Ny Music Monday

Well, more to come about my ominous post yesterday. 

Whle you wait I figure I'd do a tie-in to the would be post......or series of posts. 

The song is "Bones" from the Killers  It resides on their second and arguably best / most consistent disk, Sam's Town.

The song is fine, but does't rank as one of their bests. Most notably, the video was directed by Tim Burton - he of Batman, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and so many other. 

No deep dive today. Just the intro and the vido. 

Day Off

Yesterday has NOT been a good day for Blobby. 

Far too many details to get into while writing a post on a phone.  

You’ll get a full explanation on Tuesday.  

This Love Starved Heart

A big selection of dogs today. Daycare was very good to me this week. 

Senior dog for a senior Blobby. 

He is soooooooooooo gentle and sweet. 

.....and then there is this guy. 

The ever present Sydney. 

I know her mom, so she's not starved for love, but you'd never know it. Or she just really likes me. 

I feel more popular than the new prisoner being paraded by the other inmates to his cell. 

Shep looks so mean, but if you played the 'live' version, it's post drinking water to normal face. 

Despite what an amazon delivery person says, he's not a bad guy. 

Ivy is such a love sponge. 

We did a full 1.2 mi around the lake. 

It looks Autumn-y

Song by: Marvin Gaye

Skunk

At 05:00 yesterday, 710 doesn't even crack an eye when I get out of bed, but turns his head a bit and asks if I'm going out for a run. 

Affirmative - and then I go downstairs and outside to do some dynamic stretching before embarking on a 5.5 mile run. He was back to sleep before I even got to the bottom stair. 

I think I was about a half mile into my run and internally started laughing at / to myself. "Are you going out for a run?". 

It amused me. 

In what fucking world did that happen when just wouldn't have been a frickin' joke?  

There was a time the chances of me coming home at 05:00 were a lot better than me getting up at that time. And running?  PUH-leese. 

When the "laughing" was over, I noticed I forgot to start my watch.  FUCK. 

I mean, if you don't record it, it didn't happen, right?  So while I did 5.5, my watch and running app say otherwise. 

Then I ran over some animal leftovers that had been trampled by dozens and dozens and dozens of cars. So little was left one would barely notice it especially in the dark. Except for after the left shoe hitting what had been skunk. 

Fuck. Me. 

I carried that with me for another half mile till I got to the park around the lake and rubbed the bottoms of my shoes over and over across the dewy grass. After three times around the lake I headed home, but you can kind of see down a different street. Je did not want to step in smushed skunk again. 

There is really no point to this story - and certainly no meaningful conclusion, though I could fake my way through that had this been a Christmas Story and the teach made me write...............a theme!

But it's not and she didn't. 

Song by: Souther Culture on the Skids

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 196th 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

04:10.  yes. a.m. !

Well sombr playing "12 to 12" on 12 of 12 is just weird, right? 

04:34. Gym time. 

Shower time. 

Work sign-in time. 

the staple breakfast photo. 

10:07. TCB - everyday. 

TCB - every way. 

10:54. Blandest grapes ever. 

But probably better than the sugary snack I would have preferred. 

15:22. Is it though? 

All signs point to 'no'. 

15:43. $1,000,000,000

I'm "frugal", but I'll part with $2 to hopefully get the Powerball billion. 

I did not get a sandwich, beer or wine. 

16:01. Doggy Daycare Pick-Up

19:01. 🎶 They're bad, they're bad - you know it. 🎶 

The Heights marching band's first practice of the year - and it sounded like it. Could barely make out it was the Michael Jackson tune. But I give them all the credit in the world. Concert band was enough for me - add marching to it?  Nooooooooooo thank you. 

19:42. Salmon Wednesday. 

Usually it is Tuesday, but we deviated on that day. 

the Bitterest Pill

I had a shrink appointment yesterday. 

Nothing of note exactly. Most things are status quo - though this clenching of my jaw thing that has been going on for months and months is tiresome. I attributed to stress and anxiety as one normally might. We've talked about many times and I've practiced ways to counter it - all unsuccessfully. 

This time I axed him a question 710 axed me:  could it be medication related? 

Short answer is: it's possible. Maybe even probable. 

Nice to know...............now!

At my dosage of antidepressants it can be a side effect. Along with sexual dysfunction and weight gain. I won't tell you if I have any of the others. 

It becomes a glass half empty / half full scenario, I guess. 

Go crazy, be thin, get it up and not have TMJ-like symptoms. Or be sane. ....and possibly be heavier, flaccid and have jaw tension. 

Knowing how I was beforehand, I guess I'll take the jaw thing. Or maybe we try different meds. I'm not fucking around with anything like that for at least two months. I got other things about which to worry. 

Oh - and I'll ask Dr. Spo, but in this practice - which is a multi-state entity - the providers are required to reorder your medication each time you see them. 

That is great........................if calendars aligned.

My script is for a 90 day supply. I see my therapist at least three times in 90 days. So each time, later that same day after lying on his couch* I get a call from my pharmacy to tell me that I'm not due for a refill. 

I will then go to my pharmacy app and tell them to cancel the order, which they never do. I continually get reminder messages that they cannot refill at this time. 

The powers that be at this practice are wasting the doc's time, the patient's time and tons of pharmacy time. To what end? 

Any Electronic Medical Record is going to prompt the provider to order when necessary. But mine manually / electronically submits the reorder before I even leave my session. I literally get a call from the pharmacy on my way home. 

This is not the fault of the doc. He's doing what his overlords tell him. I just don't understand the rationale. I get it for the patient's who don't come in but want a refill. They do have a duty to those patients to evaluate them for the correct medication for the current behaviour. But for the compliant chaps - like me - it tiresome. 

Not enough to change docs, because for all I know they all do it. But I worked for a major pharmacy chain - they are SO understaffed, that this additional work is stifling to them. 

The U.S. healthcare system - a joke.  

However, there is no punchline. 

*there isn't a couch per se. There is a leatherette love seat with a box of tissues next to it. I've felt the need to dab my eyes. The love seat is much to teeny for me to stretch out upon. 

Song by: the Jam

Let the Mystery Be

Je really don't have anything today. 

Life - thankfully - has been uneventful. Even I can only write about running so much. 

The reality is: sometimes life is just a bore. 

That isn't great for the blogging world, but it is true nonetheless. 

...but since I mentioned it......

I was running on Saturday. By my lonesome through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park on the towpath along the Ohio & Erie canal. It was a long run - 16+ miles, and it just didn't fit into a schedule with either of my running groups so I went out on my own. 

Ugly it was. HUMID too.

I started out so early I was in mile 6 before I saw my first human. The path is usually filled with hikers, bikers and birders. ...and runners, but mostly the others. 

As I was approaching mile 14, I saw this specimen of a man running towards me. It was full-on Monet - kind of. From 50 yards he looked amazing. And so much chest hair - as he was running shirtless. As he got closer, I realized it wasn't hair, but ink. Massive tatts on each side of his chest. 

It was then I noticed his legs and arms, all covered. And then I realized it is a man I see several times per week at my gym for the last few years. 

He's nice to look at and a good body, but ehhhh...... he is all about death metal, speed metal and hard core punk. He wears shirts that say things like Death Maggot - which of course I read slightly differently. 

We have never spoken. We have never even done the cursory head nod acknowledging either of us exists that usually goes on in the gym. Now here we are out miles from either of our natural habitats. I mean, what are the odds? 

Oh, and never once have I seen him use a treadmill. Just FYI. I didn't know he did any cardio. I have never seen him do any kind. Yet he as a nice, easy, natural gait. 

We passed. No words were exchanged, but he slightly lifted his hand. 

Now, for runners, that is kinf of the thing. I'm not 100% sure he knew to whom he was waving or just a similar minded being. Hell, I don't know if he recognizes me from the gym or that I exist at all. Or that he raised his hand before realizing it was me. 

I guess the test could be this morning if we are both at the gym at the same time and if someone breaks a three year silence......and if so, who will it be? 

Song by: Iris DeMent

My Music Monday

Well back to new music. This time by Eliad Cohen, arguably one the hottest gay Jews. 

I didn't know he sang. I thought he just traipsed across the internet never making enough to cover the cost of a shirt. 

I'm not complaining.

There have been more than a few gay adult "actors" who think they can sing. This wouldn't be new - not to say that Cohen does porn.  ......at least that I've ever seen. 

I think he's just a big tease. But a handsome one. 

The song, "What If" isn't bad. 

It's not quite radio ready, but it's not overly produced Miami gay dance club oriented either - which is kind of refreshing. It's well made, but not overly memorable either. 

Does it surprise me that the video has 0% body fat for anyone and every one who appears?  No. 

Regular people need not apply.

I feel unworthy watching it. I hate that about gay culture. Eons ago Morty and I were in LA annoying our friend, Jon. I left there and then Palm Springs feeling so incredibly despondent like I was the ugliest person in Southern California. 

The superficiality was so up front it was D-pressing. Seriously - for weeks afterwards I was out of sorts. 

A less than four minute video easily had those feeling resurface. I kind of thought I'm above that now. At 29 maybe not. At 63-ish it seems I'm not fully - and that's disappointing.  

Cohen provides a song and video that do what every HIV ad and Gay Cruise ad does: eschews anyone not young, beautiful and gym sculpted. 

The former ads make me laugh:  yes, that handsome dude is the picture of HIV. Don't YOU want to get it and take our pills and look like this?   The latter?  They seem to be cutting their own profit margins on actively schilling against having average gay dudes wanting to take their cruises.

I'm assuming this is how women feel with make-up and lingerie ads. 

While Cohen is handsome, let's face it - the cat might be the best thing about the video. 

Calypso

OMG. We went to a movie. In an actual movie theater. 

I tried to go back through the blog to see the last time we were in an actual cinema. Is it possible February 2024 was our last time buying tickets and popcorn? 

Quite possible. Probable even. 

But we had "date afternoon" the other day. We still took Shep to daycare and we went out to lunch and then to go see the Odyssey. 

I am reluctant to say I never read the book, as some might think my uncultured (I am).  I know the story - or stories, if you will - but not in great detail. I'd like to say I knew more of it than I would guess the average movie-goer. I could be wrong - I usually am. 

The movie a solid B+. 

Of course, I have notes. 

It clocks in at almost three hours in length, but I gotta hand it to Christopher Nolan, it didn't feel like it. His three hour Interstellar felt like three lightyears (even though I know that a lightyear is measurement distance and not time......but the joke works for those who don't know that). 

It's difficult to translate a 400 page poem into a three hour film (I'd assume). Somethings have to go and a lot of the story background is done via exposition. Mostly provided with Charlize Theron as Calypso and Matt Damon as Odysseus. Exposition, done correctly - like here - is a good tool. 

Casting is a bit hit and miss, perhaps. Damon is great - though at the end, it could have easily been Ethan Hawke present day.  Save some interviews, I've never seen a thing Tom Holland has been in, but he's a personable chap and did well here. 

710 liked Anne Hathaway more than I, but that's always gonna be the case. And I could look at Jon Bernthal all. day. long. While I've never seen any of the Twilight series, you've never wanted to see Robert Pattinson succumb to death more. 

They say Nolan doesn't do CGI, but I'm not sure how Bill Irwin pulled off the cyclops without it. Perhaps really great angles and costuming.  But with no CGI comes some flaws too - like the super cameras that shot this: I could not not see Hathaway's Bausch + Lomb Daily Wearable Contact Lenses ™.   I mentioned it after the movie and 710 said he noticed the same thing. 

I also didn't realize two possible things: Tolkien taking some things from the Odyssey for his work; somethings that Nolan took from Peter Jackson's Middle Earth look for this movie. It's not heavy handed for either, but it's there. 

The actions scenes were good and well done. One was a little Jason Bourne-esque. I don't think Nolan needed to resort to that necessarily.......especially with Jason Bourne playing the lead role. 

All the 'thriller' previews didn't get my pulse up once. But even knowing how the story ends, Nolan got my, and kept my, attention for the full three hours. ......and that's not nothing. 

The Odyssey is totally worth a viewing - and I'd say in the theatre. I don't think your television - no matter how large - will suffice. 

One other "complaint':  the sound. the music.  Some of the music was extremely interesting. But at the end, the music was so RIGHT THERE  than you just couldn't hear the dialogue. .....and you really kind of wanted to hear the ending dialogue. 

As we were watching the credits, some elderly women got up from the row in front of us. I turned to 710 and said: I'm going to ask them how accurate this was, since they probably lived through it. 

They were probably 4 years older than I. 

Song by: Suzanne Vega

and Dream of Sheep

Another not great cat week. Where are they all???

Not to worry, dogs are good too.  Great even. 

Shep and Dad #2 had a day out - which included drive thru for you know who. 

I got to see my would-be girlfriend Olive. 

She got lots of love from me. And vice versa. 

Land shark. 

Waiting to spring?  No. Conking out. 

More of our day out - up at Lake Erie.

Siggie just waking up. 

SO. ADORABLE. 

My cousin David sent it to me yesterday. I think he knows it's gonna end up here, 

Song by: Kate Bush

Site of the Month

18 months ago, or so, I highlighted a SotM with the Soft White Underbelly. 

I said then as I'll copy / paste now: The site bills itself as "people who are frequently invisible in society—the unhoused, the sex worker, the chronic drug user, the runaway, the gang member, the poor and the sick".

In general, this is true. I have kind of really stopped watching those videos because there is only so much sexual abuse, drug abuse prison shit that one can take - regardless of stories and storytellers. 

So while I am revisiting the Soft White Underbelly this time it is specific.

Normally the SWU videos are 30 minutes-ish. Give or take. But there is a new one out that is not about the frequently invisible:  Hunter Biden. 

Biden's interview is almost 2.5 hours long. 

Granted, I didn't watch it all at once, but over the course of 3-4 days. Honestly, I'm only at the 1:50:00 mark. 

As I said in June, I wasn't a fan of Hunter.  

With that post and with his truly going after the GOP, and with this interview, I'm starting to turn around. 

Biden is compelling. He is thoughtful and eerily highly flip, but letting go, about what the Steve Bannons and Rudy Guilianis tried to do to him. 

They had 25 years (!!!) of his digital footprint:  every email. every deleted email. every voicemail - including deleted.  every text - live and deleted. every single photograph.  None of it showing anything to do with the Ukraine or China btw. .....which is why he got convicted on unpaid taxes and a weapons charge - which was really a "lie" about his addiction when filling out paperwork to own a gun. 

He said every single item of those above is searchable and findable on line. 

Now by the time they had that, he had already been open about his drug addiction, hookers and naked pics. None of that was new - but they tried to make it that way. And most people, myself included, don't know he has been sober over a year before the 2020 election. 

As Hunter points out - what would anyone's digital tracking look like if the average person was to have theirs get out. 

He is thoughtful, well spoken and pragmatic. He has incredible recall for a former addict. He has stats and facts at his fingertips - which may or may not be correct, but you certainly trust him more than Bannon or Guiliani.  

And honestly, I'd be dropping a lot more profanities than he ever drops here - which isn't many. 

Biden is way more thoughtful, philosophical and forgiving than I could ever be. But I'm not in recovery. 

As it gets closed to the last twenty minute mark, he takes on BLOTUS, his kids, the corruption - and there are no holds barred.  Amazingly, every single person who purchased a Hunter Biden painting was called before congress. 

I am fully aware this is one man's side of the story. But honestly he has zero fucks to give and what he says about his not being convicted of multiple things rightly sums up that the first BLOTUS administration didn't have the goods to charge, let alone convict, him of any of what he was accused. 

It is a time commitment, but it's worthy of a watch. 

NOTE:  For 2.5 hours, there was only one (!!!!) YouTube interruption for an ad.  

Also, there is a warning at the beginning talking about suicide and self harm. Every time I paused and walked away for an hour (or a day) and came back to it, that warning would show up again. All I had to do was hit 'refresh' and it started where I left off. 

Here is the direct link. Below is the embedded video. 

Blank Slate

Jeepers folks. 

.....I got nothing. 

Not only is reading the news still a no go, 710 hasn't even relayed a decent story upon which he has happeend. 

I am have been too bummed to delve too much into social media to see anything amusing or blurb about some news item that's out there. 

Blobby is a bit sleep deprived all he wants to do it go lie down............so I'm gonna do just that. 

Lator Gators. 

Song by: the National

"Cooking" With Blobby

There is no cooking today.  

Slicing and mixing only. The only time consuming thing here is watching the cucumbers give up some of their moisture for 15 minutes. Other than that, you're done in like 10.  .....and that's if you're taking your time. 

Sometimes it's not all about the main dish. Side dishes aren't difficult, they're just not horribly original. It's still in the 80s (I mean it is only August), so why not do a cold side? 

Why not, indeed. 

Tuesdays are generally salmon night - as I've said, it's super easy to prepare after my Tuesday evening runs. It can cook while I shower and I finish up after I towel off. 

This side - Asian Cucumber Salad - I made prior to heading out for the run group. Ideally it sits for a few hours in the fridge for all the flavours to meld. 

And just to get it out of the way - the picture is inaccurate: I forget to get the scallions and maple syrup (yes, you read that correctly) in the picture. I also have red pepper flakes which I did not use. 

So this is easy, but let's get to it. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Turkish, Persian, or English cucumbers (about 5 cups sliced) 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

4–5 scallions, finely sliced 

1 teaspoon ginger, grated, more to taste 

1 fat garlic clove, grated, or finely minced 

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (or sub rice vinegar, see notes) 

1 tablespoon soy sauce (or substitute Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or Coconut Aminos) 

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (do not regular sesame oil) 

1 – 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or agave, honey, or sugar), more to taste, see note. 

1–2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (Sambal Olek) or sub sriracha, more to taste 

1–2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds 

Instructions 

Score and Salt Cucumbers. Using the tines of a fork, score the cucumbers lengthwise- this will help the dressing cling to the cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers thinly and place them in a bowl, and toss with the salt (to help them draw out their liquid). Let this stand 10-15 minutes while you gather the remaining ingredients. Strain (but do not rinse). Combine. 

Place the strained cucumbers in a large bowl with scallions, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sweetener, garlic-chili paste, and toasted sesame seeds. Mix well. Season. Taste and adjust salt, sweetness, and spice level to your liking. Find the balance- see notes. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Cucumber salad is best served on the same day but will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

They came out great. The cucumbers were still crisp yet absorbed the flavours. They certainly had an Asian edge, but with soy sauce and sesame how could they not. The sambal olek added just a bit of heat that you'd pick up here and there, but not with every bite and never overwhelming. 

As you can see, you might want to dish them up with a slotted spoon, but it was fine. The run-off paired well running into the salmon. And the dish paired nicely with the fish. 

I'd do these again in a heartbeat. 

Notes 

Flavor Balance. If your dressing tastes too acidic or sour, add more sweetener to taste. This will help balance it out. Rice Vinegar is more acidic than Rice Wine Vinegar. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar is the least acidic and is sweetened. So, depending on what you are using, the amount of sweetener needed will change. 

I had Rice Vinegar it was fine. 

Toasted Sesame Oil– Tastes wonderfully smoky and nutty. It can go rancid pretty quickly, so store it in the fridge after you open it and make sure to smell it before using; it should smell pleasant. Regular sesame oil will not have the same flavor here, and I don’t recommend it. 

 I didn't have toasted sesame oil, just regular. I can't compare, but it didn't take away from anything that it wasn't toasted. 

Optional Additions (See variations in post body)- fish sauce, crushed roasted peanuts, Gochujang, cilantro or Thai Basil, red onions, peanut chili crunch, radishes

Peanuts and Thai basil would have been wonderful - had I had any. 

Having My Baby

My running friend* Andy is in a family way. 

Andy and I share a birthday, albeit three years apart. Blobby being the elder. 

So in a few weeks Andy turns 60. And a few weeks after that, he becomes a father for the first time in his life. 

Yeah - you're thinking he has a trophy wife et al, and while Jacks is quite attractive, she is in her mid-40s. While I don't know of sure, because how can one tactfully ask, I'm assuming this was not planned. 

As it turns out, there are always consequences to unprotected sex. And good for them, I'm sure they thought, at a certain age, they were kind of in the clear.  ......but kind of they weren't. 

So Jacks and Andy are dressed in pink. Yes, they're having a girl. Yes, they have a name. 

This last Sunday, the run club had a baby shower for them. 

I can count on two fingers (now) how many baby showers I have attended - the last one being in 2001. 

Did I really want to go?  No.  But that would be true of whomever was having the shower. 

Did I feel like I had to go?  Kind of. 

Listen, I like Andy a lot and he's a great guy. And he's a little freaked out - as any new first time father at any age should be. His / Their world is about the change drastically I suspect. 

It was kind of amusing having a baby shower where the aging parents are still some of the youngest people in the room. And at least half the people were the Old Men from the Old Men's Running Group. 

The day before was all chatter amongst us on what to expect, what we should wear etc. It dawned on me that these men were all fathers yet never attended the baby showers for their own kids. It was the 60s and 70s for them. But "back then", men simply weren't expected (wanted or welcome) to attend. 

I think now the dad makes an appearance at the very least. So it's true, none of these guys knew what to expect. Same with me. 

Yeah - we were all hoping there'd be no games, and by the time I left 2.5 hours later, none had been. But I was also selfish as I snuck out during the opening of the presents.  I just couldn't muster that many fake "ooohs and aaaah" over a diaper genie. 

Still there was food. And desserts. Wine too, but I didn't touch any alcohol. 

All that said, I wish nothing but the best for Andy and Jacks. While completely selfish, I hope this doesn't hinder my being able to run with Andy on the weekends. Of course it will - and should - but maybe someone got them a really great running stroller. 

*I'm not sure why I need to qualify his friendship, but honestly, we have almost zero contact outside of the Old Man's Running Group - so I do. 

Song by: Paul Anka

My Music Monday

We are back to iTunes Roulette. 

The 10th song via shuffle provides the song for today - and today it is Rhett Miller and "As Close as I Came to Being Right". 

While Miller does make solo disks, he is a founding member of the alternative country band the Old 97's. 

He seems wise, with it and hip enough to know what is what. And he has a way with a song. 

While I have a handful of Old 97's songs, I didn't really know Miller's solo work. I found it via Rosanne Cash's co-writing and duetting on Miller's 2012 song, "As Close as I Came to Being Right". 

I believe Miller also has a podcast, but honestly, anymore who doesn't? 

Miller and Cash totally compliment each other here. It's a good collaboration and it's a shame that in 14 years this song on YouTube has only been seen 3,500 times. 

This could have easily played on some country stations - but it's hard to break through that big-boy. network of whatever shit that most of country is now-a-days. Americana should have picked it up more, but that is a microcosm of country and folk. 

It's a great song. It deserved better. 

Getting Older

I know I've mentioned on multiple occasions that we watch Jeopardy!

It is humbling on multiple levels. 

I swear, I used to know more answers questions, but now they sometimes reach for such specific outliers that 710 and I just look at each other and shrug.

I'm sorry but I don't know words in Sanskrit that aren't yoga ones. Apparently a number of contestants the other night had zero problem in this field. 

At some point I just yell out the most incorrect and inappropriate answers and I'd probably do it if I ever got on the show just to see how deep in debt I could go. 

Mind you - there isn't a week where Marie Curie isn't an answer. And the question writers seem to looooooove Hagia Sophia it comes up so often. 

Conversely, I hate it when the questions are such lobs they practically give you the answer. And on many occasions, the contestant doesn't answer in the form of a question and they let it go.  <------ old man rant. 

The other humbling area are the commercials. 

While we are currently in mid-term season, right now there are a lot of those. But if you carve those out everything else is just driven to old folks...................like us. 

There are more prescription ads than one can shake a sitck at (see.....an old people's term). But there is also Gold Bond Powder. Consumer Cellular - for the old folks who want to be able to look at picturef of their grandchildren........I shit you not. Any number of "risk free life insurance plans that will never ask you your preexisting conditions.....(uh huh). 

Locally we get a lot of bath fitters too. Safety rails and such. 

I swear we age just watching a show.   I mean, technically we do......just not exponentially. 

Then 710 sent me this yesterday. 

MEDIAN. 

.....and we're bringing that median down!

OUCH!

And sorry Sony, but isn't any audience a younger one?????

But that explains the younger audience seeking. Jeopardy! is rolling out (or has?) a sports edition on ESPN and a pop culture one with Colin Jost as the host. I've seen none of these. 

Decades ago VH1 used to have a music one - which for me was great. I found it all too easy. Again with the lobs. It's like Celebrity Jeopardy!.  Other than Mo Rocca and Rachel Dratch I knew none of the "celebs". I guess it's like Dancing with the "Stars". 

Still, time waits for no man. Nor do advertisers. 

The sports version can have Doug Flutie hawking his testosterone pills. Pop Culture one can sell I dunno - Proszac?   Clearasil? 

Clearly with my old man ranting, I'm watching the correct version. 

Song by: Billie Eilish

Hitch Hike

Just random shots this week.  ....but I guess, isn't that every week?

I was coming home from a run and Mr. Shep was out for a walk. 

He ended up riding home with me.  710 (and Shep's poop) walked the half a block. 

Some were excited to see me. 

The elder dog on the left and the lab bringing me a present. 

I suppose this could have gone badly - but everyone was well behaved. 

Rusty. 

We happened upon an orange cat the other day. Any orange cat I don't know, I name them "Rusty". 

On one of the hot days, we took the man to the Chagrin River to frolic. 

Shep came along too. 

Rusty - if they took dog form. 

Shep and I on an adventure to the polo fields. 

No horses were spotted.

Song by: Marvin Gaye

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 am a homo blogger, so I am contractually obligated to review Madonna's latest album: Confessions II. 

Such creativity in the titling. 

I do want to establish some things about this disk. On iTunes, there are no less than four versions of the record on their charts. I don't know the difference between them save one, which is called Instrumentals. I suppose that one is for the Madonna stan who wants to sing all the lead vocals without having Madge getting in the way. 

It should also be noted that, at the time of this drafting (which is only a week after the disk release), no individual song is higher than #106. Evenesene's "Bring Me to Life" is higher than anything on Confession 2, and that was released in 2003!

After two weeks, there were zero songs from this release in Apple's top 200. 

Granted, she's got a good marketing team with the gays, but I'm thinking that is about where it ends. 

Oh - and no version of the disk is more than $4.99 (scratch that - the above disk has now moved up to $11.99). A steal for sure. I'm assuming at some point prices will vary. 

The rest of this drafting is weeks later than the above text. When I wrote the above, I had only heard one song and I reviewed that a month or two ago. 

Full Disclosure: I did not purchase this disk. I listened to it on YouTube, which admittedly probably misses something if you don't hear it together and in order. 

While Confessions on a Dance Floor came out 21 years ago - and was one of her better disks, it should be mentioned that IMHO only half that disk was good. The rest?  Not so much. So it's a little ballsy to have a sequel to a partially good disk. 

Being better than Rebel Heart, American Life, Madame X, MDNA and Hard Candy is hardly the coup one might think. Albums of sound effects were better than those. So the bar isn't that high for Confessions II. 

Like the original Confessions, each song segues into the next for a continual play. - as would be in a dance club. Like the original, the opening number, "I Feel So Free", has a speaking part to introduce you to the art or the concept at least. 

I don't really know much about Sabrina Carpenter's music, but she doesn't add squat to "Bring Your Love". There are times I don't know which one is actually singing the lead - which kind of says something. Madonna talks as much as she sings. 

Actually this is an issue on many songs. 

Do I need to hear her name drop on "Danceteria"?  ...and the first one is Debi Mazar?  It doesn't quite hold the weight of Greta Garbo, or even Nicolette Sheridan. 

The best part of this disk is Stuart Price's production. Music production. The beat, the intricacies of the sounds. The vocals?  Not nearly as auto tuned as Madame X, but hardly untouched by technology. Still a bit heavy handed. Much of them are muddied too. Then there is the talking. 

Endless talking. Where in the original Confessions, it is used minimally. Not so much here. It's like a 1984 overlay narrative. 

There are moments of good. "Read My Lips" - the energy of chorus is pretty. The verses are meh. Kind of the same with "Danceteria". ...and "Love Sensation". 

All would be better if I still did X. Oh, and I was in a gay bar with a drink or eight in my hand. 

The disk has a groove from which it rarely deviates, if ever. Nothing truly stands out. It flows. It goes. But nothing makes you want to purchase it, or play it multiple times. 

Once or twice to review was enough. 

Mad Dog

It seems Blobby isn't going to jail. 

I suppose I should back up a bit. 

While I have mentioned my anxiety levels lately, while not fully due to this event, it is certainly partially the cause. 

Back in June, Shep and I were chilling out back. Unfortunately, an amazon delivery person opted to bring a package to the back of the house. 

Until today, other than 710, one other person and a lawyer, I've said nothing to anyone about this. 

She came through a closed gate with no verbal announcement. And also instructions for delivery are to the front door only. 

I do not have canine hearing, but Mr. Shep does. He heard her. He got up from his nap and charged her, barking his scary bark the entire way. 

Blobby will plead willful ignorance here, and slightly assumed Shep nipped her. However, she said nothing and showed me nothing. Mind you, at the same time - due to tension and being a bit off guard myself - my reaction was to tell her she was not to be back here at all. 

Mind you, I called Shep off in seconds and he returned immediately. 

I thought that was that until the po-po showed up a half hour later. 

Seems the woman went back to her van and called 9-1-1.  ....that seemed a bit extreme to me, but that's my take. She called for police, but said no EMS needed.  After the cops did the she said - he said thing, I thought everything was done. One half hour later they came back to give me a citation and court date, as the woman decided to prosecute. 

Great. Just great. 

This set off a lot of things, including the county needing confirmation that Shep didn't have rabies. Vet records and a FaceTime were required. 

The other is court appearances for a third degree misdemeanor - culminating in a $750 fine and / or 90 days in jail !!!!

Just let me tell you, seeing 34,092 hours of Law & Order where I thought I could easily represent myself, 710 fought me on that. Also let me tell you, finding a lawyer who represents the homeowner and not the victim is très difficult.  They're called 'ambulance chasers' for a reason. 

Me, being me, had all the documentation ready to go for the lawyer:  screen shots of my delivery preferences on the amazon site. screen shots of the last two years of deliveries from the emails they send when they deliver along with a picture (all at front door). And I had Ring doorbell videos in the back entrance of Shep leaving the porch barking and another coming back like 17 seconds later. There is no view of her with the dog, just of the porch....to which she never made it for delivery. 

Part of one lawyer visit was viewing all the discovery - which meant all the bodycam footage from the police officers. Oh yes. Multiple officers. And it is numbing. The process. For whatever reason there was no speed through, so you had to watch them walk from car to door, and door to victim, back to car, back to house.....and so on. 

And me stopping myself from standing up and screaming at the screen when the driver talked and said, how I didn't react at all and let the dog attack her for minutes.  

17 seconds. 17 seconds including the 4-5 seconds it took him to come back and 4-5 it took him to get to her. So....8-10 seconds total. And I was up out of my seat in 2 seconds. 

She continually refused medical care. And she sat there for 90 minutes, which tells me she wasn't truly injured. She even said - on body cam- she wasn't, but the police kept saying she should get checked out. 

And not to demean her (kind of), but it took almost 20 minutes to write her statement. Me, it took like 7. So I expected a three page thingy from her.  It was less than 25 words.   .......in 20 minutes.  And 38% of them spelled incorrectly.  I get it - the education system sucks. But somewhere between the cops 2nd and 4th visit to her, she went from not wanting to prosecute, to wanting.  I'm sure she talked to someone in between, but who can know for sure. 

It should be noted that I was being charged with failing to control a dog in a public area.....which was on my own secured and gated property. But they considered our yard to be "the city".    

Fuck.  That. 

Oh, the amazon lady also stated she "ran" from the house. She did not. She stopped, took the pic of the package delivery (in my hand), sent it and walked out. 

But the video told me one thing:  she was upset because I didn't apologize. She must have mentioned it at least a dozen times. I honestly think that's why she prosecuted. Her nose was bent out of joint. I'm not letting Shep off the hook here, but there wasn't even a puncture wound as far as I could tell. 

And she's right, I didn't. I'm also trained if someone hits my car not to immediately say "it's ok" or "I'm alright".  I mean, not like Buster Bluth. 

I don't need "I'm sorry" to be construed or spun to be a perceived admission of guilt. Again, she said nothing of being bitten to me. And at first she said the same to the cops. 

Anyhooo.......the other day was the 'pre-trail' which was via phone and for which I didn't need to be present. My lawyer called me a few minutes after it was done with good news. 

I will have to pay her $108.15 urgent care bill and my case will be dismissed with no record. 

It is somewhat of a relief, obvi. But if I'm 100% truthful, I hold a little resentment against Shep. He was protecting his property, but I trust him less and less around people. I am 100% on my guard on every walk - and we've decided maybe no more Bow Wow Beach or visitors to the house. We just can't take the risk. 

While no one really thought I'd do time, I did fret for a long time that they'd force us to put Shep down. They aren't, but he has a strike on his record with the county. Another one could be a different outcome for him. 

We will see if this will do anything for my anxiety. I hope so, but I suspect I'll just replace it with another woe. 

Song by: America

Timothy

If I had any creativity or sense of what might go viral, I could create the next "Charlie Bit My Finger" or is the dress blue or gold thing. 

Honestly, I'm not sure anyone knows what will hold a person's interest let alone take off and take the internet by the shorthairs. 

This week, it seems it is Jimothy* - the wild raccoon from the Pacific Northwest who seemingly has a spinal deformity. 

Animals get rejected so easily by mothers for any host of reasons. That Jimothy was not - and actually nurtured by his mother - is kind of exemplary. 

It's made him an internet darling.

710 sent me a story about Jimothy and now my feed is heavily peppered by stories, drawings, music, clothing lines, baked goods (seriously) and whatnot.   .......about a raccoon. 

The only problem is not one dime goes to Jimothy. 

Once again, Americans are making bank off the backs of others with no trickle down. I'm kind of surprised there isn't a gofundme to operate on Jimothy to make him "normal". 

But you know - it beats reading about you know who. 

Be careful Jimothy. The internet loves to tear down what it builds up. 

*I had no song with the word "Jimothy"  - though there are songs, by name, about him on iTunes. Seriously. Americana, Rap, Irish jigs, hard rock and hardcore punk.

Song by: the Buoys