Tuesday, October 31, 2017

House of Cards

"It's all so delicious"......as Tynnyfer* on Parks & Recreation would have said.

Now, I could be talking about Kevin Spacey or Mueller's indictments.......or both.

I need time to digest the FBI investigation shit - so I'll hold off on that.

I should take time to reflect on Spacey, but whatever......I'll do it now.

I've said before, and I've stuck with it: the man has always creeped me out. Even back when he was in a show called Wiseguy back in '88. I'm not 100% sure he was acting and nothing he's done in the last 30 years has made him any less, well.....creepy.

I loathe that the man is gay. I mean, I think everyone knew it.....he might have been the last to know. But it's like I don't really want him in the club, and not just for skeeving on 14 year old boys.

That is when he isn't skeeving with guys in a London park in the middle of the night, way back when.

Can we just start with his coming out: "choosing" to live as a gay man.

Kevin Spacey:  FUCK YOU.

I'm sure there is a pseudo-retraction coming about 'that being gay isn't a choice' statement, but just fuck you. Both you and the publicist who wrote your shit knows better. Or should. You're hacks. The man is just a walking penis with ears.

And the context in which he finally came out:  a child molestation claim.

I guess (?) kudos to Anthony Rapp for forcing the issue.....and to help get his name out there for his new Star Trek series (yes, I'm cynical enough to assume there are ulterior motives for this).  Oddly enough, I had to look him up.  I know Rapp from one thing:  Law & Order SVU.......where he plays a character who was molested by a teacher when he was a teen.

I'm sensing a pattern.

I joke about the molestation, but it's not funny.  What also is not funny is Spacey's three legged response. Yes, he apologized.............if it happened.  I guess that's more than anyone's getting from Harvey Weinstein.  But then Kev had to go blaming / explaining away via time and booze. Even Harvey didn't do that.

Maybe when you come on to some many teens, you do forget...............which one he was.

This Weinstein things has been great though - all bets are off for those stalking, creepy, werido motherfuckering perverted assholes.   .....and Kevin Spacey, you're one of 'em.





*her name was Jennifer, but she rebranded herself.



Song by: Mary Chapin Carpenter

Monday, October 30, 2017

My Music Monday

It's that thing - again - where I just shuffle through and pick the 10th song that comes up, no question's asked. 

Oddly, song #9 was Fleetwood Mac's "No Questions Asked".

But we landed on REM.  ...and not Michael Stipe REM.

Well, sure, he was there, but it is one of those few songs that has lead vocal by bassist, Mike Mills.

As much as I liked the band and a bunch of their catalog, I was always intrigued by the songs that had prominent (or semi-prominent, I guess) harmony / backing vocals by Mills.

Neither Mills or Stipe are what you'd call superior vocalists, but they had a thing when they sang together. Well, at least I thought they did.

Mills' "Near Wild Heaven" appeared on their Out of Time album (think: "Shiny Happy People" and "Losing My Religion"), so in theory it got exposure.

Imagine the $$$ he'll be raking in if you all listen to it via my blog post.  I mean, that's like another $1.82 in his pocket.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

People Talkin'

Friday night, we went to see David Sedaris.

The evening certainly didn't start out well.

We had dinner reservations at a would-be snooty-ish restaurant at 18:00.  710, caught in traffic got home at 17:45.  ....and yes, we do live more than 15 minutes away from where we were to meet friends.

Of course before leaving the house, Blobby got distracted by one Sophie cat who wanted her treats before we departed - as she is apt to do. I complied as I am apt to do.

In said distraction, I left the tickets and the pre-paid parking voucher on the kitchen counter.  Curses!

I realized this about 10 blocks from the parking garage. I couldn't get through to the box office, so 710 drove around the block while they nicely reprinted my tickets.  We were only 10 minutes late for dinner.

The restaurant wasn't nearly as snooty as anticipated, at least in decor. Granted, save chicken livers, there was not much on the appetizer or salad menu I'd want. I'm not a frou frou kind of guy when it comes to food. Or some would say my food tastes are "unsophisticated". So be it.

We had a decent meal with great friends. Then we headed over to the show.

My lord, I've never seen so many people I know in one place from different walks of life:  yoga work, neighbors, friends. All to see Sedaris. None seemingly to see the show next door: the Diary of Ann Frank. (psssst!  That one doesn't end well.)

Sedaris is just like how I thought he would be - in person. Clearly, good writing is an art, though I will admit that a few of his later books didn't even get me to crack a smile. His diaries are wonderful though. Reading is possibly a higher and harder art form. He did a great job with the reads - the inflections, pauses, et al.

He read four essays - lengthy ones. One on insulting phrases people use from other parts of the world - which was quite hilarious. One that was way too much about people who shit their pants, though the crowd of 2000 seemingly loved it all.  Then he read a number of diary passages, some from his current collections, some from the one in process - all funny.  He'd chat between the essays.

Then he took some Q&A.  Eh - that was alright I suppose.



Song by: Lucinda Williams

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Dog

Soph & Shep & Saturday. 

It's the day of the week where you put up for reading me the other six days.  I'm good with that.


Shep at Canine Meadows. 

We finally had a dog park day where he didn't act like an asshole to some other dogs. He played with Henry (foreground) and Bernice (background) quite well, along with some other dogs.  Phew. 

Shep in our front grove. I take him there for peeing, but he knows there are moles and chipmunks who hide in there.  Sometimes it takes a while to do his business, due to the rodent potential. 

Shep on Sophie's chair.  Living in quasi-harmony. 

Sophie in Shep's chair, that was once Sophie's chair. 

He is not always happy about her residing there, but she holds her ground. Good for Soph. 



That is it for this week.



Song by: Moby

Friday, October 27, 2017

3 am

What are you doing at 03:00 EST today (though most of you are reading this well after that time)?

I'll have been up for a few minute to pre-order the iPhone X.

Let me rephrase:  I will attempt to be awake to pre-order. I'm up early usually, but not 3a early.

I know. I know. It's extreme for a materialistic object. Sue me. I want it.

As it turns out, I need it. My lowly 6 (not even 6+) is cracked, it's deadly slow and it barely holds a charge for more than two hours. It's time to go.

Though, at this writing, I don't know when it will be replaced.  A. I haven't pre-ordered yet (5 hrs and 35 minutes to go!).   B. I don't know when I do order where I'll be in the pecking order.

In theory, I could take delivery on November 3rd. In reality, I know no matter how soon I hit 'buy', I'll be on the March 24th delivery cycle. Every geek in the universe will be up at that time equivalent to place their order.

But I'm all prepped.  I have downloaded the Apple Store app. I've got my info all set-up in my account settings to pay for it. I've built my device (silver; 256G.....thank you!) and saved it as my favourite.  All I do now is wait till the hour of need, drop it in my shopping bag (it's not a cart with Apple) and then use my thumbprint to pay.

Oh - and then go back to sleep for another 2 hours and 56 minutes.

That is assuming the app / platform doesn't crash. Then I will be up forever, just stewing that I got up at 2:55 and got nothing to show for it.  So when I do order, it will push my delivery date  October 2019....just in time for the iPhone XI.

Bother.





Update:  It only took forever to get into the app itself. Then there were unexpected hoops to jump through. Long story short: I get it the phone in 4-5 weeks.  Sigh.


Song by: matchbox twenty

Thursday, October 26, 2017

One Way Trigger

Let's see.......nothing too too major has happened since the Las Vegas shooting, has there?  Was Puerto Rico before or after? It's a blur. All these disasters start to run together.

See, the GOP and the NRA - I say 'and' like they are two different organizations....I'm silly - are hoping you just forget about it and that you and I have a short attention span.

I'm not forgetting. And neither are the Hollywood elite, who are telling us not to forget.  I mean - if you can call Sheryl Crow and Anna Deaever Smith the 'elite'......though I do love Anna.

....and if you think a guy with a high-powered assault rifle 32 floors up is frightening, well, you haven't seen Julianne Moore without make-up.

That aside:  call. 







Song by:  the Strokes

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Flake

710 heard Wolf Blitzer on CNN Radio on his drive home last night, that today (yesterday) would go down in history.

It will not.

I suppose we should applaud Jeff Flake, but it's hard to get roused by his speech. I'm glad he said what he said about the current administration. I'm glad he said it publicly and in Senate chambers.

But other than a news cycle....or maybe two, closer to his departure date, I'm not sure it adds up to a thing.

By my count it's 4 GOP Senators against BLOTUS; 50 with him (or to wussy to say otherwise). Sisyphus had an easier go of it.

While it's easy to say 'resist' it is tough. Tough to do. Tough to stomach.  Tough knowing that this turd is getting away with everything.  ....and then there's that cow of a press secretary:

“Based on previous statements and certainly based on the lack of support that he has from the people of Arizona, it’s probably a good move,” Elsie* said.

Isn't it rich? Her bosses disapproval rating just hit 56% (his lowest yet), and that sentence comes out of her pie hole. If that be her logic, wouldn't the  he should resign too, no?

Pythagoras and his theorem spring to mind.

But Wolf is wrong. Flake was right in his words, but he is saying it with one foot out the door. Mind you - the man has 13-14 months to make BLOTUS' life hell.

Let's hope he does.



Song by: Jack Johnson

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

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!




Technically, this is Shopping with Morty.  He texted me a pic a while ago and I'm just getting around to using it.

I like how "Gary" has an umbrella just like his...............sister?  He probably has a quilted bag too.  I suppose they could have made some weird references to the movie / story, but you know.....copyright infringement and all.

I wouldn't get most of them anyway - as I have never actually seen the movie.  I know....I know...you just lump it in with Grease and E.T.   I know my mother played it for her first grandchild all. the. time. yet I still managed to not see it.  Ditto with the Lion King, now that I think about it.....and that must have been played 612 times, at least.

I'm thinking Gary Poppins shouldn't say 'small batch', but maybe 'just a spoonful'.

Monday, October 23, 2017

My Music Monday

The problem with having the iTunes liberry shuffle through to the 10th song is that wellllllllll......it might end up being Nancy Sinatra.   ....and not "These Boots Were Made for Walking" Nancy either.

I bought the cd as a joke for my friend Jon. But when he moved to San Francisco via Los Angeles, somehow he left it behind with me. That seems a little harsh.  Not the regifting piece, but the gift itself. Of course, maybe I was thoughtless in giving it to him in the first place.  That kind of kitsch gift is only funny for a minute.....tops.

Nance had a few "hits" back in the day: "Boots", of course and her duet with her dad, "Somethin' Stupid".  But she recorded a whole lot of crap - and that is just the shit that's on her "greatest hits". Can you imagine the stuff that didn't even make the cut?

One that did:  Shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu "Sugar Town"

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Hard Shoulder

You've seen a similar picture like this in the blog a little over five years ago.  Trust me, the image is new.

The problem is old, but the picture is brand spankin' new - well at least as of two days ago it was.

My rotator cuff is acting up again. Not enough for surgery - which is good, but bad enough for yet another round of physical therapy, and should that not work, cortisone injections.

After my last round of PT for the shoulder, it felt pretty good for a long time.  I never quite went back to weightlifting, as the doctor said I probably shouldn't.  I most likely would have ignored it had it not been for two subsequent elbow injuries (both requiring PT). Granted, I would not have attempted to lift as much as I had been doing.  Yoga is quite limited - as just getting into any warrior position is almost a non-starter. Warrior II is one of my fave.....but I can tell you that could not be happening these days. I could never get into position, let alone hold it.

So, I don't quite know what set this off.

I started waking up in the morning with it hurting. I do sleep on that side, but as much as I tried to change my ways, five decades of sleeping on that one side is a tough habit to break - even with a pain level of 7.

It got to the point where physically putting on my shirt not only was painful, but I had to be a contortionist too, just to get my arm in or out of a sleeve. Reaching for a control in the car would make me wince.  I finally broke down and went to my ortho guy. 

Sad isn't it?  You hit 50 and now you have to have "an ortho guy".  When I was 12 I had an ortho guy....he just happened to be my orthodontist.  Now I see Dr. Flannery. He's nice enough and tries to keep me from being cut on or even have steroid injections.  I was for the cortisone, but he tells me how it will deteriorate my tendons.  So I'll hold off as long as I can. Perhaps physical therapy will be my cure-all.

If that doesn't work, onto getting shots. I'll find out how many and how long it takes to hurt my tendons. I'l weigh that against my current age and do an entire risk:benefit analysis and go from there.

Here's hoping I get a cute therapist.




Song by: Mark Knopfler

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Marco Polo

Sophie would not cooperate this week, so we are Shep-centric. He kind of makes it hard not to be. Yet it is a world we are happy in, so why fight it.


Shep running free at the Chagrin Polo Fields.   

Yes, where I grew up we had (have) polo fields. The only times I went down there was on a full-moon at midnight because allegedly there were devil worshippers there.  No one never ever ever ever saw any. 

The weekly trip to Lake Erie.  The man seems to like it. So do we. 

At Nana's aka 'the Treat Lady'. 

Boomer keeps his cautious distance from Shep....he's never sure what to think of him. 

Every few weeks, Shep gets his Pupachino. 

For some reason, he is all about the whipped cream. 




Song by: Loreena McKennitt

Friday, October 20, 2017

Portrait

I totally stole this from Meredity's Facebook account. But she shared it from someone else's, so....it's all good.

The intro was:  'best use of photoshop'.  I don't know about that.  I'm thinking this is more like Hogwarts with the Fat Lady or Ariana Dumbledore down in Hogsmead.


They say George Washington could tell no lie.  ...and he ain't fibbin' here. 

I'm assuming whomever that might be is holding the pose in perpetuity. 

What every good American is thinking every fucking day this moron is in office. 


....and my personal favourie:  Thomas Jackoff Jefferson. 


g-d I hope someone does another series of these.   Note to self:  I really need to take a class in photoshop.




Song by: Rosanne Cash

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Speechles

Yeah - take a good look at the poster.

The hate is out there, and stapled and hung on college campuses. .....or at least at Cleveland State University.

Nice, huh?

The kicker isn't that CSU took down the offensive posters, it is that they said had the group - Fascist Solutions - followed the proper procedure to post notices, the signs would and could have stayed up.

That is fucked up.

Free speech, they say.

Bullshit, I say.

I'm good with free speech, but not hate speech. There is a difference, and a line.

But the 'bullshit' comes from the tried and true, the classic:  would a poster calling for people of colour to die be allowed? I'm guessing not.

Would a poster condoning rape or sexual abuse fall under 'free speech'?   Nein.   Well, maybe. Universities have a way of ignoring that whole campus rape thing, so they might just be ok with it all.

It's all so hypocritical. Even the president of CSU had to make a second statement (after the free speech one) finally saying he was "outraged" and that it message was "reprehensible".  And it was - his reaction, that is: outrageous and reprehensible. 

And let's be clear, Fascists - 34% of trans people don't just attempt suicide......they are driven to it. By people like you.

The 30% of LGBT suicides stem from hate and bullying that they get from assholes like the group in question. Your massive homophobia, your insecurity about yourselves, you have to have to make other people feel bad for you to feel ok.  Not even good.....just ok.

You're total pathetic losers who should be forced to drink bleach, be cut with razor blades and then have alcohol poured all over you.

....and I can say that, you stupid faggots........because, you know, free speech.



Song by: Laurie Anderson

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Speak of the Devil

John McCain and his glioblastoma can suck. my. dick.

Oh Monday, he "warned" the United States against turning toward "half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems."

Pot?  Kettle.

You, Sir, brought forth this vitriol in 2008.

So hungry and blinded were you for power, that at one time you might have been a reasonable man, you selected half-baked, spurious nationalistic running mates one could possibly have:  Julianne Moore Sarah Palin.

I so couldn't bring myself to actually use a picture of the two, so you get an image from the always magnificent (if you can bear to watch) Game Change.  Still, take a long, hard look. Don't let McCain's recent words take away the history that got us to where we are today.

There is a direct route to post-2008 Palin to BLOTUS. The talking without thinking, the sound bytes without facts. The narcissistic attention grab for the sake of nothing about the attention. Palin gave a fucking road map to the Dump 2016 campaign on how to manipulate middle America. 

And, of course, there is a fucking expressway from Palin to McCain.

Maybe McCain and his team didn't vet Palin enough to know into what they were getting. But if true, then he's a moron on top being an asshole. I mean, really - shame on him / them for picking what would turn out to be the female Dump.

Granted, it is good for someone in McCain's position - a senior legislator and someone from the party - to call out BLOTUS, but John's rhetoric rings hollow.  If it gets people thinking and talking, sure, why not? 

For a few lines of a speech, don't make him out to be some kind of saviour. He's not. He's just the devil in disguise......but with a tumor.



Song by: Chris Isaak

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Site of the Month

I've already alluded to my Site of the Month in an earlier post, but it's worth pointing out officially....and again.....and again......and again.

The Trump Golf Count


The site tells of all his golf trips, including the number of rounds he played, sometimes with whom. It says the start and end time of his rounds - some of which I just do not believe.  I just don't believe you can finish 18 holes in 3 hours and 15 minutes.  Maybe he only played the back nine.

TGC will also tell you which resort and club at which he played (though most of them are his own properties - shock!), and if he actually golfed (though they don't seem to know for sure all the time).

The best is the cost for each trip and the accumulated total cost to you and me. That's better than some of the weak graphs they have.

What they do not have is how he scored. THAT could be priceless, as for all the time that lard-ass spends on the course, it'd be great if he were shooting 115 all the time and not improving.  (Par for most golf courses is 72, btw.)

What they also need to do is compare it to the number of times Obama golfed side by side. I'm guessing you'd have a lot of blanks for Barack in a comparison next to BLOTUS* (I think I'm changing from SCROTUS).  Oh - you'd want Obamba's cost too......just for that comparison to the guy who said he'd be too busy to golf during his presidency.

I know none of this means a thing to the asshats who voted for him - and the things he said / promised. Still, it's important to systematically chip away at this troll of a man.....continually....until he topples over.

Anyway - come back often. I fear the numbers will continue to grow.




*Biggest Liar of the United States

Monday, October 16, 2017

My Music Monday

It seems acapella isn't just for Glee and the Pitch Perfect franchise.

Obvi, lots of music is vocal only. Gregorian chant comes to mind. Well, and Appalachian music, which has Scottish derivatives.

With a new disk of Appalachian music being released (or maybe it's out) Rosanne Cash has contributed two songs - one which was released on another compilation years ago.  Well, two vocals. The one song in question is centuries old.

Cash takes on "the Parting Glass", which has been done by just about anyone doing this type of music (my favourite being the Wailin' Jennys). I mean, according to Wikipedia, the song dates back somewhere between  1605-1770, which is quite a range.  1605 would be somewhere in Scotland. 1770 is the first known state-side sighting.

Cash is in great voice here, but I'm cynical enough to believe that Cash probably sang to music
 that was stripped away in post-production.  I mean, I'm hoping that is not the case, but - again - cynical.

Music does accompany the singer, but not for the first part of the song.  This is not a song that will be played anywhere, so in a way, it's great that someone is still putting out there and willing to back a release that could never possibly make back its investment.

Whether you like the music overall, or this song, the history is important in the evolution of popular music itself.


Sunday, October 15, 2017

Under the Milky Way

You've read from time to time about my love of astronomy. My morning walks with Shep are great for me, as I get to look to the heavens and see the stars.  Granted, it's limited, as it is not an unobstructed view.  That an light pollution. Sodium lights every 100 feet or so....and that's just at my vantage point.

710 stumbled upon this video though. It was attached to an article saying that 80% of the planet (or was it just the U.S.?) cannot see the Milky Way due to light pollution.

I can't say I've ever really seen it. A time or two - be it in Mexico, Key West or such - on the beach at night. Or or in the Mojave.  That number of stars is quite impressive. And while I'm not afraid of the dark, there is something a little disconcerting about being on a deserted beach when it is pitch black.

The video below show light pollution levels from 10 to 1 and how it changes your view of the nighttime sky.  It's quite amazing and just fucking beautiful.......excuse my language.

We both agreed that this might be cooler than seeing the aurora borealis (not that we have......yet) and that perhaps we don't base a vacation around this per se, but if we have the chance, take an opportunity to see such a marvel.

I know my crappy iPhone 6 won't capture these photos........but I'm a 1000% sure that the iPhone X will. 





Song by: the Church

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Grand Theft Autumn

Autumn has come to Shepville.

Our weekends are all about getting him out and about. I don't think there have been many days he hasn't been in a car.  The dog walker comes and picks him up - and then there is us and Saturday & Sunday outings.  He gets very very very excited for car rides.

I swear, he might not even care where we go, as long as he can just tag along. He's a good traveler.

Trees are a-turnin'.  710 and Shep walking to the beach. 

I'm not sure Lake Erie has ever been this clean.  Shep just walked in. He doesn't really swim (yet) but he likes to walk in the water. Or sit in it.  Weirdo. 

Roly-Poly Shep - you think. Except he's asleep.  Weirdo. 

Gotta have one of Soph. 

For all you worried about Shep going after her, she is fine. After that last one, she still was never more than three feet from him. She can take care of herself. 

Dinner time. 

He kept creeping closer and closer, until he was on the ottoman and then barking at me. And looking at the clock, it was his dinnertime to the minute.  Who needs the Atomic Clock? 

My fave shot of the week.....by far. 



Song by: Fall Out Boy

Friday, October 13, 2017

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 91st 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.....as it's the only blog post he's still doing......for now.  

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

05:12.  Morning dog walk. Cloudy, a little chilly - even at 57.  Degrees, that is, not years. 

5:30.  That moment you want to get a cat and dog pic - and suddenly the dog decides to attack the cat.  Poor Sophie. 

06:20. Slipping on my compression sleeve to help with elbow pain. 

06:30.  Takin' out the trash. 

06:53. Running my first morning report. 


09:40.  Baseball ring / cake decoration. 

As it turns out, it is the only baseball ring that Cleveland it going to see in 2017. 


11:12.  Fire drill. 

The flash or the warning light washed out part of the picture. 

17:10.   Alt  Ctrl  Del. 

Shutting down for the day. 

17:20.  Parking garage. 

Sing on right door:  Don't Use This Door. 
Door on left:  missing.....for about 8 months now. 

17:45.  Freedom. 

Shep giving me grief for not moving fast enough for our afternoon walk. 


18:35.  Oh Giant Eagle - you are a laugh riot!

....actually, it was not very good cake.  Scratch that - cake was fine, frosting was not. 


21:35.  Blogging. 

Just trying to put this post to rest. 

Thursday, October 12, 2017

I Want Your Sex

I can't get very worked up over Harvey Weinstein and that whole situation. Who in their right mind didn't think (let alone, know) he was a pig. Just look at the guy.

Sure sure.......don't judge a man by his cover and all, but..........c'mon!

Honestly, I don't know how anyone forces oral sex ON you. I would have totally gotten it if Harvey coerced some would-be ingenue to go to her knees for him. But to force someone to take off their panties (assuming they had some one, of course) spread her legs and lay there while he went licking looking for fish tacos?

I guess it's how bad you want the job.

I even get Ashley Judd not speaking up at the time. I mean...........has she worked since that thing with Tommy Lee Jones chasing her?  The Female Fugitive.....or whatever it was called?  I totally get she could not squeal because she didn't know where her next meal was coming from.....and even if she did, chances are Wynonna was gonna scarf it down anyway.

Rose McGowen?  Has she worked since being Shannon Dougherty's (sp....clearly)'s replacement on some show about sister witches?  I mean, she sucked right.....just not in the way Harvey wanted her to. But his blocked sexual advances can't be all her problem not getting jobs.........there has to be a shred of talent, right?

What I have zero tolerance for is Angelina Jolie.  ...and not just because of two - count 'em two! - Lara Croft movies.

I get that the little people....the nobodies...didn't speak up about sexual harassment, but Jolie has...or had....some clout in Hollywood.  She is / was a frickin' ambassador to the UN who would happily inform the public on atrocities and sexual abuse of certain lands.

Just not La La Land.

She's part of the problem. Angie should and could have said something.........and she didn't. I guess it's only ok to speak up if it's female circumcision.

The same could be said for Gwenyth Paltrow, but............let's face it, she has less clout than Ashely Judd.  There. I said it.  Gwinnie was happy to take whatever Harvey dished out while he was buying her for an Oscar.  Now that there will never be a Shakespeare in Love II: Electric Boogaloo, (or probably any other movie that's not an Iron Man franchise) she can finally say something. Maybe she now has PHSD (the H is for Harvey), which is why she's a total fucking loon now.

I know a few news outlets are chastising the Clintons and Obamas for not making a statement.  ......about what?  So, Weinstein had fundraisers for them. Lots of scummy people have lots of fundraisers for lots of politicians. What kind of statement does one expect them to make? I'm guessing neither Hillary or Michelle were hit on by him. Are they supposed to have inside knowledge that he did do crap to women in the privacy of his office, hotel or hot tub? Until four days ago, the women hadn't said anything. Are the Obamas and Clintons supposed to return the money from previous campaign fundraisers?

Like Ailes and O'Reilly, old Harv is out of a job.....yet still rolling in cash. I'm sure he'll be fine....unlike some of the women he inflicted himself on.


And let us not forget Terry Crews, who also says he was harassed and groped by a Hollywood exec.



....but let's face it......he was asking for it.  Just look how he dresses.



Song by: George Michael

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

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!


I think I have my album reviews / releases / purchases planned until the end of the year. One less thing that Blobby has to worry about.

Last month, the Killers released their disk, Wonderful Wonderful.   Or as Blobby got, Wonderful Wonderful (deluxe edition).  I swear, one day the 'deluxe' part will pay off.  All the deluxe version gets you is one additional song and two remixes of their first single, "the Man".

Hmphf !!

Pre-rerelease press for the album would have you believe it was a somewhat return to the band's debut, Hot Fuss.  It is, and it isn't.

Sure, there are classic Killer elements to the disk, but not as many as expected. They do branch out quite a bit too - mostly for the better.

With their initial single, "The Man" the song deviates enough from anything they've done before. Yes, it took me about 6-7 listens to become fully intrigued by it. I don't say this lightly, but it might be my favourite song of 2017 even if it seems to be sampled from a Kool & the Gang song of which I'm not familiar (which would be 99% of their material) and while sonically it is extremely, extremely busy, it still works....and well.

The second release was "Run for Cover" is what I would call the Hot Fuss Factor.  The pace, the melody, even most of the phrasing, though I do like it when in a place or two they start the chorus on an off-beat. The other Hot Fuss Factor moment is "Tyson vs Douglas".  The music is all Hot Fuss - which isn't a bad thing, and the vocals are sound like the same style as that debut. But really a song on boxing.....or a boxing match metaphor? For the record, Brandon Flowers was 9 when this fight happened.

Other traditional-like Killer tracks are "Life to Come".  "The Rut" sounds like a discarded track from one of Flowers' solo disks. It's not a must-listen song.

"Have All the Songs Been Written" is a nice slower number. It's nothing groundbreaking, though in my initial play, I'm all like, 'well, they sure are doing a decent imitation of Mark Knopfler's guitar work'......until I found out it was Knopfler himself.  Even 710 said, "sounds like Dire Straits". The Killers and Flowers have never been subtle or shy about using influences - if not outright sampling them (Springsteen, Bronski Beat, New Order....).

While I keep hearing that the band pays homage to Brian Eno with "Some Kind of Love", I get way way way more of a Shin's "So Now What" vibe.  It's nice, it's airy and ethereal, but if singles still existed, it would the b-side.

And I totally dig "The Calling".  It's got a great rhythm section and a good groove. Sure it has a bit too much of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" guitar work for my liking, but see two paragraphs above.  Yes, it's Flowers' contractually obligated one-song per disk about his growing up in a smaller Mormon town, complete with a Woody Harrelson narrated bible passage, but it actually really works.

The 'extra' tracks are one original and two remixes. "Money on Straight" is ok, but you can see why it's an additional and didn't make the standard cuts. Both of the remixes of "the Man" are ok. Maybe the Duke Dumont one is better, but I wouldn't be rushing to the dance floor for either one. I might for the original version.

The title track is what I think I might love most on this disk. I feel it is where the band stretches the most. It's different enough to be interesting and it moves along well. I think if more of their songs were a bit more adventurous it would have been an outstanding disk.

Overall, Wonderful Wonderful  was wonderful, but not wonderful wonderful. 

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Bleed to Love Her

As you may or may not know, the sub-title of this blog is "stuff & nonsense".  ....and there's not enough of it.

Consider this an attempt to bring some of that back to the blog.

I am insisting you watch this......at least through the 4:45 mark.  Oh yes, the entire thing is over 10 minutes, but if you cannot afford that much time, stay through 4:45.

I'm begging you.  Please.




You have my friend Sal to thank for this.



Song by: Fleetwood Mac

Monday, October 09, 2017

My Music Monday

I've decided to make this month the 10th thing that comes up on my iTunes liberry.

I've landed on Maria McKee's "Breathe" from her first solo album.

It seems Ms. McKee has dropped of the artistic map. Her last website update is more than two years ago. Her last non-compilation or live album was in 2007.

Maybe it's apropos that her name came up this week. Her first hit with Lone Justice was a Tom Petty-penned song. She also did a solo recording of another of his songs, "Never Be You".   She was kind of the female Petty anyways.

You won't get a Petty vibe from "Breathe" though.  But you might like it.

Sunday, October 08, 2017

Cooking with Blobby

My lord - I'm guessing it's been a while since I've done one of these. And it's not that I don't cook any longer, I just rarely cook anything new.

This is not for lacking the want - just the time. I need to get back on that horse and get out of the routine of the 7-8 things that are constant.

Technically today, there is no cooking. No stoves, no ranges, no microwaves. No heat - except for the red pepper flakes.

It was our block party Sunday. I needed an appetizer, side or dessert. It's one of these things you wish they'd say A-G, you bring dessert;  H-N you bring a side.....and so on.  So whenever I choose, let's say a dessert, then everyone brings them. And if I don't, then no one does.  Ya just can't win.

Truth be told, I'm never using this get together as one of my meals. I snack here and there on a tidbit, but it's about hanging out with neighbors and friends - and having some wine.  To be clear: usually the tidbits are chocolate chip cookies.

I went with appetizer. I went with something I hadn't quite made, but in the past made a variation of.

I went with Avocado, Spinach Artichoke Dip.  I made an avocado dip years ago, but no spinach or artichoke. This was easy.  10 minute prep time.....tops.

  • Avocados - 2 (though I used three because they were small
  • Frozen Spinach - 1 C  (honestly didn't measure it out. Used entire frozen pack, thawed, squeeze out as dry as I could. 
  • Artichoke Hearts - 1 C.  I used about an ounce more to use them all up, which means, I had to use extra.....
  • Cream Cheese - 4oz   I used about 5. 
  • Garlic - 1 clove minced.  HAHAHAHAHA. Who the fuck has ever used on clove in their entire life. I used three smaller cloves. 
  • Lemon - the juice of one. 
  • Salt and Red Pepper Flakes to taste.    
Avocados have to be ripe. Cream Cheese needs to be room temp. Those are your only true takeaways. And the only thing from keeping you from making it at the exact tie you want. 

But here's how easy. 


In small food processor, ad avocados, lemon juice, cream cheese and garlic.


Blend until smooth.   See?


Put mixture into a bowl. Fold in chopped spinach and then artichokes. Add salt and red pepper flakes. Combine. 


Boom. Done. 

Well, after you put it in a dish. 


It was all ok. Tasted good, if not a slightly bland.  As always: maybe I should have used more red pepper flakes.  I served it with pita chips and people seemed to like.......so it wasn't store bought and people ate it. I call it a win.