Whiskey Rebel's Diary Archive
03-31-06 to 05-03-06
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since 05/28/01
5/03/06
Here's what I looked like in action against grandmaster Susan Polgar at her simultaneous exhibition. Cute, aren't I? And of course an excellant role model for youth. These photos will be pasted into the Irwin family album to commemorate my draw.
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4/29/06
Hoo-ray for me; I did something last night that managed to impress both my wife and son! (a rare occurance). I played in a silmultaneous chess exhibition against grandmaster Susan Polgar..not a mere GM..the first female (back in 1991) to ever hold the "mens" GM title. The first to qualify for play in the "mens" world championship cycle. A folk hero around the world where chess is taken very seriously. The TV station in Austin that covered it called her the Billie Jean King of chess.
I managed to draw my game with her. I did it by NOT trying to draw or make the game boring...but by attacking her on one side of the board as she was poising her pieces to slaughter my king on the other. I had a much better position for many moves..but couldn't figure out a way to win.
It's my first draw with a grandmaster...which is a permanent title earned with results. Ok, ok....she was playing on quite a few other boards at the same time. If we went one on one without any other distractions she'd slaughter me...but STILL. It's like tying a golf legend in a practice round...or clouting a double off of Randy Johnson in an exhibition pre-season game.
I sure looked good on TV...as usual.
And once again....reports of my being insane, unable to leave the house, drunk and over the hill or delusional about my 2nd chess "career" can be set aside for awhile, eh?
My blood pressure reading was a slighty high..but almost normal 128/86 this morning. I was accepted to Texas State University to finish my history degree today too. The last couple of years or so things have seem frozen in place in my life in many ways; maybe "Winter" is almost over?
We'll see....unless I get hit by a damned bus out amongst the rubes or choke to death on a vitamin.
4/23/06
The 4 month old neon poison that's been stuck around my right inner ear parts is oozing out..causing a bad fucking earache. I feel like death...for now. I should be better tomorrow.
I'm sick of being so negative all the time here though. I'm gonna focus my mind on a TV show idea that popped into my head.
The intention of the program is to try to cut down on the constant negative battling between folks of supposed "loving" "caring" religions. Have a discussion panel with agnostics asking questions of christians, muslims, jews, etc. Call the show something like "common ground for food". Don't directly insult the faiths; get ordinary schmucks who drive cabs and and cook food and work on assembly lines who feel they can represent their dogma in a positive light without ripping into other faiths.
It might be good to require a bit of candid and even handed dialogue concerning the "beauty" of the next guys religion. The intent would be to show the world people from the faiths who are SCREWING UP OUR PLANET finding common ground.
The minority of fanatics who simply MUST HAVE THEIR WAY wouldn't get to first base. They wouldn't be allowed to rant..they wouldn't be part of the show. I honestly think most christians, muslims, etc. are fairly casual about their faiths...until some power hungry asshole starts brow beating them.
The action part of the show would feature pairs of christians/muslims (and eventually other crews) who have selected one another to compete in everything from potatoe sack races to American gladiator stunts.
It's VITAL that the world see interfaith potatoe sack races!! You can add to that with mechanic teams working to repair an engine, welding, answering questions for points about each others faiths or their countries history, etc.
Of course it goes without saying that the diehard fanatics in the trenches would bitch about seeing for instance a jew and an arab working together to toss darts at balloons for aid for poor folks back home, but that's THEIR TOUGH SHIT. We need to take back the spotlight...a bit of it.
The winning team would 1) be able to differentiate between their own convictions and those of their partners in a positive although not groveling manner.
The show will be bigger than "survivor"....and of course I want my goddamned cut. Hey, hire me as a panelist or writer.
Again, you'd have agnostics putting the contestants through their paces. Recruit them from various nations if you want.
One things for sure; this would be the FIRST TIME in recent memory that anybody involved with the media paid any attention to the intelligent international forgotten masses of non-believers.
Oh yeah...reward the home town charity choice of each winning team member with a few million $$$$$.
I've criticized world religions often...but I'm the first to admit that I wouldn't have such a boner against churches if my parents had been nice luke-warm lutherans instead of fire and brimstone kooks.
What'dya think?? I'll sell the idea for a nice advance...
4/22/06
When I read or hear idealistic statements about "ending all wars" and "give peace a chance" and all that warm oozy hogwash I don't get mad at the idealist spouting those sort of notions. It wouldn't be bad if there were no more wars..and the world were suddenly filled with loving caring people; it's just that it's clear that's it's about 1,000 times less likely than me winning the lottery a dozen times in my life.
Enough people around the world are inherently "bad".."greedy" and too stoked up by "loving" "caring"religions for that to happen.
The most likely scenario for an ending of wars and longterm peace is if a benevolent dictator (perhaps from another planet or solar system) seizes power and forces us to behave in a manner consistent with a sophmoric do-gooder peace-nik attitude.
The sort of pacifists I truly admire are the ones who have the latent muscle to defend themselves if pushed to. Remember the TV series "kung-fu"? The David Carradine charachter Caine was my kind of peace loving guy. He never started trouble...but boy could he finish the job!
It's not widely known that the great Bruce Lee conceived of the show. It would have been fun to see him in the Caine role...but David Carradine (who did a great job playing Cole Younger and Woody Guthrie too) did pretty well with the part.
I'm not a fanatic about the show..but it presents my kind of pacifism.
I've been reading this week about one of my kinds of war mongers: George S. Patton. The book is a twin biography of sorts with Germany's Rommel serving as "Georgies" bookend.
If you haven't seen the film "Patton" in which George C. Scott brings Patton to life...you've been missing out. He was a very controversial man in his day with some unpopular ideas that seem so far beyond "politically incorrect" it's amazing he had as much power and rank as he did.
Patton came from a long line of American soldiers 15 of whom served for the CSA in the civil war. He was a big talking, physically powerful (he participated in the pentathalon in an olympic games) flashy pearl handled handgun waving stud. Just like another one of my heroes U.S. Grant he was only cut out for the military. At the end of action in Germany in WWII he was prepared to lead his army into Russia..in his eyes we'd have to tangle with them some time; why not then?
Patton pushed his men hard. I once met one of his old soldiers sitting by a poolside at a Kentucky motel draining glasses of bourbon. I gladly heard what he had to say. He insisted that Patton's men both hated him...and begrudgingly respected him.
Patton believed that (and this is almost a direct quote) you "can't win a war without profanity". He gave speeches in front of his men laced with lines such as "we're gonna smack the huns with a sock full of shit!". If you've seen the movie, you should know that the patriotic pep-talk speech at the beginning was heavily, heavily censored. If you enjoy his colorful gift of gab it's not hard to find the full text of the speech on the internet.
If you're gonna fight a war, I think you're damned lucky to have a General like Patton whom the enemy will certainly fear. He was like a military pitbull. I don't think he was the sort of General like Ike that you wanted to have in position to establish good will after the fighting though. I'm sort of glad he didn't plow into the USSR after clobbering the lager slurping "huns". I'm sure G. Gordon Liddy (another guy I dig) would disagree.
When war can't be avoided everybody wants tough guys like Patton to step up and win the fight for us. It's a shame how once the danger is past so many turn their backs on ruthless warriors like him who get the job DONE.
Of course, I'm still fully ready to accept world peace...an end to wars..if you can figure out how to accomplish that. You sure won't by holding candlelight vigils in city parks. Got any fresh ideas?
4/17/06
I couldn't believe my eyes when I pulled into the driveway after some errands and saw a goddamned porto-potty perched on the front edge of our property.
HUMPING JUMPING JESUS! My bowel movements are fairly dull these days; why would Marla choose now to order a seperate rented throne for me? I backed my cop style white Mercury up a bit so I could look at it better. It appeared to be a decent one. Hhmm I thought. Maybe it's not such a bad idea.
Then I remembered the flyer we got from the city telling us about road construction taking place in our neighborhood. The special crapper must be for the workers. It's too bad in a way. I'm disappointed. I wouldn't want one if I had to share it so I'm not about to sneak into it at night.
I played round #2 of my chess tournament at the new Austin chess club last night. This time instead of a 10 year old (I've had games against 3 of the brilliant little buggers in the last year) I was paired with a 14 year old who is rated higher than any of them.
I had prepared several lines for the white pieces focusing on a certain opening and lo and behold the kid played into one I had focused on. I steamrolled him. He defended well but never really had a chance to do anything offensively speaking. It was an interesting game and a lot of other players watched it since we ran longer than all of the rest. He never made a big mistake..just some misjudgements leading to small weaknesses. I always gain special satisfaction winning in steamroller fashion.
Obviously if the kid sticks to it he'll become very strong in a couple years. I'll probably play him sometime down the road so I was of course very respectful and gentlemanly.
You readers would expect that from me wouldn't you? To always comport myself like an erudite man of the world and role model.
My game next Sunday is against an actual ADULT..an expert rated guy whose been at that level according to my research for many years. I'll have the black pieces and I'm already preparing a (hopefully) rock solid repertoire of opening variations. I'm hoping for a good scrap.
The temperature has been over 100 degrees the last couple days and the news people are going apeshit about it. I don't see what the big deal is. We have this sort of whether for months at a time later in the year. If you don't have air conditioning you're in trouble...but we do. If it conks out we'll call an emergency repairman. There are plenty of them.
Why does it make any difference if it's 100 degrees+ in April as opposed to August? OOooohhhhhh...that's right. It plays into the global warming hysteria...another thing a lot of people like to worry about that I have NO TIME TO. I've got my hands full surviving my personal daily life.
GLOBAL WARMING CAN KISS MY ASS!!!
It's 6:19 a.m. and I hear some funny megaphone type voices outside..I wonder if some of the construction dudes are lined up to take a dump. They better fucking take care of business...it's still fairly cool outside..I wouldn't want to fry my ass on a tin can shitpot in 100 degree weather. Well....maybe the weather DOES matter after all.
Did I mention that Germ is working at the same 24 hour diner that Elvis is manager at? I hear Germ is going to be promoted to manager too already. What a late night tagteam. It's insane that I've only drank with him once since he's been in town but that'll change soon enough. My low sodium diet is bringing my blood pressure down dramatically...it's almost a miracle. Hey, it's not so hard; all I had to do was give up eating anything pleasant. I don't feel very sociable when I'm undergoing massive voluntary lifestyle changes. I'm done taking pills, there's no reason for me not to drink all I want. I've never made any attempt whatsoever in my entire lifespan to lower my sodium intake. I know now I was wolfing down 3 times what you are supposed to have even when I ate low calorie stuff. You can happily get away with it...usually...for a long time in life. I was blown away to learn that if you starve yourself like a fat dumb asshole and eat a typical salad for dinner (for instance) you can be cutting back on the calories...but the sodium intake (that contributes to people keeling over from massive heart troubles) can be higher depending on what salad dressing you use and how much other salty crap you shovel onto it than a goddamned hunk of beef or a burger and fries (yeah...the catsup you put on the fries is the worst part). There's a lot of misinformation out there...if I had gone to a g.p. he would've tried to con me into not drinking I suppose. Why? My stress level would raise dramatically...a negative when dealing with high blood pressure...and there's not a lot of sodium in the simple beer or whiskey I enjoy. If you drink vodka and cranberry juice REJOICE...there are positive benefits. If you guzzle dark micro-spew (check the nutritional facts) or bloody mary's with high sodium mixers you're getting dosed with more sodium.
What I drink is a helluva lot more important to me than what I eat.
I wouldn't worry about it if you're in your 20's...but if you're in your 30's or older it's something to look into...especially if doctors are starting to give you lifestyle lectures. You don't need to turn into a tofu eating non-drinking sap to lower your blood pressure.
Damn, I'll be glad when I don't have to even think about healthy horseshit. No wonder Pig Champion lived as long as he did without ever suffering a heart attack; he was aware of all this stuff. When he drank really heavily it was often vodka/cranberry juice. He loathed salty prepared foods and understood just what that special sauce on a burger from a fastfood joint did to you. His system accomodated drunken eating binges because he was careful at other times.
Well, time for my low sodium triskets and a final beer.
One final thought..wouldn't it be funny if I got into terrific shape heartwise and got hit by a bus or a chunk of a meteorite?
4/15/06
I understand that tomorrow is easter. We're pretty well out of the easter egg loop around here...and GODDAMNED well out of the Jesus loop. It means nothing good to me..or bad. All I know is I have another chess tournament game up in Austin. This time the pairing has been posted on the internet so we can prepare for our opponents. I have done so. I guess they ran out of 10 and 11 year olds..this guy's evidently 14. Maybe if I win (to paraphrase a 40's-ish Grandmaster Joel Benjamin who played in the recent US championship in San Diego) I'll get to play an adult.
At least we have stuff to celebrate around here.
Elvis and his girlfriend announced a few nights ago that they're going to get married on 7-7-07. Congratulations Elvis. I'm pleased.
The funniest reaction to the news was from a certain in-law who will go nameless; this individual laughed and laughed..tickeled pink. I thought I knew why..and I compared notes with Elvis. This person was probably under some sort of impression that since he's a theatre major (he's also working on a teaching certificate for the subject) he MUST be gay; I'm sorry to disappoint anybody who is under that impression. He's straight. So is DeNiro...and Lee Marvin was too. So was David Jansen.
Oh well...
4/12/06
For those who care, I saw my specialist today and if he was the type of guy to give grown men balloons or lollipops for being a good boy and adhering to his instructions...I would've walked out of their with some childish trinkets.
It'd be great if doctors rewarded good behavior with miniature bottles of booze or even cigars...wouldn't it?
One ear is pretty well back to normal and my sinuses have never been clearer thanks to blasting Jew salt up my schnozz (Shalom!) for 3 weeks. I've got to keep doing it for a couple more.
They've got to give me a hearing test in a couple weeks to see how much I've got to last me for the long haul. My right ear..which always faces my amp when I play...is "afraid" to completely unplug he said. We've got to coax it along. He may need to do a 3 minute quicky minor surgery if it keeps clamming up.
I'll be wearing hearing protection from here on out...why? (catch phrase:)
I MAY BE AN ASSHOLE...BUT I'M NOT DUMB.
I wrote about how I had to take some high blood pressure pills when they put me on steroids. I decided due to Marla's concern that I'd keep taking them if the g.p. would cut me a prescription.
Guess what? Another g.p. horror story. He wouldn't do it unless I jumped through hoops and paid another office visit fee even though he gave me the damned things in the first place! I'm sure this makes sense to many of you...
BUT I'M AN ASSHOLE. I'm suspicious of g.p.'s
I decided there had to be some sort of "natural" way to lower my HBP and we looked into it. I'll do ANYTHING to avoid a "lifestyle" lecture from a smug g.p. who just wants to see my fat ass jump through hoops.
For that matter, when I went to his office when I was deaf I answered questions for a plain clothes assistant..she wasn't a uniformed nurse. As Marla watched she asked me question after question. When she got to the part about "do I DRINK"??
I answered "YES". "How much?" I thought...and for the lack of a better answer said "oohh...maybe 8 per night".
Sometimes I do drink 8 per night...but it's more often 10-15 with either 2 or 3 shots of whiskey. I know I under stated things a bit...but hell..I was DEAF.
She got this weird look on her face..and sort of chuckled.
I didn't like her laughing at my drinking habits..and Marla later told me she thought it was incredibly unprofessional...but then again she wasn't a uniformed nurse...just some assistant of some sort.
I didn't know (and still don't) if she laughed because 8 beers per night is a pussy dosage (which it is) or a deadly habit.
What the fuck...was she a Mormon??
You shouldn't have to think of that or worry about how FAT you are when they weigh you on the scales like a heifer. When I worked retail I could talk to people who had lost their noses or ears...people with nervous tics that would drive me to suicide...people with literal SHIT BREATH...and I'd keep a straight face.
Why can't I get the same courtesy at a g.p. office??
I've been living a carefree life of excess for a long damned time. I started my daily drinking when I was in Europe with my high school band at the age of 15 and never stopped. I drank at least 5 days per week (pussy amounts of course..6 would do the job..12 beers would get me shitfaced and dizzy) until I turned 18 or so and it got easier to get ahold of. By the time I worked at the Credit Thrift of America at the beautiful (now destroyed by swishy remodeling) Lloyd center at the age of 20 I was sucking down manly drinks in bars and 6 packs on my way home from work.
I never looked back. When Marla has asked me every 5 years or so "how can you drink so much?"...I always answer..."my dear..I wonder how I can drink so LITTLE stuck living amongst the human race".
I've watched a lot of good boozehounds quit or die over the years.
I'm 49 years old now...and I've only gone a couple weeklong wagon rides.
I'm not gonna take one now...
I don't see anything wrong with realizing it's best to not push my luck and taper back some on nights when I'm probably just inhaling excess beers instinctively. What the hell?? I want to be able to drink when I NEED IT..I mean REALLY NEED IT... for the duration.
I put away about 5 per casual night when I was taking the antibiotics.
I drank more on my birthday and on another occasion that called for it.
Less now, more later. If you disagree with that and think I'm wimping out, 1) how old are you? If you're younger than 40 just shut the fuck up. You have no right to judge me. If you're older than 50...I'll take your expertise under advisement.
I WILL drink when I'm around other people..playing music and just for fun. I will also ask myself...do I need to drink 15 tonight? When I do, I want to be able to.
More HBP reducing strategy: excercise. My legs are shot from years of writing books. Other writers have this problem....I need to get my legs back.
Low sodium: yeah....I've never given it a second thought. I've been sucking down 3 times the daily dosage which is good for you just like everybody else. This one will be easy and will lower by frigging blood pressure so I can thumb my nose at the G.P. A can of chili or prepared frozen food or rice mix and of course normal restaurant food has insane amounts of sodium. I've done the research. I can cook the foods that I want and use non-high sodium spices and cut that down over night. Fruits and vegetables?? well, ok. Juices..fine. I'll make serious inroads on the problem and not mind it. Did you know that swiss cheese (my favorite) is way the fuck lower in sodium than others? You can eat blazing hot food and any cut of red meat you want and avoid the sodium dose with a little planning. I don't prefer either..so it'll be easier for me.
Oh yeah....those dark beers and microspews you all love and I hate? Some of them have 75-200 mlg's of sodium per 12 ounces...my corporate beer has about 7 per.
Stress? A major contributor to HBP. I don't know how in the hell I can cut that back. Any ideas??
There are vitamins you can take that are loaded with stuff that helps your HBP. Since I learned to swallow pills that's no problem now. I wash 'em down with grape juice.
My biological Father has had heart surgery..he's a drinker and ornery and works long hours and is active in his 60's and all...but he's undoubtedly passed the genes along to me. It's either cut down the HBP or have to listen to some asshole doctor.
I sure don't want that. My hatred for the dumb fucks will spur me onward. I still have no idea why that bitch "nurse" was almost chortling at me; 8 beers a day is nothing. 12 isn't that big a deal. Don't they get patients who suck down a fifth of booze per day? Why should I subject myself to prudes and their judgement of me? It's not like I expect to live forever..I just want to have a little joy in my life in my advanced years.
If GG or El Duce or Stiv were still alive they'd all be well into their 50's. What would they do if given a second chance?
It's depressing having to discipline myself at all....but what the fuck. It's not like I have to eat like a hippie or be sober all the time.
4/10/06
We went out to dinner last night to continue my birthday celebration.
For several years, I'm telling you...I would have either demanded to go AFTER televised wrestling or ran a tape.
Of course as you know we seriously gave up on WWE as being considered crucial programming around here a long time ago.
HHH vs. John Cena?? Come on...as I like to say..I'd almost rather go to church with my Mother and my Aunt than watch that one in an arena even if you provided me with free tickets.
I got my wrestling fix later by re-watching a ROH match between Samoa Joe and Kobashi from last October. Just like matches involving guys like Stan Hanson and Bruiser Brody and the Freebirds you can watch Samoa Joe matches over and over and over and still have fun. Kobashi is BAD ASS...a creative, dramatic and dynamic wrestler who is one of the best I've ever seen from Japan. There was no commentary track for this match..and you know what?? It wasn't needed.
This joins a grueling hour long match between CM Punk and Joe for ROH as one of the best I've seen since the ECW days.
I feel good after watching great wrestling like this...as if there's hope that one day wrestling will dominate a day or two out of the week again.
I know a few people who prefer TNA to ROH...but I disagree...largely due to the Jeff Jarrett factor; if they'd get past him I'd be enthused and writing about their show. His guitar swinging act is as boring as Hogan or HHH have ever been.
I've been a wrestling fan since the very late 60's. I've seen 'em come and go for many years...and I'm telling you...those of you who consider yourself wrestling fans and just sit there with your arms folded too conservative or jaded or full of your own fart stench to check out ROH are missing out. Joe vs. Kobashi #1 is a great starting point.
Actually, I heard their second match is even better. I believe it was ranked as the only pure 5 star match in several years by Wrestling Observor.
If I have my facts wrong, correct me.
One things for sure...WWE has the roster...they could maych ROH...but they're incredibly misguided these days. Oh well....
4/09/06
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GOD DOUBLE DAMNED FUCKING ME
It's that time of year again. If you forgot, well...I hate to say it but Dixie the evil black cat my personal feline buddy remembered..which means he's smarter than you. His gift was appropriate. He pretended to love me and want his ears rubbed...and then when I wasn't paying attention he swiveled about and perked up his bunghole so that I actually touched it (again). It still feels like rubber.
A helluva birthday, huh?
Well, at least I'm not deaf and I can look forward to doing something my enemies could NEVER do tomorrow; play a serious, competent chess game in a tournament against a seasoned player (perhaps a master...I hope so..the tougher the better..I'm tired of walloping mere experts) and then come home and wallow in a pile of the clippings, vinyl records,trophies, cd's, books, magazine columns, report cards and hate mail I've chalked up or otherwise received over the years.
I'm gonna remove my pants, put on one of our band T-shirts and backfloat through it all.....like that Disney millionaire duck "Uncle scrooge used to do with mountains of his own hard earned cash in his vault (with his pants on).
I bet Walt Disney himself did that too...well, with his pants off....
4/06/06
Well, my hearing is mostly back..and my sinus infection seems to be going away. I'm not 100%...and the antibiotics give me the shits..so things aren't completely back to normal yet with me. April 9th is my birthday and at least I'm pretty sure I'll have full hearing for that great day of the year. I'll be celebrating by playing the first round of a chess tournament that's being held Sundays at the great new Austin chess club. Fuck, I better win or at least play well.
A lot of music that I need to listen to has been backing up. I've got to review over the next few days some delightful cd treasures for Carbon14.
I've also got a copy of a Tiny Tim LP I've got to list on ebay one of these days. Before I can I have to listen to it to check it for skips since it has a tad bit of wear.
Believe me, it's goddamn weird to have been deaf a few weeks ago...and now have the ability to listen to Mr. Tim warble. It almost seems like some sort of ironic abstract argument that there is some sort of cosmic plan...NNnaaahhhh. Almost but not quite.
I read an article about the buying habits of college ages music listeners. I was amazed that so many of them have no interest in actually buying a copy of recordings. They just down load shit that's available at websites.
I'm not against people downloading songs that I play on. It's a good way to educate oneself. I also very much see the advantage in not buying an entire cd for $16 of some major labor act that's probably lucky to come up with even 1 decent song.
I've yakked with friends who really dig deep looking for hard to find recordings that often turn out to be damned good. If that's you, I have no quarrel with you at all. More goddamned power to ya buddy.
If you're one of the gullible "consumers" who are easily swayed by the rhetoric and hype of record company's putting over a load of typical BULL SHIT like it's something really important...nothing I can say will likely sway you out of their vice like mind grip.
Labels have a PRODUCT to sell; whether it sucks or not, they've got to sell it. Whether it sucks or not new product will be touted in the various places on the internet and in printed magazines and newspapers. The same sort of drivel has been spouted about new musical product throughout my lifetime. They recycle the same old lies and epic one liners just like a preacher leafing through his sermon file on Wednesday afternoon in search of that Sundays inspired message.
BAD FINGER was gonna be the "next Beatles".
The Bay city Rollers were gonna be the "next Beatles".
BAD COMPANY was the greatest band on the planet.
MADONNA is a "genius".
RADIOHEAD is the "next Beatles".
Electronica was gonna take over and run all the macho guitar assholes out of the biz.
What ever happened to Limp Bizkit or Hootie and the fucking Blowfish? They seemed to bottom out as fast as BTO did 30+ years ago.
And then of course there's my all-time fave biggest lie: Multi-multi millionaire Bruce Springsteen speaks for the "common man"..blue collar lunch pail carrying guys.
The thrift store bins are already LOADED with multiple copies of epic rap releases spanning the hip hop "era''. When rap eventually (please!) is replaced by something else I predict there'll be so many copies of all the immortal earth shaking "crucial" releases flowing into Salvation Army and Goodwill donation bins they'll have to eventually post signs banning dumping them on their property..like soiled underpants or sofa's with springs popping up out of the seats or other forms of trash.
The turn-around time on 90's "alternative" cd's was incredibly fast considering how "vital" so many of them were touted to be.
Go to any record and cd show nationwide and I guarantee there'll be 10 dealers there selling milk crates loaded with a variety of sealed overpressed alterno cd's selling 'em for $1 a pop or maybe even 3 for $1.
There's always been a certain amount of "cutout" releases that never caught on...but the majors have gotten so good at telling lies...and todays generation of consumers is so fucking GULLIBLE....
Well, it just explains why so many of the rubes who've been fooled repeatedly over the course of their lives are wising up a bit and demanding to sample the goods.
Me, I wanna record sleeve or cd insert...or it doesn't really "count"..
I can understand why if that doesn't matter to you.
For that matter, reading back the last few paragraphs I now realize why so many younger people let their cd's get scratched up; with few exceptions they're TOTAL SHIT...and record stores won't buy 'em back for more than .50 cents...
OOOHHH!!!!!!! I hadn't thought of that angle when I sat down here. It makes perfect sense though, doesn't it?
3/31/06
DID YOU READ MY LAST ENTRY?? If you didn't you won't know what I'm talking about in this one.
Here's my take on the party that grew too big.
First off, the issue at the party wasn't over the INVITED guests (the band and their 1 per member guests)..it concerned the UNINVITED GUESTS.
The poor bastard that threw the fictitious party didn't realize that
1) A lot of people who are regularly on "party patrol" shall we say don't know the difference..there's just a party and stuff to consume as fast as you can.
2) Plenty of the people who showed up after hearing about the party from the band likely had no idea what the hosts intentions were..
3) if they DID know..lots of them wouldn't give a flying fuck.
Yes, it's very true that plenty of people who throw parties don't care how many people show up..or whether they know the people or not.
BUT!! many hosts do care.
Personally, we quit having "parties" partly for these reasons. We didn't want to risk having people showing up we didn't know.
Peoples attitudes about "partying" are often dangerously stupid.
I was talking about this with Mark. He told me about a time he had to chase a guy away during a party at "the compound" up in Illinois. The guy wound up coming back threatening him with some sort of foreign object; he couldn't comprehend the facts spiraling off the reality that Mark was an INVITED guest and that he was a total stranger nobody knew.
I've attended party's that got completely out of hand when a few dozen strangers turned up..haven't you? I saw a very nice house with a pool trashed and looted one time. When a load of strangers are in a nice house like that they tend to think the hosts are made of money and can afford to shrug off any damages.
I for one don't want people I don't know milling through my home with no sense of respect; when we have get togethers even people I DO KNOW can get out of hand. When you have to toss somebody out even for a damned good reason it's rare that the asshole being tossed understands WHY.
Let lonely people throw party's..or generous ones. Since I am neither we'll continue to have intimate gatherings rarely.
NOW. I brought up this party story because it's a perfect lead-in to my thoughts on the immigration hub bub.
I've said it many times before, I'm not left wing, right wing or "centrist" even. I may be registered Libertarian but I disagree with those folks all the damned time.
I'm a strange mix of opinions. I hate organized religion..which makes me the devil in the eyes of lots of Republicans. I also have loathed quite a few "suits" I've been forced to work for over the years.
On the other hand, I've hated at least as many hippies over my lifetime as I've hated suits. I also have as little use for a HUGE portion of social feel good programs and do-gooder lines of bull that waft from the left.
I don't own a gun (luckily) but I'm big on supporting folks rights to own them. Lefties HATE me for that. I also support the rights of people to enjoy porn, nude dancing at bars, etc. I'm in favor of legalizing prostitution and possession of most drugs. Righties HATE me for those notions. I think Neal Boortz's "flat tax" is a great idea...they ALL hate me for that.
I hate prudes..I hate teachers unions. I hate silly antiquated liquor laws. I hate transit unions that disrupt traffic. I hate it when people act shocked by cuss words. I hate the way schools counsel innocent kids simply because they don't get along with the herd. Quite a few kids who took guns to school and started blazing away were responding in a manner I understand.
For once, I'd like to see a tax on CHURCHES in place of a tax on vices.
I LOVE Las Vegas..and the joys of 24/7 entertainment and SIN GALORE.
I love old school pro wrestling, old school cars, old school TV, old school architecture and I find it fun to talk to old timers about their war experiences.
I'm a history buff...Gettysburg is one of my favorite American places to visit..a notch or two under Vegas.
I don't get a nostalgic glow when I see scenes from "Woodstock" on the tube. I'm glad I was too young to be part of that generation. They behaved like air headed morons with all their stupid slogans and false ideals that they gave up by the mid 70's.
I'm not coming from the same direction as Nixon Republicans though; I'm a fan of musical acts like the Mentors, the Sex Pistols, all 3 Hank Williams, Gene Vincent and Motorhead.
Blowfly, Dolemite and Jim Varney make me laugh.
"Friends" and"that 70's show" make me puke.
I like skyscrapers, PS2 poker, seeing guys working on hot rods and get froggy over the prospects of a night in most motel rooms I encounter.
I'm sick and tired of people who have a conspiracy to explain everything they don't like about life. I don't believe in reincarnation and "global warming" gets nothing but a shrug from me. I don't care. Let my son's kids deal with it or find another planet to move to.
War,,just like religion...is as inevitable as young people being relatively idealistic and older people being old fashioned.
Judging people from centuries past by contemporary notions of "racism" is as silly as blaming physicians or healers of past times for using methods and treatments we now see as wrong.
In the U.S. today as far as I'm concerned it's intellectually unsound to judge folks purely by their race. Racial stereotypes may well be accurate in some cases..but if you stick to them blindly you'll be wrong as often as you'll be right.
I look for certain charachteristics in people I want to associate with.
I resent being lumped in with all other white guys my age. I feel no blame whatsoever for injustices perpetrated by white people on other racial groups. I control nothing. I'm an outsider...a freak I guess.
I come from hillbilly stock that moved Westward to Southern Oregon around 1850. I've visited websites representing some of the Indians my ancestors likely fought and helped displace. I don't feel personal guilt...hell, it happened 150 years ago. I'm sure my family lost a few people in those scuffles too for that matter. Does that upset me? Well, not really. There were likely jackasses and admirable people on both sides. I would've fought for my people back then..but this is NOW. If I met up with some Takelma or Sastise in a bar in Medford or Klamath Falls, I'd like to think we could "bury the hatchet" (pardon the insensitive pun) and treat each other as individuals and not as pawns in some ancestoral fued.
This brings us in a roundabout way to todays hot debate over the millions of "illegals"hailing from Mexico and points South.
This is evidently a new "issue" for quite a few people back east and in the midwest. Remember, I grew up in Oregon and have lived in Los Angeles. In Oregon my first experience with people referred to as "migrant workers" was from a bit of a distance in the strawberry and bean fields I picked in when I was a kid. We were bussed in from the cookieland suburb of Beaverton Oregon. The "migrant workers" lived in obvious shacks we drove by on our way to the fields. They were generally for some reason I never heard explained assigned to work in fields maybe alongside us..but never WITH us.
Growing up in the 60's and 70's attending public schools I don't remember being taught that "migrant workers" were bad. On the contrary, I can remember several specific teachers pointing out how badly they were treated.
I don't remember the words "legal" or "illegal" entering the discussion either way.
That was the extent of my public school education concerning Latino culture in America.
In the mid 80's I worked with an auto parts store inventory crew in South L.A. that consisted of me, one other "anglo" and about a score of Spanish speaking guys including many Filipino's and Mexican's. We worked very often in Spanish speaking neighborhoods where I was for a change in the minority language wise.
I'm not trying to be some sort of "super-diverse" hero here...but honestly it wasn't a big deal at all. I was there to work. I never minded being around groups of Asians speaking in tongues I didn't understand either.
I got along with the guys I worked with well; hey, it was a work crew. Being worked like dogs all week long together brings you together I guess.
Call me naive..or chalk it up to me minding my own fucking business..but I couldn't tell you how many of them were "legal" or "illegal".
Nowdays, suddenly it's become a big issue. People in the mid-west are suddenly concerned about what's happening in California and other border states.
Even though for many years on the west coast so many people in positions of power have turned their heads on "illegals" there seems to be such a huge number of them that people in other states are now damned concerned.
I heard a sound bite on the radio in which an angry lady said "Legal..Illegal..what does it matter!" Unfortunately, just as we saw in my party analogy it can eventually matter. Hey, you can talk in idealistic terms about being a "citizen of the world" and ignoring borders...but it's all just feel good jargon.
How many nations on earth would allow me to simply come and go at will? Probably quite a few...but it's damned plain I wouldn't be welcome at all in plenty of others.
Do people discussing this issue understand this?? does that lady in the sound bite know this hhmm???
The State of California is up shit creek financially speaking.
There's a saturation point that may have already been reached in which masses of non-citizens are chalking up such huge bills for services such as schools and of course at hospitals that the party can't go on until somebody steps up and agrees to foot the bill.
Hey, if I received permission to live in Canada during a period of low unemployment..and several years later perhaps I was asked to leave due to a higher jobless count...well, THAT"S THE BREAKS. They have to take care of their citizens first.
Legal...vs. illegal?? You either are a U.S. citizen...or you aren't.
That's cut and dried. Using "borderless world" idealistic mumbo jumbo isn't going to convince all those congressmen who face re-election. It ISN'T a borderless world.
From a humanitarian standpoint how many millions of hungry immigrants can the U.S.. be expected to feed and house and educate and medicate?
This may sound cruel....but like in my last entry..the party ends at some point; a swimming pool can only hold so many people. Same goes for a lifeboat..if you cram too many people in one the whole damned boat will sink...don't believe me..TRY IT.
I don't like to see friends of mine get nailed and penalized for driving drunk..but the fact is...if they were drunk...THEY WERE DRUNK. Nice or not they'll likely have to pay the price.
Same thing goes here...the U.S. can only subsidize so many immigrants.
Some nice people are going to suffer...but that's the way of the world.
On the other hand, I see no reason why the U.S. government having been
lax in enforcing regulations should suddenly start disrupting lives without a bit of mercy and class. It reminds of when parents decide out of the blue to start enforcing some sort of strict behavior code; COME ON!! If you can't be consistent at least cut these folks some slack. People with homes and legacy's should be cut A LOT of slack and be pointed in many cases to a path towards citizenship.
If you think I'm being mean spirited...you could be a moral example to the nation by opening YOUR home to some hungry immigrantsand provide them with medical services; this would be the ultimate way in proving that you are truly a "citizen of the world" with a consciousness that doesn't recognize oppressive borders.
How many folks can you handle....4..6?? Sorry..we need you to take 32.
Of course, even though the American voters feel there's too many people at the party...it's possible nothing will come of all this and that something will happen to make them ignore it once again.
Enjoy the party while you can..but remember..eventually any lifeboat will sink.
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