Happy Thanksgiving

Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving.

After a day in which I felt absolutely miserable, and let myself go a bit too much on this blog (which I have now deleted), I am in better spirits this evening. Funny what a little conversation with my middle sister can do.

I don't want to get too much into detail about our family issues (and we all have them), but suffice to say the eldest one of the bunch an be quite difficult to deal with, and some of that has rubbed off on the middle sister, and unfortunately me. Let's just say that events over the past two weeks (cell phone, plans to travel), and my eldest's involvement in said events, pretty much had me on edge.

For Thanksgiving it's just going to be us three plus my middle sister's boyfriend (who lives in central Florida). We'll have our usual Thanksgiving Feast, but it's store-bought from Publix. My youngest sister will be in NC with her son, his wife, and grandkids. My daughter will I guess be in Kentucky with her boyfriend, I sent her a Happy Thanksgiving message via social media (because no cell phone). She hasn't spoken to me since she graduated high school, and I doubt she will acknowledge this message, but I'm hopeful.

Thanksgiving has been harder for me as years go by, simply because of the fact that I've always been by myself with the exception of my Navy years and 2011, when my then roommate and I spent it at her parents' house (or was that Christmas). No, my daughter hasn't been to visit my family for Thanksgiving, but that was by design; I didn't want to expose her to all the negativity that seemingly runs rampant in my family. In fact, she has never seen any of my siblings.

I wish I was more happy-go-lucky instead of Debbie Downer, but depression runs in my family, so it's something I have to deal with (and am medicated for). But that doesn't mean I can't see the bright side of life (now you have that song from "Monty Python" in your head; you're welcome), so I try to pick up someone's spirits whenever I can.

Anyway, I hope you have a blessed and safe Turkey Day. Stay safe, stay warm, and try not to eat too much (yeah right). Tryptophan for the win!

CT

BRRR...

Happy cold Friday, everyone.

In some parts of the country, we had our first taste of winter yesterday; not fall, winter. It wreaked all sorts of havoc amongst air travelers, forced some students to spend the night in school, and really was a pain in the ass for all involved, especially in New Jersey. Karma's a bitch, isn't it Gov. Christie?

If there was a saving grace about this storm, it didn't hit California, and God knows they have enough issues out there anyway with those wildfires. And of course it didn't hit Florida, because we never get those things, but it did send the temperature here in Spring Hill into the 30s, and for a Floridian, that's frigid.

The worst part to me at least, is that the Weather Channel is once again implementing their stupid policy of giving such storms a name. In this case, this storm was called Avery. You know what comes to mind when I hear that name? A basketball coach with an awesome voice (Avery Johnson), a Braves pitching legend (Steve Avery), a cartoonist (Tex Avery), and an actor/game show panelist (Avery Schreiber). Not the name of a winter storm, which officially (per the NWS) don't have names.

With that being said, I put my own spin on these names. I wanted to give them names that I would think would be more memorable and somewhat humorous at the same time. So, without further ado, here is the list of names I think TWC should use*.

Avalanche
Blyad' ( a Russian cuss word)
Cyka (pronounced SOO-ka; another Russian expletive)
Danerys (Had to throw in a "Game of Thrones" reference
Ebat (another Russian cuss word)
Frostbyte
Gritty (in honor of everyone's favorite mascot)
Hossenfeffer
Icepick
Jam (like traffic jam)
Kaepernick (let's trigger the right)
Lucifer
Margie (long story here, if you wanna know, ask me)
Neanderthal
Ohmygawsh
Pizdez (fourth Russian cuss word)
Q-Bert (remember it?)
Rustbelt
Sasquatch
Tundra (not the Toyota Tundra either)
UGotToBeShittinMe
Viacom (if you don't know "V of Doom" google it)
Waaah
X-Rated
YouBunnyWrote (a fifth Russian cuss word)
Zoloft (to fight off those winter blues)

*Really they shouldn't be using them, period.

If anything, I've at least taught you how to cuss in Russian.

Here's A Puppy Holding A Rose To Brighten Your Day:

Some other thoughts:

Have you seen the new KFC ad? The one where Col. Sanders and Mrs. Butterworth are recreating that memorable scene from "Dirty Dancing" to advertise their new chicken and waffles combo? First of all I didn't know chicken and waffles were a thing until recently (like within the past 20 years), so suffice to say I've never had it. Second, KFC?! I don't know about you, but all that grease on KFC's chicken loses any appeal I had to try them with waffles, let alone with Mrs. Butterworth syrup. If I'm Mrs. Butterworth, I'm filing divorce papers to Col. Sanders instantly.

My sister is STILL looking for a phone for me, an the way she's going about doing so is clueless. She thinks that Wi-fi usage has nothing to do with data usage on the phone and she doesn't want me to pick out my own phone and then I pay for whatever plan. It always has to be about her, and she wants to be as cheap as possible. I've always said the being cheap doesn't necessarily make you better, but it does make you cheap. I may have to go shopping with her tomorrow so I (or whatever phone provider) can explain to her the nuances of having a smart phone and how to use it. God help me...

Orlando and UCF get to host College Gameday, proving that if you cry for something long enough, you'll get it (and I'm a UCF fan). Thing is, their conference (the American) Is not among the Power 5 (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big10, and Pac-12), so any and all exploits from their teams will go about being overlooked or flat-out ignored. UCF is hoping that tomorrow's appearance on Gameday and their subsequent game vs Cincinnati will give the school and it's conference the exposure it needs.

My entry about music of years past will be tomorrow, sister permitting. Mrs. Schroeder you were right, family can be tough. In the meantime, have a good Friday night.

CT

A Few Random Thoughts

Good evening, everyone. With the Lightning having a night off and with hardly anything on television to watch, I thought I might put down some random thoughts that I have.

Couple of updates first, remember my post last night? Well I found out today that the trip wasn't going to happen anyway, at least for now. Without going into explicit detail, turns out that back interest can be a pain in the ass. Hopefully, I can make the trip when the weather gets nicer when spring comes. Plus right now wasn't a good time to visit anyway.

The other update comes from my post Saturday night about songs from 2000. After posting that tweet, I played the songs that were on that chart and shared the links to twitter. On one song, I happened to post this tweet about how I dreaded playing said song. The reason being is that song is an has been used as the theme to the Schnitt Show, a conservative-leaning talk show hosted by Tampa radio personality Todd Schnitt. You'd think that as a longtime-Tampa resident I would take some sort of pride in that. Actually, the opposite is true. Long story short, Trump supporters (like Schnitt) have little to no room in my world.

Some other things, I decided to take a dip in the pool today. Why? To build up some strength in my weakened left side and because it was in the 80s here in Florida this afternoon. Tomorrow, that's supposed to change as we go from "Indian summer" to deep autumn in a hurry. But today the water felt a little different anyway. The air wasn't humid, which meant that we didn't have what I call the "swamp-ass effect" in which everything felt like you in the middle of the Everglades. And with the somewhat cooler temps, it made the water feel a bit colder. 

Which got me to thinking, that must be why when the temperature dips below 50 in Florida, it's virtually freezing. It's also why hoodie weather down here is in the 60s, as where most everywhere else, 60s is almost short sleeve weather. As a great man once said, it's not the heat (or cold), it's the stupidity. 

That also got me thinking about how Florida has a perceived lack of seasons. Actually, we do have seasons in Florida: golf season, tourism season, hurricane season, and football season. However, these seasons don't have a finite beginning or end and can run concurrently. For instance, you can have hurricane season and football season at the same time more often than not. 

Survivor Series is this Sunday, for you wrestling fans out there, and in case you have been under a rock this week, Becky Lynch had her face broken by Nia Jax on the latest episode of Raw. This means of course that she won't face Ronda Rousey on Sunday. Big disappointment for the "WWE Universe." However, we also won't get a rematch from last year's Survivor Series between Brock Lesnar...wait I have to say it like Paul Heyman does...BROCK....LESNAR!!! and AJ Styles. Why? Because (Washington state's very own) Daniel Bryan defeated Styles for the WWE Championship on
SmackDown Live last night.

I'm still waiting on a new phone to come in (mine went belly up on election night). So, I'll be limited from a mobile point of view until then, which sucks. My archaic dinosaur of a mobile (that hasn't been active since 2015) unit eats up battery power like a mofo and some apps aren't compatible (such as snapchat). Plus I don't have a cord charger; I do have a plug-in charger, meaning I have to remove the battery from the dinosaur to charge it. I can tweet and do IG (barely), but not snap. Welcome to tech's version of Jurassic Park.

I might do another flashback countdown on Friday, but I've run out of thoughts to write down. Enjoy the rest of Wednesday.

CT

Fuming Over Setbacks...

Hello again everyone...

If you've followed my Twitter page today, you probably know that I didn't have a very good day today. If you'd like to know why, strap in and get your popcorn ready.

About a month ago, I posted an entry about feelings I was developing over a woman in the greater Seattle area. Those of you who follow me know damned well who I'm referring to. Well, this past month, I was finally in a position where I could think about taking a trip to that general area. So, I started looking on Expedia, Travelocity, etc. to see how much a round-trip ticket would cost from Tampa to Seattle after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. It was listed at $189; that's doable! So I explored the possibility of going by checking in with my eldest sister.

Now you're probably asking yourself, "why does he need permission from his sister?" Well, after my stroke last August, I had designated her as my caretaker, which means she (and my middle sister) had to make sure that I was taking my meds, checking my blood pressure and blood sugar, etc. On top of that, my eldest sister gained control of my finances, because I had some overdue bills that had piled up since stroke. So, when I asked her, I was in no uncertain terms shut down. I was pissed. She doesn't think that I am responsible enough to take such a trip.

First of all, fuck that! I'm 44 fucking years old, not fucking 14, like she apparently thinks I have the mentality of. She didn't know about the facts that I also looked into 1) if it was okay with the other party to visit, 2) where at in the Seattle area I would potentially stay, 3) if I was going to take a bus or fly. Tampa Int'l Airport is a 50 minute drive (depending on traffic), but if I took a Greyhound, it's a short 5-mile jaunt with little traffic; a lot less stress on my sisters even if the trip would take me three or four days. Then there's the 4th factor I haven't mentioned; where I would stay. And that's before I have to deal with my disability.

This isn't the first time she has put the kibosh on something. Remember the German girl from the aforementioned post? Yeah, I still think to this day she had something to do with that. It's like Ukraine wanting to join the EU only to have the Russians step in (not accounting the political factors that are taking place in Ukraine). Another time was when I tried to move to Gainesville (around that same time, interestingly) and I had to break the lease on my apartment because she couldn't find a dogsitter. There was also that time I was actually on vacation when she wanted me to stop in my tracks to move my dad to Florida. Yeah it's my dad, but I'm on vacation. It's like I want to something to make me happy, but she doesn't want me to be unless it's on her terms.

There is a silver lining, maybe. This evening someone told me veterans groups could chaperone me to take such a trip, but knowing her, she won't allow it; she HAS to get involved in some way. Oh, and there's this: my sister says the other party could come down here. As nice as it sounds, it's 2018. You know, the age of "Me Too". Besides, I've lived in this area long enough to NOT recommend a lady I know from Twitter to come visit. But, if she wants to visit, go for it, even though I'll probably be worried sick.

Anyway, that's what had me upset today. Whether or not after the Holidays she'll have a change of tune remains to be seen, but I'm not counting. At least I'm making an effort.

CT

Something totally different.

Hello again everyone.

This has been a really messed up week, from election snafus to yet another mass shooting, to California being on fire (and our POSOTUS somehow blaming the Forestry Service for it). On a personal note, my phone started going haywire and I had to cancel my service; and my twitter crush was MIA from the tweet fields all week.

But thankfully, the week has come to end, and not only that, it's Veteran's Day weekend; a special time for all veterans who have served in our Armed Forces. To all fellow Veterans out there, allow me to send a heartfelt thank you.

So, for this post, I didn't want to focus on all the negative energy on all the "blyat" that happened this past week, but I wanted to take a look further back to days of yore. I haven't told anyone this, but one hidden passion/labor of love of mine has been to reconstruct the Top 40 radio charts from 1980, the year when I started school, until present-day. Now, first things first, this isn't based from Billboard, which if my memory serves me correct, was strictly sales-based until the early 1990's. I used Radio and Records magazine, a publication that was discontinued in 2008, however the methodology for tabulating their charts at the time of their closure still lives on as Mediabase 24/7.

In the years before Mediabase and what is known as PPW (plays per week), radio stations would have to call or Fax R&R's offices with a total of how much a certain song was played. For example, if station A was a Top 40 station, they would inform R&R Song A was played 20 times, Song B was played 16, and so on. Add that to the hundreds of radio stations across the country of a particular format (country, rock, pop, etc.) and you get a nationwide total. Now, everything is automated; one less hassle I imagine for music directors and program directors at radio stations everywhere.

So with that said, I chose a chart that had today's date (11/10) and picked one chart from that day. Today I decided to use the chart from 11/10/2000. Would you believe that it's already been 18(!) years since then? Anyway, here was the Top 40 from that date:

1. With Arms Wide Open	Creed
2. Most Girls	P!nk
3. Kryptonite	3 Doors Down
4. This I Promise You	N Sync
5. Music	Madonna
6. Gotta Tell You	Samantha Mumba
7. Faded	SoulDecision
8. Shape Of My Heart	Backstreet Boys
9. Case Of The Ex (Whatcha         Gonna Do)	Mya
10. She Bangs	Ricky Martin
11. Dance With Me	Debelah Morgan
12. You're A God	Vertical Horizon
13. Independent Women Part 1	Destiny's Child
14. Don't Think I'm Not	Kandi
15. Pinch Me	Barenaked Ladies
16. If You're Gone	Matchbox Twenty
17. Come On Over (All I Want Is         You)	Christina Aguilera
18. Country Grammar	Nelly
19. Jumpin' Jumpin'	Destiny's Child
20. He Loves U Not	Dream
21. No More	Ruff Endz
22. Crazy For This Girl	Evan And Jaron
23. The Way You Love Me	Faith Hill
24. Who Let The Dogs Out	Baha Men
25. If I Am	Nine Days
26. It Wasn't Me	Shaggy
27. The Itch	Vitamin C
28. Wonderful	Everclear
29. Give Me Just One Night (Una       Noche)	98 Degrees
30. Right Now	SR-71
31. Incomplete	Sisqo
32. So In Love With Two	Mikaila
33. Stronger	Britney Spears
34. Sleepwalker	Wallflowers
35. Walk Me Home	Mandy Moore
36. Californication	Red Hot Chili Peppers
37. Pass You By	Boyz II Men
38. Again	Lenny Kravitz
39. Shake It Fast	Mystikal
40. Pop Ya Collar	Usher

Hope that brings back some memories for you, and if you have any questions/comments, you can ask me either in the comments or on my twitter page, twitter.com@Bonyscribe.


CT

Election Day memories

Hello, there.

Tomorrow is the day some people have waited two years for, election day. Not just any election day, but mid-term election day. By now, you can't turn on the TV or radio or even the internet without seeing/hearing an advertisement about some political campaign. Vote yes on this amendment, Candidate X is shady, etc. It gets to the point of nausea to be quite honest.

You may hear that "this election is more important than ever", and while the of this midterm cannot be understated (especially this cycle), they all have been important. I remember growing up in North Carolina two very tense elections, both of whom involved the late Jesse Helms. In 1984, in a very hotly contested race, Helms defeated then-governor Jim Hunt. Then in 1990, in an election campaign  that first drew my attention to how nasty political campaigns can be, Helms narrowly defeated Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt.

In the mid-to-late 80s, my stepmother was a judge for the south St. Pauls, NC precinct. I didn't hear of voter suppression or ballot machine cheating as you hear of stories nowadays. I think (I'm going by memory here) the ballots were optically scanned at the Robeson County Board of Elections office in Lumberton, then tabulated.

My parents both were Republicans; my stepmom's brother in fact went to grade school with Ronald Reagan himself. In fact, as an eight-year old I visited his Reagan's childhood home in Dixon, IL. But times change, and so do people. Neither dad  nor my stepmom were alive to see the 2016 election, and I kinda wish they were to see how low the GOP had sank. I myself felt dead inside the night of the election, thinking to myself, "how could we be so stupid?" Of course I think there were shenanigans involved, and I don't think we know the whole story yet. As for me, I've always been an independent voter.

So, the only thing left to do is go vote. Vote like your life depends on it.



CT