SHMALLURE FLOORING

i'm busy putting in about 500 square feet of home depot "easiest?" (not), so they say, flooring.  the trailer park price justifies doing it yourself.  the appearance is definitely upscale middle class new jersey schlock that your fancy intellectual, gourmet neighbor would love.. 


SKIP THIS - ITS THE REALLY BORING PART:
i've put in tiles, and sheeting before but this is tough.  it comes in 3' x 1' strips with gluey, sticky strips on the ends.  the major problem is keeping the waste to a minimum, (for the first 300 square feet its less than 3%) especially when doing doorways, corners, and edges.  the stuff sticks to you.  the tarbaby problem comes to mind.  it.is difficult to cut compared to one square foot square tile and the odd size with glued extensions make it difficult to measure.  lots of room for errors.  removal and refurbishing or replacing of moulding is necessary.

while loading they dented the trunk lid by forcing it shut.  after a litlle grief the problem was resolved by someone hitting the other side to push it out.  home depot repaid the tip i gave him but this was after getting an estimate from an autobody place for about $400.  it now looks good.

yes i understand that guys carrying building materials around all day at home depot are really strong.

SEE, I TOLD YOU TO SKIP IT.

p.s.  i would do the same thing again because being retired, i need the work. its pretty good exercise for a 150 year old man, and there's no sense spending my children's inheritance on contractors.

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IS HER VOICE GREAT OR WHAT??????  LOVE IT.




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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXXII): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

(continued)

buxom marcia was interested in getting married. something the guys of my age i knew never had a serious thought about. she was barking up the wrong tree with my group.  she initially showed up to ... ummm ... our mixers, with her own boy friend and bottle of booze.  well, she was 15  - a mature 15.

she got married about four years later (YEA) to some olive skinned, tall, thin guy with a pencil thin mustache.  where did she find these guys?  new jersey flea market?

(to be continued)

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GROUCHO MARX - EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (HORSE FEATHERS - 1932)

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BIG DAY IN COLORADO

CU is about a 1.5 point underdog to alabama.  i thrive on adversity.  go buffs.

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also, sorta, go uconn.  kentucky favored in saturday's game.  

nothing personal against butler or vcu, whoever they are, but i prefer a national champion to be a school i have heard of.


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prez. obama's speech last night sounds like it was lifted from a variety of sources.  the most memorable being, henry fonda's, monologue in the grapes of wrath.  paraphrasing:  "wherever men want liberty, i'll be there".

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) - I'll Be There



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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXXI): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

(continued)

CENTRAL PARK SOUTH FROM CENTRAL PARK

artie had an interest in florence, one of my step grand father's three grand children.  artie's interest on the surface was purely intellectual; reading poetry or other crap and teaching her the ways of the world.  afterall he was college bound and she was ... ummm .. who the hell knows? 

one time, artie, florence, matty and i were to go to a ping-pong place near columbus circle and we picked up matty at her place on central park south, the same street on which the PLAZA HOTEL is located.   the floors in her building squeaked.  how could that be?  on central park south?  is there nothing in this universe that you can believe in?  huh?

reality bites.  growing up is hard to do.  whatever.

(to be continued)

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GOD EXISTS

my faith is renewed.  yes, BUTTHEAD, the god of dumb luck presides over the universe.  both ncaa games yesterday went down to the final buzzer with final baskets successful or failed in the BUTTHEAD credo.  his indifferent and vacant presence cannot be denied.

i want to thank the arizona basketball team for an especially interesting series of games.  thats the best i can do.

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Georges Guétary - I'll build a stairway to paradise (V.Minnelli's An American In Paris)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVvGEBDioHg&feature=related

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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXX): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

MID-TEEN ADVENTURES:

while on vacation, like i wasn't always on vacation, i met, elaine whose father was a BUTCHER.  BUTCHERS during and after the germanbastard war ii were centers of power, wealth, and autocracy.  in order to purchase meat you needed money, ration stamps, money, and money.  did i mention money?  there was an active,  ... ummm .. illegal? .....  ration stamp trade. at any rate, you had to deal with, THE BUTCHER.

AND  elaine's father was a BUTCHER.  they lived in brooklyn, which to a mid-teen from the bronx might just as well have been siberia or a sub-sahara nation. 

my only regret is that i could have been somebody.  the son-in-law and errand boy for the BUTCHER.  so close.  maybe a presidential contender, like donald trump.

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THE FIX IS ALWAYS IN

just sayin'.

watching duke get blown out near midnite last night was a pleasurable experience until i recalled similar blowouts in the 1950, and 1951 basketball college seasons.  kentucky, liu, and my beloved ccny (and i'm sure others) were shaving points and dumping games providing bizarre scores and results.

duke is one of the best college basketball organizations.  arizona is a good team but not as good as they seemed to be last night.  coach K, can only do his best.
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yes, i believe (one way or another) the fix is always in.  at my installation one of the people told me that she was disturbed because she was promoted only because an officer used his influence for her.  my advice was, "the fix is always in.  this time its in for you.  take it.".  of course, she did.
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GO JETS.  18 POINT UNDERDOG JETS WIN SUPERBOWL.  YEA!!!

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WINNING IS THE ONLY THING IV

CU, (allegaroo) no not city university but colorado university will appear at the nit semi-finals at madison square garden on the 29th.  go buffs.

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too bad, boise state loses in cbi.  but football season getting closer.

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libertarians can rejoice:  planes landed at reagan national airport in wash. dc, yesterday, your nations capital, without an airtraffic controller in attendance or help.  yea!  we don't need any stinkin' government help.  we can do it ourselves.

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WINNING IS THE ONLY THING III

my WITOT ideology brings to mind my last gasp competitive experience like the quarterback's final season before he gets crushed never to return.

after a multi-year hiatus i returned to the morris county industrial chess league and entered at not my mediocre rating but a low one because WITOT (it was new jersey. any cheap trick will do.). i wound up matched against a kid and kicked his butt. yea! winning is the only thing.

sometimes, not often, the universe is in balance.  justice came quickly.  they found my old records and the next week matched me with an 1800 rated player who crushed me. that disaster was quickly followed up by being beaten by a woman. 

no problem.  women are the intellectual equal of men, yeah right, sob, groan.  a woman, aaarrrgghh.  a woman ........ NOOOOOooooooooooooooo ........

the end.  WITOT. 

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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXIX): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

(continued)

urbane-marcia's sweet sixteen party was held in her family's elegant apartment in a building near broadway & 56th street, well furnished with a large piano and nice carpeting all over. 

i arrived on time, gift in hand, headed for a comfortable chair and sat there stunned for quite awhile.  it was a great social success as i did not spill anything on myself, the furniture or the carpeting. 

urbane-marcia packed the house with friends.  none of the other people from the holloween party of the previous week were there.  there wasn't an adult in sight all evening. 

the highlight of the night was when one of the guys got sick from drinking.  people kept checking the bathroom to see how he was doing.  eventually he recovered, sorta, and proposed marriage to urbane-marcia.  i don't think she accepted.  there's nothing more romantic than an unemployed mid-teen wedding in ... ummm ... the gaza strip but in midtown new york city, not such a good idea..

never saw her again, do i or did i care? i don't think so.

i don't think most of that crowd was headed for (ugh) new jersey.

(to be continued)

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WINNING IS THE ONLY THING II

GO - COLORADO BUFFS..

i've always believed winning is the only thing.  why go to the ncaa and probably get your butt kicked in an early round when you can go to the nit and win them all.  YEA WINNING!!!!!!

if colorado university gets to madison square garden, they will eerily be the reincarnation of that other great CU team city university, my alma mater who won the nit (and ncaa) in 1950.  truly the ghosts of ccny now CU will be there.  most of that team is dying or dead.

and my other, WINNING IS THE ONLY THING team, boise state is moving up in the College Basketball Invitational tourney.  and you thought us easterners hadn't noticed.

VINCE LOMBARDI



comment originally attributed to UCLA Bruins football coach Henry Russell ("Red") Sanders

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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXVIII): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

 (preface: since there's nothing much goiing on in the world [invasions, revolutions, earthquakes, nuclear disasters, ncaa tourney, tsunamis, sob politicians, financial frauds, bank scams, jihadists of all faiths, etc., etc.] that is of my interest or comprehension, i'll just talk about myself.)

(continued)

my introduction to the world of girls was in retrospect SENSATIONAL - sorta.  during the now famous, holloween party, i met urbane-marcia (as opposed to buxom-marcia).  urbane-marcia invited me to her sweet sixteen party to be held in her family's apartment the next week.  so, of course, i was convinced this girl-world was really easy.  why hadn't i noticed this before?

as it turned out she was packing the house.

(to be continued)

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my first girl party song::



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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXVII): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

(continued)

MANHATTAN - YEA!!!!!!!!!!

my grand mother remarried in the mid-1940s.

her brand new senior-citizen husband had a daughter and three grand daughters living in manhattan.  this turned out to be a blessing for a mid-teen's (non-existent) social life.  i was invited to a holloween party where i was introduced to the world of girls.  we played one round of a kissing game in which i missed the girl's lips and sorta slipped off her cheek.  not a very smooth beginning to my social life.  inept?  whatever,


(to be continued)
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i'm tearing up............................................................

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DEFENSE DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

you may think from my comments that defense department managers are a bunch of egocentric nitwit jerks;  not so.  they are highly trained in some of the most up to date, state of the art management methods. 

for example:

broadbrushbigpicture mode.  incorporates all the important characteristics of never completing a job and never making a mistake.

zeitgeistfournication technique.  laying out your problem may be initially difficult but you can wear it down if you continue to go at it.

the brzyzyzyzyzki doctrine. its never poland's fault.

kriegspielenkunnilingus method. yes, a mouthful, but it can be licked.

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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXVI): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

(continued)

in the early '40s my grand parents moved to a very nice apartment on elsemere place from vyse & 180th.  the elsemere theater was across the way on crotona parkway which was separated from southern boulevard by a divider strip wide enough to accomodate some grass, a tree  here and there and benches.  not exactly like the, tuileries, but pretty good. 

unfortunately my grandfather did not get to enjoy these surroundings too long as his bad heart gave out.

(to be continued)

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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXV): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

(continued)

1947 was one of many de witt clinton's championship seasons.  better than the national ncaa tournament.  the playoff games at that time were played in madison square garden.  during the elimination rounds, games were stacked back to back all saturday afternoon making the initial round of the ncaa seem sluggish and torpid.  the enthusiastic and energetic high school atmosphere was more exciting than for a republican when he steals a nickel from a blind person. 

other great and invigorating high scool experiences included football played at randall's island.  sometimes, clinton, lost.  still (sorta) burning in my memory is that day of infamy when stuyvesant h s beat clinton.  at times we walked home from the stadium, several miles up southern boulevard to our neighborhood.  then of course in the evening we might go downtown nyc and (sorta) party until midnight.  yes, the subway system was safe and reliable.  high school kids can do anything.

(to be continued)

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MIKE HUCKABEE SPECIAL

as a tribute to mike huckabee and his fear of mau maus, i submit the following tribute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDbtSUMzBb0&feature=related

i know, zulus are not mau maus --  close enough.

as you can see below they have already made inroads into our culture.  the caliphate and mau maus are closing in.



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IMPORTANT WORLD CLASS COMMENTS: NCAA TOURNAMENT

NEW YORK AREA TEAMS WILL WIN --

LIU basketball is back.  clair bee, their great coach who led them to two undefeated seasons and two nit titles ....  ooops .. he died in 1983.

ok - well

nit champs, st. john's led by the mcguire brothers, al and dick, will prevail ,,, ooops .. they're dead too.

nevermind.

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GO BUFFS .... ooops ... they were dumped from the ncaa.  but on the bright side they're a #1 seed in the nit.

there was a time when the nit was the premier tourney.

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EVEN THOUGH WE'RE OCCUPIED WITH IMPORTANT STUFF WE'RE ETERNALLY VIGILANT.

HUCKABEE IS STILL ON MAU MAU ALERT.

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JUST STUFF FOR ME AND MY GOLDFISH



AND STAY OUT OF IOWA,
SAYS, HUCKABEE.



so glad that senator lieberman who is suddenly an expert on nuclear power says, don’t worry about a thing. he’ll do the worrying for you.  the govt. and their corporate friends are here to help you.  yea, for us!

in literature and comic strips creatures exposed to radiation develop super powers.  it appears that in reality people seem to get sick and die.  don't worry about a thing.  the politicians and lobbyists will protect you.

newt gingrich's passionate response to the japan disaster resulted in his cruising for girls in georgetown this past weekend.

presidential timber, sarah palin, was angry and responded to "D list", kathy griffin's comments about her.  yesss, responding to every catty remark is certainly world class behavior.

meanwhile, huckabee, was saving iowa from the mau-maus.

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DON'T JUMP WATCH THE TOURNEY INSTEAD

the man made and natural disasters occurring lately should certainly push the depressive/suicide rate to record breaking levels.

but wait, the annual ncaa basketball tourney has arrived to save the world.

yea!  sorta'

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NUCLEAR PLANTS PERFECTLY SAFE

ho, ho, ho, nuclear plants are perfectly safe.  we, republicans have invested a lot of money in our nuclear energy program and we assure you its perfectly safe.  have we ever lied to you?

although we incredibly smart republican executives know nothing about this stuff, our engineers direct from new jersey, texas, india, and china assure you of the safety design being built into future plants.

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NCAA BB SELECTION WEEKEND

being definitely cool this year to the bb tourney, i am waiting (like many of the media) for the selection committee seedings before i pick the number one seeds for the final four.

i will be annoyed if erratic and presumably honest duke gets a #1 seed.

of course i'll be sorta' rooting for any team from the NEW YORK CITY AREA.

and an "allegaroo"** to st. john's.



** don't bother searching for "allegaroo" because the superhighway has no memory past last week.

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note to rutger's fans:  suck it up.

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YES, ITS CCNY - SO?

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WISCONSIN GOV. SCOTT WALKER CREATES A GAZILLION JOBS

WISCONSIN OR LIBYA?????

scott walker created a gazillion jobs (so he says) or did he create a gazillion job openings.

typical republican drivel.

and you fall for it all the time.

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also, newt gingrich saying he committed adultery for you (while his wife was dying).  his intense passion for this country was so great that he couldn't help screwing around. 

whoa, that's not only a good excuse, it is a unique excuse.  GO NEWT!!!!!! 

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FRED ASTAIRE & JANE POWELL: ROYAL WEDDING 1951

HOW COULD YOU BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAID I LOVED YOU WHEN YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN A LIAR ALL MY LIFE



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CAVE WALL WISDOM

I KNOW THAT, IF NECESSARY, I WOULD HIDE A HARD COPY
OF MY GREAT BLOG IN THIS CAVE
FOR POSTERITY

i've been told that the dead sea scrolls are certainly the real deal.

you can be sure that writings (or artwork) found in caves are certainly more intelligent, authentic and true than anything more recent.  it follows that people living in caves or in tents are more knowledgeable.than the new york times or even the morris county daily record.  certainly people drinking beer**, standing in the hot sun while tending their sheep can give reliable and accurate accounts of events.


** http://www.crystalinks.com/earlyalcohol.html


surely, they must be better reporters than, harriet crone or the buttheads; neighbors in new jersey.

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ok, i'll concede that this ancient stuff has some historical value and arouses and stimulates your imagination.  that's it.

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179TH AND VYSE, BRONX, NY (PART XXXXIV): LIFE BEFORE DEATH IN (ugh) NEW JERSEY

FROM, THE U S COASTGUARD IN WW II
UNITED STATES NAVAL INSTITUTE, ANNAPOLIS, MD

coast guard picture id s were issued.  i recall my dad having a white picture id necessary for fishing in the li sound.  i'm sure many germanbastards and axis power people entered this country by jumping ship or from u-boats, at that time.  of course they must have headed straight for new jersey.  bigfoot is not the only resident of northern new jersey.

fishing boats were a good cover for illegal entry activities.

u-boats were a major problem at the time.  many a merchant marine ship carrying personnel, and supplies to europe were sunk near our coast.  one of my dad's friends was ship wrecked twice.

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ROMNEY FALLS ON OWN SWORD.

goodbye romney.
 
"Mitt Romney derides health-care law", WAPO.
 
LOOKS LIKE THIS HEALTH CARE SUPPORTER HAS FORGOTTEN HIS POSITION.
 
this leaves only christie and bush.  christie previously was a lobbyist for " GPU Energy for deregulation of New Jersey's electric and gas industry; the Securities Industry Association to block the inclusion of securities fraud under the state's Consumer Fraud Act"
 
 soooo, this leaves jeb bush.  how bad could that be? 
 
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JEB BUSH FOR PRESIDENT

cartoon caricature candidates, barbour, palin, huckabee, and gingrich make jeb bush really look good.  in comparison, wile e. coyote, and road runner would be a preferred 2012 republican ticket.

jeb bush appears to be the only reasonably sane looking republican.  i suspect he is even marginally educated. 

"romney, christie", you say.  ok, what the hell!

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note to young guys on charlie sheen's life style:  y'know, even porn stars get headaches.

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SORRY, YOUTUBE DOESN'T HAVE MARION HARRIS', SOME SUNNY DAY.  THIS WILL HAVE TO DO.



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GRAND DAUGHTER'S BLOG II

better late than never, since my youngest grand daughter's blog is more popular than any of mine, i now submit another one of her gems:

Friday, July 30, 2010 Entering High School- GRIM AND READY FOR BATTLE


I have not blogged for a while. Why? well first I was in Canada for a little over 2 weeks. And before then I was working as a Counselor In Training (i.e. CIT) for a camp for 4-5 year olds... (a frightening experience in oneself) and even before that, I was running out of my school screaming cheers of joy because summer vacation had started. Wow that was a long time ago. Well re-cap.


First few days of summer I spent time hanging out with my friends from school. We all didn't want to leave each other for completely different high schools quite yet. So we all went out and walked around.


Later on, I acted as CIT for a County camp for little children. Notice the age difference from the last time I reacted with children. (i.e. 3rd graders) I enjoyed this camp much much more.


Then I headed off to Canada. I did quite a lot in Canada. It was quite an experience. We went to this really cool Jazz Festival in Montreal. And I practiced my french. I've gotten better. :D We also went Jet Boating (like white water rafting minus the raft replaced with a boat) and saw a glimpse of Cirque Du Soleil. I also went to this forest where we did Ropes Courses and stuff. It was rather fun. Until it started to rain. Obscene amounts. From the sky. And then it thundered. And raged and poured. And then it stopped and we climbed again. I met toooons of people from EVERYWHERE. I'm friends with them all on Facebook now, so I can definitely say I'll never talk to them again. Everyday we'd have 4 hours french classes. And then we'd have a lot of free time so my friend and I would go out and walk around Montreal. We did a lot of shopping. We also saw a Mardis Gras parade... in July. (someones gotta tell those Canadians some things...) We went to this really nice water park. It had these really fantastic rides that you had to wear helmets on. It was pretty fun. I'm probably not gonna go back to that camp again, but I enjoyed it while it lasted and was happy to go home.


I've been back home now for 2 weeks now and I'm bored out of my mind. I've been taking this summer school class. Since the whole geometry-taking population at my school (on the most part) failed (most people blame the teacher). Its actually been quite informative (even though everyone knows math = yuck). I've learned a lot the past 2 weeks. I also just took the final exam. I'll find out my score later today so I'm crossing my fingers.


On Sunday I depart once more for another sleep-away camp. This time its an ADVENTURE SPORT camp. (i.e. rock climbing, white water rafting, mountain biking, caving, etc..) It should be pretty awesome. We'll see. If it isn't then I will not refrain from being the critical person I am.


So why complain? this sounds like a pretty nice summer right? WRONG


As you may or may not know, I am entering High School next year, and as you may or may not know, I am entering a prestigious program for Communication and Arts, that develops the intellectual, creative and communicative skills in a unique interdisciplinary, highly product-oriented program that involves them in a comprehensive approach to humanities and the media.(their words not mine) Anyway, if my 'intellectual, creative and communicative skills' need developing, then there's no time to wait. You cannot give the upcoming 9th grader a chance to settle into the idea of going into High School by giving them maybe a book to read and a paragraph to write or a book to read and no paragraph to write. Preposterous! Instead why not give them 2 books. And 22 paragraphs to write. Plus a diary entry on "the perspective" of one of the characters. AND a math packet. WELCOME TO HIGH SCHOOL!


This is why I have not been blogging recently.

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JUST SAYIN'

huckabee, "GTFOOH,A".

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Westboro win at Supreme Court:  some people are just more equal than other people.

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WITH LIBERTY AND OIL FOR ALL

Q. which set of thugs ... ooops ..  i mean freedom fighters should rule libya? 
A. easy, whoever can deliver the cheapest oil.

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i am personally rooting for the texas oilman clan and their song:

The stars at night are big and bright
Deep in the heart of libya
The prairie sky is wide and high
Deep in the heart of libya
The sage in bloom is like perfume
Deep in the heart of libya
Reminds me of the money I love
Deep in the heart of libya 

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"GIVE ME OIL OR GIVE ME DEATH"


AND NOW 20TH CENTURY LIBERTY STUFF.  


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WHTE SLAVERY

i don't see a dark skinned person in the crowd in the wisconsin strike, no italians, greeks, or mexicans.  NOoooooooo, this can't be happening here.  white people being exploited.  almost like, "planet of the apes".

now even trailer park republicans can see why this country is in decline and why they are out of jobs.  its because of govt. policies over the last 30 years.  THEY ARE SELLING YOU OUT AND SENDING YOUR JOBS ELSEWHERE.

nevermind, you are beyond help.

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and now appropriately from my granma's house paul whiteman.



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