Dear Internetz

Dear Internetz:

I really want to watch two movies based on the fact that two people in FB made comments related to them. Smokey and the Bandit and War Games. Please forgive me for being old school. But I dig Sheriff Buford T. Justice and hearing a computer pre-mouse days say, "Do you want to play a game?" Even if Matthew Broderick married a really bad actress with horse face.

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Dear Internetz:

I guess I'm supposed to be mourning the death of the King of Pop and my first 70's crush. I was truthfully not that fond of MJ ( you really need to watch this one ) outside of the Jacks0n 5, and honestly was more interested in Cheryl Tiegs (NSFW) than FF.

Honestly, the real person we SHOULD be mourning is this lady. No ... as Americans we need to mourn the rich and pretty and mentally disturbed.

When Cronkite dies in a few days we won't even get more than 30 seconds on the news. He did more to shape the world than MJ.

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Dear Internetz:

How is h3rp3s transmitted? Knot Major says her bff had a one night make out session with a boy. He texted the bff and said he had the h3rps. The bff and the one nighter only had oral. She cut him with her braces. How is h3rps transmitted? I don't think bff has it or him either. I think he just got what he wanted and moved on.

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Dear Internetz:

Bryan Adams and Jason Aldean are on CMT Crossroads soon. Aldean's version of Heaven is REALLY good. We all need more BA in our lives.

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Dear Internetz:

Why do 18 year old girls get b00b jobs? Why did the sweetest girl at my church do that? Why did her parents pay for it for her as a birthday gift? Can I see them?

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Dear Internetz:

My niece found out MJ had died. My SIL said, "MJ died?" and my 3 year old niece said, "Did he die on the cross?" I love my 3 year old niece.

Day One Without The Dog

Yesterday was our first day without Spook. My wife got up and immediately looked out the window. I slept little but remember waking up and thinking, "Oh ya, Spook is gone."

We put him down because he couldn't walk and wouldn't eat. He was almost deaf and had stopped barking, a sign that his hips were in a lot of pain. He drooled constantly and had labored breathing. Not the dog I remember.

He will rest peacefully in my office in his urn next to Spider in her urn.

For almost 15 years I have come home and fed a dog or filled a water bowl. When I was younger I laid on the couch and rubbed a dog's belly until one or both of us fell asleep.

Last night I got home from band rehearsal and started my phone charging and my earpiece. Everything is better with bluetooth.

Usually, at this point, I head to the back yard to feed the dog, except last night, I didn't. All I could hear was the sound of the water fountain he drank from. I have a half a container of dog food and a million dog treats that will go to my SIL's dog. I still need to clean out his monster dog house. And take all the carpet to the trash and clean out the flea and fly spray and brushes and soaps. I think that's when it will hit me.

The back yard will start to grow faster and thicker now. All good things. Just bi-products of something I didn't really want.

I think I'll plant a pecan tree in the back yard for both of my dogs. I think they would have liked the shade.

My dog is dying

Yes, my dog of nearly 15 years is dying. Not much to do but make him comfortable. Knot Minor doesn't really know. He's lost about 20 pounds. Losing the first dog a couple of years ago was sad. I'm not sure how Knot Minor will take it this time. Last week I would have told you that I had at least the rest of the summer with him. Now I wonder if he'll make it through the week. I have to pick him up and carry him inside. His back legs are so weak and the heat is miserable. Come to Texas ... melt. Other than the weight loss he appears fine. He's just kind of wasting away. I think he knows it's time. I found my dog dead when I was 10. It was traumatic. I don't want Knot Minor to find her puppy.

You don't really know how hot it is until you walk outside and immediately have a headache from the heat or it feels like you are breathing air from an oven. I hate this place in the summer. That's been well documented. Below is an optimistic forecast. Most are calling for a high later in the week near 103. People die in this.

Father's Day

Posting this means I'll have to push something out the door early tomorrow.

Its 5:40 AM-ish and I'm sitting in my step-son's empty bed. My wife and daughter fast asleep in my bedroom. In 20 minutes I get ready to do two sets at church. It's just another day as far as I'm concerned.

Yesterday we spent the day at the in-laws. Hers, not mine. I have no clue where my dad lives or what he does. I think I'm a better father for not having his influence.

That said, I do wish I had a dad that was around. Just not MY dad. What did Pat Green say, "I'm making all this shit up as I go." It would have been nice to have someone, male, who was actually a father.

The only tear-jerking stories I have are the two where I tried to connect on some level with my dad over the past 20 years and he had some kind of odd response like, "Therapy is expensive." If anyone missed the point it was him. And yet, I fear that is my same fate. The fate of bad decisions and stupidity.

Boo hoo! Poor me. No, not so much. Other's have dead fathers or fathers who beat them. I had a deadbeat dad when I turned 18. Not a bad deal in itself.

So I hope I do this father thing right. Better than I do most things. And as consistently as I do others.

What's on Jef's Mind

I'm supposed to be working.

Long week ... lots of progress ... I was on fire ... in the zone ... Peyton Manning has nothing on me this week ...

Letting my mind drift ...

Yesterday, I was scouting out places to shoot pictures for a family friend. There's a hidden lake in town that is perfect and about 500 yards from my ex's parent's house. I drove through the neighborhood just to reminisce ... just a little ... and saw her parent's working on the yard. It was Thursday ... he does his yard on Thursday. Thank goodness he got rid of his 1980 Honda Civic and bought himself a Toyota Camry. Poor man drove in the Texas summers for 10 years without AC. Nice guy, miss him, his wife didn't like me so much, but she made good Sunday dinners.

And as my mind drifted at 4:30 AM this morning, I was wondering what happened to my ex-fiance. I really should let things rest, but I really want to know what happens to people after I lose touch. Not just her, lots of people. Not long after this thought I wondered about calling my best friend from junior high and leaving a message. He's a radiologist and I'm sure has zero time for phone calls.

Speaking of phone calls ... Hi ... ( I hope someone gets that movie reference )

As I laid there, I wondered if it would be awkward to ask my ex's sister ( a FB friend ) if I could have a picture of her and her family? I kept telling myself, "She's going to say, 'Uh ... move on ... married with kid ...,'" but I don't see the harm. I don't want to talk to her, just see what the family looks like. Curse of being a visual learner I guess.

It was a monumental time in my life. Rocky, but every relationship has good and bad. This one seem to have a lot of both. And just to show how styles/people change, I'm posting the most embarrassing images of me from the early 90's. I love the swimsuit pic. I miss my hair. I don't miss my Reverend Knot hair. And yes, that was a picture two poor kids had made at Wal-Fart. So does my red-head fascination make more sense now?

Regrets? Sure ... I didn't get nude pics of her.







I'm just into this song. Love the intro.

Deep River Woman

Too Funny Not To Post

I think these two images are hilarious. Caption at will.

You Just Never Realize

If I was going to write a letter to myself when I was 17 I would give myself a little wisdom. Brad Paisley has made this famous in his video "Letter to Me", no doubt.

But what would I tell myself? And in what areas? "Wash your hands," is probably a little obvious. Maybe tip me off on a few Kentucky Derby winners. I probably wouldn't remember their names or the years I was supposed to bet. But on love and jobs, I might have a shot.

1. Date the girl you like, not the one that's popular. Make friends and have fun. You pick. Remember that girl from the school across town and how she turned out to be ... ugghhh .. AGGRESSIVE? See! Rich pretty girls are probably bad in bed and as frigid as they look. Don't waste your time. Find someone who treats you as well as you want to treat them. You like food, fine one that likes to cook and loves to kiss you. Besides, you've always liked the girl next door type.

2. Growing up in a small town isn't so bad. Moving back later isn't bad either. But spend some time in places you might like to live or visit, just to see. If it doesn't work out, don't worry about it. People move all the time. Unless they have kids or marry.

3. Get some good friends. You know, the ones you can sit on the porch with and talk for hours and laugh and just say how you feel and talk about stuff. Hard to find, I know. They move on, so when you find one or two, treat the time like it's worth more than you can pay for it.

4. Do some kind of work that makes you happy. NEVER take a job for the money. It's never worked out for me or you. My favorite jobs have been where I love the work and or the people. Mostly the work ... not so much the people.

5. Good gosh save before you spend and don't trust the stock market.

6. Find the truth.

I'm sure you would tell yourself something.

I just kind of thought this guy was kind of interesting.

Contest Winner

TD3K has won the coloring contest. ANDDDDDD ... he did it in a way I was hoping someone would by using PhotoShop ( or Paint or Gimp or Photo.Net ) to color it. TD3K gets an MP3 CD of some of my library ... to be hashed out by lawyers and politicians.

But you say, "I thought Knot Minor was going to vote," well, when you only have one entry there's no need for a judge.

Here is his winning entry.

I don't know

My body hurts from cleaning our tiny back yard. I hate yard work. Absolutely hate it. I'm good at picking up kids and doing lots and lots of other things, but I absolutely HATE yard work. I don't see the point.

As such I can just say I am still married ... barely.

And I seriously consider putting down field turf in yards. No joke, I hate yard work. Unfortunately, I have to live with people like my mother who is a master gardener, my FIL who has beautiful yards and my wife who really likes a pretty yard, but doesn't know how to care for one.

I hate it ...

( BTW - Field Turf in Texas costs rough $15/sqr foot).

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I work in a building that was built in 1912. It was remodeled last year so it still smells like a new building. I am using an Air Wick plug in the wall oil something with a night light. It now smells like my grandmother's bathroom on 1317 Sunset Blvd. The other ones smelled good. This one smells like Listerine and old shaving cream.

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My dog is sick. He has a really hard time peeing. I'm guessing enlarged prostate. I don't know, I'm not a vet. Knot Minor is TERRIFIED he's going to die. She loves him. Her last experience was my dog Spider having to go to the vet. Her spleen was a mess. I think someone poisoned her. Spook is just old. I can't convince Knot Minor that he's just kind of sick and it's like when she has a cold and goes to the doctor. Ironically, Knot Minor, on several occasions, has told us she wants to be a vet.


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Ok ladies this question is for you. How do you keep your boobs in if you are wearing something like this? (click to see enlarged photo of girl on the left)

This Time I Tend To Agree

CNN ran an entertainment story entitled, "What Will Save Rock 'N' Roll?" featuring the commentary of Steven Van Zandt, long time Springsteen guitarist. I usually don't listen to rock stars dribble on about political or social issues. Given enough stage most people will talk about something that's emotionally or politically charged as evidenced by this shack of opinions. Most of the time they aren't experts. Forget most of the time, almost never.

How did Bob Geldoff become and expert on Etheopian politics? How did Alec Baldwin become an expert on Middle East relations? And on and on ... most actors pretend for a living. They didn't get their Ph.D. in political science or public policy. So why do we give them the stage?

Steve Van Zant, however, I'm going to listen to this time. Although his boss, "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen tends to want to talk about how the unions are great and Democrats are awesome but has never had more than a high school education and some time at the world renowned Ocean County College. Yes, revel in his political opinions. He's well versed in them.

Van Zant has a good point and is an expert in his field. The art form of rock as a business is rather bland, in my opinion. If I was going to choose a phrase to describe it, I would say most music sounds very, "Cookie cutter." With the deregulation of radio in the mid 90's corporations could own more than 2 stations in a market. This allowed conglomerates like Clear Channel to come in and segment the styles and format radio to be demographical. Boy bands were churned out and the advent of technology allowed for albums to be produced like bad Easter candy.

What the music industry IS good at is turning a profit in a sense. Bubblegum pop is so predictable and sell able to a younger set. However, bands are finding their own ways to distribute and market their music. Large record companies are now struggling to re-invent themselves and their delivery methods. The Internet, if we believe RIAA, is killing music, but if we listen to the musician that's up and coming, the Internet may be keeping his family fed.

MySpace and Indie distribution sites as well as the ability to mix and produce your own album have become wildly popular. Anyone with a laptop and about $500 worth of recording equipment can produce a fairly decent album. With a large enough local following and a reasonable internet presence, regional bands COULD find some success.

But what about the "art". Is music better, or do we just have more access to it? I would say the art is not much better. Van Zandt has a point. The quantity is there, but the quality is not. Rap has killed the actual music side, but has pushed the ability to effectively use a computer and marry the music industry to the small time thug. The artists, true artists are not visible and growing.

But if Mr. Van Zandt is so concerned, my question to him is, "So how are you trying to develop the art?"