Trump (yet again) blames everyone but the kitchen sink.

Trump (yet again) blames everyone but the kitchen sink. This time it's Bernie, his "thugs" and the Chicago police. Last time it was the Mexicans, Muslims, weak Jeb, pathological Ben, pussy Ted, lil' Marco, Hillary, her husband, FOXy Megyn and the rest of the media et all. Truth is that Orange Fascist F--k Face has no one to blame but himself, the whackjob supporters he's stirred up and GOP fat cats (who with their partisan policies and corporate claptrap have caused rising inequality that's hallowed out the middle class and immiserated everyone but the wealthy).

the three sTRUMPges

Paid for by no one.

Things need to change. Now. The destruction of the majority of Americans societal net (that which should be our basic and innate rights as tax paying members of society let alone human beings), our depleted standards of living, the scarcity of opportunities for upward mobility and the consequential denial, lack of empathy and perhaps deliberate ignoring of this reality (and in many situations corruption) by those unaffected, has reached a boiling point. People are "mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore". I'm mad as hell, have been for years witnessing and experiencing this decline and fall begat at first by Reagan's ludicrous trickle theory, are you? It's time for resistance and action, whatever that means to you. We can continue to be led astray by con artists who claim to have our best interest in mind, and by folks who go along with a flawed flow til the cows come home and the Earth burns up (which is another topic we've been disastrously failing to deal with at the exact same time, and quite important I'd say) or not, simple as that. Anyway, the above is a thought I had today while riding the sheepway train to nowhere. Everyone on it, including those distracted by their games and imusic, looked fucking miserable, and I don't blame them; going to low paying, dead end jobs or looking for work in a futile attempt to pay for the ever rising, exorbitant costs of living... When is enough enough? That's all I got, the Revolution will be Televised obviously. Now carry on with your hopefully fulfilling lives. Disclaimer: This post hasn't been approved by Sanders for President 2016 but it might as well be. Oh, and to hell with that Trump nonsense, he's a rich fascist fake. He (and ALL the other candidates) cares less about you than his stock options, or even a new pair of socks for that matter. Truth.

Skunks

In honor of Lou Reed's Birthday

I just read it was Lou Reed's birthday. Here's a never published caricature illustration I did of the man 16 years ago. If anyone wants to use the art for anything let me know, it's still for sale... Hope you're rockin' up there man.

"Good evening, Hollywood phonies" -Chevy Chase salutation while hosting the Academy Awards in 1988

Bloated Oscar, by Robert Grossman, for Entertainment Weekly, 2001

Mitch the Obstructionist Tortoise in... Splat.

They ask me continually via email who I'm for; Bernie or Hillary. Here's my short response.

The corruption in this country is off the rails. I've seen standards of living for everyone not rich fall drastically since Reagan. Obama was a great President given the cards he was dealt, but gains didn't reach the former middle, working class and poor. My health insurance premiums have actually gone up, not down, on a par with everything else (rent, cost of food etc), everything that is except wages. Work has been harder to get in my field if you're not already working or able to "pay to play". Now Clinton may be fine, but we don't need "fine", we need action. I'm also skeptical of her past (young Republican for Goldwater, working for Walmart, her niceties with Kissinger and that fascist antiChrist Trump), not to mention that her husband embarrassed the Presidency, making him persona non grata during the 2000 Election (thus paving the way for the worst President ever in Bush). Bill Clinton also supported and signed into law more financial deregulation legislation than any other President before him, and dissolved the Depression-era Glass-Steagall law, so why should his wife be awarded the Presidency as if she's an actor who's "due" an Oscar after losing out so many times on the extraneous, luxury back scratching (patting) award? Awwww... poor Leo Decaprio and Hillary, they've suffered. The hell they have, they're worth ducats up the ying yang each, and neither are the best candidate/nominee, let's be honest. Ok, Leo will win the Best Actor self-congratulation Award, he has little competition this year, but Sanders is the better Presidential candidate to fight for and lead us into the future, and the only one seemingly to have empathy for all of us left behind by Reagan's steady trickle of piss and the giant steaming dump Dubya deposited on our collective heads.

It ain't "Bernie or Bust" stupid. Yeah, there's a difference, a big one, but not bigger then the Grand Canyon-sized chasm the Dems have with the Teapublicans.

You read the newsfeed on here and every other post is "damning evidence about Hillary" this or "Bernie's pipe dream" that. Get a life. Come November, whichever one of them is the nominee has my vote, for better or for worse. Do they have yours? I'm with Sanders until then, but this "she said, he said" see-saw shouldn't keep your eyes off the prize: defeating those backwards, fascist fear-monger$ on the other side. They have no respect for the Constitution and no empathy for you (unless you're a filthy rich, racist, gun toting church goer).

Supreme Justice?

I can't cheer a person's passing, but let's hope this is just the first death knoll of the Reagan Revolting-lution that's destroyed SO MANY lives.

Robert Grossman's Antonin Scalia illustration, which first appeared in The New Republic, Dec. 5th, 1992.

This was apparently endorsed by Bert AND Ernie.

Stating the Obvious

Less than 2 weeks ago more than 2 feet of snow fell in NYC. Today, there is nary a milligram of moisture remaining on the ground from the "Blizzard of the Century", aka Snowmageddon. It will be 116 degrees in July and the increasing impoverished percentage of humanity that cannot afford the soon-to-be premium costs of air-conditioning (or shuttle themselves to and fro in their luxury vehicles) will be burnt to a crisp before the year 2100.

Trump marks the Spot

RFreyP

You can still hear many of those bloated 70's tunes over and over and over again on the machine that is Classic Rock Radio (I'd rather not, was tired of them back then, esp. "Hotel CA"), but "Your Lyin' Eyes", "Peaceful Easy Feelin'", "New Kid in Town" and many other songs I was unmercifully bludgeoned over the head with as a kid do bring back a simpler, sweet n' hazy, sun washed, faded denim era of easy goin' days long gone bye...

Prez Ups (and downs)

It boggles the mind that two of the stupidest, most vile, hate mongering, slime ridden imbeciles on Earth are still leading the pack of one of the two major American political parties. As if said party hadn't already soiled this country enough over the last 48 years with the worst of the worst that humanity has to offer. A large part of our population are seemingly not "doin' their learnin'", or were apparently just born with skewed brainular activity that is sadly beyond repair.

RIP David Bowie... Sigh.

Losing Bowie hurts. A day later his songs rippling in my head. I'm happy I got to see him play (even though it was the Serious Moonlight tour, a far cry from Ziggy or the Thin White Duke days), and unbelievably it was less than a week ago that I posted on here for his birthday about meeting him once in Soho; how gracious he was as I told him I was a huge fan and a musician who'd played his songs. I never approach celebs, but fuck, this was Bowie! Little did I know then or last week that I'd be mourning him so soon after. Bowie was someone I wanted to know more, and respected to the nth degree from afar. I appreciated him as the consummate artist he was, the advocate for underground music I loved, and the private, enigmatic gentleman he came off as, not just as another performer. He truly was one of kind, and listening to all his albums this past day have recalled many other moments in my life, among them playing "John I'm only Dancing" and "Panic in Detroit" with my band the KGB in high school, listening to Low and Lodger over and over on cassette, the day my uncle gave me a gift certificate to Tower and I ran and bought Hunky Dory and Rise and Fall of Ziggy on vinyl... It's hard to imagine a world without Bowie in fact. Just a few weeks ago his name popped up in casting of the film I'm producing as the ultimate choice for one role. He was a true icon, I can't say that about many people we hold on a pedestal. His passing recalled for me the day Lennon died, and when Kurt died. I, as it seems so many are on here, am feeling a genuine loss for someone I, we, didn't know, but that doesn't matter. We felt that we did, and we know and love his music, his interviews and film appearances, and pretty much everything about the man and his legacy. Thankfully, in that respect Bowie will be with us forever.

If there ever was a showboat that deserved to be canceled it's this one.

The Willy Wanker himself.

Il Duce and Il Douche... Separated at Birther

A cartoon by my father Robert Grossman that appeared in The Daily News in 1989. As relevant now as it was then. More.

Two polar opposite experiences just now. First, the fed up, wealthy looking woman at the crowded Whole Foods who slams her stroller into me. I apologize profusely, even though I didn't do anything, cuz, well, there's a kid. She then says "how about I hit you over the head with this stroller". That's the point when she gets told (correctly) to f-off. Soon afterwards, I'm at my crowded neighborhood laundromat. I accidentally put my coins in the wrong dryer, so I start to empty it out into the one below and some hits the floor. A sweet Hispanic lady sitting there says to her son "JJ, help the man out, don't let his his socks hit the floor". Her lil' tyke does with a smile, picking wet socks up and helping me reload my clothes. America in a nutshell, right there.

RIP Wes Craven. Here's a caricature illustration I did in the 90's of some bit player named Fred that was in a couple of his movies.

Hillo Kitty 3, by Robert Grossman

Bruce Gender (illustration by Bob grossman www.robertgrossman.com)

So Bruce Jenner came out as transgender tonight, Good for her. Seriously. Here's an illustration my father did of the unanimously proclaimed "world's greatest athlete" (I believe for Sports Illustrated) back when Jenner might have been the least likely candidate one might think would ever switch genders. Oympian decision on Jenner's part, I hope the press and public gives her their full support.

The East Village was Burning today

Boehney and Mitchey

NitWit News

@fck

Devil with a blue shirt blue shirt blue shirt, devil with a blue shirt on

Hmmm

Now that's not right

Button Your, Like, Lip

I've noticed that some people say "like" now before and after almost every word more than ever. This isn't a new phenomenon of course (see Valley Girl), I'm just wondering if the whole Facebook "like" button thing has exacerbated this annoying habit. Maybe there needs to be an "um", you know", "OmyGod" or "I mean duh" button to make that crap, like, even again.

By the way, if there was anyone reading this blog he or she may have noticed there's been a long time between posts, and perhaps before my last one as well, and so on and so on. With the advent of Facebook, I mean what's the point (of writing stuff here, and not there)? Ahhhh, the ephemeral question. Really, there is none, but I keep coming back, even if for just a short while, and I shall continue to do so damn you bet. So how about those Mets?

People keep saying the Farrow kid looks like Ol' Blue Eyes... I don't see it. Either way, it's not like this is some rags to riches story. What, does he get a record deal now?

"Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television." -Woody Allen

Many are retelling their personal experiences from 12 years ago today. Thought I'd share as well. I awoke 9/11/01 to a large noise that I attributed to thunder, though there was no rain. I walked to my kitchen to make coffee and saw people running on the roof next to mine, and odd site to say the least. I yelled out the window “what happened?” and one guy yelled back “The World Trade Center just blew up”... Not what I was expecting to hear to say the least. I’d loved the Twin Towers actually, dating back to the Bicentennial in 1976, when I went to a party in Windows On the World with my father and brother. My father had a sculpture installation up there and I remember being amazed I could sit in a window that protruded outwards and I could look down under at the street (which seemed like a mile away). I spent other memorable times in and around WTC as well, their were some memorable late night parties in the Towers in the mid-90s, and I had just been down their 2 days prior to the attack working some promotional job.

Back to that day, I immediately tried to turn on some news so I could see/hear what had happened, but the only channel I could get that morning (and for the next few weeks) was AM 1010 WINS. Upon hearing the News, I decided to go down there and check it out myself. Hopping on my bicycle I booked down, riding along the East River and made it in before they’d completely closed off the area… probably not the smartest thing to do, or healthiest with no mask, but I felt the need to see what had just went down firsthand. The experience was horrifying. Blocks upon blocks upon blocks of chaos, it looked like pictures I’d seen of 1983 Beirut. I waded on my bike through foot deep of debris; ashes, paper, shoes left behind, it was everywhere. There were totaled cars halfway in broken store windows and an eerie silence but for the choppers overhead. No one was saying “you can’t be here” or anything, everyone was simply stunned and just trying to figure out what to do and where to look. I must have stayed down there two-three hours, surveying the scene and helping out whomever I could that needed a hand and/or to be pointed in a specific direction. I collected some burned scraps of paper that I still have, some saying American Airlines, some saying Goldman Sachs, some from very high floors in the towers… chilling.

The weeks that followed were like none I could ever imagine. The two people I immediately thought of who worked at the Trade Ctr. thankfully both did not go to work that day, for whatever reason. One saying he “wasn’t sick, but just had a feeling he should stay home” that day. Life below 14th Street, where we had to show our drivers licenses at checkpoints, was surreal. I lost my restaurant job because there were no customers and finding work again proved very difficult for quite some time. I fielded calls non-stop from family and friends outside of the city who knew I and my family were here, hoping we were alright. Many saying “get out”. This was a singular event here I hope never to experience anything like ever again, but New York is my home, plus those who’ve lived here all know that , well, it’s not the easiest place to “get out” of.

The years following 9/11 saw the US and our weirdly empowered President escalate a bogus War, and our City turn to a multi-millionaire Mayor who's seemed to forget real New Yorkers in lieu of welcoming the International elite to our streets with open arms. Wall Street is still thriving while the rest of US can only try to keep up with the sharply rising cost of living. We’ve built two baseball stadiums here and countless luxury hotels yet we still haven’t finished building at Ground Zero... Things really did change here, there and everywhere that day. It’s hard to believe 12 years have gone by. My heart go out to those who lost love ones that day and in the days, weeks and years that have followed because of that day. Collectively, we lost a lot it seems, and it’s left a hole larger than Ground Zero, for as a city, a country, a people, we’ve continued to lose a lot more in many ways since that day. Here's hoping the days of losing are soon over and days of learning from it are to come.

New film takes a WIZard all over OZ.

The Mystery of Acting... demystified (not. just a bunch of fucking quotes)

Ok, you're not gonna understand any mystery from this article, that's for sure. It basically serves up a few selected quotes from actors (Lady Gaga?), almost none of them good (reactionary Right Wing nutter/good actor Gary Oldman's is alright), but all put together they're worthwhile in that good acting, or a good actor, is hard to put a finger on. You know it (him/her) when you see it (him/her), but I may disagree with you. What I can tell you (besides the fact that's it's not easily definable) is that it's a gift, it's a dream, it's a challenge, it's a struggle, it rocks and it's not for everyone. How does an actor tap into the illustrious well of "goodness"? Ahhhh, wouldn't you like to know ;).

"Is the use of our skill an embrace? Or is it the snapping of a shackle? We must start asking that neglected question, individually, or we will we only contribute to, or at least be complicit in, a national calamity."

In case you did NOT watch the mind blowing video I refer to in my previous post, which would be a CRIME, because you HAVE to, DO. IT. NOW. Here it is again, preceded by a fwd by the eloquent T.C., esp. tailored for all of our friends in the sham of a mockery we call... The Entertainment Industry. -RM

"Time to Occupy Ourselves after decades of Self-Evacuation. Here it is, the most graphic representation of violence in America, ever. Strangely, as you will see in the video, this is the only kind of depiction of violence the media censors anymore. Any other depiction of violence is hunky dory and A-OK just so long as it entertains.

Thanks to the early inspiration of men like Edward Bernays, the media's job has finally achieved its destiny, and become entirely devoted to perpetuating the illusions mentioned in this video, and meant merely to distract the very people who are most violated...with soporific entertainments and hallucinations (the new opiate of the masses...toothless vampire fantasies, super hero escapism, the artistic cowardice of endless "revivals," which should be called "avoidances," historical dramas bordering on state-sponsored propaganda), all of which are populated by artists whose magnificent razor sharp talents function like the teeth in the maw of a giant anaconda holding its prey, so the rest can slowly squeeze it to death. To my brothers and sisters in The Industry...simply succeeding as an entertainer (which only means, "one who holds" perhaps like the anaconda tooth holds flesh) is empty and without value unto itself. Money? Ha. Think again. So what if you hold America with nothing but your little finger? Now you're king of the world. Fine. Now what? You've had a blockbuster, an open-ended run, had money thrown at you. Ohhh, you've held them all right! Or as they used to say in the biz, "ya killed em!" In a mass market, there might be more literal truth to that than you realize. But, brother, that is an empty achievement. Dear sister, it is utterly without recognizable human intention or substance. What is your motive to hold audiences? To what end? To educate? To encourage? To lift the weary? To validate the courageous? Or to feel validated? Or to placate neurosis? Or to inebriate the spell-bound? To sell a product? Okay, what's the product? You have talent. Okay. So what? Leni Riefenstahl had talent. If you can't answer the larger question, "to what end", you can bet the farm your talent is being misused within a larger purpose that you are only vaguely aware of. The way work is shared in this industry is so overly collateralized, no one can afford to ask the important question. The "good Nazi," was given the task of pushing that button on the wall, then went home to a nice warm meal with the family. But what's the button do? We are trained that it's unprofessional to ask what the buttons connect to. So don't ask. It's unprofessional. And we like warm meals.

"To do great theatre" is an utterly vacuous statement. It means nothing. "To do great film" is even worse, since the form is far more collateralized. An actor doesn't show up on the set "to do great film." If he does, that's going to be one crappy actor. He shows up to enact a limited number of discrete objectives. I do not cotton to an idea like "great theatre." There is great human intention. That's all. I believe only in the achievement of the the objective of the play or story, and if THAT defensible in human terms. Does it belong to what has traditionally be called "The Humanities" -- or not. That is all that matters to me.

So let us ask WHY are we holding people's minds at attention? That must be our daily mantra. Our abilities to hold is a skill, yes; a power even; perhaps, a privilege. But is the use of our skill an embrace? Or is it the snapping of a shackle? We must start asking that neglected question, individually, or we will we only contribute to, or at least be complicit in, a national calamity."

Viral Video Shows the Extent of U.S. Wealth Inequality

Nothing funny about this post. You can view it here. This video is spot-on and well stated, and it saddens me deeply that many people won't even bother to view it (never mind share it), because they haven't the time or interest apparently in their own Country's obviously skewed state of affair$, which are in fact, harming them (if they, like most of us, are not filthy rich). Many will also brush this off as "complaining". That's wrong and weak. Stay asleep then, but I hope (as this video says) you will decide instead to "wake up, and realize that the reality of this country is not at all what we think it is". It's 33 years after Raegan started his trickle down Genocide, 4 years after the Recession "began" and 1.5 years past Occupy and things are NOT getting better. Choose to lose (more) and continue to earn less or strive to change a broken system. Your choice. Pretending this is not an important issue and keeping it snug like venomous bug under the rug merely exacerbates the problem. That the über wealthy pay tax rates x 2 is immaterial when their income is stratospherically higher and increasing at disproportionate rates to absolutely everyone else. You want Victorian England? You're gonna get it. GOP talk about “workers” vs “shirkers” is straight out of antiquated Victorian moralism about those deserving and undeserving.



"This troubled planet is a place of the most violent contrasts. Those that receive the rewards are totally separate from those who shoulder the burdens. It is not a wise leadership." — Mr. Spock, Star Trek

Rush Lamebaugh's at it again. Oh the shame.

Rush Limbaugh is "ashamed" of his country for "the first time". Whoa, I'm shivering in my boots.

You can hear and read about the bloated fart wad here.

Where's the LaBeouf? Not on Broadway anymore, thankfully.

So Shia "where's the" Labeouf has withdrawn From Broadway’s ‘Orphans’ due to irronconileable differences with trained theatre actor Alec Baldwin. Another example of why film and tv actors with little or no stage experience should not get carte blanche offers on Broadway. Screw the finances argument blah blah blah about the need for $tars, etc. Haven't we bleached the Great White Way enough? Dumbed it down to the extent that ahem, Scarjo can star in Tennessee Williams? Look, Broadway will not go away, as a matter of fact, I firmly believe (though I'm in the minority I'm sure) that it would be stronger than ever if there were only quality actors onstage to (pay to) see, whether they be "Name" actors or not. I'm tired of people making excuses for utter lameness, it's insulting to those who work hard and train and know better. All excuses do is exacerbate problems anyway. Let's leave Broadway to experienced theatre professionals shall we, not Hollywood wannabes, or else it's just a sham of a mockery of the art form.

On a side note, now I'll go see Orphans (a play I always wanted to do after seeing Kevin Anderson and Albert Finney in it), I couldn't bare the thought of going before with that smug Shia Pet prancing around. In fact, this is a rare victory today. Shia LaBeouf will not sully Broadway. Yay. Let's rejoice at that.

You can read the NY Times Arts Section article that inspired this mini rant today here.

Macho Elves of a Different Almost Everything.

Just read this article from Slate.com "An Extremely Macho Elf: Reconsidering Steve McQueen."

"McQueen defined a fleeting moment in Hollywood's depiction of manhood, standing between the '50s kitsch of Sinatra, John Wayne, and Elvis and the post-Vietnam second-guessing of the pathological Eastwood, the sensitive New Age Redford, and Burt Reynolds. He was the first and maybe the last action hero to be neither absurd nor ironic.

(He) cultivated his own mythology through a strenuously aloofstyle of acting that is not without its critics. David Thomson, for one, observes a certain "dullness" about McQueen. Perhaps, but it was an especially radiant sort of dullness. With McQueen, it's hard to decide whether you hardly notice him, or you hardly notice that you never take your eyes off of him."

Now Jeremy Renner, who's apparently playing him, has nothing on McQueen. If there's one similarity, it's the "macho elf" look as mentioned in the article here, but McQueen was quintessentially American, Renner hails from here but truth be told he might as well be another member of the British (Aussi, Irish, Scottish) or basically "from anywhere but here" invasion of many of our acting roles. DD Lewis was a great choice for Lincoln, but must all our iconic figures be portrayed by non-Americans now, or, in Renner's case, by less interesting actors (if Americans talent is in fact used)? I'm glad a Yankee got the role in this case, but many will say that rarely happens because US actors aren't as good. B.S. It's how we crown our big actors, many without training or substance, that's the problem. A guy hits it big with one thing and "voila", he's everywhere, forced down out throats whether he's worthy or not. Nothing taken away from Renner, but there are plenty of better, and perhaps more deserving, American actors out there, trust me.

Anyway, that was a tangent if I ever heard one. You can read the whole slate.com article here.

Deserted City of the Heart Cooks Brain.

"Happy V Day" is what I got (and sent) today via text to and by those I dig (who may or may not dig me). Interesting how the word Valentine is shortened by many to one letter, which makes one recall D Day, aka the Day of "decision" in WW2 when 150,000 Allied soldiers landed on the shores of Normandy. In truth, the "D" in D Day may simply have referred to the "day" of invasion, decisive or not, and it's commonly misinterpreted to be a shortened version of Dooms Day. Decisive? Doom? Both potentially work for Valentine's Day, which has never been my favorite Holiday. Though I've always had a reputation as a womanizer, real or exaggerated, I've almost always found myself alone on this day, deserted (cue the violins). Thankfully, this V Day I'm meeting someone later, a beautiful Argentine woman half my age I met on the subway (!) who will soon desert me :( for her native land (cue said violins again). Oh well, I shall deem myself lucky in the interim and make sure she does not desert me for long, though I do wish I weren't suffering from cold symptoms right at this moment (violins go berserk).

Now I've already posted via Facecrack (thanks Gay Cowboy, that term is perfect) my anthems for the day (see Cream, Modest Mouse and more) and have just read some silly article in the NY Times about how actresses heart rockers "He Sings. She Acts. They Date." Um... really? Well I have one thing to add to that: Hey actresses, y’know I sung and played guitar/bass in rock bands for years… Just sayin’. Come on'! The article really should read: He Makes Buttloads of Money Singing. She's a Famous Actress. They Date. I don't mean to be neg, but that's the real truth there...

Anyway, I would be quite happy with this gorgeous Argentine, subway-ridin' tourist, actresses can be head cases, truth be told, and I'm not goin' back to the rock grind. On that note, gotta run. Happy V Day people of the interwebs who don't read this blog I keep forgetting about, and may cupid get all stupid with y'all, cuz it really does help to not be on your lonesome on this silly Holiday. I already experienced that this past XMas/NYE Holiday season yet again, and it blows. Now it's just tomorrow and the next day I have to think about, and most importantly P Day (payday), let that love $hine down on me next. -RM

Marco... Rubio! in the shallow end.

After the State of the Union we had to listen to the Union of the Snakes response, but that Milktoast Rubio kid was a guppy out of water. He'll never be president, give me a break. Sounds like Peter Sarsgaard, looks like Dondi. This is what the GOP is banking on now? Smarmy little soft-talking dweebs w/ no imagination spouting the same old tired b.s. that got us into the mess we're in today? The non-union dinner theatre wannabe was diving for his bottle of water to ease his noticeable flop sweat.

Beyonce tries to scare off Nemo

Firstly, apologies to those adversely affected by the blizzard. Apparently Beyonce's managers are trying to delete this horrifying Superbowl pic of her from the internet. It's a frighteningly ugly pic to be sure, but i'm mixed. If you're a celeb, you should be prepared for the worse, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the limelight. Stay safe, stay warm. Rock n' roll. -RM

As reported in the NY Times: Rat-Size Ancestor Said to Link Man and Beast! (rat post #2)

Exclusive Blizzard Photo: Rat on the Lower East Side braves Nemo. (rat post #1)

Babe I'm not gonna leave you (Redemption Blog).

Happy Birthday Babe Marley. Yeah, I've been the slackest of the slackiest in regards to posting on here. What has it been, over a year? Maybe I'll look back and post some pics from my absence, does that make up for my complete and utter lameness? Facebook, yes, I said the dreaded F-word, has consumed my words, for better or for worse. That must stop, it's all too ephemeral on there, and I do not need the accolades and adoration of others for my posts, i just need you: the non existent readers of this blog, who haven't stuck with me (for I have barely stuck with myself) over the past 9 some-odd years. Yes, I will write more, until I once again write less. I promise. I've got a forum here to let loose the gobs, so I may as well, correctamundo? There has, after all, been a lot of snot, I mean "so much trouble in the world", Know what i'm sayin'? Here comes the return of the sultan of snot, Rollo Manhattan (applause applause). In the meantime, enjoy this here pic I photoshopped up for yous.

Occupy the Entertainment Industry

Here's the Breakdown: To paraphrase that Jay-Z song, "99% are having some real problems and the richest 1% have none". Where is there a better microcosm for our Country's increasing wealth inequality, lack of career advancement/opportunity, shrinking middle class and general pervading culture of corruption than in our beloved Entertainment Industry?

If you're an actor, director, playwright, screenwriter or musician and you're NOT a household name, related to one, or already working on Broadway, TV, in mainstream Hollywood Films, or selling out venues, then you've no doubt felt the dramatic, debilitating changes that have occurred within the Entertainment Industry during this long Recession, changes that have taken a HUGE bite out of earnings, cost people to lose their Union health coverage (which, ironically, became harder and more expensive to get), and overall have stalled chances for many to move up in their chosen field. For these reasons, you should ask yourself whether you REALLY have the chance to succeed today given how things are. If you were active in the Entertainment Industry prior to the collapse, then you know the answer: not likely. You should then ask yourself how YOU can affect positive change in the world YOU know. Change has to begin somewhere, and where better then your own backyard, pavement you pound, stomping ground, work and/or out-of-work place.

The Entertainment Industry, as we know, can do more than blow things up, glamorize the glamorous and lay fart jokes. The Entertainment Industry can act as an EXAMPLE. The purpose of Occupy the Entertainment Industry is to discuss, motivate, inspire each other, meet up perhaps and hopefully make the powers that be in this industry aware that there are worthy, talented professionals out there that are being SHUT OUT of this business, by the Entertainment Industry equivalent of corporate lobbyists (greedy or simply unaware investors and producers with financial safeguards to meet, casting directors and agents, managers and PR people with clients to push), who've turned this industry into an exclusive business for those already working, and ONLY for those already working, period. As Albert Brooks said recently about being cast in the film DRIVE after learning he wasn't on the short list of the same old same old, or recently Award Winning, "name" actors being circulated by Hollywood Big Wigs; "The truth is, there are six guys you cast all the time for these parts, and it's so nice to cast a new guy in one." Wouldn't it be? Or does the Entertainment Industry only like taking the easy route? This country, this industry, was built on hard work, so why not allow those who've earned it but not yet earned millions the opportunity to get a BREAK instead of just being pushed DOWN.

Yes, the Entertainment Industry has always been a hard nut to crack, but it doesn't have to be damn near IMPOSSIBLE! Schwab's candy story scenarios and indie short film fest discoveries notwithstanding may still exist, but must all others trying to crack the nut have to PAY to (do a) play, via increasingly expensive (not to mention possibly unethical) seminars, showcases and other money making opportunities hosted by (or phoned in by) those already within or representing the inner sanctum of the already successful? If so, how may we ask are these supposed networking opportunities supposed to be PAID for if one isn't getting enough paid WORK in the first place? They're just bleeding the poor, and further creating a "survival of the richest" only community. There are NO MORE drop offs, Electronic submissions are essentially for the country club set; under lock and key, resumes basically mean NADA, industry doesn't come to see one's work anymore without a sure bet financial motive, some unions let in anyone with money to burn (who then take the jobs you're overqualified for but have been forced to apply for), and everything else out there is, well, offers.

Basically, what's happening now is NO LESS than a modern day form of segregation: the good ol' haves vs. the have nots. Now we're not saying our recessionary capitalistic tactics mirror our despicable racist past, but as the poor get poorer and the middle class becomes nothing but a memory, where will these methods lead us? Breadlines for background work? We know that time and innovations will NOT backtrack or reset, but if there aren't some out n' out changes to a system that disenfranchises the masses, then we've gotta at least find a happy medium. With core expenses higher then they ever were, now sure' aint the time to make work (and health insurance) harder to get, which is what has happened, plain and simple.

With Occupy the Entertainment Industry, let's attempt to take our passion, our art AND our careers back, so we can start moving forward again, because enough is enough, and there SHOULD be enough work to go around in this industry (esp. if it's thriving as much as we see and hear it is). This isn't about "it's not fair", it's about what IS fair. The Hollywood Dream = The American Dream after all , so we stand in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. We were told that Entertainment was the industry that WOULD NOT be affected by the economic downturn, remember? Well, at first it looked like that might be the case, but then all of a sudden the doors closed to many, and they've remained SHUT ever since. There are FAR too many unemployed and underemployed talented individuals out there. Reality programming and the like was supposed to be the killer of recognizing and allowing new and true talent in the door, not a recession!

Truth be told, our country has never been fond of funding the arts, yet we exploit them willingly. That being the case, perhaps the Entertainment Industry can set an example and start sending people back to work before other industries do. That may take a Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, PDiddy, Neil LaBute or other work $aturated celeb/industry mainstay to step aside in a role (or position or job) and let another worthy candidate play or take the part. Now THAT sounds like a fantasy, but perhaps the aforementioned (or the Occupy Wall Street conscious industry pros like Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin and Kanye West) could at the very least INFORM the Entertainment Industry powers that be that Show Business has (whether they've realized it or not) mirrored Corporate America during the recession, and that there are deserved individuals out there that need to be given a chance again, whether or not they're "as marketable" or "on the short list" as "name talent". If not, then perhaps they can remind our Unions, er... Guilds, that they should be fighting for US, as well as the Tom Cruises, Marc Wahlbergs and other performer/producers (um, can you say... conflict of interest?) with whom we share membership. It's NOT a fantasy to say that the future of good product may even be at stake as well. As Glenn Close said not so long ago "It's gotten out of control. It's taking bigger and bigger names to make smaller and smaller films. I worry that important films without a big name attached won't get made at all."

Obviously, all this will take time, as Rome wasn't built in a day (that series looked great, so it must have cost HBO some time and money to make ;) but audiences WILL get sick and tired of seeing and hearing the same people constantly on their screens, in the halls and on iParaphernalia, mark our words, just as those whose jobs have been cut or downsized have grown tired of being CONTINUALLY marginalized, while seeing the rich get richer and richer. Look, fans readily accept new, no-name athletes when they "hit" their marks and "perform" well on the playing fields and courts, so why not in the Entertainment field? Yeah, Pro Sports have their steroid controversies and all-too powerful owners et all, but athletes STILL have to earn their way up the ladder; their resumes still count, and in Sports there's the ability to essentially let new stars make THEMSELVES daily, merely through good play. Now if we exploited THAT ability, we'd be heading in the right direction.

That said, it's high time we Occupy the Entertainment Industry and REdirect it. Though much can and has been said about Entertainment Industry content, it's important to stress that we're concerned first and foremost with jobs, getting people back to work. While the rich MUST pay more taxes, we also want them to pay more ATTENTION to the rest of us, right? It's their greed and lack of compassion that's led our country, and this industry, to where we're at, so let us rally the troops and join forces with Occupy Wall Street, BUT, we CANNOT wait for the Celeb contingent to lead us. What have they to fight for anyway? Well, US, obviously, and maybe they will (as they surely have a voice that goes along with their wealth and opportunity), but we need to make OURSELVES heard first for ANYTHING to happen. What have they to fear in helping us anyway, being blacklisted? Please. A pro actor/friend of Occupy the Entertainment Industry said recently that no one has the cojones in this biz anymore like an Orson Welles or Clifford Odets. If that's true then why bother? Well, "If you don't start somewhere you may very well go nowhere" is the only way to answer that claim, and to quote Occupy Wall Street, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

In conclusion, we'd like to leave you with a quote by the esteemed Carl Sagen: "One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. The bamboozle has captured us. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." Truer words were never spoken, but we have been given a RARE opportunity here via the surprising success of Occupy Wall Street to TRY and get our power back. Performers very well know that opportunity sometimes does NOT knock twice, so let's make good on this opportunity shall we? If you're willing to stand with Occupy the Entertainment Industry please contact us here ASAP, or at occupyent@gmail.com.

Express that.

So I'm just twittering now. Yay.

Ok, so maybe from time to time I'll post something here, but let's be real: who has time anymore? Tweeting is the new blogging is the new, I don't know, frackin' living. I looked on here and saw that I hadn't written in a YEAR, there's been a whole new Baseball Hall o' Fame induction since... daaaammmmnn. 2010 went by like... like... like... 2009, and all the frackin' years before that. Anyway, I've gotta be up bright an' early in the morn to make some money so's I can pay bills. Don't ya love modern life? Life, by the way, spelled fracked-upways is File, as in taxes, as in soon, as in hopefully getting back some of the money this country stole from me this year. Revolution Now. And I say that with all seriousness. NY Times Op Ed writer Bob Herbert for president.

The Hawk of Fame Game

Poor Ken "Hawk" Harrelson. He can no longer lay a legitimate hawk egg claim, just an egg. I liked him as a kid when he was an announcer (along with Dick Stockton, and later, Ned Martin) for the Red Sox, as he had that southern charm, and all the fans knew he hit 30 dingers for the team during it's Impossible Dream. Over the past few years though, via the wonders of MLB TV, I've had to listen to the guy when the BoSox played their blanched stocking-clad counterparts on the South Side of Chicago... what a blow hard. When he's not calling his beloved ChiSox "the good guys", he's knee deep in annoying catchphrases like "We gone!" and "This game...is ovah!", as though he's auditioning to be the next big sellout character on SNL. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's cringed at the dudes glaring hometown allegiances on the air or his shameless cathphrasery (I just coined a new word!), but anyway, I'm not here to denigrate Harrelson, I only mention him because he was the original "Hawk". As I said, he can lay partial claim to that nickname no longer, as I am here to celebrate Andre "The Hawk" Dawson, who will have it engraved on his plaque entering Cooperstown, the frickin' Pearly Gates of Baseball.

First, let me say congrats to The Hawk, he deserves it. 21 years on balky knees and 9 years in Hall limbo. Woulda sucked if OBP (On Base Percentage), the new criteria for judging whether a batter is all-that, had kept him out. Man was straight-up 5 tool, like Willie "The Say Hey Kid" Mays before him, his contemporaries Dave "The Cobra" Parker and Eric "The Red" Davis, and Vlad "Vladdy" Guerrero and Carlos "I have no nickname or personality" Beltran now. Dawson got in with 79% of the vote (one needs 75%), but the big story since the announcement yesterday was who didn't get in, namely, Bert "The Dutchman" Blyleven and Roberto "Robby" Alomar, who narrowly missed election by 5 and 8 votes respectively. Bummer for them, of course, but each will have his day next year, I'm sure of it, as the only noteworthy new players added are Jeff "Brown Paper" Bagwell, John "__" Franco and Larry "Booger" Walker. I believe Raphael "I am not a crook" Palmeiro and Juan "Gone" Gonzalez are also up for vote, but their involvement, fact or fictional, with performance enhancing drugs is bound to hurt them as serious candidates... will be interesting to see how bad 500 hr/3000 hit roid-usin Raffy fares though.

Alomar was obviously penalized for "the spitting incident", and perhaps rightly so. No one was expecting him to enter unanimously anyway, but the guy deserves to be in there, he was perhaps the best all-around second baseman ever, or a close second to "Little" Joe Morgan. Ryne "Ryno" Sandberg got in on his 3rd try, look for Alomar to make it on his 2nd. His sudden, rapid decline with the Mets is my only problem with him, but then again, hey, Jim Ed Rice anyone? Rice lost it too, shit happens. It's hard to keep playing at that level, this is why there are only 200 some-odd players in the Hall, period, spanning the beginning of time (baseball time that is).

Blyleven, on the other hand, had a tougher miss this time around. It was his 13th year on the ballot and he came so damn close. Gotta hurt. Oh well, history holds that anyone who's received 70% of the vote (as Alomar and Blyleven each did, along with The Hawk) will eventually get in.

As for the other players on the ballot, I accurately foresaw my favorite player on there getting knocked off for not having at least 5% of the vote. So long Ellis "__" Burks, we hardly knew ya. He went the way of Dwight "Dewey" Evans before him, though Dewey (top 80's run producer/gold glove winner) definitely did not deserve that fate. Burks does have comparable #s to many in the Hall, achieved at Coors, sporadically, whatever, but... I did not, however, foresee Andres "Big Cat" Galarraga getting knocked off so quickly. He was my other fave player up for election this year, but I guess he suffered a similar Coors Field fate... As for Dewey Evans, I hope a committee of elder statesmen corrects the voters slight with him in the future. Another ex-Sox who should have had more consideration is Louis "El Tiante" Tiant. He had comparable #s to Jim "Catfish" Hunter, and I def. think he will get in one day by a group of smart thinkin' vets. Hopefully it'll happen while Tiant is alive, as they might all get boxes of fine Cuban cigars out of it in that case.

Back to the list of players who didn't get in this time around. One player I think who should've done way better than he did was Fred "Crime Dog" McGriff. Had he just gotten 7 more homers, he's nearly another "Steady" Eddie Murray, and, correct me if I'm wrong, Crime Dog had more whallop then Eddie ever did, Eddie just had consistency up the wazzoo (27hrs 100rbi, 27, 100, 27, 100 zzzzzz). Did Murray hit 30 more than once though? Yes, Crime Dog was understated, but in an age of steroids, his #s should be celebrated. He was also a fine 1st bagger, more than fine at times, and, well, that nickname deserves a Hall plaque, don't you think? Dizzy, The Splendid Splinter, Joltin' Joe, The Say Hey Kid, Catfish, Pudge, The Hawk... Crime Dog.

As for the rest of the crop this year, Barry "__" Larkin and Jack "Mount" Morris will probably take a few years to make it in, but I firmly believe that each will in time. .390 ERA or not, Morris deserves it, and his induction will be good for all the non-300 winners coming up in future years. I think Morris' mustache may already be part of a facial hair exhibit in the Hall, so wouldn't you want to reunite the man with the 'stash? Alan "__" Trammell? Ummmm, ok, him too. He was boring, and seems weird to let him in sans "Sweet" Lou Whittaker, his DP partner, but he had overpowering #s for a shortstop of his era. Édgar "El Papa" Martínez? As more DH's enter the fold, I think we'll see his vote total rise. Tim "Rock" Raines? His will too. He's threshold to me, as he just went to so many different teams it seems, and may have the fate of simply not being Rickey, but then again, he was a leadoff force. "Big" Lee Smith? Save it. He was the closer with the mostest, but was he “the guy”, like Mariano, Rich "Goose" Gossage, Rollie "Mr. Mustache" Fingers, Dennis "Eck" Eckersley, or even John "Marmaduke" Smoltz for a time? I dunno. I think Franco comin’ on the scene next year clouds it for Big Lee, they got the #’s, but where’s the beef?

Now, there's the Mark "Big Mac" McGwire question. His low vote total has stayed practically the same in the 3 years he's been on the ballot, and I think he does not get in, not now, not for a long stretch in this blogger's opinion. Sorry Mr. Gammons, but with 1600 career hits and the bulging body of a wrestler, I do not feel like he's worthy, 580 something taters or not. This is a case we're we are goin' to keep talkin' about the past.

The dregs: Dave Parker, Don "Donnie Baseball" Mattingly, Dale "All-American Boy" Murphy and Harold "Growing" Baines. They all survived, but seriously don’t stand a chance in the future. Parker was too up and down, and a conceited, cocaine usin’ showboat to boot. He had the 5 tool talent, but developed #s over longevity, not dominence. I'd put in George "The Destroyer" Foster, Dewey Evans and Dale Murphy before him. On 2nd thought, not Murphy (who's another unfullfilled 5 tooler like Parker, and Eric Davis). Parker's more akin to "Fragile" Freddie Lynn, and even Ellis Burks. I'll add Dick "Wampum" Allen to the list of those I'd enshrine before the guy. Richie Allen should be in, but that’s an old argument. I’m not gonna start yappin’ about non-Sox players who were gypped, like him (or Ted "Simba" Simmons for that matter-guy was right there with Carlton "Pudge" Fisk, Johnny "Hands" Bench, and Thurman "Squatty Body" Munson), as you probably don’t even know who the hell he was. He wore glasses, and was cool, and could whallop the damn ball, ok? He was like George “Boomer” Scott, but a little better. Deserved guys get lost in the shuffle, and you hope the vet committee will see that (though they haven’t, yet, with Gil "The Miracle Worker" Hodges, Ron "Pizza" Santo, Allen, Tiant or Simmons). Back to Parker, he’s been vocally adamant he deserves enshrinement, which may be going against him too, ya think?

On to the other dregs: Donnie Baseball? I think he should get in, but I’m in the minority. He was that good for a short spell there. Oh well, like Ron “Louisiana Lightning” Guidry, short spells don’t add up to glory. Murphy? Baines? The Darrell "Howdy Doody" Evans’s of their days. The #’s look decent, but… Each were different types of players. Murphy had the promise of greatness, but the low avg., Baines was Mr. Steady for so long but… So long. They’ll stick around for another few years but never crack the bottom of the heap.

Besides what I’ve already said about next year, the following years have many players that’ll be up for much debate. There are locks: Craig "The Little Big-Gio Man" Biggio and Mike "I'm not gay" Piazza in 2013, Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas, Tom "__" Glavine and Greg “Mad Dog” Maddux in 2014, the maybes: Curt "Bloody Sock" Schilling (2013) and Jeff "Droid" Kent (2014), as well as the also-rans: David “Boomer” Wells (2013) and Moises “I pee on my hands” Alou (2014), but the big question marks arise in 2013 when Barry "Balco" Bonds, “Slammin” Sammy Sosa and Roger “The Rocket” Clemens enter the fray with all their PED baggage. 2012 you ask? There’s nobody. Bernie "El Caballo Boricua" Williams? He may be asked to play guitar at the induction for those who haven’t yet made it out of the group of Bagwells, Alomars, Larkins, Morrises and Blylevins (no, Larry Walker does not stand a chance. Yes, guy was a pure hitter, but we’ll never know how pure with him as he was all about Coors field)…

Ok, that’s it for my Liver Sports Hall O’ Fame thoughts. I’ll just talk a little about my team, the Red Sox, and then "We gone!”, this blog entry...is ovah!"

I, for one, am likin’ the Sox moves thus far this winter. Theo Epstein has been heavily criticized for lettin’ Jason "Jay" Bay go and not acting as he normally does this time of year I suppose, but the team has accomplished a lot over this off-season. Besides the obvious plus of the addition of stellar starter/bulldog John "Hank" Lackey, the team will now have it’s best defensive alignment ever. Offense, you say? Look, we’re gonna have Victor "VMart" Martinez for a full year, don’t forget that, plus, Mike "Cam-Boogy" Cameron, Adrian "Foxpatch" Beltre and Bill "__" Hall are gonna positively eat up the Green Monster. Maybe not to the tune of Jay Bay’s 36 taters, but don’t be surprised if Cam hits 25 and Beltre hits 25, plus another 15 from Hall off the bench. That’ll about equal, if not surpass the amt. Bay, Mike "Mikey" Lowell and Casey "at the Bat Boy" Kotchman woulda thumped.

Speaking of Cam, Beltre and Hall, the Sox got more than a shade darker this off season, more than EVER… FINALLY. Whoda thunk that Elijah "Pumpsie" Green’s team would have so much color, I like it. I always hated knowin’ that my team was the Whitest team out there, even when they were kickin’ butt in 2004 and 2007. It may sound racist, but who knows, maybe this’ll help David "Big Papi" Ortiz regain his mojo too. Hall is best buds with Cam from their Brew Crew days (where Hall hit 35 homers, by the way), so don’t count on friendships meaning jack. I personally like too that Epstein is giving Kotch a chance to play everyday elsewhere, kid’s only 26 and shouldn't be a sub. No, Theo’s not becoming all reverse racist/Black centric, and the trade wasn't because Casey’s Jewish, that wouldn't make sense, as Theo's a member of the Tribe too (the chosen people, not the Indians obviously).

I think Theo is also going to let my fave Red Soxer (next to Youk) Mikey Lowell play his way to a starting role on another team. People keep saying that Theo’s been unkind to the 2007 World Series MVP… Come on, he was signed to a 2 year deal by the team after 2007, and dealing Kotch actually frees up more potential for Mikey to play, as Hall plays Outfield as well as Infield.

Lastly, the move of CF to LF for young gun Jacoby “Tacoby Shellsbury” Ellsbury is weird, but Jacoby can handle it. He's played way more LF then Cameron, and he may be awesome there with his fast break qualiteies (as opposed to Cam and his long strides). Cameron may have thought the Monster was a prison wall or something too and have acted all shy of it for fear of guards or something… Joke! I love Cameron, he was a fave of mine when on the Mets, and woulda been the first to laugh at that.

As for the Mets, my early childhood team, they’re getting a helluva guy in Jason Bay, and he’s the right man to man-up at Citi and bury the demons of last years demise. I watched his Met press conference and Canuck bro is a working-class class act. I’ll miss him, but he's just the guy to resurrect the spoiled image of the Mets from Los(t) Mets, I'm happy for him, and yes, the team is gonna do well, esp. if David "Visine" Wright can remember how to hit home runs, Carlos "__" Delgado comes back, they get Bengie "__" Molina and the rest of the team stays off the Goddamn D.L. Bay was Jose "Towel-Head" Reyes minor league roommate for a bit too, so maybe he'll get that kids head back on straight. I even think the team is gonna give the Yanks a run for (all) their money this year as the NY team to beat. The Bombers got Curtis "Grandy" Granderson this off season, true, but who else? Javier “The Silent Assasin” Vasquez hated NY the first time around, and he may be an NL pitcher, period. They lost Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui too, Melky "Way" Cabrera, Chien-Ming Wang "Chung" and maybe Johnny “Benedict Arnold” Damon to boot. Then again, I thought their subtractions last year outdid their additions, and look how far the Yankees went… Sigh.

Ok, on that note, "we gone! This entry...is ovah!" (for tonight at least)

* After I finished this post I read an interesting article at Boston.com,
Hold your head up, Dewey Evans. I was already almost done with my Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout beer, and ready to slumber, but thought I'd add my comment about it to the end of this here Liver Sports entry. Basically, the writer of the article said that he wished that the Baseball writers who voted tried harder for consistency. Here's my tired, semi-drunken (10% alc. by vol.... hell, I woulda stayed on the ballot!) comment, which I think fits with all my earlier commenting about the Hall vote above:

Hmmmm... I agree, but disagree. I think that The Hawk belongs, but I also would have made more of a case for Dewey. I, for one, thought Blyleven and Alomar would've gotten in before Dawson this year, and was surprised it went the way it did. I'm happy for The Hawk, and I'm sure that the others will join him next year (the only new person possibly worth it is Bagwell), but I wish guys like Evans or Andres Gallaraga would get a better shake. Ellis Burks not makin' it? That was easy. Yes, he too had the #s, but it does come down to perception. Perhaps parity as you say should be taken into consideration more (then El Tiante would be in, as his stats were identical to Catfish Hunters), but it's somehow more than stats, perception, longevity et all.... what that is, I don't know. It, like, life, is a popularity contest, plain and simple. Not everyone makes the grade, which is sad, as Pro Baseball is about the best. Those that don't make the cut don't make The Show. The Hall though is more about playin' favorites. Maybe it should be more like the Rock n' Roll Hall o' Fame, but it never will be, as there are way more good players then good rock acts.

I do think the Sox should honor Evans and retire #24 though, HOFer or not, and I've said this countless times over the least few years. Manny "Female Fertility Drug" Ramirez may not even make it now, as he was a PED abuser, so that may no longer be an argument not to (retire Dewey's #24). As for the whole Hall argument, again, there's always gonna be those left out, whether right or wrong (Dick Allen, Ted Simmons, Gil Hodges, Ron Santo... the list goes on and on). I for one think that career stats perhaps have to have less to do with who's worthy. I'm a diehard Sox fan, but I might've already put Munson and Mattingly in the Hall, as they were the best of the best for periods of time, no matter how long. Look, Sandy "The Man With The Golden Arm" Koufax didn't even have 200 wins, and he's in. He was dominent, ala Pedro "Petey" Martinez (and no one's gonna be gettin' all "what about 300 wins?" with him, believe you me). And Kirby "Puck" Puckett? Or Ozzie "The Wizard of Oz" Smith? There go "it's the stats, stupid" arguments right out the window. It's freakin' arbitrary is what it is, just like life, there are some who make it, and way more who don't. It's a crapshoot, often left up to those that shouldn't be holding the cards... or ballots. (By the way, NYTimes.com had a lil' article about the Dawson/Dewey similarity too With Dawson in Hall, Red Sox’ Evans Looks a Lot Better)...

Ok, all that said, congrats to The Hawk. Now, I'm gonna finally terminate this entry with yet another link to a Boston.com article Dawson, the Hall, and a Sox cap. Hell, I don't even remember him playing with Boston (and it wasn't that long ago). Time flies, as do hawks...

GOP leader says US will overcome war, recession

"Powerful forces may be aligned against us ... but when the challenges are greatest, Americans always join ranks," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell say... What an ass. It's so reassuring to know that those that helped get US in this mess are saying that everything's gonna be hunky dory. Midterm Election smoke and mirrors anyone?

Anyway, that's all I want to say about that. I'm just slowly (VERY slowly) getting back into the world of blogging, and if RM is gonna be a force to be reckoned with over the wondrous steaming streaming interwirewebamajig-osphere, then I'm gonna have to ease my way into political blasphemy especially. I mean, I got a mouth on me, and a spontaneous one to foot a boot in, so I'd rather friendamise then enemise right now. Also, no one knows who in the Sam Hill I am, as I blog at about the same rate as the original Darren on Bewitched. I'd rather talk (albeit briefly) about the New Year on this 2nd day o' January 2010. I had a nice eve, though I'm still in a fragile state and so I'm all superstitious about things I did and who I hung out with and such on NYE. Should I have done "that" and said "that"? I followed my gut, which is what I normally do, and had a blast, but I don't like feeling so melancholy right now. I'm still as unmotivated as ever, wanting to sleep, drink and ____, so when will all the changes I've envisioned for the future kick in? Must I go skiing in Colorado as well as Park City, UT? Ok, so that's not gonna make any sense to anyone reading this, but then again, I want to be continuously read, not an open (and then immediately) closed book. For clues you're just gonna have to tune in from time to time... In the meantime, and as I've really got to attend to this and that job, I'll leave you with a picture from the holidays, kind of a funny take on the whole Avatar "we're connected to nature" thang. it's from David Barton's Holiday Toys for Tots drive/party. Enjoy

No, I REALLY suck at blogging

But I like to write. My friend Daniella inspired me last night to write some more. I've been stuck in this notion that because I act, draw and write songs (or used to), that my writing must be fictional (i.e. a screenplay or play). My best writing though (besides said songs) has been my opinion-based verbal rants that have found themselves on social networking site profiles, in spotty reviews I've done, and, well, here. What's wrong with that? Nothing. It's just the discipline to keep doing it (and for free to boot), that I lack. Baby steps I suppose. I also have been having some of the most wack dreams ever of late and would like to share some of them here... when I remember them past the few post-wake up moments where I've risen and said "whoa, that was wack".

Before leaving you with a few doodles I've doodled and/or photos I've snapped, this has been a very weird week for me. Hell, the last 2 months (let alone, year, lifetime) have been weird... let's just focus on this Holiday season, I don't have the time right now to delve into the rest. After my first Thanksgiving spent at a non-relative's place, I thought Christmas would be more of the same from years past (i.e spent with family). My sis and I had a tiff a few months back over money and perhaps that led me to not get a plane ticket early to visit her (as has been my Christmas case the past few years). The real reason though was simply lack of funds: not getting paid for work done moons ago. I ended up spending Christmas here in NYC. Yes, Christmas eve and Christmas day eve were spent with family (before they hightailed it outa town), but the days after were when I felt alone. I always took those days for granted I guess, they were simply the 26th and 27th of December... not so anymore. Those days are as much Christmas as the 24th and 25th. What did I do the eve of the 26th? I went to see the depressing flick "A Single Man" at 1145pm. For a few minutes there I thought this choice was a bad omen as well as I was the ONLY person in the audience (and a single man no less), until a couple couples walked in after the film started... phew!

The next day was ok, as was the day after-thanks mostly to some wonderful drink dates with new friends... Ok, so has not really been a great story, or even perhaps writing worthy of an active mind, but rehashing the last few months is not really what I'm feeling right now. I simply want to write something here, today, anything, to get the juices flowing, comprendo? I believe I've now accomplished that, and will henceforth leave you with a few doodles (that I've already posted on Facebook... but then again, if you're not my friend there, you wouldn't have seen 'em) and simply say that I do believe that 2010 will be a dandy of a year, and as Paul Krugman noted in his recent NY Times Op ed article, "Let’s bid a NOT at all fond farewell to the Big Zero", meaning the last decade. 2009, and, well, pretty much the entire 2000's up til now have been sketchy to say the least. "Snot" was born during this decade because times got so tough, and that was well before THE recession. Glad they're gonna be over. Boy am I. 2010 is gonna see me get closer to where I wanna be, both in my professional and personal life. I can tell, esp. because of the weird, lonely, poor, contemplative lead-up I've experienced of late, and some of the resolutions I've already made concerning what I need to do in 2010 and beyond... Now, if I can just get my ass outa this chair.

Rock n' roll.

I suck at blogging

so I'm just gonna put pictures on here that I take, maybe one a day, and write as little as possible... Ok, if, when I want to write more, I will, but I won't dwell on having to write something BIG or IMPORTANT. I thought that Twitter would be the answer to my blogging again, but that site is absolutely useless. Yes, you heard it here, Twitter is FUCKING USELESS BULLSHIT. Maybe Demi Moore has time to tweat about her new bedsheets or some crap, but I'm not gonna scroll all the way down to hell just so's I can follow some lame link.

I've decided to start blogging again this time because I fear that by only posting pix on my beloved Facebook, I'm essentially giving up those pix. Why? Because some people see Facebook as Big Brother, and I cannot necessarily refute such a claim. I dig the give and take on there, but the pro networking possibilities just aint happenin' there (and don't give me that Linked-in horseshit, that site is for frickin' wieners, a complete bore. As for FB, it's not for business, and it's not for fuck buddies, but it has a purpose, as I talk to friends I never talk to otherwise. Is that good? I don't know, but it aint bad. Seriously, I mean, what the hell has mystery ever done for me? Let me become famous and then I'll keep people guessin'. Right now though, I gots to simply get out there. I do know though that Facebook might not be the best place for my anti-establishment rants, however, so, hence, Snot has risen from the dead once again.

Yay.

That said, I'm tired tonight (not that I'm sleeping too little, I'm actually sleeping far too much these days but...) and so I'm just gonna leave this entry with a pic I took today...