Zona

Adventure in the Bolivian Andes.

In 1978 when I was a missionary in Bolivia I was posted in a city three hours south of La Paz called Oruro. Elections were coming up and one of the Bolivian missionaries had registered to vote in a small mining town called Colquiri. (col KEER ee)

Well somebody had to go with him and his companion didn't want to so the district leaders asked me if I wanted to go and I said hell yes.

The top picture is me on a high point overlooking the city. The middle shot is me with the city in the background and the bottom is a shot of the bus that got us there. It was a two hour trip and I stood hunched over the entire time.

It was well worth it to me though. Colquiri is almost 15,000 above sea level. There were two missionaries posted there and on a good night they could wire their radio antenna to the tin roof of their apartment and listen to the L.A. Dodgers game broadcast out of L.A..

I met this girl at the airport yesterday. We chatted for a few minutes. So I'll post the link and that will mean she owes all her success from here on out to me.

www.sabrinakorva.com

Tell me why I have to look at this blog and say "ah fuck this waste of time" and leave it a few days before I get the feel I need to post something that makes me want to keep doing it.

At least until I get mad again anyway.

When I watched The Constant Gardener it surprised me.

When I landed in Bolivia in 1978 it surprised me.

What surprised me is that the sky and the clouds in Africa and Bolivia look just like the sky and the clouds in my home town.

I don't know why that is but it is.

Sorry, not a winner. More disappointment remains.

That's what I read when I scanned my lottery ticket.

(Zona Boy's 500th post)

Just for the two of you. They say you're average but you're very special to me.

Kids have it so easy today. Lemme tell you what they have that I didn't.

Computers in the home
1000 channels of cable/satellite TV
VHS and DVD players
The remote controls to work it all
Compact discs and portable players
Microwave ovens
Cancer Treatment
Jerry Springer
A lot more sports teams

Now lemme tell you what I had growing up

Vinyl LP's with album covers that seem like posters today
Schools without guns
A world without AIDS
Team spirit
American Bandstand


Wow, maybe I had it better.

Time to brush up on my artistic skills!

73) Oxymoron alert: Erotic City/Boise.

The proprietors of the Erotic City strip club in Boise, Idaho, attempt to circumvent a local law banning nudity except for performances of "serious artistic merit" by distributing sketch pads and pencils to customers for twice-weekly G-string-free "art" nights. Local police raid the club, issuing misdemeanor citations.

From CNN.com's list of 101 dumbest moments in business. 2005 edition.

I highly suggest reading the rest.

Happy Birthday Wolfman.

You don't look a day over 249.

Everybody holds Mozart in high esteem these days because of his operas and composition.

But in his day he was more famous as a performer.

So if you see the movie Amadeus pay attention to the part where he was performing for the commoners.

That's how he was loved as when he was alive.

He was the Elton John of his times.

Regaining his dignity, (sort of) Zona Boy demonstrates the REAL reason he blogs.

Dear Conroy,

You are, as of this posting, my only grandchild so at this point I am doing this for you. You see all those years that I said that one day I would tape record my grandmother and my dad as they told stories of their lives ended up coming to nothing because of my procrastination. So I blog for you and your siblings and cousins not yet born.

In 15 years when you read these posts (after you proclaim that blogging is SO 30 years ago) you will see some of the thoughts that I let slip in here to mainly total strangers before telling those closest to me. That's just my nature. Of course your mom and your uncle Dan pop in here from time to time. Most of the people who post comments on my blog will probably be long scattered back to the winds but while we were all here together we had quite a nice time.

Enough of that.

Let me tell you a story.

I remember my first day of the first grade, Mom walked me to school and dropped me off at my classroom door just a little late. I immediately fell in love with my teacher Miss Newman. She was very pretty and had a really nice butt. Of course she dumped me and married some old dude. Just left me there picking up the shattered pieces of my heart. Bitch. But I soon fell in love again with a classmate named Linda. She's the one with the long red hair in the picture.

She left me too. Her family moved away suddenly and when me and a friend went to look at the house where she lived we saw that it was a small house set back from the road a bit and all the windows had been broken out. Though I was only six I realized that Linda was poor when I saw the house she had lived in. It was quite run down. My family wasn't rich by any stretch of the imagination and it wasn't until I was an adult and knew the meaning of lower middle class that I realized our economic status when I was a child. We didn't want for anything and were happy but now I know how better off I am now and that it is/was mainly a stroke of luck and a few of the right decisions.

But back to Linda for just a few moments. To this day I wonder what became of her and always hope that she made out okay. Even though the house was torn down and there is a small apartment complex on the site I still think of her when I drive by.

Always count your blessings Conroy.

Love,

Grammpa

Okay blogger buddies. You should be able to spot Linda out from the description of her hair and the woman who broke my heart is pretty easy too. But which one is me?

Look at all those GOOSE EGGS!!

0 comments

SHOW ME SOME LOVE PEOPLE!!!!

See? You made me beg like a freshman with tape on his glasses after walking into an all girl pillow fight.

I'm so ashamed

goddamed Canada winters really piss me off

I always remember too late that Beef-a-Roni goes through me like a big wheeled truck through a Georgia mud bog.

A 47 year-old eating frikking BEEF a FRIKKING Roni???

What's saving me is this very nice David Benoit tune called Along The Milky Way. That and this month's edition of GOLF magazine next to the turlet.

I just wanna send out my best thoughts to chloe who hasn't posted in a couple of days and I just saw where Athens is having snow and record cold temps.

A warm hug thought to you my dear friend.

Google names:

Becky Garbini
Phil Connolly
Susan Friesenhahn
Brenda Novak
Elizabeth Rossell
John Barberii
Sara Sanchez

Ya never know. I've wanted to do this for some time but for one reason or another....

Signs of life

Moses came down from the mountain with a sign carved out of stone by none other than god himself. Now my attorneys advise me about addressing each of the comments, or commandments if you will, on those stone tablets. I will instead list for you what I have seen in MY lifetime in the way of signs that I have taken on as my rules of life.

1) Watch your step

2) Please take a number

3) No butts in urinals

4) Do not throw objects at the performers on the stage

5) Do not block fire escape

6) Keep arms and legs inside of the car at all times while the ride is in motion

7) All skaters MUST wear protective head gear

8) Premises monitored by video surveillance equipment

9) All guns must be unloaded prior to entering

10) Passengers will please refrain from using toilet while the train is standing in the station

11) Urinating on wall prohibited

12) Stop, drop, and roll

13) Amber and red means snow plow ahead

14) Children at play

15) Click it or ticket

16) Anybody caught soliciting acts of prostitution will be asked to leave

17) Golf course irrigated by treated sewage water. DO NOT lick your ball

18) All players are responsible for any damage they cause

19) Please refrain from urinating in the pool

20) State prison. Do not pick up hitchhikers

This is an update on two posts I made a while ago.

To bring you newbies up to speed I had written where I was surprised that a Canadian court had sentenced a man to 25 years for a series of four rapes. Usually the sentence in Canada for something like that doesn't come close to 25 years.

Then in comparison I posted an article from the newspaper in my home town of Tucson, Arizona about a very similar case and how that rapist faced a MINIMUM sentence of 52.5 years.

Well yesterday a judge sentenced the man and I put the article below so you can get a feel of a judicial system where the victim's side gets more consideration.


Series of attacks nets 120 years
Local dad raped 4, assaulted 3 in 9-month span
By Kim Smith
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

A Tucson father of four was sentenced to nearly 120 years in prison Monday for raping four women and attacking three others during a nine-month spree.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Lee sentenced Daniel Aaron Lopez, 27, after reading letters from Lopez's wife and parents, and after hearing impassioned statements from one of the victims and the parents of three others.

Lopez could have received as little as 52.5 years or as many as 400 years after being convicted in mid-December of 36 sexual assault and other criminal charges.

One of the victims' fathers urged Lee to imagine the "sheer, stark terror" of waking up with a man on top of you threatening to kill you if you screamed and then carrying out unspeakable acts for up to an hour. Imagine further, the father said, not knowing whether you were going to survive the attack.

The man told Judge Lee his daughter lost a four-year merit scholarship to the University of Arizona because she was so traumatized she had to leave Tucson. For a year, she had to worry and wonder if she had acquired a sexually transmitted disease or AIDS, he said.

Another father spoke of how hard it was to remain civilized during the trial with such an uncivilized man sitting so close.

"I hope prison is as awful as I hear it is and everything horrible happens to this guy," he said.
Perhaps Lopez "will spend eternity in raper's hell," the father said, drawing applause from the packed courtroom.

One mother expressed similar hopes.

"I hope you feel the anguish, terror and pain you caused my daughter," she said. "We'll see how strong you are. I hope you get what you deserve. Now it's your turn for all those sleepless nights."

The victim who spoke described often feeling "violated, scared, restless and alone" because of Lopez's "cowardly quest for power."

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to sleep without a TV on to distract me or shower without a weapon nearby," she said.

Throughout it all, the woman said she has learned she is a survivor and, turning toward the other victims in the courtroom, she congratulated them for their courage in appearing in court.

Are you a Canadian?

If you are....

don't be an idiot,

GO VOTE DAMMIT!!!!

WHO SAID MEN AREN'T SENSITIVE?


A woman meets a handsome man in a bar.

They talk, they connect and they end up leaving together.

They get back to his apartment and she notices that his
bedroom is completely packed with sweet cuddly teddy bears.

Hundreds of cute small bears on a shelf all the way along the floor, cuddly
medium-sized ones on a shelf a little higher, and huge enormous bears on the top shelf
along the wall.

The woman is surprised that this guy would have a collection of teddy
bears, especially one that's so extensive, but she decides not to mention
this to him, and actually is quite impressed by his sensitive side.

She turns to him... they kiss... and then they rip each
other's clothes.

After an intense night of passion with this sensitive guy they are
lying there together in the afterglow when the woman rolls over and asks,
smiling, "Well, how was it?"..............................................
.............................................................
............
...............................................................
The guy says:.......................................
..................................
......................................
.............................................................
.............
.....................................................

(scroll down it's a beauty)
..
.
.
.
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.
.
.
.
.

"Help yourself to any prize from the bottom shelf."

My mama is 70 years old today and she'll be the FIRST to tell you that......

...she almost died giving birth to me.

She'ld also tell you that she would have strangled me if my dad hadn't held her back until I was old enough to fight her off myself.

Born in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico and raised mainly in Douglas, Arizona, She moved to Tucson with my father after they were married and has lived there ever since.

She is the reason that I am.....

Stubborn
Hot blooded
Tender
Alive

She is proud of me for.....

Having gone on a Mormon mission.
Marrying the perfect woman for me.
Staying away from drugs and alcohol.
Being the good son who takes care of her.

She wishes that I would.....

Go to church.
Go to Tucson more often.


She better not be leaving anytime real soon.

I love you mom.

I turned the TV to the golf tournament in Palm Springs. This is one of the tournaments where celebrities play along with the pros. Of course you know that golf on TV is something old people like me watch. ANYWHO they were showing Michael Bolton (calm down ladies) hit. It seems that he and Nicolette Sheridan are an item. So here comes Nicolette into the camera shot with a thin white tank top and nipples the size of my thumbs. HOLY SHIT!! You can tell the director went crazy because one of the commentators jumped in front of her with his back toward the camera (blocking my view of those nipples) to chat with her and Michael.

They'll get some nice mail for that I'll bet ya.

Once upon a time there was a group of of people at an airport who got a "heads up" from their magical wizards that none other than the roving minstrel show known as the Rolling Stones would be coming through.

There was much rejoicing and bringing of the cameras and all were happy.

Then word came that the wizards were mistaken. Alas it was only a group of brave pilots going in an empty airship to pick up said group in the land of New York and carry them off to the kingdom of Ottawa.

All smiles were gone and the dancing and prancing ceased.

One of the once happy crowd was heard to say. "we don't even know where Mick freaking Jagger is and we're supposed to find roving bands of Persians and philistines with intent to cause us great harm?"

Another FIVE star movie.

I watched The Joy Luck Club again last night. My wife got it for Christmas.

Ya know how I told you that the kids love to see me laugh?

They also know to not say anything when I cry.

That's right. I cried. I always cry watching that movie.

I don't know what movie won the academy award that year but I know that the voters are full of shit to the brim for not giving The Joy Luck Club the statue as the movie of the year when it came out.

If you don't lose it during the "I see you" scene I don't know what to say. THAT scene is one of the most touching scenes in any movie EVER made. EVER!

If you haven't seen this movie you better get off your butt and do it.

Me and my shaaaaaaaadow.....

Go ahead dude. Say something profound.

Me? profound?

Okay then. Rant.

I'm not a ranter.

Bitch please, You're world class when it comes to ranting.

No Idea what you're talking about hoss.

Don't be a pussy.

*tapping microphone*

Is this on?

Sounds on to me. Now let's hear it ya KNOB.

Hang on. this is a good song. Sing with me. Papa's got a brand new bag. Check that sax.

QUIT STALLING!!

Ya know I will never understand how people are so frikking stupid when they travel.

How stupid are they?

What is this? the frikking tonite show with Johnny frikking Carson?

Sorry.

I mean do you know how many people MY age (47) come up to me chewing gum with their fucking mouths open? Smacking it and making noises. JAY sus fly fishing the Bow river Krayst!!

Then they have all the travel related shit in their hands and I say "just put it all down on the counter" and they ask, "do you need our boarding passes?" and I wanna scream "HEY BUTTHOLE HAIR I SAID PUT IT ALL DOWN. THAT MEANS EVERY GODDAMED THING THAT'S IN YOUR ASS SCRATCHING, NOSE PICKING HAND!!!"!!!!

Jesus! calm down. Calm down. You got down to Bellingham and got SIX 12 packs of coke. Relax dude, relax. Tell us a happy story.

OH SURE. YOU WANT A RANT AND NOW YOU'RE ALL SCARED!! WHO'S THE PUSSY NOW!!!!

Tell'em the Rock Star INXS story.

The dude that produced the TV show Rock Star INXS came through. A REALLY cool dude. We talked for about 10 minutes. I am happy to report that the girl that I loved, you know, the one with the dreads, is recording an album with some good people so it won't be one of those Bo Bice situations. It will actually be GOOD. And the black kid I liked is working on an album with some good folks too.

Then The Swollen Members came through. I talked to the one guy for about 10 minutes too. I'm sorry that I forgot his name and have to describe him as the black guy but I'm terrible with names. Youngsters like him are ALWAYS surprised that I have heard of them. I told him, "Hey, I know who you guys are, my kids HATE you guys!" and he laughed when I told him that my kids are punk fans. They were going down to play a show in Pullman, WA. (where Washington State Univ is). I told him I was glad that they're having success at what they're doing and I could tell by the look on his face that he was really happy to hear that from somebody like me but I'm really sincere with these up and coming bands. It's their dream and shit so I want it to go good for them.

How was that?

That was okay. Started out rough....

YOU wanted a rant buttwipe.

Okay okay. Turn the microphone off and let's get outta here.

I thought you might enjoy a little insider humor that a colleague emailed me.


AN ANALYSIS OF US LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES UPON ENCOUNTERING A
VENOMOUS SNAKE WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION

1. FBI:
Searches for but cannot locate snake. After snake is
caught by the local police, FBI forms a Snake Task Force of
150 agents, sets up a command center, holds press conference
and assumes credit for capture of [a] snake.

2. Secret Service:
Forms a protective ring of agents around snake and escorts
to a safe area.

3. ATF: (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms)
Sends SRT team to arrest snake; they expend all of
their ammo, then burn the forest down killing the snake and
other local fauna. At a Congressional inquiry makes a
presentation on why additional funding is required to
properly train agents how to battle the threat of snakes.

4. TSA: (Transportation Security Administration)
Abides by Congressional ruling to prevent
"profiling" of venomous snakes, which requires "random" snake
inspections. Venomous snake escapes while TSA officials
strip-search non-venomous species.

5. IRS-CID: (Internal Revenue Criminal Investigation Division)
Performs an in-depth investigation of the snake and
writes a 100-page summary of why the snake should not be
prosecuted. The investigation is closed and all agents are
out of the office by 4:30 pm.

6. ICE: (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
After obtaining permission from the BPA, CBP, FBI,
FPS, IRS, FINCEN, DEA, ATF, FAMS and the Girl Scouts of
America, they mail the snake a notice to appear on a specified
date for a status hearing. Snake never responds and is
promptly forgotten.

7. DEA:
Initiates a Title 3 and an MLAT investigation on the
snakes cell phone after discovering that the above agencies
have begun an investigation on the snake. Spends $3M to
discover the snake is not Colombian.

8. U. S. Attorney's Office:
Declines prosecution out of "professional courtesy."

9. Arizona Law Enforcement Agency
Shoots Snake.

I was happy. I was content. I was watching American Idol when....

my son set down book two of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes next to the love seat. I was on the sofa. I picked the book up. Let me FIRST say that this is a magnificently done series. Top notch printing. Really done well and worth the $$$ if you are as big a Calvin and Hobbes fan as me and my youngest.

So I open the book right to the strips where Calvin's dad is trying to take a picture of him....and I lose it.

Let me explain my laugh. It starts off normal and then accelerates to the point where I start to coughlaugh. Then it falls silent as I hit the floor on all fours and the neighborhood dogs start to howl. I begin rolling around making faint whining laugh noises. This is the point where the kids come running from wherever they are to laugh at me laughing. My eyes are tight shut to the point where you can no longer see eye lashes. You CAN however see the tears coming out.

At about that point noise resumes with a high pitch (for me) long ah haaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaa. Then more coughing and I go silent again. Now all I see is white light and I am telling myself to start calming down. I have blacked in the past at this point but only for an instant.

So now I've regained sight, sound, and awareness again but I am still coughlaughing. All this lasts anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes. Once I get control I start to breathe because I know at any time the whole thing can start over again. Of course the second time is always shorter because I am exhausted.

There are three things that make me laugh like this.

Calvin and Hobbes
The Simpsons
Most Extreme Elimination Challenge

I met the voice of Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith) a couple of years ago and related the story of my laugh to her and she was so touched. "We love to hear about stuff like that" she told me.

I wish you could see it. You'ld all get a kick out of it although one day it's gonna put me in the hospital.

We've talked about music. Now let's talk about MOVIES!!

I like a good story. I like a good script. I like big breas.....uh good acting!

No horror movies for me please and almost no sci fi.

Comedy, action, and drama for me. So lets quickly see who has garnered the most fistfulls of rasinettes and go from there.

FIVE fistfulls

Saving Private Ryan
Cool Hand Luke
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Stalag 17
Shawshank Redemption

FOUR fistfulls

The Godfather
Being There
The Constant Gardener
Miller's Crossing
Raising Arizona
Little Drummer Girl
True Romance
Grapes Of Wrath
Return of the Pink Panther
A Night at the Opera
Forrest Gump
Sorcerer
The Emperor's New Groove
Schindler's List
Slap Shot
Nothing In Common
West Side Story

THREE fistfulls

Spy Game
Bourne Supremacy
Field of Dreams
Three Days of the Condor
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou
Wild At Heart
Legends of the Fall
True Grit
Shakespeare In Love

Now of course there are a bunch I left out. I mean, how long did you WANT to read? Now I'll give you a list of movies that everybody went gaagaa over that I thought sucked.

The Road To Perdition
Mr and Mrs Smith
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Unforgiven
Ghost Busters
Citizen Kane
Traffic (ask me about that later)

Movies that I have never seen.

The Exorcist
E.T.
Any of the Harry Potter movies
Any of the Lord of the Ring movies
Easy Rider

I'll probably ad to this as I think about it. Now I'm going downstairs to watch Being There and when I come back we'll talk about actors. Good, (Lancaster) bad, (Zeta-Jones) overrated (Fox)

This year marks my 30th high school grad reunion. The thing is I don't know if there's going to be a gathering. The couple who did the last one moved back east where one promptly dumped the other for another lover which was a situation the other knew nothing about but was actually the whole reason for the relocation in the first place.

Somebody grade that sentence for me because I believe that's world class run onning.

Summer up here is so busy that it is now impossible for me to get any vacation time now anyway. I have the week of my birthday off but I'm planning something exciting for that time like driving to the arctic circle with a 25 year-old passenger seat cover.

Any volunteers?

So I will miss my classmates none of whom I have seen since the 20 year in '96.

I was looking forward to all the "she's really let herself go" and "husband #..." and "his secretary got mad and dimed him out to his wife" and then the embarrassing softball game on the Sunday to top off the weekend and how many GRANDKIDS were going to be passed around.

Nobody famous was in my class. Nobody that I know of has died since the last reunion. Just a bunch of lawyers and cops and the assorted doctor or six and one parole officer and maybe a couple of parolees.

Maybe I'll get a flyer at mom's house and give my email and order the official program or complain loudly that I never received the one I paid for in '96.

There's always 2016.

I think I'll show up to that one with a paid escort and have her play the role of my second wife. That might be fun. Maybe I could have her dime out the guys who hit on her so I could get in a fight and shit. I'd be 57 years old then. Maybe I'll just call him names.

So I'm listening to this song over and over like a calming chant as I sit on a hill top overlooking my life.

People are walking up to me and talking but I cannot hear them. They look at me frustrated and I feel a wry smile on my face. This seems to be my time and they are all on their own for the time being.

I have a sunrise on my right and a sunset on my left. Distant storms are like incense to me blowing the smell of rain stirring the desert dust.

My life is a great plain that I see laid out in front of me and a valley that I feel behind me. I see and feel love and error from all sides yet I remain calm and constant.

Breath fills my lungs and flows back out rhythmically.

What is at my back has seemingly turned it's back on me also and when I turn around I see that yes, that is true.

The conflict is to call out. The fear that some of it, and some of it is very important to me, will not acknowledge and turn around.

I am warm.

I am nourished.

Those in front of me have stopped talking and gone about doing other things.

The music is right inside of my forehead causing my head to bow.

I rock gently from side to side.

My left hand swirls back and forth as my fingers draw the vertical eight sign that symbolizes eternity.

Erotic Thriller

You've made your own rules in life - and sometimes that catches up with you. Winding a web of deceit comes naturally, and no one really knows the true you. Your best movie matches: Swimming Pool, Unfaithful, The Crush

Zona Boy interviews Vesper

Once again a very fun and interesting experience.

This will be the last I do of these for the time being.


1. You were born and raised in North Dakota. That's one of those places where guys get their asses kicked because of girls. How many asses got kicked because of you?

Well I moved to Canada when I was 13, but kept close contact with friends and family in North Dakota. I went back a couple summers. A lot of memories from there have been seeping up lately, so I've been getting all "strange"...re-discovering my North Dakota roots, which are strong, contrary to popular belief. Most people assume I'm mainly Canadian because I spent my teenage years here, but my American roots also define me HUGELY. I spent almost exactly half my life there and half my life here in Canada. That's a long fucking way to evade your question. Okay...boys.There was this boy who was majorly into me just before I moved to Canada. He was cute, but a badass, and I didn't know what to do with anything badass then. He would light lighters in front of me and then laugh.He was wacky. I would laugh, flirt with him, then blush and feel guilty. He wrote me letters when I moved...he was a skater and a punk, and I wish I still was in touch with him today. He was a gem....one of those one in a millions.

2. Suppose I was able to set up a meet between you and Shane from the L word. What would be in it for me?

The joy of launching me into a lesbian relationship! ha. That woman has seriously shattered all previous foundations I thought were there. Take this answer however you'd like.

3. I read the things you've done and I recollect things I have done. Then I look at our favorite music lists and yours seems to be lacking in the crank-it-up-and-let-the-neighbors-and-fellow-motorists-enjoy-it-too category. Fess up babe, you have some Kinks and some Van Halen and some Aerosmith and some Guns and Roses behind those Bjork, and Tegan and Sara CD's. Right?
I was never into metal or heavy rock. When you listen to the CDs I sent you, you'll see I like slightly faster stuff (although I tried to balance your CDs with a dose of mellow stuff, too). I like slow stuff, but I mainly listen to funkier stuff. I have a serious hip hop/rap side, and I also listen to tonnes of electronic music. I like Lil Kim, Snoop Dogg, Swollen Members, The Prodigy, Metric, Electrelane, Thievery Corporation, The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, ImogenHeap, Ladytron, The Chemical Brothers, Mattafix, etc.etc...

4. You list Navajo food as one of your faves. Tell me that story.

I ate Navajo food a few times when I lived in Arizona. Not much to tell in terms of a story -- just ran into Navajos a few times and had a chance to eat their corn-based food. Not at a restaurant or anything --it was all homemade. It was amazing. COMPLETELY different from what I've ever eaten before. I still remember the taste as if it were yesterday. I live in search of maize rolls!!!!

5. I believe I recall you saying that you wanted to shoot an indy film. Do you have a story in mind?

I do...but there are two other people in on this project, so I won't say much....just because I'm not sure how comfortable they are with me broadcasting iton the internet without asking them first. It's a short film....the story will combine the concept of waiting and also time and perspective. That's all I can say at this point. :)

6. About that survivor idea you posted. MY idea would be to send the same number of Vancouver men wearing Canada flag patches on a cattle drive through the badlands. You've been there done that. Which would be more fun to watch?

A cattle drive! Cattle drives are fun! Vancouver men wearing Canadian flags would likely get shot. That would be entertaining.

7. North Dakota is vast empty. Vancouver is a gray space between sea and mountains. How hard was that adjustment and what third place do you feel is the place for you?

This is a great question. North Dakota and Vancouver are two completely different places. I feel like I maintain various aspects of both places, but I'm more"Vancouver" in terms of mentality -- I have shed a lot of the traditional, conventional, conservative aspects of the North Dakotan mentality and have adopted acertain woodsy/urban liberalism that defines much of"Vancouver-ism". But I have this strange conservatism that comes out at strange times...and some of that probably comes from those deep North Dakota roots. The prairies and the corn fields and the sky and the Missouri and the thunderstorms will haunt me forever. In a good, sad, bittersweet way. The hills and the old houses....ALL of it....I want to go back there soon. Just by myself or with someone really close to me...to check it all out again...walk my old route to school. That is also a long fucking rant...and way to evade or prolong the outcome of the main point of your question! Jeezus! I would likely never move back to North Dakota, because I feel too different. I feel like I wouldn't be accepted there. I am very urban,with the occasional need to flee everything and go to the mountains. I think I would love San Francisco. I feel the vibe there....it gets into your blood. That place captures me. There's also a huge place in my heart for Arizona. I would likely do well in the east.....New York would likely pull me in. And the south captures my imagination....especially Louisiana.

8. Have you ever been to a pyschic or card reader, and if so what did you come away feeling more, frightened or optimistic or skeptical?

I haven't. I have been to see a Buddhist monk, though. I have gone for walks with him along the Fraser....me with my jeans, t-shirt, and KGB handbag...him with his saffron robes, wooden beads, and super huge grin.

9. You are a dual citizen. If forced to choose and you take family and friends out of the equation which do you pick and why?

Fuck. Hard question. Don't kill me people, but I'd have to say America. Purely for the aesthetics. Purely for the art....the culture....the intensity. I won't be moving there any time soon, or at least while a Bush is on the Throne. I love the contrasts and contradictions that make America. I love it. I despise parts of it, and I am deeply and intoxicatingly in love with other parts. I am so concerned with the health of the great beast, that I just might move down there eventually.

10. Dreams seem to be of big importance to you and something you don't share with many. Do you ever go against your interpretation of a dream based on purely logic thought to find logic was wrong?

I am an INFP. http://linus.highpoint.edu/~bblatchl/infp.html Once again, how perceptive of you, ZB! Regardless of the fact that I'm an INFP, I have a strong logical side, too, but it doesn't win that often. Logic works for some things, but the universe betrays logic all too often. And we need to be okay with that. Just chill.

11. You love the bass guitar. Who are some of your favorite bass guitar players?

Hmmm....I don't have too many favourite bass players...I have just always been fascinated with the sound bass guitars make...and it is the sound that stands out most to be in songs. I love Radiohead's bass player. I love many instruments that make low, deep, resonating sounds.

12. Your reading list is very intense. When you want to, how fast can you intimidate a mortal man to silence through intellectual conversation?

I get a lot of teasing because of this. Today I explained iconoclasm to the girls at work. I got a lot of strange and puzzled looks, so I turned the entire thing into a huge joke and everyone laughed...which is actually behaviour perfectly suited to the concept of iconoclasm. The definition of iconoclasm from the OED: "The breaking or destroying of images; esp. the destruction of images and pictures set up as objects of veneration; the attacking or overthrow of venerated institutions and cherished beliefs, regarded as fallacious or superstitious. The last few years of my life have been iconoclastic. I love the concept and I love the word. And I love cherishing an icon once it has been"iconoclasted".....there is then a combination of fullness and emptiness -- that strange, uncanny"thing" that I love so much.

13. Where do you think you would be if you hadn't blown your knee out and looking back do you feel grateful overall that it happened or disappointed that it knocked you off a different path that you might have taken?

I think everything happens for a very particular reason. This reason is always there and always NOT there at the same time. It happens for a reason, and then again it doesn't. If that doesn't make sense, it's because language can never describe the ineffable. And that makes me laugh. It really, really does. Language is a funny fucker. I've suffered physically quite a bit thus far: knee reconstruction, a super difficult pregnancy and delivery where I prepared to say goodbye to X and my mom for good (save that story for a rainy day), crippling gallstone attacks from the super large amounts of estrogen ALWAYS in my system, and then gall bladder removal, etc. etc.. I've seen the dark, and it ain't so bad. It ain't so bad. And others have seen the dark far worse than I have.

Thank you Vesper.

Time to send this girl some good bass laden tunes.

And of course you MUST analyze my signature.

you are JENNY! you are sweet, shy, and innocent,
but you've got a darker, sexier side...and you
cant hold it in forever! you're the closet
freak of the group!

Which Character from The L Word are You???


Yeah right. I'd hit that but I aint that.

Wait a minute. Maybe I am?

Quizilla wouldn't lie would it?

A review of the movie Reservoir Dogs

by Zona Boy

This movie sucked.

To me it was a bad attempt scriptwise to make a bunch of screw up characters look like role models for coolness. The pity is that a lot of the actors are some of my faves. Chris Penn however, has no business in film.

Then of course it was all out of order in another attempt at "hot new Hollywood hipness" and it failed.

People I work with and who's opinion on things cinematic I respect had wondered why I hadn't seen it yet given the movies we discuss. It was instinct I guess. I need to trust it more.

Do you wanna see a GOOD Tarantino script?

Watch True Romance.

Do you wanna see the coolest character on film?

Watch Nick Cage in Wild at Heart.

See there? I watch cool movies.

I didn't even open the raisinettes on this one kids.

Anybody want some?

Your Hidden Talent

You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system. And while this may not seem big, it can be. It's people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes. You're just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.

Holy shit. I just noticed!! Hope it was good to you.

A review of the movie Truth or Consequences N.M.

by Zona boy

Vincent Gallo of Buffalo 66 was in it.

In the beginning Vincent gets out of jail just like Buffalo 66 only this time he has cool black boots on instead of red.

Kiefer Sutherland is in it but his name isn't Jack. He directs the feature but his name isn't Scorcese.

Bubba from Forrest Gump is in it but he doesn't have that big fat bottom lip so it took me a while to recognize him.

Martin Sheen is in it but he's nowhere close to being the President.

The story starts out really cool but peters out in the end.

Martin Sheen's character is the stupidest thing in the movie even though he's not supposed to be. Everybody else is pretty good. The cinematography is really good but I could shoot stuff that nice if I were in those locations in Southern Utah too.

I give it three outta five fistfulls of raisinettes.

mmmmmm raisinettes

Zona Boy interviews Michele of voix de Michele

Another great time where the answers were as fun to read as coming up with the questions. I know you kids will enjoy this one as much as the last one.

1. The Vikings fired Mike Tice after a tumultuous season. Do you agree with this move and who would you like to see as his replacement?

*I couldn't care less about football, the Vikings, and Mike Tice. People on the radio seemed to say that he was a knuckle head, though. Is Ditka available?

2. You posted that people see the French teacher as a woman of some romantic attraction. I had a crush on two of my English teachers. One in jr high and one in high school. Can you as a woman teacher sense any of this from students?

*Oh hell yeah. I have had boys turn into instant idiots around me and get all gooey and stupid in class. I've had "oggling" eyes on me when I've worn a fitted skirt. I've even had a female student with a crush on me. Kinda strange, but obviously as a professional you only address these things if they become a problem. A kid giving me eyes stopped bothering me after the first time. Why embarrass someone, especially a student? I'm flattered by the attention and I make absolutely no indication that I've even noticed it.

*In other realms, I am always pleased when a student feels comfortable enough around me to slip up in class and call me "mom" when they want to ask a question. I think it's really sweet.

3. I met a woman who's maiden name is the same as mine. So we agreed we're related. She is also very much into genealogy and told me that our family goes back to Lille, France. I was kinda bummed. Why shouldn't I be?

*Lille is a beautiful city, albeit in a not-so-beautiful climate. Elisabeth of As My World Turns is from Lille. And man, Lille is in France -- therefore, Lille is awesome.

4. Two famous French paintings come to my mind. One is of the saintly Joan Of Arc and the other is the bare breasted "Liberty Leading The People". What percentage of each woman are you?

*I lead a lot, but I don't tend to bare my breasts in public. Saintly? Well, Catholic anyway. Let's say half and half. Some of my favorite painters: Miro. Dali. Picasso.

5. The first post I can find on your blog doesn't seem to be a first post. Did you have another blog before voix?

*Nope, but I didn't write a "why I'm here" post. I wanted to just jump right in and start telling my story. I was in a Creative Non Fiction class and my teacher had a blog. I was jealous of hers, so I decided to go for it and pretend like I'd been doing it forever. That is what I do when I'm nervous or uncertain about something: I pretend like I know what I'm doing until I get my feet underneath me. Then I take bigger risks.

6. You are currently exploring the option of leaping into the dating scene to find a lasting relationship. The alleged norm in France is for the man to have a wife AND a mistress. Would this keep you from becoming involved with a French man?

*Oh, I've been dating. Nothing serious, though. It may "be a norm" with some French men to have a wife and a mistress, but I seriously doubt that is really the case with "All French Men" -- those generalizations are dangerous business. I would be involved with a French man if we found each other mutually interesting and attractive, but I've noticed that I tend to be too forward/assertive and high volume for European men. Russian guys, however, find me adorable. That can be kinda creepy. Go figure.

7. I HATE to read but I would gladly purchase any work you had published because you are my friend. Would you be mad at me if I might not read it?

*Heck no. Crack open that wallet, buster, and buy two copies. Use them to balance out a bookshelf, I don't care. But tell me you read it even if you didn't because that will make me happy.

8. You are the first blogger to add me as a link without me doing something for you first. Who was the first to link you and are you still "close"?

*Elisabeth of As My World Turns. She's the best. *mwah* to Elisabeth if she's reading this -- thoughtful, honest, sincere and one of my more brilliant readers. The fact that she likes my writing is an honor. She's got great taste, so I feel all special by association.

9. Who would you consider to be the French version of the amazing Mr. Neil Diamond?

*Hmmm. The torch song singers that first come to mind are Francis Cabrel and Jean Jacques Goldman. Cabrel's song "Je t'aimais, je t'aime et je t'aimerai" (I loved you, I love you, I will love you) is sappy and overstated and gooey romantic -- I LOVE THIS SONG. It's awesome. I belt it out in the car when I'm driving alone. It sometimes makes me cry when I'm feeling sentimental. I am such a dork. I've heard a few tracks from Neil's new album, by the way, and I'm still not convinced he's all that. Sorry, Zona Boy.

10. I am one of those Americans who used to think that you could see the Eiffel Tower from anywhere in Paris. In slightly over two years I will be traveling to Europe to celebrate my 50th birthday. Forget the obvious places that I want to go to in France. (Paris, Normandy, Lille) What place do you think I HAVE to go see to be amazed and why?

That kinda depends on what amazes you. I always recommend fortress castles, because they are what amaze me. Angers has a great fortress castle and their centre ville (downtown) has a lot of pedestrian streets that are fun to walk around. Within the castle is housed the "Tapestry of the Apocalypse" -- AMAZING. Huge. 12 meters high by 80 meters long or something like that. Dare you to find a link with photos. Great shopping in Angers, too, and the city looks "really French" -- like what we've been taught to expect from movies. I spent 6 weeks there in the summer of 03 and loved it. Musee Jean Lurcat also has some fantastic tapestries that are more modern (1950s) and something that you will never forget. Normandy: If you go to Caen, you can see the remnants of Wm the Conqueror's castle and the D-Day memorial museum. Rouen (also in Normandy) has an AMAZING flamboyant gothic cathedral -- look for the photo I posted next to me in the tiara last July. In Paris: God, what hasn't been said about Paris? My favorite museum is Musee Cluny, which is where you can find the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries. The museum of the Middle Ages. Right in the Latin Quarter, down the street from all the Gilbert Jeune stores. Can you tell that I'm in love with tapestries? Love them. Love Love Love.

11. I think you look great in a tiara but the ghosts of the Bastille stormers probably don't find it so sexy. Close your eyes and go back to that day. Who's side were you on?

*Hmmm. I would have been on the side of the revolutionaries. Louis was kind of a knuckle head. As an American, however, I appreciate the fact that France almost went broke by helping us out. Let's see: I'd most likely have been a servant girl who would secretly try on Marie Antoinette's jewels and tiaras when she wasn't looking. They didn't let women voice many opinions back then, and I wouldn't have been allowed to read or hang out with the politicians. I don't think I'd have made a very good servant girl, despite all that.

12. Anybody who reads all of your posts sees and extraordinary woman of many facets. You mention alcoholism, lesbianism, frustration, hope, humor, and deep sensitivities. Are there any facets you haven't shown us?

Yes, and for good reason. Private sides need to be kept private.

Thank you Michele. That was awesome.

That reference to being a servant girl struck home because one of my all time fave TV movies was an adaptation of Tale of Two Cities and I know that I would have done what the Brittish lawyer did and for him to meet that servant girl on the way to the guillotine......let's just say that movie tears me up every time.

SHOTGUN!!!.....

....my 15 year-old son yelled out. The trouble was that he didn't recognize the significance of dad being up so early on a day off. You see, mom backed the car into a pole last night. Just a rear bumper scratch that I'm sure will buff out but I know that my wife, god bless her, was on the edge of the abyss contemplating the leap over the incident.

So I know she's a little spooked and it's raining and school zone traffic and so I got up to drive the kids this morning. I know I know, that's so sweet but back to my son.

Shotgun means that when the wife is driving he gets to put his music in the CD player. But when DAD is driving it only means he gets to sit in front and listen to dad's sucky music. The boy likes punk music. Dad puts his late 60's early 70's compilation in and says that this stuff was "O.P." Original Punk. When THIS stuff came out all our parents were sure that the world was becoming one giant drug shooting gallery where us kids would all be naked having sex boys with girls and boys with boys and girls with girls and god forbid some farm animal should wander in!!! and we thought that would be so right on.

But my son's idea of music to me sounds like a bunch of guys who can't play very well and scream fuck a lot and hate the government. Sometimes they even scream fuck the government. Not that I care about fucking the government but I'd just assume live in my parent's vision of things. I told my son that everything today is basically rehash and he SCOFFS at me. So after I drop him off last I get a vision of the future as Spill The Wine is playing. His teenaged daughter is visiting me and she comes upon my music collection and we talk and she listens to each song as I reminisce about my youth. Then she says, "I LIKE this music grampa, can I borrow it?". Then my wife says "you just GAVE her all your music?" and a few days later she runs into her house and screams to my son and her mother, "Come look!!! Grampa bought me a car!!!"

Bless that child.

Zona Boy interviews Binsk

Robin Alexa, AKA: Binsk agreed to answer a number of questions so I could post them on my blog. I want to do this to many if not all of my links. I have a feeling some won't but that's cool.

So I sat down and conjured up the questions after going through her archives and grabbing a sense of what I wanted to ask without being cliche'.

Her answers were as fun for me to read as coming up with the questions was.

Thank you very much Robin.

Enjoy!


1. Your very first post is my all time favorite HNT pic of yours. How many shots did you take to get that one?

I start with an idea and then I usually take each picture from different angles, with different lighting and then pick my favourite, so I couldn't tell you."

2. Pro fotogs travel with as many as twelve people to do a shoot. Lots of fotogs get their start by assisting the big names. Who would you latch onto if you had your choice?

I don't want to be anyone's assistant. I have worked for people and their personality problems for too long. I want to be my own person and make my own name I guess. Sounds kinda idealistic and conceited huh?"

3. So now you've been with that fotog for a year and it's time to go. You are now going to shoot a book. You can choose between a certain city or a certain sparsely populated area. Which do you choose and why?

Hmmmm...good question. I think I would like to go to both the city and the sparsely populated area and see what moves me or what I find interesting and then decide. Is that cheating?

4. When I read your 75 things I discover that you and me are quite alike. I am stubborn. My biggest example of stubbornness is my refusal to retrace my footsteps to retrieve something I've forgotten even if it means simply walking from the driveway back into the house. What's yours?

I would say that if somebody wrongs me, or somebody that I care about, I will probably not ever forgive them. I may be cordial but it'll never be the same. (I'm talking about intentional and bad, not some silly indiscretion.)

5. Why "Binsk"?

Well it seems that "Robinski" is some universal nickname for people named Robin, though I'm not really sure why. I've been called it a million times by a million different people in my life. A friend of mine just shortened it and started calling me Binsk, which stuck.

6. If I showed up at your door with a new car and tossed you the keys and a credit card in your name and said "Robin, I won 100 million dollars in the lottery, now go have a good time. See what you want to see and I'll pay the tab. Money is no object to me. Just send me a postcard now and then" and then I tossed you the keys. How long would it be before you came back home?

I would probably go for a month or two at a time at the most. I like where I am from and I love Canada. And I'm a bit of a baby.

7. Of course I believe that family would always draw you back for holidays and such but when you came back home how long would it be before you left again?

Well Zona, since you said money is no object I would probably take all of my family and friends with me.

8. Your blog shows us the tip of your iceberg. What percentage of you is still hidden below the surface?

I don't know what percentage, but I would say that I am pretty honest on my blog to a point. I think there are a lot of things that I would love to say but would worry they would make people angry. Like my views on racism, and religion, you know the hot topics.

9. You are banished to spend the rest of your life in a country outside of North America. Which one and why?

I haven't been to a place outside of North America, so that's a tough question. Switzerland maybe? I've heard Monaco is pretty awesome too.

10. Space aliens land on earth and ask you for a list of ten humans to transport to their planet for ten years of good old fashion anal probing. Who's on your list?

Paul Bernardo
Karla Holmoka
This VJ chick on Much Music with blonde hair (can't remember her name?)
Donald Trump
Jay Leno
The guy who writes the "Have a happy period" commercials for Always or Playtex.
A random lawyer
The president of Cogeco cable
The president of any big bank
Oprah (but maybe just for five years)

11. If you were a chatter when chatting was big, what was your chat name?

I was not a chatter. I sorta stumbled into blogging, which has changed my life. (so dramatic eh?)

12. Even given the vastness of size and the amount of randomness I believe that many of the people I communicate with regularly in cyberspace were somehow drawn to me or me to them by unseen forces. Do You?

I do. I have learned so much from my fellow bloggers. I have become more outgoing and happier, it's weird really. I really think most of the people you meet are in your life for a reason.

For pete's sake get your minds out of the gutter!!

Stolen from Binsk's archives as I was doing research for the soon to be posted "Zona Boy interviews Binsk" post. This DEFINES me at work.

Who wants to play a game?

http://iol.ie/~dluby/escape.htm


Just don't blame me when they kick your door in because nobody has heard from you in more than a week!

11 pics on the 11th day

I home sick. I'm bored. I have my cheap digital and the low batteries only gave me flash for two shots.

Call it a preview feel of what August is gonna be like.

Now if you'll excuse me it's almost 3PM and I really should take a shower.

Post of an autobiographical nature.

I grew up with and older brother and sister and a younger sister and a much younger sister. Of course as children we have nothing to compare our lives to so all is normal as far as we know. My older brother and I shared a room and I learned my "little brother" role of giving in. We played and were as normal as I thought we were.

My older sister and my year-younger sister shared a bedroom as well. They were girls and so we never hung out together either. Sure, when we were younger we were always playing together I suppose but I have so little memory of my first ten years for some reason.

When I was about 12 or so I was looking at the church directory which was a type of phone book with all the addresses and phone numbers of the members of each ward, or parish if you will. It also had the dates of birth of the children in the family. I noticed that my older brother and sister had names that I did not recognize. It was my younger sister who explained to me that my older brother and sister were actually half brother and sister.

I never thought of them that way and I still didn't until just recently when my older brother did not come to my father's funeral. Now I do. Sure, my dad wasn't HIS dad but HIS dad didn't raise him. OUR dad raised him. I thought that at least his love for our mother would bring him to the funeral. It would have been really significant to her.

My wife thinks that it's bad that I said that I am now finished with him but I am. I mean this was a guy who whenever we saw each other as adults it was a result of my efforts. I moved toward him. I called. I went. It was important to me because he was my brother. My only brother.

Now I have no brother.

I am certain that if he were to ever read this post it would have no effect on him at all.

My mother is afraid that after she is gone that none of us kids will see each other. She's probably right.

We are all so different. If you were to run personality tests on me and my three older siblings you would judge from the results that I and my older sister were siblings and that my younger sister and my brother were siblings even though we are from three fathers and that the three younger kids (me and my two sisters) are from my father.

Only just recently in conversation with my older sister did I hear her and my brother's perspective of our childhood. I don't think that she realizes how it struck me to the core. There was no abuse there of any kind just a separate treatment of a man toward his children and his step-children. A difference that I never really noticed until I was older.

A man who worked all his adult life to put food on the table for all of us. A man who was getting ready to go to work the very day two heart attacks ended his life.

Why do I post this?

Why not.

When I complete a year of blogging I hope to discover the way to burn it all on a disc and make copies for the kids. So I need to post one like this every now and then I guess.

I stole this from Vesper. Since I love music I decided to do this. I added some questions. (10a 15-18)


1. What song are you listening to now?

Actually there are seven playing and I promise I set them up on my media player BEFORE I read Vesper. I'm home, sick today so I thought I'd let the ladies sing to me.

Annie Lennox, Why
Tori Amos, Winter
Sarah Maclachlan, Possession
Tori Amos, I Can't See New York
Heart, Nada One
Jann Arden, Will You Remember Me
Joni Mitchell, Jericho


2. Who gave the best live performance you've ever seen?

Nine Inch Nails

3, Who gave the worst live performance you've ever seen?

Jefferson Starship

4. Do you have a favorite musician that might surprise people?

Prince (that surprises people I work with but not you guys)

5. Do you have a favorite musician that would embarass you?

Culture Club (Boy George has one of the best singing voices around)

6. Which two musicians do you want to have hot passionate sex with?

Tori Amos and Cindy Lauper

7. Which musicians have you been listening to most lately?

Old late sixties/early seventies bands. Zombies, Vanilla Fudge, Spooky Tooth, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and others whos names I can't think of right now.

8. Who did your parents listen to while you were growing up?

Dad: Bar juke box musicians like Roger Miller but his favorite singer was Mario Lanza
Mom: Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, Trio Los Pancho, Neil Diamond (I turned her on to Neil)

9. Which musicians do people say to resemble?

I used to look like Danny Bonaduce of the Partridge Family. Now people tell me I look like Chris Isaak.

10. Who do you need to see live before you die?

Nobody

10a. Who would you bring back from the dead for one performance?

Jimi Hendrix

11. Which musician do you find overrated?

Either of the Simpson broads and all those silly girls like them

12. What were your first three cassettes?

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young: Deja Vu
James Taylor: Sweet Baby James
One I made myself from my brother's records.

13. How many tunes are on your ipod?

No Ipod but I probably have 100 on the windows media player.

14. Name 5 obscure bands or musicians you think people should try?

Charly Garcia
Grillo Villegas

Those are Spanish musicians who I suggest to Spanish speakers.

Matthew Good
Big Sugar

Canadian bands I suggest to my American friends.

Pat Metheny

He isn't obscure but many of YOU don't have any of his stuff. He's probably the best guitar player on the planet and has won well over a dozen grammy awards. It's jazz and if I were to tell you to buy one of his CD's it would be Secret Story. I have bought ten copies and given them out as gifts.

15. Who did you initially really like that ended up putting out, what you thought, was shitty music?

Nickelback (The State is still one of my faves)
Elton John ( Captain Fantastic was his last good album)
The Eagles
Bruce Springsteen

16. Who do many people rave about as being good that just baffles you because their music makes you want to PUKE?

MEATLOAF!!

17. Say you could have a private concert with you and all your blogging friends. What band, who you thought most of them had never really heard, would you present with the goal of having the most amount of people tell you after that they really enjoyed the performance.

Little Feat

18. Why Little Feat?

My blogger buddies are all pretty down to earth people who like to enjoy a good time without having to critique or impress. Little Feat is perfect for that atmosphere.

What's in Zona Boy's bag?

Chloe and Vesper took pics of the contents of their bags and at first I said that I didn't have a bag. Then I thought to myself, "self, you have a bag". So here's what's in my bag.

Starting at the top with the clubs.

A Nike 10.5 degree driver
A Nike 13 degree Ignite 3 wood
An Alien 5 wood
A Nike 18 degree rescue club
A Nike 30 degree rescue club
Irons 5,7,8,9,PW,SW assembled from components by yours truly
A Scotty Cameron Futura putter
A golf towel from the Arizona Biltmore Hotel/Resort course in Phoenix
Sunscreen

Moving to the middle items. (left to right)

A glove
Assorted bag tags (I collect them)
White tees (only white) and a green repair tool with ball marker
A box with a dozen balls (probably three different brands)
Loose less expensive golf balls that I use when I hit too many expensive balls into the shit
An Arizona State coin purse with refreshment money (usually at least $50)
Kleenex
Plastic bags to cover everything when it rains

And finally the bottom row.

Rain pants
A bag with pencils, a blue sharpee (to mark my balls) and assorted crap
A new glove

Guess the name of the movie from the review.

by Zona Boy


Spare ribs

Subtitles

Old woman gets killed

Young woman gets naked

Polish cop vs Chinese vs Italians

Lots of white suits

Starts and ends with funeral

White Powder Ma


I kinda like my style of movie reviews. This one's tough but if you've seen it recently the last clue is a giveaway. I don't know if it's in google but don't cheat.

Far out man

I'm burning a CD of the tunes that I cut my teeth on as a youth. It was a groovy sock it to me time to be alive children.

Let me turn you on to my list.


Fever Tree, San Francisco Girls
The Zombies, Time of the Season
Vanilla Fudge, You Keep Me Hanging On
Status Quo, Pictures of Matchstick Men
Strawberry Alarm Clock, Incense and Peppermint
The Band, Chest Fever
The Doors, Touch Me
Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced?
Chambers Brothers, Time Has Come Today
War, Spill The Wine
Janis Joplin, Down On Me
Cream, Badge
Bob Dylan, Lay Lady Lay
It's a Beautiful Day, White Bird


These were my favorite songs back then and I always say that the BEST years of music were 1967-1972. That covers the start of the popular drug scene up to Altamont/The Beatle split. Pretty much anything after was tainted by the suits in the business.

A review of the movie Buffalo 66.

by Zona Boy

I love Christina Ricci. No, you have to understand, I LOVE Christina Ricci. Got it?

Good.

I loved the red boots the guy wore and I would have a pair were I much younger.

I HATE tripe.

I was craving a Denny's skillet dinner. You know, the one with the sausage and the peppers with scrambled eggs.

My favorite of the strippers was the red head seated at the left of Mr. Wood. (HIS left, not yours)

I loved how he used the characters of Mr and Mrs Costanza from Seinfeld but interpreted them as crack addicts trying to kick the pipe by shooting heroin.

I loved how he made Mickey Rourke slick his hair down so as not to distract from HIS very cool hair.

My favorite Yes song was playing in the strip joint. Heart of the Sunrise and half nekkid women. Well pardner, it just don't get much better.

Did I mention that I love Christina Ricci?

I want a locker full of trophies now.

Golf Magazine tells me that there is a "perfect set" of clubs for me. So all I have to do is shell out $2,800 bucks and I'm set.

In another issue of that same magazine Dennis Leary said that golf equipment is like hair products. You're shelling out a bunch of dough for a problem you're never going to fix.

Golf Magazine is like Cosmo.

Golf tells me all the latest hot methods of the game and how to do it better.

Cosmo tells me all the latest hot methods of the game and how to do it better.

What happened to just enjoying the game?

The most revered golf course I can play is a course in Northern California called Pebble Beach. A round there costs $450.00. I could either buy those clubs or go play Pebble Beach 5 times with my current set of golf clubs. And you know what? I'd shoot the same score either way.

OR I could go to Las Vegas, find a hot call girl, hand her the latest issue of Cosmo and $2,800 and tell her to get to work.

Either way I have some pretty good memories and I'm out $2,800.

No matter the choice. The course or the hot broad I'd have to say that I'm pretty happy with all the clubs I currently have.

And they work just fine for me.

Oh, and for the record I much rather play Pebble 5 times.

All this talk on mortality is due to me picking 10 people who will die this year.

And seeing that it's a contest with a prize you can kinda say that I'm rooting for people to kick off.

Go team go!!

YAY team!!

Then again there's the old question of what happens when we die. And it gets into teams again. Teams called religion. One team wins the championship and everybody else is f'ed. Of course I'm disgruntled so no matter what happens to me if the popular belief of a creator is actually true me and him/her are gonna have a long conversation dominated by "why did this special spirit die so young when you allowed THIS other sorry SOB to screw up so many people"?

THEN there's the ol' karma/reincarnation theory and I get to come back as something else. That oughta be loads of fun. Some figure with lots of arms tells me that because of what I've done I will come back to life as a head of cattle. "That's GREAT says I. Cattle are holy creatures in India. People will feed me and bath me and paint me on holidays and....." That's where the many armed one interrupts and tell me the BAD news. I'm a head of cattle in Dodge City, Kansas.

I can't seem to figure out how to put Jennifer Good's link up. I KNOW she's all pissed at me and will beat me up next time she sees me.

I'm still missing a few so I can feel the voodoo dolls coming out.

All the important links are there anyways.

I know I'll get in trouble for saying that.

A woman told me once that I am in my ninth and final life on this earth. I have always had the impression that I would not live to be an old man. I just can't see myself that far along. My wife insists that of the two of us she wants to die first so I told her to hurry up and she laughed. So when I feel pains in my chest I tend to pay attention. So does my wife. So that means that I know many sharp pains that AREN'T heart attacks.

Does this mean anything? I have no idea. I just knows that since I have started this post I feel that a weight has been lifted.

That's pretty interesting to me. Maybe I have the power over my physiological self or maybe I'm just a crack pot.

I want to live long enough to see my kids all set in their own thing. My dad did. Hell, I'll probably live into my eighties. My dad told me once that he didn't want to live that long (to be 80) and he didn't. He died at 77.

I was with him the day he died and that will always be a great comfort to me. That I was there when he needed me the most. He laid in the hospital emergency room and even though I wanted to go up to him and say something I didn't. We're just not that way. I had said everything to him in the days preceding his death but I did not realize why until he died.

So why am I posting about mortality?

I really have no idea. I just sat down with the intent of posting something and this is what came out. Maybe I'll delete it later maybe I won't. Maybe we'll take a vote.

Went to a retirement dinner last night for the person who makes our office function, the secretary. She's worth her weight in gold and the boss, who isn't even worth his weight in donkey puke, gives a lame speech and shit. I was gonna say a few words at the open mike like I'm always tempted to but I didn't and I'm always grateful after that I didn't. Just a bunch of people who I don't want or care to impress.

I said what I wanted to the lady in private and she gave me a big hug.

So in FIFTEEN years when I get to retire I wonder how many people I don't give a shit about show up.

Jen on her blog unsafesane hit it right on the head when she said that friendship is more a thing of convenience. When they're around they're your friends but separation ends it all. I have a lot of convenience in my life and damned few that I keep in touch with after.

Bloggers are different. We don't ask much of each other and what we get is genuine for the most part and I tell you guys FAR more than I tell most people I know face to face.

But then again, I'm an asshole.

I probably won't have a retirement party and if I do it will be at Caesars in Vegas and I will be in Gold Lamme'. Of course nobody will show because of the INconvenience and that will be fine. Strippers, I am told, just love men in gold lamme'.

I've figured out how to bring the links over to this template that I like. I PROMISE that I will put them back up. I'm just a little tired right now.

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Start Smoking. Get your resolution here

THANKS A LOT VESPER!!!!

Munich was a very very good movie. I loved the precision of some of the action, there was a hot chick, great script, and a lot of very clever moments. I would say some of my fave lines but I want you to see it without that annoyance.

Now to the morality question that I'm sure you've heard brought up by now I will only add one comment.

Would you favor that we allow the same guys to operate without going after them just because they're going to be replaced by somebody else? There will always be the bad guy in everything and I say go after the SOB and the SOB who replaces him because there's always going to be terrorism and I much rather that we have covert operations as opposed to the clusterfuck we have in Iraq now.

Damn, that's the first weekly political statement of the hour in 2006.

Go see the movie.

I saw scenes for an upcoming movie about a bank robbery that has me very excited.

Denzel Washington
Jodie Foster

Gonna be a good one.

WHY ISN'T THIS SHIT EASY?

I bought a two year Norton package and when I do what they tell me to do the stuff they say is supposed to appear, DOESN'T.

JAY sus why can't I pay for something that makes a big button that says "Install the shit you just paid for without you having to do one more goddamned thing besides scratch yourself as you watch"?

As you can tell by looking at my blog I'm a computer Neanderthal. My links are down at the bottom now and I have no idea why.

Maybe I'll just build a fire and send you all smoke signals.

When I clicked on the spell check it suggested "sushi" to replace "sus". Thank you spell check. That's the best idea yet today. A shower and then down to the sushi bar before going to the cinema with this babe I've been living with for the past 23 years. We're going to see Munich.

Tony Pierce has a 2006 dead pool contest going over at buzznet. Here are my picks. He has it set up to where the number beside the name is the number of points you get if that person kicks off.

10. Fidel Castro
9. Gerald Ford
8. Don Cherry
7. Bob Novak
6. Don Rickles
5. Clint Eastwood
4. Dick Clark
3. Ed Asner
2. Scarlet Johansen
1. Jimmy Carter

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	High
Wrath:	High
Sloth:	Very High
Envy:	Low
Lust:	High
Pride:	High

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

and this is me TODAY