City-wide radio salute to Buck at high noon.

All the radio stations, talk, rap, rock, whatever played his song "The streets of Bakersfield" today at high noon. It was a trip. I have never really listened to the song, so I downloaded the lyrics..I like em. here they are:

I came here looking for something
I couldn't find anywhere else
Hey, I'm not trying to be nobody
Just want a chance to be myself

I've done a thousand miles of thumbin'
I've worn blisters on my heels
Trying to find me something better
On the streets of Bakersfield

Chorus:
You don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

Spent some time in San Francisco
Spent a night there in the can
They threw this drunk man in my jail cell
Took fifteen dollars from that man
Left him my watch and my old house key
Don't want folks thinkin' that I'd steal
Then I thanked him as I was leaving, and
I headed for the streets of Bakersfield

Chorus:
You don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

You don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

How many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

In lieu of flowers Buck was said to have requested in his will that money be donated to our local ASPCA..he has a whole puppy wing named after him there, he took care of those little lost souls..rest in peace dude..you will be missed.

Balco Owner Conte gets out of slammer today, and says book is full of lies.

Man, this is gonna get interesting...

Victor Conte, the former owner of BALCO was released from prison today..not far from my house(Taft,CA) as a matter of fact. His first order of business was to refute the new book entitled "Game of Shadows" by Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada,which I blogged about previously here. That fine upstanding citizen..oops..I mean jailbird Mr. Conte now states that he NEVER gave Barroid Bonds steroids...never..ever. Bear in mind that this fuckwad made a deal with the Feds and got the majority of the charges against him dropped to a slap on the wrist..tax evasion, money laundering and steroids distribution. Four stinking months is all he did. Millions of tax payers dollars were spent on this investigation and subsequent trial for Conte and three other men, including Anderson, Barroid's trainer..just so this jackass could plea it down and do four months and the others even less time or NO time in prison at all. Mr. Conte also had the opportunity to refute what the arresting federal officer said and never availed himself of that option..he instead took a plea bargin..go figure.

What makes this interesting to me is that Buddy-boy Selig finally got off his ass and has named an investigation teamed headed by former Senate Majority Leader and director for the Boston Red Sox, George Mitchell. Georgie is also chairman of ABC, which owns ESPN, who currently is running a show about Barry Bonds, with Barroid's blessings. The investigation will ONLY concentrate on allegations that occured AFTER Major League Baseball instituted its rules regarding the use of steroids. Most of the book is regarding drug use PRIOR to the rules change in baseball. So..sportsfans..what is the use I ask you? It sounds pathetically to me like a whitewash. Mitchell has the power to widen his investigation..wonder how THAT will pan out and if he will..dont you?

I think Buddy Selig doesn't want to know the truth..He doesn't want the record Barroid set or the one he most likely will set this year, with regards to Hammerin Hank to be tarnished or perhaps ultimately removed from the record books. Barroid's drug use started, according to the book, in 1998..and stopped when the rules changed. So..what in the blue hell does ol Buddy-boy think their going to find....NOTHING..notta damn thing. He doesn't want anything found..or he would check out the crap prior to 2002. Its a thinly disguised rouge in my humble opinion. But who knows perhaps something good will come out of all this nasty he said, they said mess.

Here is the link to what the authors of the book list as their "evidence", the documentation they used to support their book. If I had to pick who I believed..the books author's or Victor Conte, a purveyor of drugs that maim and kill,(not to mention really shrink up the ol testes)..who do you think I would believe? Who would you believe? Stay tuned..its just starting..and so is baseball season..THIS SUNDAY! My baseball fix will be cured this sunday. Praise jesus and pass me the crackjacks and hotdogs.

BTW..if your looking for the HNT pic..its the next post..sorry..baseball doesn't take a backseat to anything.. :)

Now for something completely different for HNT..

I recently did a post on Graceland becoming a National Historical Site..and since I do not have a pic of moi for HNT..my blogger bud Sonic sent me this one..bless you Sonic..

She looks alot better in this get-up than Elvis did..

The 10 most polluted American cities..

Drumroll please...MY city is numero two..this is ozone only folks..like that makes a difference. Notice that numbers 2 through 5 are in the San Joaqin Valley..its the cow farts I tell ya..plus the smog from Hell-A rolling in..thats my story and I am sticking to it..

1. Los Angeles (including Long Beach and Riverside, California)

2. Bakersfield, California

3. Fresno-Madera, California

4. Visalia-Porterville, California

5. Merced, California

6. Houston (Baytown and Huntsville, Texas)

7. Sacramento (Arden and Arcade, California, and Truckee, Nevada)

8. Dallas/Forth Worth

9. New York (Newark, New Jersey, and Bridgeport, Connecticut)

10. Philadelphia (Camden and Vineland, New Jersey)

Source: American Lung Association (for 2005)

The "Big Unit" is a tight-ass.

Seems the yanks pitcher Randy Johnson is a real penny pincher. He wants the woman raising his "love" child to pony up a refund for child support he paid her that was earmarked for "child care expenses". He wants a return of $71,250 (plus $26,148.52 in interest) since she didn't provide ..lol..quarterly reports on how she spent his money. The article and subsequent court filings are over at the smoking gun...the link is here. Seems that Randy's gonna play hardball since the mother of the child asked for funds to purchase the kid a car and was denied by Johnson's agent as excessive..I just call him a fucking tight-ass, fugly sumbitch. Hope the kid doesn't look like him.

Graceland is now a national historic site..wtf?

First..if you have ever seen the inside of Elvis' home..the man's taste was in his ass. Its garish and gaudy as hell. I have seen better home decor in Oildale..and dude..thats saying ALOT.

Second, many historically important places are on the "list"..Monticello, The White House, and the Alamo are places that should be listed as historical monuments for we..the people..BUT GRACELAND??? wtf makes that an important historical landmark? Was it all those FBI badges ol Elvis got during his stint as a drug enforcement agent? Or maybe its that he holds the record for the most perscription drugs swallowed at one time by a fat, over-the-hill lounge lizard?

I'm sorry, but Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley surely lobbied for this honor, and its bullshit. I loved Elvis' music and his rich voice before he became a fat caricature of himself, with that huge gut and rhinestones coming out his ass..er..cape..

Fewer than 2,500 locations are designated as National Historic Landmarks across the US...this shouldn't be one of them.

Talk radio host gets the boot for using the word "coon"

He wasn't talking about raccoons..he was talking about Condi Rice and her comment about becoming the head of the NFL..

Sadly, it was a freudian slip..methinks so anyway..check this out:

"She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said on the air. "She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that."

He meant to say coup..a really big coup..no shit sherlock.

He got fired..from BOTH his jobs.. His day job axed his ass as well..poor guy..

The "Greaseman" is mentioned as well..I listened to that dipshit for years when I lived in uppper VA. The line I will remember him for is this: Its MLK day..damn, if we shoot four more can we get a week off?"..he didn't get fired for that one..I damn near rear-ended the car in front of me on the beltway when I heard him say it.

The link to the article is here.

Buck Owens has passed on to the other side..

If I lived anywhere else in the United States..i wouldnt give a rats ass..but here..its a big deal..Buck was a big deal..he was a benevolent man that still spent his money here in BakeTown. He still lived here for gods sake..I dunno why.. but he never left..until today.

Perhaps its because he still loved this place..this country spot in the middle of Cali..all these Okies that still listen to country even if its no longer cool. Buck was a magnanimous man..and he will be missed here. He took a shitty sign that was ove the entrance to a seedy motel and made it a landmark. I stayed at that shitty motel..it sucked..but the sign was beautiful and in decay..Buck made it pretty again. He was a good man that loved his roots. His "Crystal Palace" was a fine establishment that still kept country music, and any music for that matter..alive and part of our lives. The stars from all walks of the music business would flock here for his birthday party each year.

Buck was a great man among the little people.. and rightfully so. I admire his tenacity to stay in the country music business..he discovered a few talents..among them..Dwight Yocum.

Bakersfield is a hard place to grow up..even harder a place to make a living..Buck did both and never left us..he was true to his "school".and for that I will respect him. He never got too big for his britches..He was on TV less than a week ago celebrating his birthday with a book that was written about him for elementary school students..he will be missed. We always miss a man of his stature..they are so hard to find in this day and age.

Well..I told the boss lady I am done.

I gave her two weeks notice..I am not mean or vengeful..of course this is the busiest two weeks of the year so far..roughly 197 products to gather info and location on..in one week. Lots o' stores to visit..lots of inventory and sales numbers to crunch.

I feel relieved. A small weight has been lifted off my sagging shoulders. Now, I just have to find another job..no big deal..right?

Wrong..so wrong..I am wrestling with this and many other things right now. Do I want to work full or part time?

I have been tapped to be the regional coordinator for MoveOn.org during the upcoming election period. I get to go to the coast!!!! Praise Jesus and pass the tanning lotion :) I get to work with local groups from BakeTown to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo..and Fresno..and points in between. Help them organize and get out the votes regarding issues near and dear to our hearts and minds as progressives and anti-war activists. The agenda is large and daunting. But I am looking forward to it..

My cat Leroy is doing better after another whole day at the vets. She (yes, its a she) is eating baby food to the dismay of the other cats in the house. Try keeping a boatload of cats away from her special plate..go ahead..I dare ya..sucks don't it? They sit and glare at me whilst Lil Lee finally eats after days of not being able to keep anything down. I stand guard with a large squirt bottle of water..ever vigilant and not afraid to nail anyone that tries to steal her food. Funny how a firm NO and a spray of water between the eyes makes my point quite clearly, when usually I can scream it till I turn blue and they ignore me..must be the water eh?

My tired, beat body needs some sleep..I will be busy tomorrow. Have a good weekend my dear reader :P

Jeez..if the Cinncy Reds don't suck enough already..

Those poor freaks will have The Prez..yes, that President...toss out the first pitch at their opening day festivities..

I mean, come on..his approval rating is lower than a dog-catchers, the man can't make a complete sentence and now this? I fear nothing good will come out of this for the Reds. Its bad luck to have a dipshit toss out your first pitch for the season..it doesn't bode well for them..

I won't be drafting any Reds at monday's fantasy baseball draft.

Barroid Bonds to sue authors of "Game of Shadows"

He is NOT however suing for libel. He is suing for the profits of the book to be withheld from the authors. His attorney has issued a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle detailing his request for a temporary restraining order against the book which is to come out today. The suit is being filed in Cali under the "unfair competition law". Bond's attorney is also going to ask a federal judge to initiate contempt proceedings based on the Grand Jury transcripts that were used in the writing of the book.Bonds attorney states the GJ transcripts were obtained illegally under federal law. Bonds is going to sue Sports Illustrated, the Chronicle, the publisher Gotham Books and both authors.

The fact that Barroid isn't suing for slander or libel says volumes regarding his guilt. He is attempting to use a technicality to halt the sale of the book. The pdf version of the letter sent to the San Fran Chronicle is here. Espn has the story up on their site regarding the lawsuit, as do several others. The SF Giants declined comment, stating its a personal problem for Barroid, not the club.

Color me blue for HNT

I am blue today..lots of reasons but mainly because one of my cats is sick..and after 300 bucks they still don't know whats wrong with her. She's such a sweetie my little Lee, and it kills me to see her so sick and not be able to help her. She has been poked,prodded,x-rayed,injected..all to no avail..
Gentle souls like lee are special. The other cats are so rambunctious and outgoing..but not little lee. She likes to snuggle in behind my knees when I sleep at night. She lets the other cats steal her dinner and her toys.

I just want her to be herself again. I want them to make her well. Until then I will be blue.

For more HNT action..head on over to Os' place..the linkage to his place is here. He has a shot that I have no clue how he took it..

dusty is blue

The best sex partner is....

A FREAKING REPUBLICAN!!!

I find this very disgusting on various levels..but it says that repubes make the best sexual partners..notice I didn't say lovers..

A Men's Style(GQ) article spells out why Repubes are so hot in the sack..its humorous and I enjoyed reading it..laughing aloud throughout. Its entitled: The Elephant in the bedroom.

If your bored and the curiousity is killing you..check it out here.

Thanks to Shelly for the link to the article..Shells is a favorite of mine that I link over on my political blog..she's not always political..so I will put her up over here as well..Shells is a funny lady..I adore her and her blog.

My Saturday ..

My Picture doesn't really do justice to this protest sign. It was quite elaborate.
It was a sunny although blustery day in Santa Barbara. The breeze felt good since it was quite warm for awhile whilst marching in time to the drum beats and cowbells.
I loved this sign..Cheney in the Chain gang hat..too cute! and so fitting in my opinion.
This Vietnam Vet was a speaker when we stopped at the Federal Bankruptcy Court..fitting don't you think w/all the money the Shrub is sinking into the war in Iraq? The older gent he's talking with walked the two miles with us. He's got to be 80 if he's a day. He's a sweetheart too. There were also Vietnam Vets in wheelchairs that did the whole march too. God Bless those guys for being involved and caring enough to go the distance..

It was nice to see people along the way that supported us and chanted with us as we made our way to the Federal Bankruptcy Court. The march then went to the local Santa Barbara Courthouse building which is beautiful old-style spanish architecture. There were more speeches and the protesters were roughly 400 strong. I purchased some buttons and dropped some money in the People's Coalition donation box. During the Protest March there was chanting, and lots of noisemakers to get the shoppers attention since we marched thru the main shopping district in old downtown Santa Barbara.

Most memorable quote for me: Iraqi Horror Picture Show..used to describe what is taking place over there inspite of what Rummy says is going on.

There you have it..my day in a few pictures..the kid had used my camera and the battery died..or I would have more. Plus blogger is being a real pain in the ass this weekend..

No post today..

Going to Santa Barbara to attend an Anti-war Rally. Play nice and feed the cat gravitar for me if for some reason I get tossed in the slammer...its been known to happen ya know :P

Masks of life..and death

Princeton University..that fine Ivy League center of learning has a strange friggin collection. Its a collection of masks, most of them are actually molds of the individuals heads, some done whilst they were alive and the rest..well..after they went over to the other side...

They have Beethoven, Aaron Burr, Thomas Paine,Tolstoy,Washington, James Dean even! William Shakespeare is there also. Check it out. The linkage is here.

US defeated by Mexico 2-1

The Rocket pitched what might be his final game. Seven other pitchers hurled a three hitter..thats all they gave up..adios USA.

The Dominican's..thats who I am picking. The opening game of the semi's will be at Petfood Park Saturday in my beloved San Diego...I know..its Petco..but I friggin hate that name.

The Dominican's will play Cuba Saturday night.

The Rocket says he's leaning towards retirement...god I hate to see him go.

I wouldn't mind if Barroid retired though..

15 Minutes of Sex with Colin Farrell is worth 3 Mil???

The former Miss January 2002 has signed a deal with an Internet Distributor to market a video of her and actor Colin Farrell bumping uglies for all of 15 minutes. Its a decent deal for her 15 minutes of fame..a whopping $3 million just as an advance!

I find this utterly amazing..its not like an hour long show..a lousy 15 minutes. Tintillating is one thing..short and raunchy must really be grand in porn circles.

Hell, I would do him for gratis..but thats just the kind of girl I am :P

The smoking gun story is here.

Baseball...

The United States got their asses kicked in the World Baseball Classic twice so far..so no soup for them..

We can get into the final four..with a little from Mexico. They need to roll over and play dead when the US plays them tomorrow. However, if Japan beats Korea and Mexico over the next two days -- and if a Japan win over Korea is reasonably low scoring -- there's a chance that Team USA could be eliminated from this WBC even before Thursday's game with Mexico is played.

Barroid Bonds is still ducking the steroid questions but Faye Vincent wants a full investigation..he is the same guy that made Pete Rose's life a living hell..but this time around, I want Barroid to sweat like a ho' in church..I want him to be banned from ever entering the Hall of Fame. And I want his records erased if everything the book says is shown to be true. I am betting the book is correct and Barroid is a lying sack of shit.

The Moon is 99% full...

And you know what that means..

Well, if you do...could you tell me?

All Hail breaks loose.

So..I was sitting around, reading my favorite political blogs when I heard thunder..big booming thunder. I quickly shutdown the laptop and walked the half a block to the front of the humble abode. I put the weather channel on and all kinds of bells and whistles were going off on there. Major weather approaching..danger..will robinson..danger!! The radar was blue over BakeTown..blue! Blue is something other than rain apparently.

I opened the front door and hot damn if it wasn't pitch black outside. And windy, as windy as my sister bitching out a saleslady at Nordie's. All the neighbors were standing on their porches surveying the impending doom.

Now, I am sure you folks east of Arizona and Nevada are saying..bfd lady. Well, to us it was. When the hail started hitting the house all seven cats ran like hell to the back of the house and crowded under my kingsized bed. Baby the dog started shaking like the proverbial leaf and Sasha started barking her fool head off. Nicky the fat poodle just laid on the couch and wondered what all the fuss was about. I grabbed my camera and started taking some pics for the family album.

It lasted all of ten minutes. Just long enough to blanket the street with ping pong ball-sized hail. The kids making balls of the white stuff and tossing them at each other. When it passed, the cats came out from under the bed and I got Baby to stop shaking by giving her a biscuit or two..or three.

I might have to rethink my evening travel plans..I hate driving in the rain..much less hail.

Wind, rain, snow, sleet..wtf?

They have closed the highways going east or west out of town..which doesn't bother me..I am not going over the mountains anytime this weekend. I am however going north to Fresno for the Rogue Festival. The San Joaquin Valley is ringed by mountains which are covered with a dusting of snow. The snow level is supposed to drop to 1800 feet this evening.Right now..at 8am the temperature is a balmy 42 degrees here on the Valley floor..brrrrrrrrrrr...no matter how you look at it..thats friggin cold sportsfans. Kiddies are getting a snow day..something most of them don't see often here in Southern Cali.And wtf is a snow chain? Do people actually own those things and know how to put them on your tires? They are getting ready to close I-5 going south into Hell-A, so we here in the valley will be locked in tight very soon. Christ, they just said Taft has snowflakes..Taft is on the Valley floor..this could get nasty folks.

Good thing I am not planning to go to Las Vegas..the road is closed...wouldn't THAT piss ya off.

The Rogue Festival is the brainchild of Marcel Nunis, a teacher in Fresno and a fellow blogger. Its known as a "fringe festival". I heard it explained as collection of artists and performances outside the normal comfort zone of entertainment. If you click on the link and check out the website, you can see that it is off the beaten path. There are 13 venues for this festival, so I think I really need to plan what I want to see Saturday, although it is held in whats known as the "Tower District" in Fresno. There are films, standup comedy, plays..a plethora of acts to entertain and amaze you.

I can't wait. But I gotta work now..so have a great weekend..stay warm.

No HNT today

sorry, no pics..kid has the camera.

These are the faces of rich kids. Rich kids that burned at least 8 churches in Alabama. The motive wasn't racism the investigators say, since most of the churches were attended by whites. Every one involved in the investigation is freaked, it was assumed by profilers that the people who carried out these attacks were anything BUT smart ,college-aged rich kids. But it was these rich boys. They attended the University of Alabama, two of them were to appear in upcoming drama productions. Their ages are 19 and 20. They are said to have had"so much going for them"..yeah right! They are looking at hard time w/bubba in the federal slammer.

But the NY Times article also shows there are two sides to every person. A quote from one of the arsonist's that was written on an online Website for college and high school students gives a view into the darker side of these "good boys" that just wanted to have a little fun:"The nights have grown long and the interstates of Alabama drunk driverless, the state troopers bored, the county sheriffs less weary, and the deer of Bibb County fearless. 2006 is here, it is time to reconvene the season of evil! Only one problem stands in our way. I got a new cellphone for Christmas and I no longer have your number, so send it to me and evil shall once again come to pass!"

These kids were bright and had money to burn..so why did they burn churches? What could motivate supposed intelligent people to do something so heinous and stupid? After the first set of fires, they set four others in an attempt to throw investigators off their trail. They were just bored? Where is the fun in burning churches, houses of worship? Sorry, but thats not my idea of fun or a way to pass an evening. Why did these supposed intelligent kids do something so damn dumb for fun and games?

I don't know why these crimes bother me so much. It reminds me of the playground bullys terrorizing the little nerdy kids. I am a believer in God. I trust he will be there when I die and I think his houses of worship should be a place for safe haven. Inspite of all my rhetoric, I believe that people should be allowed to worship God where and how they want. God alone saved my brother from an early drug-induced death. I am thankful for that. It just jacks my jaw that these kids and their supporters are now flooding the media with stories about how "good" these boys were, that it was just a joke.

Its not a joke, its sick and disgusting...and guess what..they aren't kids..they are adults in the eyes of the law. And their parents money might keep them from doing hard time..but I hope they do some serious time..if only to have a consequence for their horrible despicable actions that put an entire state of Alabama parishoners in fear.

Gordon Parks dies at 93

This is probably one of his most famous pieces entitled "American Gothic". He followed this lady around for days, a widowed cleaning woman working in our nation's capitol. He posed her for this shot and his boss replied after seeing it:"You've got the right idea but your going to get us all fired."

Gordon Parks was an orphan. He was poor and black. Parks was many things during his life including a piano player in a brothel. But he rose above the poverty to become a photographer,film director and a writer of poety and symphony's. Parks was the creator of "Shaft" and started the black-exploitation era in films. He was also the first black man to direct a film for the major studios with his film "The Learning Tree". He was the first black staff photographer at Life magazine in the 1940's.

Gordon Parks was many things, including a high-school dropout. He overcame many obstacles to reach the pinnacle of life. His role as a social documentarian is the one I will remember him for. His stark images showing us reality's we as american's wanted to ignore, or deny existed.

Thanks Gordon Parks for everything you accomplished and showed us through your lens,your music and your poetry. The LA Times has a tribute to this great man. The link is here.

Jeez..Men still do this to farm animals?

A Mesa AZ deputy Fire Chief was caught w/his pants down..literally. He was ..um..how do you say..doing the neighbors baby sheep. Mesa is a booming metropolis, I used to live there. I wasn't aware that you could have farm animals within the city limits. I also wasn't aware of the fact that some men still crave a good roll in the hay with mary's little lamb. Leroy Johnson sure did. Hell with the name Leroy he is probably from the southern climes where this type of "love" is ok. If you want the gaudy details, they are up at the smoking gun. Linkage is here.
The story line.."Fire Chief caught on the Lamb"..Cute.

Barroid Bonds should NEVER be in the Hall of Fame

Two reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle have written a book entitled "Game of Shadows".The book ,according to a cbs sportsline article states Barry used a vast array of performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids and human growth hormone, for at least five seasons beginning in 1998. Below is an excerpt from a Sportsline.com article on the recently released book:

Authors Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, who led the newspaper's coverage of the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) scandal, detail the specifics of Bonds' drug regimen, which they write started in 1998 with injections of Winstrol, a powerful steroid also linked to Rafael Palmeiro. Former world record-holding sprinter Tim Montgomery also was linked to the U.S. government investigation of BALCO.

According to the book, Bonds used several substances in various forms -- by injecting himself with a syringe, taking injections from Anderson, gulping pills, putting liquid drops under his tongue or rubbing cream on his skin.

Bonds became so experienced and well-versed with the regimen that he occasionally overruled Anderson and took control of his own doping schedule, the book says.

I say Barroid aka Barry Bonds should never be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame because he continues to this day to refute any evidence that he used steroids, human growth hormones or performance enhancing drugs willingly. This is the only reason I think he should be kept out of the HOF. If he had come clean to MLB, then I wouldn't feel the need to ban him...but he hasn't. Ken Caminiti told the world of his steroid use during his MVP season. I worshipped that man when he was with my beloved Padres. I loved to sit along the 3rd base line and watch him play the hot corner. I was heartbroken when he confessed his use of steroids, but I respect him for doing so. Its part of "getting clean" according to experts in the field of drug abuse. If what these two reporters say in their book wasn't true..you can bet your sweet ass Barroid would be hot-footing it over to his attorney's office to file a slander or libel case against them. He isn't. He is at the Giants spring training facility in AZ. Any records he holds that were set during the time frame stated in the book should be wiped off the books. Its cheating..the man cheated baseball, the fans and the former record-holders by using substances that are illegal to use or purchase anywhere in the United States unless you are prescribed them for an AIDS regime. Dusty Baker and the Giants ownership never bothered to wonder if he was doing 'roids, as long as he could hit the long ball, it didn't matter to them. Barroid Bonds is a disgusting, ego-filled jackass that cheated..plain and simple. Barroid is in the final year of his contract with the Giants. I hope they do not resign him but its their choice. Some teams need all the help they can get, even if it means having a cheating sumbitch on the payroll who has never come clean on how he did what he did or why he felt the need to do it. As a lover of all things baseball, this shocks and saddens me. I have never been a fan of barry's but I did respect his abilities. I have not one scintilla of respect for him now...and I never will again.

Lets revisit one of Barroids quotes on the subject of steroid use in baseball shall we? "Doctors ought to quit worrying about what ballplayers are taking. What players take doesn't matter. It's nobody else's business. The doctors should spend their time looking for cures for cancer. It takes more than muscles to hit homers. If all those guys were using stuff, how come they're not all hitting homers?"
-- May 21, 2002

An excerpt of the book appears in Sports Illustrated this week. A link to the excerpt is HERE. Read it and weep..for baseball and those who love the sport and play it without the use of illegal,body-damaging drugs. His racial comments regarding Mark McGwire were a shock to me. This coming from a man who NEVER experienced what Willie Mays,his own father or Hammerin' Hank Aaron did,outright racist behavior towards men of color. What gave Barroid the right to make racist comments about Big Mac?..nothing but envy..the green-eyed monster that lurks in everyone. Barroid starting using Steroids the season after Big Mac set the record for homers..Read the excerpt. If your a fan of Barroid's you might change your view..if your not.it will only reinforce your view that this man is a piece of bat guano that needs to be shown the door.

Paul Butterfield to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

I love his music,it still rings true to me this day. He was a "harp" player..the harmonica, and lord knows that man could play. He was one of the best bar none. Paul was a white boy born in Chicago in 1942. He started out playing classical flute..lol..but started listening to his fathers jazz collection. He and a friend.Nick Gravenites started hitting the blues clubs when they were old enough. Paul played with the best the blues had to offer: Muddy Waters, Little Walter Jacobs, Howlin' Wolf just to name a few of the bigs.

In 1963 Paul and guitar master Michael Bloomfield formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Butterfields vocals&harp,along with Mikes guitar riffs made the band a well-known name among blues lovers. I know I have loved them since I fell in love w/the blues in highschool circa late 60's.

The other inductees for the May 10th gala in Memphis are as follows:

Performers
James Cotton--this man is awesome..listen to some of his work if you can :)
Bobby Rush
Paul Butterfield
Roy Milton--hes pretty damn good too if you ask moi.

Non-Performers
Bobby Robinson
Jerry Wexler
The Bihari Brothers - Jules, Joe, Les, and Saul


Literature
Chasin' That Devil Music by Gayle Dean Wardlow, edited by Edward Komara
Blues & Rhythm - a British magazine

Music Singles
"Devil Got My Woman" by Skip James (Paramount)
"Honky Tonk, Parts 1 & 2" by Bill Doggett (King)
"Hound Dog" by Big Mama Thornton (Peacock)- I LOVE BIG MAMA..

Music Albums
Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton by Charley Patton (Revenant)
Tell Mama by Etta James (Cadet)
I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll by Mississippi Fred McDowell (Capitol)

I want to be buried alive w/the blues..better than being buried dead with nothing..

Another meme..but a musical one.

This one is from Shining Star. She has requested the seven songs I am currently listening to, which is tough since my laptop blew up and and I lost all my Itunes music.So, per the meme:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

OOOkay..here we go..

Joe Bonamassa's If Heartaches were Nickels,live version recorded at Pierre's in Ft.Wayne, IN.
Billy Idols' White Wedding
AC/DC's Hells Bells
Cream's White Room (its listed incorrectly as Clapton's White Room)
Jonny Lang's Red Light
Buddy Guy&Jonny Lang's version of Red House
Eagles Desperado

Alas, but I do not tag folks anymore..so I can not complete this..but I would like to know what the following folks are listening to:
Kurt
Bruce
John Q Public
Fantastic Alice
Dick Cheney
Scooter Libby
Karl Rove

There are two of them w/links for your listening or watching pleasure..enjoy :)

John Cory, can this man write or what..

I get many political emails..too many to read most days. This morning one of my favorite sites, TruthOut.org sent me something special. It was special only because of the tiny link at the bottom of the page. The link went to John Cory's website. John is a Vietnam Vet. John is also a beautiful, moving writer of words. John has learned how to quell the demons by writing about them. He weaves beautiful prose into visions in your minds eye. What made me click the link to his site was that he used some of Hunter's words in his Truthout article..I loved that crazy Hunter S. Thompson so I had to go look at John's words. They are worth your time. They will make you see in you mind what you read on the page. One particular story moved me to tears. Its just a short story but in the end it made me smile through my tears. What a writer he is..magnificent and expressive.

The title of the story: When snowflakes sing

Its an awesome, moving piece. Go read it if you have a few minutes to spare. You won't be sorry you did, I promise. It's not political, its beautiful and sad... but uplifting at the end, leaving you feeling good, not bad. The link is here.

All I wanted was a friggin Pizza.

Its been tough lately at my humble abode..the ball and chain has found out he DOES have something wrong w/him..jesus, if you look long enough WE all got something wrong w/us!

He's got a nice lil arterial blockage..comes from living a life of excess I think..but hell, don't most of us eat,drink and smoke too much? And not exercise enough..or in some cases,like his..at all?

Doc #2 wants to do an angiogram..I said great, when ya getting it..

The b&c said he wasn't..I asked if perhaps he had a death wish or was just tired of my shit and wanted to see what the other side was like.

Fast forward to this evening..its fucking raining..real rain, not the drizzle shit we usually get. I worked a long day into evening. I was tired, my joints hurt like hell from the cold and damp. I was gonna get my usual for dinner..a take and bake pizza..damn if they werent out of them at the local grocery store I was working in..no big I will go two doors down to Pizza-Hut....big fucking mistake sportsfans..big..huge..sad.

At 9:30 pm I finished up the store and walked over IN THE RAIN to Pizza hut. I didn't realize that a business could be run by 18 year olds..rude, snotty 18 year olds. They must figure they have a captive fucking bunch of consumers to risk pissing off people with these dipshits running the franchise on a friday night.

Dipshit#1 takes my order. Real sweetie..doesnt smile or address me other to bark commands at me and enter my responses into her computer/register. When she gets to my phone number I say its unlisted..well, it is..she saids..very loudly..I NEED YOUR PHONE NUMBER TO PROCESS THE ORDER. So I was taken aback, but not far enough back apparently so I gave her an obviously fake phone number..222-1234. She glared at me..I smiled back.

She then asked for my name..I said, without missing a beat..Marvin. I don't think I, a female, look anything like a Marvin..so I hope my humor wasn't lost on her...apparently she doesn't have a sense of humor.

She looks over at her boss and says.."Can I clock out now?"..and the boss, who is all of..19 maybe says..Sure.

The dipshit#1 turns on her heel and walks away from the register..Bitch hasn't askd for payment..so shes not done w/my order.. I wait about a minute..see her walk out the door and start to get nasty on dipshit#2, the manager..EXCUSE ME..your employee, who by the way has the customer service acumen of a SHITHOUSE mouse didnt' finish taking my order..who's turn is it to finish the damn job?

She slides over, takes my credit card and gives me a short but totally heartfelt(my ass) "sorry, I didn;t know she didn't finish." I ask when the pizza will be ready to travel..she says..20 minutes..

I repeat the time..she says thats the standard time..I say..it only takes 8 fucking minutes to cook the damn thing..why so long? She smiles and walks away..no answer..BITCH!..but I didn't say it out loud..I just thought it very LOUDLY..

Dipshit #3 goes.."how do you know how long it takes, you work here before?" I say fuck no..I make them at home..and its not rocket science for gods sake.

I waited 30 minutes for that pizza..found out I came at the wrong time..BREAK TIME FOR THE KIDDIES running the place..god forbid the customers, who's purchases pay their slimy little ass'es, can whistle dixie, stand on their heads and spit nickles..nothing comes before the entire stores fucking break..nothing..dipshit#3 sat next to me whilst on her break..and bitched about being on her feet for four hours..I told her I had been on mine for 9..and I was old and my back was killing me..she could just shut the fuck up and make my pizza...she did get up and check on it..

Like I said..customer service was on the basement level and apparently its the norm. God I love Oildale's Pizza Hut..

NOT! and I wont go back..next time I might get a tad loud and get tossed...can't have that...I might run for office some day..lol.

Damn..its a long test but I enjoyed it.

personalDNA

Benevolent Inventor

Several People have this one up on their sites, so I do not remember whom I got it from..sorry.
Its very interesting and not one of those cheapie ones that just asks a couple of questions..its very detailed and took me about 20 minutes as I recall, I did it a couple days ago. So, if you have the time and your bored to death..do it and post your DNA..please.

You click on the title which in this case is the Benevolent Inventor line. If you hover over the colored blocks it shows you different parts of my personality...as it will yours. Try it! I just don't understand how I can have high masculinity and high femininity..confusing..but maybe that is moi..a confusing jumble of traits.

HNT shadows and sunsets.

It's the ball and chain..aka my husband. This was taken a few years ago at our favorite RV spot on the Cali coast, Hobson Beach. Its located in Ventura county. Its a very small, secluded spot with only about 20 RV spots..cool eh?I do not camp..my idea of camping is a "fully stocked" Winnebago, which we have. The great thing about this spot is that you can "rough" it and park right up against the edge of the ocean sans any of the extra's like electricity or cable or plumbing..OR..you can park back from the edge and have the above mentioned items..which is where WE park it..god forbid I don't get to watch any baseball LOL.The view you see is what we see from our RV..its awesome ain't it? When the tide is high, the waves come over the rocks and slap against the RV's in the front row..not hard mind you, just barely touching, caressing the front of your camper with spray from the waves.I love this place and its cheap..about 30 bucks a night..which isn't bad when you consider what you get for that money..the sound of the ocean, a beautiful sunset each night and of course..all those extras. Nothing like camping and being able to watch ESPN or HBO..thats MY idea of a great camping trip..sorry..thats my story and I am sticking to it :)

Edit: I also have a submission for the HNT@theRogue, the San Joaquin Valleys very own performance festival..its not attached to this profile..so if you want to take a gander at it, head on over to here.

To dream the Impossible Dream

Shelly let me steal this from her this morning. Its old but its always good for a smile don't ya know? Shes a good read but warning, will robinson, warning...she's political, but funny as hell too. I love her post title regarding the UAE fiasco: Going Once, going twice, Sold! Port Security to the lowest bidder!

Frank Thomas, the Big Hurt, gets bitch slapped.

Why is it that when athletes leave a team after a long stay, they bad-mouth their former team. Why can't they act like they have a little class? Perhaps they fall into the traps set for them by some of those nasty media types looking for a story. Teams never talk shit about players they don't re-sign or trade for a bag of balls.

The Chi-Sox GM really stuck it to Frank when asked about some public whining the Big Hurt had done after his contract was bought out in the off season for a paltry..cough..3.5 million. Kenny Williams called Frank an "Idiot" and also mentioned that the owner of the Sox, Jerry Reinsdorf loaned Frank some cash at one point during his career when he was making decent coin. He really let it fly when he mentioned that not one player or employee in Chi-town missed ol Frank.

The GM also said Frank should be a man and call him if he had "issues"..I agree.

So Frank called him yesterday. He said they got some things straightened out but wouldn't elaborate....he also said they wouldn't be on each others Christmas card list. Then Frank changed the subject and for once kept his yap shut.

How did that crow taste Frank?