A Special Halloween Flashback

 Hello and Happy Halloween. Last week, we just happened to have "National Cat Day" and "National Black Cat Day," which got me to thinking back about something from my teenage years; wasn't Janet Jackson's hit song "Black Cat" from her 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814 popular around Halloween of 1990? And wasn't even number one around that time? Well, with today being Halloween, I thought I would take a look back at the Radio and Records chart from October 26, 1990 and see where exactly "Black Cat" fell on the chart that week. along with the rest of the Top 40 from that week. And with this flashback, instead of giving my memories of the songs that came out at the time like I usually do, I thought I would sprinkle in some random thoughts that have been on my mind this weekend.

40. Miles Away by Winger. I didn't get too much sleep this weekend. Friday and Saturday nights were restless sleepless nights for me and as a result I didn't watch ANY football yesterday, and I missed a doozy of a game between Atlanta and Carolina.

39. Think by Information Society. Of course, the Bucs crapping the bed kinda helped with my decision not to watch football yesterday, plus a lot was on my mind Saturday night that I want to get out, but not on this blog (it's "privileged" information).

38. Policy of Truth by Depeche Mode. As for Halloween, I never really got to be very "involved" in it, whether it be trick or treating as a kid or dressing up throughout my life.

37. Freedom '90 by George Michael. The reason for that was that on Halloween night in 1981, when I was seven, I lost my mother. It has affected me GREATLY over the course of my life, as she was the only woman who I felt truly loved me.

36. (Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection by Nelson. Because of it I have had major difficulty socially growing up. Kinda makes me wish sometimes I hadn't been born at all. But I still persevere and try my best to thrive, even though this year has been shitty.

35. My Love Is A Fire by Donny Osmond. I think the ONE Halloween I actually enjoyed myself was a dozen years ago in 2010, when for one of the very few times of my life I was actually in love (kinda) with someone, and she actually helped me with Halloween that year. 

34. Miracle by Jon Bon Jovi. I dressed up as Spock that year. Why? I don't remember. But I do remember going to Downtown Orlando with several of her friends and packing into her rather cramped car to head over to a house party somewhere near Lake Nona. How the police never pulled us over for having that many people in the car I'll never know. On a side note, I could really use a miracle right about now...

33. Something Happened On The Way To Heaven by Phil Collins. Sounds like the story of my 2022. Anyway, we the house party we went to was loud AF, and there were cars everywhere. I mean parked along the sides of the streets in the neighborhood and everything. I was DOUBLY shocked that no police were called out then, cannabis was present, as well as possibly other drugs, and remember, this was 2010, when you still could get in serious trouble for possessing cannabis. So, me and one of my former roommate's friends decided to chill in the car. 

32. Romeo by Dino. No, I didn't go all Romeo and make out with this woman, there was another woman who I wound up getting with that night, but as luck would have it, it was shark week.

31. High Enough by Damn Yankees. One thing about me and parties is that I can't say I've ever been "high enough." Moving on...

30. Lyin' To Myself by David Cassidy. My sisters and I went to a nearby convenience store to get gas and pick up a few Powerball tickets (the jackpot is now at *makes Dr. Evil face*1 BILLION dollars), and my sister mentioned that she had heard (on Fox 13 no less, so consider the source) that Republicans have outnumbered Democrats in early voting. About that time, I saw a Ron DeSantis campaign yard sign, which I promptly flipped off.

29. Knockin' Boots by Candyman. No, not the fictional horror character. Anyway, I did see that stunt DeSantis pulled in Jacksonville at the Luke Bryan concert (to which Bryan responded to the backlash as a result) as well as hearing about him tossing the coin at this weekend's Florida-Georgia game. No wonder the Gators played like crap. After all, University of Florida students are angry over their potential new president, picked by none other than DeSantis, of course...

28. Feels Good by Tony! Toni! Tone! Getting back to Halloween though, another favorite Halloween of mine was 2008. At the time, and I guess they still do this, Winghouse had a dress-up contest for Halloween. I wound up dressing as some mob/pimp hybrid (I was trying too hard, as usual) to get into the spirit. 

27. Heart Like A Wheel by Human League. I even took some nifty photographs of sunset at the beach. As well as picture from the festivities at Winghouse. Too bad the pictures are now lost for good...

26. Hippychick by Soho. In fact, I wore the very Halloweenish colors of black, purple, and orange. Speaking of orange apparel, I'm wearing an orange shirt that should be a little peculiar to Bucs fans...

25. The Way You Do The Things You Do by UB40. Take a look at the below pictures. The first is a hoodie with the old Bucco Bruce logo, the second is a T-shirt with the old Bucco Bruce logo. Notice the difference between the two logos?

24. Joey by Concrete Blonde. The top logo was actually the original helmet insignia that was used from 1976 to c. 1992. While the bottom logo was the one used throughout the Bucs history from 1976-1996. When the throwback unis were re-introduced in 2009, the Bucs used the original helmet insignia as their throwback logo. Now I have no idea why the above facts are not acknowledged by the organization or insiders within the organization, Oh well, like my late father would say, "close enough for government work."

23. Say A Prayer by Breathe. You know, looking back upon the events of this year (as well as most of my life) that have personally affected me, I wonder if someone has been saying prayers AGAINST me...

22. Because I Love You by Stevie B. That reminds me, along with the Christmas gifts I'm going to be giving to my crush, I should include a very long letter to boot.

21. Groove Is In The Heart by Deee-Lite. We are only halfway through this countdown?! Sheesh I need to do a better job of ad-libbing.

20. Cherry Pie by Warrant. Speaking of National Cat Day that I mentioned at the beginning of this entry, one of my favorite cats was a Siamese that my parents had around this time. The cat's name? Samantha. Hmmm...

19. Impulsive by Wilson Phillips. Speaking of impulsive, here's something I have been thinking about since at least June. BSSB has a pretty good ring to it. Just saying...

18. Everybody Everybody by Black Box. Speaking of boxes, I have to find a box for at least one of the gifts I am giving. I need to get a measuring tape to jot the dimensions of said gift down.

17. Stranded by Heart. The biggest challenge of course is a way to get to where I need to go. I have to take the bus of course, but with several gifts I may have to utilize an Uber or a taxi. An Uber will alreay set me back about $55, and I don't really want to spend that much moolah on that (Since I only see a tiny amount of money to begin with). I may have to improvise.

16. From A Distance by Bette Midler

15. Something To Believe In by Poison. There are a few things and people I believe in. I just wish that feeling would be reciprocated...

14. Close To You by Maxi Priest. See below.

13. Praying For Time by George Michael. These last two songs kinda tie into my current state of emotion right now. I'm praying for time so I can be close to her.

12. So Close by Hall & Oates. If you listen to the lyrics to this song that's exactly how I feel at the moment.

11. Suicide Blonde by INXS. Actually I prefer redheads.

10. I'm Your Baby Tonight by Whitney Houston. I saw on TikTok the other day where I saw the collaboration Whitney did with Mariah Carey in 1999.

  9. Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers. Anyway, here it is Halloween and already people are saying that Mariah's waiting in the wings with THAT DAMNED SONG. Can't we just cool it with the Mariah talk until AT LEAST Thanksgiving?

  8. Pray by MC Hammer. This song got me thinking. There were FOUR songs on this countdown that had to do with prayer/faith. Isn't it interesting that the very next year (within a few months even) we'd all be "losing out religion?"

  7. Can't Stop by After 7. No, I can't. OH, just thought of something. If you're on YouTube, check out the Real Life Lore channel. A lot of informative content for you to chew on from that site, including a new video out today covering how the war in Ukraine may spell the fall of Russia.

  6. More Than Words Can Say by Alias. Some of their content isn't conducive to YouTube though, so I may have to subscribe to Curiosity Stream and Nebula to get the total package of what the channel is telling us. Details are on his channel.

  5. Love Takes Time by Mariah Carey. Well speak of the devil...and yes it does take time. Too much time.

  4. Giving You The Benefit by Pebbles. What's that saying, what you don't know can't hurt you?

  3. Ice Ice Baby. Two things I would love to see for Christmas: me with a bicycle so I can ride the couple of miles to the bus stop or Planet Fitness, and an ice storm to hit Florida, but then we'd have to say hell hath frozen over.

  2. BLACK CAT by Janet Jackson. AHHHHHHHHH!!! So close to number one! In fact, the week before this one in 1990, it WAS number one. Wait a minute, Billboard had it at number one? GOOD! Very fitting with it being Halloween and such. 

So, who had the number one song according to Radio & Records the week of Halloween, 1990?

  1. I Don't Have The Heart by James Ingram. I'm sure there are some people that don't have the heart to hurt me, and don't have the heart to love me the way I want to be loved. Which in a way, kind of goes back to what I mentioned about Halloween and my mother, RIP.

Well, after about three hours of typing this, I'm all done for now. Time for me to plan/work on my drawing that I'm also getting you know who for Christmas. As well as some meditating. I could use some ideas right now, and not the type that Wile. E. Coyote has. Until sometime later this week, have a good day, and once again, 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

BS 💀

P.S.: Next year, my goal is to dress like David S. Pumpkins for Halloween. 

ANY QUESTIONS???

Nope, I Didn't Like This At All...Then Something Happened.

 Hello again everyone, except you Elon Musk. I see that your long-winded quest to take over Twitter was finally granted. Much to the dismay of me and several others who deep down inside did NOT want this to happen. Sure enough, the trolls of Twitter didn't take very long to make their return known (WARNING: Disgusting language and imagery). Seriously, I hope Twitter doesn't become a Wild West for hate speech, neo-nazis, election/COVID deniers. 

Right about that time, it seemed like a negative energy wave washed over us like a tsunami. First the Bucs, after a promising start, shit the bed again and lost to Baltimore 27-22 on Thursday Night Football. Then, it continued into Friday morning, as news broke that some dude with the wrong idea, stormed into the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband with a hammer. Thankfully, Mr. Pelosi is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries, but the fact the sick SOB was looking for the Speaker is disgusting. Remember January 6? Some of the idiots who stormed the Capitol Building that day were looking specifically for Speaker Pelosi, and this wacko apparently wanted to finish what those lamebrains started. As Ron Filipowski wrote on Twitter, the ongoing coup continues. It continued into the afternoon when my eldest sister started in on me and the other sister (again). At one point, she started in on me because I innocently made closed my right hand, as if she thought I was clenching my fist a la Arthur in that meme. Then she threatened to throw both me and the middle sister out. Sheesh! Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and everyone got along just fine afterwards.

(no sis, I wasn't clenching my fist!)

Then in the afternoon, I decided to say screw it and decided to play some songs from my trance playlist. Then for some reason, things started to turn around. Dinner was absolutely scrumptious. I shared some classic hip-hop on my Facebook page. My sister then informed me we were getting Powerball tickets tomorrow, and I messaged my crush that if I hit the jackpot, I'd split it with her. The Orlando Magic ACTUALLY WON A GAME! Then I decided to do something I hadn't done since spring; cut my hair. All by myself. I have to say I did a pretty good job (although I could use some improvement):

After that, I decided to turn on the Florida Breakbeats Channel on fade fm, which I hadn't listened to since June I think. Then karma came around so beautifully as the Phillies (who I have winning in five following Kyle Tucker's smack talk, I know, I had to swallow some pride here), rallied for a 6-5 win in ten innings in game one of the World Series. As a great man once said, "f*** Tucker." My night was made, about as good as I could ask for. Hopefully, this sudden positive energy surge lasts throughout this Halloween weekend. 

And all it took was some music to turn things around. Music really does bring people together.

Until later today...

CT

Wacky Wednesday/Thursday

 Good evening everyone, except for you Mehmet Oz. Today, I was somewhat rejuvenated after a nap (due to staying up through last night's hockey game), as well as gaining a wonderful follower on Twitter (who may or may not be on my lock screen). Then I watched wrestling and tonight's hockey game (a 4-2 Lightning win over Anaheim). I'm very much energized now!

Having a conversation with a Facebook friend about the miniseries "V", which aired in the summer of 1983, and the subsequent TV series the next year. When it came out, I was just leaving a Christian school in the Pine Hills section of Orlando (which is now its own incorporated community), plus I was on the verge of moving to North Carolina. So, as you could imagine at that time frame, I thought the world was going to come to an abrupt and sudden end because all I had ever remembered up to that time was living in Orlando (I relocated there as an infant from Atlanta, which I have zero memory of). I literally thought that whoever this "V" was would take over the world like some sort of evil overlord, and my way of life, at the time, would change forever, which was something I legitimately feared. Ultimately, I would grow out of that fear, partially because I never watched that show and partially because later in life, I would have several changes: physically, mentally, and psychologically. Hold up, I guess psychological and mental changes are one in the same, right? Who knows...

This next segment is for you professional wrestling geeks out there, and a couple of things I noticed from watching wrestling last night. First, what was the getup Jake Hager supposed to be wearing? For those who didn't see "AEW Dynamite," Hager was at ringside for the opening tag team match between Chris Jericho/Daniel Garcia and Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta. Hager was in a ridiculous-looking purple bucket hat with purple shorts along with a white T-shirt. The only thing I could come up with was that the program originated from Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, which USED to be called the Ted Constant Convocation Center at Old Dominion University (a building that was constructed after my time in Norfolk was up). A major rival of ODU is James Madison University, whose colors are purple and white. Second, how did Renee Paquette manage to keep a straight face while Maxwell Jacob Freidman was cutting a promo on his upcoming match with him at Full Gear (November 19 on Bleacherreport.com). Paquette is of course, the wife of Moxley, and some of the antics and phrases that Friedman was using during that promo were flat-out hilarious. So much so that Luna Havoc on TikTok pretty much lost it. Then, Stokley Hathaway interrupted Friedman and essentially ruined the promo, and ultimately, Friedman's night on "Dynamite." If you want to know the deets, read a recap online or watch the program on demand.

Later tonight marks the Bucs' only appearance on Thursday Night Football this year, as they host the Baltimore Ravens at RayJay. The matchup looks attractive on paper, but when you consider how mediocre both teams have played this year (especially the Bucs, who are coming off two putrid performances on the road), it doesn't look very inviting, and is probably why this matchup (as are all TNF matchup this year) only available for online streaming through Amazon Prime. The game will be shown on the air in the home markets of the teams playing though, which means that "the official Bucs station," WFLA-TV in Tampa will carry the game, right? Wrong, because according to 506sports.com, WTVT (the Fox affiliate in Tampa) will carry the game. How does that happen? I know Fox usually has the contract to show most NFC games, but WFLA does air their preseason games as well as any games they may have on Sunday Night Football, but to me if you're going to call yourself the official Bucs station, you might at least want to try and get the rights from Amazon to air it locally.

Some more random thoughts:

Who will get their first win of the 2022-23 NBA season last, the Lakers, the Sacratomato Kings, or the Orlando Tragic?

Two of my Christmas gifts have arrived already with more to come. I have to figure out how to get the packages to her when the time comes, because the last time I visited her, nosy Nellie (aka oldest sister) "banned" me from seeing her again. Fortunately, I have just under two months left to figure something out. But that leads to ANOTHER dilemma...

The new updated COVID vaccine is now out, and this time my sister is NOT getting it. Plus, she's paranoid about getting sick to begin with, so she will do almost anything and everything to avoid crowds this upcoming Holiday season (most of her gifts are delivered by mail via QVC anyway). Already she's forced the in-person appointment I had with the VA into a phone call (all because we got dizzy this past weekend), so she might as well call where we live "The Hermitage."

Did Ron DeSantis give off Shy Ronnie vibes with his contorted facial expressions during the Florida gubernatorial debate the other night?

I swear if I see another advertisement for Mistplay on my phone, I may have to chuck it in a retention pond somewhere. 

Someone told me that I should take more selfies. I think I will beginning tomorrow when I cut my hair, which is something I've been planning to do since June, when the Stanley Cup Final ended.

Anyway, that's all I have for now; I need to get some sleep for real. Until next time...

CT

Does Anything Make Sense Anymore?

 Hello everyone. Is it me or does hardly anything make sense anymore? It just seems to me that we're living in a bizarro world. I'm falling for someone who probably is out of my league, and possibly isn't even my type, then again when it's been so long since I last had a date, almost anything could be my type. I saw an advertisement online today about an app that supposedly tracks your whereabouts. Just what I need, another reason for big sister to monitor me about what I do and where I go instead of treating me like the adult that I am. My sports teams have been sh*tting the bed as of late (although my Bolts may have gotten their sea legs back)

(Captured from Wikipedia)

This past weekend, I was mysteriously ill, as were my sisters. I had a sudden case of dizziness and nausea, the dizziness setting in whenever I lied down or moved my head too suddenly, I wound up losing my lunch on Sunday but everything else was able to be kept down. Of course, a lot of things have made me sick to my stomach over the past six years (this year especially), but usually I don't find myself literally throwing up. Hopefully it isn't diabetes-related, but my blood sugar has been normal to slightly below normal as of late. Yesterday, I had a dream that I saw the night sky illuminated strangely as a result of Betelgeuse (in the constellation Orion) going supernova, while somehow trying to make my way back home with no bus service and a cell phone that wasn't a smartphone (so I couldn't use Uber).\

The NFL continues to be a hot mess, outside of about four teams (Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo, and Kansas City), and if the Super Bowl Champion comes from outside those four teams, I wouldn't be surprised (sadly, I don't think it'll be the Bucs; a terrible way for Brady to go out). The Phillies are in the World Series. We have a President and First Lady who have done more in their two years in office than the previous administration did in all four and they're still vilified. CNN has turned slightly to the right. Elon Musk still wants to take over Twitter. I know chaos has tried to reign supreme (and my crush even has the word tattoed on her arm), but this is ridiculous.

My question to you is, can anyone make any sense of what is actually going on?

I'll be waiting, with bated breath.

CT

My Favorite Time Of Year...

 Good afternoon, everyone. This week autumn arrived, with a bang. Many towns and cities across the Midwestern and Southern US (including Florida) reached or neared record low temperatures as an early winter chill descended from the Arctic. With that, along with my favorite Halloween commercial on television ("Why don't we just get into the running car?" Well, I can't drive right now, and my sister will be damned if she let me borrow hers, so you're SOL.), welcome to my favorite time of year. 

It's the time of year where all five major sporting leagues in the US/Canada are playing meaningful games concurrently. In fact, the big four (MLB, NFL, NHL, & NBA) all play tonight. I'm not too keen on baseball this season because once again we're going to get an unattractive matchup in the World Series. I hate the Astros because they're a bunch of cheating frauds. I hate the Yankees because I'm a Rays fan and they have ALWAYS been a thorn in Tampa's side. I hate the Phillies because of reasons you should know about already, and San Diego? The worst sports-talk host in the history of mankind relaunched his career (after getting run from Tampa) there. So, if I had to choose between a civilization-ending asteroid and this year's World Series, I'm choosing the asteroid (not the Astros). 

This is also the time of year where The Weather Channel gets switched off in our household for the season. Why? Because of their stupid policy of naming each and every winter storm. Last year, I came up with my own ideas for what they should name them, and I'm doing it again this year:

Anus
Barfbag
COVID (it's still a thing)
Donna
Elon
Fig-Newton
Gangrene
Hell-ena
I-Suck
Jasmine
Kyle
Lauren
Mike (gee, I wonder why?!)
NotAgain
Oscar
Penny
Q-Bert
Ronda
Succubus
Tawny (gee, I ALSO wonder why?!)
Unicycle
Vick
Whiney
Xerxes
Yak
Zyzyx

I guess you can tell my list is a bit personal, huh?

I also found out today happens to be International Sloth Day, so why don't we celebrate these slow yet adorable creatures?

Jeez, tough crowd.

I pretty much have stopped tabulating my football picks because 1) the league is crap 2) I suck picking games. That said, I'll take Arizona over New Orleans tonight. 

Another thing I love about this year is the excitement of buying Christmas gifts. Like I said in my last post, this is the first time in a while I'm getting Christmas presents for someone, albeit with a limited income to work with. Well, this week, both gifts I've gotten her (so far) arrived. More will come (I hope) in the following weeks 😉. Also, with the cooler weather, I was able to get some yardwork done. Tomorrow I might go for a walk, something that I have really been slacking on as of late. Much like this blog.

Anyway, I hope to have more for y'all tomorrow with the weekend coming up. Until then, take care. 

CT

Why I Haven't Been Around As Of Late

Hello again, everyone. As you might have noticed, I haven't been writing much over the past week. There are reasons of course. One, I had family down from NC until late last week. Two, I just wasn't feeling very inspired to do writing this past weekend. Three, speaking of this weekend it was rather off to say the least. Like an episode of "Stranger Things" was happening, and I haven't seen the first episode yet. In the meantime, I did get some shopping done for Christmas, although I'm not entirely sure if I'll get more. I mean I want to, but we'll see. Going to play it by ear. In a somewhat related note to everything mentioned above, I haven't really felt inspired or motivated to do such writing. 

Anyway, I hope to have some done this week, although I do have appointments with the VA the next two weeks (which of course, I'll have to be driven to instead of taking the bus; I guess my sisters think I'm going to run off somewhere after my appointment or something). Like one friend on Twitter told me the other week, "I wish you could be free." You and a lot of other people feel the same way, my friend. 

In the meantime, I'm going to watch wrestling and some of the Monday Night Football game tonight (if only to see what dumb decisions Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett will pull this week) and await one of my Christmas gifts to come in tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm doing okay. Take care.

CT

Weekend Recap 10/11 edition

 Hello again everyone, except for you Ian Cole. Hoping that everybody (well, almost everybody) had a nice weekend. Mine was okay, as I got to celebrate my sister's birthday. Believe it or not, she's 75 now and despite our differences I love her. 

You know, yesterday I was going to write about just how disappointing the Rays season was. Injuries everywhere only to reach the postseason on a shoestring budget yet again, which although admirable, is quite infuriating when you consider their triple-A affiliate in Durham has won multiple championships, including this season. Instead, down here at the major league level, you have an owner, Stu Sternberg that cries poor mouth that he doesn't get as much revenue as the other teams because this team has always (with the exception of 2008) been a box office flop. And on top of that, $tu has been wishy-washy at best in trying to land a new ballpark in Tampa (where it should be), not St. Petersburg.

But enough about that. Yesterday I just wasn't feeling it for some reason. I know yesterday was National Mental Health Day, yet strangely enough, I was feeling down. Today, I'm feeling rather chipper. My motivation? Can't really tell you, but let's just say that for the first time probably EVER, I'm doing Christmas shopping for somebody (special) outside of family. Yeah, my budget is (unfairly) limited, but like Tommy Lee Jones said in the 1993 movie, "The Fugitive:"

As for my football picks, I went 22-9 on my college picks and a stellar week in the pros, going 13-3. That puts me over .500 for the season at 41-38-1. So, a pretty decent weekend overall. Later this evening, I'll be checking out the Lightning as they open their season on Broadway against the Rangers. By the way, I have Carolina and Edmonton in next year's Stanley Cup Final, with Edmonton finally breaking the great Canadian drought (a Canadian team hasn't won the Cup since 1993). Maybe after that, I'll try to work on the art project I also have planned for Christmas, and probably flash my middle finger at any Ron DeSantis ads that I happen to come across, be it on my phone or on TV.

More to come...

CT

Flashback Friday: October 8, 1993

 Hello again everyone. It's been a hot minute since I did a flashback Friday post (three weeks to be exact). Mental/emotional health issues helped play a role in that. But since I already posted my football picks for this weekend, I thought I could get this in. Today, we're going back to the 1993, the time I moved duty stations from Orlando to Goose Creek, SC and felt as if I was on an island. Seriously, I hated being by myself in an apartment and hated the fact that I had to live off base. Here though, were the Top 40 songs according to Radio & Records Magazine for the week of October 8, 1993:

40. Downtown by SWV. SWV was a one album wonder. Their star rose during this year but faded into Bolivia (as Mike Tyson would say) thereafter. I don't really remember this song because the pop station wasn't really a pop station, and everything else in town was either urban or country.

39. I Get Around by Tupac. Another song I probably would have remembered had Charleston had a proper pop station. Geez living in the South sure sucked at times.

38. Let Me Ride by Dr. Dre. Did you know that y sister has a birthday tomorrow? Unfortunately, it's THAT sister, and I really don't feel like celebrating, but we have family over from NC so I have to pretend to put on a happy face...

37. Rain by Madonna. Finally, we get to a song that was played on that station Charleston, 95 SX, which I called 95Sux.

36. Just Kickin' It by Xcape. This one I do remember and was strangely enough played by that station. Curious...

35. Will You Be There by Michael Jackson. Speaking of the radio stations at the time in Charleston, there were THREE country stations in Charleston. Talk about overkill.

34. Jimmy Olsen's Blues by The Spin Doctors. Better known as "Pocket Full of Kryptonite"

33. Send Me A Lover by Taylor Dayne. If memory serves me correct, this was her last Top 40 hit. Interestingly enough, Shadoe Stevens, who always seemed to have a weird fixation on her, would be out as AT 40 host just over a year later.

32. Nothing 'Bout Me by Sting

31. Baby, I'm Yours by Shai. XL 106.7 played the shit out of it when I was still in Orlando, when I moved to Charleston it disappeared suddenly. Gee, I wonder why?

30. Boom! Shake The Room by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Before he slapped the shit out of Chris Rock, Will Smith had this last top 40 effort as the Fresh Prince.

29. Hey Mr. DJ by Zhane. My love interest is now seeing a DJ, so I should boycott this song. On a related note, his Phillies are losing to St. Louis as I type this. Suck it, Mike!

28. Sunday Morning by Earth, Wind, and Fire. Their comeback effort after a twelve-year hiatus. No, it didn't include Charles Kuralt or any CBS newspeople.

27. Wild World by Mr. Big. This was the second remake of the 1971 Cat Stevens tune in five years, the first being done by Maxi Priest in 1988. This remake charted higher than Priests, winding up at #13 (Priest's peaked at #22).

26. Break It Down Again by Tears for Fears. Really, Tears for Fears? I can't believe you would be waiting for my next emotional breakdown like this. You disappoint me...

25. Human Wheels by John Mellencamp. I loved this song. Got plenty of airplay in Charleston.

24. Lately by Jodeci. Sorry, but everybody seems to like the "MTV Unplugged" version of this song. I don't. In fact, I think music was better off WITHOUT that program. Hang on, St. Louis is about to blow it? Son of a...😡

23. Anniversary by Tony! Toni! Tone! Your boy has never celebrated an anniversary. Ever. Goddammit, the Phillies take the lead

22. Everybody Hurts by REM. It's only fitting that this song would crop up after St. Louis blows the lead. It's like I said this week, the Universe has it out for me...

21. Pink Cashmere by Prince

20. Soul To Squeeze by Red Hot Chili Peppers. From the movie "Coneheads," which I did not see. Every movie I saw in 1993 was before I moved to Charleston.

19. Again by Janet Jackson. Speaking of movies I didn't get to see, "Poetic Justice" falls into that category.

18. Too Much Information by Duran Duran. I think the band was ahead of their time with this one, because there's so many information shows (not all real, btw) that it's like society has fallen victim to paralysis by analysis.

17. Hopelessly by Rick Astley. His last American chart hit, but he's never gonna give us up.

16. Sweat (A La La La La Song) by Inner Circle. Did you know, there were two different versions of this song? One version replaced the last line in the chorus (Push it, push it some more) to "make you dance some more" assumably because some Southern Baptist evangelical type got triggered because the original chorus sounded as if the singer was saying "shit."

15. I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) by Meat Loaf. Poor Marvin. Sounds about as desperate as I've become (not really). He would have done everything to stay healthy, but wear a mask, now he's dead. RIP Mr. Aday.

14. Better Than You by Lisa Keith. One hit wonder, although I'm more of a fan of the ring intro for Maxwell Jacob Friedman myself.

13. Hey Jealousy by Gin Blossoms. 

12. Runaway Love by En Vogue f/FMOB. Another song I absolutely have zero recollection of.

11. All That She Wants by Ace of Base. This started a two year stretch of chart domination by this Swedish outfit.

10. Reason To Believe by Rod Stewart. Another song from "Unplugged." Go back and read what I said after #24 on this list for my opinion...

  9. What Is Love? by Haddaway. Thank you SNL, for giving this song an extended life. Also, what exactly IS love?

  8. No Rain by Blind Melon. No, I never got to see the video for this song featuring the girl in the bumblebee outfit.

  7. Cryin' by Aerosmith. Alicia Silverstone <3 

  6. Two Steps Behind by Def Leppard. This wasn't featured on "Unplugged," but unfortunately, a stripped-down version of this song allowed it to reach top ten status.

  5. If by Janet Jackson. Yes, I'll be a good boy and put your record on Miss Jackson.

  4. Right Here/Human Nature by SWV. This was their recycled version of the classic from Michael Jackson ten years prior. Chris Brown would re-recycle this song in 2011 with "She Ain't You."

  3. The River Of Dreams by Billy Joel. Thanks to Golden Corral featuring their version on a commercial soon after its release for ruining this song for me.

  2. Another Sad Love Song by Toni Braxton

and the number one song twenty-nine years ago this week was:

  1. Dreamlover by Mariah Carey. There was an officer on my ship that I would later be stationed on who had a tendancy to fly off the handle sometimes by the name of Glover, and Under my breath, while he was away) I would sing a song very similar to "Dreamlover" that went "G-Lover oh spin him up, blow his top, watch him pop..." 

Man, I was a stinker back then. In a way I still am.

Well, that's this week's travel back in time. I hope to write some more content this weekend (even if it means not going on TikTok because of family visiting). I'll explain why later on. Until then, take care.

CT

Baseball Playoff (And Football) Preview

 Hello sports fans. Welcome to that magical time of year where all five major sports leagues in the United States concurrently play...October. While hockey and basketball are just now starting up with preseason, baseball enters its postseason starting later today. I don't follow baseball as closely as I used to (in part because of a lame AF commissioner), but I shall try to dispense who I believe will make it through and win the World Series.

Remember that there are TWELVE teams in the postseason instead of ten starting this year. A best of three wild card series, followed by the division series, the LCS, then the World Series. Frankly I miss the days when just the division winners reached the postseason, but those days are long gone now (before 1994). Anyway, here's who I have:

Wild Card Series:
Cleveland over Tampa Bay (sorry, but the Rays have no offense)
Toronto over Seattle
St. Louis over Philadelphia
NY Mets over San Diego

Division Series:
NY Yankees over Cleveland
Houston over Toronto
LA Dodgers over NY Mets
Atlanta over St. Louis

LCS:
NY Yankees over Houston
LA Dodgers over Atlanta

World Series:

Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees in six.

Now for my football picks this weekend. First college:

 #4 Michigan over Indiana
Florida over Missouri
#17 TCU over #19 Kansas
#9 Tennessee over #25 LSU
Oklahoma over Texas
Louisville over Virginia
#23 Mississippi State over Arkansas
#24 Cincinnati over USF
#18 UCLA over #11 Utah
#2 Georgia over Auburn
#7 Oklahoma State over Texas Tech
Tulane over East Carolina
Pittsburgh over Virginia Tech
Tulsa over Navy
North Carolina over Miami
#21 Washington over Arizona State
Duke over Georgia Tech
#3 Ohio State over Michigan State
#9 Ole Miss over Vanderbilt
Air Force over Utah State
Appalachian State over Texas State
Iowa State over #20 Kansas State
Illinois over Iowa
#5 Clemson over Boston College
#13 Kentucky over South Carolina
#15 Wake Forest over Army
#6 USC over Washington State
#16 BYU over Notre Dame
#1 Alabama over Texas A&M
#14 NC State over Florida State
#12 Oregon over Arizona

Now the NFL, where I'm off to a good start after correctly picking a miserable game last night.

TAMPA BAY over Atlanta
Minnesota over Chicago
New England over Detroit
New Orleans over Seattle
Green Bay over NY Giants (in London)
Buffalo over Pittsburgh (Rebecca Grant Bowl)
Miami over NY Jets
LA Chargers over Cleveland
Tennessee over Washington
Jacksonville over Houston
San Francisco over Carolina
Dallas over LA Rams
Philadelphia over Arizona
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Kansas City over Las Vegas

Enjoy the weekend!

More to come:

CT

Weekend Picks In Review...Plus Other Stuff.

Good early morning everyone, except you Elon Musk. In case you've missed it, and with all that's going on between Ian recovery, the January 6 Committee, and everything else, it's been somewhat easy to overlook the war still raging in Ukraine, the Ukrainians could be close to winning the war. Mad Vlad (or Sad Vlad) has had his troops retreat, and now he's getting desperate, from calling on reservists to even threatening to use nukes on Ukraine. I'll say this, if God forbid, he opts the latter, it won't end well for him. 

Things you love to see: a sad Putin.

Anyway, with it being early Tuesday morning, I thought I would go ahead and do my weekend review of my picks from this past weekend's college and pro slate of games. Let's start off with college:

L #21 Minnesota over Purdue
L Army over Georgia State
W Air Force over Navy
L Louisville over Boston College
W Illinois over Wisconsin (which caused the Badgers to fire their coach)
W #4 Michigan over Iowa
L #18 Oklahoma over TCU
L Texas Tech over #25 Kansas State
L #7 Kentucky over #14 Ole Miss
W #12 Utah over Oregon State
W East Carolina over USF 

L #23 Florida State over #22 Wake Forest
W #11 Penn State over Northwestern
W North Carolina over Virginia Tech
W#9 Oklahoma State over #16 Baylor
W Appalachian State over Citadel 
W #2 Alabama over #20 Arkansas
W #3 Ohio State over Rutgers (but it wasn't quite by 50)
W Mississippi State over #17 Texas A&M
W Duke over Virginia
W #5 Clemson over #10 NC State 
W #1 Georgia over Missouri (BARELY, ugghhh)
L #24 Pitt over Georgia Tech
W #6 USC over Arizona State
W #13 Oregon over Stanford
W Florida over Eastern Washington 

A total of 19-8 for the week 

Now for the Pros:

W Minnesota over New Orleans in London
W LA Chargers over Houston
W NY Giants over Chicago
L Detroit over Seattle
L Jacksonville over Philadelphia (gotdammit!)
L Pittsburgh over NY Jets
W Cleveland over Atlanta
W Tennessee over Indianapolis
W Dallas over Washington
L Baltimore over Buffalo (upset)
L Carolina over Arizona (Mercedes Ruhle >>> Matt Ruhle) 
W Las Vegas over Denver
W Green Bay over New England
W Kansas City over Tampa Bay (I hate it when I'm right sometimes)
L LA Rams over San Francisco.

For the first time this season, I went above .500 with my picks (9-7), but the season total still is putrid at 29-34-1. Maybe it's the fact that 2022 hasn't been my year. 

Today is supposed to be sunny and temperate at a nice 81 degrees, so I may get some yardwork done today. All in all, I hope today is much better to me than the past few days have been. I'll keep you updated on twitter how things are going, in the meantime take care!

More to come:

CT

I Swear The Universe Is Taunting Me Now

 Hello everyone. As you can see, I haven't given up...for now, but my mental and emotional health are still shit for now. That being said, a hearty "bleep you" goes out to some dude named Mike.  

On a related topic to that last sentence, today is National Boyfriends Day. As someone who has perpetually struggled in the romance department, especially this year and ESPECIALLY the last several weeks, you can only imagine how this makes me feel. Having never been a boyfriend, it sucks. An old Moody Blues song once said the line, "state of mind, what could go wrong?" Well let's see, the aforementioned douchenozzzle is taking my former love interest to Vegas this week, DeSantis is still the governor of Florida...for now. My phone is acting up all of a sudden; I can't access GIFs on Twitter and another app I have is acting up. Domino's isn't delivering tonight because for some reason, it isn't available in our area. The song ""I Really Like You" by Carly Rae (call me maybe) Jepsen just was playing as I washed my hands. And so on and so on...

I know there are much more people in the world with much bigger problems than those that I have. But as another song once said, "it's the little things that kill," and one little thing (not being a boyfriend to a wonderful woman) has been killing me my entire adult life. Today just feels like the Universe is taunting me...SMH

Alexa, play "Loser" by Beck.

More to come...

CT

I Can't Do This Anymore...

 Hello everyone. I'm here to announce that I'm considering ending this blog...for good.

Why? A litany of reasons, but first and foremost, the lack of participation on this blog, whether it be hits on it (people visiting), or comments (I think the last comment came three years ago). Or the fact that I have ONE subscriber, a cousin in North Carolina who I have lost contact with, Or the fact that absolutely nobody wants to hear what I'm saying on here...or Twitter or any of my other social media channels for that matter. Much like in real life, where I hardly have friends, and the ones I do have, I'd rather keep them away from my sisters for reasons I've written about on here before. Plus, the perpetual heartache I've had to endure (just this year alone) has made things almost impossible to bear. When I was able to do neat things and go to neat places a few years ago, I always went alone. Part of that was because of my job at the time, and again, my family.

For those of who have read my nonsense the past several years, thank you. If I do terminate this blog, I don't know if I'll keep my socials: Facebook, Twitter, Insta, TikTok. I've had enough of the Universe trolling me for one or two mistakes I may have made in my lifetime, and those others have made...

I'll be around for now. Whether or not I decide to go up and go somewhere else remains to be seen. I DON'T ever ever plan on unaliving myself, but I almost feel like it. I can't believe I even just wrote that.

Forty-eight years on this Earth and the only people that love me are far away or are on their last legs. I guess nobody really cares.

And don't you dare bring religion into the mix because I won't accept it. It's just a crux for a belief system that in actuality has caused wars and discord amongst peoples. But I guess I was just meant to be alone...forever 

Goodbye(?)

CT