Welp...

 Welp, I did it. I got rid of X (used to be Twitter) because that piece of crap Squealon Muskrat in all likelihood will turn it into a warped right-wing propaganda outlet, much like Fox "News" or the garbage you hear on right-wing radio (Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, etc.). So, I peaced out of there and uninstalled the app off my phone. Speaking of Fox News, I bet those ditzy goofballs and so-called journalists over there are hamming it up and probably throwing a victory parade, over on radio, Glenn Beck is probably crying crocodile tears of joy. Fuck that guy, forever. Hypocrite. Oh, and the New York Times had this article today claiming that "evangelicals" are calling Mango Mussolini's election win as a divine mandate. As I stated over on Threads (where you can find me now), it's quite a flex considering the man is virtually the Anti-Christ.

This has been the latest, and the coup-de-grace, in what has been an extremely crappy six week stretch. First was the news that my dream woman, who I've spoken about before on this blog, went back to her husband. That set off a chain of events that has continued to this day. Then came Milton, which destroyed the roof of Tropicana Field in the process and all but rendered my favorite baseball team homeless for God knows how long. Then my favorite basketball team lost their best player due to injury and have been in free-fall since, my favorite football team lost their two top wide receivers due to injury and have lost three straight games with the 49ers coming to town off a bye this Sunday. The Lightning all of a sudden can't get out of their own way and are in the middle of a four-game winless streak. Then of course, Tuesday. I won't say anything further about that. So, I wound up deactivating my Facebook page this week, the reasons are what I just listed and this.

At least college basketball has started, so I actually have something to look forward to, even if UNC-Duke isn't until February, but this autumn has been anything but kind to me, I hope winter and the Yuletide season is much, much better.

Catch me over on threads!!

Bonyscribe

UPDATE:

Dream woman quit her job. My terrible autumn continues 🤦🏻‍♂️

America...Especially Florida...

 WHAT THE LITERAL FUCK WERE YOU THINKING??!!

Bonyscribe

It's The Final Countdown...

We're leaving together
But still it's farewell
And maybe we'll come back
To Earth who can tell?

--"The Final Countdown," Europe, 1986.

Hello, everyone. We less than 24 hours away from the very first polls closing for Election Day 2024. Hopefully, most of you have took advantage of early voting where you are. I did a couple of weeks ago, and from the looks of things where I went to vote, many others did too, which is a good thing. If you're able to do so, please vote tomorrow. 

If you follow my twitter page, you likely know how I voted in this election, but for the record, I did something I hadn't done before, I voted Democrat up and down the ballot. I'm sure that my stepmom and father are probably turning in their graves, since they were Republicans for as long as I've known them, but they don't know how extreme right-wing that party has become, and I have a theory as to why that is, and it goes back several decades. I won't get into it on this post, although I may have alluded to it in prior posts. Not only that, if I knew nothing about politics (and I still know very little), knew English, and didn't know squat about either of the candidates, I'd likely pick Harris anyway. I mean Trump has no plan (to speak of, WE WANT DETAILS!) except deport immigrants and propose tariffs on everyone, which actually does us more harm than good. And the stunt he pulled the other day? Disgusting. We've already had four years of this shitshow, we don't need another four. 

Two other big ballot initiatives here in Florida are Amendments 3 and 4, which legalizes recreational marijuana and legalizes safe abortions here in Florida. I won't get into the details of each amendment, because there have been various debates and commercials (which thank God are ending tomorrow) about both of them, but I voted "Yes" on both. Why? Well since DeSantis is our governor, I'll let Dave Chappelle to explain:

Yeah, I don't like DeSantis, and I never have liked him. Unfortunately, I've lost a few friends over my political choices the last few years. For the better? Can't tell. Now do I think that the left is a bunch of communists who want us to conform to a certain way of life. No. Do I think the right has become a bunch of populist fascists? Not necessarily, but do most of them seem to blindly follow an individual with a cult of personality? Absolutely. Will said individual claim if he loses it will because the system is "rigged?" Probably, even though this isn't NASCAR, where apparently you can alter the results so that a certain driver advances in their "Playoffs."

So, grab a bag of popcorn, some Xanax, and your bottle of liquor and enjoy (at least try to) the events of the next 24 hours...or more. Probably more.

Bonyscribe

Top 40 Flashback: October 31, 1981

Hello, it's been a while, hasn't it? The last time I posted on here, I think Hurricane Helene was aiming at Florida's Big Bend. Since then, that same storm wreaked havoc in the mountains of North Carolina, and the Tampa Bay area virtually got drilled from Hurricane Milton, which is a name that rhymes with the name of my late father Wilton. My dad was a rather interesting fellow. He loved his family very much, but I didn't see it too much. Nor did my siblings who grew up long before I did. We mainly saw him grumpy, irrational, and somewhat mean. Suffice to say we had to endure a lot of negativity from him, I'll leave it at that. 

Anyway, I was going to do my World Series preview a few days ago, but now the series is almost over. Thank goodness, too. As a Rays fan, this has to be a nightmare matchup; your most bitter rival versus the team that beat you for the title in 2020 and is what you would aspire to be if you didn't have an owner that cries poor mouth. Not only that, but your team is also now homeless thanks to Milton. Better get to breaking ground on that new ballpark...

Speaking of Dodgers-Yankees, they last met in the World Series back in 1981, which happens to be the subject of today's flashback. I was all of seven years old, and my mother sadly would lose her life that Halloween, which is a big reason my family doesn't really participate in the holiday, even though I still want to. I guess I could things were a lot different.  

Anyway, this is a rather different top 40 chart from usual. Instead of going over what the Top 40 songs were from either the Billboard Hot 100, or the top 30 songs from Radio & Records Magazine's CHR chart, I decided to do a hybrid of both. I based it on a points system I use for said charts, I think I explained it on this blog some years ago. Keep in mind that during the 1980's Billboard was based on sales of singles while R/R was based on airplay lists compiled from radio stations throughout the US. Anyway, without further ado, here were the top songs for Halloween 1981, tiebreaker goes to whichever song had the higher chart position that week:

40. Trouble by Lindsay Buckingham. #30 on R/R, #55 on Billboard, 11 points.

39. Leather And Lace by Stevie Nicks with Don Henley. #29 on R/R, #50 on Billboard, 12 points.

38. Hold On Tight by Electric Light Orchestra. #33 on Billboard, fell off the R/R chart, 13 points.

37. Harden My Heart by Quarterflash. #28 on R/R, #49 on Billboard, 13 points.

36. My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) by Chilliwack. #26 on R/R, #40 on Billboard, 16 points.

35. No Reply At All by Genesis. #25 on R/R, #41 on Billboard, 16 points.

34. Promises In The Dark by Pat Benatar. #27 on R/R, #38 on Billboard, 17 points.

33. Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. #23 on R/R, #56 on Billboard (debut), 18 points.

32. Urgent by Foreigner. #32 on Billboard, fell off on R/R, 19 points.

31. Who's Crying Now? by Journey. #25 on Billboard, fell off on R/R, 21 points.

30. She's A Bad Mama Jama by Carl Carlton. #22 on Billboard, never charted on R/R, 21 points.

29. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty. #24 on Billboard, fell off on R/R, 22 points.

28. Alien by Atlanta Rhythm Section. #24 on R/R, #29 on Billboard, 29 points.

27. Superfreak by Rick James. #15 on Billboard, didn't chart on R/R, 30 points.

26. Young Turks by Rod Stewart. #21 on R/R, #30 on Billboard, 31 points.

25. Why Do Fools Fall In Love? by Diana Ross. #22 R/R, #28 on Billboard. 32 points.

24. Share Your Love With Me by Kenny Rogers. #14 on Billboard, fell off R/R, 35 points.

23. Sausolito Summernight by Diesel. #17 on R/R, #31 on Billboard. 36 points.

22. Atlanta Lady by Marty Balin. #20 on R/R, #27 on Billboard. 37 points. 

21. The Old Songs by Barry Manilow. #18 on R/R, #26 on Billboard, 38 points.

20. Step By Step by Eddie Rabbitt. #10 on Billboard, fell off on R/R, 50 points.

19. Say Goodbye To Hollywood by Billy Joel. #16 on R/R, #18 on Billboard, 55 points.

18. Theme From "Hill Street Blues" by Mike Post & Larry Carlton. #19 on R/R, #13 on Billboard, 58 points.

17. Just Once by Quincy Jones with James Ingram. #13 on R/R, #19 on Billboard, 61 points.

16. Oh No by The Commodores. #10 on R/R, #20 on Billboard, 63 points.

15. Physical by Olivia Newton-John, #9 on R/R, #23 on Billboard, 63 points.

14. We're In This Love Together by Al Jarreau. #12 on R/R, #17 on Billboard, 65 points.

13. When She Was My Girl by The Four Tops. #15 on R/R, #12 on Billboard, 69 points.

12. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police. #8 on R/R, #21 on Billboard, 72 points.

11. Endless Love by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie. #5 on Billboard, fell off on R/R, 85 points.

10. For Your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton. #4 on Billboard, fell off on R/R, 85 points.

  9. I've Done Everything For You by Rick Springfield. #11 on R/R, #9 on Billboard, 89 points.

  8. Here I Am by Air Supply. #5 on R/R, #11 on Billboard, 111 points. 

  7. Tryin' To Live My Life Without You by Bob Seger. #7 on R/R, #6 on Billboard, 122 points.

  6. The Night Owls by Little River Band. #6 on R/R, #8 on Billboard, 125 points.

  5. Waiting For A Girl Like You by Foreigner. #2 on R/R, #16 on Billboard, 127 points.

  4. Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones. #14 on R/R, #2 on Billboard, 145 points.

  3. Hard To Say by Dan Fogelberg. #3 on R/R, #7 on Billboard, 160 points.

  2. Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) by Christopher Cross. #4 on R/R, #1 on Billboard, 225 points.

...and the top song for Halloween 1981 was...

  1. Private Eyes by Hall & Oates. #1 on R/R, #3 on Billboard. 230 points.

So, those were the top 40 songs for this week 43 years ago. No good spooky songs among those listed, however "Halloween II" was released that particular weekend. I went to a Christian school at the time (maybe that's why my worldview is sometimes messed up), and interestingly enough, I liked a girl with the last name Myers at the time, although I had zero clue about Michael Myers; I thought Halloween at the time was about ghosts, Dracula, withes, and candy. Little would I know that my world would be turned upside down come that Sunday morning. 

In any event, have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Bonyscribe. (it will always be Twitter to me, Elon!)

Here We Go...Again

 Good morning, except for you Squealon Chickenshit Muskrat. That was a lousy stunt you tried to pull on the people of America on Sunday. You may have deleted the post since then, but the internet is forever, and several of us have receipts. Anyway, I fortunately woke up NOT feeling like P. Diddy. Yes Kesha, I guess that opening lyric from "Tik Tok" (which I think you should be getting royalties from the app TikTok for) was somewhat karmic when you consider Dr. Luke, the alleged Harvey Weinstein of the music industry, produced the song. But I digress...

 

Anyway, I'm somewhat licking my wounds after a terrible week in picking games in the NFL. Started 12-4, but lost the Thursday Night game, went 3-7 on the early games 2-1 on the late games, won the Sunday night catastrophe, but lost MNF thanks to an epic collapse from my Super Bowl favorite this year. I wish I had the knowhow to splice two sound bites together because I would follow Kirk Cousins "YOU LIKE THAT!" quote from several years ago with Jameis Winston's "HELL NO!" quote from around the same time frame (I believe it was when the Bucs were on "Hard Knocks" when Jameis was in Tampa), because that's how Eagles fans and a few Bucs fans are feeling after that game. So, I wound up with a 6-10 record for the week, but I'm still above water at 18-14 overall. Now you know why I don't bet on sports.

Had a lab appointment in Port Ritchey yesterday and will have a follow-up next week. Hopefully, I should get good results back. On the way there though, I noticed that traffic on Shady Hills Rd was rather heavier than usual (I know it was around the time of school starting) and on Little Road, some drivers were rather impatient. Then on the way back, I saw one car nearly run off Little Road and one vehicle on Shady Hills pull out nearly out of control in front of where me and my sisters were driving. It was like Crazy Town. Then again, there's a full moon tonight, so maybe that's it. 

Or is it? Because man was there some crazy shit that went down this weekend. Some of it stemming from Donald Trump's crazy (and untrue) rant on illegal aliens eating cats and dogs. First, the flat-out hideous. Reports surfaced over the weekend that numerous bomb threats had been claimed in Springfield, Ohio alone. Some of which targeted schools. Then the ridiculous, JD Vance, the Ohio Senator who is Trump's running mate this election went on CNN on Sunday and said that they sometime makeup stories and somehow spun it to pin the blame on The Biden Administration's immigration policies. Reminds me of a radio host a couple of decades ago named Lionel, who once upon a time had a show on Tampa Bay's misinformation station, News Radio 970 WFLA, who in one of his promos back then said that they just make it up. By the way, 970 is nothing but right-wing talk radio FWIW. At least I think they still are--I haven't listened to them since the 2016 election. Oh, speaking of Vance, he doubled down on a racist quote made by Donald Trump's new flame (allegedly), and serial Botox abuser Laura Loomer. 

THEN there's the big event that took place Sunday, another assassination attempt on Trump, this time thankfully with no shots fired on the former POTUS. The potential shooter wound up being a certifiable nutcase from Greensboro, NC who once voted for 45 but became disillusioned and was calling for Vivek Ramalamadingdong or whatever his name is (Ramaswamy) and Nikki Haley to run instead. He also laid out on his social medias (which have now been wiped) his plans for the ongoing war in Ukraine, amongst other things. Now the Secret Service dropped the ball big time when Trump was supposedly shot back earlier this summer. I say supposedly because I sure as hell saw no evidence of his ear being hit by a bullet. And the modified maxi-pad he wore over his ear during the RNC? Didn't help his cause as far as optics are concerned. This story though appears to be more straightforward, but Routh was in his hideout spot for twelve hours. Okay, Trump's golf outing was supposedly a last-second change of plans because he was supposed to make a campaign stop on Sunday (I can't find evidence of such news), so how did he know he was going to be there? Did somebody tip him off? Furthermore, you would think that the Secret Service would have scouted the perimeter of Mar-A-Lago to weed out any threats, yet Routh was there for twelve hours. How was he able to avoid being detected until he stuck his AK-47 through the bushes the afternoon of? Not as many questions as the case in Pennsylvania, but still...oh, and nice virtue signaling from our bum-ass governor deciding to waste Florida taxpayer dollars on doing his own investigation 😒.

Quite honestly, I can't wait for election season to be over with. If you follow my Twitter page you know where my thoughts lie, and I, as I imagine a lot of other voters, are exhausted with the rhetoric and the vile mudslinging that has gone on for almost a decade now. I wish I could do exclusively flashbacks and NFL picks on this blog, yet here we are...again.

BonyScribe

NFL Week 2 Picks

(Note: I started this post on Thursday morning, but didn't complete it until the following morning)

 Hello, once again. With Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime doing their season premiere this evening, I may as well get my picks out of the way for this week. Week One was very successful for me personally, as I went 12-4 for the week, with my only misses being the Bengals (ugh), Giants (derp), Browns (what was I thinking?), and Steelers (yes!). This week, I hope to have more of the same. And as usual, 506sports has maps of what games we'll see this week.

Miami over Buffalo. Well, it was quite the interesting Sunday Tyreek Hill had, wasn't it? I'm sure everyone knows by now what happened to him before the game on Sunday entering Hard Rock Stadium, so I won't rehash it here. However, his touchdown in the third quarter in the Dolphins comeback win against Jacksonville reminded me of a very iconic call from years gone by, which could have been put to good use in this example. I would embed it here, but the NFL doesn't want bloggers sharing their content here, so the link goes to YouTube. Buffalo last week had a more epic comeback against Arizona, before Josh Allen took over. I expect a close encounter this time, with Mr. He's Got Getting Away from the Cops Speed being the difference.

(UPDATE: Buffalo won 31-10 and Tua got a concussion...again, so what do I know?)

NY Jets over Tennessee. Hey, at least Aaron Rodgers survived this season's MNF debut, despite the loss. Tennessee meanwhile had a 17-0 lead on Chicago and wound up sh*tting the bed, losing 23-17 while not giving up an offensive touchdown. Will Levis with an early candidate for meme of the season with his surrender cobra after his dimwitted interception that was returned for a pick-6:

San Francisco over Minnesota. The Niners' revenge tour got off to a rousing start on Monday, even without Christian McCaffery. Minnesota got a surprise win over Les Habitantes de East Rutherford. Maybe Sam Darnold can recover his career with the Vikings, but they're the Vikings, a franchise that can't catch a decent break.

Baltimore over Las Vegas. Ravens should have little difficulty against a squad that looked flat against the Chargers, though their fans were in midseason form. Seriously. 

LA Chargers over Carolina. Speaking of the fights that happened in Sofi, the Chargers look to keep pace with Kansas City against a team, and a franchise, with absolutely no fight. Hey here's a hack if you're participating in a knockout pool this season. Select whoever is playing the Panthers for every game this season except for week 9, 11, 17, and 18. Then all you need is to correctly pick whichever teams on weeks 9, 11, 17, and 18 who don't play the Panthers this season, and you should win your knockout pool.

Jacksonville over Cleveland. Jaguars let one slip away in South Florida last week, while the Browns got throttled by Dallas. It may be high time to put Jamies in at quarterback, which is something I thought would be done last week, but then again, what do I know? Jags should be able to righten the ship for their home opener.

Dallas over New Orleans

Indianapolis over Green Bay. Yes, I'm picking the Colts in an upset since Jordan Love sprained his MCL against Philly and will be out up to a couple of months.

New England over Seattle. I don't think anyone would have imagined the Patriots off to a 2-0 start, but it could very well happen after this week.

Detroit over Tampa Bay. Pains me to pick this, but after last week, questions have arisen about the Bucs secondary, which took a hit injury wise against Washington. I do love what I see from the Bucs offense, and if this turns into a shootout, Tampa may spring the upset.

Washington over NY Giants

Pittsburgh over Denver

LA Rams over Arizona

Kansas City over Cincinnati. Did you know that in Springfield, Ohio, illegal aliens there are eating pets? They're eating the dogs; they're eating the cats. Seriously though, the Queen City kitties did not get off to a promising start at home to the Patriots this week, and they play the official team of America's favorite childless cat lady.

Houston over Chicago. Until the Bears score on offensive touchdown, I refuse to believe in them.

Philadelphia over Atlanta. The Birds get their proper home opener, against the pigeons. I can't wait to see the Pigeons go into an 0-2 hole in the NFC South.

And that is your slate of games in the NFL this week. Enjoy.

NFL and College Picks for This Weekend (Part II)

 Hello again everyone. Last I was with you yesterday afternoon I was giving you my picks for college games this weekend. Now, I'm giving my picks for Sunday's and Monday's NFL slate, where I'm off to a 2-0 start with KC and Philly winning their games so far. As usual, to find the games you'll be getting from anywhere in the USA, 506Sports has your hookup. Here in Florida, you'll see the battle of Florida between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins on the CBS early window, while on Fox the state (except Miami/Palm Beach) will get Pittsburgh at Atlanta followed by Washington at Tampa Bay. Since SE Florida is a petty fricking market, they'll get Minnesota at the Giants followed by Dallas at Cleveland. 

from twitter

Miami over Jacksonville. Probably the most notable matchup of the early slate. Jags went unbeaten in the preseason, which doesn't really mean anything. However, this could shape up to be a possible playoff matchup.

Cincinnati over New England. The Jarrod Mayo era begins in Foxborough.

Houston over Indianapolis. Might be closer than expected. We'll get to see how good these Texans really are and if Indianapolis will be competitive this season with a healthy Anthony Richardson.

Buffalo over Arizona. Buffalo's new stadium is starting to take shape, otherwise I have nothing on this game.

Atlanta over Pittsburgh. More like PittsbUGH, since I'll be rooting for them.

NY Giants over Minnesota. Week One is too early to have a tank bowl but there might be one on Urinating Tree's YouTube page.

Chicago over Tennessee. If I may go off topic for a second, but have you noticed that those annoying ads on your phone have been getting longer and longer? Like you're playing a game, but you need to watch a stupid ad to gain a powerup? Well, it sure seems that ads that used to be thirty seconds long are now a minute long. That's an outrage. Maybe there should be a law put into effect where online ads that interrupt streaming or gaming should be limited to thirty seconds max.

New Orleans over Carolina. And another thing, those ads that are ten times louder than the usual noise level coming off your phone should be banned. Especially the ones for the app called Playwell, who has a failed hip-hop star who probably knows a Nigerian prince, some struggling actress from a cancelled Telemundo series, and an alleged Russian spy as their spokespersons. Yeah, TOTALLY not suspicious at all. Okay, rant over.

Tampa Bay over Washington. The Bucs begin defense of their NFC South crown at home versus the Commanders. I've read online that some fans prefer the old Redskins nickname to that of the Commanders and even want their old logo back. I wish Daniel Snyder hadn't run that franchise (and their stadium) to the ground. Anyway, even Bucs head coach Todd Bowles is excited for the season to start. So are we, Coach. So are we. GO BUCS!

LA Chargers over Las Vegas. An added bonus about living in Tampa Bay (and Florida), we don't have to listen to Tony Romo since he'll be calling this game alongside Jim Nantz (hello friends), but the other three NFC South markets do! LOL.

Denver over Seattle. At least Broncos Country won't have to ride with Russell Wilson this season.

Cleveland over Dallas. My upset pick for this week. Jameis Winston comes off the bench and OUTPLAYS Dak Prescott, surely triggering Skip Bayless, who come to think of it, won't be seen or heard on FS1 anymore, hooray! Oh, and Tom Brady makes his broadcasting debut. 

Detroit over LA Rams. Nice to see Detroit get the opening Sunday night game. Hopefully we'll see more of the Lions in the spot over the next few years.

San Francisco over NY Jets. The 49ers revenge tour starts in Santa Clara against Mr. Discount Double Check, who'll hopefully play longer than four snaps this season. That is as long as his other Achilles holds up.

And there you are, enjoy the games everyone!

BonyScribe

NFL and College Picks for This Weekend

 Hello everyone, except for the fine folks at Publix. Usually, I have a great relationship with Publix, as that is where me and the sisters get most of our groceries. But lately, they haven't really come through for us, well me in particular. Over the past couple of weeks, there has been a noticeable lack of Zero Sugar Cheerwine on their shelves, but (in most stores) they do have regular Cheerwine. Yesterday, they didn't have large bags of Spicy Hot Cheetos I was going to get for Sam. I guess I should be thankful that Publix carries Cheerwine period, since they have stores in North Carolina, and Wal-Mart or Winn-Dixie (to my knowledge) doesn't carry it, and I did get Sam a dozen wonderful sunflowers. So, thanks Publix! Oh, and Happy Birthday!

Anyway, this is the first weekend of me making picks for this football season. I'll start with this weekend's college slate, and then go towards the NFL, including tonight's tilt in Brazil between the Eagles and Packers. This weekend's college slate begins with three games tonight, including the SAT Bowl between Duke and Northwestern, and wraps up tomorrow highlighted by USF at Alabama and Tennessee vs. NC State in Charlotte. So, here it goes:

SMU over BYU
Duke over Northwestern
-------------------------------
Georgia Tech over Syracuse
Army over FAU
Texas over Michigan
Oklahoma State over Arkansas
Cincinnati over Pittsburgh
Iowa over Iowa State
Kentucky over South Carolina
Michigan State over Maryland
Utah over Baylor
Navy over Temple
Auburn over California
Virginia Tech over Marshall
East Carolina over Old Dominion
Miami over FAMU
Air Force over San Jose State
Wake Forst over Virginia
Alabama over USF
Kansas over Illinois
Coastal Carolina over William & Mary
Tennessee over NC State
Colorado over Nebraska
Oklahoma over Houston
Clemson over Appalachian State
Washington State over Texas Tech
Oregon over Boise State
Arizona State over Mississippi State
USC over Utah State
Oregon State over San Diego State

For tonight's NFL contest, the green-less Philadelphia Eagles take on the almost-greenless Green Bay Packers. The Eagles will be wearing all-black tonight to as to not stir up controversy at the home stadium of Brazil soccer club Corinthians (whose main rival, Palmeirians, wears green). Quite honestly, colors have absolutely no effect on a team's performance, unless you were a fan of the Tampa Bay Bucs in the 1980's, like me. By the way, if you want to see the game, hope you have your Peacock subscription handy, because it's only on that streaming platform. 

For tonight though, I have Philadelphia topping Green Bay 23-21.

(I'll be back with the rest of the NFL slate later)

BonyScribe

The NFL Is Here!

 Hello, gotta make this quick because I have a big day with a pretty important person later on. The 2024 NFL Season starts tonight in Kansas City, which means Taylorgeddon has returned. 😶 But before I do that, let me tell you who my season picks will be. 

I'll start with the NFC South. The Buccaneers look for an unprecedented (for them) fourth straight division title and fifth straight playoff appearance, and with a relatively easy schedule things tend to be looking good. But Atlanta made various upgrades to their defense (Matthew Judon) and signed Kirk "You like that!" Cousins at QB. Scary I know, but i think Tampa takes it barring any unforeseen circumstances. So, I'll pick Tampa Bay, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Carolina (who I think will go 0-17). In the NFC East, there hasn't been a repeat champion in two decades, and I think that trend will continue this season. I think the Eagles get their act together and win it, followed by Dallas, Washington, and the New York Giants. The North should be intriguing as Detroit seems to be the chic Super Bowl pick from the NFC this year, but Green Bay under Jordan Love looks to be hot on their tail. Chicago hopefully has their QB of the future, and Minnesota just cannot catch a break; their rookie QB (J. J. McCarthy) is out for the season and their rookie DB Khyree Jackson tragically died in a car crash before training camp began. This season, I have Detroit in a tiebreaker over Green Bay followed by Minnesota and Chicago. In the west, the 49ers look to be strong again while the Rams look to give chase, and a new era begins in Seattle. I have San Francisco followed by the LA Rams, Arizona, and Seattle. 

Over in the AFC East, Buffalo snatched the division title from Miami in Week 18 last season. Can they dominate like they did two seasons ago? I doubt it. Miami is still Miami and maybe we'll get to see what the Jets are like with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, as for the Pats, their long-awaited up commence finally hits them, as they move on from Bill Belichick. My picks are Miami, NY Jets, Buffalo, then an oort cloud, an asteroid belt, and then New England. The North looks like a two-team battle between Baltimore and Cincinnati, with my nod going to the Ravens. Many questions lurk on the Browns and the Steelers now have Russell Wilson, and a coherent offense. I'm picking Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. In the South, many people are picking the Houston, but I have a feeling Jacksonville will rebound from their disappointing campaign last year. I'll go with Jacksonville, Houston, Indianapolis, and Tennessee. Finally, the West and the Kansas City Swifties look to get their unprecedented third straight Super Bowl crown, and I don't think they'll have much of a challenge in their division, which they've won for eight straight years. Unless Justin Herbert has an incredible season under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. So, I have Kansas City, the LA Chargers, Denver, and Las Vegas.

My wild cards for the NFC are Green Bay, Dallas, and Atlanta and for the AFC are Houston, NY Jets, and Cincinnati. In the NFC, I have Philadelphia over Detroit and in the AFC, I have Baltimore over Miami. In New Orleans for Super Bowl LVIX (sooner or later the NFL will do what the WWE did for Wrestlemania and drop the Roman numerals altogether) I have...

Baltimore Ravens over Philadelphia Eagles

Oh, and for tonight's game, Kansas City lost to Detroit in last year's kickoff game and won the Super Bowl. So, it's only fitting that they win this year's kickoff game against my pick to win this year's Super Bowl.

Kansas City 27
Baltimore 24

Let the games begin.

BonyScribe

Labor Day Weekend Sh*tposting...

 Hello again everyone. Can you believe it's September already? Guess we should be making preparations to wake up Green Day when this month ends. Anyway, as Cody Rhodes would say, "what do we want to talk about?" Well, I have several things I want to touch on this long weekend. Some news, some college football, some racing, and some wrestling.

Let's start with college football, which started in earnest this weekend. First off, the College Football Playoff is bigger; twelve teams get in, which I assume will grant automatic bids for the winners of each of the four big conferences. Speaking of conferences, that's the second thing I wanted to mention. We no longer have a power five anymore, the Pac-12 all but dissolved when all their members sans two (Washington State and Oregon State) bolted to other conferences. Washington, Oregon, UCLA and USC went to the Big 10, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah went to the Big 12, and Cal and Stanford went to the...ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE?! Weird flex, but okay. Also, Texas and Oklahoma left the Big 12 for the SEC.

So that now gives us a whopping 16 teams in the SEC, I guess "it just means more" means more teams. I don't know how perennial bottom feeder Vanderbilt will be competitive...hold up (checks notes). Oh, they beat Virginia Tech on Saturday. Never mind. I think the usual suspects will dominate the conference this year in Alabama and Georgia, but also Texas will be in the mix as a first-year conference member. Don't sleep on Oklahoma either. As for the school in the SEC I once rooted for, Florida's going to have a long season. They got throttled by Miami in their home opener and have arguably the toughest schedule in America. Sorry Gator fans, but Captain Overrated (Tim Tebow) isn't walking down the tunnel anytime soon. Thier fans are probably dropping to their knees hoping that the Almighty Tebow can coach the team next season, I just wish that Gator fans would stop obsessing over Captain Overrated. "BuT hE wOn Us TwO NaTtYs aNd Is A hEiSmAn WiNnEr!" Hey Gator fans...

On to the Apathetically Crappy Conference, which I mentioned before added Cal and Stanford, as well as SMU?! I don't know who's going to come out of that conference, maybe Clemson (who got poleaxed by Georgia). But both them and the other top contender (Florida State) crapped their pants in Dublin against Georgia Tech, what a time to be alive! At least North Carolina and NC State won this weekend, so there's they have that going for them.

On to the Big Ten Times Two Minus Two (seriously, there are 18 teams in that league now). That league will be unwatchable because for starters I cannot stand Ohio State. Secondly, Michigan is now the Houston Astros of college football. Sadly, both teams are the odds-on favorites to win that league this year; I don't think Washington or Oregon will capture that conference, though either one could make the CFP. Oh, and Northwestern is playing in a temporary facility while Ryan Field gets redone.

Finally, we come to the Big XVI, formerly the Big XII. I really don't know what to expect from them now that Texas and Oklahoma are in the SEC. Maybe Baylor, maybe TCU. I do know we're getting the renewal of the Holy War (Utah-BYU). As for UCF, I hope they 1) beat Florida and 2) reach a bowl game. 

As for Washington State and Oregon State, they're playing members of the Mountain West, and I think will have their games on the CW Network with one of their announcers being Thom Brennaman, Brennaman hadn't been seen on TV since 2020 when he made an off-color comment on a hot mic as there's a drive by Castellanos into left field and that'll be a home run. And that'll make it a 4-0 game. All kidding aside, it's nice to see one of the more talented sportscasters around back on TV. My guesses for who the G-5 (non-power conference) teams to make the playoff, well I'm guessing either James Madison or Tulane. Possibly Libbity Bibbity (Liberty U) will be selected.

Speaking of Liberty University, William Byron and fifteen others begin the NASCAR Cup Playoffs next weekend. Unfortunately for that sport, the NFL kicks off next weekend, and they will all but forgotten in the realm of sports. One issue I have with NASCAR is it seems like the endings to all of their races have become too WWE-like. Someone wrecks someone else with two laps to go and we wind up with A green-white-checkered finish, where more often than not the process repeats itself. As long as a race doesn't end under caution though...ridiculous. Another issue is some of the sponsors the racers have. We used to see sponsors like Budweiser, Coors, Square D, Havoline, Gatorade, etc. on these cars. Nowadays you have sponsors that are subliminally political, like Liberty University, the "He Gets Us" (who exactly, Captain Overrated?) evangelical campaign, or glorified ambulance chaser extraordinaire Morgan & Morgan. No wonder Kyle Busch didn't win a race this season and failed to reach the playoffs. What's next, Justin Algeir will have a car sponsored by 1-800-Ask-Gary?? We had a failed Trump for President 2020 sponsorship by Corey Lajoie that year, and he finished next to last at the Brickyard 400. At least IndyCar has decent sponsors on their rides. 

Well, I think I've said enough for this weekend, I'll be back later next week with my NFL preview and Week 1 picks. Later.

BonyScribe

Flashback: August 28, 1992

 Hello once again. I'm spending my Friday night behind the keyboard getting some writing done this weekend. For the first of what I hope is three blog posts this weekend is another Top 40 Flashback. This year we're going back (sorry Kamala) to August 28, 1992, when I was knee deep in Navy World at RTC Orlando and quite honestly was oblivious to what was going on around me. I do remember being out on the grinder (a large concrete slab that we utilized to march in formation to go to class, the galley, etc.) during this time because we had heard that Hurricane Andrew was bearing down on Miami, and I remember the outer band clouds drifting from east to west as well as a breeze. This week, I'm utilizing the Radio & Records chart because this was during a time that the pop charts, especially Billboard, were going a bit sideways; songs were peaking early in their chart life and hanging around longer. You could tell that we were entering a new era musically. Anyway, without further ado, here were the Top 40 songs this week in 1992.

40. Too Funky by George Michael--down from #33. The video for this song was one of my favorites because I got to see Tyra Banks for the first time, only covered up top with tassels.

39. Bang Bang by David Sanborn--Debut. We lost Sanborn earlier this year, and unbeknownst to me until his death, he was a Tampa native.

38. Just Another Day by Jon Secada--down from #36. This song doesn't mean as much to me now as it did then, probably because (anti)social media has basically reconnected all my old classmates from the past. Sometimes technology is a good thing.

37. Friday I'm In Love by The Cure--down from #20. Every time this song comes on, I want to sing along to the lyrics.

36. Constant Craving by k.d. lang--up from #40. From what I remember, she rose to prominence from her remake of Roy Orbison's "Crying." I never understood why she never capitalized her name, if that is her given name. I'd ask her twin brother, Clay Aiken, but he was unavailable for comment. 😂

35. Kickin' It by After 7--up from #39.

34. Come And Talk To Me by Jodeci--down from #27. One of the few things that came out of Charlotte that's worth mentioning. The Hornets have pretty much always been mid, the Panthers are currently an embarrassment to the NFL, but at least there's NASCAR, but even that organization has been more like WWE instead of racing lately.

33. Jam by Michael Jackson--down from #17. Speaking of the Hornets, their owner Michael Jordan made a starring role in the video for this. Hold up, he sold the team? Well, I have to pull this picture out since they never won a playoff series during his tenure as owner:

32. Take This Heart by Richard Marx--down from #21. The video featured Marx in a dream sequence winning the World Series for the Chicago Cubs. Something at that time was unimaginable but came true in 2016. Also in the video, Bob Uecker was the announcer instead of Harry Caray.

31. Life Is A Highway by Tom Cochrane--down from #24. This song has lasted the test of time very well.

30. Forever Love by Color Me Badd--Debut. Don't have a lot for this one, because I loathed CMB at the time.

29. Would I Lie To You? by Charles & Eddie--up from #35. No, you may not. I've been lied to one time too many, even by members of my own family.

28. Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad? by Def Leppard--up from #34. Abso-freaking-lutely. To this day, I love this song.

27. Nobody Wins In This War by Mitch Malloy--up from #28. Yeah, he's right. That said, Slava Ukraina!

26. Restless Heart by Peter Cetera--unchanged from the previous week. This was his last major hit single, spanning a career that started in the late '60s with Chicago.

25. Always The Last To Know by Del Amitri--up from #32. This song only exists so that Del Amitri wouldn't be called a one-hit wonder ("Roll To Me").

24. Divine Thing by Soup Dragons--up from #29. I enjoyed this group. Too bad this and "Freedom" was all they were known for on the radio.

23. Not Enough Time by INXS--up from #31. It seems like that's what everybody has these days; not enough time.

22. Please Don't Go by KWS--up from #30. I remember when Orlando DJ Just Plain Mark on XL 106.7 one night late in 1992 played this song, and as a joke or for shits and giggles decided to count the number of times KWS said "please don't go" in the song. I think the total turned out to be 81.

21. Keep On Walkin' by CeCe Peniston--down from #12. Peniston was on her way to becoming a bright star in the early 90s, but then she just kept on walkin' to oblivion.

20. Give It Up by Wilson Phillips--up from #25. Yet another case of a star fading quickly after 1992, after a monster 1990 and 1991. I think I saw Carnie and Wendy promote an appearance at a fan expo on Facebook just the other day. No, Chynna wasn't featured.

19. I Wanna Love You by Jade--up from #23

18. Move This by Technotronic f/Ya Kid K--down from #14. This song was more known for being featured in Revlon commercials featuring Cindy Crawford, who may or may not have been drinking a Pepsi. 

17. When I Look Into Your Eyes by Firehouse--up from #22

16. Give U My Heart by Babyface f/Toni Braxton--up from #19. This was where most first heard of Toni Braxton, though I wouldn't for another year because I don't remember this song during this time (remember, I was in boot camp).

15. Nothing Broken But My Heart by Celine Dion--up from #18. It was so good seeing her at the Olympics Opening Ceremony earlier this summer.

14. She's Playing Hard To Get by Hi-Five--up from #16

13. Even Better Than The Real Thing by U2--unchanged from the previous week. As I recall, Dana Carvey (as Garth Algar) played drums to this song during the MTV VMAs in '92 while U2 was on tour and did a satellite linkup with their concert.

12. Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough by Patty Smyth with Don Henley--up from #15. No, it isn't, and I don't really know why...

11. This Used To Be My Playground by Madonna--down from #4. I only saw the last part of the movie ("A League of Their Own") the song came from. Why did Geena Davis drop the ball? BTW, there is crying in baseball, just ask the 1986 Boston Red Sox.

10. Jesus He Knows Me by Genesis--up from #11. A very good track shedding light on the absolute hypocrisy displayed by various television evangelists in the 80s and early 90s. They still exist by the way, right Joel Osteen?

  9. Do I Have To Say The Words by Bryan Adams--up from #10

  8. Givin' Him Something He Can Feel by En Vogue--down from #5. This song had a rather cringeworthy video of a bunch of men at a cabaret drooling all over themselves at the sight of the Funky Divas. Reminds me of the lovesick wolf in that Tex Avery cartoon in days of yore.

  7. All I Want by Toad The Wet Sprocket--unchanged from the previous week

  6. Stay by Shakespear's Sister--up from #8. I didn't know at the time but one of the members from Bananarama was in this duo, the one married to Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics.

  5. Humpin' Around by Bobby Brown--up from #9. Not at my house...yet.

  4. The One by Elton John--up from #6. This was a song I wanted to dedicate to a girl I knew back in the early 80s, before I knew what love was all about. Last I heard, she sells real estate near Orlando, and no, she was not the one.

  3. Baby-Baby-Baby by TLC--down from #2. This should have reached number one, but as you'll see in a moment, they were blocked out of that spot.

  2. November Rain by Guns N' Roses--up from #3. An iconic song from an iconic group with an iconic video (I think they won the Video Vanguard Award the following year). Should have been the #1 song of 1992, but like the song before this one they were shut out by...

...the number one song on this date 32 years ago...

  1. End Of The Road by Boyz II Men--unchanged from the previous week.

This took a lot longer than I thought; 24 hours and change later I finally completed this one with a couple more entries to go. I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead. Catch you later!

BonyScribe

  

Why I Do So Many Flashbacks...

 Hi everyone, except for Ron DeSantis. No, we don't need more golf courses in Florida, ESPECIALLY at the expense of or state parks. I came on here tonight to try to explain a little bit why most of my blog entries are musical flashbacks. I saw the last night of the Democratic National Convention from Chicago, and the vibes that I got were that of a block party mixed with a bit of what I remember seeing as a teenager in 1988, when George H. W. Bush took the GOP nomination for president at the Superdome in New Orleans. On a side note, interesting how that particular facility would be an albatross of sorts for his son, but I digress.

Todd Heisler--NY Times

I grew up in a Republican household, in fact my stepmother's brother had milk and cookies with President Reagan when they were children; they both grew up in northwestern Illinois. So, for mostly that reason, I aligned myself at the time with the Republican Party, even though I had little idea of politics at the time. The 1908s were a wonderful time to grow up in, even though I didn't really enjoy them as much as I would have liked to. Of course, the Buccaneers were flat-out awful, but there were more than enough things that made up for it. There weren't any wars, unless you call quick military operations in Libya and Panama wars, television was actually watchable for the most part. Instead of mindless talk shows that permeated the airwaves in the latter part of the decade and the 90's, we had Oprah, Sally, and of course Phil Donohue, May God rest his soul. There were game shows in the morning and reruns of Andy Griffith (at least in NC) in the afternoon, and of course MTV.

Speaking of which, the music that was on the radio was amazing, especially between 1983 and 1984. Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel (who my sister REALLY enjoys 😂) Journey, Bon Jovi, etc. It seemed like such a simpler time.

Of course there were no bills to worry about, no families of our own that we had to take care of, just the innocence of being a kid...until puberty hit. Then our some of our eyesights started to change, the guys started growing facial hair, and the gals started growing...you know. Life was rapidly approaching us, and we had to adapt accordingly. 

That's probably why I do so many flashbacks to the 1980s on here, as well as play a lot of 80s music on Spotify to share; to go back in time somewhat when the worst thing that happened was a Space Shuttle breaking apart midflight. I long for those days, and I'd like to imagine many of you close to 50 feel the same way.

Thanks for reading.

Bony Scribe

Flashback: August 14, 2009

 Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? The last time I opened up this blog, we hadn't had the presidential debate, and since then, we have a new candidate for President thanks to an awful debate performance. One candidate for President was shot at, the situation which I we don't know the whole story about (and likely never will). The economy was on the verge of a recession...until it wasn't. The Olympic Games in Paris happened without any major incident (other than a HIDEOUS attempt at breakdancing), and Ukraine invaded Russia. Oh, and I reconciled with a particular redhead. Wild times indeed.

So, to break the silence on here, why don't I do another flashback? This week we're going back fifteen years (has it been that long already?) to 2009. I was in the middle of a failed move to Gainesville, contemplating resigning from the USPS for a $15,000 buyout (which I didn't wind up taking) and totally changing my life. Here were the Top 40 songs roughly based off Mediabase 24/7 for the week ending August 14, 2009.

40. Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus--debut. This marked the start of Miley's transition from Hannah Montana to the Miley we've come to know and adore today. Speaking of which, Miley was honored this week as a Disney legend.

39. Who's Got Your Money by Tina Parol--down #36. Isn't that another way of Capital One asking, "what's in your wallet?"

38. Say Hey I Love You by Michael Franti & Spearhead--debut.

37. One Time by Justin Bieber--up from #40. Ugh...

36. Sweet Dreams by Beyonce--up from #37. Or a beautiful nightmare. I loved this tune back in the day.

35. Obsessed by Mariah Carey--up from #38. Every time I hear this song, I think of the viral TikTok girl who danced to this song while wiping away tears.

34. Radar by Britney Spears--unchanged from the prior week. Well since she's single now, she could potentially be someone's radar, if you can handle her crazy that is.

33. Wanted by Jessie James--down from #25

32. New Divide by Linkin Park--up from #33. Song from the "Transformers" movie that was released that year.

31. Hush Hush: Hush Hush by The Pussycat Dolls--down from #30. Other than "Dontcha," I forgot PCD had another chart hit.

30. I'm In Miami (Trick) by LFMAO--down from #29. Can we forget about LFMAO already?

29. So Fine by Sean Paul--up from #31

28. I Do Not Hook Up by Kelly Clarkson--down from #24. Speaking of Kelly, my one sister had a comment over lunch about a rather tough cherry that she bit into; she called it a 40-year-old virgin. NOOO!! KELLY CLARKSON!!

27. Her Diamonds by Robb Thomas--up from #28

26. Birthday Sex by Jeremih--down from #20. One can wish, huh?

25. Love Drunk by Boys Like Girls--up from #26. I liked this song.

24. Hotel Room Service by Pitbull--up from #27. Can't say that I've utilized hotel room service.

23. Never Say Never by The Fray--unchanged from the prior week. One lesson I learned the past few weeks is to never say never.

22. Not Meant To Be by Theory Of A Deadman--unchanged from the prior week. Or is it???

21. Down by Jay Sean f/Lil' Wayne--up from #32. Without a doubt, one of my favorite songs from 2009, although I didn't understand why exactly radio stations decided to mix up the second and third verses to the song. Talking to YOU, FLZ...

20. If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback--down from #17. To steal a quote from another song, it's a reason why we should live like we were dying.

19. Second Chance by Shinedown--down from #15. Jacksonville's own.

18. She Wolf/Loba by Shakira--up from #21. I know it's been 15 years, but I'm still processing some of the moves she made in that video for this song.

17. That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings--down from #16. Not my favorite song from them, that would be "Two Hands."

16. Halo by Beyonce--up from #19

15. No Surprise by Daughtry--up from #18. Remember them? I wonder what they're up to nowadays.

14. Boom Boom Pow by The Blackeyed Peas--down from #12. Their star was soooo massive in 2009, then Fergie left, and they faded into Bolivia as Mike Tyson once said.

13. Don't Trust Me by 3Oh!3--down from #8. love love love this hit.

12. Please Don't Leave Me by P!nk--down from #9. This was recorded around the time I think her and her hubby Carey Hart had a split in their relationship, but they stayed together and now their daughter is performing on stage.

11. Best I Ever Had by Drake--up from #13

10. Use Somebody by Kings Of Leon--up from #14. Remember just the other day when the internet "commemorated" the Dave Matthews Band incident in Chicago? Well in 2010, the kinda reverse happened in St. Louis, when pigeons exacted a measure of revenge on DMB on Kings Of Leon. That band hasn't really been the same since...

  9. I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) by Pitbull--down from #7. This launched "Mr. 305" into "Mr. Worldwide."

  8. Battlefield by Jordin Sparks--up from #11. A good song, but not as iconic as Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield" some 25 years earlier. 

  7. Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship f/Leighton Meester--up from #10

  6. Fire Burning by Sean Kingston--unchanged from the prior week

  5. Lovegame by Lady Gaga--down from #3. It was great seeing her during the Olympics opening ceremonies.

  4. Knock You Down by Keri Hilson--up from #5. I still have beef with radio stations, (especially iHate Media, formerly ClearChannel) that would unnecessarily censor this song because it contains the word "ship," and ClearChannel was in such a panic that they would be fined from the FCC (who I believe was ran by Michael Powell at the time), who wasn't afraid for fining stations for indecent conduct even if it was accidentally sneezing on air.

  3. You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift--up from #4. I believe Travis Kelce was at the University of Cincinnati around this time as I'm suddenly reminded that since it's August, we are one month away from non-stop 24/7 coverage of Taylor Swift on ESPN.

  2. Waking Up In Vegas by Katy Perry--down from #1. Unfortunately for Katy, "American Idol" has decided told her to cash out; Carrie Underwood is replacing her as a judge.

...and the number one song this week 15 years ago was...

  1. I Gotta Feeling by The Blackeyed Peas--up from #2. Like I said earlier on this blog, their star was as bright as any star in the sky, and this song was their signature hit.

I should have more coming later this week...as long as my depression doesn't kick in again, until then take care. 

BonyScribe

Ohhhh Brother, Here We Go Again (The 2024 Presidential Debate Drinking Game)

 Good morning, everyone. Welcome to a day that is both looked forward to and dreaded at the same time; the date of the first Presidential Debate of 2024. Once again, it's President Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump, and given the age of both candidates, it should be sponsored by Geritol. While some of us will be watching with bated breath, others will just ignore it completely. Then there are those that would rather drink than watch this train wreck take place and that's where I come in. I think the best way to watch this debate is to make it into a drinking game, so grab your favorite bottle of liquor and play along!

Since the debate is being hosted by CNN, if Trump makes a reference to them as "fake news," take a shot.

Since the debate is held in Atlanta, if either candidate brings up the election subversion case in Georgia, take a shot. Take an additional shot if Trump brings up Fani Willis.

If Trump makes a personal insult, regardless of it's to Biden or either of the hosts, take a shot.

If Biden tells Trump to "shut up," take a double shot.

If either candidate kisses up to Benjamin Netanyahu, take a shot.

If Trump mentions anything about the war in Ukraine, take two shots, blyat.

If Stormy Daniels is mentioned, take a shot.

If Hunter Biden is mentioned, take a shot.

If "Dark Brandon" somehow appears, take THREE shots.

If Biden mentions how the economy is improving, take two shots.

If the Border Wall is mentioned, take a shot.

If Trump says "China," take a shot.

If Trump makes a bizarre facial expression, take a shot. Here are some examples:

If Trump breaks out in his gosh-awful dance of his. Drink the whole damned bottle. 

You know what? Maybe just grab a bottle of Everclear to wash that sight out of your system. Either way, you're sure to be blacked out by the end of the night and hopefully you won't remember what transpired later tonight when you wake up on Friday. 

In any event, if you decide to watch this debacle, please be careful. I don't want to hear of anyone suffering from alcohol poisoning from watching it. So, in the words of Edward R. Murrow, good night, and good luck.

BonyScribe

The Kitties Did It

 Last time I graced you with my presence on here almost two weeks ago, the Florida Panthers were on the verge of sweeping the Edmonton Oilers to clinch their first Stanley Cup title. Then things went a little squirrelly, then a little sideways. Next thing we knew, Edmonton had rallied from 0-3 down to tie the series and force a winner-take-all game 7 Monday night in Broward County with all the momentum in the world. Fortunately for our feline friends from South Beach, Sergei Bobrovsky regained his stellar form and the Cats won Game 7 and their first Stanley Cup title. 

The title gives the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region the grand slam of professional sports, meaning that their teams have won titles in the MLB, NBA, NFL, and now NHL, an accomplishment last achieved by Dallas/Fort Worth region last year when the Texas Rangers won their first World Series. If only the Dolphins can get their act together and win one before my time on earth passes; their last title was just before I was born, in January of 1974. 

But, anyway, congratulations Cats, and thank you for cementing Florida as the new State of Hockey. Oh, by the way, if you're reading this on Tuesday, google "Panthers Stanley Cup" for a nice little surprise.

 

Congrats Kitties, and in the words of the late Jim Mandich, "ALLLRIGHHT MIAMIIIII!!!"

BonyScribe

Flashback: June 15, 1996

 Hello again. It's been a few weeks since I did a flashback Top 40 blog post (about three weeks ago to be exact). Usually, I roll a 20-sided die to determine which year I choose for this blog, however with the Florida Panthers, the team I called the LOLCats for the longest time, on the precipice of their maiden Stanley Cup titleprecipice of their maiden Stanley Cup title, I thought I would turn back the clocks to 1996, the year they first reached the Final (and only their third year of existence). Now unfortunately for them, they would get swept by Colorado (who had just poached the team from Quebec City), and it wouldn't be until last season that they won a Stanley Cup Final game, but the rat throwing craze hit fever pitch in South Florida. So, grab your rats and get ready to toss them, as we go over the top 40 songs (provided by Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart) for this week in 1996.

40. Standing Outside A Broken Telephone Booth With Money In My Hand by Primitive Radio Gods. Man, that was a long title. Anyway, this song got, despite having heavy airplay over the summer of that year, didn't reach the Hot 100 singles chart. Remember, I'm going off airplay here. 1996 was weird, man.

39. Your Loving Arms by Billie Ray Martin. Not to be confused with country superstar Billy Ray Cyrus or late baseball manager and New York Yankees legend Billy Martin. To me this song sounded somewhat familiar to AC/DC's 1980 classic "You Shook Me All Night Long."

38. Jealousy by Natalie Merchant

37. Children by Robert Miles. It was a later song by Miles that I enjoyed more, "One and One." Sadly, Miles passed away from cancer in May of 2017. F*** cancer.

36. Big Me by The Foo Fighters. This was their first crossover hit from their self-titled debut album. I didn't know at the time that frontman Dave Grohl formed the band (that's what being in The Navy will do to you; there are some things that you lose awareness of). The video for it was a spoof of those Mentos commercials that aired in the 90s.

35. Salvation by The Cranberries

34. Machinehead by Bush. Probably my favorite Bush song. I thought it was from the movie "Swimfan," but it actually came from "Fear." I knew it was from a movie, but it was that I didn't see.

33. Flood by Jars Of Clay

32. Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham. Add this song to Madonna's "Oh Father" in 1989, The Nixon's "Sister" from later in 1996, Avicii's "Hey Brother" from 2014 (has it really been ten years already?), and either the aforementioned "Children" or Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child Of Mine" and you pretty much have a family tree playlist. Don't know if songs from Sister Sledge ("We Are Family") or Sly & The Family Stone ("Family Affair") can be included, maybe if you're a boomer it could.

31. 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New) by Coolio. As I recall, the pop radio station in Richmond, VA (I lived in Newport News at the time) played the unedited version of the song. Apparently, the n-word was acceptable on the radio up there, and to that I say...

30. Counting Blue Cars by Dishwalla. The first song, or anything for that matter, that I remember of the portrayal of God as a female. 

29. You're Makin' Me High by Toni Braxton. Excuse me while I stare at the following picture for a bit...

28. Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) by Los Del Rio. I'm sorry if I triggered certain memories here. One of these days, I'm going to come up with a "Jukebox From Hell" and this song will be included in it.

27. The World I Know by Collective Soul. A favorite of mine from back then.

26. 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins. 1979 was a pretty decent year, what little I remember of it.

25. Champagne Supernova by Oasis. Loved loved loved this song. 

24. The Earth, The Sun, The Rain by Color Me Badd. I avoided CMB like the plague back in the 90s, kinda like I avoid Bruno Mars present-day.

23. Be My Lover by La Bouche. Another mind-numbing banger from the mid-90's, where it seemed like songs like this were a dime or dozen. By the way, the young woman that worked at the laundromat down the road from where I was staying in Newport News sort of resembled lead singer (now deceased) Melanie Thornton.

22. Closer To Free by The Bodeans. True story, just before I left the Navy, I was invited to see a concert featuring the Bodeans by a red-head. I didn't take her up on the offer though because she happened to be MARRIED to a guy on the ship I was stationed aboard that had left for the Mediterranean (I stayed behind because my EOS date was like a month afterwards.

21. Fastlove by George Michael. I had to look up exactly when Michael had that controversial bathroom encounter that kind of derailed his career. It was 1998, I thought it was sooner.

20. Sweet Dreams by La Bouche

19. Sittin' Up In My Room by Brandy. Fun fact: I never watched an episode of "Moesha."

18. Name by Goo Goo Dolls. This song brings up another thing about 90s music that I didn't like; songs stayed in the top 20 for a long, long, long time. This particular song was on its 44th(!) week on the airplay chart. Of course nowadays, some songs have lasted an entire year in the Hot 100 (I think "Levatating" by Dua Lipa comes to mind).

17. Everything Falls Apart by Dog's Eye View. The beginning of this song really spoke about how my outlook on life was back in 1996; "Don't look now, things just got worse..." You know Einstein's Theory of Relativity? Well, I joked that I had Tyn-stein's Theory of Negativity. Too bad I was an angry cynical young punk back then. Maybe if I had a lot more gratitude back then, my life may have played out different...or not. But definitely one of the two.

16. You're The One by SWV. Actually, she wasn't the one after all.

15. Who Will Save Your Soul by Jewel. She was rather cute when she first started out, her and her snaggle tooth.

14. Insensitive by Jann Arden. I know of a few persons that are in fact insensitive, couple of them have red hair, too.

13. Tha Crossroads by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. This was actually the number one song on the Hot 100 for this particular week, a wonderful tribute to the late Easy E.

12. Theme From "Mission: Impossible" by Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen. Otherwise known as the OTHER two members of U2 (besides Bono and Edge). I saw this movie while it was out in the theater, and I believe it is the ONLY Tom Cruise flick I've seen on the big screen. I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan.

11. Follow You Down by The Gin Blossoms. No comment.

10. Wonder by Natalie Merchant. When you talk about the ladies of 90s music, Natalie is just, kinda there. Sure, she was solid at what she did, but there was no real hype about her, I think she was more geared to VH-1 than MTV whereas Mariah, Alanis, Janet and Madonna got most of the run on that network.

  9. Old Man & Me by Hootie & The Blowfish. Debut single off their follow up album to Cracked Rearview, Fairweather Johnson. You know, come to think of it, this was around the era of those Big Johnson T-shirts that some guys used to wear, and if you combine it with the term "fairweather friend," and...

Shut up, Bonyscribe.

  8. You Learn by Alanis Morissette. After all this time, I finally figured out how to correctly spell Alanis's last name. I guess I did learn after all!

  7. Missing by Everything But The Girl. The name of the band fits my life to a T so far. I'm still hoping to change that part.

  6. Nobody Knows by Tony Rich Project. One of several one-hit wonders that permeated the decade of the 90s.

  5. Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman. This song sort of threw me off for the longest time. It started out like a lazy river but finished like a fast car (pardon the pun), and I have always had difficulty whenever I heard this song in pinpointing where the pace of the song subtly changed.

  4. Ironic by Alanis Morissette. None of the scenarios in this song are actually ironic. That's something you can't do on television, let alone songwriting (see what I did there?). 

  3. Killing Me Softly by The Fugees. The video to this song exploits one of my biggest pet peeves; talking aloud in a movie theater. That and making a mess of the theater. Don't they have any consideration for the poor teenager who has to clean up thier mess. Wait a minute, what if said teenager was a classmate of the group in the movie theater and they just wanted to prank that person? Doesn't make it right but still...

  2. Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey

and the number one (most played) song this week according to Billboard Magazine this week in 1996 was...

  1. Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion. From the movie "Up Close and Personal" with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford.

So that puts a wrap to this week's flashback. On Saturday, the LOLCats Panthers will try to put a wrap to the 2023-24 NHL season. Now to dodge some raindrops for the rest of the weekend. Stay safe, everyone.

Bonyscribe