: Chris Isaak

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Death Came

Death is all around. There's no escaping it these days.

We were in Maryland for a service for 710's mother. It was sad, of course, but it was a nice time while the family was all together.

My cousin's husband asked to that no more measures be taken to keep his life going. Yesterday they discontinued his ventilator and a short while later, he passed on.

....so that's another service I shall be attending.

My friend Ed, is just at the two year mark from being diagnosed with colon cancer....which became liver....which became...you get the idea.

Until 6-8 months ago, he was progressing somewhat nicely, but last week he put himself into Hospice. So......tick tick tick.

And yesterday that thing where "they" die in threes happened. All at once. And it wasn't even a Buddy Holly / Ritchie Valens / Big Bopper kind of thing. I have no idea who Bobby Vee is - but apparently he up and died.

A big loss for me, was Tom Hayden. One of the Chicago 7 and a head of the SDS, I thought his causes were noble. He was 76. How did he get this old?  How did I?  Not that I'm 76 or anything, but.....

The last one was the lead singer from Dead of Alive, Pete Burns.

I was never a fan of their / his music, but if you were gay and went to bars in the '80s, it was hard to ignore / miss it. And Pete became a spectacle with his plastic surgery. It was too freaky for me.

When I took my fag hag, Jannelle, to her first gay bar, the video for "You Spin Me Right Round" came on and she asked "who is this?".  I provided the band's name, to which she dead-panned, "I think it's dead.".

...and now it is.



It can only go up from here....right?



Song by: Lucinda Williams

Monday, October 24, 2016

My Music Monday

Title Tracks is the October theme.

I feel fairly vindicated that no matter my selection, it will never be Milli Vanilli (cough cough Erik cough).

I have so many choices, yet so few weeks. This week it is Alison Krauss + Union Station from their third album, So Long So Wrong.

This goes back to 1997, before Jerry Douglas was a band member. Still the band is tight. Truth be told, somehow the song gels for me in an 11 second time frame (2:13 - 2:24). The harmony / blending of vocals gets me every time.

Now it's been 5+ years since Union Station's last disk. They've been gone for far too long.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Hotel

Nothing going on here.

We are in Maryland for the weekend. Shep is in the kennel {sad face}. But he seems to be fine there, and it's only for 30 hours or so. Sophie has complete run of the house.

The weather turned cold....it was 82 on Tuesday. Yesterday it was in the 30s on the drive here.....and the windshield wipers never ever stopped running.

Grim.

But we got to see 710's brother and his wife. We got to see 710's dad. All good things.

I'm just sitting at the Holiday Inn Express as I write this and not feeling any smarter. And I have a headache - so much so, that I didn't even touch alcohol at a very mediocre dinner for fear of exascerbating the pain.

Since I got nothing, I'm not going to drag this out. I'm going to take some meds and be in bed before 22:00.   ....except that there seems to be a Quinceañera across the hall.

This can only end well for me.



Song by: Tori Amos

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Big Dog

Saturday. Shep and Sophie Day.  Well Shep this week.  No Sophie.

Up in the home office. He's no Petey who'd just chill. Shep is ALL over the place. The only time he calms down is if he curls up in my lap. All 38 lbs of him. 

Shep looks vicious (look at those teeth!), but he's not. And trust me, Oliver can take it. 

 Too young to vote but I like the non-denominational political sign. Shep seems unamused. 

 Cat stand-off outside the vet's office.  The cat prevailed. 

 He sure likes to run with the big dogs.  We took Shep to Canine Meadows - which sounds like a pet cemetery. It's not. It's 3+ acres in which he can run. 

 Making the sofa his own. 

Our neighbor, Bobbi, bought Shep a sort of octopus toy. She used to buy Petey presents he'd never use. Shep, however, takes it a lot of places. Usually when he runs indoors. 


That's it for this week. Sophie is showing up more and more, so we should get more pics of here in the upcoming weeks.




Song by: Devo

Friday, October 21, 2016

I'm Not Calling You a Liar

#Nasty  #badhombres.

Those seem to be the hashtags from "the debate" that anyone is talkin' about.

I was still riding a high from the Indians game, which ended about two hours before the debates. I was not plan on watching, but as we flipped through the 187 channels, 710 stopped on the last televised fuckfest with "those" two.

I believe we made it through two questions - one being about immigration and that damn fucking stupid wall. The other was much much much more painful: Abortion.

Since I pretty much refuse to read almost anything that has Drump's name in it, I don't know to what those above hashtags actually refer, though it doesn't take a Mr. Peabody to figure it out.

No, the uncontested answer of Drump to abortion - by Clinton, or that stooge, Chris Wallace - was simply ah-mah-zing.

He stood there and said about late term abortions, that "they" could "rip the baby out of the womb", one, two or three days before it was to be born.

Drump used the word 'yank', 'rip' and 'tear', trying to make a point about the procedure. Clinton did a fair at best job, trying to invoke it is not the government's place to tell a woman what to do, or about how horrible a choice it is, but still should be the right.

What she never touched was calling him a fucking liar on national television.

No one - and I mean NO one - performs late term abortions..........at 40 weeks!

Ok, maybe in some obscure third-world country - like Alabama - they do, but not in the U. S.

Usually, the latest late term abortion is at 22 weeks. It's not pretty, it's not nice, but it's also not at a whim of 'I just don't want the baby' either. Usually that late in the term, it's a clinical reason. And Clinton is right - it is a horrible decision to make or to do.

I get that the debate is to be somewhat civilized. I get that abortion, 45 years after Roe v Wade, is somehow still controversial, so someone who is pro-choice can't focus too much on actual abortion. And she deflected to the expected position of Planned Parenthood and all the other services they provide.

What she didn't do was call him a #liar.

Yes, there are many ways to do it without saying the word "liar", but he is and was lying - and zero to back it up.

Here within lies the problem - with Clinton and the media: they don't truly call him out on this shit. And unfortunately, what he says to the fucking 'tards who are voting for him believe the shit that come out of his mouth.

Once the debate is over and the fact checking starts hitting the intertubes......well, it is just too fucking late for facts. The damage is done and the few Drump voters who can read, aren't.

Nor did anyone call him on his Supreme Court "automatically overturning" Roe v Wade.  .......that's not exactly how the Supreme Court works. But Judicial, Executive and Legislative mean nothing to this man. A case actually has to make it to the court. It's not an executive order.

So we made it through two questions, and then it was to the DVR to see stored America's Test Kitchen shows that are backing up.

I'm pretty sure I've said it before - besides not being able to tolerate what he says, honestly, it's his f'ugly facial expressions, especially when Clinton is talking, that are such a deciding factor in his toxic personality.



Song by: Florence + the Machine

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Diamonds and Tears

Cleveland is going to the World Series !!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes. THAT many exclamation points. Deal with it.

For the first time in 19 years, the Indians are back at the championship level. I could not be happier.

Growing up, I never thought I'd see the Cleveland Indians in a World Series. Now I've lived to see it happen three times.

I have yet to see a win......but I'm optimistic...which is SO not my style.

The regular season was somewhat anticlimactic. We were in first place since June and stayed there through September.

I'm not complaining. We are usually more up and down. There was always a reason to check the standings in the daily paper. After a while, though I did it, there seemed to be little point.

Post season was fun. We swept the first set of games. And had it not been of a horrible horrible game 4 in the American League final, we could have swept that series too.

While it would have been fun to win and home, I wasn't broken up about that. Hell, we didn't even win in this country! A win is a win is a win. I'm ok with where it was.

I got to go to a game in the 1997 World Series - our last one. I purposefully picked game 4 in case we did sweep....or got swept. I wanted to be a part of it.

My ticket that year - from a broker - was $330. It started out at $200, but I kept hanging up after blanching at the price. Every 15 minutes, it kept going up. I finally just folded and bought two tickets.

Mind you - that was almost two decades ago.

Tickets for this series?  Standing Room Only starts $641.  Starts. There are actually more expensive SRO "seats".

If one wants to put their cheeks in a seat, those start at the $800+ range. ...and those are the upper upper deck.

So while "we" are going to the World Series - we are not. It would be $1600 - minimum.....and that doesn't include parking!  Or beer. Or an evening time dog walker.

....and if tickets are $800 from the box office, can you imagine what a broker will charge you?

I can reassess as we get closer. Maybe someone has to get rid of a ticket or something.

I guess I'll just splurge on a t-shirt or something.

I'd have to really look, but I'm not 100% sure there is a city where two of their major sports teams have won championships in the same year.

2016 has brought the title for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Lake Erie Monsters (an AHL - not NHL - hockey team). We have the chance for baseball too.

As always, the Cleveland Browns are total losers.....so there is no way to capture all titles.

I'd say I don't care if the Indians win the Series or not, but I do. It was a right of passage when you were 11 that they'd end up in last place. And the 'maybe next year' for me is ticking down. Sure I'm only 53, but my time is running out.



Song by: Suzy Bogguss

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Out of Exile

Julian Assange is an enigma.

Remember when he was a "hero" for releasing the files that Chelsea Manning lifted from the US Military.  Ohhhh.......the liberals thought he was the bees knees for letting that information go.

I'm not sure the same liberals are as thrilled with him wiki-leaking Hillary Clinton's emails.

Oh, the irony.

I'll be honest, I'm so fucking over this election, I have not read what the leaked emails say or imply. Nor do I care.

The Dems are so worried about an outsider influencing this election. They thought it would be (t)Rump / Putin and the sway Russia will have over this election and affect the outcome. The Republicans have no issue either way, I presume, as long as someone somehow passes them the actual win.

I know Assange wants Hillary to lose. I don't know if he really wants (t)Rump to win, but that is kind of the outcome should he get his way.

And Assange should be a (t)Rump supporter.....and vice versa. My lord, people seem to forget he's taken refuge in an embassy where no one can touch him............for SEXUAL MOLESTATION!

I don't know what 'pussies' are called in Sweden, but maybe he's grabbing them there.

I do love that during the Wikileaks thing-a-ma-bob, that everyone seems to overlook that rape-y thing because he was fighting the good fight.

I was always on the fence with his actions (including, but not really about the rape thing). He did help get a young military (wo)man sent to jail for 35 years.

So he's winning on that one, Il Douche.




....and lord, what a hard life Mr. Assange must have had. Look at that image. He is 8 years younger than myself. In what world is that man forty fucking five years old?



Song by: Audioslave

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Every Time You Leave

I'm not complaining - but movies and date night are somehow a thing of the past.

To date, we've seen 20 movies this year. Impressive for us. But we have yet to step inside a theater since Labour Day weekend.  .....and since we got Shep.

That's why I'm not complaining.

For the last few months, Friday after work has been 'date night'. We got out for dinner...and a drink or two. Mind you, we're still home at a very very reasonable hour, but it was nice to end the work week that way.

Since Shep - food is made at home on Fridays or brought in. We just hang with the dog....and that's ok.

Ditto with movies.

Granted, there has not been much out there that we are in need of seeing, so it's kind of worked out, but as much separation anxiety that we fear Shep has, the reality is, it probably falls more on us.

Our weekends are walks in the 'hood, or at a park, or at a dog park. So far that's been fine.

This last weekend, I had to go pick up my new pair of glasses. Well, my new pair that Shep got a hold of and kind of chewed the lenses. They must have been covered because I didn't pay a cent for them. And 710 needed to go to the Apple store.

At the last minute, he said he'd stay home and just order what he needed on line.

I pseudo-laid my foot down. We were going to leave Shep for 90 minutes and do some errands.

It had to be done.

I know we leave him while at work, but we need our time too. We are constantly doing things separate from each other so the other can be home with him.

What a pampered pooch.

So out we went - and no one died.

This is good. Because while no films are must sees, the Harry Potter spin off and the Star Wars film are out in November and December respectively. And we have lecture tickets at the end of next month.

We just need to take outings more often to get him {read: us} acclimated to comings and goings.



Song by: Emmylou Harris

Monday, October 17, 2016

My Music Monday

Title Tracks is the name of the game.

The only reason this theme is tough is because one must narrow it down to the good ones. There is no shortage of songs. And I have to eliminate the ones I might have already used in other themes, etc.

It's hard being me.

Leonard Cohen has a new album out. It seems critics are tripping over themselves to give a better review than the last.

I'm a fan of Cohen....his writing that is. Not so much this talking singing. Dylan might have one the Nobel prize this last week, but he's winning no such awards for vocalization. I often put Cohen and Dylan in the same box - I respect and like their songs, but rarely do I care for their interpretations. Usually, other artists cover them much better - think of Hendrix on Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower".

Cohen has a tribute disk or two dedicated to his music, but do I really want to hear Billy Joel, Elton John or Don Henley sing his songs?  The question is not rhetorical. The answer is a resounding "no".

While I've written about Jennifer Warnes' 1987 disk, Famous Blue Raincoat, or unofficially called "Jenny Sings Lenny", it really is one of the great disks out there. Not just of Cohen music, but in general.

I get that you only know Warnes from her songs from the movies Dirty Dancing or Officer & a Gentleman or perhaps her one true hit, "Right Time of the Night".  Until Famous Blue Raincoat, that's all I knew too.

Only 9 songs in the bunch, but she chose wisely.

So I chose her title track. I hope you like it.


Sunday, October 16, 2016

Site of the Month

For all the scariness that (t)Rump might actually win, I keep forgetting one thing: Nate Silver.

Back in 2012, Silver was modeling all the races - Presidential, House and Senate. When it comes to statistics and and predictive modeling, the man is somewhat of a savant.

Silver's model had correctly predicted the winner of every one of the 50 states and the District of Columbia !!!!!

You might want to read that line above again.

And now take a big sigh of relief. Unless of course, you're one of the Deplorables.

In 2012, that was all 435 House of Representatives up for reelection. 33 Senate seats up for grabs. And of course, 1 Presidency.

469 races - and he called every. single. one. of them.  C'mon!  That is fucking impressive, by anyone's standards.

So off I trekked to Silvers' site: FiveThirtyEight.

538 is the number of electoral votes.  270 is what it takes to win the presidency.

You'll see at FiveThirtyEight, that there are a few headers - including Sports, Culture, etc.  I was only interested in the Politics tab.

On there are a lot of articles, but I went and clicked directly on the map. Considering Nate's history, I was automatically relieved.

Praise be.

So what is all this shit in the media's polls about anywhere from a 3-7% lead for Clinton? Even the Ohio portion (if you click on that state), has a 20+5 of taking our Electoral votes.

Donny can melt down all he wants - or not. I don't think it will change the outcome of the election.

Only three weeks and two days to go.

That said - just because Nate Silver predicts such a sweeping victory, it's still important to vote.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Play for Today

Ahhhhhh.

Shep Porn. A brief from any political post, or news. Just doggie goodness.

Play Date almost mover.  Our friend Suzanne giving Shep, Oliver and Eleanor post-play treats. Shep and Eleanor really really get along so well. 

Shep's first dog park (at least that we know of). He jumped right on one of the agility training gear. 

Bathed in kisses and sunlight. A dog and his boy. 

Big Shep and Little Shep. 
Big Shep at the dog park wondering, "WTF?"

Caleigh and Shane checking Shep out. And vice versa. 

If you were wondering if he was settling into his new surroundings and comfortable - I think I can assure you he is doing just fine. He's very comfortable. 




Song by: the Cure

Friday, October 14, 2016

Stand Up Comedy

I wonder if Donny (t)Rump has considered a career in stand-up.

He should.

All those times here I have pondered why he'd even be running for the top office, none of them making a lick of sense. But a four-drink minimum - of (t)Rump vodka, of course - standing in front of a brick wall, could totally work.

....and maybe that is his end game.

So, with all this sex sexual assault stuff now coming to light, and of course he'd have to be the aggressor, because...ewww, who would come on to him, he's crying foul. It's beginning to sound the they're the Duggars of the Upper East Side.

However, a comedy routine would slay the audience.

The Trump campaign described the entire Times article as a "fiction" that amounted to "character assassination." The Trump campaign told People magazine: "This never happened. There is no merit or veracity to this fabricated story."

......like when you said Ted Cruz' father was in on the assassination of JFK?  Or a birth certificate of a certain black president?


Or his take on the current temperature of the election: "I never knew it would be this vile, this bad, this viscous."  (did he, or CNN mean 'vicious'?)

O.M.G.  He'd have them rolling in the aisles.

Comedy Central would tap him for three seasons of his own show, Inside Donald Trump. HBO would have specials.

My lord, it's like he doesn't have half a mind to recall all the vile, viscous and vicious he initiated...and then perpetuated long after people stopped discussing what he through against the wall. It is like the man has some special Tourettes that no body can treat.

All those Bill Clinton / sex stories, of which we've known, and of which Il Douche won't stop reminding us, I believe, if my recollection is intact, we were told by the Bill Clinton team:"This never happened. There is no merit or veracity to this fabricated story.".....or something of a similar sort.

Of course, we know - now - this not to be the case.

I think Bill Cosby's PR folks have had similar disclaimers.

We've all been around the block enough to know, that because the would-be (but won't be) prez says it, doesn't make it true. I have yet to hear a politician at the initial point of accusation actually come out and say - "yes, I've been fucking her / him". 

Standard Operating Procedure is always denial, then blaming / accusing the victims, then the press, until the truth finally reveals itself. While he likes to think otherwise, Donny is no different than your average perverted politician.

So perhaps maybe after November 8th, when he has some free time on his hands, before his court appearance for (t)Rump University being, he can throw his name in the hat for Open Mic Night down at the local Chucklehut.

Hecklers need not apply.



Song by: U2

Thursday, October 13, 2016

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 79th 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 sometimes Jim) 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.

 05:05.  Shower time. (Yes JP - that is 5 in the morning!)

 05:30. Morning dog walk. 

 06:50. Morning iced tea.  No sugar. No water. 

07:30. Sunrise from my new office. I will have to get blinds - it's so sunny for 2-3 hours I cannot see a thing on my computer screens. 

9:45. Interoffice mail. You can see that it's the 12th. ....and that Carey in Finance was to be the recipient. ...well, you can't see anything but 'Carey'. 

 11:10. The sun, of which I spoke.  ...and me looking like a character from Communion

 14:45. We have a really good heroin program at work.  Ok ok.....I got my flu shot. 

 16:50. A quick shot of my new office, before I left for home. 

 17:08.  Waiting in traffic.  So close to home, yet so far. 

17:20. Gotta bring in the trash and recycling cans. 

18:10. Mail.  Political ads and the sewer bill....which seems apropos. 

19:10. Pasta for dinner. 

.....and your Baker's Dozen

Sophie and me in the morning. 

Shep's been getting the lion share of the attention, but I love this little girl. 

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Diamonds are Forever

For the first time since 2007, the Cleveland Indians are in the ACLS.

For you non-sportsball people - that's American League Championship Season.

It's been a semi-interesting ride. The season was low key, but the Tribe plugged away, getting and staying in first place in their division since at least July.

Until the final weeks of play there was little drama - and then all of the sudden most of our starting pitcher (those are the guys who throw the ball to the batter) were out - one taking a line drive to the wrist.

Ouch.

While I knew our playoff berth was assured, I wasn't so sure how we would do.

As it turns out, fairly well. It was a sweep of the Boston Red Sox. The final two innings were a nail biter, but we persevered.

"We" - as if I had anything to do with it.

Cleveland were ACLS champs in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. We would have in 1994 too {probably} had it not been for a baseball strike.

2007 was our last one against the Yankees.

But it's been 68 years (!!!!!) we've been waiting for a World Series title. That's still shy of the 86 years the Red Sox waited their turn. Or the 108 years the Chicago Cubs have been denied.

For us locals, our playoff partners is interesting: the Toronto Blue Jays.

I know, you're asking yourself, how can an Canadian team be "interesting".  Well, in theory, they are not. But Mark Shapiro, until end of last year was the manager of Indians. Now he's with the Blue Jays. And he took a few front office people with him - including a former neighbor.

I am trying not to get ahead of myself, but a World Series appearance would be nice. Winning it would be better. And for it to happen the same year we take the NBA title. That would simply am-ha-zing.

Should we make it to the Series, I will put a crowbar in my wallet and get us two tickets to a game. I want to see a win before I die.........which could be at any second.  You just never know.



Song by: Shirley Basset

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

What's New Pussy Cat?

The potentially biggest blogging day would have been this last Sunday - and I had a somewhat set post ready to go, because I knew I was going to be out of town.  Curses!


There is a certain beauty to this entire (t)Rump / Pussy thing.

Sure, you're disgusted, yet not surprised. Not in the slightest.

My anonymous commenter the other day is probably sorry he/she wrote that I insulted them two days prematurely. If I insult your beliefs and Donald doesn't - well, I just am a little bit sorry for you.

Back to the beauty thing:  all the news organizations have used (t)Rump to their advantage for ratings, sales, etc. They haven't held him to anything accountable for what he says or does. He distracts them. So, he's used the news to his advantage too.

Now, with arguably the biggest story of the campaign, and most of them can't (or won't) say the word "pussy" on air, or in print for the more family friendly papers. It's priceless.

Well, there was one panelist who kept saying "pussy". She upset another panelist who supported, and supports still, Donny. The pussy panelist would not relent, saying if the other panelist was good with (t)Rump and his deeds, then she would not be quiet.

I. Loved. It.

Of course, it reminded me of this last season of Veep - with their 'cuntgate' episode.




Never in TV history has the word 'cunt' been said so often in 30 minutes (and a half hour of one of the funniest episodes ever!)  Of course, this was post, yet pre, Billy Bush.....who with this, might be the only Bush to make an actual difference in politics.

Certain GOP members are fleeing like the rats from the proverbial sinking ship. {the rats are less 'proverbial'.} I hear more denouncing him than actually revoking their endorsement. As if revoking it abstains them from puckering up to his Cheeto coloured ass.

What some people - but not enough - get from this entire scenario is that rape culture is alive and well. Hell, it is fucking thriving. It is that kind of "lockerroom talk" that let's judges sentence rapists to three months in prison.....because jail might really ruin their life!

710 was listening to what I call Canadian All Things Considered.  It comes on right after ATC, and it's from Canada, but I've never bothered to learn the actual name. A female caller from South Carolina completely stumped the panel discussing the issue. She said, that if Donald did or said that, it was because the 'women were sending him signals for him to do it'.

Seriously. She said that.

Women blaming the victim. Classic.

When I say she stumped the panel - they were just dumbstruck by such a backwards comment. There was no logical response. And since Canadians are so damned polite, they couldn't call her a dumbfuck. At least not while the mic was hot.

Donald could learn something from those Canucks.

The second debate itself was painful - on all levels. Hillary included. But Il Douche was really on top of his messed up game:  All the sudden the Humayun Khan is a "hero".   He'll fix ISIS was the answer to the question on his audio rape. Oh - and something about Hillary making the tax codes - which last I checked are laws that being with the House of Representatives. But I suppose knowing anything about that would put him below any 4th grader who has seen Schoolhouse Rock.

I made it through the first hour and I made 710 change it. I could no longer take it.


Since I'm rambling...............

The day after, a poll of GOP voters said they wanted Donny to stay in the race. Oddly enough, the same day, Obama's approval ratings have never been higher in 8 years. Are these diametrically opposed?

The more painful thing of this entire "scandal"? Fucking Rudy Giuliani.  What fucking cabinet position was he promised for all the butt licking? Rudy said, all Trump has to do is ask the American public for forgiveness. ...and that they always give it.

Well Rude - I bet most of them didn't know you sent your wife divorce papers via fax and never bothered to, you know, tell her.


My big thing with this whole thing though? I more than half-believe Trump released the audio himself. I've said all along he doesn't really want this job, and he is in very pseudo-danger of winning.

It must be tough - he allegedly hates to lose, but now he wants to but can't admit it. That's a theory anyways. But it would not surprise me in the slightest to hear that he sent the tapes out himself.



Song by: Tom Jones

Monday, October 10, 2016

My Music Monday

The theme this month is the title track. I'll take it a step further this week:  band name, album name, song title are all the same.

Talk Talk.

In 1981 their debut single and album were "Talk Talk".  I. Loved. the Song.  I still do.

Actually, the band had a few great songs - not all singles - that I loved.  "Life's What You Make It", "Such a Shame" and "Renee".  I used to love "It's My Life", but No Doubt pretty much ruined that song for me for life. Somethings never need to be remade. Ever.

Yes, Talk Talk was an '80s band, but they were more the leaders in the synth-pop world that others would copy to with lesser talent, but sometimes with more success.

I still like the song.


Sunday, October 09, 2016

the Trial

I am DYING watching this Judge Morty clip.

To be clear, like the fact that Bud Cort didn't really have a show called Bud Court and Judge Reinhold didn't really have a show called Judge Reinhold, my friend Morty doesn't have a show named after him.

Judge Morty: State of Georgia v Rick Allen is real.

Well, the facts and the transcript are real. The video clip is just the reading and animation of the real life event. It just happens to be done by the people at Adult Swim's Rick & Morty. 

Yes, the video is 11 minutes long, but after you get past the first minute or so, it is fucking hilarious.



To be clear - I know this isn't my Morty because he wouldn't tolerate a defendant saying he "jacks on white boys".

Well. Probably.



Song by: Pink Floyd

Saturday, October 08, 2016

Do it Again

I suppose Saturday's are officially back to pet porn. It works for me. I've got a semi-willing, good-looking model, so what the hell.

Shep gets his first bath (at least from us).  Suffice to say, I was wetter than he was when all said and one. But he didn't smell like dog and his coat was very nice.

BooBoo might be Shep's best friend. They love each other and love to roughhouse. 

Shep tries to make friends with Boomer. Boomer is not so sure. 

Shep meets Wally. 

Morning cuddles.  Stupid, expressive hound eyes!

No worries - Sophie is still queen of the castle. We just need to get them together. 




Song by: Diana Krall