Monthly Archives: February 2016

Wringing His Neck or: If I Let Him Live that Long

29 Monday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

I know Mes ‘Rents had to have told me at least a hundred times that they hope I have a kid that gives them as much grief as I gave them. Disclaimer: I was a really good kid, but I was an ornery, smart and chatty young’un. That led to me getting into trouble at school, a lot. Nothing overly major, mind you. Humming in class got me paddled; passing notes (which I didn’t even read or write, I was the go-between) got me paddled; getting a milk shake as an 8th grader from a 6th grader, over a fence got me paddled; talking in class got me 30 days in post-lunch detention (I got no recess). Oddly enough, even with all that 702ee706-44a8-48ed-b3e5-6d6caef6d5c7happening, the teachers, for the most part, really liked me. I was the “pet” to several of them.

Well, the “prophecy” has come true and I got a kid… Just. Like. Me. And, for this I must apologize to Mes ‘Rents almost every time I have to deal with him. Whether they hear it or not,  I constantly am in awe at what they must have gone through, especially with my sister. She had to have been worse than me, right?

So, I don’t think he’d enjoy having his business thrown up here, but you know what? I’m ticked and am not too overly concerned about what he’s enjoying right now. I’m venting and ranting. His grades have been in the gutter, really, since around 6th grade. He’s halfway through 8th, right now. They’re almost at rock bottom and it’s not from inability; it’s from do-less-ness, mostly. So, we’re trying to get him motivated about bringing some of the stuff up and how it will impact his ability to do the fun classes in 9th grade, due to stripping him of electives to force him into the same core classes that he hates right now. This, I felt really good about yesterday.

Today, I get a call from a teacher, who is livid because he’s constantly disruptive, drumming on things and being disrespectful. And, she’s writing a D1 (that’s a disciplinary action form). I’m on the eve of “The Big Job” and can’t go to the school right now to yank him out of class and administer a violent response. He’s lucked out on that front. I have never been violent towards him and the closest he’s really ever been to spanked, or the like, was a rather firm slap on the leg from the front seat to the back where he was back-talking. Although, I’ve never done that. I want to go flog him in front of the whole school, right now. I want so much for him but he’s not cooperating. I expect him to do what he’s supposed to do. After that, he can do what he wants to do. I love him more than anything in this world but right now, I am very unhappy with him. And after all this, I think I just Mondayed in my pants…

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Expectation is the mother of all frustration.” – Antonio Banderas

Silent Sunday or: Playing in the Mud

29 Monday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

So, I’m just leaving this here, it happened:

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Thank you Clay Howard and Neal Goode for a good time! You can see me play, once again, as a Silver Alert with Clay on Friday, March 4 at Carolina Theater in Greensboro!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Some secrets stay shut…” – “Biscuits Ain’t Rising” by Clay Howard

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

27 Saturday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, brought to you by the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, a/perture cinema. The film stars Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt and Lil Dagover.

Per IMDb: “Dr. Caligari’s somnambulist, Cesare, and his deadly predictions.”

I don’t think even IMDb knew what to say about this film. It’s a silent horror movie from film’s “toddler” period and whilst not to hard to follow, I found it hard to stay focused. Many constructed, cartoonishly drawn sets and props, it’s almost more comical than horror, but I’m sure at the time, which is a time prior to the desensitized movie goers Das-Cabinet-des-Dr-Caligari-posterwe’ve all become, it was scary. The imagery, sets notwithstanding, was dark and gruesome. I’ll be honest and tell you that generally watch my Movies of the Week whilst doing other things intermittently. I do watch the films and know everything that’s going on, but may write a blog post, check emails, book travel, etc. whilst I watch. The silent movie aspect of this film made it hard to do that, when there was “dialog” on the screen. The film itself was easy, the dialog difficult. It is easily considered on of the best, if not the best, work of the German Expressionist cinema era.

Directed by Robert Weine, the film tells the story of an insane hypnotist (Dr. Caligari) who uses a somnambulist, or sleepwalker (Cesare) to commit murders within a sleepy German town. It was written by two former WWI German soldiers (Carl Meyer, Hans Janowitz) who pretty much hated the German government afterwards. They were left disenchanted by the authorities that ruled. There’s symbolism in the film from Dr. Caligari representing the Germans, Cesare represting the common folk that had to do what they’re told by the government. Dr. Caligari has Cesare murder anyone that gets in his way or crosses him. That sounds like the German government from that time, right?

The further the film went the more it made some sense. The story is told from the memories of Francis, one of the characters, and this has to be one of the first “plot twists” ever in cinematic history. That twist is pretty cool, especially for the time. Eerie music played throughout (I’m sure it was done live in theaters at the time) helped perpetuate the dark themes.

Rotten Tomatoes has it at 100% Fresh with an Audience Score of 90%. The critics consensus from Rotten Tomatoes states: “Arguably the first true horror film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari set a brilliantly high bar for the genre — and remains terrifying nearly a century after it first stalked the screen.” IMDb has it at 8.1 stars out of 10. So, the incredibly short description and the incredibly high rating has me perplexed. I do think that the payoff at the end was worth it, even if it was a bit dragging at the beginning. I saw this on Netflix and recommend it to anyone who wants to see how the genre really got started or fans of early cinema. I rate the film 3.75 stars out of 5. Have you seen it? What did you think? What films would you like me to review in the future? Drop me a line.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“And from that day on, the madman never again left his cell.” – Francis

Conclusive or: A Sigh of Relief

26 Friday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

This is Friday, right? After this week, I’m glad it’s over. I usually don’t look at it that way. But, with everything I’ve been gathering for the “Big Job” I’ve been working on, to the power going out after a very long and exhausting day on Wednesday, which led to meWeekend-Loading not sleeping, to dealing with “The Boy” and his schooling, I really, really need a nice adult beverage or two. It’s owed to The BCPF and me, both.

So, whilst I still have work to do on the “Big Job” I am now 2/3 of the way finished. I feel good about that. I will have to come in this weekend for a very short time (I hope) and
complete all the stuff but, really, I feel I’m mostly ahead of schedule. The job is about 2/3 complete and I’m good with that. Just filling in some space with pictures (that I must take) will do the trick.

I’m just sighing a whimper of relief because it’s Friday. Generally, a day like any other day to me. I just need a break. A short two day one is fine. Yes, and thank you.

Then Sunday, I have a big treat coming and you’ll hear about it in the upcoming weeks. Great stuff indeed. I’m leaving it at that.

Until tomorrow (and a much deserved break), same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“You know what I want to do? Wake up one weekend and not have to go anywhere and do nothing.” – Derek Jeter

He Works Hard for His Money or: One Step at a Time

25 Thursday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

Today is a rough, rough, day, Dear Listener. We’ve not had power at our house since 11:05p last night. I’ve gone over the need of the CPAP, so I can assure you that I didn’t get any sleep last night. I was already dogged tired when I got home at about 123rf_frustration_laptop_over_head11:20p. I’ve been up since 7:25a this morning (I dozed in and out all night and my throat is sore from all the snoring and gasping). I took Ma Mere to get Ma Pere’s meds and then she, along with my oldest nephew went to breakfast.

I came to Downtown WSNC to get busy on the work project I’ve been working on, but the person I needed to see wasn’t there. There was a meeting of the SSO4, that I had forgotten about and had to run to Camino to get in that meeting. Then I went back to the first place and finally got to talk to the person I needed but I still haven’t gotten the info that I need. This project is due Tuesday and I’m only about 1/8 of the way finished and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I find out that the power may not be turned back on until 11:45p tomorrow night! So, since 3B has work to do and we need showers that aren’t ice cold, we may have to spend the night in a hotel. That on top of we just grocery shopped and spent all of our budget on groceries, it’s quite sad that we may lose what we just purchased. That sucks! Money is quite tight right now and this is not what we need.

I don’t get paid for the job I’m doing until it’s done and it looks like I’ll be in here tomorrow (which is normal), Saturday and possibly some on Sunday (when I’m not at other commitments). Rough, I say. But, you know what I wouldn’t trade any of that, really.

All of this stacked on top of everything else going on in life, this day is quite crappy. But, I’ll be fine. That’s all I’ve got today, though. I apologize.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.” – Ralph Marston

Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

24 Wednesday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Beer of the Week, Atwater Beer’s Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale.

This shiny baby just showed up yesterday at City Beverage, according to Spencer and he’s not tried it, yet. So, here’s what we have to go by. 1) It’s Atwater Beer – check! 2) It’s an ale – check! 3) It’s a dark chocolate ale – check! That’s three things going for it right there. e23f80b8-fb63-4b50-b359-2a15664f4a2eThe beauty of all of that is that tonight’s guests on The Less Desirables is Black Mountain Chocolate! How fitting?

Atwater Beer is the pride of Detroit, or so I’m guessing. Right there in the Rivertown District (that’s historical and all that). It sits on the banks of the Detroit River. And, if you’re keeping track, that’s right on level with or “at-water” for them. Hence the name? Probably so. Doing some research, we’ve not had an Atwater beer since 2012 when we had the VJ Black Imperial Stout. I didn’t Untappd it so I don’t know what I rated. I have had this, though. I had it at Finnigan’s Wake (the Official Emerald Isle of The Less Desirables) and it looks like I rated it a 4.25.

While I do like heft in my beer, tonight it’s all about the pairing and this brew only comes in at 5%. It’s going to be paired with chocolate, so that’s what takes precedence tonight. Untappd has it at 3.84 caps out of 5. BeerAdvocate has it at 81 (Good). Have you tried this beer? What did you think? If you’ve not or want a second (or third, or fourth…) opinion on it, head to City Beverage and grab your own sixer. Be sure to tell Spencer you heard this was the beer of the week and you’ll get 5% off your order. Then, listen to tonight’s show to see what Caitlin, Bruce, Megan, Tirra & Tyler from Black Mountain Chocolate and I have to say about it. It’s going to be good!

I do like the logo for Atwater. It shows a proud working man, representing the blue collar workers of Motor City.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“A decadent ale that ends with a dark chocolate kiss.” – Atwater Beer’s Decadent carton

Walking Man or: An Empire in the Making

23 Tuesday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

Okay, so I’ve told you about my little walking ventures with The BCPF and that I’ve been working out some details about doing more of that. I’m still not quite ready to divulge all of the ins and outs of what’s going on, but I will say that I’m in negotiations with a sporting retailer about some sponsorship possibilities. I’ll give that info when it’s pertinent and beneficial to all parties involved, which isn’t right now.

So, Sunday evening I launched a new Facebook page and Twitter account to highlight the

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I finished last, but it was my first (and last?) 5k in 2014.

name of my project. The name of the project is The Man Who Walked the Town. I have a play on being the man who does stuff around here, our Winston-Salem, NC. It’s going to be (I hope) a fun, educational and healthy project.

I’ve gotten some good support and inquiry from a number of people since I made the Facebook page on Sunday evening. People wanting to be involved and wanting to know more. That’s a good sign, I believe. I want to keep you all informed on what’s happening with it as well, just, like I said, now isn’t the time for that. I hope in the next 2 weeks to have more news to pass along. But, for now, if you would, I’d really appreciate a “Like” and a “Follow.” There will be an Instagram account coming next. And there will be more coming after that. I have plans, y’all! Let’s walk!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I don’t know what my path is yet. I’m just walking on it.” – Olivia Newton-John

Worth a Deuce or: Oh Poop!

22 Monday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

Okay, Dear Reader. I’m going to absolutely give the disclaimer right here, up front, get it over with and warn you. This will probably be the weirdest blog post that I’ve ever, EVER, written. I’m literally going to be shooting the shite. And you may know more about me than you ever wanted to know. For all of this, I apologize up front.

One of the most taboo subjects in society is poop. Yep, crap, turds, sh*t, shite, doo doo, pooh, etc. We don’t have a problem telling anyone, “I’m going to go pee,” or “I have to pee really bad,” and so on. But, rarely do I hear my friends say to me, “I gotta poop!” or “gonna run and poop real quick.” Why is that? Why is it such a taboo subject? We all do it. We have to. If we don’t we would die from poisons and toxins that would be reabsorbed into your body; ones that would normally be eliminated by having a BM. So, again, why is it such a hush-hush thing?

I’ve never really talked much about this but I’ve had bowel problems throughout my adult life. Polyps, some bleeding and internal hemorrhoids have been found on my colon, but as of my last colonoscopy, there was nothing there. But, I’ve sometimes had problems doing the doo over the last 20 years or so.

So, with some of the other things that I’ve been trying to take care of, I am trying to find ways of being healthier. I’m not preaching and I’m not trying to change anyone’s lifestyle or even convert anyone to a granola and fiber diet with lots of exercise. Because I’m sure as heck won’t be doing that, either. I can’t stand those pretentious health-nuts preaching to me about lifestyle in their yoga pants and fancy running suits. I don’t want to be that. I’m not sacrificing my love of food and beverage. I will still be eating large meals (which aren’t necessarily unhealthy) and I’m certainly not giving up my alcohol consumption.I’m not even going to tell you what you “should” do because I don’t know what’s best for you. I have to take care of only three people: 3B, The BCPF and me. I do neither of them any good if I’m not here.

So, it seems that I need to really reconsider other aspects of my life since I’ve had two pretty big things happen in the last 4 years: from triple bypass surgery to gall bladder removal. I have to make some sacrifices and what I hope to sacrifice is my laziness. It’s too easy to just sit and not move around. Not any more. I am being more mobile. Again, more on this subject and how it will actually impact my life and what’s happening in it, at a later time. But, for now, back to poop.

So, perhaps we’ve all been doing it wrong? At least in the Western World? I found this video about how to poop. It makes sense. I’ve always “felt” that if I could get my legs higher that I could get “it” to happen easier, with less effort and less discomfort. But, I thought it was crazy and I don’t have a way to do it. It seems that there is a very simple contraption that people are marketing to help achieve this. You don’t need to spend money on that, just make a stool (pun intended) and prop your feet up on that. But, these do actually fit around the base of the bowl, that’s pretty cool. I don’t see me purchasing one, but you never know. This is not, again, an attempt to inundate you with health craziness or change your mind. I just found it somewhat funny, interesting and informative. So, I offer it to you, Dear Reader, get what you can out of it.

Hope you found it interesting and informative as well. Stay healthy… or don’t; do what you want to.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Failure to eliminate waste allows re-absorption of toxins your body is trying to get rid of as well as failure to expel new toxins getting in daily.” – Dr. Johnnie Strickland Jr.

(Not so) Silent Sunday or: A Walk in the Park?

21 Sunday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

Oh (enter deity here), what did I get myself into? This town, the one that I love, is not flat; moreover it is quite hilly. “Being worn out” cannot begin to describe how I truly felt after yesterday’s trek through Camel City. Oh! And, this will probably not be a “silent” Sunday post.

The BCPF and I started with brunch at Krankie’s and then walked from Krankie’s on Patterson to Fourth Street down to Research Parkway. We turned north and walked all the way up to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. A little jump back to Patterson and we made a stop at the Goler Community Garden and sat on a bench for about five minutes. There was a 1a walkingconstant hill to get to there and my back was screaming at me. We walked down Patterson to Bailey Park and sat on a bench watching a young couple kick a soccer ball around to each other as  The BCPF and I just talked about nothing, but just enjoyed the conversation.

We got up and walked the hill up Fourth west to Cherry Street and turned north to Fifth Street. Well, I felt I earned it, so we went into Small Batch Beer (the Presenting Sponsor of The Beer Dads Podcast) at 241 W Fifth and had a flight of frothy goodness. We then continued east on Fifth to Trade Street. Turning north, we stopped at Atelier on Trade and had a cheesecake, pastries and coffee. I had a full on coffee and the caffeine never affected me. I think that had to do with the exercise. Continuing north we turned east on Seventh Street and almost immediately turned south on Liberty.

We walked Liberty to Second Street where we crossed over to Main Street. We followed that all the way over Business 40 and into Old Salem. We stopped for a potty break behind the Single Brothers’ House and went east to Church Street and turned north into God’s Acre (the Moravian cemetery) and then, once on the other side of the vast graveyard, turned east on Cemetery Street down to Salem Avenue where we turned north. We walked that until it curved to  First Street and then north back onto, again, Patterson Avenue. We walked that back to Third Street and to our car.

When we got to the car, I let The BCPF into the car and then walked around once to get extra steps in. I looked at my phone (I looked at it all day to keep track of how many I was getting) and saw that I was about three hundred steps from 10,000, which is my (ridiculous) daily goal. So, we get back out of the car, walk down Patterson to Fourth, west to Chestnut, south to Third and east to Patterson. Just over 10,000, yay! Well, we weren’t finished.

We had to go to Whole Foods to get the proper ingredients to make dinner (which was a healthy coconut shrimp dish, but that’s a different story all together) and ran into some friends’ parents and talked about life and walking. We walked around in the store a good bit, too. We get home and I was just shy of 11,000. Being a man of goals, I had to go back out and get that goal. I walked the “compound” that Mes ‘Rents and I live on, around one time and by that time put me close to 13,000. I have a small circular driveway and went out and walked around it about four times to complete that 13,000 step-day. 13,000 STEPS!!! That’s about 6.4 miles and I burned almost a 1,000 calories. That’s a decent workout, I’d say. The BCPF has a FitBit and it said she walked up 31 flights of stairs. It was all those hills. So, I’d say if you put in the amount of “hill resistance” that we encountered in this town, we probably walked closer to the equivalent of about nine miles. That’s my guessimation and nothing more.

I’m extremely proud of my accomplishment and The BCPF in hers. She says the same back to me. All this is leading up to a bigger venture, again, one I’ll get to in the near future. Got some details to work out on that, first. But, don’t worry, Dear Reader, you’ll be the first (or maybe second) to know. I don’t plan on doing 10,000 steps a day, but I’d like to get about 1,000 to 2,000 a day. That’s attainable, I think. Wish me luck!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” – Barack Obama

Artifact or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

20 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by in Movie Review, Uncategorized

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Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents Artifact (2012), The Less Desirables Movie of the Week. The film stars Jared Leto, Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević. It was directed by Bartholomew Cubbins.

This documentary follows the struggle of Leto’s band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and its 1artifact.jpglawsuit from EMI/Virgin/Terra Firma Capital Partners. Basically, the band signed a deal for nine years for no return in California. The rub is that the state of California doesn’t recognize contractual agreements longer than seven years. So, after their seven years, the band alerts the label that they are terminating the contract. The label flips their lids and sue Thirty Seconds to Mars for, get this, $30M. Thirty million dollars.

The truth is that the record labels are losing their arses and are starting to grasp for straws in all aspects of the music biz. This even the case when a European billionaire purchases a company and decides to get rid of the label brass and is the one that is forcing the suit. It’s basically a stiff-arm tactic and nothing more than a “I will show you” scenario.

The doc shows the band trying to record a new album to release and it’s slowed down because there’s really not a lot of money and the because the suit is ongoing, they are having a hard time. Consistently through the film, they’re negotiating the terms of their very existence and because of EMI’s power, they can hold them on the line as long as they see fit. I honestly believe that Guy Hands, the head of Terra Firma, had the best of intentions in trying to pull EMI out of the depths of despair, but he had no clue how the music business worked. That and getting rid of all the presidents and CEOs of Capitol Records, EMI and their holdings, they had no root in the industry. That threw them off.

Even after selling millions of albums, Thirty Seconds to Mars found themselves indebted to EMI for a few million dollars. The doc does a good job at showing how the recording industry works and whilst the general public thinks these artists are making shloads of cash from having big label contracts, really, the artists generally go in the hole from these mostly outdated contracts. Beyond Thirty Seconds to Mars’ specific legal issues as well as the journey of making the new album, the film also examines the somewhat sad state of the modern music industry, and shows the relationships between major labels and their artists aren’t always glam and glitter. Cubbins interviews various other musicians  and former EMI/Virgin/Captiol executives who give their first-hand accounts of their own experiences in the business in general and any of first hand knowledge of this situation. You also see the point at which Leto decides that the album should be called This is War, as it certainly was. In the end, industry leaning and common sense, along with Citibank taking over the company due to Hands’ inability or unwillingness to pay his loan debts, garnered that the label caved, dropping the lawsuit and signing the band to a new, favorable deal that not only got them out of the muck but got them back on their way.

One thing that I found interesting in the documentary was that whilst they talked about people not knowing about the record industry trying to pull the labels from the red, they also talked about how the biggest music distributors of digital music aren’t even in the record business. They’re tech and internet companies: Apple and Amazon. It’s very interesting, as is what the labels still charge the artists back for that have nothing to do with digital music but the artists continue to get bent over and given the old in/out when it comes to that. Ridiculous.

Overall, I found this documentary fascinating. I realized that I enjoyed Leto and his band. I don’t know that I’d go out and find a lot of the music but what was in this doc was really interesting. Rotten Tomatoes hasn’t gotten a rating for it, yet, however it does have a 96% “Want to See” rating. IMDb has it rated at 8.2 stars out of 10. I saw this film on Netflix and I will highly recommend it and rate it 4.5 stars. One last note on it, Bartholomew Cubbins is a pseudonym for someone you may have heard of, his real name is Jared Leto. Have you seen the film? What did you think? Also, what would you like me to review in the future? Hit me up and let me know.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“To the soldier, the civilian,the martyr, the victim, this is war.” – “This is War” (Leto)