So I found a good recipe for fish

but the local gas station only had frozen Talapia so I declined. Picked up four dollar-forty-nine cans of tuna, some munster cheese, and a loaf of hillbily bread. Made the tuna with some miracle whip, onions, and pickles, but i was full of cake and cookies so i went back out into the sunlight on the deck with my comforter, pillow, and book, and put the tuna in the freezer.
Woke up several hours later; the clouds had rolled in, temps were much lower, and mama kitty was lounging with me on the deck. I came in and had a bigass tuna on hillbilly bread sandwich and retired to my room. Called my girlfriend and put in V for Vendetta. I'm kind of smitten with this movie. It's based on a graphic novel, the story is riveting and the characters use cool British words.

By the power of truth, I while living, have conquored the universe. (Vi veri veniversum vivus vici)

Suny and about 82 beautiful degrees outside

so I decided to bask outside while the Tigers broadcast revved through my Dodge Ram speakers. Came in to watch Valverde in the 9th and now it's just time to type for a bit. Actually, I want to cook something special later but I don't know what. I will search for recipes.

Thank you, LORD, for another day on this planet - living, breathing, loving. Be glorified through my thoughts, words, and actions.

Valverde ooops lookout another 1-2-3 ninth...

Just heard tidbits about how Diamondbacks slugger Montero ripped on Papa Grande for his demonstrative antics...who cares asshole? You just struck out and your team just lost again and Valverde got another save and his ERA is less than your tinyass IQ so siddown.

Happy Father's Day to each and every father.

Here's the 0-2...He got'im on strikes!

Dan Dickerson should be awarded the Silver Commentator Award, the Benevolence Award, and the Exciting Homer Announcer Without Being a Jerk Award. His enthusiasm and descriptive vernacular always put me there, as if I'm in the park watching the action. His tolerance of Jim Price will be rewarded in the next lifetime.

Speaking of in the park, I took my dad to Friday's game; his last day doing what he had been doing since he was 18 ended at 3:00 and by 3:30 I had us a couple of great seats behind home plate at Comerica. We got there with enough time to get some peanuts and a cold diet mountain dew before the line-ups were announced. Great game: D-train pitched for Arizona, started out shakey, but settled in and went 7 innings i think. The Tigers scored late to go ahead so he didn't get the loss; Galaraga only lasted less than five innings, Bonine got the win, we also got to see Zumaya, Coke, and the guy from the UK. Papa Grande mopped up in the 9th and I got chills watching him come onto the field. I had just finished my tallies for the 8th, looked up to see the bullpen gate open, and it hit me: he was coming in! I set my pencil and scorecard carefully on the cement covered with peanut shells at my feet and quietly proclaimed to no one in particular 'I'm getting up for this'. I stood up and began to clap and yell for this really individual individual. He did his little point and his leap and charged in from left field as the roar of the crowd crescendo'd. Personally, that was the highlight of the game. He proceded to throw about 6 pitches and the Diamondbacks were retired in the 9th. Immediately following, an announcement that the fireworks would be cancelled due to 'inclement weather'. The crowd response to this was a Joyce-like boooo, but emotions quickly changed as very visible and proximate electrical cloud-to-ground discharge and associated BOOM!s dominated everyone's viewport. We drove to Westland with both the wipers and air conditioner on extra-high listening to 97.1 The Ticket broadcasting callers who had been at the game and were driving home through the storm. I was home at just about midnight and slipped into bed, unable to sleep due to caffeine poisoning. I finally nodded off sometime about an hour before 4:30 when I woke up with that very woke-up feeling. I made some Duncan Donuts Hazlenut coffee and turned on some wack TCM documentary on hippies, their drugs of choice, and their failure to relate to the older generation. It was an interesting half hour, so much so that I stayed tuned for the credits rolling up at the end. The narrator, whose voice had quite a soothing tone, turned out to be none other than Cape Fear's very own Robert Mitchum.

Life's good.

A warm Friday in southeast Michigan

and I can't wait to get out of this library and into the sunshine, so I will be brief here...

My dad retired to-day, I'm still looking for a job, I had breakfast in Pinckney this morning, I picked the Lakers in seven games, I said the Tigers would be in first place by Monday coming up, Bonine pitched last night, I'm going to go buy some shorts, and I'm reading another Bryson book. I planted strawberries, bell peppers, jalepeno peppers, tomatos, and broccoli.

Life is good.

See Dave,

wasn't that bad. Another great time, indeed, was had by all. Got the high-five for my lack of tobbaco consumption and the knuckle-punch for an A1c pecentage of 6.6. (This is a good number: under 7 is the desired range; mine had been near 10 and 11 for a while, which is not good.)

Went then to the White Building of Pain to see my Pain Misstress. She cryos the heck out of my fingertips in order to keep the little warts little.

Then across the street to the White Building of Boats to get my new sunglasses.

Now back at my rental with Les Miserables 10th Anniversary typing. Sun is trying to come out so I must explore...

Morning by morning

new mercies I see...Thank you, LORD, for an absolutely gorgeous morning: birds combining in their collective daily orchestra, brilliant sunlight reflecting off leaves of tree and blade of grass, last night's Bourne Identity plastic case lying open on the disc player.

I liked that move because it had a plot that I could follow and a happy ending (relatively speaking, of course. the kid still had bullet holes in his back, the girl was still an outlaw just like him, and she apparently blew all the cash he gave her buying this enormous stretch of ocean-front rocky cliffs, a rental establishment of some sort, and the wares to rent.) I'm a simpleton, and I need to be able to discern between good guys and bad guys as a story unfolds. I was able to in this film. I was not able to in the first two Mission: Impossible pictures. All that folks dyin and coming back to life and the mask wearin so they look like someone else stuff...alot of malarrrky if y'ask me.

Learned how to fly-cast yestreday. ('learned' is relative, also. I should have written, 'Yestreday, my beloved landlord showed me how easy it is to get the special thick fishing line out as far as you want acrsoss the lawn by whipping the pole back and forth between an 11:00 and a 2:00 position, letting the line catch up to you, and keeping your elbow in'. To properly have learnt a skill, the learner must be able to apply that skill in divers applicable situations, including in this case i> in a boat and ii> in the vicinity of the traditional bane of the fisher: trees.) But I think I'll try this week.

I'm drinking more water these days (no more smoking) and probably eating more (no more smoking) and developing other new habits to replace the old, nasty, skinky, murderous one.

I get to go see my local pnc or whatever the hell she's called in a few minutes here. She's not a doctor, but she has her own practice in town. I stopped calling her 'doc' and now it's just 'mrs. porter' or 'laurie'. Gotta get there...

48 Hours

Immortal lines from this picture...

Hammond: Cates, you gotta get me outta here!

Cates: Now get this: We aint partners, we aint brothers, and we aint friends. I'm puttin you down and keepin you down until Gantz is locked up or dead. And if Gantz gets away, you're gonna be sorry you ever met me.
Hammond: I'm already sorry.

Hammond: You said bullshit and experience is all it takes, right?
Cates: Right.
Hammond: C'mon in and experience some of my bullshit.

Hammond: Well look Hoss, you start runnin a respectible bidness, and I won't have to come in here and hassle ya every night. Know what I mean? And I want the rest of you cowboys to know somethin: There's a new sherrif in town, and his name is Reggie Hammond. Y'all be cool. Right on.

I swear the music in this film is the same as the music in Arnold's Commando.

Guillen walk-off homer in the tenth! yeah buuuooooooooyyyyyyyyy!!!!

Welcome back, brother.

Girl, you know it's true.

I am convinced

that, this side of eternity, there is nothing more beautiful than celebrating the Mass with other brothers and sisters of the faith.

chores and such

Picked up mail, aquired various letters of recommendation, inquired about summer school logistics, made appointment with local doctor, checked into job postings, finished resume and reference list, took back the sexy TI-84 calculators borrowed from the local ISD, did some banking, filed for unemployment, and chatted with local building personnel. These were all very relevant and pertinent tasks and I'm better for having accomplished them; a good morning, to be sure.

Next up: read the paper, eat, buy a gift.

Thanks be to God, blessed be the name of the LORD.

one, 21 guns, ...

Heard that song for the first time about a year ago and immediately developed a man-crush on Billy Joe...

Since then, I've listened a ton on Youtube and done a horrendous kareoke of Good Riddance (the monitor sucked and i couldn't hear the chords over the bowling alley locals, then, the video got all fuzzy and, not really knowing the words, i adlibbed with stuff like 'tip your waitress aint she been great? i almost bowled a 98...' everybody laughed and at the end i got the most courteous applause. Not a 'frickin finally he's done' applause, but a genuine, smile-filled big hand. As i returned the microphone to 'Rockin Rick', the gammer at the end of the bar boldy proclaimed, 'he's cute!', which meant my cinderella hour had come.

Can I get another amen?

Strength through unity, unity through faith...

A yellow-coded curfew is now in effect. Any unauthorized personnel will be subject to arrest.

Almost a week away from computers and those world-wide internets ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPkMUU9tUqk&feature=channel ) and I'm ready to type...


On theTigers.
They've lost the last 3 series to shitty teams and I'm coming to realize that the Tigers are just a .500 team. Not shitty themselves, not a legitimate contender in the AL Central, just mediocre. It's hard because I see the potential in that team: Damon and Jackson's overall fundamental soundness, the big bats of Miggy, Mags, Brendan B., the starting five who have all had phenomenal outings in the past but who often struggle to get through five innings, the lights-out bullpen, the recent draft which offered the Detroiters the sons and younger brothers of every current coach, player, scout, and announcer, and the weak-ass division they're in. Because you see, I'm a Purveyor of Potential. I see it every day, I evaluate it, and I encourage the holder of it to realize it. Like Ving Rhames told Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III, 'It's my job.'

On employment.
I will teach summer school for the first time in over 20 years; I think it will be much different from what I remember. I read to-day the letter of recommendation I got from the summer school Facililtator so long ago. Marcy Aller had kind things to say about me.
I've got information, man. New shit has come to light. Two of the three people in the district who are eligeble to retire have decided to indeed retire. Which doesn't really mean a whole lot but it may help make a difference for next year regarding my status. (Compare this to the 'small-town atmosphere' provided by the Brighton Area Schools, which announced to-day that almost 50 teachers have decided to retire, causing not only all the laid-off folks to be able to return, but they will be hiring 5 new teachers.)


On the 9th Commandment.

thursday

Yestreday we moved some flowers to the new planter box by the road, we mulched everywhere and got some paint for the red serving cart I refurbished. Got one coat on and it rained all day just dripping. Talked to brother G a bit last night - he was hanging out with Josh and seemed quite content.

miggy: 'oh no?!?'

wow...

In the 1975 screen version of Barry Lyndon, Lyndon, played by Ryan O'Neal , has wooed the wealthy widow and will soon marry her. Her son, who detests Lyndon, speaking about the marriage, tells his mother, "Not in this way. And not in such haste. And certainly not to this man."

That is what i thought when the first base ump ruled Cleveland's number 9 hitter safe on an infield single tonight. What was exceptional about the single is that Armando Gallaraga had retired 26 batters in a row prior to the single, and the replay showed the batter was out. Not in this way.

Now I know that umpires are human and make mistakes. Hell, the Tigers have had calls go in their favour recently (Ramon Santiago's phantam tag on a double play at second last night, to name one), but none carrying the magnitude of tonight's call. Not in this way.

The ground ball was wide of first, Cabrera fielded it cleanly, Gallaraga beat the batter ( the 9-hole, whatever his name is) to the bag and caught the ball with his foot on first clearly before the batter got there. Miggy's expression of joy turned to wonder, Armando's excitement was gone as a big you-gotta-be-kidding smile washed across his face. Safe. Not in this way.

Let it be a sharp liner to left-center (like the one Jackson caught over his shoulder a-la Willie Mays to get the first out of the ninth), or even a bloop single to right that breaks up the perfect game and gives Tiger fans something to bemoan. But not in this way.

omg whatryagonna do? Can they appeal this sort of thing to the League? Almost wouldn't be right, to get the accollade second-hand, I say.

We'll move on, and talk about this night for a long time. Congrats Armando! To the Tigers: Keep beating mediocre teams and keep hitting mediocre pitching (as Jim Price likes to say).

26 in a row is still a hellofa run.

another .500 season?

y'know, there's so much that goes on in a baseball game, in in inning, in an at-bat, verily, with every pitch! Bonderman had a good outing but the bats were silent tonight as the Tigers fell to the Cleveland Indians (check out their politically incorrect mascot) in front of a massive crowd of 13, 000. Bonine did his best in relief, Inge even had a hit tonight, Avilla may have had 2!!!!
kay serah, serah.
good night.

Taking Chance

Lt. Col. Michael Stroble volunteers to escort the body of a 19-year-old killed in Kuwait to his hometown of Billings, MT, brought to us by Cinemax this past weekend.

The displays of respect throughout by the people whose paths in life are crossed by this transport are moving.


writer's almanac for tuesday, the first of june, two thousand and ten

for the fallen... we remember, we thank you, we owe you much

The nation became because men dreampt
Of freedom from tyranny
Lives cut short, lives changed forever
But we became 'One from Many'.

And as We grew, we waded through
Dissent, disdain, and sin
We suffered from severe attack
From without and from within.

Folks died. Folk died, too many,
for the freedoms we enjoy.
We live! We live, in comfort,
in the USA, my boy!!

There is no real and proper way
To thank the guys and gals
Whose blood was shed, who cried aloud
Who were slaughterd like animals.

We devote a day of Thought and Prayer
'Memorial' we call it.
Fill the cooler, boil the eggs,
spend cash right from your wallet.

The parades drown all noises out but Cohan
and Hammerstein,
We wish our neighbour well and ask,
'you're front porch or mine'.

And i suppose that this is all well, fine, correct
and good.
I can't help think we miss the mark, not doing
What we should.

Garrison Keillor's piece for Memorial Day:

... and to all a good night.

Glorious Sunday afternoon after a Tiger victory at the Park. Warm and sunny with a mild breeze and steaks are on the grill. Scherzer struck out 14 in 5.2 but walked 4 and hit a guy and only gave up 2 hits. Miggy had 4 hits including another homer and pushed his rbi count to 48. Inge (finally) and Guillen also went long for the Detroiters; Zoomaya got the save. 32, 000 at the ball park and woulda been 32,001 but i stayed outside and hung out with some local cats on Brush street. Great atmosphere down there, and a great day for a game.

I quit the war of the worlds reproduction after getting so much advice to do just that.

All that is gold does not glitter
Not all who wander are lost
The old that is strong does not wither
Deep roots are not reached by the frost
From the ashes a fire shall be woken
A light from the shadows shall spring.
Renewed shall be the blade that was broken
The crownless again shall be king.

Bonine didn't pitch to-day, but did yestreday.

oooooooooooooolala...

A glorious Saturday afternoon and i have all but completed my chores. Let's see, ... woke up (good), made some coffee but forgot to drink some (?), had a Big Boy omelette (this, it must be told, was an anomaly. i had the pleasure of cooking at Big Boy in college and i know how they make their stuff. i swore years ago i'd never ever eat there again. twas a pleasant suprise though: tasty, larger portion than i remember, and the toasted whole wheat bread was succulent), went to home depot for topsoil (97 cents a bag), got an oil change (you want radiator flushed also? she is brown. what's brown? fluid. what color's it supposed to be? green. how much? is supposed to be 49 i give you ahhh five dollar discount so is 45. 44. yes, 44. how long will it take? 7 minutes. k.), looked for a lawn mower (this was before i checked the bank balance...thankfully i didn't find one), picked up some wild bird seed at the local hardware (not the dollar store crap some other people in the neighbourhood buy, the real good 49 cents a pound stuff!), watered the plants (all of them; doused 'em good, i say), cut off the end of a thin piece of decking by the lake that was literally crumbling (circular saw and a furlong of power cord), fixed the piece of deck by the garage (replaced a board that i stepped through while unraveling the 400 cubits of power cord during the previous task), weedwacked (this was a quite mundane task and really requires no annotation), used one 40 pound bag of topsoil of the fifteen i bought to use for my peppers in a raised bed i had made (what i thought was a little box of miracle grow sitting on the crumbling deck turned out to be just an empty miracle grow box, so the peppers are on their own), bailed out the paddle boat (not-so-recent rains and the lack of a proper cover led to this), planted three perennials (including a beautiful Shasta Daisy on Fred's side of the property by my herbs - these also are on their own), and came up to the library to type (air conditioned, yes, but there's this annoying child asking the librarian if she likes kids? ..." oh yes!" ... "do you like...me?!?" "why of course!" "i think sometimes, um, i don't really like boys my age, ... i don't think the girls are that bad but boys are much more annoying than girls...uhum (this obnoxious clearing of collected phlegm) hmmmm..."
ok. anyways, for the rest of the day, ... shall i say, ... life is good. Tigers at 7 (Porcello will try to stop the 5/6 skid they're on) with some grilled brats (Johnsonville you know) and then tomorrow (Sunday) i'm a goin down to the park and watching the one o'clock matinee live. :-) Maybe Bonine will pitch!!