Girl You Know It's True

The "joke" is, the photo to your left is doctored, but you probably didn't even notice or question such a thing. 

The actual "joke" is what this fucking White House (not the actual structure.....but kind of) has become. 

I am surprised this just isn't the set for American Ninja Warrior, which btw, is far more entertaining than whatever this full-diaper wearing "president" has for us for the 250th b-day we are supposed to be having. 

Was. 

Almost everyone has bailed.  

Almost. 

Let's face it, Vanilla Ice is never going to have somewhere else to be and there wasn't a county fair who had yet requested is presence on or near the same day. And it might be his only paying gig this year. 

"Milli Vanilli" (yes in quotes) is just the perfect metaphor for this administration: fake entertainers laughing all the way to the bank. 

"They" are still on the bill. 

The only difference is (kind of): Milli Vanilli got caught in the act and paid the price - which was to never inflict another album on us again......or whomever actually sang on it. 

This administration has been caught several times for faking it and so far, to never been penalized. 

It should be noted that, at least in theory, Vanilli is/was a German group. And nothing celebrates U.S. independence than fake German singers. 

Correction: Singer.   Correction Correction: Lip syncer .

One of the guys in the group gets off easy: he's dead.    ......lucky bastard. 

While yay (I guess) for the groups who have bailed. I have yet to have it trickle down to me as of why they 86'd the celebration - though you know......Occum's razor.  That said - they HAD to know for what they were signing up for in the first place. You can't tell me they didn't know the stigma attached to such an event with such a polarizing twat as BLOTUS. 

And really, was C C + the Music Factory such a get in the first place? I mean, yeah - next to Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli. 

There is nothing to celebrate this upcoming independence day. Unless BLOTUS continues the legacy of Jefferson and Adams - who both died on July 4th. 

That, I'd celebrate. 

Song by: "Milli Vanilli"

In the Sun

All dogs this Saturday. I guess I could have taken screen shots from the Ring doorbell with all the kitty cats that seem to be crossing our front porch. Clearly we are a safe haven for them, and I'm ok with that.  

Shep hanging out University Circle after some squirrel chasing. 

Dual entry for my cousin's dog, Siggie. Yes, daycare got the spelling wrong. 

The top pic is a screenshot from a video David sent of Siggie. He. Is. ADORABLE.  The paw placement is everything. 

While I run, apparently Shep does not. 

710 sent this last weekend while I was out on a 10 miler. 

HANK. 

A new daycare guy - at least for me. He was SOOOOOO sweet. What a greeting. 

Sunbathing. At least one of us is getting our vitamin D

Song by: Peter Gabriel

Finally

I am sure Ms. Peniston has been waiting years for this blog to be using her song title. 

I suppose it being played repeatedly during Priscilla Queen of the Desert wasn't enough for her. Or every night at a gay bar from 1991 until...........now?  I haven't been in a gay bar in quite a while, so I don't know what the kids are listening to these days. I dare say CC and the Music Factory might still be on the playlist. 

So, CeCe finally gets her due here. 

Anyway...........the fucking Democrats finally found their gonads. FINALLY.  (see how that ties in?)

Now......I am very sure I'm speaking too soon, but it is the proverbial gospel record cover with the rays of sun coming from behind the darkened clouds*.

James Talerico (D) won his Texas primary and well, the GOP had been badmouthing one of their own candidates who well.......won theirs.....and now the GOP has to sell the guy they've been slinging shit about. And what better way to do that than distract with transphobic (and untrue) tweets**. 

While this is just their normal playbook shit, I'm just surprised at the level it goes up to that writes this shit that goes so low. 

But it was the actual fucking official Democratic Party response that floored me.  Remember: GONADS. 

I mean, Miller can't even sue for libel. Stevie Wonder, Sandy Duncan, Peter Falk all know he's an "ugly fuck". Surely a judge will be able to tell. 

While the High Rd would be nice, it hasn't gotten the dems anywhere. Lord knows I can't find it on my GPS, so fucking just meet them at their level. And they finally did. 

Let's hope this shit continues. I'm sure MAGA will be "outraged" at that kind of response - never getting it. 

Fuck them too. 

*For decades I called this the "Christy Lane album cover", but I just Gooooooogled her and lo and behold, she doesn't have any covers with that. I'm sure her commercials did when they pawned her albums over UHF. 

**Tweets. How long as Musk owned X?  I Gooooogle searched for the above tweet image under 'X' and got nothing. I did the same search and switched it to "Twitter" and it came right up. And they're postings are still called 'tweets'. Musk with his wasted $44,000.000.000.00 couldn't fit another $200,000 in the budget for the salary of a brand manager. 

Song by: CeCe Peniston

Freeze Frame

Yesterday after work I opted to go on my run. This wasn't a well thought out idea. 

Normally, I am an early morning runner. Like....starting at 05:00 or 06:30 kind of thing. Things are generally cooler. But I figured, it was only 5 miles, how bad could it be? 

Mind you, it was "only" 71°F , but you have to add (depending on who is talking) 10-20 degrees more when you run. It wasn't a great run. I didn't even plan a route and ended up doing a lot of hills. Mind you. I need that experience, but again..........not well thought out. 

I brought no hydration, but usually do not for anything less than five miles. During the summer, yeah, I do, but this is like Spring.....or Spring like. 

Now my gym has just installed a "recovery" area. When I think recovery, I think spa or massage. They think a super hot sauna and a cold plunge pool. 

These services is not yet fully operational, but they are allowing certain people to try it out and give feedback - and I was one of the selected few. I even had to sign a waiver. When this is fully operational, it was be a scheduled event and it is extra - meaning not covered in the monthly gym membership fee. 

You know me, I'm not parting with dough that easily - even though they don't have pricing yet - for something I'm most assuredly not going to like. But until it's up and running, for me it's free........and that is kind of hard to turn down. 

When I returned from the run hotter than hell, I kind of went - "well, it's now or never". 

I gathered my things from the locker room and toted them to the recovery area. 

The idea is to do the sauna, then cold plunge, allegedly repeatedly. Oh, and to shower between each thing. And you can't be nekkid. 

While there is a sauna in the regular men's locker room (and one for the gals) that is about 160°F.  The new one is not that. 

I have no idea what the 8:37 is. How long the sauna has been on? It wasn't the time, that's for sure. 

I'm not much of a sauna guy. I find it stifling and I'm not sure I get much benefit out of the experience. Ditto when it's hotter than hot. 

It turns out, I'm not much of a cold plunge guy either - see title image. 

Now I'm stupid smart enough to just go in. Dipping your toe and easing yourself in is going to make one stop themselves and never do it. And it is called a 'plunge'. 

The water is 42°F !!!  I think the coldest I've been in is the Atlantic in Maine where it was 53 - and that was awful. 

Oh - there is a large atomic clock hanging there too, so you can see how long you've been in. The recommended time is 2-3 minutes. I can assure you I did not last that long.  

87 seconds. 

F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G.    

Though not by the literal definition. 

Hence the waiver I had to sign. On the upside I didn't scream. I thought I might. 

Others I know have used plunges before. They say this is colder because the water in the tank circulates. In still water tubs, you kind of have a heat barrier around you for a bit coming from your body. This swirling does not give you that brief barrier - so it is colder. 

Suffice to say, I did not go back and forth to the sauna and plunge. 

One and done. 

The shower was possibly the most interesting thing. It is hard to describe, but I'll try......

Imaging walking through a field of thistles Thousands of little pricks all over your body, radiating at slightly different times, but all the time. Tolerable, sure, but you felt the pain.....milliseconds at a time, but all over your body - head to toe. 

It lasted well after the shower. A cold shower.....which was still so much warmer than where I'd been. 

I showered. Shaved. 

Between the run and the sauna, 87 seconds in a cold plunge does NOTHING to stop you sweating. 

Lotion rolled right off me. I had to sit for a bit to even get a shirt on where it wouldn't soak through immediately. 

Cold plunge is something I can cross off my 'to-do' list. 

While I have access to do it again, it's going to have to be a scorcher, but I think my fail is embedded in my short term memory where I probably will not. 

It was an experience and the outcome was what I knew going in:  I'm a wuss........and I'm fine with it. 

Song by: the J Geils Band

Loser

I pretty much don't care about the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

I'm very sure you do not. 

But Travis Kelce does, and by association, his bride-to-be. 

I'll assume Jason Kelce does too, and I'd rather be seeing his pic here - no offense to Trav. 

Minor spoiler alert:  The Cavs lost the semi-final round four games to ZERO. 

It was painfully bad. Yes, I'd flip through to see how they're doing because you know someone at work is gonna say something and I don't want to look like a total rube!  Or feel like. I might already look like one. 

One game they lost a 22 point lead (!!!) and this last game they lost by 37 points!  Ouch. 

Trav and Tay Tay were at least at game 3, possibly 4, but I'm not sure. 

I think you all know Travis and Jason grew up a few streets away from where we currently live, and their podcast is named after the Heights in which we live. 

It would have been nice to have a Lebron-less Cavs victory, but that won't be this year....still they got close, though every play-off game was painful. And at least Travis is still a hometown boy when it comes to root-root-root (ing) for the home team. And it was a shame that they didn't win. 

I'll give it to the 11 people around them - not one were actively gawking at least when this image was taken. I'm not sure Taylor cares a bit about what's going on. Much like me. 

Song by: Grateful Dead

Reading Room

With the 187th "assassination attempt" on BLOTUS, I think it's a grand time to continue to bring up the Epstein Files. 

Blobby gives a HUGE bow to the the gallery owner(s) who opted to open the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room in NYC. 

This is SO brilliant. 

The gallery displays 3,437 volumes (or 3.5 million pages) that weigh over eight tons (just double of BLOTUS' weight).  The documents are cordoned off by a velvet rope, but still........

There is an exhibit of the statues that have popped up on the Mall in DC in the gallery as well.

And most importantly, there is a candle exhibit to honor the survivors of Epstein. 

The best part is there isn't a fucking thing BLOTUS & Co can do - save stage another assassination attempt in front of the gallery that damages the exhibit and forces them to close. ....and you read that here first. 

If I were in Manhattan, I'd be there in a fucking heartbeat and posting it everywhere. 

As it stands now, I'm not there and only posting it here. 

....there is hope the exhibit goes on tour. 

Song by: Thomas Newman

My Music Monday

Probably like any number of people, there are bands, or songs (or both) that grow on your over time. I assume similarly the same can be true with music or musicians falling out of favour. 

Myself, after 50+ years of hearing Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide", if I never hear it again, I will be just fine. I actively turn it off if it ever comes on. 

Somewhere I read not long ago that it takes 60-100 plays of a song for a person to tire of it. I don't know the data behind that, but that seems like a low number for a great song. I mean, it only took me once to know I never want to hear "Kokomo" again. 

Anyway, I say all this to bring up Future Islands. They've been around for 20 years, and I'd say they hit pseudo-mainstream about 14 years ago. With XM radio they show up more. I never remember hearing them on FM. 

They have a style. Kind of singular. Mind you, I don't truly own a thing of theirs nor have actively sought them out. But they pop up on XM or Apple Play and normally I don't turn them off. It's all familiar to their other stuff, to a degree for a while I didn't know some of them were different songs. Not bad songs, just similar. 

I'd say my first true exposure to them was a song called "Seasons" from about 14 years ago. It's still heavily played on some XM stations - relatively speaking. 

Two or three years ago was their latest disk, which had the "hit" (yes, in quotes) called "the Tower". The sound is very similar to "Seasons", but it might just be the same iteration of the band has been together forever. If you ever caught them on Letterman or Colbert, you'd see they sound the same live as they do in the studio - which is a plus these days. 

"the Tower" has made its way into my latest running playlist. Whether it stays there for Berlin is unknown, but so far its good for a steady pace. That's enough for me. 

10 Million Miles

At some point yesterday, I crossed the 10,000,000th view of this blog-thingy. 

10,000,1998 at the time of this drafting. 

It took from 2003 until 2017 to get to 1,000,000 visits. So another nine in nine years doesn't seem so bad. 

I hit the 9 million mark about 6.5 months ago. I think I said then it has been taking me (lately) about 6-8 months to acquire an additional mill. 

I have all these seemingly fake deadlines for this blog to end.

One was my 100th 12 of 12.  Since we are 93 past that, clearly that didn't happen. 

The 20 year mark was another. That has come and gone as well. 

As I started to get into the millions of views, I had set my sites on 10,000,000 views to call it quits. But I don't think that's happening either. 

Actually, I know it is not. 

So the date / milestone keeps moving. 25 years?  10,000 posts?  My untimely death?  My timely death? Who knows - certainly not me. 

I'm glad you all keep stopping by. I don't even mind that the bots are probably driving up those number - and I'm 99% sure they are. Somehow in my pea brain 'views' equals 'acceptance'. 

That's another shrink convo to have, but then I'd have to tell him about this blog. Perhaps I should have a long time ago, but.......now it would just seem like I was withholding, which I am. 

At previous million view marks I kept saying about monetizing this thing, but that's not gonna happen either. Honestly, I'm far too lazy to even set it up for the $0.42 it would ever gross. 

So, as it is, I'll continue to plug along. By the holidays I should be at, or close to, the 11 mark. Not that it is really worth anything except bragging rights in a very niche community: gay, left-handed blogger / marathoners with an A- blood type. 

There are less of us than you think, but more than you actually want. 

Song by: Patty Griffin

Look Through Any Window

Saturday. One of my easiest of posts on each week usually. Not always. 

Shep the herbivore. Petey was like this too. 

My friend Bob sent me a pic of Olive as she was "congratulating" me on the half-marathon. 

Maybe it's the lighting, but I've never seen grey on her chin before. 

More snuggling with Dad #2. 

A rare Simon appearance. 

He seemingly camps out at windows at his new digs - this time watching people run past the house. 

The Forbidden Park. 

I didn't mention it, but after we left, I secretly hung out in another lot and saw the man leave. Since we were there, I let Shep "run" off leash. He just meandered. We shan't be going back there. 

Song by: the Hollies

Fight

Blobby isn't one for violence. 

Yes, I can be quick to anger and for sure I can hold a grudge. But physical violence?  I'm not sure I'd even snatch the weave off a drag queen. I mean, that's kind of a death wish. 

Yet here I was, with Shep, headed to a dog park in the middle of the day. I just needed to get him out and about and thought it would be a change of pace. 

I selected the park carefully. We've been there before and have never seen a human soul. That's what for what I was hoping this time. No such luck. 

Only one guy and his dog. A biggish dog, but he seemed nice and attentive and wanting to play as we approached. 

If you've ever been to any dog park, there are at least two gates: one to the outside going to a 'staging area' to get leashes on and off, and then one into the actual open green area. 

So I get there and the second gate is open, so the big dog is at the first gate. I hate when dogs crowd the entrance, it is all very antagonistic. The owner gets up off his ass and ambles down while on his flip phone, and I'm thinking he'll close the gate and control his dog. 

A.) The guy can barely walk so it takes forever. B.) He is no position to be able to control his dog. 

Mind you, the dog isn't being bad, but he can't get him to move into the park away from the fence. I'm guessing Tank was about 110 lbs. He was cute, wagging his tail and whining to play.....but also had on a flack vest. 

The guy - who looks like a barely homed Viet Nam Vet - asks if Shep is a boy or a girl. I say boy and he finally shuts the gate. I take off Shep's leash and go to the gate. 

"What are you doing you asshole?? You can't go in there! Tank doesn't like boy dogs".   

My dander is now officially up. Go figure. 

I respond with "that sounds like a You problem. This is a public dog park, not your private one. You don't get to police who comes in and who does not.  The tells me to fuck off and go find another dog park. 

Now, I don't want Shep to actually go in if the dog is going to be aggressive, but now for me it is about the principle of the situation. The "fuck off" kind of sent me off. 

Some verbal sparring went on - all while he was still on the phone mind you - and then he told me he'd beat my ass. 

Blobby has never had a physical fight in his life. I'm not built for it physically or mentally.............until now. We didn't - but it was weird how I felt that I gladly would engage in violence with this guy. I've never felt that before in my existence.

He didn't like it when I laughed at him. I may have said something like, since he so stable with walking, I'm not really worried about you coming after me. I may not have been that nice. Granted, he could have had a gun or knife, but he'd have to put that fucking phone down first and Motorola Razors probably show up on Antiques Roadshow now, so......he wasn't gonna do that. 

I flipped him off, told him to eat shit (and maybe a 'suck my dick' for good measure) and left him there....still blocking the gate to let me - or anyone else - in. 

I've made a note in my non-flip phone to discuss my anger / violence with my shrink. I don't know if it means a thing or not, or just a bad day. It was just out of character. 

Song by: the Tragically Hip

Big Bird

This is a big ass heron, right?

I mean, the heron part is correct. I'm not 100% great at ornithology, but I know some things. 

But the size. It's big ass for a heron, no?

Mind you, I zoomed in from across a lake for the picture while walking Shep yesterday. 

I saw it with my bare eyes - even in their diminished capacity - from across a fucking lake. 

As I am not an ornithological expert, it just seems like a bird on steroids. It was standing in a place we usually see it when on the other side of the lake, and that close up it doesn't look so large. 

Of course, I'm assuming it is the same one. Again, not an expert. 

There were other folks out there photographing it from afar, with camera lenses that would have made the papparrazzi (sp) jealous. I guess I could have said something to them or asked questions, but I was feeling somewhat introverted and not in the mood to talk to anyone - even low level avian talk. 

Oh, and if you hadn't figure it out already, I had nothing of which to write today. 

Song by: Matt Berninger

Top of the World

It's summit week on Mt. Everest. 

There is a window - usually from around May 10-20th where people can climb to the top of Everest. The weather the rest of the year makes it almost impossible. 

For those who don't read for content, Everest is one of those OCD moments I have had where I just had / have inundated myself with books, documentaries, movies - blah blah blah. 

Even in the 90s (1990s, that is) the mountain and the climbs were a bit of mystery. First, second and third hand accounts of things that went on up there. 

This last five years or so gives us drones, live streaming, live podcasts, tracking websites......the works. 

In theory, for the interested parties, this would be great. 

For me - it's left me a little disinterested. 

The real life / real time, stories have left me a little cold. 

Sure, to climb Everest you have to have bravado or at least balls of steel. But it's different on the page than it is with someone's daily updates that get fed your way. It is just self-aggrandizing. I'd say "in the worst way", but that kind of what self-aggrandizing is.

Even their humble moments seem faux-humble. To me, when they try to seem more human, they just seem like bad actors. 

The climb is always going to be a challenge. But I'm tired of everyone labeling themselves:  Australia's first women with MS to climb; the UK's first deaf male. I mean, they're about to get into Blood Types and GPAs in a season or two. Everyone needs "an angle" when summiting the highest peak on the globe doesn't seem to be enough. 

The line of people you see in the title image are on their way to summit. 500. Plus the same amount of Sherpas helping most of those non-Sherpas. 

I will say, for all I know about the summit and the back down, it seems to be single-file. And I hear about climbers passing each other on the descent, but I've never actually seen two lines. And in theory, they should be just as populated - save for the half to one dozen who are going to remain on the mountain forever after dying there. 

The Hilary Step isn't that large and it doesn't seem to have one up / one down staircases. 

So yes, I've been low-key tracking this for weeks - as it takes weeks to acclimatize at base camp - but this might be it for me. I unofficially don't seem to care anymore. I probably won't finish this year's group to see what happens, but I have the right to change my mind. I just doubt I will. 

Song by: the Carpenters

Warmth

There are times when I run - alone or in groups - where I say in my head, "no one is making you do this....". 

710 says otherwise. 

He says the voices in my head tell me to keep going. He means more the C part of my OCD than actual voices. My shrink says I don't have schizophrenia*. 

This last Sunday I was painfully reminded why two years ago I said I'd never run another Spring marathon. Mind you, I didn't, but I did run the Cleveland Half Marathon for the third time.

At one point in time in my running, I said I'd never run outside where people could see me; and I wouldn't run without a shirt. Both of these last "rules" have been broken. This year, I broke it big time.  

While I did a half two weeks prior and I did "well",  that days started off 30°F cooler than this last Sunday - or what I'd call, optimal racing weather.  This last Sunday started at 63°F and shot up as the sun came over the horizon. 

Don't get me wrong. For a day other than running it was beauteous. For running, it was brutal. 

I knew by mile 2 it was going to be too hot to meet my goal time. I knew by mile 5.5 I wasn't getting a PR. 

When I started running a few years back and people would axe me my goal, I'd say "I just want to finish" - and that was true. While I calculated times in my head, the reality of the sitch was just to make it through my first 5K, Half and Full. Vertical. 

By mile 8 two days ago, that was my goal again: to finish.

I mean, I knew I would finish, but I knew it would be ugly. And it kind of was. 

Certainly this was not in the bottom half of my other half marathon times, but nothing about which to gloat. 

At mile 10.5 I did the unthinkable:  I took off my shirt. In public. In a race. Where there were cameras. And spectators. 

No one wanted to see that, least of all me. But at that point it was a survival technique. Had it not been a great shirt, I would have just tossed it, but I held onto it for the rest of the race, pouring as much water over my head as I took in my mouth - if not more.

I pseudo raw dogged it the entire race. While I had my phone and headphones, I never turned on my music - at all. As for my watch, I never looked at it to see my pace. It would either bum me out of psych me out - so I just let it calculate its shit on its own. 

There is something freeing about it all. You are way more aware of your surroundings - and there were tons os capable people out there of all ages, shapes sizes and ability. All getting it done. 

As with every after run "party", I pretty much got my water, chocolate milk and banana. I had no real desire to carry around their giveaways of protein bars and chips......though salt afterwards is highly recommended. I went for the potassium more than the sodium. 

They were passing out bags of ice, which I took and promptly put directly on my head. It was heaven. 

Then I ambled to my car, drove home and took a long cold shower. Even more heaven. 

....now I just have to worry about a full marathon in the fall, which I don't feel equipped for in the slightest. And because it's an earlier fall race, I get to start training in two weeks instead of six. Good news is, I'll get to the 20 mile mark a lot sooner than my training group. 

Look at me with a silver lining. Those antidepressants are doing their job. 

Still - a great reminder to never do a Spring time full marathon. 

*Do not call people "Schizophreniacs". They have schizophrenia. You don't call stroke survivors or cancer patients by their disease. 

Song by: Bastille

My Music Monday

For the life of me, I cannot remember who sent this my way. I want to say it was Dith, but I've looked back and have no evidence to support such a statement. 

For honestly sake, this is not about the "song", which deep down I know is what My Music Monday is all about. But this is about the video. Or videos. 

"Storm" by GENER8ION featuring.a Swedish rapper, Yung Lean, is about the visual. There's a song there, but you won't really hear the vocals. Or, I didn't. I believe your mind can only take in so much stimulus at one point and time - and with this, it's all about movement. 

Filmography, choreography, costume design all play into this - as well as the music. 

It is a video like this that gives me hope that AI could never truly replicate such a feat. The human aspect of art, hopefully, will prevail. 

The song video (the second one) is about 3:17 long. 

There is a long version too - I'm embedding both, so you don't have to go look - is over 7:30. The first 4:00 is more of a non-dialogue story leading up to the music video piece. You don't need the story to enjoy the video.  ....though it explains the blood on the shirt of Lean....for whatever that is worth. 

When I drafted this, the long video was nine days old and had 8.6 million views. A week later it is up to 11 views. The shortened video is not an official release from the artists, so those numbers are much lower. 

Still, this makes me the believe in the power of art. And it's done in 3+ minutes. Or 7, depending on which version you'd like. 

Long Version

Short Version

Doctor

Ugh - Tuesday is physical day. 

I mean, all things considered, I'm fairly healthy. Physically. Mentally is another issue, but one problem at a time. 

And 'fairly' is all relative. 

But like the trooper I am - and I am - I got my lab work done on Friday (after having to pester the doc to put in the orders) and then went about my business. 

Normally I somewhat chomp at the bit to see the results. They come back somewhat quickly and are uploaded to MyChart - then I get a text and / or email stating they are ready to view. 

This time - I got the email (no text) - I didn't look for over a full day. It was only when I was looking for something about which to write that I thought I'd gander at them. 

There are about 3 or 4 'abnormal' results, out of 71 tests run (yes, I counted)  Two of them were / are expected. No matter how much I workout my "good" cholesterol is never going to be good enough. I'm fine that my over all is fine, my bad cholesterol is better and my triglycerides are normal. 

Yeah, I have trace amounts of blood in my pee, but what are you gonna do. The doc will tell me it is normal for a runner to have that show up. He's a runner - and a doctor! - so I am sure he knows what he's talking about. 

I'm due for no shots. I won't dread getting on the scale. There might be the prostate exam, (no dinner; no movie) but other than that, I don't expect a whole lot from this visit. Though I have questions. 

You gotta believe docs abhor well informed patients. 

So, by the transitive property........................

Song by: INXS

In the Valley

Shep is better - thanks all for asking. 

But do to being homebound most of the week (him and one of us) there weren't a ton of fun pic opportunities. Each of send shots of a sleep / recuperating dog.

Yesterday was the most active day. I picked him up somewhat early and ran some errands with him, then took him to the canal for a short walk and we sat and rested in a grassy knoll. No one shot a president - unfortunately. 

He was only at daycare yesterday - so, he and I didn't have many interactions with other pooches either. 

Shame. 

Still..........Shep Shep Shep................mostly. 

Cuddling on the sofa. Those horizontal stripes aren't doing anything for me, nor is the angle. 

Pick-up. Happy Dude. Happy Dad. 

LUCY. 

A-dorable. They let me hold her, the big wigglebutt. She's a puppy and it was her first week in daycare. 

The man is just a spectacle. Others waiting for their dog marvels and his jumps. 

Don't have a name, but he / she got pets. 

After daycare pick-up we headed to the a park to sit and enjoy the day. 

I was trying to conserve his energy. 

Song by: Midnight Oil

Dancing in Limbo

Well, it actually has been a bit with a no post post. 

.....the times I forgot to write or hit publish notwithstanding. 

The Muses, or someone like them, have yet to be seen today. Or yesterday, I suppose. 

We all get the day off. 

...as for the title image: I just typed 'nothing going on' into Gooooogle and looked under 'images'. I had to scroll to find one, but this caught my eye. 

Actually, I'd have that hanging in the house if I had a version of the painting. 

Song by: Kirsty MacColl

I Fucking Hate You

Can I restate how much I hate this country?

I'm not sure there is a depth of low or hate to which these people won't descend. 

FFS, just show up to chambers clad with white hoods already. It's the only thing missing at this point. 

HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE 

This doesn't even scrapes the surface of my distain. 

There won't be a time in my life where ANY of this damage is repaired. 

Song by: G-dsmack

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 193rd 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.

04:47. Gym time. 

I almost skipped, as Shep has been under the weather and I've been sleeping with him on the sofa - in case he needs to go out immediately. I am operating on very little sleep here. 

05:41. My seat for the next 30 minutes.

Did my strength training. Now for some biking. 

06:22. Shadow of a man.

Me, about to do some stretches along the wall. 

06:34. Shower time!

06:53. Caffeine. 

I like tea, but I don't NEED tea. Today I needed the caffeine. 

09:09. Stay at home dad. 

He couldn't go to daycare, so someone had to mind the man. That was me. 

His energy levels are good. But he isn't really eating and yet he's still expelling. 

12:34.  I'm a simple man. 

13:37. Prizes!!!

Not really - just a pharma delivery. 

18:03. Dynamic warm-up. 

Last training group run of this season. 

18:49.  Fish Monger. 

Needed salmon for dinner. 

19:30. Shower #2

20:07.  I've had some movement for 21 hours in a row!

I need to go to bed. Soon. 

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!  

Normally my Shopping posts are things I've seen or happened upon. Rarely - very rarely - do I actually purchase the item. 

This is one of those rare occasions. 

710's birthday was last month and we are well beyond the point of really getting / giving gifts for things. There is too much clutter already. But for a fun gift, that we'd probably actually use, why not get him these.

Yes - Shit Bags. 

Listen, they don't say WHO is on the bag. I mean, that could be anybody! Anyone who is orange and has "blonde" "hair". Yes, those needed separate quotes.  

And while the above photo looks like they'd be a leaf bag, make no mistake, it's for your dog's pooh. 

They were conceived by some guy in Berkley, but are sold a number of places including amazon, which has this description:

Generic Dumps for Trump and World Leaders, 150 Dog Waste Bags (Donlad D), Orange 

I need to make it clear - I scrolled and scrolled but BLOTUS-like products are the only "leader" there. Well......there is a runner-up:

I'd be - well anyone would be - hard-pressed to called JD a "leader". Ditto for BLOTUS, actually. 

There is no Putin. No Kim Jung-Il. No Xi Jinping. 

I just need to load Shep up with food, have him take a big steaming dump, so I can carry it around the rest of our walk as we pass neighbors. 

We will be treated like kings!