At least LEGO Steve and LEGO Debbie got to hang out, have some frozen treats from the new City line’s ice cream truck. It’s pretty similar to the pizza one but it has three big differences.
Need to set up more outings for these two since we’re all cooped up until further notice.
Anything slated for the end of the month are in the crapper obviously. The only thing I was seriously looking forward to was seeing Brian Posehn at Cap City again with my new friend Debbie; she likes stand-up too. I got a complete refund and the gentle giant will be back in July. Woo hoo. My Nerd Poker shirt with the Ice Five on it is clean, ready to go.
Then there was a live podcast presentation of The Dollop in early April. They pushed back to November.
Adam Ant performing Friend or Foe in its entirety is now September.
No word on Crash Test Dummies at the end of April but it’s TBA, hooray, I had front row.
Chupacabracon will be August. I didn’t buy a ticket yet.
I think Moontower Comedy is a bust though. Bummer. Niki Glaser and Roy Wood Jr were going to be the headliners. Really funny people who’ve earned the spot.
Need to check on Death Cab for Cutie.
It’s good to be alive along with all these performers surviving. There’s definitely going to be a balloon of spending in the economy or a snake digesting a giant mouse…if we don’t have five million newly homeless people soon.
Bugs playing the role of Brunhilde feels appropriate. The leftover money in the refinancing landed in my checking account! No sign of it on the debt being paid that the credit union-title company chose first. Either way, I’m going to jump through the hoops to rejoin my original credit union since we have history…despite the hoop jumping, argh.
Too bad the timing came alongside the pandemic. Just when one pain in the ass has put my life on pause, now came another. Well, we were due after the 1917-19 Killer Influenza. Quick reminder everybody, don’t use the adjective Spanish for it. It didn’t originate on the Iberian Peninsula and it wasn’t their fault for its spread. They got the moniker because their media covered it the most while other Western countries stuck their collective fingers in their ears like Orange Foolius and went “No! No! No!”
I’m going through my list in a special projects notebook to check off the order of what I want to get fixed on house and life.
Fear not, I’m not stupid neither. I’m quite aware of the money needing to be paid back via the new mortgage.
Such a bummer to hear this on NPR and during this debacle during the Stupid Ages. I hope Kenny was at peace since all the news stories said he had been ill.
I had the great opportunity to meet Kenny in 2013 while he was promoting his novel. What a class act! He was very friendly. Was generous with his time with every person who wanted a little face time with him.
Growing up in the Seventies and Eighties, Kenny was a staple on the radio, even before his big hit “The Gambler.” I love “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town,” especially at the bridge. There was a warmth, sincerity to his voice. Now when “The Gambler” hit the radio, it was played to death! It will forever be linked in my brain/memory as the song of Winter 1978-79 as we made multiple drives between Champaign-Urbana and Springfield in our 1974 Dodge Monaco station wagon with the special speaker in the back. We were prepping for the move to Springfield. Since Dad was driving, I’m confident he had the AM radio glued to WMAQ.
Kenny’s star rose big time in the Eighties. More hits, namely duets. My personal favorite is his Bob Seger cover with Sheena Easton “We’ve Got Tonight.” He was unafraid to join forces with non-Country artists to helm records, namely the Bee Gees and Lionel Richie. To me, Kenny wasn’t really ensconced in Country, he was the first Adult Contemporary superstar, a format FM radio built up.
Outside of music, he did movies in theaters and made-for-TV. It was cool to see him on The Muppet Show. The roasted chicken restaurant was often the butt of jokes. Never saw one to have an opinion nor understand what was the joke.
Thanks for everything Kenny. You definitely made an impression on everyone throughout the Eighties.
Block captain Hank Hill was successful at maintaining his weekly beer drinking in the alley with his friends despite Dale thinking the coronavirus is a hoax via Alex Jones and Bill’s need for companionship.
Sadly, a non-dickhole conservative like Hank Hill is a mythical creature in Texas.
I made a slight error in making the volcano my Header. On this day in history is when Helens began to have activity which experts feared would be an eruption. A week later, there were small ones but the big killer happened around May. I will revisit it on that particular day.
I don’t remember much regarding this 40 years ago. The place definitely came to public attention before May because there was a outpouring of people telling the naysayers to evacuate. Unlike Three Mile Island the year before, I wasn’t worried about the volcano ending all life on earth. As an adult, I am more concerned since the ash and other particulate matter can block enough sunlight to create a minor ice age. Then again, maybe we should welcome it to counter the climate change we’ve been inflicting. Immediate studies have shown how the pandemic has lessened Carbon emissions and this Summer may be cooler than 2019’s shit show.
A satire regarding all those hollow, suck-up, mercenary e-mails from Corporate Amerika on how they, we, etc. are weathering the pandemic. Maybe they’re already jockeying for position on the money Congress and the White House may send out in the near future. Last I heard it might be $1000/person via a direct check; with this administration I think they’re open to a box full of scratch-offs. I remember the last time the GOP tried their last two financial Hail Marys; the first was an advance on our 2002 taxes owed to cover up Bush the Lesser’s failure on 9/11. It probably didn’t work since the election was long after most Americans and their goldfish-memory would allow. The second was larger, a direct deposit to save Senator McPhony’s campaign for POTUS and to make us forget the Great Recession was the GOP’s fault.
Hopefully they only sell this to us VIP members and there’s a decent spending threshold to receive the exclusive set!
In all seriousness, I doubt there will be any Minifig heads with masks available in the build your own section for months.
With some convincing and cajoling, I closed on the new mortgage to regain exclusivity on my house yesterday. The title company agreed to letting Somara sign as long as she stayed in my car. Somara required some metaphorical arm twisting to do this. Yes she’s ill with an URI (NOT CV-19) but it must be painful/exhausting because I’d have to be paralyzed before denying my share of the money if I were in her spot.
Once Somara was returned to her parents’ joint, I signed all the paperwork, received my new book breaking down all 360 payments and prepare the leftover cash to be wired into my old checking account Monday. I didn’t get to pick how all of it distributed, yet there’s enough remaining to tackle other nagging issues.
On to reviewing the list I made in the notebook of what to repair on my house first! I already compiled a new spreadsheet breaking down the real interest v. projected.
A crisis really brings out the worst in most people, namely in what the hell they buy when there’s bad weather afoot and now this pandemic cajoling people into limiting their American lifestyles. For my friends who don’t live in Texas, HEB is synonymous with “grocery store” because the other chains have very little presence. I think the only competitors remaining are Randalls, Wal-Mart, SuperTarget and Whole Paycheck.
Moving along, I ventured out to get a few things I know I’d enjoy or what are my staples not needing a fridge. Yes, I haven’t replaced the one which died last May.
Getting in was like a dance club on Sixth Street before it got skanky. There was a line outside and you couldn’t go in until the security guard saw somebody leave. Obviously, there were carts loaded with bottled water (congratulations Nestle on getting people suckered into that myth) and toilet paper. The only disappointment for me was all the Chef Boyardee (generic and name-brand) being gone. C’est la vie. No trouble with turkey chili, it’s Texas so this might brand me a Commie.
Now people enjoy this canned goop.
The toilet paper shortage is what I find the most pathetic. Sure, this “lockdown” may last six-to-eight weeks but c’mon, how much crapping do these people plan on doing in the short term? Firstly, you only need enough sheets to keep it off your fingers and you better wash your hands afterwards. Secondly, if your movement is that nasty, see a doctor and/or take a shower for Chrissake. I doubt even two-ply is going to matter.
America at its lowest.
I hope things are going well for you all everywhere else!
Last night Somara sent me a text message about being very, very ill. The good news, it’s not CV-19 or whatever the hell you want to call this. She was diagnosed with an upper-respiratory infection, something I recall her battling with over the years via bronchitis. Anyway, this may delay the final actions to take on refinancing the house, aka the closing of my new mortgage.
Besides being pissed, I’m confused. When I got the call, I was told that Somara’s presence wasn’t required, she could come in and sign her share of the paperwork later. Now I feel like once again the credit union is moving the goal posts. Sadly, I guess I will find out tomorrow as nobody is answering my calls today and it’s too late as I write.
Fingers crossed.
This minifig must be ill too. Her head is yellow while she has Honky hands. At least she’s wearing a mask to slow the spread.
I have a feeling that this time, the shit is going to stick to him unlike the Mueller Report being spun by Barr (another reason why Catholicism and Notre Dame University disgust me) or the GOP blowing off the impeachment. However, his shock troops probably won’t resort to this because they were told the virus originated in China, like these hats!
Keith’s name may not be easily recognizable unless you are a music Nerd like me who reads the liner notes on records/CDs…one thing you can’t see on MP3s/streams.
He produced numerous artists you’d know by name though: Santana, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, Grateful Dead and Ozzy to name a few.
Keith’s biggest contribution to Rock though was introducing Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to Fleetwood Mac. With that he got to produce their first album with this third iteration of a band more well known as a UK Blues outfit. There was skepticism in the sound/genre change but Keith said it best, “I know, but it’s a lot closer to the bank.” Not a bad rebuttal to selling out yet I think Fleetwood Mac preferred the fame, money and adulation it resulted in as this paved the way to Rumours, one of the 25 best selling albums in history.
However, Keith’s bigger involvement to my personal life is how he reignited Rick Springfield’s music career via the 1981 comeback Working Class Dog. Rick credited Keith with choosing “Jessie’s Girl” as the hit to go with when (oddly) Rick didn’t think it was very good.
Thanks for everything Mr. Olsen. You collaborated in so much to Modern Popular Music and you will be remembered by the nerds with other great studio wizards: Geoff Emerick readily comes to mind.
I missed out on most of this memorable Friday the Thirteenth thanks to Seroquel but it’s officially a National Emergency. Wonderful. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I wish I lived during a boring era. The Asian blessing of “May you live in interesting times,” is a punch in the throat, especially this being The Stupid Ages.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how Orange Foolius and his Trumpkin Army spin the inevitable Recession the pandemic is initiating. Plus how poorly the response has been proves that you cannot run the government the same way a business operates, especially with someone who has failed at it all his adult life; Bush the Lesser too! In a sensible reality, this should be the final straw to make him a one-term asshole. However, the Dems will force Biden down our collective throats with claims of “electability” over effectiveness for the next term. Either way, this viral mess will be a picnic when the planet’s climate is irreversible via the GOP’s Jesus-Will-Fix-It answer or the NeoLiberal No-We-Can’t plan. I’m betting on the former, America is a racist, xenophobic country filled with greedy old people planning to run out the clock before the shit hits the fan.
As for CV-19, etc. I remember being told by a cousin (he was my Grandma’s cousin) who survived the Spanish Flu of 1917-19. His name was Frank and while was in basic training during WWI, he caught it. He was lucky though. He said about two dozen recruits died and contracting this prevented him from going to France to participate in the fighting. No recollection of the symptoms. I was a kid so I had a hard time understanding how people died from the flu. It was something we often got every Winter. All else I know is courtesy of On the Media.
The silver lining from the crisis? The Great Depression exposed Kapitalism and the everyone-for-themselves economy being utter failures. Then came FDR leading the charge to reform matters and prosperity for more followed. Maybe America will finally join the civilized world by having a non-for-profit healthcare system. I would prefer something modeled after Germany. Another optimistic thing would be this ending the tide of everything the government does is crap we’ve be living under since St. Reagan. Now we can restructure national functions correctly and eliminate the privatization idiocy:
