Hey there. Yesterday, I sent a Twitter message about how I was walking outside and I can smell smoke and taste ashes. Like earthquakes, Southern California is no stranger to wild fires. There was already a strong fire blazing near West Covina (about 20 miles East of Downtown Los Angeles and another fire started last night in La Canada Flintridge (about 13 miles North of Downtown Los Angeles). The skies above my hometown are ugly. I live in Long Beach, where blue skies were visible this morning. Once we got on the 710 freeway heading north towards Downtown L.A., a HUGE cloud of smoke covered the skies. There's mountains visible in the skyline when you're on the 710 heading North. Today, I couldn't even see Downtown, it was so bad. Here are a few pics I took this morning from my mother in law's place. It's only a few minutes from where I work, which is only 5 miles away from Downtown.
Smoke is creeping up, covering the sky The sky over Downtown Los Angeles
Ugly, no? I don't like seeing the skies like that. And to make matters worse, I'm upset. I was watching the news last night when the latest fire broke out and the anchor man on the news was being a jack ass about it. He downplayed the fires as "something to get used to" if you live in Los Angeles. We citizens of Los Angeles don't need to get used to fires. That's absurd, if you ask me. You get used to things you can't change, like earthquakes. You can't stop earthquakes, that is something you can get used to. As for fires, you can stop some jerk from tossing a cigarette butt into dry brush and causing all this disaster. I doubt that anyone here wants to get used to breathing this crap. The air quality is awful right now. As I write this, I can smell the smoke that is creeping in the building. Once I go outside for lunch, I know it's going to be hot, and to top it off, I'll be breathing in ashes and smoke. I don't need to get used to that, you jack ass news reporter. Someone should put him in a box and fill it up with smoke and see if it's something he would like to get used to.
Hey there. I started thinking about Labor Day and what we should plan for that weekend. It's still a week or so away but if you're going to make plans, you should make them early. I was thinking of maybe taking the family to the Grand Canyon. I've never been and I think the kids would get a trip out of it. Then I read that it's an 8 hour car ride from Los Angeles and I quickly scratched that idea. My wife, being preggers, shouldn't be sitting for 8 hours straight. I don't think it's healthy. So now I'm trying to find alternatives. It would be good to take a short drive somewhere and enjoy the sites. Maybe a camping trip. That sounds like fun. The kids and I have never gone camping before so I think it would be cool. Maybe rent a cabin somewhere or something like that. I'm still not sure. I wouldn't mind doing something in the mountains. I've never been to the mountains. lol I love to check that out and maybe see some snow. I've never seen snow so that would be awesome. lmao
Since there have been much stuff that I haven't done before, I think we're going to go camping, in the mountains, and see some snow. lmao Or maybe not, I don't know just yet. I'll look into the camping thing, though. That sounds like it would be a fun activity to do that weekend. Weekend camping tips, here I come. Later.
Hey there. I'm in music mode right now. I've had this itch to listen to music I haven't listened to since forever. I easily get frustrated by the music that is played on local radio. There is just not enough good stuff out there. I'm not a fan of any of the new "rock" that is coming out. I'm not a fan of Paramore, I do not like Kings of Leon, and I can't stand the voice of Silver Sun Pickups. I'm just not a fan of the music of the "up and coming" bands. So when a bad ass song like STP's Plush comes out, I turn the radio up and sing my ass off to the song. lol
This leads me to last night, I was off at the local Target store looking for a phone battery. Ours seemed to have died so I needed a replacement. Since I couldn't find it there, I went to another one to get it. While in the car, I got frustrated with the music on the radio and popped in an album I don't listen to often, Metallica's Re-Load. Now, say what you will about the Load and Re-Load albums. I think they're more than decent and they're definitely an experimental period for the band. They dropped their tuning and the sound was so far from any the previous albums. Nevertheless, I think these albums were needed in order for them to progress as a band. This leads me to song, Low Mans Lyric. I strongly believe that this is the best song on that album.
It's considered a softie by the message in that song is so strong. I must've heard it like 4 times while in the car last night, singing along to the song. A strong characteristic of Metallica music is that they place on strong emphasis on the subject matter of the song. Where Master of Puppets is about addiction, Low Man's Lyric is about a homeless person and their thoughts. Where Master of Puppets has a strong, frantic style, Low Man's Lyric is powerful, yet pensive. I love it. Having such great lines as, "And I can't bear to see; What I've let me be" and "But I lie, lie straight to the mirror;The one I've broken, to match my face".
There is a strong message there. Listening to the song, you have a sense that the person in the song is out there by choice. He falls because "he let go", he's been offered help "he just wants right back out again". Should we feel sorry? "Maybe you'll understand and won't cry for this man" is the line that puts it all together as he asks for forgiveness.
Check it out for yourselves and let me know what you think. Below is the song and lyrics. Later!
My eyes seek reality My fingers seek my veins There's a dog at your back step He must come in from the rain I fall cause I let go The net below has rot away So my eyes seek reality And my fingers seek my veins
The trash fire is warm But nowhere safe from the storm And I can't bear to see What I've let me be So wicked and worn
So as I write to you Of what is done and to do Maybe you'll understand And won't cry for this man cause low man is due Please forgive me
My eyes seek reality My fingers feel for faith Touch clean with a dirty hand I touch the clean to the waste
The trash fire is warm But nowhere safe from the storm And I can't bear to see What I've let me be So wicked and worn
So as I write to you Of what is done and to do Maybe you'll understand and won't cry for this man cause low man is due Please forgive me Please forgive me Please forgive me
So low the sky is all I see All I want from you is forgive me So you bring this poor dog in from the rain Though he just wants right back out again
And I cry, to the alleyway Confess all to the rain But I lie, lie straight to the mirror The one I've broken, to match my face
The trash fire is warm But nowhere safe from the storm And I can't bear to see What I've let me be So wicked and worn
So as I write to you Of what is done and to do Maybe you'll understand And won't cry for this man cause low man is due Please forgive me Please forgive me
So low the sky is all I see All I want from you is forgive me So you bring this poor dog in from the rain Though he just wants right back out again
Hey there. My wife and I watched the movie The Hangover this weekend. Word on the street was that it is one hilarious movie. So it got our interest and we sought it out to watch. I thought the movie was hilarious. I was laughing throughout the film at it's stupidities while my wife was practically falling asleep while watching it. She didn't find it as funny or as good as I did. Later on in the day, as I was flipping through the movie channels, Step Brothers was on. I said, "Oh, Step Brothers" and my wife goes, "Again... You and your brother like retarded* movies." She didn't find Step Brothers too funny either. I asked her which movie made her laugh more than 3 times and she said Elf. lol
My bro and I, laughing it up since the mid '80s
My bro and I are goofballs. We quote, if not act out, funny parts of movies all the time. I just sent a Twitter message to my bro about what my wife said and his response is that the movies we like are "witty" and "smartass" type. lmao We can go on and on about movies and the funny lines in them and literally end up in tears from the laughter no more than 10 minutes into the conversation. Or sometimes its just randomly shouted out to start a conversation. It's not uncommon for my brother to walk in a room and go "I'm singing. I'm in a store and I'm singing!" LMAO The movie that we're stuck on right now is Step Brothers. We'll send messages back and forth quoting the movie. Great lines such as:
"I have a belly full of white dog crap in me, and now you lay this shit on me?" "Look... we can bicker about this night, but what's done is done Dad. Are you guys going to invest or not?" "Mom, I honestly thought I was gonna be raped for a second. He had the craziest look in his eyes. And at one point he said, "Lets get it on."" And... "You have the voice of an angel. Your voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus."
Oh man... And this isn't a new trend. We've been doing it since we kids. Dumb and Dumber used to get us cracking up all the time. Ace Ventura and Austin Powers were other characters we quoted and acted out constantly. Oh man.. Good times, good times. I don't doubt if The Hangover takes the new spot as the movie we go back and forth on. This movie has some pretty hilarious lines like:
"I always wondered why they were called roofies. Cause you're more likely to end up on the floor than the roof. They should call em floories." "Oh, you know what? Next week's no good for me... The Jonas Brothers are in town. But any week after that, it's totally fine. " "Now remember, what happens in Vegas stays, in Vegas... Except herpes, that shit will come back with you." "I didn't know they gave out rings at the Holocaust."
So what about you guys? You guys have a quirky characteristics like my bro and I? Any crazy antics between yourself and your siblings? We always manage to get someone laughing. Sometimes we're the only ones laughing because of our sense of humor. lol When is the next stupid, funny planning on coming out? Until then, later.
*If I offended anyone by my use of the word retarded. I'm sorry. Don't mean to offend anyone by it and it's used in no way shape or form to put down anyone.
Hey there friends. Most of you know about my love of truTV and of real TV. Just this weekend, my wife and I sat through several hours of Most Shocking on truTV. Most Shocking: Caught on Tape and Most Shocking: Car Chases are the ones that come to mind.
Anyways, a new show that I'm starting to catch is truTV's Black Gold . I'll admit that I didn't catch the first season but after catching the second season's premiere episode, August 19th, I may be tuning in for this season.
The show features the daily toil of Roughnecks. Roughnecks are the men that are on the field, drilling for oil. This is no ordinary job, though. These men need to be tough, strong and if they are not paying attention, could lose their lives. The show follows the format of Ice Road Truckers, another truTV show that follows the lives of men that drive big rigs in icy Alaska. Check out this link to see how truTV's Black Gold drilling adventure goes down. This job is definitely not for the weak.
Imagine going to an interview to be roughneck. I don't think I'd be able to cut it. First off, I'm a dwarf compared to the men out on the rig. I don't have anywhere near the muscle needed to operate the machines. I would expect to go through some thought provoking tests to gauge my focus and ability to think on my feet. Being a roughneck, you can't afford to have many mistakes. You'll be lucky to get away with one or two but the next mistake could be your last. I don't know, the more I think about it, the more I don't think that I would be able to cut it.
Check out the videos below to get an idea of how an interview goes for a soon to be roughneck. Those are just a taste, if you want to catch all new episodes, tune in to truTV every Wednesdays at 10p/9c. Check it out, friends. Later.
Crazy no? If you want to see more, you can check out truTV's Black Gold trailer to get a good look of roughnecks in action.
Hey there. Have you guys seen anything like it? lol I went out to get my wife some rainbow sherbet earlier in the day. I just opened the container and look at what I see. The ice scream so happened to be waiting there, smiling at me. Is that crazy or what? lol I compared experience to that of those that see Jesus in a tree or the Virgin Mary in a tortilla. lol My wife suggested that it was the baby smiling because at me because I got the ice cream that he craved. What do you think? What this merely coincidence that it's smiling? Or maybe, divine intervention? Maybe it was worker intervention and thought that it would be a trip to surprise a consumer with a smile. lol Either way, we thought it was hilarious. lol
Oh... This just dawned on me... Maybe it's my pops, smiling down on us knowing that a little one is on the way. You never know, crazy things have happened here before. Like Odin, our dog, mysteriously appearing in the house after locking him outside or the Corona bottle that opened on it's own... Could be... Hmmmm... Interesting. Later.
Smoke is creeping up, covering the sky
The sky over Downtown Los Angeles
