da blogs da thang

Still on the quest for a quick & crappy HNT post… I submit this. This is only because Lelly said my last effort was “witty & creative… as usual.” So, this week… not tricks! Just a plain old picture. I’m posting this one only because I was rapsodizing about my new trimmer a few posts ago. My last trim was 2 days ago and I actually got hit on twice today in a span of 5 minutes. Hmm… I can’t help but think this trimming thing is actually working!

O.K. perhaps I won’t let you off that easily. You get to participate in a poll! I’ve been toying with the idea of coloring my face fungus. The grey is coming in… which I don’t mind. It’s just at that funky stage where the the whiskers on my upper lip can look like I snotted all over it. So, you get to decide on the poll below.

If you’re wondering what this HNT madness is all about… click the nifty button in the sidebar! HAPPY HNT TO ALL!

SSM leaves tomorrow for Washington. Click the karaoke version to “Candle in the Wind” and sing along to the bad lyric homage below!

Oh, and the picture was taken last night at his final local pub crawl. California will miss ya, buddy. To the citizens of Washington… we pity you.

Now sing it loud and sing it proud!

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Scary Squirrel Man,
You’re heading out into the
Washingto-nian wilderness,
With a stray cat by your side,
You leave behind the state,
Where you were brought into this world,
And where you first got laid,
And laid and laid with pride,

Chorus
We won’t miss the way,
You rant away,
While you’re loudly passing wind,
We won’t miss the drunken stupor
Or the silly grin,
What we’ll miss the most,
Will be your presence here,
Hanging out with Miller beer
And knowing that you care

You can be a bitch,
You can be re-action-ary
And a silly goof
When you’re dancing in a club
You haven’t got a clue
About the difference you’ve made
And you have made a few
Though you’ve chose to seem aloof

Chorus

It’s time to name that cat,
It’s time to pack up that cooler
That we’ve often used
For Summer barbecues
Get your ass up north,
And when you’re freezing off your balls
Remember underwear
Is something you should use

Chorus

For years my physical Rasputin persona has dictated the use of hair care and personal grooming products. I often have intense conversations with my female friends about hair-care… shampoos, conditioners, etc.

Personal grooming (aka beard trimming) is another matter entirely. Any conversations with my female friends on this matter usually ends up in a heated debate over… “Brazilian – yes or no?” That’s a “beard” of a different sort entirely. As entertaining and illuminating as those discussions are they really do nothing to help me in my own personal grooming needs.

Since most of my male friends are clean shaven… it’s a challenge to compare products. Well, last week at the checkout counter of Big Lots I spied this wonderful little trimmer set. It only cost about 12 bucks so I bought it!

Over the years I did it the old fashion way – trimming with a sissor and comb. I tried it out this weekend and this little set has changed my life! Viva Remington!

You’ve already heard about the world famous roasted chicken in the barbecue from the previous post. Thought a visual aid was called for. Here are one and a half birds in all their glory.

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The wake last night at Thereminman’s place was a wonderful do – at least where wakes go. SSM and I breezed into the hamlet of Kingsburg armed with a “growler” from a local micro-brewery.

Kingsburg has a great middle America small town charm about it. The Swedish motif is even more spectacular during the “holiday month” when it’s lit up with twinkle lights and Thereminman’s house looks like the house out of The Waltons. We were unsure quite what to expect when we first got there. Soon we were clued in to Thereminman’s request to celebrate his late father’s life with “food, fire, music & beer.”

We entered this joyful catharsis with a spread of food, chilled beer and Hank Williams (his Dad’s favorite) playing on the stereo on the wonderful back patio. Musician friends turned up and serenaded us with some live and lively Western Swing… complete with slide guitar.

As the crisp Fall California evening progressed there were great stories and photographs shared. At one point even a little old time country and western sing-along broke out. This was truly a celebration of a man’s life honored by a son with grace and affection.

As the fire began to die out in the firepit we took our leave warmed by the knowledge we were honored to share this special time with our friend. We got insights into his father’s life… and more importantly through this celebration of his father – we got to know him better.
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Then there was Livingstone’s…

On the evening of Black Friday every year the place to be is Livingstone’s. This neighborhood pub & and restaurant is the usual haunt for those who have returned for the holidays – and need to get away from the family. This “homecoming” of sorts affords one the opportunity to run into old friends and college buddies. After the wake last night we decided to pop in. Since this was SSM’s last weekend in town… he used the occasion to say good-bye before he sets off to a new life in Washington. I’ll let the rest of the pics do the talking.

As you can already tell SSM is a non-discriminating hugger.

Yeah, there are sales galore but I refuse to participate in the madness. The reason being that I already have a nose for deals year round.

Thanksgiving yesterday was pretty “kick-back” and fun. I did a little food (snackies) shopping and SSM turned up with the birds at 11:30 AM. After prep we put the chickens in the barbecue and played probably the longest game of carrom ever until the birds were roasted to perfection. (Used a soy, garlic, seseme oil marinade… which turned out great!) The fact that we were drinking wine while playing probably contributed to the length of the game – also we were playing with a tournament board. (We actually had to pick the game up right after lunch just so we could finish it.) It was fun nevertheless… even if SSM did win. Then it was movie time (projected on a screen in the living-room) which lasted most of the afternoon. So, all in all it was a fun time with great food and lots of gratitude to go around.

Today I’ve decided to get a little writing done. Installed some new devices on SSM’s computer and I’m home now. Thereminman’s father passed suddenly and there is a rockabilly wake planned later this evening. Probably going to turn up for that before checking out the old watering-hole to see who breezed into town for the holiday weekend. So, it’s on to writing now!

Of all American holidays Thanksgiving is probably my favorite. The idea of appreciating what and who we are blessed with in our lives is a wonderful reminder that we should probably carry with us year round.

To me this holiday is akin to the family meal the Chinese partake in on the eve of Chinese New Year. On that night the family returns to the parental homestead and any grudges or ill will is forgiven so as to begin the new year fresh and with a clean slate. Sentiment? Perhaps. But a cool idea nevertheless that deserves encouragement.

So, here’s wishing ALL of you a wonderful turkey day. (SSM and I are planning on roasting Chickens in the barbecue – it’ll be his last Thanksgiving here for a while.) I have much to be thankful for… not the least of which has been the fun and fellowship I have been privileged to have shared with all of you over these few months through this blog. For more thoughts on the holiday season go to my friend Zonthar’s blog.

Terima Kasih! (Thank You in Malay… which translates directly to “Received with Love”)

EDIT: 5 PM: I won’t be able tyo participate in HNT today as there is a shitload of pre-Thankgiving errands to run. I’ll see you all soon…. have a good one!

I have pondered THIS for a while…

Can someone tell me why the current definition of winning is the “annihilation of the opponent”? Once upon a time, one won through the performance of excellence. When and how did that change?

I’ll leave you with THAT for now….

Note to self on play:

• “You know that look? That smug bliss that lovers have?”
• “Everyone comes here to re-invent themselves… what are you running from?”
• “The mirrors have nothing to do with survellience… she is just obsessed with them.”

Interesting how certain things in one’s life spills over and influences other areas. It finally dawned on me this weekend what was really cramping my creativity.

Simply put… I am uninspired at work. The low morale and general malaise I experience 5 days a week, takes a toll and requires a full 2 days for me to shake. The last couple of months I’ve noticed how the need to “vege” on Saturdays has fast become a routine. Once recovered, and when my creative juices are ready to flow once more… it’s time to face the grind again. I guess, I really need to take advantage of the upcoming long weekend to ignite and utilize a burst of creativity so that I can complete my play… since I am fielding it for the Rogue.

It’s been more than 3 weeks since I even looked at the yet to be finished script. Though, I have to say that this time away has actually added and solidified some of the content for the play. I got to watch a 2 part documentary on Las Vegas on PBS last week. It provided some fascinating and useful insight into the history and the mindset of the city – the fact that it has reinvented itself over and over again is a big part of its culture. This is coincidentally a major theme in the play… both in content and genre. Can’t wait for this coming weekend. And now that I’ve figured out what has been hampering my progress… I will vow not to blog about it anymore.

Didn’t really have anything to say today. Found this numerology thing at Lilith’s blog… so, I punched some numbers in and…

You entered: 1/4/1959

Your date of conception was on or about 13 April 1958 which was a Sunday.

You were born on a Sunday
under the astrological sign Capricorn.
Your Life path number is 11.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2436572.5.
The golden number for 1959 is 3.
The epact number for 1959 is 21.
The year 1959 was not a leap year.

As of 11/20/2005 1:20:10 PM EST
You are 46 years old.
You are 562 months old.
You are 2,446 weeks old.
You are 17,122 days old.
You are 410,941 hours old.
You are 24,656,480 minutes old.
You are 1,479,388,810 seconds old.
You are 6.7013698630137 dog years old. (You’re still chasing cats!)

There are 45 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 47 candles

Those 47 candles produce 47 BTUs,
or 11,844 calories of heat (that’s only 11.8440 food Calories!) .
You can boil 5.37 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1959 there were approximately 4.0 million births in the US.
In 1959 the US population was approximately 150,697,361 people, 50.7 persons per square mile.
In 1959 in the US there were approximately 1,667,231 marriages (11.1%) and 385,144 divorces (2.6%)
In 1959 in the US there were approximately 1,452,000 deaths (9.6 per 1000)

Your birthstone is Garnet
The Mystical properties of Garnet

Garnet is used as a power stone

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Emerald, Rose Quartz

Your birth tree is

Fir Tree, the Mysterious

Extraordinary taste, dignity, cultivated airs, loves anything beautiful, moody, stubborn, tends to egoism but cares for those close to it,rather modest, very ambitious, talented, industrious uncontent lover, many friends, many foes, very reliable.

There are 35 days till Christmas 2005!

The moon’s phase on the day you were
born was waning crescent.

And half of the paycheck is already spent! That’s the way the money goes, I guess. Now to make what’s left over stretch until the next payday.

For those who came by for HNT yesterday… THANK YOU for your kind and wonderful comments! According to my cousin I failed in my attempt to produce a crappy post. Lelly claimed that it was “witty and creative”. (BTW, I thought her HNT rocked!) Well, as long as it provided some entertainment… I’m OK with that. Oh BTW, I may have a surprise for you HNTers in the next couple of months. Let’s just say there is something fairly big in the works.

On another subject… we began scheduling for the Rogue last night and discovered that we need to get another venue! So, today a frantic search will be conducted to add yet another Cafe Venue to the miracle mile. We have an abundance of acts this year. It is an exciting line-up with a good mix of “veteran’s” and “newbies”. This could mean that 1 of the 2 shows I’m fielding may get bumped. Oh well. The festival is growing by leaps and bounds… and this is a good thing. Let’s hope that we can pull it off in style.

It’s going to be a busy evening. Planning on tipping a few with ScarySquirrelMan & Mustang… right after setting up a lighting gig. I’ll update soon… perhaps with pictures!