chase

I keep picturing the scene from Reservoir dogs where Steve Buscemi is running down the busy sidewalk, only instead of a gun he's carrying a Taylor Dane tape.

Sophie shuffle

Sophie the Ipod is the best radio staion in the world in my opinon.

She just played in order;

Blue orchid-White Stripes
Many Rivers to cross-Jimmy Cliff
Street spirit (fade out)-Radiohead


Nice triple shot Sophie! Daddy loves you.

Don't cry Maria 

Chicken S

ABC has pulled 'Welcome to the neighborhood' due to criticism. The show ostensibly looks at issues of race and prejudice by asking neighbors to live with people from other social sets.

My question is this, if you feel the show truly achieves the thought provoking intent, then stand by it for eff's sake! What is wrong with a little criticism? Isn't that a way to get people talking about the show, and the very issues the show aims to confront?

Why does everyone feel like they should duck and run if there is a little criticism?

Maybe the show is shite, and does nothing so dignified as address issues, and perhaps it just plays to stereotype, I don't know I've never seen it. I just would submit that if you feel the show is worthy of airing on your network, you should stick by your guns and air it. Don't let a few critics stand between you and principal.

And the race is on

Do store employees still chase after shoplifters? I wouldn't, you're liable to get yourself shot nowadays.

Back in the day working at Hastings was like a 70's cop show. We'd chase shoplifters down the drag shouting stop thief, and once in awhile people on the street would help take a suspect down. I remember loving the chase, here I was hauling arse down a busy sidewalk and getting paid for it. Bumping violently into people as you rushed down the street...ahh yesss. It was always most cop show like in the fall when you might be wearing a jacket or sport coat, cause the 70's cop shows always seemed to be running in jackets.

It was fun because there was really nothing to lose, I mean if I don't catch him he gets to keep the Biz Markee tape, and who cares anyway. It was the thrill of the hunt.

Some suspects were just too fast, and got away. One kid was so quick it wasn't even funny, but I knew the lay of the land, so I cut through the Castilian and came right up on him only to see him pull away again.

overthinking

After doing a bit research online I stopped by the Sprint store yesterday to look at a couple of phone options. After being there for 20 minutes without being even acknowledged I left. Why is it that when you need help you can't get arrested, but if you are minding your own business every employee wants to see 'how you're doin'


Eff it, I'm totally over thinking this phone thing..no question.

They got killed on Kenny

The little Ticket got spanked on the Kenny story. ESPN had the story a full 30 minutes before the ticket. ESPN had interviewed the guy who got hit, and several witnesses, while the ticket was talking about Cowboy cheerleader uniforms.

So when they say 'breaking sports new first, guaranteed' What the eff does that mean exactly?

Actual answering machine message left at my house

'uh we need lead vocals and guitar, I've been playing drums so now I'm a drummer' -My son's 8 year old friend


Apparently my son is forming a band. Of course he plays no instruments, and has no intention of learning. What can the former lead singer of the Truth about hell possibly say about it?

My failed band even had a rehearsal space, and still couldn't play a note.

I really hope they stick with it though, because what could be funnier?

Coworkers suck

I hate many people I work with. The same people that leave food everywhere are the first to complain if they see a roach. Hey fucker stop dropping goddam chex mix on the floor, and by the way, it may be time to part with that Halloween candy dontcha think?


Sheesh.....

I personally have not seen any roaches in my office, so I'm not convinced it's a building wide problem.

Why would they tell me? Cause our department contracts all goods and services, and this unfortunately includes pest control. Terminex treats for roaches once a month, and I contend that should cover it, unless you are crumb dropping like a mofo.

There I feel better

Generic answers

I fear my interview answers are too honest and not generic enough. Maybe I should answer interview questions in the style of a pro athlete, which means you can say pretty much the same things over and over.

'well I think most definitely I mean you know.....

we just need go out and work hard, this is a team effort

We just need to up our intensity level and get the job done

Groin replacement

I can barely walk today, and I have practice again tonight. Maybe I can find a groin on eBay.

Where's my money

I marched into the bank yesterday and collected my .59 thanks for the support.

My blog is where Memes go to die it would seem.

I was rubbish at practice last night (two in a row I've been awful) so I'm calling a press conference out at Valley Ranch today to announce my retirement.

'some people ain't cut out to be a repo man, why don't you smarten up kid'-Pletchner

Who's interview is it anyway?

Have you ever been to a job interview where they did all the talking?

Well I have plenty of times, and it always ends badly. Whenever I've had a job interview where it seemed like they were selling the position to me, rather than trying to learn more about me it's ended badly.

First of all, why would you talk non-stop when you are supposed to be interviewing me? This last one I felt like I was interrupting every time I said anything. Then at the end he says 'do you have any questions for me? And I didn't, hell he'd been on a filibuster since I got there I knew everything you could hope to learn from one visit...sheeesh.

Well in these cases I always come away from the interview feeling good about it, how could you not? They just spent an hour telling you how great it is here, and how you would fit.

But something is wrong in this equation, because I never seem to get called back. Somehow I don't come across well enough in these settings, and I'm not really sure how to fix it. It seems rude to interrupt, and I am interested in learning about the company. But at some point somehow I need to shoehorn my qualifications into the conversation, and apparently I haven't done this well enough.

Who knows that group from last week may still call, but I doubt it.

Taking the war to the heat

Things that have helped me to embrace the heat.

Soccer
Handkerchiefs
Tecate with lime
Fruit
AC
Short hair
Cold water
tan skin
pools
Smoothie King
Cuban, west African, and Cape Verde music

Mostly though it's a mindset, and so far it's working.

Listening

I'm an observant person most of the time, well as it pertains to strangers anyway. If a neighbor gets a new car, or doesn't pick up their paper for week I notice. Some might call me nosey, but I prefer observant. I'm always eavesdropping, again I prefer the term observant thank you.

While in line at the store I hear the strangest things. Cell phones have zapped people of their self-edit, and ability to feel shame or embarrassment. They either don't care how Springer they sound, or (and this is worse) they feel like a superstar.

'Tell him he better not fuckin' plan on drinking the whole time'

My ears perk as the woman in front of me with her teen son is talking loudly on the phone. Okay I may be a nosey effer, but you can't tell me you wouldn't listen and think how delicious that was as well.

'I'm just saying I'm not comin' over there if he's gonna be fuckin' drinkin, I'm not doing that'

I watch the kid for some sign of shock, and instead I'm shocked because the kid looks bored like he's heard this before..maybe even earlier that day. This saddens me somewhat.

'Last time he was so drunk, and acting like an asshole the whole time'

Sadly our time together ended as she paid and left. I'll never know who the drunk was, where there was, or how long the whole time would be. Really the only thing I knew for sure was he better not be drinking.

You're hired

We get some funny resumes, and I'm sure every company does. One had a list of the guys martial arts expertise, that included some odd usage of quotes.

Actual expert;

I had to "neutralize" some "punks"

Once back in my Hastings days we got an application that was all very serious looking but at the very end under other qualifications he had written 'seen some shit'

I'll never forget that, I often wonder if he meant he'd been through a lot in life, or had been a plumber. It has kind of a sad ring to it like a Vietnam vet might say 'seen some shit' in an effort to spare you the horrific details lest you lose your faith in humanity.

Now many years and disappointments later, I could rightly include 'seen some shit' on my resume too.

Hate to dwell

but.....

If you had told me six months ago that Bush would come on television on 6-28-05 and mention 9/11 five times in his speech, why?


Oh that's easy he's addressing the nation after we caught Osama Bin Laden. There would be little reason to bring it up five times when talking about Iraq..unless you want to give everyone warm fuzzies about the war, and distract them from the fact that WMD were the reason cited, and they weren't there.

First it was WMD and a clear and present danger

Next came 'well Saddam was a really bad guy'

Maybe phase 3 is to try and get us to see all Arabs as the same, easy enough since plenty of people already think that way.

I'll remind you that Arab Americans fought for this country in World War freaking two!


I'm not someone who thinks Bush lied, but I do think he was wrong on this one. Also I think he may have influenced some of the conclusions drawn. Isn't there a term for influencing your science experiment to a desired outcome either consciously or unconsciously? Maybe K.H. can help me on that one.

Sharks

All this talk of taking the fight to the terrorists sounds great, but isn't that simple. Iraq is not where the 9/11 terrorists came from.

But my real question is will we take the fight to the sharks? At least we know where they are.

9/11

9/11 We must stay the course 9/11, did I mention 9/11

Payback for 9/11 right? something we can all agree upon...who's with me?

We're going streaking through the quad and into the gymnasium....


That was sad last night.

Jazz and conversation from the foot of mount Belzoni

I found out some of the kids on my soccer team dig Coltrane and Davis..go figure.

I was happy to hear that it's not all Slipknot these days (not that there's anything wrong with that..just sayin')

I got to thinking do we seek Coltrane and Miles Davis because they are timeless icons of cool, and later discover how good they are? Is it possible to do it the other way in the modern world? You are far more likely to see a cool black and white photo of one of these icons in a dorm room or indie shop, before you hear their music. Fortunately the music holds up, so what if a postcard led you to it.

I got a little freaked out when I learned one of my teammates was born in 1986! But somehow Coltrane and Miles Davis make the time and the distance seem smaller.

Saturday night

FC Dallas will host SJ, and it is the last game at the...erm historic Cotton Bowl, and the last game at home for a month.

As always you are encouraged to come out and have brat and beer at the tailgate, and dig the scene.

Nobody likes a smart ass

So my little plan to leave .01 in my 10 year old Bank One account hit a bit of a snag. It seems Bank one accidentally returned the check. I contacted Bank One, and they fully admit wrong-doing, and will cheerfully refund the $5 returned item fee my new bank charged, and free up my .59 as well. Here's the problem, now that they've admitted it's their fault,and they've offered to pay it back, I no longer feel it's worth my time to go over there and get it resolved.

" I can see you have written a check for .58, but the account actually has .59 in it"

I would then either have to claim it was a mistake (a lie) or admit to being a smartass, and nobody likes a smartass.

I think I will stop by on my way home, even though it's only $5.59, it's my 5.59 by God.

Pimpin' ain't easy

All the phones I like are $500-600, damn charge that to the game.

Juke joint

In the sixth grade we had a juke box in the school lunchroom. I remember hearing all the hits from the time over a square piece of pizza and corn.

Exile Kiss you all over
Bee Gees Tragedy
A taste of honey Boogie oogie oogie

But my favortie was Soul man as performed by the Blues Brothers. Me and Kent Taylor would sing along, and cement our reputation as dorks.

Crash

My computer at home is fried. I get the 'opertaing system not found' message.

Dangit, all my napster and Kaazaa songs lost so it seems.


Drat, time to upgrade anyhoo.

Hello Again

Apart from on the phone, do you ever say the word Hello? I'm pretty sure I don't.

In fact I don't say bubye or bye bye anywhere but the phone, for good reason I might add.

How is that certain word are only being used on the phone?


Speaking of phones, nowadays when I'm in public talking to myself, people assume I'm on a phone, and not crazy.

Where's Waldo? I'm actually in this pic 

Meme

The Meme: What five things do you miss about your childhood?Rule #1: Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place. Add your blog's name in the #5 spot. Link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross pollination effect.

1. It's the End Of The World As We Know It
2. More Than My Luggage
3. Welcome to My Truth
4. The Angel’s Cloud
5. http://www.robert_minter.blogspot.com/

Rule #2: Select new friends to add to the pollen count.
1. http://whitneydonkey.blogspot.com/
2.http://megzilla.blogspot.com/
3.http://sa-eric.blogspot.com/
4.http://johnclarke.blogspot.com/
5.http://housepants.blogspot.com/


Here we go;


Eating lime otter pops and swimming for hours at a time in L.A.


Playing baseball all day everyday with kids from the neighborhood.


Playing Star Castle at 7-11 til curfew.


Buying into the whole Santa thing.

Don't give a

I just overheard someone say 'I don't give a rat's ass'

People are quick to tell you when the don't give a flying f***, or a rats ass, but what would you give a rat's ass for?


'I find that topic of some interest, and in exchange for more information I'd like to offer this flying f***.

Not sure what a flying f*** is, but I suspect it requires a running start.

Correct

No one missed the Tony Orlando question, I can count on pills readers to know their Tony Orlando and Dawn.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Green fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land,
Here at our sea-washed, sunset- gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome, her mild eyes command
The air-bidged harbor that twin-cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she,
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddles masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore;
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" -Emma Lazarus

Supremely puzzled

This Supreme court decision is really bothering me. The operative word is private. While working for the Town of Addison I had the opportunity to deal with eminent domain issues first hand, and while you certainly empathize with anyone who is effected, it's a necessary power to have. You cannot have one guy holding the tax payers hostage.

But in the case of private development I simply don't get it. It goes against the capitalist way of doing things. If a private venture wants Grandpa's farm they will need to pay Grandpa's price, or build elsewhere..simple enough you'd think.

I wonder under what circumstances this power will be used, and what criteria must be met. We can only hope there is sufficient devil in the details, cause on the surface it stinks.

pick one, but only one

if you could see only one episode of each show from your childhood which ones would you choose?


Quincy-the punk rocker episode "i dig pain, it's the feeling in my brain'

Happy Days (this one is harder) 'go home jailbirds featuring Suzi Quatro as Leather Tuscadero, or Potsey sings 'put your head on my shoulder' or wasn't there one where Richie was cool, and Fonze was square?

A -Team-erm...all A-Teams were the same

Love Boat-two words Adrianne Barbo

Fantasy Island-See Love Boat

Dukes of Hazzard-erm see A-team

Differn't strokes- Arnold fights the Gooch, or finds a gun

Three's company-'Chrissy's gonna have a baby'

Good Times-Easy, the one where the dad dies. It was so powerful to my young eyes, that I thought that actor was dead for years, until coming to America anyway.

you?

Kansas lyric or Yoda quote?

1.Always in motion is the future

2.And all your money won't another minute buy

3.Always two there are, no more, no less: a master and an apprentice

4.There is no try, do or do not

5.Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man

6.And if I claim to be a wise man, It surely means that I don't know

7.Centuries of backward ways, have many left behind us

8.While everyone clamors For the justice they seek The word is corrupted And the strong take the weak

Move out!!

Ya'll gotta move on outta here, yessir...big Wal-Mart is a commin' in!!


This country has lost the plot.

Training day

Flanders is training the new guy, and they look like Laurel and Hardy. They do this thing where they come marching down the hall with the company credit card statement like it's a smoking gun.

'What is Quark? They asked as if it were an obscure porn site in the Philippines

'Uh, ask Dave in IT, it's a software upgrade'

'oh so it's a marketing expense' said in the same tone you would say ah-ha

'yeah, guess so'

Another audit survived.

Is this right? seems so wrong

The Supreme Court today ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses for private economic development.

Anglophile

David brought his family over from Liverpool, and his son's first response was to proclaim Super Target 'the best shop I've ever been in, me whole life'

They couldn't believe it's still 97 degrees at sundown, and they thought it was a bit cold in Chili's.

Welcome to Texas ya'll.

Thursday

We were challenged by Chivas supporters last night, they were loud and rowdy to say the least. We had to step it up a notch. The good thing about having opposing supporters singing, is you can direct songs at one another.

You're not singing now

If you're in first place clap you hands clap clap
if you're in last place clap your hands silence

The game itself was tough, FDC is still down several starters include it's top three goal scorers. So last night's winner came from Abe Thompson who was at the watching party with us just a few weeks ago. Abe is a young player, and could be quite good, but for now he's third string. So when your third string striker gets the winner, it's a good day.


This morning instead of sleeping off a drunk, I was at another office for an interview. See I told you was gonna get proactive. The best part about this new place is the fact that it's five minutes from my house. I don't know if we will do a deal or not, there is still much to consider, but the interview went well overall.

Samba

Tonight's post game samba is just begging for the Steve Martin dance from the movie 'the Jerk'


By the way do you samba with a partner?

A.M. Gold 2

The only thing I know enough about to quiz people on is old useless music trivia. Behold the new A.M. gold quiz part 2, more Leo Sayer questions, by request.

New Wave part 2 will be coming soon

that's Dave aka Moby far right 

Game day

Tonight is the Chivas game, and I'm so looking forward to it. We won't have the numbers we had on Saturday, and Kelly, Dave, Jen, and Stuart are not coming so it can't be as much fun.

We will do our best, and I'll sing 'you'll never beat Scott Garlick' extra loud for you Kelly.

My job is really getting to me these days, we are not paying any of our suppliers until July, so the whole world is pissed at us. One of the big wigs actually suggested we hold off on paying people's child support until July. I was kinda hoping they would try that one, then I could sit back and watch the fireworks as they got sued real hard.

What am I doing about it? uh..... looking for a job pretty much.


We'll see if anything comes of it.



I did my first batch of online bill pay last night. O M G it's so much easier and quicker than writing an effing check!!!!

Why didn't ya'll young folks tell me this sooner? What's next? I fell so out of step with the times. Is the dual prop DC9 still the best way to fly to Idlewild? We never had horseless carriages and we liked it!

Go FCD, Go Spurs, Go me!

Super super hoops

Must get my voice back for Wednesday night.

Wed night Chivas

FC Dallas are back at it again on Wednesday night (6-22) This will be the next to last game at the Cotton bowl.

As always you readers are encouraged to roll up and join in the festivities.

creatures of the night 

Poor Tommy

Let me tell you a story of a poor boy
Who was sent far away from his home
To fight for his king and his country
And also the old folks back home

Well they put him in a higher division
Sent him off to a far foreign land
Where the flies swarm around in their thousands
And there’s nothing to see but there sand,

Well the battle it started next morning
Under the Arabian sun
I remember the poor scouser Tommy
He was shoot by an old Nazi gun.

As he lay on the battle field dying (dyin dyin)
With the blood rushin out of his head,
As he lay on the battle field dying (dyin dyin)

These were the last words he said


Oooooh I am a liverpudlian
I come from the Spion Kop
I love too sing
I love too shout
I come here quite a lot (every week)
Support the team that plays in red
The champions of them all
A team that you know LIVERPOOL
The greatest of them all

We’ve won the league
We’ve won the cup
We’ve been to Europe too
We’ve played the toffees for a laugh
And beat them five nil,
1,2,123, 1234, 5 nil.

dance party 

post game samba 

there we are, working it 

yeah 

Fug!

Is it possible to be gone one day from work, without being burried alive the next day?


Downsizing sucks! I must do a lot of work in a day, cuase it sure piles up.

Eff me!

Juror # 23

Monday sent me to jury duty up in McKinney. Pretty much everyone who works up there has a heavy Texas accent. Before I rant about how stupid everyone was, I must first shine the light on my own gaff. I had gone to jury duty before, so I knew where the McKinney courthouse was, and even where to park for the best access. So without looking at the map they mailed me, I drove up to where I'd always gone before. I walk up hand the clerk my summons and;


'Okay this is the wrong color, we gave you a map'
She holds up the map that clearly directs me to McKinney's other courthouse.

I said nothing, what could I say? The fact is I made assumptions that were wrong, and I didn't feel like explaining my misguided thought process (or lack there of) I was early and the correct building is only blocks away so we are in no danger of being arrested yet.

Arriving at the correct courthouse with only a couple minutes to spare I was relieved to hand in my sheet on time. You come in and there are a sea of chairs all facing two tvs that play CNN. (given this is Texas, I'm surprised it wasn't on Fox news) Well since it's getting a bit late, most of the chairs look full to me. So I decide to stand with about five other people who chose not to brave the crowded seats.


'Okay we can't have people standing in here -bitched the self important clerk

'Everyone needs to be in a seat'

So I squeezed down a row, and sat next to a cartoonish little man. The seats are tiny, and totally violate my personal space issues.

Everyone who addresses you in these settings is so effing self-important, they bigtime you at every turn.


'Good Morning, my name is Melinda, and I'm the blah blah blah here in McKinney

At this point the phone rings, and she has to stop to go answer it. It was at this point that I learned the little man next to me had a high squeaky voice.

'you'd think they'd have someone available to answer the phone'- he squeaked

She came back and finishes her little speech which meant nothing to anyone. Then she says "I'm gonna turn the TV back on while I go do my computer work'

'Computer work? squeaked the man
I kinda giggled at that as well.

Next we get a judge telling us about exemption options (this is annoying because most of them appear on your questionnaire, and if you want to opt out do it then, not on our time) he continues;

'Thank you for being here, we realize it's compulsory, but we do appreciate you being here, in Collin county over 90% of people show up. You can be sure that those who do not will have consequences'

Just by chance at this moment I looked at two bailiffs standing by the door, and I see them rolling their eyes like 'yeah right' This made me feel like maybe I should've skipped out.


The self important clerk returns to tell us that this week is very busy and indeed involves double docket and extra judges brought in to help, so our chances of being sent home are slim. She then explains that she needs to find a certain bailiff before we can continue.

'I can't believe they don't know where anyone is' said the man

By this time it's getting pretty hot in the waiting room.

'Can't they turn up the ac-wondered the little man


Bailiffs begin calling names out to take you to various courts, and not getting called seems to be the best thing that can happen.
I survive the first few calls, but then finally a bailiff calls my name, well sort of anyway.

'Robert Mit-ner'

Okay many of you would correct him right away, and you would be right to do so, but I prefer for whatever reason to lay low, plus I was half thinking I could use it as a loophole to be let go.

He gets us in the hall, and asks us to stand around a wait ten minutes. When he returns, 20 minutes later he has to call roll again to ensure no one has walked off.

'Robert Mit-ner?
Erm here

We are escorted down the hall to the courtroom we will serve in, and asked once again to wait around in the hall. He returns a few minutes later and;

Robert Mit-ner
Here!

Three times! WFT? at this point I'm thinking about busting his balls, but he's armed.

'dude has it ever snowed in Texas in the Wit-ner? No it hasn't it snows in the WINTER sometimes though doesn't it?

Once in the court room we are given a long explanation of our responsibilities as jurors etc. But pretty early on they explain that they only need six jurors, and they will start with 1, so being 23 of 24 meant I had virtually no chance of getting selected. Me and miss 24 were just biding our time, hoping against hope to get sent home before we break for lunch. The weird thing is the defendant who is accused of beating his wife, and then interfering with her attempt to call 911 is having to sit there awkwardly through this whole proceeding. And all 24 of us are looking at him trying to size him up. I'm imagining him in a wife beater shirt, and a mullet, drunk and smelling like stale cigarettes.

The attorneys are asking us 'hypothetical' questions about if you can be injured without having a bruise or mark.

At one point the prosecutor asked a hypothetical that sounded ridiculous until the answers started.

The question was 'if I pinched someone, and the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that I had done it, and the victim testified that I pinched him, and you believed his testimony what would you find?

Objection! That is too similar to the actual case
Overruled

So each potential juror answers;

Guilty
Guilty
Well given what you've described I would have to find guilty
guilty
guilty
not guilty

huh? Why not?

'Well how bad could a pinch hurt?


Oh now I see why they ask a seemingly silly question, because you need to identify who in this group thinks like that. WTF?

I started thinking if attorneys deal with this crap everyday, we can forgive them if they get a bit arrogant. I mean you'd feel superior too, if everyday you dealt with your 'peers' and they were this bad.

It's already 1:15, and were still here, please don't let them take an hour and a half lunch break with us still here.

Thankfully the strike lists were completed and we were sent home by 1:30.

Off the hook for 3 years now woo hoo Mit-ner is free.

Great weekend

Saturday morning, I went and took my money out of Compass Bank, and don't worry I'll be leaving a few pennies for future consideration. I thought about opening with a quote from Casino.

'I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance tomorrow morning ill get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank and... walk in and see and uh... if you don't have my money for me, I'll... crack your fuckin' head wide-open in front of everybody in the bank. And just about the time that I'm comin' out of jail, hopefully, you'll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I'll split your fuckin' head open again. 'Cause I'm fuckin' stupid. I don't give a fuck about jail. That's my business. That's what I do. -Nicky Santoro

Then I remembered how I would hate it when my mom would bitch about the price of peas to the cashier at the grocery store, so I skipped the theatrics. The teller's got nothing to do with it, and we all know that.

Saturday was great! In spite of being short handed FC Dallas beat LA to hold on to the top spot in the west, and the best record in the MLS. Special guests were on hand for the proceedings, including Kelly, David, and Stuart. We all had good sweaty fun.

Monday I have effing jury duty, so there won't be much bloggin'

If I make it to the interview stage, I've been thinking of ways to not get picked. Maybe something like 'I don't care how much time a mutha's gotta serve, that's his fault for getting caught, but you'll never take me alive'

More later.

Father's day

Displays of affection and all good intentions
why don't you just send me the bill-Wilco


This will be the first Father's day since my Grandfather passed away. And since I lost my dad years ago, that leaves.... well nobody really.

I've tried to be a good father to my son, and I think for the most part I've been successful, but I don't need a Hallmark day.

My father-in -law is a good man, but it's not quite the same.

So yeah, it may be a bit strange.

hurry 

Getting there 

Party time

I just found out my friend David, and his buddy Stuart are coming to the game on Saturday. It will be good to have a couple proper Englishmen out for a match.

In my admittedly small circle of friends, this soccer thing is really catching on.

Yes I will sweat my ass off, I accept this fact.

Go Hoops!

Critters

One thing I like about my neighborhood is the abundance of wildlife. Last night while biking I saw;

A bunny
Two red birds
many turtles
Loads of ducks and baby ducks
Horses

I like seeing critters in my area. Once in a while you will see snakes, there are these tiny little ones that are pretty cute.

yay green belt!

Freaky Friday

I'm so excited I can barely cope
I'm sizzling like an isotope
I'm on fire so cut me some slack-Steely Dan

Busy weekend planned, oh yes.

Saturday starts early with the U.S. men's Under 20 playing at 6:30 on Fox sports world. A quick trip to Compass Bank to remove all my money. (may leave a few pennies) Followed by a 10:00 soccer practice. About 3 or 4 I will start the pregame prep for Landy Cakes, sister act and the rest of the LA Gals Saturday night.

Sunday taking my father-in-law to lunch, and collecting gifts from my kiddo (no doubt they will involve macaroni glued to construction paper)

After lunch taking the kiddo to see Batman. Somewhere along the way I need to mix in two trips to the gym, and it's all good.

Ipod stuff

Okay so the next two JBL on Stage thingies sold for 80.90, and 71.00. That's a real steal, if you own an IPod and have been thinking of getting JBL on stage, this is the way to go.

Direct from the factory, warrantied, and returnable at less than half price.

Just sayin'....

logo 

The great Lamar Hunt quoting Dennis Miller 'Fuck it, who wants pie' 

Pizza Hut Park

Yep, maybe we should change our name to the pies. I'm actually kinda pleased, the logo isn't terrible, and has a soccer field on it. If you accept that corporate sponsorship is a necessary evil, then you must be thankful for a local forward thinking company that is willing to erm fork over.

Thank you Pizza Hut.

Thursday

The name's Thursby, Floyd Thursby.


Songs stuck on repeat today;

Every planet we reach is dead-Gorillaz

Video-Aimee Mann

Talk-Coldplay

The importance of being idle-Oasis

I now understand why groin injuries are so difficult. Last night I stretched for a long time, and felt fine to start. Five minutes in, you lunge for a ball and hello groin pull is back. You can play through it but it's nagging. The way to get it to go away is to sit for a number of weeks, and I won't do that. I've been officially asked to play for the over 30 men's, and coed teams. Last night was fun, my low key approach seemed to help my fitness level and reduce the amount of new injuries. On the few occasions when I went forward good things were happening. I got the best pass from Rashaad that found my foot right in front of goal (no I didn't miss) and I was able to return the favor a few minutes later. There was a lot of bunching up again, this is frustrating, but I can't get bent about it.


Today my Thoughts are with Kelly, who is without power. Some kind of rolling blackout thing I'm told. Hang in there, and here's hoping you get your lights back on soon.

Dear Prudence

Once again women to the rescue. Now you can see my ugly mug all over this place. Now if I could just take a decent pic.

I don't think the readers understand how difficult it is to teach me anything technical. To paraphrase the late great Bill Hicks, I look at you like 'a dog who's been shown a card trick'

Elizabeth you are amazing.

Bloggers under fire

Some bloggers have been fired from their jobs over content posted on blogs. I would submit that unless specific confidentiality terms are broken, this is a free speech issue. Just to show I'm not afraid, I'd like to recap.

The company I work for is called Clocky's house of crack, we are a division of the East side hustlaz corp. My direct supervisor is Hambone, and our accountant is Flanders. Now bring it on!

no words

'that's how I knew this story would break my heart'-Aimee Mann


I went to bed at 8:30 last night, and today I'm so tired. A lot is weighing n me right now, and I make for some pretty poor company.

I keep thinking it will get better. It will, won't it?

At practice tonight I'm gonna play D, I'm tired of wearing myself out making plays on the wing. Tonight I'm gonna focus on delivering long balls to the wings and forwards. This should make my groin easier to deal with.

Aruba

I don't know if race was a factor in the Aruba arrests or not, but I do know tourism was. In a place like Aruba, reassurance is paramount, lest the revenues be effected. So they round up the usual suspects, and make sure all potential tourists know arrests have been made.


I have no doubt they continue to search for the real perpetrators, but I get the feeling the swift arrests are more for show than anything else.

It's funny no one blogged much about Jacko. Guess we are all tired of it, and we weren't in the court room or the bedroom so what do we really know?

Pray

Pray you never get labeled an 'enemy combatant' this charge alone carries a life sentence if Shelley has her way. I listened to Shelley the Republican's latest podcast, and I was shocked.

I know she's a Christian, and a Muslim hater, but shouldn't we be setting an example of fair and just treatment? Can we really just lock up anyone we don't like without proof, or even charging them?

I'm sure most of the prisoners should be there, hell maybe even all of them, but does this justify what we are doing?

I try

To offer love and support, but I know I can be really miserable. I used to be kind of a hermit for this very reason.

Happy Birthday Megzilla

Happy 26th to the person without whom I wouldn't know from blogging. You could argue I should've done more with this forum, but I'm so thankful to have it.

Happy birthday Megan..YNWA

Go Nationals!

Who's the big winner here today

Mikey! Mikey's the big winner.-Swingers


I won my Ebay auction. I love bidding on items that are not one of a kind, then you can play hardball. Harman has be selling the on stage from JBL Ipod dock thingy. I want one bad, but they retail for effing $160! Well the ones on Ebay are remanufactured, but come factory direct with warranty, and they ARE returnable. They sell about two per day it seems. So each time one comes up I see where the price is going and decide if I'm in or out. Well one sold Monday night for $91.01, and one sold yesterday afternoon for $96.52. Last night I bid $81.00 and won, so what's up.

Let's compare;
local retail $173.19 including tax
Ebay $86.00 including shipping


Sweet.

I feel if I'd been more patient, I could get one even cheaper, but you'd have to willing to watch each one for a few days, or weeks.

Fighting fit

I can´t take it
Too much time´s been wasted
So come and get my plateful
I am fighting fit and able-Gene

I'm so angry at Compass Bank, I want to put rattlesnakes in the night drop, and scorpions in the vacuum canisters.

Look for my busking debut on Greenville ave this weekend. Okay technically it isn't a debut, me and Kevin busked on 6th street in Austin once. We performed R.E.M.'s Driver 8 about ten times and 'earned' like 20 bucks. We were awful, but a strange thing happens. These pimp guys who are trying to impress their silicone dates would throw down like a fiver (generous by any measure) to try and look swank. Meanwhile we were rubbish, and basically a charity case. Now I totally understand the cats that sell roses in these places. Dorks try and look suave, and drop a lot of cash.


Who overloads a truck more, Carpet guys, or HVAC guys? I bet these cats are great at Jenga.


I'm willing to pay a few bucks for someone to scan all my embarrassing pics and make them into JPEGs so I can post them here and we can laugh. some are on loan from Tara's bowl o' pics, and the late fees are stacking up.

Netflix-Shock Corridor
Music-the piano intro to year of the cat

Advertising

My older sister and I were heavily influenced by advertising, and not just the kid's stuff.

We used to beg for that bread, I think it was called Buttercrust's split top bread. The commercial showed molten butter being poured over the unbaked loaf. Aunt Jemama had to have the best syrup, I mean she moves and talks. I begged for a flavored peanut butter called Koogle. We just had to go to Jack in the box for some Frings. Gee, your hair smells terrific.

The bread tasted like bread.
The syrup tasted like syrup with fake butter taste.
The Koogle tasted like a candle
Frings were fires and onion rings in the same package.
Gee, my hair smelled ok

We were suckers, and mom was right.

I would wonder if Snap Krackle and Pop hated the Keebler crowd. Were they cast out of the Keebler tree at some point? Were they rivals? Did they have prank wars, or gang violence. Maybe they didn't exist in the same shire.

For sale

The naming rights to this blog are up for sale. Raise brand awareness, and inspire brand loyalty by being exposed to tens of hits per day. Create 'street cred' by tying your name to this forward thinking blog.

No reasonable offer will be refused. Porn ok.

Aces high

As expected John aced the new wave quiz. And Elizabeth aced the Am gold test which floors me. E, you didn't cheat did you?

I'm impressed.

Live via satellite

David just came running over here with his phone blasting U2 live from Manchester, 'Vertigo' specifically. Of course it sounded like rubbish, and I mostly heard his sister singing, but otherwise it was like being there.

Boom goes the dynamite

I wonder if my check from ESPN will ever show up. I mean it's not exactly a lot of money, and I realize I didn't host Sportscenter, but still.

My new bank has yet to see any evidence that I'm not a vagrant, and I was hoping to name drop.

Ebay rules

It's good to wait until about 5 minutes from the end. Bidding 7 days ahead is not a benefit, and only raises the price.

Curses! photoshopped again

I'm pleased and somewhat embarrassed to report the pizza hut roof is fake.

whew!

It was sent to me by a reputable source, and I'm a sucker

There's little to connect us

I realize some of you could lose me with just a few clicks. I used to read a blog written by a young woman in Australia, but she stopped blogging, and now she's gone. I clicked an old link and it leads nowhere.

Aurelia was fighting some tough medical battles, and I just hope she's okay.

Aurelia where did you go?

Extolling women

The book I'm reading is by a female author, the cd I'm listening to is by a female (Aimee Mann) Lately my song lyric quotes have been mostly female. My links are female intensive. In fact, this blog only exists because of women. Women taught me what a blog was, and how to put links on it.

I wonder what that says about me?

I can still be quite mannish however.

US men's under 20 team

There is reason to be excited about these kids. After their thrilling win over Argentina on Sunday, they are set to take on Germany today.


The kids are alright.

Naming rights

Mile high is Mile high, I refuse to call any old ballparks by their sponsor names. But what of the new parks that have never had a name that wasn't a sponsor? It get tricky when it's named from jump.


Well along comes the tragic news that Pizza hut is the named sponsor of the lovely new FC Dallas stadium. And if that weren't bad enough, they are putting a huge red Pizza Hut roof over one end.

Selling the name is one thing, and I understand when you hope to draw 10K per game you must find revenue from somewhere, but the roof thing is too much.

This is a sad day.

Tools and talent

I don't have the ability to post a pic on my profile. How do ya'll do it?

I'm just a caveman, and I don't understand your technology.

Tue

Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time
there's something wrong her there can be no denying
one of us is changing or maybe we just stopped trying-Carole King


Sophie is ever the prankster, this am on Shuffle she tried to play PYT, but I skipped it.

I'm not in the mood to rant about Jacko. I'll just say that I feel sorry for any kid who gets caught between gold digging parents and weird pop stars.

The song of the moment for me is 'no easy love' by Annie. It's total Europop, with slick Chicy guitars, and a nice grove. It sounds like bubblegum in the summer, but in a good way.

H.R. tells me that they can't get my direct deposit changed for a month. This week is too late, next time will be a real check and then the middle of next month it will finally happen. I know this is pretty standard, but I must say a few words. In my department we move mountains in a month. We deal with Chinese suppliers who are asleep when we are working, and working while we sleep, yet in a month's time we can accomplish a tremendous amount. Therefore I cannot understand why a simple local paperwork change is a month long process. It's simple really, the company's profit is not effected by payroll changes so there is no priority. If needed it could be done in an hour, we all know this.

Happiness is 50 T-Bone Walker songs in your Ipod

Mellow Doubt by Teenage Fanclub

It gives me pain, when I think of you
And the things together that we'll never do
At first it's code, and then it's hot
Tried to be someone that I know I'm not

I'm in trouble, and I know it
How I'm feeling, I can't show it
But these feelings, don't go away

I remember you, lines on your face.
Sharing a moment in the perfect place.
I'm deep in your eyes, and inside your head.
And I try to reach you, when I'm in my bed.

I'm in trouble, and I know it
How I'm feeling, I can't show it
But these feelings, don't go away

[Whistling solo]

There is no choice, in what I must do.
Nothing is greater than to be with you.

I'm in trouble, and I know it
How I'm feeling, I can't show it
But these feelings, don't go away

Strangely

I'm an over-analyzer or most things. I will replay conversations over and over in my head. Many years ago after our first date, a woman said that she 'found me attractive and easy to talk to..strangely' I didn't hear attractive or easy to talk to, I just heard strangely. Pretty much for the next week the word on my mind was strangely. What did that mean? She expected not to like me? I'm not easy to talk to, but she fought through it? Strangely WTF?

So yeah, maybe pills will help.

Stave off the inevitable

'how old are you? asked the 19 year old kid when he saw my driver's license. (he asked it in a tone that suggested most people my age should be dead)

'wow, you've really kept yourself up well' (in a tone that suggested I was beating massive odds)

All I wanted to do was open a new checking account, and now I'm effing Jack LaLanne.

I should be flattered and in a way I am, but I'd like to think I look good period, not I look good.......for a corpse.

Stuck in my head but good

Bokkie-Elefant (thanks M)

Light headed

My hair is fine, and light in colour, and no matter what product I use I get problems. Wax, pomade, gel, stiffener, freeze, sprays, mousse, you name it, the end result is greasy looking or a plastic look. So today I went with nothing, and it feels great and (so far anyway) looks okay.

After my rant about products selling the dream, I went out this weekend and bought things with 'whitening' in the title.

Talk

I get the feeling 'talk' from the new Coldplay album is going to be massive.

The big payback and the .58 check

If I get crappy service somewhere I like to take action, and when all else fails I go for revenge.

Eight years ago I got crappy service from Bank One, so I changed banks. But I was so pissed with Bank One I wanted revenge. What do to? I'm not really a brick through the window, or spray paint kind of guy. So I decide to take my revenge in tiny administrative costs. I left .59 in my account and never closed it. So for eight years Bank one has been sending me monthly statements for my .59, as well as privacy policy changes etc. In my mind the cost of mailing my statement each month (however miniscule) was some measure of payback. Well I've grown bored of the .59 statement, so on Saturday I wrote a check on that account for .58 and deposited it in my new account. This leaves a balance of .01, let's see if they send me statements for eight years on this one.

Come to think of it Compass should suffer the same sorry fate.

I realize service at all banks is crappy, and yes I will run out of banks someday. But look at the bright side, when I run out of new banks, I can return to the old ones where I'll already have accounts open and ready to go.

I can be a petty holder of grudges

It's all over now

This weekend brought a few cha cha changes to my scene. I'm no longer a Compass Bank customer, and I wouldn't recommend them for a list of reasons. I no longer carry a checkbook, or plan to ever write another check again.

How long of a winning streak can FC Dallas have on the road without their stars? Well it ended at three. Last night the guys looked like a team that had been on the road for a month, and didn't have it's stars.

It was a total trap game, you are road weary, and short handed going into a hostile environment to play a team you already beat this year. So yeah it was rough.

We have to go another week or two without Eddie Johnson, and we will be waiting for word on Ruiz's injury status as well. No time to lick wounds though, the battle for first place is this Saturday night at the Cotton bowl. A huge tailgate is planned, and I should have a couple extra tickets if you wanna come hate on the LA Gals with us.

Coach Collin Clarke has a tall order this week. Get ready for the best team in the west without your two top scorers. Yikes!

Apart from breaking up with my bank, and loading 1400 more songs into Sophie's list, I did fuck all this weekend. I skipped the company picnic, which no doubt cost me blog opportunities. I managed to embrace the heat once again. Once again I read the DMN and NYT in the backyard in the heat and sun.

In order to prove his opponent was no tomato can, Tyson went ahead an lost on Saturday. Can we please be done with him now?


It's funny the Mavericks think they are close to the level of the Spurs, and maybe they are, but I don't see it. Eff Cuban anyway.


New Pernice brothers cd this week, which makes me happy.

Casting call

Is it a great idea to cast sexy Jessica Alba as the invisible woman?

If you don't know me by now

Grading these papers is a hoot. Some of you fell for my fake answers. The sibling question should be thrown out, since I never blog about my sisters, so I'm giving you all 10 points back.

Thanks for playing along, it's quite entertaining for me.

I feel like the alien that observes captain Kirk, and says 'excellent' no matter what Kirk does.

I get the feeling John will ace the new wave one.

Big dumb stupid new wave quiz

I like making dumb quizzes, this one has questions that have nothing to do with me personally.

The antidote

As the Lama Surya Das is fond of saying;

'Nothing is missing'

Simple and often effective.

Checkbook talk

I still carry a checkbook everyday like it's 1984. I only write 2-3 checks per month, and they are bills. In fact I'm soon going to pay 100% of my bills online. So why on earth do I carry a freaking checkbook in my pocket? Once in a blue moon I will cash a check at the grocery store, as opposed to paying an ATM fee, but that hardly justifies carrying it everyday.

Maybe it's like a security blanket. I can write a hot check to cover any eventuality. Dunno, this weekend calls for big changes in the area of personal effects.

I steal everything

What I need is
A good defense
'Cause I'm feelin'
Like a criminal
And I need
To be redeemed-Fiona Apple

Everything I blog is stolen is some way, oh I mean it's not plagiarized or even rephrased, but the inspiration is always lifted. Eric mentions a money clip and I'm off on a wallet rant. I've had to stop reading John's blog before I write in the morning, because I was nicking too many of his ideas.

I would hope that these words are my own, but the inspiration is always straight up hot.


There's a guy who works for this company who's always selling stuff on the side. We know it's hot, but it sort of goes without saying. It's a don't ask don't tell situation. He never states the origin of the goods, instead he says "I came into some ________.

So I guess you could say I came into some blog ideas.

Wallet talk

If I say my Ipod is half full, am I being optimistic or pessimistic?



I hate wallets, I said it. I look for the same thing in a wallet I do in a phone. (well one thing anyway)

Size effing matters, I want the smallest wallet ever made, but I need all my essentials in there, and that's the trouble.

What is essential? Cash? I never have that. When I do have cash it's in my front pocket.

Debit card
Credit card
Cash
DL

What else really? That should do it right? I mean you are not supposed to carry your ss card anymore to help reduce I.D. theft.

So why is it that every wallet I've ever carried has been the size of a phone book after a few months?


Well I left out a few things;

Gym card
Insurance cards
AAA card
Proof of insurance for your auto (this I recommend, since the one in your glove box won't always be current or handy)
Frequent flyer card for every sandwich shop in Texas
Cards for the barber, the smoothie shop, the Calvin Klein store, the Shoe Warehouse, the video stores, the big box retailer..it never ends.


The sick thing is I collect stamps, punches, and points for what? With the exception of Smoothie King, I don't remember ever cashing in on any of these offers. I've got Subway stamps in the car, in my desk at work, on my laptop at home, there freaking everywhere! Yet I've never had the card, and enough stamps together in the same place at the same time to get a free sandwich.

That's it, I'm throwing all this crap out.

Live free or die!!!!!!

Selling the dream

If you put all the men's fitness and health magazines I've ever bought next to each other, you would see the same theme over and over.

People in marketing will know all of this and wonder what took me so long, but products aren't sold, dreams are.


In every issue the dream is promised;

8 pack abs in 6 weeks!
Gain lean muscle mass, loose body fat
Improve sexual performance/attractiveness/success ratio

Is it really that different form the ads in the back of 50's comics promising no more sand in the face?

Women's magazines are just as bad;

Summer thighs in 4 weeks!
Improve your sex life with these secrets that he won't tell you



We all know we look nothing like Brad and Angelina, and we also are conscious of the fact that no product will make us look like that. But on some level we are falling for it aren't we?

We can have thinner thighs by July 4th, or an 8 pack (I guess people who got the six pack were cheated) in only weeks. Just five minutes a day is all it takes to change your life. We buy makeup to look like Halle Berry, the right sunglasses, the right look and on it goes.

But I'm still just me, I'm not Brad..not even close.


Car commercials sell wide open spaces, and luxurious comfort, style and grace. And we buy, and buy and buy. The beauty of the plan from the sellers perspective is we never get what we're buying, and we never realize it cannot be bought. So we try and try again, we never get to the mountain top, and we never realize it's not for sale.

I'm as guilty of this as anyone. I take mountains of supplements, read men's health, fitness and lifestyle magazines, try and wear the right clothes and on down the line. I know better, or at least I think I do. I know that true love is not branded, and need not be stylish or elegant, and that happiness has nothing to do with abs, fake boobs, or Vuitton.

I try to focus on those things that offer simple enjoyment. Reading, exercise, and listening to music all can offer escape from commerce for a time, but are you drinking the right sports drink? Is that a clima-cool shirt? Back in my south Austin rec. center days, we would often remark that the basketball players with the best gear were always the worst players, whereas the kids in jeans and cowboy boots who practiced everyday would dominate.

But to stop buying all this crap is un-American right? I mean the first thing we were asked to do post 911 was buy stuff. As we dig deeper and deeper into both personal and national debt can we possibly keep the pace? Can durable goods keep selling if our credit is maxed out?

I'm getting tiredhead, and I doubt anyone is still reading this train of thought, so screw it.

As Gil Scott Heron once sang 'could you call on Lady Day, could you call on John Coltrane'

There that's better, Love Supreme is free or almost..except I bought that title four times cause it keeps getting improved, but that's another blog.

Timewaste

Okay the quiz was ill-conceived, and the questions were poor. The higher your score the more of your time I've wasted, and I figure I owe you.

Future quizzes will be better, or not appear. This is my pledge.

Take the silly Minter Quiz

Link at right.

This idea is wholly stolen from the lovely and talented Annush.


Oh and you can enter a fake email address if you fear spam.

Nothingness

This page intentionally left blank.


Why do catalogs do this? I mean I know why, but shouldn't it read;

This page intentionally left blank, well nearly so.

In the unlikely event of my death

Sophie played the lovely 'you on my mind in my sleep' from Richard Ashcroft's first solo record this am, and it's tears even now.


I wonder if I should give my password to someone, so if I were to die unexpectedly they could post a message stating this. In fact I could write my own obit, and keep it in draft form, to be published upon my passing.

The thing is I really like some of my internet pals, but they don't really know me, and how would they know if I checked out of this mortal coil? Would they care? Would they leave comments on here like;

WTF dude? You haven't effing blogged in weeks? you slack mofo you better be dead or sumthin.

Why am I thinking about my own death today? Cause I tore myself up at practice last night. My groin is still a wreck even though I loosened it up a lot. (insert your own joke about me loosening up my groin here) The bottom of my feet are a butcher shop as well.

I work in a part of town where there are numerous 'massage' places. Okay you may have guessed this isn't Park ave. I get the feeling if I walked into any of these places looking for treatment of the groin area, I may get something very different.

'yeah I need a licensed massage therapist to work on my groin area'
'sir that's not a problem, we have an excellent staff trained at groin massage to completion'

Uh..not what I meant.

Classic rock Charles

One of my first friends to have a car and a license was Charles. So naturally Charles had to drive more than his share for a number of months. There would be four or five of us in his car with a 12 pack of St. Pauli Girl. We would roll around aimlessly drinking and driving. At some point word came down that we should 'cruise Forrest' Forrest lane had lots of carloads of kids driving on it, and it was alleged that this is where the girls could be found.


Charles didn't like the popular music of the day, and didn't share my love for new wave and punk. Rolling with Charles meant classic rock. Not classic rock in the truest sense, as Charles didn't play the same stuff classic rock stations played. Charles was more original, and made tapes of his personal favorites. The songs I can remember off hand are;

Rock and Roll hoochie coo
Pinball Wizard
the whole 90125 lp (which was the only current title in his rotation)
And Jethro Tull's the whistler.

If you've never heard 'the whistler' by Jethro Tull, I can describe it thusly;

Hobbit rock, heavy on flute play, and quite silly.


As we roll down Forrest lane looking for love in all the wrong places, it was not Head games, In the dark or Fair Warning blasting from our car. Nope ours was the Whistler. Now maybe you can pull women by blasting the Whistler in the shire, but in N. Texas circa 1984 chicks weren't having flute solos. (I get the feeling this rule may still apply)

Mantra for practice

I will be patient with my teammates, for I am not without flaw. I will be constructive, or say nothing. I will kindly remind my team of the great Bill Shankley's words 'pass and move'

I will be a good teammate, and not get pissed.

Watermelon

I had a Mexican drink at lunch, I think it's called Watermelon sundia or soemsuch. Pretty tasty, never heard of it before.

Running gag

I have this running joke at work. Anytime it's someone's birthday lunch, I always refer to it as their going away lunch.

'So where are we taking you for your going away lunch?
'I'm not going away, it's my birthday'


Okay it's not super funny or anything, but anyway. So last week I made that crack about Flanders, and now this week he's really going away. I hope I didn't plant the seed.

Aw man

As you know I've turned a negative (Flanders) into a positive by blogging about his Ziggy-like tendencies.


On Tuesday of this week, Flanders gave notice that THIS Friday is his last day.

Shit, Only three more days of Flanders.


This blog may never recover. I may need to pretend he still works here and just make up stuff he would do, in order to keep readers.

Why I like Netflix

I read a blurb on a dvd where 14 directors each made clips to Stan Ridgeway songs. The only rule was they were not allowed to spend more than $500 on a clip. If you are familiar with Stan's music, you know that it is cinematic and a bit offbeat to start with, so this sounded interesting. It's not something I would want to buy, and It's not likely something the clerk at Blockbuster is going to know about. Netflix is perfect for this sort of thing, they have it, and it's on the way. To go from reading a blurb to watching the feature in about four days is cool.

Not skipping

Got nothing to blog about today. I thought about blogging the tale of Classic rock Charles, or 6th grade lunchroom juke box, but neither has much of a story.

Sorry about Corn Mo, guess it's not for everyone.

The deleted scene form the movie 'Stripes' was deleted for good reason.

I'm listening to Karen Ann Nolita, kind of a French Mazzy Star maybe.

Car commercials sell a dream that will never come true. When you are sitting in traffic everyday, you are not exactly zoom zoom zoom in the boom boom. My next car should be purchased based on a criteria of sitting still and fuel economy.

I like the new Dodge Charger, but can a Chiefs fan really buy a car called a Charger?


I'm still sitting here on the same old bench, using the same old phone to watch the children play.

Think internetally, act blogally

Have any of you actually listened to the mighty Corn Mo favorite 'Busey Boy' available through the link at the right?

T and John are exempt, I know they've heard it before.


See that's what I'm talking about....

Your support is like my food, don't starve me over here.

Shanghai 

shyna by night (Shanghai) 

It's a mistake

We all make mistakes, but Flanders' are funnier. One of the few things he does is unlock the front door each morning. Well today he forgot, and the company President couldn't get in.

'real smooth Cliff'-Sixteen Candles

There goes the fear

H said his biggest fear was being pulled over by American Police. What? I said...really? Why? 'We see video in Sweden of American Police being very rude to people' Rude is a euphemism for beating the crap out of people.

Those of us who live here know that the vast majority of cops are good guys doing a very dangerous and difficult job. We know this cause we see them everyday, and we know that the incidents H is talking about are few and very far in between, and often have extenuating circumstances as well. Doesn't make it right I'm just saying...

Perception is reality, and this is why I was so heartbroken over the prisoner abuse scandal. We may never live those images down in the eyes of the world. We played right into the hands of the US haters, and terrorists by abusing power. The offending soldiers brought dishonor to all the good people serving in Iraq, and the distinction will not be made by everyone. As leaders of the free world we must take the high road, set an example of free and just actions. Sadly Gitmo and Abu Ghraib don't qualify, and it may take years to win back a lot of neutrals.

I tired to assure H that if we were to be pulled over, beatings are rare, but he wouldn't hear it.

I'm number one

'Hullo Richard, yes this is Robert from FDI, and I just realized I will need to reschedule our lunch visit we had scheduled for today...yeah something has come up'

Yep, I just rescheduled a legitimate work related lunch in favor of Coldplay.


Priorities brutha.

Sam's army in SLC. Much Inferno love 

World in motion

As if we needed more proof that football and pop music don't mix, along comes 'du the Dudek' an awful song about Liverpool's champions league glory.


Link at the right if you like shite..hey that rhymes...call me John Barnes

Sorry, not responsible

Nobody's responsible for anything. Trucks that drop rocks on your windows aren't responsible for damage. Any business will tell you they are not responsible for lost or stolen items from your car. Electronics stores will only stand behind what they sell if you buy 'extended protection' and so it goes. It seems responsibility is just not in any company's mission statement anymore.

Why should they have all the fun? If all it takes is a disclaimer why not join in? Never mind that the law might suggest that the truck is indeed responsible for the windscreen, the sign says no.

I'm thinking of getting some exemptions in the form of a tattoo that reads;

Not responsible for unwanted pregnancies, lack of social grace, or drunk and disorderly behavior. Robert is not responsible for his poor grammar usage including but not limited to, the use of who and whom improperly, the overuse, or under use of commas etc. Robert is not responsible for remembering birthday's anniversaries, historical dates, or algebraic equations.

Well that's a start anyway, this feels good to let go.

Crappy job

In the part of the world where I live you cannot put signs out by the street. No garage sales, no liquidation sales, no nothing. The only exception is real estate signs on the weekend.

So what does a business do to promote their twice a year liquidations sale?

Well it's okay in the eyes of the law to have a dude stand by the street and hold a sign. So you see these poor souls standing in the sun holding a sign that says 'eat at Joes' for hours on end. It seems like it would be mind numbingly boring, and hot as hell. Often the guys doing this job look like they may not have many options. I feel for them in a way, I mean at least the will work for food crowd are their own bosses.

Sure, there are worse gigs, pretty much anything in a slaughterhouse is right up there, and it ain't Baghdad, but still.

A half remembered tune

Sophie played Second Skin by the Chameleons this morning...ahhh yesss.


So about my day trip with H. Since H is robotic and Euro I half expected his music selections to be suitably robotic and Euro like say Kraftwerk. No, sadly he likes soft rock. So we rolled along to Laura Branigan and the like.

H had no idea how far this place was, and kept saying 'this is in the middle of nowhere'

We had lots of uncomfortable silences, with only Dr. Hook to keep us company. Then at last it comes;

'Roebert, I think it would be goot for you to go to shyna'

I know some of you might see Shanghai as an opportunity, but I see it as irritable bowels, and no cable. Hell, you can't even use the internet properly due to the censors. Nope, not looking forward to it at all. It's not like I'm gonna go see the great wall and stuff, more likely sweat shops.

As for the visit with the supplier, it was fine I suppose. I got what I wanted in five minutes of negotiation, but H wanted to tour the facility and ask a million questions. We were there all day, and got back about 5:30.

I'm glad it's over.

Oh and I guess if I'm going to shyna, I won't be laid off..so that's good I guess.

Is R gonna hafta choke a bitch?

The supplier I'm going to visit has pissed me off royally, only moments before I go up there.


This should be fun.

Live forever

Blog?
Yes master?
Rise!

The blog will continue, however content will still be suspect, lacking in the factual, and overly idealized.

Trouble

Why is it the things we most want to forget are often the hardest, especially if by 'thing' we mean someone.

Montag

Song of the moment 'in state' by Kathleen Edwards

FC Dallas in spite of being without 5 starters, and it's two top goal scorers won in Salt Lake on Saturday night (3rd straight win on the road, 4th overall)

Dallas now has more points than any team in the MLS, and they've only played at home 3 times. Excitement is high as you might suspect.

20 of the Inferno went to Salt Lake for the US match, and the FCD game. I asked them to bring back 6 points and they did just that.

I continue to embrace summer, I even read the DMN and the NYT in the back yard yesterday. For the first time in my life I fertilized my lawn a few weeks ago, and the grass is coming through thick and green. I just hope it doesn't go to hell later.

My brakes are starting to squeak, after only 32K miles. I know nothing about brakes, do I need friction reline whatever that is, or pads and shoes or whatever? I'm at a loss.

I will be out of the office today for the most part. I have to travel with Henrik to visit a supplier I hate up in Sherman. I fear riding in a car with Henrik. I imagine him playing C & C music factory, or Roxette the whole time. H is a nice enough guy, he's just all business, and really uptight. I'm not saying I would prefer to make the trip with Flanders or anything.

I bumped all my weights ups by 10-20 pounds yesterday, so I better feel some serious pain in the next 24 hours. I've maxed out one machine, and yet I still am not getting results.

Got a bit of sunburn yesterday, but I still embrace summer.

Tail gate parties for FCD may get a bit sticky. I'm thinking a kiddie pool may be needed.

Anvil
Banana peel
Dynamite

These are items far more common in cartoons that real life, feel free to submit your entry.

Movies over-quoted

'you talking to me'
'how am I funny'
'dats he got all of dat one'
'Stella!
'I could a been a contender'
'Royale with cheese'

Feel free to submit.



Netflix-the Cocoanuts
Music-Oasis, & Shout out louds

In memory

'when you own a big piece of the bloody third world, the babies just come with the scenery'-Pretenders


Dedicated to Marla Ruzicka R.I.P.

Dan Deacon

When in rock, enjoy Dan Deacon. I dig the song called 'my name is Robert'

gold I tell you.

In fact, fuck it...my name is Robert is the official song of the Minter blog's dying days.

Corn Mo

I've added a link to the mighty Corn Mo. So you can enjoy 'Busey Boy' The best song ever written, and the best part? it's free. C'mon it's just a click or two away....

Flanders

Flanders comes into my office;

Hey is Sergio gonna be here today
nope
(he just stands there thinking..I know he's gonna stay and talk..but about what?
I saw this show on the bridge they built over the snake river, and you should've seen the size of the nuts they used, they were as big as this room. Where do you get a wrench big enough to put those on?
(at this point it takes all the maturity I can muster not to say 'you like big nuts don't you?) but I hold out.
Story told Flanders wanders off, and I feel like a bigger man today.

Can't ...blog...losing..power..gotta warn others....

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Next issue; the death of blog man.



You're not my particular poison
I got nothin' against you myself
you could've been a danger to the boys and girls
now you're a danger to yourself-Elvis Costello

Tarnation is an emotionally draining film. It got to me in the first 13 minutes, which I'm pretty sure is a record. It's a sad story, with a great soundtrack. I recommend it, but not on a date or a Friday night.


This blog will be one year old in July, and I think that should be the end of it. A year in the life of a past-it whiney biatch.

boo, hiss

Where does the term cat call come from? and is it the same as a hiss?

A world waits

Today I found out where Flanders stands on the issues, and it comes as no surprise that Mr. F is a huge Bush guy. Yep ..kinda figured...

There are many Bush supporters who can build an argument (blogger Shelley the Republican comes to mind), this I respect and welcome the dialogue, but Flanders is not in that camp.

Blank stares

People aren't getting my references, and not just Flanders. I think it's cause they are no longer funny. My career is over, no more Carson.

15 quid worth of damage

The David Brent joke was in my head as I read the headline 'quake rocks Tenn, no damge reported'

.XXX

I want a .xxx web addrss

Good work suckers

Just got a memo stating that our profits are up 32% over last year. So when we get 3% for cost of living, just know that we've made some cracker somewhere very very happy.

Clocky crossing

Yesterday on the toll way there was a homeless guy trying to cross all 6 lanes of traffic. It was frightening to say the least. See what happens Dallas you evict them from under the bridge and they end up on top of it.

Jury

Yep...knew it was comming...jury duty for me..and all my furs are in storage too....I will take a tip from John and embrace this gig. Besides last time they cut me loose by noon, and do you think I went to the office? hahahahahah Fuck it I'm goin fishin'

Wachovia sorry for slavery ties

And we wonder why our black brothers get a little freaked out at times? How would shit like this make you feel? Cheated? Hoodwinked? bamboozled?..yeah pretty much.

Hawaiian Shirt day

'Remember next Friday is Hawaiian shirt day, so you can go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans'-Bill Lumbergh


Corporate culture is so icky.

Today we have a company lunch that's meant to be a 'reward' but it really just sucks ass. We get free pizza and have to sit an listen to speeches by a couple of the top dogs. Uh gee I'll pass thanks. It's like that moment in college when you realize free beer is no longer reason enough to suffer fools, so you choose to buy or steal your own beer and live free or die.

You have to participate in this lunch, oh technically it isn't compulsory, but to skip it to label yourself a loner, not a team player..hell a Bolshevik by corporate standards. So you sit and eat calorie and carb dense food, listen to the worst public speakers in Texas, and yawn back to you desk. The day feels long because you don't get your lunch break properly.

Once they ordered way too much pizza, so ever since there is never enough so you feel like a rat if you take too much, or go hungry if you leave it. It's frickin' lord of the flies in bad suits.


Fuck it I'll walk the earth.

Deep throat

If a question mark has formed over your head over this news, you should rent 'All the President's men' it a really good film. This would be a painless way to get a feel for his significance.

blender

I needs me a blender up in herre up in herre.

It's hard to mix a glass of muscle milk using a KFC spork.

Showtime

Certainly the most spare, and quintessentially 80's show I ever went to was Real life with special guests Mr. Mister.

I bet we can catch them at a 4th of July fest next month.

Chelski

If you hate Chelsea you should really go to the Liverpool site (link to the right) and read the transcript of Chelsea fan's reaction to the Champs final. They go from super cocky to vowing to avoid all media for the next three months...good times.

Thursday

'We're all living proof that nothin' lasts'-Son Volt

I'm all torn up form practice last night, but most of the damage is self inflicted from pulling my hair out at my teammates decision making. I will tolerate a lack of ability or experience, but there is little excuse for taking on a defender when you have a teammates open, only to lose the ball very easily and have us get beaten repeatedly on the break. Meanwhile when I have the ball I will look to pass first, so try and pay attention.

Yeah it was frustrating last night. The first half went great two goals for me, and many assists and near assists. The second half we switched up the teams and I got the people who don't move at all off the ball, and though they lack skill, feel they should try and take on multiple defenders.

I'm not usually this critical of teammates, but this team doesn't know me and I'm trying to prove myself. It can be difficult when you make wide open runs into the area repeatedly and get no service, and then you play a couple good through balls (the kind I was starving for) and no one makes a run or even thinks about getting on the end of them.

ERRRRR!!!


Oh well, that's what practice is for right?


Music-Upsetters
Netflix-The 49ers training tape

Wish me luck

I will take my injured ass to practice tonight. On Sunday the care flight helicopter flew over and I joked 'my ride's here' but that song ain't so very far from wrong.

Perspective

Today I spoke with a man who as a Polish national was imprisoned in Russia during WWII. Somehow he got out and found his way to Mexico. The people there helped both him and his brother a lot. Now they run a very successful company in Chicago. They built a hospital and school in the Mexican Town they called home during those years.


I didn't tell him about my blog, somehow I think the great shower gel debate might not be of interest to someone who had to deal with true adversity.

Growing pains

This Sleater Kinney is really growing on me. At first it sounded like two chicks screaming at me over a bunch of noise (a very old man reaction granted) And let's be honest I have enough people screaming at me. However a few spins in it's sounding quite tuneful, much to my co-workers chagrin. They don't seem to be hearing it like I hear it...effing amateurs.

Lindsay, me, and Cesar down by the schoolyard

Cnn-Police arrested Galo Cesar Ramirez who they said followed Lohan, 18, and her 19-year-old passenger on Tuesday and tried to snap a photograph of the "Mean Girls" actress. Lohan stars in the upcoming Walt Disney film "Herbie: Fully Loaded."

Minter-'I can't believe those gumshoes think I'm only 19'

Annush Superstar

Annush is so wonderful!!! Thanks to her we have links to other blogs and sites of note.

Many thanks to K and Annush for their tireless efforts to get this tech tool up to snuff.

Picnic circuit

This summer the following bands are playing or have played the area.

Toto
Rick Springfield
Cheap Trick
John Waite
Colin Hay from Men at Work
Styx Featuring a fake Dennis DeYoung
Journey Featuring a fake Steve Perry

And many others.

They are all playing picnics and festivals put on by various municipalities. It's weird when artists of your youth turn into the oldies picnic circuit. The idea of these 'rockers' playing family picnics is odd as well.

I wonder if some of the same stage banter applies? 'Man we played a picnic down in Houston last night and they said ya'll didn't know how to rock up here, do you know how to rock? I can't hear you!

'Hey how are those corny dogs? This next one's called Rosanna'

'don't eat the brown cotton candy'

They used to get groupies back stage, now they get their choice of balloon animal, and a turkey leg.

But the ultimate question is will the guys get shirts?

Art

I'm not in the anti-Jackson Pollack camp..not at all. But doesn't the fact that some recently discovered works cannot be authenticated raise questions? Maybe anyone can do it? When experts cannot definitively say if it is or is not a Pollack, you must ask the question.

Shout out

I'm trying and mostly failing to build a link list to ya'lls blogs. I read you everyday, and I feel others should too. My server or my template or whatever is not allowing it. Or maybe it's a result of my lack of technical savvy.

I'm clean for real

Never knew the ladies thought I was so grimy.


Aveno has been procured, will it have the same effect as Tag does on the commercial?

Speaking of marketing. The Dasani 24 oz fits in my bike clip, they should promote this fact.

Unstable

A house I really like in my neighborhood went on sale recently, and I have eyes for it. It's slightly larger, quite a bit older, and has a kick ass pool. The lot is wonderful and faces the park. All for 18K less than I paid for my place. So I'm wondering if it's too unstable to move again after only 9 months? Hell a lot of my stuff is still packed.

Sore

I'm still sore as hell, and I have practice tonight and tomorrow night. Hello Advil.

When I say I'm trying to be the over-30-coed-rec-league-David Beckham..I'm trying to be tongue-in-cheek, it's meant to be funny. Sorry some take it is as some legitimate cockiness, to me it seems obvious that it's not.


Netflix-Tarnation
Music-Gorillaz until further notice

Oasis

The album starts with a bit of a thud as 'turn up the sun' is Oasis by the numbers. Track 2 'Mucky Fingers is' exactly the same as the Velvet Underground, funny how when a new band does this we extol their reinterpretation of a classic influence, but in Oasis' case it seems lazy. 'Lyla' is a decent enough single, though the cadence seems to be nicked from Street fightin' man. 'The Importance of being idle' sounds like the Old 97s. The good news is there is no 'Little James' or 'All around the world', though 'Let there be love' makes a run at the latter. 'Part of the queue' is a nice tune, and in truth most of these would be more well received if they were recorded by a new up-and-coming band. If Jet or The soundtrack of our lives put out some of these songs we would be pleased.

Overall it is a solid if uninspired three star record. My brother said of the new Weezer 'it's not bad, there are just so many better things out there, who has time for it' this is also true of this Oasis record.

However Don't believe the truth does contain Oasis' best track in ten years. If you've ever liked Oasis this is one worth hearing .'Keep the dream alive' is a lovely Verve sounding track that is well worth the .99 to download.

Three stars (with one five star track)