End Of June Thoughts

 Greetings once again. I had thought about doing my weekly flashback feature today, but the D20 die (I bought it from Wish during the pandemic) I rolled came up 18, which translates to 1997. You know what was the #1 song according to Radio & Records was July 4, 1997? MmmBop by Hanson. No. Freaking. Thank you. So instead of doing a flashback blog entry, I'd thought I'd give some random thoughts.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 

No, I haven't paid much attention to the news the last few days, and that may be a good thing, because what I've been seeing is mostly bad. I would like to ask Canada though to please stop hotboxing us?? Seriously, though. The whole fricking country is on fire from Vancouver to Montreal. The smoke has been so substantial it has even made its way into parts of Europe. Yes, climate change is partially responsible. Unfortunately, some people still deny that this is indeed the case, and it got so bad that it caused one meteorologist to quit his TV job. Jeez, people need to get a grip, seriously.

All Right Miami!

The Miami Marlins completed a sweep of the Boston Red Sox last night and continued their remarkable season. They're 14 games over .500 for the first time since 2003, when they incredibly won it all. What's even more remarkable is how South Florida has really put it on Boston since the beginning of April. First the Florida Panthers rallied from 3-1 down to upset the Boston Bruins in their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff matchup, then the Miami Heat upset the Boston Celtics in the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals. Hopefully, the Miami Dolphins will sweep the season series with the New England Patriots, then we could definitely say that Miami OWNS Boston. 

Speaking Of Baseball...

Wednesday night in Oakland, Diego German pitched a the 24th perfect game in Major League history. That's the good news. The bad news (at least from this Rays fan perspective) is that he plays for the hated Yankees. Even worse, there have now been four instances of Yankees pitchers completing a perfect game, and the previous three times, the Yankees have gone on to win the World Series that year. Which gets me to thinking, wouldn't it be something if the Marlins make it to the World Series, only to fall to the Yankees? That would mean that THREE of South Florida's pro sports teams fell in the championship round of their respective sport. Shades of 1980 and what happened to Philadelphia, when all four of their teams reached the title game/series, with only the Phillies prevailing. Oh no, Miami!

Finally...

Could someone please phone the devil incarnate to close the trap door to Hades? Because it has been stifling hot in the south. We're just barely into summer and already heat indeces just here in the Tampa Bay region have climbed to as high as 110, hotter than a red-haired vixen fighting a brush fire. Please, if you head outdoors, stay hydrated, amd only go out if you must. It's too damn hot for everyone.

I hope to have more this weekend, but for now I have to run a few errands with sis. In the meantime, stay cool.

CT

Well THAT Isn't Special...

Greetings again. Excuse the doom and gloom title, but something I heard last night had me a little unsettled. Last night before bedtime, I was having a brief convo with Gwen, and she said that sometime later this year, when my other sister Carmel moves down from NC, things are going to be a little different around the house. According to Gwen, when Carmel does wind up moving in, all three of us will start practicing devotionals (yes, really), in an attempt to "put God back in my life." 

Let me stop right there. First off, I believe there is something that holds the Universe together, HOWEVER, I do not subscribe to any certain religion, ESPECIALLY in this day and age. The rise (and fall) of televangelism, and the shifting of small, local churches into multidenominational arenas for worship have me left more than a little jaded. And that doesn't even take into account how weaponized religion has become in politics. Last I checked, we lived in the United States of America, not the Christo-Fascist Republic of the Bible Belt. 

If you were to ask me if I were to go to a church, I'd politely decline and cite my own beliefs. And as an Aquarian, I'll be damned if anyone is going to tell me what to do. Sorry sisters, but I'm not participating in your "come to Jesus" meetings. Do I believe? Yes. That's all you need to know. Do I know right from wrong? Yes. Will I live like a saint? Absolutely not. I know y'all wish we could return to thehalcyon days when people were friendlier and everyone got along with everyone.

Ideally, that would be the case, but, and I don't think I've said this on this blog before, "Mayberry" is dead. The last vestiges of went away with the ash and dust from the remnants of the World Trade Center towers, which were destroyed in the name of, wait for it, religion. 

Ever since that fateful day, there has been nothing but forever wars, divisiveness in our politics (more so than in the 1960s), and major distrust amongst our leaders. On BOTH sides of the aisle. To put into racing terms, one side is too tight (restrictive) and the is too loose (liberal). I don't want to live in a "Handmaid's Tale" world nor do I want to eat all my lunches at Hamburger Mary's. I had to deal with the former in my early years of my childhood, and no, I didn't really like it.

So, when it comes to how I live my life going forward, keep religion out of my face please.

CT

Flashback: June 23, 1995...Plus Other Stuff

 Greetings once again. We've made to the end of the week, and I'm on my pen and paper (well, keyboard) again. It has been an interesting week to say the least, with wild weather, two tropical systems in the Atlantic, a tragedy further north in the Atlantic, and two kerfuffles tailor-made for Celebrity Death Match, which used to air on MTV; when that channel was relevant. 

Today, we're taking a look back at the Top 40 songs in the US based off data from Radio & Records Magazine for June 23, 1995. Along with the songs I'm flashing back to, I'll give my thoughts on the topics I mentioned above, as well as other things. So, without further ado, here we go.

A brief note before we begin, this isn't the actual top 40 per R&R Magazine for this date (They actually used a Top 50 chart). Some songs on the actual top 40 were removed because they fell under recurrent rules; a song that had been in the top 40 for greater than 20 weeks but were below #20 on the chart. In the 1980's this rule was never utilized because a song would RARELY reach 20 weeks in the top 40, but as the methodology for tabulating these songs changed as the years went by, songs would stay on the radio longer and longer, thus necessitating a recurrent rule. Songs removed due to this were:

When I Come Around by Green Day
Hold On by Jamie Walters
In The House Of Stone And Light by Martin Page
Strong Enough by Sheryl Crow
Hold My Hand by Hootie & The Blowfish and
Another Night by Real McCoy, which was below the Top 40 but had yet to be moved to recurrent.

40. Could I Be Your Girl by Jann Arden. This was actually (according to my data) her first Top 40 hit before "Insensitive." Speaking of insensitive, a lot of jokes have been made concerning that submersible vessel that apparently had a catastrophic implosion en route to see the wreckage from the Titanic. Heck I'm a bit guilty of it too, until yesterday when news broke that the crew was indeed lost.

39. Human Nature by Madonna. Interestingly enough, the chorus to this song starts, "and I'm not sorry..." I mean, you're spending $250,000 to see historical wreckage of a ship that you could've seen up close (on a TV screen) for FREE. Plus, the five crew on board were uber-rich, including the CEO of the company that ran the sub, OceanGate. Still, five lives were lost, just as the ones who sank in the Mediterranean last week.

38. Dream About You by Stevie B. This was his supposed comeback to his 1990 mega smash, "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)." It didn't go very far because the music scene had changed drastically in the span of five years.

37. Somebody's Crying by Chris Isaak. Speaking of crying, there was plenty of crying going around Twitter this week over the term "cis," meaning cisgender.

36. Colors Of The Wind by Vanessa Williams. According to Merriam-Webster, cisgender is an adjective denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity corresponds with the person's sex at birth. Well, I was born a male, so I guess that makes me cisgender. But let's see what the internet's self-proclaimed "Mr. Know It All" has to say about it.

35. Remember Me This Way by Jordan Hill. Per Elon Musk (cue a million eye rolls), "cisgender" or "cis" is now considered a slur because some therapist didn't like the term. BOO F***ING HOO!! I suppose this cat also believes that the 2020 Presidential election was somehow stolen. You know, since Squealon Muskrat bought Twitter, that platform has become more and more toxic, and not in a Britney Spears way. Dude seriously needs to shut the bleep up...

By the way, here's a late update:

34. Strange Currencies by R.E.M. Or, even better, he can have his ass handed to him...by Mark Zuckerberg. Ace Ventura? Your thoughts:

33. Baby Baby by Corona. Earlier this week, it was announced that Musk and Zuckerberg would have a cage fight. Apparently, Zuckerberg has launched a competitor application to Twitter called Project 92, and Squealon is big mad. Quite frankly, I hope both annihilate each other into oblivion, but then what would we have to air our opinions, Reddit? Oh, I understand the undercard for this CDM-worthy brawl is quite entertaining in its own right.

32. Shy Guy by Diana King. To quote Joey Styles when he was announcing for ECW, "CATFIIIIGHT!!! CATFIIIIGHT!!!" The GOP's two most infamous divas, Majorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, had a petty argument that spilled out onto the floor of the House this week, complete with name-calling and sophomoric behavior. 

Saw this conversation… not sure if it was a friendly one pic.twitter.com/tpz3z2Phtv

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 21, 2023

At least it was a little bit more civilized than this classic commercial from about 15 years ago.

31. Freak Like Me by Adina Howard. Well those two definitely are not freaks like Adina Howard. Whatever happened to her anyway? She had two singles in faded into Bolivia as Mike Tyson once said.

30. Red Light Special by TLC. You remember the HORRIBLE record deal that TLC signed that caused them to be broke even though they had massive success? When I first heard about the story right around this time, I thought the person who I heard it from (who was a shipmate on the Eisenhower) was full of crap. Then a few years later, I saw the VH-1 "Behind The Music" episode about TLC. Lo and behold, the shipmate was right after all.

29. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me by U2. This song came from the "Batman Forver" soundtrack. Could have done without Bono going orgasmic towards the end of the song (at least tgat part was removed for radio).

28. Run Away by Real McCoy. Janet Jackson would also have a hit called "Runaway" in 195, though it entered the charts about two months after this one dropped off. 

27. (You Got Me) All Shook Up by Nelson. I figure this would be a good opportunity to hyperlink you to the Nelson story I wrote about almost two years ago.

26. Wonderful by Adam Ant. This song definitely does not describe the weather over Tampa Bay this morning.

25. Leave Virginia Alone by Rod Stewart. Well Rod, I have; I haven't visited there in over a decade, before my daughter and her family moved to Illinois (then Kentucky).

24. Kiss From A Rose by Seal. Also from the "Batman Forever" soundtrack. There actually was a woman from Puerto Rico who I was interested in at the time named Rose. She's married with kids now, one of whom is set to graduate from college. 

23. Good by Better Than Ezra. You know what isn't so good? The weather in the Caribbean. For the first time since hurricanes/tropical cyclones have been recorded in the Atlantic, there are two named systems currently spinning during the first month of hurricane season. 

22. Scream by Michael and Janet Jackson. The only time this brother/sister combo collaborated, with a very expensive (a record at the time IIRC) video to boot.

21. December by Collective Soul. The calendar may read late in June, but it feels like December along portions of the Pacific Northwest, where some higher elevations along th Cascades got a surprise snowstorm the other day.

20. I Saw You Dancing by Yaki-Da. I think I heard this sing once when it came out, and I thought it was from Ace of Base. But it wasn't. Probably the same reason Regina's "Baby Love" and Gotye f/Kimbra's "Somebody That I Used To Know" were also so popular; they sounded like other popular artists of that time (Madonna for Regina, Katy Perry for Kimbra). 

19. Can't Stop Loving You by Van Halen. The last notable hit from the group before Sammy went on to Cabo and David Lee Roth reentered the group, but not before Extreme's Gary Cherone replaced Hagar. 

18. Waterfalls by TLC. Please stick to the river and the lakes that you're used to. Something the crew of the OceanGate submersible could have heeded. Speaking of which, Joe Exotic (yes, that guy) has an opinion regarding the tragedy, and he's...right? Didn't think I had Joe Exotic being somewhat relevant in 2023, but if he's going to drag Dan Crenshaw, I'm here for it.

17. Someone To Love by Jon B. and Babyface. I believe this is one of the few songs dedicated to me, and it came from Rose, who I mentioned earlier. 

16. This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan. Kind of disappointed that this was one of only two hits he had. The other came in 2000 with "Get It On Tonight." Of course nowadays, Jordan lends his vocals of this melody to Uber One (as does Donna Lewis, Kelis, and others).

15. Misery by Soul Asylum. Also known as what it felt like to be a Tampa sports fan from 1983 to 1996. No, Arena Football doesn't count. Frustrated incorporated indeed.

14. My Love Is For Real by Paula Abdul. She had a birthday this week, so Happy Birthday, Paula. She also had probably one of the more memorable first pitches in Tampa Bay Rays history.

13. Come And Get Your Love by Real McCoy. I will, as soon as my sister allows me to come visit you (you know who you are).

12. Lightning Crashes by Live. Did you know that some radio stations (like WDCG in Raleigh) edited the opening verse because it contained the word "placenta?" And I thought Clear Channel editing the word "ship" was overkill. Jeez. By the way, Lightning did crash..out of the first round this year.

11. This Ain't A Love Song by Bon Jovi. Narrator: in fact, it was a love song.

10. I Know by Dionne Farris. We've finally reached the top ten, and this song was 1995's highest ranked hit. It was also her only solo hit, as she also charted as a member of Arrested Development. 

  9. I Believe by Blessid Union Of Souls. Not on my Spotify playlists because it contains the N-word and I can't seem to find the edited version.

  8. I Can Love You Like That by All-4-One. One thing I despised about this era is that you had one version of a song played on pop radio and another version of the same song played on country radio. All-4-One did it TWICE with John Michael Montgomery. Of course, later on, the two acts did a collaboration of this and "I Swear" which I saw on TikTok.

  7. What Would You Say by Dave Matthews Band. Since I talked about TikTok, what would I say to them? Stop with your somewhat ridiculous advertising. I know there is an algorithm that determines which ads are shown on a person's feed, and nie out of every ten advertisements I see are LGBTQI(AEIOU and sometimes why)-centered. Look, I get that it's Pride Month and you're doing your best to be inclusive, but as someone on that platform mentioned on their page in regard to the new "Sex & The City" series, we don't need it in our faces 24/7/365. It's like you're being woke for woke's sake, which is why I think certain politicians in DC and elsewhere want to ban the platform, not for the reason they're telling everyone (Chinese security threats). Also, may explain why our douchebag governor is the way he is, but that's another story in and of itself that I have touched on occasion.

  6. Run-Around by Blues Traveler. Speaking of which, the NHL is giving all thirty-two of their franchises the run-around, by no longer allowing themed warmup jerseys to be worn before games this year. According to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettmann, the jerseys have become somewhat of a distraction. So let me get this straight, a couple of Russian players are offended about having to wear a rainbow-themed jersey during warmups, and now an effective marketing tool for certain franchises are now being taken away? I guess them damned Soviets got their way after all, after 43 years. I'm going to miss the Gasparilla-themed sweaters the Tampa Bay Lightning wore.

  5. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman by Bryan Adams. Question for Mr. Adams, have you? Seriously though, I have, I'm just not afforded the opportunity that I want right now with my current living situation. Hopefully that will change real, real soon.

  4. Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Nikki French. I don't know how popular she was in Canada England, but this was her only hit stateside.

  3. Let Her Cry by Hootie & The Blowfish. I think I mentioned Darius Rucker getting his start in country music by accident as a result of a Burger King commercial one time on this blog, but I don't have time to look for it.

  2. Water Runs Dry by Boyz II Men

and the number one song on this date 28 years ago was...

  1. I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts. I remember also talking about this song in an earlier blog post of mine. No, I haven't watched "Friends" lately; I'm on a break. 

Well, after about eight hours (with about a couple of hours away to go to the doctor and eat mxed in) this entry is in the can. Hopefully, I'll have more this weekend. Later everyone!

CT 

  

I Haven't Had A Really Good Rant In A While...

 Hi everyone. I was thinking about what I've been writing on this blog, which hasn't been much, this year last night and I thought to myself, "You know, I haven't had a really good rant in a while. Maybe it's high time I changed it a little bit. Although I'm not upset about anything, other than a little disappointed that I can only visit my crush once a month. Hopefully that will change in the future. 

Just got done speaking with sis, and we have some rather unusual weather for this time of year, at least to me. Yeah we're getting scattered showers and thunderstorms, in fact, it's raining now, but what's so weird about it is the amount of wind that's along with it. Normally in Florida, our thundershowers in the afternoon are usually slow-moving. Not today, however. We've had a stiff westerly breeze so far today that usually doesn't come with our summer weather pattern except when a tropical system is involved; yes, we do have Bret in the Atlantic, but that's too far away from us to affect what's going on currently. 

Didn't watch "Raw" last night, nor have I watched it in a few weeks, but apparently, royal douchebag Logan Paul is back and is going to compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match at their upcoming PPV Premium Live Event. Look, Paul is quite the entertainer when it comes to his in-ring work, but God forbid he wins the match and gets a championship match in the future against Seth Rollins. Besides, I'd rather see LA Knight get the opportunity.

With all this talk of boycotts going on during Pride Month, how about we propose something different? Let's boycott the boycotts. Instead of just boycotting Bud Light for promoting a transgender influencer during March Madness, how about we just go about our beer drinking like we normally would. As Hank Williams, Jr. once sang, "if you don't like it can't you just let it pass?" We need a spokesperson though for it, fortunately, I think I have just the mammal to do it:

Let's talk about other douchenozzles for a second, one of whom has been charged today for throwing a phone and striking Bebe Rexha in the face. Seriously, dude? A phone? Because you thought it was funny? Seriously I hope this guy gets the book thrown at him, pun intended. Bebe deserves better if you ask me. As for another douchebag, well let's just say that he won himself a copy of the "Who Wants To Marry A Queen" home game along with a year-long supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat.

In another sign that we're all getting old, I lost a classmate from Hoke County, NC this week. Rest easy, Lamont. I wish we could say we could live forever, but sometimes we have to come face to face with our own mortality, even if our spirits endure. 

Almost halfway through the Major League Baseball season, and there are some surprising names on top of the divisional leaderboard. Tampa still has the best record in baseball, much to the delight of many (and dismay of others) around these parts. The other divison leaders are somewhat intersting. Minnesota leads the AL Central...with a losing record. Texas leads the AL West with the Angels (nit the Astros) in second place. By the way Shohei Ohtani could (and should) win both Cy Young and MVP in the AL this year. In the National League, the Braves lead the NL East, but the Miami Marlins are giving them a serious run, playing their best baseball in nearly two decades (and Luis Arraez is hitting .400). In the Central, Cincinnati has overtaken Pittsburgh for first, while Arizona leads the West. As it stands currently, only four of last year's playoff teams would make this year's postseason if it ended today; the Rays, Yankees, Braves, and Dodgers.

Well, I guess I've ranted enough, if you can call this a rant, for today. I hope to be back with more later this week. Until then, later.

CT

Flashback: June 14, 1986

 Good morning, everyone. We've made it through another week and we're that much closer to the official beginning of summer. Oh, and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Also, Happy Juneteenth. I think this is the first year it becomes a national holiday. God's honest truth, I didn't hear about this holiday/observance until I was in the Navy. 

Anyway, for the first time in several weeks, I have a flashback for you. This week, I'm selecting 1986. There's a reason for choosing this year which I'll explain as the countdown progresses. So, without further ado, here were the top 40 songs according to Billboard Magazine for the week ending June 14, 1986.

40. Love Touch by Rod Stewart. As I recall, the video was set in a courtroom because it was off the soundtrack from the movie "Legal Eagles," starring Robert Redford.

39. Digging Your Scene by The Blow Monkeys. One-hit wonder.

38. Out Of Mind Out Of Sight by The Models. Another one-hit wonder, this one didn't even make the Top 20.

37. If She Knew What She Wants by The Bangles

36. The Love Parade by The Dream Academy. Follow-up from their Top Ten classic "Life In A Northern Town."

35. Dreams by Van Halen. If I remember correctly, there was a video of this song that was set to footage from the USAF Thunderbirds.

34. One Hit (To The Body) by The Rolling Stones. This one surprisingly didn't reach the Top 30, peaking at #33.

33. Mountains by Prince

32. Bad Boy by Miami Sound Machine. The video for this was a take-off on the popular Broadway play "Cats," which was dominating Broadway during this time.

31. West End Girls by The Pet Shop Boys

30. What Have You Done For Me Lately by Janet Jackson. The track that helped propel her toward superstardom.

29. When The Heart Rules The Mind by GTR. Lost classic that I thought should have been top ten.

28. Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. When I was on board the Eisenhower, we would always have an emergency breakaway drill after replenishment at sea, usually with the USS Anzio. The 1MC ALWAYS played this song during the drill.

27. Invisible Touch by Genesis. Genesis was on top of the music world in 1986. Pretty much an extension of Phil Collins' massive success of "No Jacket Required" the year before.

26. Like No Other Night by Thirty-Eight Special

25. Your Wildest Dreams by The Moody Blues. I remember long ago around this time the adult-contemporary station in Raleigh (WRAL-FM) ran a promotion in conjunction with this song. What the promotion was exactly, I don't remember.

24. Nasty by Janet Jackson. GIVE ME A BEAT!!

23. Like A Rock by Bob Seger. This song became somewhat popular years later from Chevrolet's truck ads.

22. Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel. If you remember the video for this, then you likely remember those pre-cooked dancing chickens in stop animation. You're welcome.

21. Rain On The Scarecrow by John Mellencamp

20. Tuff Enuff by The Fabulous Thunderbirds. At the age I was at the time, I thought the name of the group had something to do with a very popular roller derby team at the time, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds. Of course, I was unaware that roller derby was actually sports entertainment, where the outcomes were scripted, like professional wrestling.

19. Vienna Calling by Falco. His follow-up to his number one song, "Rock Me Amadeus."

18. Move Away by Culture Club. When this song came out, it was time to "move away" from the radio or the station the radio was on.

17. Be Good To Yourself by Journey. Sound advice, and as the late Jerry Springer would add, "and each other."

16. Is It Love by Mr. Mister

15. I Wanna Be A Cowboy by Boys Don't Cry. I was unaware of this until a few years ago when I found Spotify, but did you notice that the cover of Boys Don't Cry's self-titled album, there's a topless woman on there. I'm sure it received plenty of outrage from the "moral majority" back in 1986.

14. Who's Johnny by El Debarge. Hilarious video for it. Song is from the movie "Short Circuit."

13. If You Leave by Orchestral Manouevers In The Dark. I think this came from the movie "Pretty In Pink," which I only saw by going to my cousin's birthday party in 1986. Incidentally, I think the band shortened their name to OMD later on because "Manouevers" was difficult AF to spell.

12. Nothin' At All by Heart

11. Holding Back The Years by Simply Red

10. Something About You by Level 42. A personal favorite of mine.

  9. All I Need Is A Miracle by Mike + The Mechanics. Interestingly enough, all I need is a miracle right now. Hell, we ALL could use a miracle if we're being brutally honest.

  8. No One Is To Blame by Howard Jones. This song is easily in my top five songs of all time. Just listen to the lyrics sometime.

  7. A Different Corner by George Michael. This song I think helped launch his solo career.

  6. Greatest Love Of All by Whitney Houston. If not for her cover of "I Will Always Love You" in 1992, this probably would have been her signature hit.

  5. Crush On You by The Jets. No, thankfully not the New York Jets, but I'm talking to you, Samantha.

  4. There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) by Billy Ocean. A very underrated song in my estimation.

  3. I Can't Wait by Nu Shooz. When this song was released in that spring, there was another song with the same title from Stevie Nicks. Interestingly enough, they would have another Billboard Top 40 hit called "Point Of No Return" later in the year, but about eight months or so before Expose's "Point Of No Return."

  2. Live To Tell by Madonna. Now for the reason why I chose this year for today's flashback. Madonna, just this week, made chart history as she became the second female (Cher being the other one) to have a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. As for this song, this was around the time my crush on Madonna started to wane, as she started dating Sean Penn, who I didn't know at the time was famous for "Fast Times At Ridgemont High." I hate my upbringing sometimes.

...and the number one song thirty-seven years ago this week was,

  1. On My Own by Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle. For the video, the two singers filmed thier portions on opposite coasts. McDonald was in NYC, while LaBelle was in California.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little slice of nostalgia. I hope to be back with more sometime this weekend. Until then, later.

CT

It's Been Awhile

Hello, everyone. As you can probably tell, I haven't posted on this blog lately. Just over a month to be exact. Chalk it up to my chronic depression and lack of a will to write anything to be honest. But, I'm here, thankfully, so I guess I'll get a few things off my chest. 

First off, what is up with all these bear sightings in Florida...amongst the public?? Last week, we had a bear sighting at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. Then this past weekend, a bear was seen swimming in the Gulf of Mexico off Destin, much to the surprise of beachgoers there. Then just yesterday, a bear was captured and relocated after roaming on the property of Tampa International Airport. I know that there are plenty of black bears here in our once fair state, but this recent rash of these bears in public is a little disconcerting, especially when you consider that there has been a string of orca attacks lately, and you wonder if there something is in the air, or in the water. I know "El Nino" has arrived, but I don't see a correlation between the two...or three. But I have a bad feeling about hurricane season.

Other things, the Bucs are finally going to wear their OG orange jerseys this season, coming versus Detroit (who actually may be good this year) on week Five. According to Lavonte David, a thirteen-year veteran with the Bucs who is the only player to have worn the creamsicle jerseys last (in 2012), there may be something new with them: 

Lavonte David loves that they’re wearing the creamsicle jerseys again this year. He’s the only #Bucs player to previously wear it.

He mentions the one you’ll see this season are a little different, but everyone will like it. David wouldn’t reveal the changes, it’s a surprise. pic.twitter.com/GBWcQnQetm

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) June 14, 2023

I wonder what it could be, are the uniforms look more orangey like during the late 70s? Are they going to have Bucco Bruce on the sleeve? Will they have a throwback word insignia on the collar? I can't wait until October to see them quite frankly.

One issue I do have with the Bucs is that they aren't complete forthright as far as their logo history is concerned. This is the original Bucs logo that was on their helmets from their inception in 1976, and is currently their throwback logo:

However, the insignias that I remember growing up (that was put on T-shirts and  publications) looked a little more like this:

Notice the difference between the two? Rather subtle, but you can tell it's there. According to the NFC South page on "The Helmet Project:"

 The original Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo was designed by Lamar Sparkman, an artist and cartoonist for the Tampa Tribune. The helmet decals for this design were enlarged by "about 25%" in 1992, according to some sources; it is unclear to me whether this stated figure refers to surface area or to length/width

What I think happened was that the helmet decal actually reverted to the second logo shown above. After doing some image searching on bing, I noticed that it the change in the helmet logo came in 1991 (as seen on this play from Keith McCants vs. Miami and Dan Marino), although the size did increase in 1992.

Am I being nitpicky? Yes. But do I want to make sure the history of my favorite team is also correct? Absolutely. Now if only they could bring back the actual word insignia from that era:

Since I also haven't posted in about a month, I also haven't done any flashbacks. That will change probably later this afternoon, provided nothing comes up. In the meantime I'm off to lunch. I should have even more writing for you this week. Later.

CT