My Reason Why

Dandelions

2012-02-01T00:21:00.000-08:00

Nothing tastes good.
Nothing. And I don't know what it is I'm going to do. I wonder which mistake I will make next. There are so many to make. I reflect on my life, and I see the endless lines of mistakes. Mistakes that I never learned a thing about.
And here I am.
Over 50.
A failure.
Seriously.
People who are paying attention are worried. They know not how close the end is near. The truth of the matter? I do not know. I have never known.
The truth is not my friend. It humiliates me.
I used to think the truth was whatever forced itself out of my little mind and out my big mouth first. That I had a right to open my fucking trap and say whatever I wanted because I was free, man. What did I fucking know..... I didn't know anything. I was blind, and I lashed out because I couldn't face the truth.
I did. I lashed out. In a supremely passive aggressive way. I felt justified. And now I don't. I don't think I am justifed. I am not left or right.
So, what now?
20 years to go. I keep telling myself this. I don't know. I look into the future and I don't see anything. Least of all, myself. It does not mean I will not be there. I just can't see myself. I wonder sometimes how low I can sink. Where is the bottom? I don't think I am even close. I wonder if I will ever get the chance to find it?
Who am I? What do I matter?
The other day I pondered the meaning of humor, of jokes, of making a joke and laughing.
No matter what you do, or who you know, or what you say, there is someone who will deny it, deny you, not see it your way, not corroborate your point of view.
What happens when the person that denies you your own existence lives inside your own head? It's not worth it. Just shut up. No one cares.
So, God, big G, if you are up there, out there, wherever....just blow your divine wind through the dandelions, and send the seeds everywhere....
perhaps something good will grow in my place.

Amazon Listener/Customer Reviews

2012-01-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Best album of 1985, By Mike Roach (New Jersey) April 20, 2006
This review is from: 7 Wishes (Audio CD)I remember when I first heard "Sentimental Street" in 2001, I was immediatley hooked, and as soon as I got the chance, I special ordered "7 Wishes" from a local record shop. At first, the only two songs on the album I listened to were "Sentimental Street" and 'I Will Follow You". I slowly worked my way to the other songs on the album starting in December with "Goodbye", and then "Four in the Morning" in March, then after that, "Interstate Love Affair", "Night Machine", the title track in 2003, and then I listened to the songs I hadn't heard yet in 2004. This is one of my all time favorite albums. "Sentimental Street" is Night Ranger's best song ever (much better than the overplayed Sister Christian). "7 Wishes" is right up there with anything by Journey, Styx, Boston, REO Speedwagon, and any other arena rock legends. Pick this one up!

BOISE>>>>>>>>STATE>>>>>>>BOISE>>>>>>>STATE

2011-12-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

Bowl chances in the wind.

Early Draft Of A Leslie Feist Song

2011-11-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

Next draft was 1212.
She was close, but it wasn't right somehow.
And that is how you make a hit record.
In Canada.

Austic

2011-11-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

2011-10-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Left behind after his morning visit. He wouldn't need a sack, or his receipt, he said, because he wouldn't be returning these headphones like the dozens of headphones he had returned before.
He was smiling the entire time. He still smells like a hundred years of cigarettes crossed with BO, after living next to a tire fire.
I'm glad he's back.

Old & New

2011-10-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

Capitol Records impact sticker, circa 1971

Do Work, Son.

2011-10-12T23:18:00.000-07:00

You first, Dad.

Outta Order

2011-10-12T23:16:00.000-07:00

You're outta order, you're standing on the border

Casket Company Truck

2011-09-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

Found at the Flying J Travel Plaza, out on Federal Way. I couldn't hear anyone on the inside.Then, it drove away. And, so did I.

FAIR WARNING

2011-09-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

On the back of an Idaho Floor Supply truck, 11th and Idaho, Boise. Dan is the driver.

Trucks

2011-08-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

Fifties

Sixties

Seventies

Kubelwagen

Not the biggest gearhead in the world. I hate cars. But something inside me responds to the old iron.
But, someday, I hope to own a Schwimmwagen.

GO! BIG! BLUE!

2011-07-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Big Blue.

Yes, I think it is ridiculous. Yes I'm sure it's probably in Georgia right now. Yes I'm a fan of that Football team. They represent my town, and that is a real thing to me, believe it or not. Even though I am hypercritical of this state, I am sensitive to the jibes of outsiders, and feel compelled to rise to "our " state. Even though the owners of this monstrosity would probably not be that into my thing.

Celebrity Siblings

2011-07-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

Much like Kevin Spacey,
C3PO has an unacknowledged brother living in Boise.

Naw

2011-07-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

TEE

We Do Our Part

2011-07-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

baja

Old NRA slogan reworked for a new time, where we need a recovery, and aren't getting much. But at least we saved our bankers.
Thankfully.
What would we do without bankers?

America

2011-07-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

Look Up, America

America the Beautiful
Words by Katharine Lee Bates,
Melody by Samuel Ward

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

Waiting For Occupants

2011-06-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Pick Your King.

They all look so good, so inviting.
Find your opening. Ameliorate your decay.
Our 40 dollar insoles will save you.
There is always a technological solution.
Always.

The Buy That Never Was

2011-06-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

A healthy representation of Cage & Bruckenheimer, the detritus kings!

I spent most of the afternoon working on this used DVD/CD buy. 5 sacks.
It was hard to figure out why these people had chosen these particular movies, why some of them were unwrapped. Some were in the Costco longboxes, most were in pretty good condition. They were standard items, pretty mainstream, some good movies, some absololutely not good movies, some crap fare, a few classics (Gone With The Wind is the only one I remember.)
I graded them, put them into their piles, checked them against inventory, made a total trade amount, then adjusted for cash. I left the call up to the night shift, and Joe handled it.
Later on, I get a text from Joe telling me that she was unhappy, and didn't sell them. "Completely unacceptable! Most of these are not even unwrapped!"
I hope she headed up to the pawnshop to get offered even less. DVD movies are plummeting in value, thanks to:
A:Redbox, Netflix, and all of the emerging streaming options people have at their disposal.
B: The switch over to Blu-ray, which is a minor factor in my estimation.
C: How crappy most of these movies actually are.
In the long run, it doesn't matter much. The detritus of a dying culture is my stock in trade every day, and I have a front row seat.

That Ain't No Rag, It's A Flag

2011-06-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Culdesac of the Confederacy.

Look away, and you might see the South rise again. South Boise, that is.

Palin Tour: From Inside The Bus

2011-06-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Since the Wasilla Mama Bear is contractually bound to the Faux Noose Corporation, access to the White Flight Code Words Tour has been limited, but I was able to find a piquant image from the inner sanctum. Although our future leader is not in evidence, other key inspirations are very apparent in this obviously un-posed photograph.

Dialysis baby, Here I Come!

2011-05-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

The 96 oz Mug Of Value

It's as large as she is. The intestinal fortitude it must take to lug around something that is larger than your intestines. Mein Gott! The humanity!

What is Art?

2011-05-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

The 10th and Main signal box painted by Bobby Gaytan with the addition of an Agent Orange poster.

The nature of artistic endeavours is that it takes an agreement between parties (ie; the artist, the audience) and an unspoken deference to the artist not to F with the conception. Should the pasting of this poster be taken as a form of criticism, or thoughtlessness? Or self centeredness? It begs the question "what is art, anyway?"
Is it that poster that promotes commerce at a local bar, or the grant funded beautification of a utilitarian box on a street corner? I like the references to the street art in Bobby's work that refers to the graffitti art that the powers that be spend thousands to try and cover up elsewhere. I like the poster art as well, but I wish they hadn't placed it over another piece of artwork. So it remains to be seen how this battle will end. My guess is: it never will.

Rapture Tourism

2011-05-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hope the cloud finds you well.

Bronco Football

2011-05-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

Senior quarterback Kellen Moore in the offseason.

Something is telling me that Kellen isn't taking his off season training seriously enough. He looks fat. And bald. Celebrities sure seem different when you see them in real life. You tend to forget that they are members of your community, with lives and everything. I just know he needs to get on the stick. He does seem taller though.

I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass

2011-05-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

Will it make no sound? If no one is around?

Thank you Fred.

FUTURE DETRITUS

2011-05-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

Big stink in the MP parking lot. The best thing about this car is the NASCAR sticker on the back of the rear view mirror.

NEW BPD CRUISERS UNVEILED HERE

2011-05-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

Boise Police are making changes! By the end of this month, Boise citizens will start seeing officers respond in Dodge Chargers. But don't be confused, officers will continue to drive the older white and blue Ford Crown Victoria for the next 4 - 5 years as well as normal budget cycles include vehicle replacement.

Big Gubmint Oppresses Us Again

2011-05-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

We should have the RIGHT to throw our fishing line WHEREVER WE WANT!! The free market isn't interested in RECYCLING your MONOFILAMENT. If it was, they would have these receptacles on every tree along the river.
The FREE MARKET didn't clean up the river and build the Greenbelt along the river, it just moved the slaughterhouses who used to dump their effluent into the river somewhere else, where labor worked cheaper. And an activist government started cleaning things up and creating the greenbelt along the Boise River because developers were busy denuding farmland and filling them with clapboard monstrosities elsewhere. Like Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell. Really

The Old Oak Tree

2011-05-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

These are the people Brushton dubbed "Oak Trees", like they were trolls or something. At least that's the impression I get from them. They have imparted TMI to us on a grand scale. At least to Peg and I. "He likes to hit." Did not need to know that. They smell terrible, like diner grease, cigarettes, sweat, and shit. But we are part of their routine. They, like the NotebookHobo, get around. \His walker is a nice touch. Gives him someplace to sit. He used to sit on his walking cane, but I imagine he leaves that at home so it's handy when he wants to strike her.

The Pee-People's Grocery Getter

2011-05-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

Downtown Legends Pee-People's main mode of transportation. Loaded down with supplies. These people are nice enough. And ripe enough. Brushton dubbed them Peepeople. They think my name is Lee-Roy. And I let them. I'm just like that.

Coffee Urn Box Buy

2011-04-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

Carelessly stacked into a box for a giant coffee urn, this peculiar collection of CD'S from a peculiar person consisted of either: Clapton CD's or Classical CD's. But a lot of hard selling from their owner on what great cd's they were.
And Nora Jones (sic) on a burned cd. It took an enormous amount of time to process, because a lot of them were from ColumbiaHouse. And they were dusty. And they didn't have barcodes. There was a Doors greatest hits...the ubiquitous phony cd from the 60's to the '90's.
And, of course, the ChiliPeppers.

Sale Pricing I Can Believe In

2011-04-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Found by a customer in the racks. She was getting tunes for her IPaud. I don't know what I'm more stoked over: The fact that we have had this turd in the racks since 2005, or that it exists at all.

This Is Pop, Yeah Yeah

2011-04-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

I didn't even know they made these kind of fan things anymore. Love the giant lollipop. I'm swearing off periodicals, but I am sorely tempted by this, glossy pop ephemera, with some instense pore shots and full colour close ups. Did you know Katie plays guitar? Did you know there are many pop songbirds who have been performing for years, Lady GAGA, and Tori Amos? They are in here too, for whatever reason. (magazine rack, Meridian Winco)

The Teaser

2011-04-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

A gift from the LeonAllgire collection. At least I think it was a gift. He hasn't asked for money yet. I like the painted on bikini.

I wanted to like this

2011-04-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

It had everything. Interesting back story. Exotic name. LOTS OF EYELINER. But I couldn't. NPR stuff. Kind of World-y Cafe, although I have her music player going on in the background, and it sounds ok, so maybe I was just in a bad mood when I heard it in the store. Imagine that.
So, in honor of the eyliner, I will give it another shot down the road.

No Chaining Please

2011-04-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

Just in time for our spring weather respite is this stern reminder from a clothing store near you: Do not even THINK of afixing your fixie to this private fence that the free market has erected.

Ranching Industrial Complex

2011-03-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

This book is in the window at Trip Taylor on 10th Street in Boise. I want it. But it's kind of like preaching to the choir, isn't it? How many more books like this do I need? Why don't I just do something?

Jesus Magic Bus

2011-03-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

I guess it beats nailing him up, you know what I mean?

Not For Humans

2011-03-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

You have that? DON'T RIDE ON THE ELEVATOR.

Pop Tatt Hell

2011-03-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Everything about this is dumb. Not as dumb as the facial tattoo, or the neck tattoo, but dumb in the opposite way: it does not go far enough. It looks like an iron on transfer.
Maybe that's what it is meant to look like. As much as I like the heavy eye makeup, dumb tattoos are a deal breaker.
Sorry.

Sixx of one, 1/2 dozen of the ozzer

2011-03-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

"He's serious about his tunes.....and he's serious about his Jack Daniels."

Robots

2011-03-20T05:13:00.000-07:00

Roadside Robots come to attention.Soldiers of the road: armor up.

That Giant Moon Is Really Something Tonight

2011-03-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

WILSON!

Finding Justice At The Mall

2011-03-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's a one way door, justice at the mall. You can go out, but you can't come in.

IT MUST BE 6

2011-03-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

Hot on the heels of my NikkiSixx meltdown of yesterday, with the John Cena fan who was looking for the new 6ixx A.M. album, which comes out in a month or so. I was upset with myself for knowing that NiK6 is in a second band, and further, that said knowledge was proof that I have really misdirected my life.
Today I had a threshhold moment as they say, as I remembered hearing a song from the clowns in Eve6 on one of the weak excuses for radio stations we have in this market. I don't know why I am so repulsed by this band and this song, but I am, and judging from the note that I put on the lower right hand side of the inventory item on my work computer system, I have been feeling this way for some time.

Caring For Your Fellow Man

2011-03-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

Is a full time job.

Presented Without Comment

2011-03-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

I admit, I was going to bag on this. At first I thought it was a Gas Station Dogs situation, but the Unnamed Band seems to have "it", the S-hit in a row. So I will let it go. Who knows, it might even be good. Call them up.(Found on a bulletin board corner of 11th and Idaho)

Found in the gutter on 11th & Idaho. Who would have thought someone would have called it?

Spoons

2011-03-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

There are spoons everywhere today. They don't reveal themselves very often.
But they are out there. Where you cannot see them. You can only hear them. Clattering to the ground.
I was lucky. I saw them. But I haven't seen them since, for that I am sad.
But I will always remain hopeful that the signs will appear to me.
For I am open to the universe.

A Message From Lionel Richie

2011-03-07T22:51:00.000-08:00

Found near a telephone pole near my bus stop.The messages at the bottom tear off, and you can keep them as a personal message from Lionel, if not the person who tried to spread love on Lionel's behalf. It blew off the telephone pole, and got wet in the snowstorm, but the message remains: I Love You.

RED BARN OF STEPFORD

2011-03-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

(From Your Human Lot )

I went out to Hidden Springs development earlier this month for a wedding reception. And there were a lot of things I liked about what they were doing there. The houses. The designs. The missing streetlights. But I couldn't see the point. It's a planned community. But the plan appears to be to give people a bedroom to go to from their job in Eagle, or Boise, or Meridian. There are no jobs to go to that you can walk to from your house. So, while I like the scale of things there, I rue the fact that pastureland was sacrificed for the housing. It seems like a conceit.

The End Of The 4000 Mile Supply Chain

2011-03-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

So little time, so much plastic. Just pile it on.

Roll On Boise River, Roll On

2011-03-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

The mighty Boise, rolling from the mountains, into the reservoir, then parceled out into the irrigation district and through the canals and across the farmland where it meekly merges with the Snake, itself a siphon for all sorts of phosphates and fertilizers, and tire rubber leavings. Celebrate the coming of spring and summer rafting season by taking a plastic bag of your best garbage and sharing it with the river god.
You know, it wasn't private enterprise that cleaned up the river and built the Greenbelt, right?

K.C. Has An Enemy

2011-03-02T22:55:00.000-08:00

Who can't spell. Or, maybe he is wholly an ass. I can only assume.

The IMPORTANT Battle Ahead

2011-02-28T22:02:00.000-08:00

It's good to see where your loyalties lie, it's like the fight best fought with knives, as my friend Tim Cook is fond of saying. It's good to stand for anything, even if it is a fight that means nothing at all. All of the aformentioned "brands" will be assigned to the scrapheaps of history, dimly, but fondly, remembered by all the dittoheads revved up by excessive corn syrup intake and piss water beer. Kneel down and give thanks to the men women and children from all sides who have died actual deaths overseas so you can have the right to fly the flag for a battle taking place in these mean streets of Whitebread Idaho.

Go die, Ford, Chevy AND Dodge man.

Huddles Are Glorified Meetings

2011-02-26T12:53:00.000-08:00

Business doesn't stop, even in a depression. And DTBoise is underserved by A) Sportsbars and B) Restaurants. At least, this space is.
But, whatever you need. If you have a dream, follow it. I admire these people who try...something?.....anything?....but it seems like a pathetic echo of the nineties to me. Plus, no costumes for the waitstaff! What the EFF is up with that? No referee costumes for the Dudes. No cheerleader costumes for the Babes. (In the sportsbar world, men and women are rare, it's usually Dudes 'n' Babes.) It seems to me that if you are going to ape a concept, you should go all in, but perhaps I am just being hyper critical. But in todays world, is there such a thing as too obvious?

Field Manual

2011-02-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

Found this the other day at Trip Taylor in Boise: a May 1968 field manual. Fascinating. It is very matter of fact.

"....The will to survive is the most important factor. Whether with a group or alone, emotional problems resulting from shock, fear, despair, lonliness and boredom will be experienced."
Sounds like everyday life to me..

"In addition to these mental hazards, injury and pain, fatigue, hunger, or thirst tax the will to live. If you are not perpared mentally to overcome all obstacles and to expect the worst, the chances of coming out alive are greatly reduced."

This is important stuff. I think it's going to become even more important in the future, especially when food becomes scarce and we are forced to go to war against our Republican oppressors.

Simply Smarter Icee Bear

2011-02-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

What any of this has to do with any of this have to do with any of this have to do with any of this?
I like it when polar bears wearing mufflers offer me a frosty drink while appearing to burst through the poster. They gotta do something now that the tundra is disappearing in the global warming hoax. Why not work in advertising.

Shopping With The Ko

2011-02-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

Just because the AS SEEN ON TV brand is discounted right now, and the descendants of Ron Popeil bear the stamp of markdown, doesn't mean that the supply of steam gimmicks, shake weights, and nylon bags will ever be diminished. There is an inexhaustable supply, it seems.

Young Man Speaks Truth To Power

2011-02-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

This kid, seventeen years old, who spoke at the rally held today in the shadow of power, is very inspiring. I would vote for him. He seems to have the stomach for the struggle. I hope he lives long enough to see us win again. I sometimes doubt that I will. People like him, and Lee Flinn, are humbling to be around, because they speak up. They articulate. They SPEAK TO POWER. I sit on the sidelines and snipe. Perhaps that is my role, that is what I do best. It probably isn't the best for us. To have some malcontent who does nothing but gripe. I don't know. I know we will continue to lose. That we will lose and lose. And lose some more.
Until we win.

Happy Birthday

2011-02-20T21:28:00.000-08:00

Kurt Cabain

Tales Of Sailing And Relationships

2011-02-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

A lot of people think that Tennis pioneered a new musical form which encompassed tales of sailing with husband wife duos, but as usual, there is little new under the sun.
Jerk Kinney snagged this album out of a used buy and was intrigued by the cover art. It appears that they were photobombed by the man in the drift boat, but perhaps they meant it to be that way, because they are dressed similarly. Perhaps that is the Lord piloting that craft?
Bob and Joy Cull were releasing albums about these themes all through the seventies and eighties. They appeared to be based around the Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, but evidence indicates that Bob & Joy separated in the early 90's.
Today, Bob Cull is still making music for his church,In Maine, and you can visit his website here : http://www.midcoastcountrychapel.us/index.html

And, for your information, I have no intention of listening to the music at all. Life is short. Too short for irony.

OL' DUTCH WAS A GOOD OLE BOY...

2011-02-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

The Clothes Have No Emperor Those of us who lived through the Reagan may remember that time fondly, but it wasn't because of the Gipper. It was because we were young, full of cum, drunk and disorderly, playing in our punk rock bands and hating the man. This book is a welcome antidote to the current Reagan worship fest surrounding his centennial.

Here is an excerpt: Inaugaration Day. It's morning in America! 1/20/81

Just before 9 a.m. Michael Deaver, stunned that the President-elect is still sleeping, enters his bedroom to remind him that he's "going to be inaugurated." Says Reagan, "Does that mean I have to get up?"

At noon, promising an "era of national renewal," Ronald Wilson Reagan becomes the oldest man to take the oath of office as President of the United States. In a stunning coincidence, just as he completes his speech, the 52 hostages held in Tehran for 444 days begin their journey home. Suspicion lingers to this day about whether behind-the-scenes machinations by the Reagan transition team – machinations which would have been nothing less than treasonous – might have played a part in delaying this moment for days or even weeks in order that it might provide this spectacular opening to the eight-year-long movie about to unfold.

Later, President Reagan visits Tip O'Neill's office, where the House Speaker shows him a desk that was used by Grover Cleveland. Reagan claims to have portrayed him in a movie. O'Neill points out that Reagan in fact played Grover Cleveland Alexander, the baseball player, not Grover Cleveland, the President.

Give them the money. Get the Ebook.

Joe And The Evil Dead

2011-02-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

There might, just might, be a problem with the disc. Since the laserdisc is red, it might not play. Other than that, we're golden.

What Is Next

2011-02-07T22:06:00.000-08:00

What will happen now? Who knows. These are uncertain times. Places come and go. Why can't this place make it? Nice location. Nice setting. Assurances. An event center. It's sad to see it dark. Especially at 5PM on a Friday afternoon, when the golf arcade game across the street is humming. These are uncertain times.

The Dark Side Of Recycling

2011-02-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

Found in the alley, downtown Boise.

The Fourth Meal Has No Meat

2011-01-26T22:08:00.000-08:00

where's the beef?

It's so great that we live in a country of easy eatin'! And the fourth and fifth and endless meals.

An Event Town, Not A Music Town

2010-09-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Budos Band, laying it down on the Grove, September 1st 2010. Not just the best Alive After Five in a WEAK year for AA5 events, one of the best shows THIS YEAR in our little town. I was late, and I got my fill. And perhaps there were people there earlier that left before I got there. But I can't help but feel that the AA5 brand is losing it's momentum, with the lineup heavily stacked with half-assed club bands all summer long discouraging music fans, and economic conditions discouraging casual drinkers, It's no wonder enthusiasm for this event is flagging.

I LOVE ROLLER DERBY

2010-09-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

And I always have. Even backed to the fixed match, banked tracked, tv shows of my youth. Boise has a flat track league, Treasure Valley Rollergirls who are hosting a tournament tonight and tomorrow at the Quest Arena, Downtown Boise. I wish I were going.

DOOBIE BRO'S IN TOWN TO ROCK THE FAIR

2010-08-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

THE DOOBIES ARE AT THE WESTERN IDAHO FAIR TODAY, BUT FIRST, THEY ARE GOING TO THE RIVER (94.9) TO DO A SHORT ACOUSTIC SET TO PROMOTE THE NEW ALBUM. THE BRO'S ARE ON IT. I READ ON THEIR WEBSITE THAT THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME ON THIS TOUR THAT THEY HAVE DONE A LIVE SET.I LIKE SEEING THE OLD TIMERS OUT WORKING IT.

THE BOYS AND I HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DOOBIES. WE TRACED BOTH THE "WHITE GUY OVERBITE" LOOK, AND AIR GUITARING BACK TO THE SONG "CHINA GROVE", FROM THE 1973 ALBUM "THE CAPTAIN AND ME". I KNOW IT'S A DEBATABLE POINT, BUT IT SOUNDS REASONABLE TO ME. YOU KNOW, WHERE A DUDE WHO CAN'T PLAY GUITAR GETS THE OVERBITE ON AND FLAILS AROUND.

THE AIR GUITAR MOVEMENT IS INTENSE. CHECK OUT THAT WIKI LINK. THERE ARE COMPETIONS AND EVERYTHING. JUST INTENSE!

DIRTY WORLD

2010-08-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

THIS IS KIND OF LIKE A BITTERSTREAM BLOG POST. CEECEEDEECEE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEAUTIFYING NINTH STREET, BUT YOU GOTTA BREAK SOME EGGS BEFORE YOU MAKE THE OMMLETTE.
SOMEBODY THREW AN AREA RUG DOWN, AND THERE IS SOME NICE DIRT TO GROW A FEW WEEDS IN, SO THERE IS A FILTER!
(Snapshot taken in front of McCoo's. Not affilliated with Marilyn McCoo, or Billy Davis Jr.)

The World Takes Notice Of Eastern Idaho

2010-08-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

Eastern Idaho Bus Rides has been commented on twice by people of an unknown agenda! It makes me really happy to see Une June and Anonymous crop up on this ill tended journal. I just reread the comments, and I still have no idea what these people said.
I was talking to Patrick Orr of the Statesman about the comments that "people" make on stories at their website. There is a lot of vicious, vitriolic ANGER out there in the world. And it comes out in strange ways, at strange times, about strange things. And it's usually personal. About the writer, or the Clintons, or Obama.
I'm glad no-one reads this.

The Alamo

2010-07-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Wait. Wrong conflict.

This is the place where the last stand will take place. Downtown Boise. Near the Crapo for Senate HQ. The spirit of '76. Taxation with representation. You know what that is all about? Right? A faraway government interfering with the sovereign affairs of the locals. You had me up until you put the cross up there. Because rebelling against state endorsed theocratic institutions like the church are another thing that the original revolution was about. Now, we do have a bloodthirsty crackpot christian history, I will grant you that. But the free excercise of stupid ideas is one of the bedrock principles of this country. You have to say it out loud. Live and let live? Perhaps, but I am against what you say while I defend to the death your right to say it.

BOISE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

2010-07-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

Trolling for members at the entry of a combination bank, and a parking garage. They looked at me, and then ignored me. Which is awesome proof that I am no longer young. Or even professional. Or a lucrative demographic. I don't know what the angle is.

Bus Rider Diary Blog

2010-07-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is a blog I started to chronicle my adventures on the Valley Ride bus transit system. It's called Bus Rider Diary. It's kind of fun. Let's see how long I can keep it going. I have a lot of ideas, but follow through is hard for me. I'm enjoying it so far. Hope it remains interesting.

GOOD NIGHT NOW, DOWNTOWN BOISE

2010-07-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

THIS IS A GREAT SPOT FOR A NAP. SOMETIMES THAT OLD SUN REALLY HEATS A FELLA UP, AND YOU HAVE TO GET SOME DOZING IN WHERE EVER WHEN EVER.
I AM PERPLEXED BY THE HAND CART WALKER THING.....WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BLOCK THE SIDEWALK?

GRIFFEY RETIRES.

2010-07-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

I saw Griffey when he was with the Bellingham Mariners of the Northwest League. In 1987. He was 17 years old, and transitioning from high school ball to minor league baseball. He didn't have any trouble with it, hitting 14 home runs, 40 RBI's, and 13 stolen bases in the short season, single A league. He was obviously on a different plane than everyone else on the field, and he fairly glided around on the diamond, appearing to move around with very little effort, compared to the rest of us mere mortals.

He went up to long season single A in San Bernadino in 1988, and made it to the Majors in 1989, earning his way onto the parent club during spring training. Then it was all a nintendo games, nike wear, and Gold Gloves, although injuries and a move back to Cincinnati derailed his claim on the Greatest Of All Times mantle, there is no doubt that he was a very special player, and I feel privileged to have seen him so early in his career.

Stats from Minor League Baseball dot Com

WHAT IN THE ......IS GOING ON.....HERE?

2010-06-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

ON THE TOP OF THE STACK OF THINGS TO GO OUT THIS MORNING: "This compelling documentary series unlocks the hidden secrets, psychological flaws and events that result in the tragic deaths of famed notorious and the iconic. Every episode maps out the final 24 hours of a different famous person's life. The series weaves the star's back-story with events from their last day, which lays bare the threads of fate that led inextricably from childhood to the moment of death. These are no ordinary biographies. They're psychological detective stories attempting to uncover the mystery of why the celebrity died. February, 1979: Punk icon, suspected murderer and heroin addict Sid Vicious has just been released from Rikers prison in New York City. After a night of celebrating his freedom with friends and family, he wakes suddenly. Hell-bent on self-destruction, Sid ingests a massive amount of heroin into his recently drug free body. Sid is discovered dead the next morning. Join us as we delve into his past to uncover the series of events that led to Sid's death and reveal for the first time a shocking revelation that sheds new light on his last day." - From MVD Entertainment Group

LAST 24 SID VICIOUS
MORBIDITY IS IT'S OWN REWARD. THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT DRAWS ME IN WHEN THE INSOMNIA KICKS IN AND THE NETHER REGIONS OF DISH NETWORK ARE THE SOULLESS PLACE THAT I FIND MYSELF WANDERING INTO IN SEARCH OF...WHOKNOWS?

THERE ARE MANY OTHER "CELEBRITIES" IN THIS SERIES, WHICH FEATURES A CLOCK COUNTING DOWN THE HOURS AND MINUTES UNTIL THE SUBJECT MEETS IT'S UNFORTUNATE END. IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING, THESE MONSTROSITIES ARE LABELED " A DRAMATIZATION " WHERE CELEBALIKES RECREATE THE FINAL HOURS OF OUR ERSTWHILE HEROES.
HERE IS A CLIP.

THE DUTCH SUBTITLES ARE TRULY ILLUMINATING.

THE TIME HAS COME....AND GONE

2010-06-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

A super attractive strip mall is awaiting the entrepeneur at the corner of Orchard and
Franklin. This is really an obscene waste of resources, disguised as an opportunity, wrapped in an boondoggle. The opportunity is for TOK to take some money from hapless business owners. I'm sure I COULD be wrong. A fool and his money driving their car around looking for convenience, but I can't help but feel that this will never be built. And if it gets built, it will never be filled. And if it gets filled, it won't be filled by anything but a revolving cast of unfortunate people who have an idea, and an urge to do it. Of dollar stores, knick knack emporiums, and mock fast food franchises which suck almost as much as their nationally known, more expensive to franchise doppelgangers.

GOP MEETINGS: TIME OUT FOR FUN

2010-06-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

From the AP wire:via the Idaho Statesman
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Could Idaho get an all-volunteer state militia that's out from under any federal control?

A Butte County delegate to the state Republican Party convention in Idaho Falls on Friday got his compatriots on a committee to go along with the plan - at least on paper.

Of the many EXCELLENT ideas being bandied about at the Idaho Party Congress (further redefining marriage as a union between one property holding Republican Male and one property holding Republican female, making jailbirds grow their own food, putting a highway into any potential wilderness areas) , this one has sadly fallen by the wayside. "Cost concerns" were cited as the reason the delegates rejected the proposal. Not that it doesn't enjoy some support statewide:

members of the LightfootBrigage

All sarcasm aside, we should be happy they are talking about these things. The more they reveal themselves, the more bad ideas do not withstand scrutiny. Is it any wonder they retreated to Idaho Falls for their convention? From the Statesman

After rowdy 2008 confab, GOP meets in Idaho Falls

By JOHN MILLER - Associated Press Writer

Published: 06/25/10

Although, judging from the recap report there was still plenty of rowdiness directed towards the hated Democrats as well. Next time you think they are glad you are here, remember this quote from Canyon County delegate Larry Pegg: even the Republican Party's big tent "has an inside and an outside."

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/06/27/1247318/notes-from-the-gop-convention.html?storylink=mirelated#ixzz0s4zGItog

THE BEGINNING OF THE END (CONTINUED)

2010-06-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

This is what you decided to do? This is what you wanted to add in? Strangled by parking, another street level salon downtown, another service? One half of the populace taking care of the other. But what if no one makes anything? What if no one creates any thing? Everything about this makes no sense. The headlong retreat from reality continues.

XBOX IS THE DEVIL

2010-06-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is the scene in my living room. Day after day.
Guys gaming. Learning? Not much, as far as I can tell. I can't be sure, but I feel like they are in training for something. Nothing good, if the action on the screen is any indication.
Perhaps this takes the edge and aggression off, but it sure seems stupid to me. Not that the people playing are stupid. But the level of discourse during the games seems to decline the longer the games go on.
They say the Tweakers love this video game stuff, they get loaded and play for days on end, then crash, then load up and play some more. I think the video games themselves are a drug. But which came first: the Tweaker, or the Playstation?
So, I hate to go "old goat things were better in my day" on you, because the my old bass player friend The Nord used to think video games were stupid back when we were playing Pac Mac in the bar. And that never stopped me from hanging with Lucy at Rennies playing 'til close.
So perhaps I shouldn't be such a blue nose.

But I don't recall yelling obscenities at anyone and anything because of the action onscreen, and when the quarters were gone we quit. And we had to go out into the world to do it, and now it comes right into the world in HighDef.
And it takes up my living room. No one lives in a vacuum.

Sing For The Day

2010-06-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

I have been pondering this curiousity for awhile now. Who knows what it means. Our freedoms were gone a long time before the present administration came to power. And while it's tempting to ridicule this dude and his window tinting business for mixing business and politics, I'm reluctant to. I'm not the biggest O-Bam fan you are likely to find, but I can't, I WONT, pile on the man like all the red state knuckleheads. Even though he is a more articulate, whiter version of Bill Clinton, he is still in an unfortunate place, at the wrong time. He will not be allowed to succeed. I can't help but feel that this is a charade being put on for our benefit by our corporate overseers.
And I think this is actually what our man who fixes 99$ tint jobs means:

From abomination

ATTN: HAMMS LOCATOR WEBPAGE.....

2010-06-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

My obsession with Hamms continues... although I don't know why. I think it has something to do with this guy.

But, we all crave novelty. But I still won't drink this swill.

Weiland, meet my Brother Tom.

2010-05-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

My Brother Tom is an over the road truck driver, and is about 13 years older than me. I always looked up to him. My first records were inherited from him, and I played his stereo when he was not around. He is really somehing. I had a chance to hang with him a little while on the past weekend. He got routed through here on his way out of Utah taking a load of salt up to the regional distro center for Ace Hardware up in the Yak. He wasn't due up there until Monday AM, so he parked out at the truck stop and spent Saturday night at my place.
We were hanging out talking about life, when all of a sudden he said "Have you heard of the Stone Temple Pilots?" I was kind of taken aback, because I have always thought that they were complete garbage. " Eh, yeah. Why?"
"Took it for granted. Didn't respect success." Hmm. I gave a non commital answer, but it got me to remember that he has always been interested in that kind of stuff, and driving around the western US gives him plenty of time to ponder this kind of stuff. If I wasn't hyper immersed in all this crap for a living, I might consider it interesting myself.
But, really. Is there a worse group than STP?
Don't amswer that. It doesn't matter. If it makes someone in this world happy, then it's ok by me.

Office Space, or Stor-N-Lok

2010-02-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

I know people work in this building because I go by it every day on my way to my job, but I'm always struck by how ordinary this thing is. It seems like the they should stop trying, because it makes no difference one way or another. But one good thing about it is: lots of nice corrugated metal to salvage when we enter the third world era of our existence.

Country Mouse City Mouse

2010-02-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

Alleged drinking binge leads to grand theft and DUI charges for Middleton man | News Updates | Idaho Statesman

A Middleton man was charged with grand theft and driving under the influence after stealing the hats off three patrons in a Boise bar and failing a field sobriety test, Boise police said
On his way out the door, Reardon grabbed the hats off of three patrons and ran to a friend's vehicle nearby, witnesses said.

Boise police recovered the stolen hats in the vehicle Reardon used to drive from one bar to the other.

I feel better now that the publicity arm of the BPD has put out this lighthearted story of larceny and mayhem. And even though this bad guy has been taken off to the hut, a good time was had by most.

dsc_6313

2010-02-07T23:01:00.001-08:00

dsc_6313, originally uploaded by Steve Nordby.

My friend Steve Nordby, whom I have known since 1976, excels at most everything he puts his hands to. I have pieces of equipment he has built still in daily use today. Among other things in his life he has: taught himself computer coding, learned Norwegian well enough to translate several novels for publication, played guitar and bass in several bands, engineered the recordings of those bands and several others, and that is just what I can remember right now. For a hobby, he shoots photographs around his home base of Eugene OR. As usual, he is thoughtful and well composed.

Check out his photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_nordby/

Midnight At The Mall

2009-11-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

My son wanted to get the new Call Of Duty XBox game at midnight, so I agreed to go out to the mall with him to pick up his pre order. I remember what it was like to be excited about things such as this, so I wasn't going to be a total blue nose about it. So out we went at 2300 hours to pay for this game, then wait in line to get it when it went on sale at midnight. Imagine that, they were adhering to street date, unlike many in the music industry, who try to gain some kind of advantage by selling the product early. We used to be in the business of excitement. About 350 people, 325 of which were male, willingly waited in a line to get this thing. We are now at home, where it is being consumed. I have mixed feelings about the actual game, which seems to be some kind of a training exercise in counter insurgency. Hopefully some kind of skills will be garnered that will be useful when the country dissolves into bloodshed, so Sam can defend the homestead from some rabid tea baggers or militias of other kinds. In any case, it was good to get out of my usual routine and witness this.........event. Someday, perhaps sooner than later, the gaming industry will be wracked by the same changes that have affected the music industry, but for now, it's business as usual.

A Reason For Living Can Be Found

2009-08-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

....underneath the counter at the corner of Roosevelt and Nez Perce.

Steve Morissey Has His Knickers In A Twist

2009-08-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

Seems the Mozzer is torqued at all the reissue action surrounding his solo career AND previous band, claiming that he was not consulted. And further,that he has not been paid royalties for decades! He advised all of his true fans to boycott the upcoming singles boxsets The 7" Singles '88-'91 and The HMV/Parlophone Singles '91-'95.. I normally would not bother to comment on the business dealings of people that I do not know, but, WHO NEGOTIATED HIS DEALS FOR HIM? HIS GARDENER?

I just followed this blog

2009-08-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

not because there will be any more entries, but just to spread the word. It's not up to me to tell you what to do with this information. If you can read this, and not be affected by this, you are a cold individual indeed.

Animal Clothing Item #2

2009-07-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

What dog doesn't secretly harbor a desire to wear clothing? This necktie is perfect for that hippie dog, who wants to remember the sixties, but is too straitlaced to wear a bandana.

Discount Item of the Day

2009-07-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Found at the Petco on Federal Way. Why did this not sell?

i'VE gone NUCKING FUTS

2009-07-06T23:26:00.000-07:00

I really need to: go to bed. But, I feel compelled. After this fourth of July, probably the last one any of us will be gainfully employed by the old paradigm, I feel compelled. Compelled to link all of my various social networks, blogs and other BS, together in a big negative lump.

Fuck the paradigm. None of this shit will matter when the electricity goes out. And it IS just a word. At least I am not playing Freecell.

Boise Drunks Object

2009-04-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of Boise drunks took umbrage at this Nirvana T-shirt on open display where any pedophile passing by (evidence of self loathing?) could see it. "Nuffin leff to the imagination!"

Here is the toothless ones ingenious solution.

We Have Too Many Horses

2009-03-23T15:04:00.000-07:00

A wonderful ridiculous only in Idaho heartwarming story

from the Idaho Statesman

What should be done with excess horses?
Let them be slaughtered for food, says an Iona lawmaker who wants Congress not to ban the practice.

Last fall, federal workers discovered 17 domestic horses abandoned on Bureau of Land Management land in Owyhee County. This year, the agency discovered 21 horse carcasses illegally dumped in Gem County.

With cases of horse neglect, cruelty and abandonment rising as the economy weakens, "I would like Congress to back off of this and let market forces take effect the way they always were," said Rep. Thomas Loertscher, R-Iona.

Loertscher has drafted a nonbinding memorial calling on Congress to remove any prohibitions on horse slaughterhouses "so that horses that are no longer useful or people just can't afford them, that there is a market out there for them to be processed."

He acknowledges: "It's not a pleasant subject."

Magic Valley Philanthropists IN THE NEWS

2009-03-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

From The Idaho Statesman:
'Biker Santa' faces child sex abuse charges
A south-central Idaho man known as 'Biker Santa' for his handing out candy to children from his motorcycle while dressed as Santa Claus faces two felony child sex abuse charges as well as a felony charge of intimidating a witness.

John Thomas Breeding, 62, has pleaded not guilty to the charges in 5th District Court. He faces a jury trial beginning April 15 on the witness intimidation charge and another trial in June on the abuse charges.

Breeding is accused of soliciting a 9-year-old girl for a sex act at his Burley home late last year.

The intimidation charge stems from a phone call police say Breeding had with the child's mother in which police say Breeding said his "biker" friends would harm the woman.

happy St. Paddies day

2009-03-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

ORLANDO, Fla. — A former contractor who worked at an American military base in Iraq is accused of hacking into teenage girls' computers in the U.S., coercing many of them into giving him revealing photos, authorities said Tuesday.

Irish-born Patrick Connolly was charged with a single count of computer hacking following his arrest Friday in Atlanta, authorities said.