A shot of Brandi before I go

Only a couple more days of what bears some semblance to work before the big break, and at my place of work it is a "big" break (entire week of Christmas thru Jan.2). I will be heading up I-75 to put my two beautiful daughters in tow, and then we are heading down to Charleston, SC for a post-Christmas vacation of sorts. I have never been to Charleston, but after reading a bit about it on da net, I think there will be plenty of entertainment for us to enjoy.

As is common knowledge, Charleston is an extremely old city...one of the first to be settled in this "new" world. So there is a lot of history there to be explored, and I can roll with that. My older daughter is at a point in her school where they are studying the settling, warring, and eventual independence of our great country, so it will be educational for her as well. With the city's age, there are extremely old graveyards, dungeons, and other scary structures, said to be as haunted as young Drew Barrymore's TV set. I'm not sure if both beautiful ladies will be down for the haunted tours, but we shall see. The oldest is more tom-boyee, and she will be game, the youngest is the exact opposite...100% girly girl...pink purse loving, shoe collectin', dress wearing, baby doll tea party playin', primpy, lacy, frilly GIRL. She is SO affectionate too. Back to the point though, I'm not sure she will be down for any of the haunted, spooky, tours available, but she is full of surprises like when she (and not her big sister) wanted to and did force me to ride a camel with her at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio...so perhaps she will opt for dark side adventure...

...speaking of dark, today is the Winters Solstice, traditionally a pagan partying day of wild debauchery celebrating the darkest day of the year...mmmmm, fun. Incidentally, Christmas was probably "in some sly manner" slated to be in late Dec. as a sort of way to appease the pagan need to party around this time, while also easing the heathens in to a Christian way of life. The Art of Compromise.

On a totally different topic, but one juicier than a medium rare filet mignon with a fresh squeezed lemonade chaser, WOW...is all I can say about the story of Brandi Hawbaker, Capt. Tom (and his penis), lost, stolen, donked off, handed over poker bankrolls, and all manner of craziness that truly supports the statement..."The truth is stranger than fiction"...There are links to the topic on numerous poker blogs so I'll not bore you with those. The vast majority of the story is posted in discussion on the 2+2 poker site...unREAL.

Wonderful Holidays to all...I'm gone (likely til' the new year), when I hope to return basking in history and days spent with the two girls who will always be the love of my life...perhaps there will be story or two to come...Maybe we'll storm Fort Sumter...

Send me Dead Flowers

"Well, when youre sitting back
In your rose pink cadillac
Making bets on kentucky derby day
Ill be in my basement room
With a needle and a spoon
And another girl to take my pain away

Take me down little susie, take me down
I know you think youre the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the US mail
Say it with dead flowers at my wedding
And I wont forget to put roses on your grave"

Well the poor pitiful United States Postal Service which, no doubt, has been nearly crippled by technology and the acceptance of email as the preferred means of written communication. Finally they have been forced to remove the iconic big blue postal boxes that inhabit strip malls and street corners throughout our wonderful land. While they won't be uprooting and removing "all" of them...they will be doing away with most. The determining factor will be if the given box receives 25 or more pieces of mail on any given day. By that standard, I'm sure the number will have these pieces of history teetering on the brink of extinction.

As with so many things, the rush of newer, better, stronger, faster, and more efficient means or devices have left the mail box in the dust of history. Like the public phone booth before it, now these receptacles in which so many words, feelings, and personal information have passed through are to be no more. Now left as only something that are mentioned in tales of the past. Children today will be surprised to hear that once people actually corresponded with hand written words that were sealed and delivered in a matter of days in contrast to today's typed letters, rich in Internet shorthand and cutesy emoticons, and now delivered in a matter of milliseconds.

Ahhh, technology...a blessing or a curse?

Since I am (and have been for years) employed in the IT field, and have always loved and been amazed by all manner of gadgets and gizmos that make our lives easier, I truly have a great appreciation for technology. There is, however, a part of me somewhere that mourns the passing of the written word. As I was growing up, passing notes in school was the major form of communication. The way in which everything from a party invitation to an expression of undying (albeit puppy) love was conveyed. Now it's all about IM'ing, texting, emailing, and all things electronic and instantaneous. Somehow I can't help but think these more rapid forms of communication must have a downside, however slight, to them. Perhaps a small manner of creativity gets lost in the haste. I think so anyway...IMHO...BTW...

L8R peeps...LOL

crushed...

crushed...as a cheap Coke can squeezed in a vice

crippled...without crutches

regrets...I'm not without

passion...is alive in me

compassion...sometimes too much

stupidity...yes

intelligence...yes

love...can make you happy

love...can rob you blind

wondering...

" Wond'ring aloud --
how we feel today.
Last night sipped the sunset --
my hands in her hair.
We are our own saviours
as we start both our hearts beating life
into each other.

Wond'ring aloud --
will the years treat us well.
As she floats in the kitchen,
I'm tasting the smell
of toast as the butter runs.
Then she comes, spilling crumbs on the bed
and I shake my head.
And it's only the giving
that makes you what you are."

-Tull

thinking...thoughtfully

today...warm, sunny, bright, and dreadful

tomorrow...is never a "sure thing"

smiles...reluctant, soft, and subtle

dreams...pipe dreams...hopes and charlatans, swindlers, and frauds...beauty and knowing that rainbows follow the rain

later...there will be more

goodbyes...are sometimes left unsaid

Sometimes words, jumbled together in a seemingly mixed or somewhat arranged way leaves impressions, and displays expessions, however temporary...

temporary...as all things are

laughing...heals, helps, brightens, and smiles upon us all...

Celebrate

Since my mind/thoughts do not have it in them...lets celebrate the madness of life, and perhaps expecially love with the thoughtful words of Bruce Cockburn (and it's Co-Burn, not "Cock-burn", you not knowing Bruce Cockburn person you)...

" standing on a rock in a river
staring at the splintered sun
you could drown yourself in jewels
like a thousand other fools
while you stand there looking down at what you've won.

sitting on a mountain of ashes
face to face with past regrets
you could roll down to the canyon
piss away this incarnation
but remember that you pay for what you get.

and he says "but don't you know
how hard it is
to hit the ground and mean it,
and mean it?"

walk the jangling streets of the city
trying to find the buried sun
you could drown yourself in jewels
like a thousand other fools
while you wander, waiting for it to be done.

and he cries "why don't we celebrate?
why don't we celebrate?
love can make you sad
come on, let's drive ourselves mad."

and he's aware
how hard it is
to kiss the sun and mean it,
and mean it.

and he screams "why don't we celebrate?
why don't we celebrate?
life can make you sad
come on, let's drive ourselves mad."

standing on a rock in a river
staring at the rain made one
on the surface flashing diamonds
rolling down the twilight canyon,
and we shall kiss the sun in spite of him

so why don't we celebrate?
why don't we celebrate?
why don't we celebrate? ..."

that's all...for now...

Nice

The weekend was very good. As I commonly do when Saturday afternoon rolled around, I started randomly flipping channels in search of a game that looks interesting. I wasn't sure what time my UK Wildcats were playing, I only knew that they were playing. Lucky for me though I found them already at it after just a few clicks from the remote.

The Cats are a very young team (inexperienced) this year, so I try not to have any "final-four" type expectations of them. They are fun to watch though and have a lot of energy on the court. We usually play Indiana most every year, but it is typically done at a semi-neutral court, usually either in Louisville or Indianapolis...this year however those places could not be scheduled so UK got to host Indiana in Lexington as a home game. That was a good break for us...another huge break was the fact that the Hoosiers could not sink a three to save their life. UK had a lot of turnovers and played so sloppy at times I wondered if the freshmen were still recovering from a kegger the previous night. Upper-classmen have so much party in them their recovery time is much shorter. Like basketball itself, it's an experience thing. The Cats were able to chalk up a win Saturday, and they really needed it as the SEC is going to be a royal bitch to play in this year. About half of the teams UK will play in conference ball are ranked in the top 25...ouch!

Football Sunday...

Since I moved to Tennessee a few years back, I don't often get the Bengals (my favorite team) on TV. I do however, get the Tennessee Titans. Since I have been watching them for years now, I kind of adopted them as a team I root for too. After the Titans started the season in a miserable way, they are now just one win from being at .500 and have won 4 in a row...the last two in very dramatic fashion, so they have been a lot of fun to watch. Damn...Vince Young is starting to look like da man...I hope it keeps up.

other quickies:

Watched the Saints and the Cowboys and was very glad to see the Saints play so well and come away with the W...Damn...Reggie Bush is starting to show just how good he is...

My Bengals continued their streak of victories...even if it was just the lowly Raiders...next up is the Indy Colts, fresh off two consecutive losses and I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. The optimist in me says it's good of course...I hope so.

My teams are winning...Nice!

blues in the news

That Alexander Litvinenko story sure has been strange. I think he definitely appears to have been poisoned, and that the Russians he met with the day of his sickness were probably (who else could it have been?) responsible. One of those Russians (Andrei Lugovoi) that likely slipped him the death Mickey has, so far, refused to talk with any of the authorities, and that just "looks" guilty if nothing else. The KGB/FSB were definitely pissed off at Alexander for blowing the whistle on their assasination of Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky. Ah...well...I'm sure it will all eventually be swept under the rug. It Really sucks for young Alex though, the way I heard it explained, dying from that Polonium-210 is not a good way to go AT ALL.

Moving on, the great blues LEGEND B.B. King was awarded one of the Freedom Medals given to honorees by President Bush for all that he and his blues have done for American music tradition. Finally...something the President and I are in complete agreement about. Good for B.B...he deserves it.

...should be a great weekend coming up...my UK Wildcats play Indiana on Saturday, and I would sure like to see a win there, but it will be rough. Rougher still though are my poor Bengals, who are slated to play Indianapolis Sunday after a long layoff for the Bengals, and perhaps even scarier, following a game for Indy where they were beaten in the closing seconds on a Tennessee 60 yard field goal. I have a feeling Indy will "want" this game in a BAD way. I just hope the Bengals stellar D (over the last 2 games) shows up and denies Indy.

Might go see Casino Royale this weekend too...every blog that mentioned something about it were mostly all in favor, and the bit of Hold Em' action should be fun to watch...

...and speaking of Royale & Hold Em' for the first time ever I hit a Royal Flush in Hold Em'...very strange board that came Ad 10s Js Ks Qs (putting an Ace high straight on the board), but I took it down as I was holding the As for the highly coveted "Royal Flush"...guess that's the one I'll probably see in this life. Anything can happen though...it's poker after all.

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes...

"I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
So the days float through my eyes
But stil the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
Theyre quite aware of what theyre going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Dont tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Wheres your shame
Youve left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you cant trace time"
-David Bowie

Changes...well the blogger decided to change the way I log in beginning this past Saturday, and while I was able to log in, I haven't been able to successfully publish a post. Since I am employed in the IT industry (and have been for years), I'm pretty competent when it comes to all things technical, so I believe I was clicking on the "Publish (post)" button correctly. Blogger even believed that it had published my post, but alas nothing was showing up after a refresh. So I fiddled around a bit, trying various things, and then "Publish" again, but still nothing. I gave up, and said to myself that "I guess that's why the new URL for posting is beta.blogger.com"...it was still a work in progress.

The weekend was good, and +EV (ever so slightly).

What a game between the Colts and the Titans in the 1PM EST slot on Sunday. I mean a 60 yard field goal to seal it for the Titans with only a few seconds left...NICE.

Changes...Well the study-group, headed by James Baker, that has been diligently searching for ways to change the course of events in Iraq is due to release it's findings today; but will it result in any meaningful change? With President Bush seemingly still convinced that "his" way is the right way, I'd say it's doubtful. Bush has of late, at least showed some small signs that he may at least be open to listening to some suggestions. Without question, change is what we need over there, change in the way we deal with all of the varied factions, tribes, and sects, change in some form to stop us from taking daily ass whippings in the Anbar province, and change in our expectation for what is and isn't considered a victory in this ill conceived war, turned civil war, turned chaos, turned turmoil, turned death, to citizen and soldier alike.

Change is definitely needed, but with this state of affairs, being messier than a drunken grape-stomping, what change(s) are the proper ones? Certainly devoting more of our already overburdened soldiers to properly train and arm (more) Iraqi's couldn't hurt. Although the insurgency is certainly wreaking plenty of havoc without us training them. Opening a dialogue with Syria and Iran, both of whom likely provide support to the ongoing violence and sectarianism, couldn't make things worse. Perhaps also bringing leaders of the various resisting factions to the table and discussing dividing the country in to states, much like the Kurds in the north have already done, could be considered for peace as well. Any division would have to come with a fair distribution of wealth (in this case Iraqi oil) among each given state. I don't know all the answer, or perhaps any of them, but I do know change is the only means to an end there now.

Change...