Christmas In July? Why Not Festivus In June?

 Good morning, everyone. You know, we are now exactly six months away from Christmas, and about the same amount of time away from Festivus. With that being said, here are some airings of grievances that I have halfway through 2026, and I have plenty of them. 

I'll start off with something disturbing in my estimation that I see whenever I'm playing one of those room escape games online, it's an advertisement for TENA, which I guess is a men's health product used to help prevent unwanted urinary leakage. The issue I have is that for the ad, they have some 60-something year old dude (probably AI; I'll have a rant about THAT later) in nothing but his tidy whities talking about said product with a rather suggestive shot of a small fountain at the end. Dude, I DON'T NEED TO SEE THAT SH*T, and quite frankly, neither do most men. I know it's Pride Month and all, but the visual for that ad is too much for my liking. Now if it was THIS person doing the sales pitch...

Let's move on to what I've been seeing on television. Most notably FOX 13 in Tampa since that's the only local station my sisters watch. Primary elections are coming up, and one the few political ads I see is for Kevin Steele, who is NOT getting my vote. He checks all the marks for the prototypical gullible FOX viewer, Republican, Trump endorsed, DeSantis supporter. Yuck. And it's OF COURSE it's on Fox. Gosh almighty I hate that network. My gripe is where are the ads for David Jolly (who's running for FL governor) or Charlie Crist (mayor of St. Petersburg)? Does the Florida Democratic Party even aware that television media still exists? Do they even have a budget for TV ads after having their asses handed to them in the last forty-leven election cycles (our last Democratic governor was Buddy McKay, who finished the term of the late Lawton Chiles in 1999)? Or does Fox 13 have their ad rates so high that the Dems a) figure it isn't worth the cost or b) they can't, but you can bet dollars to donuts that Fox will put an ad for Morgan & Morgan or any other ambulance-chasing grifter in the Tampa area.

Speaking of Morgan & Morgan, the grand poobah of ambulance chasers has revealed the name of his "new" political party; the Common Ground Party. Uhhh...okay. Way to use your imagination there, John. From the home office in Rennert, North Carolina, top five rejected names for John Morgan's political party.

1. 5. The Ambulance Chaser Party.
2. 4. The "I want to steal your baseball team and move it to Orlando" Party.
3. 3. The Bourbon Drinking Coalition.
4. 2. The Exotic Dancer Caucus (and their PAC, Porno for Paralegals)

...and the number one rejected name for John Morgan's political party...

1. 1. Grifters R Us.
2. 
   
   
   
   

sorry, Dave.

While I'm covering late night hosts and their gimmicks, another popular one is Jimmy Kimmel's Unnecessary Censorship routine, where his producers will randomly insert a bleep over an otherwise innocuous word. Well, seems like social media lately from Facebook to TikTok have been practicing it to a fault, where even the name of a movie was censored. In a CBS Sports post on Facebook late Thursday night during the Turkey-USA World Cup match, the words "Fight Club" was blurred out. Why? I know that rule no. 1 of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club, but that was ridiculous. What's next? An announcement that I'll have a d*te at O**** G****** (which never happened by the way...thanks for nothing Samantha)? That I'm planning on taking a tr*p to ***th Car*****? You get the idea. Censorship is running amok and I don't like it.

Another gripe I kinda have is the decision of Florida to lift the ban on fireworks for the Fourth of July. Now from what I understand, there are currently burn bans in the greater Tampa Bay region, which means that personal fireworks are indeed technically prohibited. Now how much do you want to bet that some of the counties in greater Tampa Bay (like Hernando) will conveniently lift the burn ban in time for the fourth, because FREEDOM!!! and TRUMP!!! and 250!!! and STUFF!!!! That's the mentality of the copious amount of MAGA lunkheads that live here. If you've ever had the misfortune of hearing any advertisement on the radio for Pyro Junkie in the Tampa Bay area, you know what I'm talking about.

In a related note, known N*zi sympathizer Kanye West had not one but TWO sold out shows not at Benchmark International Arena, but Raymond James Stadium. Why? Because Tampa, I guess. What's really interesting in that whole thing is the concerts were pushed to be cancelled, but the person pushing for them was the least favorable person imaginable; Senator Rick Scott. This is like that scene from "Ace Ventura 2" where Jim Carrey has spears on each thigh and is shouting to heaven above.

That's right, the present-day incarnation of Voldemort tried to get Ye cancelled...but failed.

It didn't help Scott's cause that the Tampa Sports Authority had its hands tied, if they cancelled the shows, then Kanye's promoter would have litigated, and God knows the Tampa Sports Authority loses money because they are pushing for further renovations to Raymond James Stadium, ahead of the proposed ballpark that the Rays have been trying to get built across the street at Hillsborough Community College. Remember when Trump in his first debacle of an administration shoved the leader of Montenegro out of the way for a photo op at a NATO meeting? It's kind of like that. 

That said, the TSA is playing with fire because from what I understand the Raleigh-Durham area would love an MLB team and the Rays' triple-A affiliate is the Durham Bulls, and who knows, if the Rays bolt for the Research Triangle, I may soon follow...

Speaking of Trump, he's the subject of my next grievance. Dude insists that the colossal mess that is the Reflecting Pool on the Washington Mall was created by far-left activists with a cutting knife. So dear leader decides on a whim that he wants to paint the reflecting pool American flag blue with the 250th birthday happening this upcoming week, oversaw by some dude that looks like a TEMU Bond villain from central casting, then has his motorcade DRIVE over the sealant once it's applied to the drained pool, and is now blaming ANTIFA for vandalizing the pool once he realized he done screwed up. A better explanation (which is rather long) can be found on Facebook here. Yeah, I don't think "antifa" really vandalized the pool, much like that date I never had...

I swear he takes zero accountability for things when they don't go his way, and when they don't, he'll bitch and moan until the objects of his rage capitulates. Oh, and we're still at war with a nation we've supposed to have defeated (allegedly) several times over the past month. 

Same, Conan. Same.

My final rant will be what I alluded to earlier in this post, and that's the wonton use of AI that has infiltrated social media. Now I know that AI can be used for good, like if you need to know an answer to a question and you don't feel the need to google it, but some of AI I've seen has been used to created deep-fakes, cheesy advertisements, and bad comedy. One dear follower of mine on the site Muskrat has all but destroyed uses AI to enhance that person's photos; I know what you look like and that's not it. You already know about that TENA ad I mentioned in the beginning, there's other ads for various games on your phone that uses AI, including an arrow removal game that's called "Arrows Out," though recently they've started calling themselves "Point Out," which is an entirely different rant I could go on, but this entry is already long in the tooth as it is.

A final word before I go. I know that June is also Men's Mental Health Month, and my mental health hasn't really been all that great as of late. It took me three whole days just to type this blog post, and I haven't done any flashbacks since May 10. The fact that I had a bit of a breakup may have something to do with it, but was it really a breakup when the rocket never lifted off the launch pad, so to speak? In any event, I'll see my therapist on Thursday and tell her about it.

I really liked that woman, too...oh well. 

Enjoy America 250 y'all. For now I'm off the celebrate my sister's birthday.

Bonyscribe

Universe, What Did I Do?

 Good morning. This last week has been rather odd. I was gearing up for a massive day last Friday where I got to see a few old friends as well as my girl. And it was going swimmingly until Friday evening when I went to see my girl. Turns out her soon to be ex-husband showed up. Unbeknownst to me.

Since that time, a package I ordered online for her has been inexplicably delayed by USPS (gee, I wonder why?), a threshold on a money-making app I use has been met, but not credited, and the same thing that I was worried about this time last year has reared its ugly head again.

Tell me, universe, what did I do to deserve this???

Oh well, at least the Rays beat the Yankees last night...

Bonyscribe

Random Thoughts On President's Day

 Hello everyone, except you Pam Bondi. Nothing else better to do this President's Day but to give you some random thoughts I have had over the past couple of weeks.

Happy President's Day, this is a better dance than Trump's.

Watched some, but not all of the Daytona 500 yesterday, and I have to say NASCAR has become a joke, or at least a shell of its former self. Tyler Reddick won, which gave owner Michael Jordan a Daytona victory on top of his victory in court late last year. It was the typical restrictor plate race from what I saw; pack racing followed by a stupid wreck, followed by more pack racing, followed by "the Big One," followed by more pack racing, followed by several wrecks on the last lap. Just ridiculous. When does Formula 1 start?

Nancy Guthrie has now been missing for two weeks, and I hate to say it, but I don't think she'll be found alive when that case in Tucson, AZ finally concludes.

I had the best Valentine's Day EVER this weekend. Didn't do a whole much, just got to spend time with my boo at work, and that's all that really matters. 

I have only watched a couple of hockey games in these Olympic Games, both US victories. Haven't gotten too much into these games but I do admire members of the US team speaking out on what's going on here, which hasn't been ideal to say to the least.

Along those lines, I don't get why so many people (mainly on the far-right) had with Bad Bunny's halftime show. If people had a problem with the language being spoken in it, why then...

• Did you sing along to La Bamba in 1987?
• Did you dance the Macarena in 1996?
• Did you shake your hips to any song Shakira did over the last 25 years?
• Speaking of whom, just six years ago she was in The Super Bowl Halftime that also featured Bad Bunny...
• Do you seemingly enjoy Pitbull?

Not to mention, the alternative halftime show, which should have been sponsored by Dollar General and Steak N Shake, was woefully performed by a bunch of second-rate country artists and Kid (c)Rock, who despite his claims on Faux News, lip-synched horribly his performance of "Bawitdaba."

On a brighter note, it finally rained here in west central Florida.

In what some would still consider a "cancel culture," I think it's time to cancel the Slam-Dunk contest during NBA All-Star Weekend. I think it peaked about ten years ago when Aaron Gordon dunked over Stuff the Magic Dragon, a performance that, no thanks to Dwayne Wade, got him second (he should have won). But this year's contest featured a scary moment involving Jace Richardson of the Magic. 

Speaking of which, remember the Tik Tok trend early last year that featured audio of that Saturday Night Live skit involving The Maharelle Sisters in their spoof of "The Lawrence Welk Show?" For those that don't recall, it featured concert footage of three singers of well repute, followed by Katy Perry's awkward dancing being performed over the "AND I'M DONEEEESE" part. Well, someone ought to show clips of Dwight Howard, Aaron Gordon, and Max McClung doing their dunk contest performances, followed by that fall Jace Richardson had.

Well, I guess I should do some doom scrolling this remainder of President's Day. I'm not watching the news or Olympics; in fact, my TV is on Music Choice to ensure that I have as peaceful as an afternoon as possible. Until then, have a good one.

BonyScribe

A Bony Scribe Christmas Wish

 Good morning, everyone. It's hard to believe that we are already less than a week away from Christmas, which means we are less than two weeks away from 2026 and less than three weeks away from my colonoscopy. Isn't it fun getting older? Heck, may as well write up a small review of 2025 while I'm at it.

2025 personally was filled with plenty of highs, a few lows, and some personal growth at the end. All in all, it was a pretty good year for the Scribe, even if the end didn't quite live up to what I had hoped for. However, I didn't let what may or may not have occurred upset me like in years, heck, even months past. That's a terrific attribute I hope to take with me into the new year. As usual, I won't have anybody to kiss in the New Year with (I think), which is a shame since there is some mistletoe hanging in the boundary between the kitchen and dining room. But hey, the year isn't over just yet, and stranger things have happened.

I haven't really gotten into the Holiday Spirit much this year. That isn't to say I haven't felt it at all, because I have as evidenced by this tree: 

But there have been several things that have contributed to the lack of spirit this season. The Bucs are playing like total crap, and so are the Lightning. Over the past week, headline news has been anything but inspiring, including two noteworthy deaths yesterday in North Carolina alone. Moreover, the general mood surrounding what's been happening in the US has been awful. To be honest, I don't think I've ever felt as low about our nation as I do right now, and as Forrest Gump would say "that's all I've got to say about that."

However, there is hope for the upcoming year, most notably come November when the midterms happen. Plus, the Chiefs are not going to the playoffs this year, so there's that. It would be great if the entire Trump administration were removed by ANY LEGAL MEANS NECESSARY, so that we don't have to worry about the future of our nation. I'm not looking forward to the Olympic Games or the World Cup this summer, because you know Fox will ramp up the propaganda machine for it, and I for one, won't be in the mood. When certain entities use a sporting event to push forth a political ideology, I have to draw the line.

Perhaps I've become jaded with the prospects of the future. I don't see myself becoming a stepfather anytime soon, if ever. I'm also coming to grips with the fact that next year I will have lived as many years in the 21st century as the 20th century. I know I'm appreciated, and that matters more than anything, I guess. Heck, I consider myself a good luck charm at times. Hopefully that continues into 2026.

So, I guess for my Christmas wish for 2025 and the New Year is to maintain my peace throughout the year and beyond. Just hope and pray that things don't get topsy-turvy because I know everything can change in a New York minute. 

So, from me to you, have a merry and blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year, and I'll see you in 2026.

Thank you for reading this blog,

Bony Scribe

Ugggghhhh...Monday Night Thoughts

 Good morning, I guess. It's 1:07am right now as I'm typing this, and I have plenty of Coke Zero Sugar in my system, so I may as well get some writing done, and humor you with some random thoughts.

The "No Kings" march was a resounding success nationwide. Seven million participants and only two arrests that we are aware of. Pretty good for the so-called "violent left." No, they're not violent President Trump, they (like me) just don't like your ass. 

Speaking of Trump, you know that "peace deal" he brokered between Gaza and Israel? The media led you to believe it was the single greatest accomplishment in either of his two terms as president. Well, so much for that. But hey, at least if he isn't allegedly tearing up our republic, he is tearing up the White House. 😬 

Getty Images

Tonight felt off for some reason. The Bucs crapped the bed against the Lions. I mean, it was kinda expected since the Lions got jobbed last Sunday night at Kansas City (they had to please Taylor Swift I guess) and were pretty pissed online, but I thought the Bucs would have a little better effort. Oh, and to add injury to insult, Mike Evans broke his collarbone and may be done for the season. I think me breaking out the Doug Martin jersey had something to do with it. RIP Muscle Hamster.

Remember back in March when I said the Dodgers would cake walk through MLB and win the World Series? Well, they're four wins away from successfully repeating, much to the chagrin of everyone not rooting for them. Their opponent? The Toronto Blue Jays. A surprise from the American League in what has been a season full of surprises. Heck, look what I wrote for my picks this year:

AL East: Orioles
AL Central: Guardians
AL West: Rangers
WC 1: Yankees
WC 2: Astros
WC 3: Royals
Pennant: Rangers

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cubs*
NL West: Dodgers

WC 1: Phillies*
WC 2: Barves
WC 3: Padres

Pennant: Dodgers

Outside of the Yankees and Guardians, I completely whiffed on the American League, and the Guardians only won the division thanks to an unbelievable comeback (and a generational collapse by the Tigers). In the National League, I got the Dodgers and Padres sort of right since they captured a Wild Card spot. The Phillies won the division, and the Cubs won a wild card spot. I thought the Rays would finish 83-79; they wound up below .500. Oh well...

Anyway, back to the Blue Jays, congratulations to them and their fans (except one who can't keep to its own business on social media). And to Don Mattingly, who finally gets to go to a World Series after forty-two years in baseball...

CBS Sports on Facebook

One thing that I dislike about my life is that I can't go out at nighttime. Seriously, because my sisters will have major anxiety if I do and that they're elderly. The three of us have to stick together because that's all that's left in our family. And we're surviving so far. 

Speaking of which, the mother of my daughter followed me on TikTok. I don't post much on there; I just repost mainly underreported news and sometimes humorous cat videos. But interesting that she's following me all of a sudden. 

80s music hits different when you haven't heard it in a while, and especially after you've heard snippets of the 6, 7 songs that are popular these days. See what I did there?

Call me cynical, but I don't have a bunch of high hopes for the Lightning this year. Vasilevskiy just isn't the same netminder that he was five or six years ago, and the defensive core is suspect and aging. I think the time for a franchise rebuild may be sooner than all of us thought.

You know, flipping the bird at the numerous commercials for Morgan & Morgan as well as the number of Trump stories I have to hear on Fox 13 gets exhausting after a while, but that's my protest. Which begs the question: Why didn't I go to the No Kings March? Well, I saw on Facebook that there was a decent turnout in Brooksville, but as for Spring Hill I can only guesstimate what it was like here. In fact, here's what I thought it looked like:

Seriously, with as many Trump bootlickers that live around where I do, I wouldn't be surprised if the "No Kings" march in Spring Hill was actually a counterprotest in support of MAGA. Yuck.

I have to go get some sleep. I have a VA Appointment tomorrow then lunch with the sisters. I hope to have more later this week. Until then, have a good one.

Bonyscribe

Strange Frequencies

 Hello once again. I alluded to this briefly in the post I wrote last Tuesday, but it seems like there is something strange going on with life in general. For a hot second, I thought things were slowly getting back to normal, but after last night I suddenly realized this wasn't the case. 

Last night, I was out on our lanai with my sisters, drinking a Twisted Tea. A nice rainstorm was wrapping up, when suddenly the younger of my sisters mentioned how things weren't quite normal and haven't been for a while. She's not the only one. A friend in Pasco County said the same thing. Another friend in Brevard County said it as well. So, something is amiss. I of course have felt it myself since the middle of March. Especially from a personal standpoint.

Things I have noticed lately associated with what's going on: longtime friendships being busted apart. Family friends now going through addiction issues. Wacky weather. And of course, war, destruction, tumult and upheaval. A few months ago on TikTok, some influencers over there were warning about a cosmic shift that was occurring with Pluto entering Aquarius. Now, you probably should take that news with a grain of salt, however things have indeed been lets' just say different over the past several weeks.

I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing.

Bonyscribe

Writer's Block? No, More Like Too Much S*** To Talk About

 Hello to everyone except president Squealon Muskrat. I haven't posted on here in almost a month, and for good reason. I really haven't felt like doing so, in part because watching the news, especially this past month, has been exhausting. Much like it was from 2017-2019; a different crisis every week that made following current events seem like you were watching a terrible SNL skit. By the way, congrats to SNL for somehow making it to 50 years.

Anyway, there's been so much crap that's been spewed out by the current "administration" that finding a starting point to write about it has been next to impossible. So, as Cody Rhodes would say, "what do we want to talk about?" Well, we could start with what went down in Boston last night.

Yeah, it's sports-related, but given the events of this past month, quite politically charged. I'm not going to get into why the Four Nations mid-season hockey tournament was so charged, because you've probably heard about it by now. However, the presentation of the start of last night's championship game (at least from an ESPN perspective) was kind of extra, with the airing of the portrayal of the movie "Miracle" Herb Brooks's pregame speech from the 1980 Olympic gold medal game. Before the game, the anthems seemed a little different. Canada's anthem was just a singer singing without backing music (complete with a veiled shot at DJT to boot), while the "Star Spangled Banner" was accompanied by the Boston Pops Orchestra. The Freaking Boston Pops. Question: was the NHL hoping that a certain individual was watching? For what it's worth, he wasn't; he was talking to his lemmings at CPAC, while the "president" was wielding a chainsaw like a fucking maniac. But that's another story to be told by other people with other blogs.

 Anyway, Canada prevailed by the score of 3-2 in overtime as Connor McDavid found himself open in the slot and beat Connor Hellyebuck, igniting a wild celebration across our northern border, complete with Kraft Dinner and Tim Horton's. Canada PM Justin Trudeau took to the social platform ruined by president Muskrat to say this:

No word had come into the Bony Scribe news center as of this evening as to whether or not our supposed commander-in-chief will call for bombing raids over Nunavut as a result. Probably not, but given how unhinged he is, you never know. Possibly he'll impose a further tariff, because that's all Trump is seemingly good at. 

On a personal note, Valentine's Day went about as much as expected: rotten. My plans for the day (which was a day late) became a week late because of family reasons. I don't understand why my family seems to be so good at self-sabotage, but at least I'll get another chance tomorrow, and I'll do so with possibly a smirk on my face. No, I'm not saying why that is.

I've also started watching "Stranger Things." Yeah, I'm way late to the party, but the first couple of episodes have been somewhat interesting. Have I gotten into it like I did "Manifest?" Not yet. That's not to say that I won't become a fan of it. There are other programs on Netflix that I'll have to check out, like "Squid Game" and "Outer Banks." But I may have to resubscribe to Peacock because apparently there's still two years left on their PLE deal. Dangit.

Time to wrap this up for now, Smackdown is about to come on. I should have more later by the end of this weekend, that is if I feel up to it. Until then, have a good one.

BonyScribe

Tampa, I Missed You, But I Want To Talk About My Future...

Hello everyone. Monday, I took a trip to Tampa for the first time in nearly three years. The last I had gone down there was to attend a Lightning playoff game in 2022 against the Florida Panthers. Man, what a depressing day it was; the sky was wintry, and the temperatures didn't rise very much during the day. At least it didn't rain though. I was surprised to see 1) how much Tampa proper had grown in three short years, and 2) the Bucs flag at the Advent Health Training Facility (since my sisters passed it en route to my appointment) wasn't flying at half-mast since their season came crashing to an end the night before. But there were some things I definitely didn't miss about being in Tampa. One, the absolute wasteland that is the radio market there, they ALL suck, hence why I exclusively listen to Spotify nowadays. Two, the traffic. I swear it was like qualifying for the Daytona 500 out there, including the Suncoast Expressway. Carmel was holding on to the steering wheel as tight as she could on the way down to Tampa and on the way back. I think she finally relaxed when she pulled into our subdivision. 

On the way back, I thought about what dreams and aspirations I have for the future. Thinking about it kind of makes me a bit depressed because I know that my late sister totally screwed me over after my stroke. Not only did she screw me, but she screwed my sister Gwen as well and probably would have done the same to Carmel. That said, maybe it's been a blessing to have been single for so long... but I digress. With me hoping to land myself in a relationship in the future, I'm pondering what I should do for the future, aka the rest of my living years. Sure, I'd like to continue writing this blog, but I know in the end it isn't going to put food on the table or take care of the ones I love going forward. Not enough people read this blog, it's just the way it is. 

I could be a content creator, but what exactly would I do since virtually every subject I can think of already has four or five content creators as it is; I would just be a face in an already large crowd. Maybe I could continue to do what I have been doing for a couple of years with my semi-regular flashback feature. I could expand on that potentially, to include news headlines and sports of a particular week. It's something I'll have to have discussions with my current family and potential future family about. I know I'm smart enough. I will figure out something, and hopefully soon. 

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy what I am writing up to this point and thank you for your support.

BonyScribe

Total Eclipse Of The Scribe...

 Hello, hope you're all having a good week. A lot has happened so far this week, most notably the total solar eclipse that occurred on Monday. I missed the one in 2017; I was in the hospital because I had suffered my stroke just days beforehand. This one I had the privilege of sitting outside for, and I got a "picture" of the sun just as the moon passed over it:

I caught it off a reflection off my camera phone through the sunroof of the kitchen in my house. I wanted to try to get a better shot during the peak of the eclipse, which just shy of 60% here in the northern reaches of Tampa Bay, but my elder sister (who can be somewhat overprotective like my late oldest sister, just less annoying and petty) decided to hang out to smoke, so I couldn't really do that. But, I did notice the sky get a little darker, and the surroundings not as bright as they normally would on a clear spring day down here. And no, nothing monumental happened, like a rapture or the Apocolypse. I swear some people take things like an eclipse and overthink it, or what I called it in the Navy, "nuke it out." What's that? You mean "the rapture" will allegedly take place in a couple of weeks? Okay (makes cuckoo gesture).

I Like It When I'm Right...Sometimes.

Also on Monday, the college basketball national championship took place, and as I told you on this very blog a couple of weeks ago, Connecticut took it all, dominating every game they played in the tournament. They're the first to repeat since Florida in 2006-07 and have solidified themselves as one of college basketball's bluebloods. Now if only the ACC allowed them in several years ago. Speaking of the ACC, what a run by the NC State Wolfpack! They came up short against Purdue, but still, a magical run for what some college basketball fans as the third wheel in the three-team rivalry in the Raleigh-Durham area. Speaking of which, Duke appears to be the way too early favorite for next year, but don't be too surprised if UConn pulls off the threepeat, which I believe has only been done by UCLA.

Pro Wrestling Is Back!

For those of us who love the "sport" known as professional wrestling (like me), that particular term is back in the WWE. In the past generation, such a term was taboo in the powers that be (Vince McMahon) of the WWE, but since he's gone (and there's more beer for us) the term "Sports entertainment" has been put on indefinite hiatus, and "professional wrestling" is back. And did it come back with flair (WHOOOOOOO)! WrestleMania 40 this past weekend from Philadelphia was arguably the best WM of all time, carried by an outstanding program on Sunday. Cody Rhodes finished the story, ending Roman Reigns' 1,316-day reign as WWE Undisputed Champion. It was an emotional victory, heck I even cried after he won; Dusty Rhodes (his late father) was my favorite wrestler as a kid. In fact, the last two times I shed tears was over wrestling; Sting's final match a month ago being the other. You could hear the emotion in ring announcer Samantha Irvin's (who by the way, shot to superstardom) voice. All the babyfaces celebrated in the ring. It was quite the moment. 

The same cannot be said about the company he helped found, All Elite Wrestling. Last night on their weekly Dynamite program, footage aired of an incident involving former talents CM Punk (who was promptly scooped up by WWE after his ouster) and Jack Perry (who's working in New Japan Pro Wrestling) at 2023's All In event at Wembley Stadium in London, in which the latter goaded the former into a brawl. Punk on a podcast had some not-so-flattering things to say about his former employer, or his boss, Tony Khan. Turns out, Punk was speaking the truth, and in doing so, made Khan look like an idiot. There's one GIF that encapsulates the decision by Khan to air the footage, if you know, you know:

Tuesday Was A Good Day

Tuesday was my first day out since the disaster of last month, and it went well. I only drank water, but did have one shot of Fireball, and it didn't taste well. So, I promptly abandoned that idea, even though I made a toast to myself saying, "here's to someone else's bad decision with one of my own." I think you may know who I'm referring to there. I won't get into what was discussed, but I left 1) sober and 2) feeling much better about things. Afterwards, I went to Cracker Barrel to have lunch, and on the way there, I noticed a siren coming down US 19. However, it wasn't an ambulance, police, or sheriff's deputy. It was a truck for the US Forestry Service. I've never known Forest Trucks to carry sirens on them, but I guess they're allowed to, even though there wasn't a forest fire in the area; it was a hauler carrying two trucks. I have no clue as to why they were travelling on US 19 either, as Ocala National Forest is nowhere near that road, unless it was coming from the Panhandle (Apalachicola Forest). Rather curious to me. Anyway, I had a nice dinner a Cracker Barrel and an even nicer rest afterwards. Now, I'm back to burning the midnight oil again. I guess I'll never learn.

Coming Up

Tomorrow, I should have my flashback feature for y'all, even though I haven't rolled my D20 die to determine which year I will choose. This weekend is also The Masters golf tournament (yawn), and at the beginning of next week, my one sister turns (gasp) 70. Plenty to look forward to this weekend and beyond. So, until tomorrow, I hope, take care.

Bony Scribe 

Not Doing That Again...

 Good morning. Monday, I tried to get back what I tried to set out to do a month ago in properly celebrating my 50th birthday, which was ruined by one grifter robbing me and a bartender acting all stuck up like I didn't even exist even though I've done much for her. Oh, and her worthless (now) husband being a total tool. So, I went to another establishment in the area to drown my sorrows, but wound up getting virtually punched in the stomach, then literally sick. The woman I was talking to wound up being the unintended recipient of a nice gift I got the aforementioned tender for Christmas this past year (after showing her what I got for her and explaining to her why I was drowning my sorrows). So, I guess I was chopped liver to her (tender) after all. But then after about two hours of drinking, I felt ill...REALLY ill. 

Call it Montezuma's revenge, or call it me being dumb, but I wound up hurling my sorrows into the toilet. I was so sick, that the manager of the establishment wound up calling an ambulance. I wound up getting admitted to Trinity HCA Hospital to be treated for dehydration (and thankfully not alcohol poisoning). After about four-five hours, I was released and able to go home. 

That ordeal alone was a wake-up call to me. I wound up out $90 for an ER visit (thankfully I have Aetna), and I really didn't get anything accomplished, other than almost hitting rock-bottom. Suffice to say I think after Monday, my drinking days are done and over with. I'm 50 years old for crying out loud, and I know I don't have much time left on this planet, why should I waste it on getting drunk and not able to enjoy life? Maybe it's the fact that I didn't start until I was 38, and I may have been making up for lost time, which seems to be a recurring theme for me. But this took nearly three days to fully recover from, and that's something I really can't afford to have happen going forward.

So, as of March 12, 2024, my drinking dyas are done and over with. So long, Fireball.

BonyScribe

Dammit Man

 Hello, everyone. Except for you, Eric, you POS. Suffice to say this month has not been a great month for me personally. What I thought was going to be the biggest month of my entire life was anything but. First I was heartbroken. Then I was kinda robbed. Then I didn't receive any explanation for my my heart was broken. Add that to the numerous times I received the blue screen of death on my two-month-old computer, and you can pretty much say that the first month of my fifties was an utter travesty.

I think my romantic aspirations, or lack thereof, is paramount among my frustrations, but my computer has to be a close second. The only applications I added to my computer were Google Earth and Spotify, and Google Earth I uninstalled within a week because I thought that was what was crashing my computer so much. Maybe it was Spotify instead. I can't really tell because every time I turn the computer on, I get a blue screen telling me to press F1 for recovery environment, etc., and when the computer does load properly, within a minute I get the Blue screen of Death saying "critical process died."

I have gone to youtube to help diagnose the issue, but I get the same lame-ass result. I don't want to take it to Best Buy and have it looked at (I got it from WalMart for cheap online), but maybe I have too. Man, between that and the other thing, what a sucky month. Hopefully March will be better.

BonyScribe

Have We All Gone Crazy?

 Good morning. While awaiting my computer to boot up this morning (which I'll probably have to do again later today; that's another story for another time), I was thinking about a brief conversation I had with my sister Carmel on Monday night. She was having a conversation with someone younger while she was still living in North Carolina, and she was asking the younger woman if she believed in dating and such, and the younger woman said that they didn't really believe in that. According to her, it was pretty much a hook-up culture. Now I really can't relate to what she was talking about, because I haven't been on a date in almost eight years and have been vastly unsuccessful in procuring any type of relationship for longer than that. But it got me to thinking, especially after the latest circumstance with the one I had been pursuing for the last year-plus; have we all gone insane?

It already takes an act of Congress for me to go out on my own to begin with, thanks to overbearing siblings, so I don't go out much to begin with. Plus, it seems like I fall for someone, something unbelievable and fluky happens to screw the whole situation up, like I would lose contact with somebody, or they just move away for unknown reasons. One thing I can't understand though, is why one mere month after starting a relationship with someone, they're already married? Excuse me?? Like you just got out of a year-long relationship with someone and now you're married to someone else??? Have you gone crazy?

 

Better yet, have we ALL gone crazy? Just look at some of our celebrities and our society as a whole since the turn of the millennium. People don't interact in person like they used to. Most of our shopping is done online instead of in person. There aren't many standing bookstores left. Record stores are all but non-existent. Even some grocery stores are going the way of the dodo bird. Yeah, COVID played a part, but this has been going on for about a decade now. Worse yet, people are falling more and more for propaganda and false news from all ends of the spectrum. Oh, and don't get me started on religion; my sisters are somewhat religious whereas I would rather have freedom FROM religion. And every other commercial on television nowadays is for some pharmaceutical product. 

I used to think that the "mental health crisis" in America was just a phrase. Maybe sadly, it might be our reality.

And yes, I had to reboot my computer twice just to complete this.

BonyScribe

The Trouble With Depression.

 Greetings once again. Man, depression sucks. Bet you knew that already, but it truly does. Overthinking, worrying, anxiety, all the neuroses associated with it come creeping out of the woodwork when you least expect it. Thyen there are times that the depression sets in so deep that you don't want to do the things that you love (like me writing this blog), and your comfort zone shrivels up to the size of a pinhead. 

The other day, I kinda went out of my comfort zone for someone special (you probably know who if you've followed this blog for a while) and got her something really nice as a late Christmas/early Valentine's Day gift. She was in love with it. But when communication stalled over the weekend, I got worried (as most depressed people do I suppose) and asked what was wrong. She told me she was depressed as well. 

That's the thing with being depressed or having to go through some sort of emotional trauma; it really makes things more difficult to move forward with many things, even something as simple as maintaining focus and communication. But one thing is certain though, I still love that woman, and hopefully the two of us can get through our depression together.

I love you, babe.

BonyScribe

Some Things I'm Thankful For, Some Things I'm Not, Plus Other Stuff...

 Hello again, everyone. With the Thanksgiving holiday now behind us, it's always a good time to celebrate what we're thankful for. In my case, there are many things, like having two loving sisters, living where it doesn't get too cold, still having working fingers to type this with, as well as having someone special in my life (love you, Sammy). That reminds me, I have to figure out what I'm getting her for Christmas... 

Other things I'm thankful for include McDonald's fries, Jardiance, Prozac, NFL RedZone, and I guess Fireball, although I limit that to once a month, and NEVER with medication. Oh, and CM Punk returning to WWE...more on that in a jiffy...

However, there are other things that I (and I imagine many others) aren't as thankful for. So, I thought I would write what I'm not thankful for in this entry.

One is Elon Musk, who turned my favorite social media application into more of a cesspool of hate and division than it was before he took over as boss. Free speech on that platform? Pfft. More like hate speech full of antisemitic trolls and election deniers. Oh, and photos on X (that's another thing he did, he killed the bird and destroyed Twitter!) now show him as a guest of Benjamin Netanyahu, who in my opinion, isn't helping the current situation in the Middle East right now: hell, he's probably making it worse. But that's an entirely different topic that I may or may not discuss in a future entry. I never thought that we'd be living amongst a real-life version of Lex Luthor, but here we are.

"It's still Twitter to me, dammit!"

Another thing I'm not very thankful for is the mainstream media. CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. All three are doing or have done their part in sowing the seeds of misinformation and sometimes downright propaganda here in the United States. It's ridiculous. CNN wants to watch the world burn it seems. MSNBC wants to push an extreme left-wing narrative, and Fox wants to push an extreme right-wing narrative. And you wonder why more young people get their news from frigging TikTok? What happened to "just the facts, ma'am (man)?" 

My distrust in the media began when I would listen to the local "news" station in Tampa (WFLA-AM). I quickly noticed that all their programming was decidedly right-leaning. Maybe I should have listened to NPR more often as I grew older. But when Sean Hannity is openly calling for voters to vote Republican, that's where I draw the line, because my philosophy was that news media should be unbiased and impartial. Oh, was I wrong (and probably naive). After 2016, I basically swore off terrestrial radio as result, and after now, I should swear off all news media.

Another thing, the fact that pretty much everything is a damned advertisement nowadays. You go watch a video on YouTube? You have to watch umpteen ads before you can watch, and during the video. Play a game on your phone? It's interrupted by an ad while you're playing the game, most likely for games that promise a huge payout but don't really do squat. Twixxer and Facebook? Ads intertwined between posts. Seriously, could we give it a rest? I'm now seeing those annoying car insurance ads on my phone. What's next, an ad for Rinvoc (CHECK!) or Skrizi (and that stupid jingle)?

Okay, enough ranting, let's talk about things I saw or observed over the weekend. First off, hell froze over. Honestly, I didn't really see it coming, but I kinda did because of where Survivor Series took place (Rosemont, IL). And man, some of the talent was not happy about it. In fact, I don't have footage obviously, but here is what I imagine Seth Rollins' reaction to the return of CM Punk was like. 

Can't wait for Raw tonight from Nashville, 8ET on USA Network.

Oh, and how about the insane ending to the Iron Bowl on Saturday night? I guess you could say that made up for the Kick Six from Chris Davis a decade earlier. But I thought for sure Alabama was going to fall short and create potential chaos in the CFB playoff. 

Then on Sunday, Jalen Hurts pulled a similar play to give Philadelphia the lead in their game against Buffalo, which he Eagles won it overtime. 

By the way, is it just me, or do the Eagles Kelly green helmets and uniforms look lighter than the ones they wore from the 70s to the mid 90s?

I mean, it just looks a lot lighter nowadays than in years past, but then again, maybe kelly green wasn't available as a helmet color option even a quarter of a century ago...

Well, I may as well wrap this entry up. I have some errands to go run for my sisters. I'll be back with more later this week. Until then take care and stay warm back home!

Bony Scribe

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