2016-11-07

Emotional Lashing Out is The New Black, Apparently


Dear Everyone Saying They Are Moving To Other Countries If The Other Candidate Is Elected:


Stop. 

Just shut your piehole and turn off your cable news channel. You're not going anywhere, and you and I both know it. It's emotional lashing, and it's worthless.

If you're a Conservative, and you're threatening to move to Canada if Hillary Clinton is elected, you're an idiot. 

You're terrified of Hillary's America with open borders, gay rights, restrictive gun laws, abortion on demand and universal health care? So you're moving to Canada? A country that in 2015 elected Justin Trudeau as their Prime Minister (he's like the president of Canada) And since he's not American, and you watch Faux Noise most of the time, which usually doesn't much cover Canada or liberals, let alone Canadian liberals, here's 11 things you need to know about your future Prime Minister:

  • Justin Trudeau wants to add 25,000 Syrian refugees. A year. To the 10,000 per year they're already taking in.
  • Justin Trudeau has promised to legalize marijuana.
  • Justin Trudeau wants to end his country's involvement in aerial attacks against ISIS.
  • Justin Trudeau believes we have to fight climate change.
  • Justin Trudeau believes in boosting government spending.
  • Justin Trudeau raised taxes on the wealthy.
  • Justin Trudeau loves the gays. And the transgenders, too. 
  • Justin Trudeau is against the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline.
  • Justin Trudeau is in favor of normalizing Canada's relationship with Iran.
  • Justin Trudeau restored the role of science in government and national policy.
  • Justin Trudeau has a gender-balanced cabinet of 15 men and 15 women, because, "Hey, it's 2015." (His answer, when asked why he appointed 15 women to prominent cabinet positions.)
So stop claiming you're moving to Canada. It's a Liberal Heaven and your personal hell. Nearly 30% of the country doesn't believe in your god, and you think there's a war on Christmas here? Canadians love Christmas. And Boxing Day. (That's when you box up your leftovers, and clothes you replaced, and toys you outgrew and pass them down to someone less fortunate than you), but they respect the views of others so "Happy Holidays" is a very Canadian thing to say.

Face it, they don't want you, and you wouldn't fit in. Besides, you can't bring your guns, so if you do move, you've just given up your guns voluntarily, to Hillary. So much for that "From My Cold Dead Hands" shit. Your hands, however, would be cold. Canada is cold. And they use the Metric System. And gay marriage isn't even questioned. See, not a place for you.

If you're a Liberal, and think Canada sounds like a heck of a great place based on all of the above if Trump wins, you're an idiot. 

You're terrified of Trump's America but forget that the same people who stonewalled President Obama for six years will not only be there stonewalling Trump for four years, but be joined by a majority of the Democrats in the House and Senate as well. And that's against a Constitutional Lawyer, who has patience, and grace. You thought the 114th Congress did jack shit? Wait until you see the 115th. Think Trump tweets are mad now? Wait until he's stonewalled, repeatedly, and legally can't do shit about it. Because he doesn't understand how government or politics work, let alone work together. His "My way or no way" won't work in Washington. Ever.

Then, after two disastrous years with nothing being done and nothing happening (including that wall), and without Hillary in prison (because, well, that's not how politics works in America, you can't imprison your enemies), and a mid-term election in 2018, the 116th Congress would continue the task. Because while some democrats in Congress liked Bernie, and some liked Hillary, but none of them like Trump.

Politics aside, think about all the culture change you'd have:

  • Their milk comes in plastic bags. In plastic bags. Milk bags are plastic bags that contain milk. They are usually stored in a pitcher or jug with one of the corners cut off to allow for pouring. A typical milk bag contains approximately 1 1⁄3 liters and are sold in bigger bags of three for a total of four liters. Or litres, as they spell it.
  • Because they use the British spelling of words like honour, colour and valour, Travelling has two L's. Metre, Centre, Litre. The list goes on.
  • And you'd have to learn French. Not high-school French, real Canadian French.
  • You'd have to learn to eat curds on top of stuff; KD by the week (Kraft Dinner, aka Mac & Cheese, is a Canadian staple), and gravy on your fries.  Gravy.  
  • You'd have to learn about the 13 provinces and three territories that comprise Canada, their people, traditions and ways of life, which are very different. 
  • Toronto is NOT the capital of Canada. 
  • You can't call the native Canadians Eskimos. That's like saying the N word. Inuit is their preferred nomenclature.
  • The $20 in your pocket may be worth about $26 Canadian dollars, but their economy is tanking due to Alberta (that's in Western Canada) oil industry.
  • Speaking of money, their cash is plastic, and some of it see-through. They have queens and kings on them, but they don't have pennies. Everything is rounded to the nickle. They have a dollar coin. Called a Loonie. And a $2 coin. Called The Twoonie. 
  • Zed is the last letter of the alphabet. Not Z. Zed.
  • It takes 18-30 months to become a permanent resident of Canada. During that time you can't change jobs or apply for national medical coverage. Trump, if elected, won't make it 30 months. 
  • Canada's rednecks are SERIOUSLY more backwoods than American rednecks.
  • Bears. Lots of bears.
And besides, so many people claim they're "going to do something if" this candidate is or is not elected, and never does. Rush Limbaugh vowed to move to Costa Rica if Obamacare was implemented. He's still here. Sadly. Remember when Eddie Vedder said he'd leave if W was elected in 2000? Still here. Or Stephen Baldwin when Obama was elected? Never left, but hasn't been seen much lately, either. 

But if you think you're packing up your shit and moving to Canada on Wednesday, bad news:  First, to get to Canada, you need a passport. Oh, you have one? Good. Then you need a reason to go. Vacation works, but not with a U-Haul. And unless you're sitting on stacks of fat cash, buying new shit once you get there isn't as appealing with a 5-15% Value-Added Tax on things. And it snows. A lot. So if you hate the cold, you're out. And, despite what you think, you just can't come at the drop of a hat. You need a job, or to get accepted to university (what they call college) and have to have a work permit or a study permit. 

Just for shits & giggles, I took the Express Entry test to see if I could get into Canada, and having spent summers there thought I'd have a pretty good chance. Nope. I didn't pass the test to emigrate to Canada. And I doubt most of you would, either. Canada's looking for smart people, with skills. But, if you're curious ... Find out if you're eligible to apply ...

Regardless, abandoning your country because of a President? Lame. Presidents serve, at most, eight years. With these two being 70 (DJT) and 69 (HRC), who knows if Grandma President or Cheeto President would survive the stress. Look at President Obama before and after eight years. This is what Trump and Clinton would look like after four.

Oh, and threatening to leave your country based on who's in charge for a short amount of time is cowardly. Stay and fight for your country, or go to France. They like those who surrender. And pack your false patriotism with you. Because you're not leaving, on either side, regardless of who's elected. So stop saying it.

But go vote. No, seriously. We made this mess, we have to live with it for four years. Then we can reboot.


2016-09-17

Just a Juggalo ... another Song Parody

Normally, I listen to sports talk radio in my 10 minute drive to work. Since today was Saturday, both stations had local shows, which are usually awful. Today was no exception. One was all about high school football, which I despise. The other was all about the Browns, and there's a guy who says "Um-hmmm" about three or four times a minute, making the show completely unlistenable. So I flipped on a classic rock station and heard David Lee Roth's cover of "Just A Gigolo" and though that the Fam of ICP fans known as Juggalos and Juggalettes should have their own version of this. So I give you ... "Just a Juggalo" ... you're welcome.

I'm just a Juggalo and everywhere I go
People hear my ICP playing
Employment I got none, I do this for fun
Ooh, and Faygo-spraying

There will come a day when Violent J will pass away
What will Shaggy say to the Gathering
When the end comes, I know
We was all just a Juggalos
Whoop Whoop, Ninja, without me

I'm just a Juggalo and everywhere I go
People hear my ICP playing
Chedda, I got none, Runnin with a hatchet is fun
Ooh, and Faygo-spraying

And there will come a day when Shaggy 2 Dope will pass away
What will Violent J say to the Gathering
When the end comes, I know
We was all just a Juggalos
Whoop Whoop, Ninja, without me

I ain't got no Juggalette
No Juggalette cares for me
No Juggalette cares for me
I'm so sad and Assed Out
Sad and Assed Out, sad and Assed Out
Won't some sweet Juggalette come and take a chance with me?
'Cause I ain't no pussy

An' I'll sing her Clown Love songs
All of the time
She will only be, only be
Bip boz dee, Whoop Whoop, biddly bop

I ain't got no Juggalette
No Juggalette cares for me
No Juggalette cares for me
No Juggalette cares for me
No Juggalette cares for me

Humala bebuhla zeebuhla boobuhla
Humala bebuhla Whoop Whoop

I ain't got no Juggalette
No Juggalette cares for me
No Juggalette cares for me
I'm so sad and lonely
Sad and lonely, sad and lonely
Won't some sweet Juggalette come and take a chance with me?
'Cause I need a Ryda

An' I'll sing her Clown Love songs
All of the time
She will only be, only be
Bip boz dee, Whoop Whoop, biddly bop

Ain't got no Juggalette 
There's no Juggalette (Juggalette)
There's no Juggalette (Juggalette)
There's no Juggalette (Juggalette)
There's no Juggalette (Juggalette)
There's no Juggalette (no one)
There's no Juggalette (no one)
Whoop Whoop (Whoop Whoop)
Ting Ting (ting ting)
710npen 710npen (710npen 710npen)
Smeh Smuh (Smeh Smuh)
Juggalo Island (Juggalo Island)
No Juggalette (Juggalette)
No, no Juggalette (no, no Juggalette)
No Juggalette (Juggalette)
No Juggalette (Juggalette)
No Juggalette (Juggalette)
No Juggalette (Juggalette)
No Xoloto cares for me

2016-08-05

If you're memeing "Trump's doing It Right" ... you're doing it wrong.

There's a new meme floating around about how if you're pissing off both parties (as DJTrumpleThinSkin is), you must be "doing it right".  

Seriously? This is how you determine Trump's doing it right:

So "doing it right" means you parade a bunch of D-list celebs and underwear models on stage at your party's convention who are constantly calling for the imprisonment and DEATH of your political opponent?

So "doing it right" means insulting the parents of a military member who died defending his troops? And then doubling down and defending that platform for days? And having your spokesperson try to shift that blame to President Obama, who was a first-term Senator in 2004?

So "doing it right" means we go back to the Bush era "Enhanced Interrogations" so we can torture enemy combatants and suspected terrorists?

So "doing it right' means getting rid of the Geneva Convention because you don't understand it and think it's anchient and no longer relevant?
So "doing it right" means you mock the handicapped?

So "doing it right" means not understanding that nuclear weapons are a weapon of last use, not first use? Nine countries have nukes. We are the only country to ever use them. And if they do get used again? Nobody will have them For a very long time. Because we will all be dead. That's called Mutually Assured Destruction.

So "doing it right" means insulting an entire religion based on the behavior of less than one half of one percent? Repeatedly?

So "doing it right" means insulting an entire race by saying the Hispanics coming across the border are rapists and drug abusers and lazy, yet at the same time saying they're stealing our jobs? How does that happen?

So "doing it right" means spitting out bumper sticker slogans that will never happen? You're not building a wall along the Mexican border and Mexico's not paying for it. It's logistically impossible and completely unpossible to make Mexico pay for it. Yeah, I used unpossible. Because it fits with your un-ability (not inability) to understand construction logistics. Also, the Mexicans are now building tunnels.

So "doing it right" means deporting 11 million undocumented aliens and their children who are citizens despite the Constitution prohibiting it?

So "doing it right" means if American citizens who are Muslims leave the country you want to not let them come home again, despite the Constitution prohibiting that, too?

So "doing it right" means insulting one of the highest ranking members of your party, who served 24 years in the military including 5 years, 4 months, 2 weeks, 2 days as a prisoner of war in Vietnam by telling him you like people who didn't get captured while you avoided serving by using four college draft deferments then claiming to have bone spurs in your heels? 

So "doing it right" means repeatedly screaming "Make America Great Again"? 

Let me ask you this, Donald Trump and Trump parakeets:

When was America great? 

  • When white people had brown people as slaves (1776-1863)?
  • When the North and South were at war and brothers were fighting brothers (1861-1865)? 
  • When we were slaughtering the natives of this land (1619-1920)?
  • When we were sending our best and bravest to Europe to defeat fascism in the 1910's and again 1940's?
  • When white males ran everything and brown people had to use different entrances and water fountains (1865-1968)? 
  • During the Vietnam War (1962-1975)? 
  • During the energy crisis and recession under Presidents Ford Carter when the Steel Mills all shut down (1974-1981)? 
  • When President Reagan gutted the middle class (1981-1988)? 
  • When President Bush The First gutted the military then fought a half-assed war in Iraq but stopped before the war was won (1989-1992)?  
  • When Bill Clinton was banging every woman in site while the Tech bubble was building and burst (1992-2000)?
  • Was it between 1/20/2001 and 9/11/2001 before we were punched in the face by Islamic terrorists resulting in two wars so President  Bush the Second could finish Daddy's war? (2001-2008)
  • Was it when the Gulf Coast was ravaged by Hurricanes and people still blame President Obama, even though he was a first-term senator in 2006? 

I ask because you've made it clear America's not been great since January 20, 2009, when President Obama took office.

I completely disagree. Here are some big reasons:

  • U.S. businesses have added 15 million jobs since private-sector job growth turned positive in early 2010 after losing jobs in 24 of the 25 prior months starting in 2008.
  • President Obama has cut the deficit in half. He is the only President ever to reduce the deficit every full year in office.
  • President Obama has cut the unemployment rate in half. 
  • Six consecutive Presidents promised to pass Health Care Reform. President Obama kept that promise.
  • President Obama is the first president to reduce the number of illegals in our country.
  • President Obama ended our deepest recession. 
  • President Obama oversaw the military operation that killed our greatest enemy, Osama Bin Laden.
  • President Obama has kept us safe. Safer than any other President in our lifetimes.

Personally, I think America has always been great. But I want America to be BETTER:

  • I want America to be better for people of all skin colors, races and religions, regardless of who they love or identify as. 
  • I want America to better understand and embrace science. Wind and solar power are NOT finite resources. We can harness them and use them for clean energy without ever running out of them. Until the sun goes supernova in about five BILLION years.
  • I want America to be better with Citizens United overturned so billionaires can't buy elections.
  • I want America to be great again without political parties gerrymandering congressional districts to stack state legislatures.
  • I want America to be better with the Supreme Court moderate.
  • I want America to be better with a woman having the right to choose what she does with her body.
  • I want America to be better in dealing with mental health so we can stop this run of mass shootings.
  • I want America to be better by having the police be the police, not the judge, jury and executioner. Give them better training, give them better protection and give them the ability to root out the bad cops and stop making them revenue generators, because
  • I want America to be better where we don't have for-profit prisons so there's no money to be made on incarceration.
  • I want America to be better by taking greater steps towards a single-payer healthcare solution like the rest of the civilized world has so Americans don't have to have GoFundMe pages to pay for surgery, recovery, medications and living expenses while unable to work due to a medical condition.  
  • I want America to be better at taking care of its veterans, If you vote to send them to war, vote to take care of them when they come home.

American has has always been great. And at the same time been awful for certain groups of citizens, but we learn, we grow, we evolve, we keep getting better.  America has gotten better for a lot of people in the last eight years under President Obama that haven't had it so great. And that will continue under President Hillary Clinton. Remember, elections are a lot like driving. D moves you forward, R moves you back. #ImWithHer

2016-08-02

I've figured out Donald Trump's Presidential Run

I think I've figured this Trump thing out. No, really.  Let me explain it to you:

-- Adjusts tin-foil hat.
-- Gets on podium.
-- Looks for snipers in the rafters.
-- Gets cue from cameraman in 3-2-1 ... and GO!

In March of 2015, Donald Trump was pretty silent for the first two weeks. His own website has nothing from February 27, 2015 to March 17, 2015 when he decided to launch a presidential exploratory committee. News EVERY DAY since, and plenty of news prior to February's visit to Charleston, South Carolina. Why the disappearance? He was in the hospital and learned he has some sort of non-degenerating terminal illness that is incurable, despite his billions of dollars. It's directly related to the insane amount and content of the product he uses to control the interface with the space alien living on his head (Seriously, what else could it be?) 

The doctors gave Donald exactly 24 months to live (before the alien dies and because of the symbiotic relationship, the host dies too), so he decided to run for president, and do something so outlandish and outrageous that his name will never be forgotten. EVER. 

Let's remember, Trump is tight with Vladimir Putin. His campaign adviser, Paul Manafort, was a political consultant for the pro-Russia political party in Ukraine and for a former president, Viktor Yanukovych, who was forced out of office by anti-Russian forces in 2014.  Putin's ego is about the same size as Trump's ... and by that we mean it's YUUUUUGE! Of course, Trump's ego, like other claims about the size of things is YUUUUUGE too. And both want to never be forgotten. They want to do something so outlandish that their names will never be left out of the history of this planet.

So, Putin, Manafort and Trump decide they will do all they can to get Trump into the White House in 2016, then, in early 2017, right before the space alien on his head dies, and with it, Trump, Putin & Donny will have a summit meeting in Russia to kick off "historic talks to forever rid the world of the" whateverthehell demon-spawn of evil they decide (i.e. Fox News and Soviet blogger trolls) needs to be extinguished, whether it's radical Islam, the Chinese, or the Mexican rapists & drub abusers. Or some new threat they agree upon. Maybe the blacks. Whatever, they need a boogie man, they'll make one.

So they're at this "historic summit" in Russia, and Putin, knowing Trump has weeks left to live, and with both their names to be forever etched in history, Putin, on live TV, will kill Trump, instantly making every American hate the Russians again, this time for assassinating the president, who we really never liked or thought was qualified, which leads to the start of World War III and Mike Pence pretty much ends modern civilization as we know it by launching all of our Resurrection Nukes on those GODLESS COMMIES (and one falls short, hits San Francisco and the gays, because if there's anything Pence hates more than the GODLESS COMMIES, it's the gays)

Those who survive will remember and share the names of Vladimir Putin and Donald J. Trump for all of the next recorded history, where mankind has learned that neither religion nor science will save you and we all live together as one people, regardless of race, skin color, sexuality, religion or Geiger-counter readings. 

Far-fetched? Nope. Think about all the insanity that has occurred here. In October 2015, Trump had a 10.3 percent chance of making to the convention according to the bookies.

Then he goes out and destroys the field in the debates, losing only to John Kasich in Ohio (his home state), and Ted Cruz in Texas (his home state) and 10 others. Trump won 39 states. As a political newbie. By being just outrageous as he could be on TV, and in person, and when confronted. By insulting anyone and everyone he could. Mexicans. Women. The Blacks. The Gays. The Pope. And pretty much everyone else who isn't a rich, white American male. And talks about how effective of a leader Saddam Hussein was. And Putin.

And after he accepted the nomination, he spent 75 minutes talking mostly about himself. At a convention that was four days of fear, fear mongering and Hillary bashing, with Donald's family members praising his name, TV stars talking about his greatness and not one but two underwear models on stage (golfer Natalie Gulbis, once posed for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition).

And BOOM! Just like that, at the end of the convention, he was tied with Hillary Clinton, depending on your choice of polls. I use this one. But with the Dems taking over in Philly, knowing they'd get a bounce after their event, he decided to raise the crazy level to full-speed ahead and get all Twittery, blasting away at every speaker EXCEPT Michelle Obama!

Then, as part of this grand plan to put Trump over the top, the Russians hack the DNC and release tens of thousands of emails and thousands of voice messages showing Crooked Hillary and the DNC did all they could do to steal the primaries from Bernie Sanders to make Hillary look weak. And they succeeded, for a bit. But ... Days after the RNC Convention ended, after Trump accepted the nomination, had Vlad go through with getting the
Russian Internet Trolls to get the Bernie or Bust crowd all riled up, the alien race who's probe landed in his head sends him a message that they can send a replacement symbiot, and that Trump doesn't have to die in March 2017.

Shit. 

Now that Trump knows he can live, surviving for years (probably on the souls of small children, but that's another rant), and realizes there's no way at all he can handle the presidency and for sure doesn't want Putin to kill him, kicking off World War Three as they agreed upon, he starts to panic. He figures the best way to NOT be president is to throw the election. Because he can't quit. So he gets on Twitter, and on TV and in the newspapers and just starts shredding everyone. Just this week, he has ... 

  • The New York Post, a paper who's ALREADY ENDORSED HIM, nude photos of his wife to run on the Sunday cover showing her in everything from her birthday suit to the arms of another woman, while representing the party that gave Michelle Obama grief for wearing a sleeveless gown and has called porn a public health crisis in their 2016 party platform. And they still love him.
  • Yelled to have a baby removed from a stump speech. They still love him.
  • He attacks Gold Star Mothers. Mothers who have lost sons in the Global War on Terror. Two of them. The "patriotic" still love him.
  • He attacks not one but two city fire directors for limiting the size of his audiences due to fire code restrictions in the venue HIS team agreed to, all while saying he loves first responders and is going to be the Law & Order Candidate. And they still love him.
  • He accepts -- as a gift -- one of the nation's highest military awards -- given ONLY to men and women killed or wounded in military action -- and says “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier." while sitting on FIVE draft-deferments during the Vietnam War, where he could have earned one, the proper way. 

He's doing all of this because he doesn't want to be president. 

Because he found out the space alien on his head can be replaced & he's not going to die, and now he doesn't want Putin to assassinate him.  

But the mouth-breathing racists and the three or four thousand people in every state who honestly believe in him, keep eating it up and keep encouraging him to run.

I don't think he'll last until November. When Putin reads this, he's gonna give Donny Boy the Alexander Litvinenko treatment.

#YouReadItHereFirst

2015-06-25

2015 Comfest .. where you'll find me


It's time for Comfest again, and if you up to share a beer or band, feel free to find me at the following locations:

First Shift Friday, Saturday & Sunday carrying gear at Offramp Stage, which is very cool because we get free beer for volunteering and get to hang out with Meghan, my favorite photographer in Columbus (sorry, David & Greg, but at least you're in the top three!) and carry gear for cool bands.



Outside of that, we'll be at or around the following stages at or about the following times to see the following bands:

Friday

3:30 p.m. • Offramp Stage • Matter of Planets
3:40 p.m. • Bozo Stage • X-Rated Cowboys
5:00 p.m. • Offramp Stage • Cliffs
6:00 p.m. • Bozo Stage • Ekoostik Hookay
6:50 p.m. • Jazz Stage • Shaun Booker & Sean Carney
7:00 p.m. • Gazebo Stage • Cowboy Hillbilly Hippy Folk
8:00 p.m. • Gazebo Stage • Hocking River String Band
8:55 p.m. • Main Stage • The Girls!
9:55 p.m. • Main Stage • Bummers

Saturday

11:30 a.m. • Offramp Stage • I Mustache You A Question
3:15 p.m. • Jazz Stage • The Phoenix Project
4:15 p.m. • Bozo Stage • The Spikedrivers
5:05 p.m. • Bozo Stage • Willie Phoenix
6:05 p.m. • Offramp Stage • Psychic Wheels
7:00 p.m. • Offramp Stage • Leathal FX
7:10 p.m. • Offramp Stage • Dominique Larue
 7:45 p.m. • Offramp Stage • Leathal FX
8:00 p.m. Gazebo Stage • Megan Palmer
10:00 p.m. Live Arts Stage • Damn The Witch Siren

Sunday

11:40 a.m. • Chuck Oney & The Flare-Ups!
1:55 p.m. • Offramp Stage • The Haynes Boys
2:40 p.m. • Offramp Stage • Drift Mouth
4:55 p.m. • Offramp Stage • The Kyle Sowashes
5:50 p.m. • Bozo Stage • Long Tall Deb & Werewolves of Alabama
7:00 p.m. • Gazebo Stage • Erica Blinn & The Handsome Machine
7:15 p.m. • Offramp Stage • The Receiver (after Erica Blinn)

As far as Before & After Comfest .... we've got nothing set in stone. Might hit up Little Rock or Patrick J's to see Colin Gawel or Ryan Smith (respectively) or maybe a little of both on Thursday, Friday it's Angela Perley & The Howlin Moons at Park Street Tavern and Sunday's wide open.

So ... there are my bands to pick for Comfest. Anyone I should see that I've missed?

2015-06-17

Congrats LeBron fans, you got what you deserved

(Disclaimer: This isn't aimed at those of you I know have been dedicated Cleveland fans. It's more to the LeBron fans and those who couldn't tell you anything about four of other 11 guys on the bench, or the coach.  This is all about those "Early On The Bandwagon, Wave The Flag When We Win, Cry In My Beer, Proclaim Doom & Gloom When It Gets Bad, Time To Bail BEFORE They Lose" bandwagon fans that seemingly exist across all fanbases, but more importantly, whenever a Cleveland team has a shot at winning a title. That guy with the Manziel jersey sitting in the closet with his beat up original James jersey, the Heat jersey, and the new James jersey. The guy who is shitting his pants hoping Time Hop doesn't blast him on July 8th with "Five Years Ago Today" badmouthing LeBron, trashing the shrine & tearing down the posters. Yeah, I'm looking at you.)

I haven't watched the NBA with any real attentive passion since it was "Fan-Tastic."  Why? Several reasons:

1) The NHL moved from USA Network and small regional telecasts to local cable (KBL Entertainment Network anyone?) and satellite providers in the late 80's, then to ESPN/ESPN2. I prefer to watch hockey over basketball. All the action, more hitting, five minutes for fighting & none of the sneaker squeak.

2) I got tired of seeing the same teams in the finals. The NBA is, every season, a 10-team league with the rest of it resembling the Washington Generals more than 20 other viable NBA teams.

Here's proof:  Counting Golden State's title in 1975, there have been 41 NBA Finals. A total of 20 different teams have played in those finals (I'm counting Seattle & OKC as the same team, because they are.) Nine from the West, 11 from the East. The Lakers have appeared in nearly 40% of the finals, winning nearly 25% of the time (10-6); Chicago has won nearly 15% (6-0); Boston & San Antonio won 12% of the time (5-3 & 5-1 respectively).

Your Western team was LA, San Antonio, Houston, Seattle/OKC or Portland 80% of the time.

Your Eastern team was Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Miami or Philadelphia 71% of the time.

3) And the biggest reason I stayed away in the post-Jordan era: Cleveland Fans. Scratch that. LeBron fans.

I'm accused of being a LeBron hater because I call him LeBum when he repeatedly fails to deliver. He's 2-4 in the Finals. Michael was 6-0. Jim Kelly went to four straight Super Bowls and lost them all. People still talk (well, before his cancer scare) about how he just couldn't win the big one.

I don't hate the guy. I don't understand wny some of you love him like you do, but I respect what he does in the community and for the less fortunate. He's a decent human as I see it. And while he may lead the league in every statistical category, this isn't Track & Field. The NBA is a team sport.

Dan Marino had, at one point in time, 13 NFL records. He was a great quarterback, but he never won a ring. He couldn't win the big game. Nobody remembers how amazing of a quarterback he was either. All they talk about is how he never, ever won a title.

LeBron's approaching that category. Yes, I know he has two rings, but he's also lost four times. There's that weird sports balance. Eli Manning has two Super Bowl victories over Tom Brady, but deflated balls aside, Eli's not better than Brady. Some people can rise above their record, some people are victims of circumstance on the good side. Like Eli.

Many of you live, breathe & die with your Cleveland sports teams. And their curse. I don't know if Moses Cleaveland tore his ACL when he stepped off the boat on July 22, 1796, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, but he might have. That would explain something about the tortured history of Cleveland sports teams since 1965. Maybe someone rolled his grave in Connecticut and woke up his spirit after Jim Brown retired. I don't know. Anything's possible.

But lets talk about now. Yes, it would have been a different series if Irving and Love were able to play and LeBron didn't have to (again) carry a Cleveland team through the finals (see 2007). But injuries are a part of sports. Nobody goes through at 82-game season and four potential seven-game series without injuries.

What cost Cleveland this title? I think LeBron was beat down by carrying the team as much as the weight of fanbase. Because carrying you #AllIn then #AllOut fans has to be heavy. I lost count on how many of you were talking TITLE in five, or six, and then giving up hope after each and every defeat. At one point in time, after Game 3 when Cleveland had a 2-1 lead, Golden State had only been ahead at the end of one of the 14 periods of basketball played: The overtime period of the first game.

After Game 3 all I heard was #ALLINCLE.

Then Games 4, 5 & 6 happened. And it was #ALLOUT and social media got super silent. Those of you who I mentioned at the top -- the true fans -- heaped your praise on your team, thanked them for a great season and started thinking about next year. The rest of you Lebron huggers? You just slinked back into the silence. Hoping nobody would take your seat on the bandwagon next season, when the Cavs are a 9-4 favorite to win it all. And you better hope they do, or LeBron might turn on you again. He can get out after next season. And he's done it before.


This guy stole your hearts, Cleveland, in 2003, when the NBA again rigged a draft (See Ewing, Patrick) so LeBron could play in Cleveland. He made you believe. He never delivered. That Cavs team that took you to the finals was worse than any Browns loss because the Browns never got blown out in a Super Bowl like the Cavs got swept by the Spurs.


And then, after two more disappointing seasons, he decided to "take his talents to South Beach," crushing your hearts in a nationally televised debacle that left fans burning his jersey in the streets, trashing shrines they'd established in their houses, man caves and garages, and crying in bars, swearing they would never have anything to do with him, or the Cavs, or the NBA again. He went to South Beach and declared they would win something like eight titles? They got two in four years with what was described as the best team money could buy while fans here either suffered in silence or started wearing LeBron Heat jerseys.

After realizing his time there over because that team was nothing more than LeBron & The Jamesanites, like Cleveland in 2009, he saw a bunch of young talent in Cleveland, got PR Smart in SI and told you everything you wanted to hear. Like that girl who cheated on you, or that asshole that got drunk and slapped you around one night, you heard what you wanted to hear from someone who crushed your dreams to forgive them and welcome them back with open arms. He said his time away taught him how to win, and now he wanted to share that with you. And he'd never break your heart again.

Because LeBron loves you, Northeast Ohio. Even though it was hard watching his jersey burn, and being railed by the owner he never told he was leaving. And being booed in his home court (despite the fact he was on the visitor's bench). LeBron really loves you. This time.

And apparently you're so desperate for championship you'll forgive everything he did, and forget everything you said, forget about the four years he was in Miami when the team you still supported won a 97 games combined while LeBron & company went to four straight finals and your owner was guaranteeing you'd win before they did. Remember that?

That's pathetic.

And that's why I'm not, and never will be, a LeBron James fan, or a Cavaliers fan. He may wind up with more points, assists, rebounds and burned jerseys than any other player in history, but when it comes to the big games, that's what matters. People remember who won, not who finished second. So far he's finished second twice as many times as he's won.

He's approaching 30, and Father Time is undefeated. He's played more games in the past five years than most guys play in a career. He's played 911 regular season and 178 playoff games. Add in 11 All-Star games and three Olympics, a bunch of world championships and exhibitions for Team USA. That body's got some wear and tear on it to wind up with two titles in 12 seasons.

Michael Jordan had five in his first 12 years with the Bulls and six in 13 seasons overall. He waited six years for his first title, while it took eight years for LeBron to get his.

Magic had five in his first eight seasons and went to the Finals nine times in the 12 seasons he played before contracting HIV.

Larry Bird had three wins in his first seven seasons.

I don't see LeBron as the Greatest of All Time or the The King of anything. If he gets a title in Cleveland he'll be a legend, if not, just another guy who came close but couldn't quite get there. If he leaves again? All bets are off.

But whatever, I'm just a hater because I pay attention to people and facts.

2013-12-30

If you got butt-hurt about A&E, congrats. You got played.

So, looking back now at this 'alleged controversy' over Phil Robertson & Duck Dynasty and gay bashing and civil rights and the crap that went along with it, I've kinda noticed something funny: 

If you got butt-hurt on either side of the conversation, congratulations. You got played. The media manipulated the masses for profit. Again.


A&E had a rep with Phil during the GQ interview. They knew what he said long before the magazine was released. GQ held on to the story to release it in their January edition to coincide with Season 5's January 15th launch. GQ leaked the good parts to the media to create that controversy to sell magazines (which every magazine does), and that, in turn, led to the media overload and forced A&E's hand, which then forced the DD fans and non-fans (Sarah Palin was one of many who didn't read the article before jumping into supporting Phil and/or bashing people hatin' on Phil) to show their support. How? By being American. (Meaning mainly buying merchandise.) Right before Christmas. DD sales were flat prior to this controversy. The show, like all good shows do, was starting to plateau. It had reached the the limit of the audience it aimed to attract.  


TV Fact:  Most shows have a good four- to five-year run. DD just ended Season 4. Good shows get shaken up every so often. Seinfeld only lasted nine years, and that was probably one year too many. Dexter should have ended after Season 7. The Sopranos went six seasons. Every one of those shows built an audience for the first four or five years, then stagnated. 

I know, the numbers for DD were growing season by season, but there's only so far a show with a limited audience can go. And lets be honest, there aren't a whole lot of minorities who are going to watch the Robertson family. So what to you do to draw viewers? Since the "let's add a new kid to the mix" last worked in the 1970's, they had to do something different. Something unique. Something to make people who aren't fans become fans. 

Something like Chick-Fil-A.

Yep, A&E used the Chik-Fil-A approach: Drop a controversial quote into a magazine, leak it so the liberal media gets the conservatives in a huff feeling their free speech rights are being threatened by the gays and/or the Hollywood elite and/or liberals and watch them line up in droves to support your brand. 

A&E knew EXACTLY how fans and conservatives would react ... buying up all the DD stuff they could and saying they'd never watch A&E again until they were back and even death threats. Just like the lines of white people at Chik-Fil-A after their inflated controversy last summer.

And A&E kept playing DD the entire time Phil was 'suspended' by the network. A lot. In fact, there were more than 30 hours of DD aired the week he was 'suspended' including repeats of their holiday special and 25 consecutive hours of DD on Christmas Day. Then, while everyone's paying attention to after-Christmas sales, college bowl games and the NFL playoff picture, A&E silently reinstates Phil after a week-long 'suspension' and less than three weeks before the start of Season 5, all without anyone missing a day of filming.

So who got hurt by all of this? 

Nobody. 

Well, maybe the two or three gay people who watched DD. And that one black guy who was a fan. Was. Oh, and a bunch of Tea Partiers got internet-butt-hurt over alleged freedom of speech issues without understanding what the First Amendment actually means. That's about it. If anyone is surprised Phil said what he said, what would you expect from a 67-year-old evangelical white guy from Louisiana?

Let's be real: The show is available in 98.4 million homes. Neilsen says 14 million people watched the show. If 14 million people watched that show, and all the gays and blacks and liberals who were offended by what Phil said stopped watching that show, they'd probably have 13,999,900 people return, plus a couple million more who had no idea who the Robertsons were, but will watch them on January 15th because of the alleged controversy. 

Who wins? 

  • GQ sells a bunch more magazines and gets a ton of money from advertisers on their website when everyone flocks to read the story because they gave up buying magazines.
  • A&E sells all sorts of merch and gets all sorts of ratings boosting free advertising all over the internet, TV, newspapers (do they still exist?) and gets lots of people who will watch the new season, which will lead to higher rates charged to the show's advertisers.
  • Wal-Marts (and other retailers) all over the country saw a run on DD stuff like one of the five books they've written, birthday cards, bobblehead dolls, camo apparel, pink camo for the ladies, Cajun-spice seasoning, car fresheners, iPhone games with beard growing prizes, and shirts and shirts and shirts galore. Hell, two days before Christmas my local Wally World had every men's T-Shirt rack with a DD shirt on display. Wal-Mart's website was out of most DD items on Day 3 of the controversy.
  • The Robertsons keep getting paid for the 'reality show' based on their life and when they start filming again after the hunting break (they have a clause that there will be no filming during hunting season) this, like Chik-Fil-A, will have been swept under the rug, probably by the next media-created controversy. 
  • Disney-ABC owns 80% of A&E. Hearst Pubications owns the other 20%. And no, GQ is not owned by Hearst or Disney-ABC. I checked. They're both going to make money.

And all of them are sleeping soundly.

So, if you got butt-hurt on either side of the conversation, congratulations. You got played. The media manipulated the masses for profit. Again. 

And I'm sure it won't be the last time.

2013-10-12

Some days, you just have to laugh. (Also Known As Eric is trying to fix something)

I work from home, as most of you know, and rarely have to wear pants or venture out during the day, so my car doesn't get driven that often.  Since we got a brand new Honda at the end of August, it's gotten driven a whole lot less. Like maybe twice a month or so, usually if I have shit to do on a Saturday when Allie's working, or I need to go get my mail. Or I decided to take an actual lunch break, put on pants and grab some drive-thru. But apparently, I've not done either of those for a couple of weeks. 


Last Saturday, we decided to drive my car downtown for the Youngstown Beer Fest, figuring on taking a cab home, then collecting it the next morning. Parking overnight downtown can sometimes be shady, so why subject the new car to it, right?


Right.


Unfortunately, my car wouldn't start. Had that clicking sound that usually means battery. I've had my share of shitmobiles, I know that sound. Not a big deal. I'll go down on Sunday and use my portable jump starter battery pack. 

Which I promptly forget about until Allie reminded me of last night. 

And I realized the portable jump starter battery pack has been in the trunk since, oh, the car before this. Including all winter. Which usually drains batteries.

Yep.

It's dead, Jim. It wasn't charged at all. Not even enough juice to register a blip.

No problem. I'll just charge it up overnight, right?

Nope. 

The wall charger is not in the box. Meaning it's probably in the box of miscellaneous kitchen materials in my storage unit, packed away since November. And while I probably have a charger that will fit the hole, I have no idea if it matches the polarity, amperage, or voltage. I'm not an electrical engineer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know charging an acid-based portable jump starter battery pack with an unknown charger is probably not a good idea.

Okay, so I'll just charge it in the car as we headed to Akron for The Clarks and Erica Blinn & The Handsome Machine last night. It's like 2/3rds charged. Should work.

Should.

Before I start, being the eternal optimist, I pop the key in the ignition, turn it hoping to hear the 2.2 Liter Ecotec engine roar to life. But I get nothing and have to like it. 

Not even a click. 

No worries. I'll charge it, jump it and drive around for an hour or so. It's Saturday, I got nothing else to do until later, so I'm cool with that.

So I pop the hood and start looking for the battery. Now, mind you, I've had this car about five months, and this is the second time I've been under the hood looking for something. The first time was when the power steering stopped being power steering. I figured it needed fluid.

Nope.

Electronic Power Assist Steering. No fluid. Anywhere.

So I came up empty on that. And all summer, when the wires got too hot, the power steering quits. Quality is job 1 at GM, right?

Nope.

Anyway, back to the battery. I can't find it.

Seriously.

Like I said, I've had my share of shitmobiles. I'm quite proficient at changing batteries, alternators, tires, radiator hoses, all the things that go wrong in shitmobiles. 

But I can't find the battery.  

I see a post that looks like a battery post, but it's connected to the fuse box. Okay. This makes no sense. And what do we do when things make no sense these days?

How To: Change The Battery In Your Cobalt

Step 1 Open truck, remove anything in there, and remove the carpet panel, exposing the spare tire well and battery box.
WTF? Really, Google? It's in the trunk? THE TRUNK? 

Whoever designed this car must have been higher than Snoop on a day off.

Fine. 

Further googling tells me there is a way to jump start it. That post I mentioned? Totally the positive connection. And I don't see ... oh, wait, there's the Negative symbol on ... it looks like ... yep, the shock absorber bolt.

Okay.

I use their suggested method of jumping the car with the portable jump starter battery pack, and I'm getting nothing. Turn the key?

The Sounds of Silence. 

Great song, but a bad result when you're trying to jump a car with a portable jump starter battery pack. 

Then I remember I have jumper cables in the trunk. Because I've owned my share of shitmobiles. They're very handy to have. I recommend them to everyone. No worries. I'll get the new Honda, park in front, use the suggested method of jumping the battery. Yeah, that'll work.

Nope.

I can't get the key out of the ignition.  It won't go from ACC to LOCK without power, apparently, because of the security system I still haven't figured out. 

Yep. I can't get the key out of the ignition.

WAIT.

I have a trunk monkey button. I'll just use that.

Nope.

The internal trunk release relies on power. And I have no juice. I mean, none.

Some days, you just have to laugh. 

2013-06-27

Comfest 2013 Schedule!

It's the happiest weekend of the year, for me: Because it's time for 2013 Comfest! New beer mug rules aside, I'm gonna go have a blast, see a bunch of great friends, super bands, and all around fun, including my first ever "Stage Crew" volunteer shift on Sunday at the Offramp Stage, along with two clean up and recycling shifts because the park doesn't clean itself!

So if you're looking for Allie and me this weekend, this is probably where you'll find us. We will be primarily camped out by the Offramp Stage in the shade if we're not out seeing these bands:

Friday

04:25 Solar    Aaron Lee Tasjan
05:55 Gazebo    Erica Blinn & The Handsome Machine
06:50 Jazz    Jen Miller
07:40 Solar    Micah Schnabel
07:55 Main    Happy Cinchester
09:10 Live Arts  The Ooh-La-Las

After Comfest: 
Rumba Cafe for Aaron Tasjan (solo), J.P. Olsen and Tim Easton
or the Treebar for Erica Blinn,  Shane Sweeney and Matt Monta

Saturday

12:15 Solar    Megan & Larry
02:35 Gazebo    Salty Carmels
03:30 Main    Willie Phoenix
04:45 Offramp    Post Coma Network
05:30 Offramp    The Girls!
06:00 Gazebo    Erika Hughes
07:00 Main    The Floorwalkers
07:20 Offramp    Strangers in Daylight
08:15 Offramp    The Receiver

After Comfest:  
Rumba Cafe for Aaron Tasjan (with Mark Nye and Matt Mees), Tim Easton & The Floorwalkers

Sunday

12:45 Offramp    The Real California
01:00 Gazebo    Colin Gawel & Lonely Bones
02:50 Main    The Spikedrivers
03:00 Offramp    The Smoking Guns
04:50 Main    Out Of Our Tree
05:00 Gazebo    Angela Perley
06:25 Offramp    The Whiles
07:15 Offramp    Two Cow Garage

2013-04-06

Happy Dog Cleveland is Dead To Me


There are very few thing I hate worse than piss poor band management by venues who book live, original music acts on a local, regional or national level. Because there are a great many people who like to see bands play original music, and who will hop in the car, dedicate a night, a few hours or a few hundred miles of drive time to go see a band they like who’s playing somewhere in their geographical reachable area. And usually it’s on a tight schedule … “If we leave by midnight, we’ll be home by 1:30 and I can sleep for six hours before work” kind of schedule. I’ve done it more times than I care to count, and enjoyed damn near every single lost moment of sleep.

And I’m not the only one. I have MANY, MANY awesome music-loving friends who’ve piled in cars, pinched pennies, scrounged for beer money and parking and tolls and cover charges and eaten the shittiest truck stop food to make the trek to see a band they love play live and spend the next day sore from sleeping in a car, cranky from not enough sleep in a car, and loving every minute of it.

Because most of the time, it’s worth the sacrifice.

To see the band. To live that moment. To be in that room. Whether it’s 20,000 fans at the arena; 15,000 fans at the amphitheater, 1,000 at the club or 10 of you in a dive bar, those are the moments where you connect with the music and musicians who matter to you, and nobody can take that away. It’s pure magic.

However, in the unlikely event of a water landing … when you don’t get to see the band through no fault of your own … shit get super serial. Super fast.

I’ve had any number of roadtrips cancelled for any number of reasons: Flat tire. Car problems. Work issues. Family crisis. Weather. Car accidents on your way to the venue blocking traffic for hours. Friends who promise and bail. Bank account issues. And honestly, I’ve had them all. And I hate it, but I suck it up, realize I missed them this time and promise to make better plans to avoid some or all of the above next time THAT BAND I HAVE TO SEE is anywhere near where I am.

But when the stars and planets align, and you have four working tires, good engine, you’re not working and not on call, have no family issues, beautiful weather, everyone is safe on the highways you travel, with a friend by your side and a positive bank balance with cash in your pocket and you get to the venue far enough in advance to get a prime seat or standing position close enough to satisfy your needs, desires and camera capabilities and the band you want to see isn’t playing until several hours AFTER their advertised time, and oh, they’re not the opener but the ‘closer’ now? Or they never play at all?

That, my friends, is a completely different story. And why I will never, EVER, go see a band at Happy Dog in Cleveland again.

About a month ago I got an email from someone who saw this here music blog, and knew it had a Columbus connection, and was playing the Tree Bar (great venue, great management) and asked if I’d share the word.  To be honest, I get, on average, 10 of these a week. Most of the time I have no idea who the band is, and they provide little to no information about themselves, their style, etc. They just want me to pimp their shows. And I listen to them, and don’t like them, and usually ignore the request, because if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all, right?

But Jeremy Porter was different. I read his email. He’s an old school 80s punk turned 90s rocker turned indie rock Americana guy. I dig that. That’s basically me. But with much more musical talent, as I learned after I went to his band’s website and listened to their music.

I liked it. Hell, I liked it so much I bought the new CD. Wrote a review. Promoted the Columbus show, the Cleveland show and the Pittsburgh show on this here blog, my other regular ass blog, and Facebook and Twitter. Because I really liked the sound of the band. Hell, I even created a Facebook event for the Cleveland show and invited about 60 of my Cleveland-area friends. Eight of which showed up at Happy Dog, Friday, April 5th at 9:00ish to see see Jeremy Porter & The Tucos.

Just like I did.

And after paying our cover charge about 9ish, and having a few fine craft beers, and some food, and listening to 90 seconds of the soundcheck, we were wondering when the band was going to start. Because at 9ish the place was about 80% full. Now it’s 10ish and it’s 60% full.  And it’s 10:30 and it’s 50% full. And still, no music.

So imagine our surprise when at 10:45 the ‘headliner’ (Bill Fox who was with a band called The Mice from 85-88, disappeared until 96, and after a few years disappeared again, only to re-emerge in 2007 … yet I’ve never heard of the guy, so I wasn’t there to see him) starts playing. After a good portion of the crowd that was there an hour ago has already left the building. And nobody’s paying attention.  (Sorry, Bill, I’m sure in a different venue under different circumstances I’d like you. Hell, GBV likes you. And Robert does no wrong, so odds are I’d dig ya plenty, just not tonight, man. Sorry.)

So I walk the 10 feet from where I’m sitting to where Jeremy Porter is sitting. We talked, earlier in the evening, I told him I was excited to see the show and had like 8 people there with me. He thanked me for that, for my review of the album, the Facebook event, blah blah blah … the mutual admiration society rules were in effect and we called it a draw.  So as I walked up to him at 10:45, those rules were gone. I was upset about him NOT opening. And said that.

Then, when he answered, I left upset behind and became hot pissed when I found out he not only knew that they weren’t playing first, he was fine with it. Yet he never took the time to tell that to anyone via Facebook, Twitter, or, oh, yeah, that dude who came to see us and brought his friends sitting 10 feet away from me. That’s just a shitty thing to do to someone who just became a fan, and promoted your shit.

So we left. Two songs into Bill Fox’s set and without seeing anything but 90 seconds of Jeremy Porter’s soundcheck.  Because, after driving 75 miles one way, dropping about $100 in dinner, drinks, tolls, parking and cover charge, hoping to see a band I wanted to see play at 10ish because I had to leave by midnight because of work, it sucked to realize the band I wanted to see wasn’t playing until about midnight because the ‘headliner’ or venue or booking agent or whothefuckever decided that a 9 pm show should start with the alleged headliner starting at 10:45 and the alleged opener should start at midnightish or later, we left.

Had I known that was the timetable, I’d have said Fuck Jeremy Porter and Fuck Happy Dog I would have driven an extra two miles down the road to Brothers Lounge to see Erica Blinn and the Handsome Machine who was allegedly starting at 9:15 … and well, holy shit, they actually started at … wait for it … 9:15.

See, that’s a good venue. And a good band.

So fuck you, Happy Dog. And fuck you, Jeremy Porter, for letting Happy Dog fuck you, and fuck me and 8 people I brought to see you.

Go back to that state up north.