Merry Christmas
from
Isla
and
her
Grandfather
and momma Lily
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
A memory of a special place and time in my life where it snows all winter
I was hanging out playing beach volleyball in Santa Monica during the summer of 1963. I had just graduated from St. Monica’s High School. The days were full of sand, sun, girls and games and life was good.
Some internal discussions were taking place, behind my back, among various family members and the next thing I knew I was on the road with my mom and her new Hollywood stuntman boyfriend. Apparently he had a friend that owned a resort by Lake Tahoe and they needed help for the summer.
I’ll always remember that first sight of the Echo Lake with the Chalet on the right.
Unfortunately I was sent back down the road to the corral where I was under the tutelage of a mad boozehounded cowboy named Bob….dickhead.
My mom and her boyfriend basically dropped me off with a small bag of clothes and said, “enjoy your summer Tim…we’ll see you in September.”
The boozehound gave me a broom and sent me into the barn and told me to clean up because that’s where I would be living for the next two months.
The upstairs area in the barn looked like the last inhabitants had been a family of creatures.
I started to sweep while wondering how long it would take to walk back to Santa Monica. Cowboy Bob called me down to the corral and told me to go get one of the mules and bring him to the gate.
There were ten very pissed off pack mules just waiting for some goofy kid to walk in and try to put a rope around anyone of them. I grew up around horses and I remember how angry they can be after being ignored for short periods of time. These mules had been ignored since the previous summer and I barely got out of the corral as they came charging at me. I’ll never forget boozehound Bob laughing as I jumped the fence. “I thought you said you had horses?” “These aren’t horses, they are mules and like you they are absolutely nuts.” He told me to get back up in the barn and clean up my room and I told him to take the broom and put it somewhere else……he told me to get the hell out. I walked back to the Chalet and Jorgy listened to my story for about two minutes and said I could stay a few days until I figured out how to get home. He said I had to work for the room and board and to go upstairs and find a bed. I spent the next few days working about 12 hours a day and somebody noticed that I worked hard and Jorgy hired me at $1.25 an hour. I was a general flunky and one of the first jobs was to remove a large tree stump from the stable area. I was paired with a short little dude named Butch Conlan who lived on the lake. It took us a week to unearth that stump and Butch and I have been dear friends from that moment on.
At the end of the summer I sat down with Jorgy and after carefully examining the books he told me that I owed him $37.50. He had a list of every meal and anything that I had gotten from the chalet store. I remember him looking at me and saying….”Well I guess you’ll have to come back next year to work off what you owe me.”
The next summer I came back after passing a certification test and was officially a boat boy for Echo Lake.
The summers of 63, 64 and 65 will never be forgotten and the wonderful memories of Echo are forever etched in my mind.
The boozehound gave me a broom and sent me into the barn and told me to clean up because that’s where I would be living for the next two months.
The upstairs area in the barn looked like the last inhabitants had been a family of creatures.
I started to sweep while wondering how long it would take to walk back to Santa Monica. Cowboy Bob called me down to the corral and told me to go get one of the mules and bring him to the gate.
There were ten very pissed off pack mules just waiting for some goofy kid to walk in and try to put a rope around anyone of them. I grew up around horses and I remember how angry they can be after being ignored for short periods of time. These mules had been ignored since the previous summer and I barely got out of the corral as they came charging at me. I’ll never forget boozehound Bob laughing as I jumped the fence. “I thought you said you had horses?” “These aren’t horses, they are mules and like you they are absolutely nuts.” He told me to get back up in the barn and clean up my room and I told him to take the broom and put it somewhere else……he told me to get the hell out. I walked back to the Chalet and Jorgy listened to my story for about two minutes and said I could stay a few days until I figured out how to get home. He said I had to work for the room and board and to go upstairs and find a bed. I spent the next few days working about 12 hours a day and somebody noticed that I worked hard and Jorgy hired me at $1.25 an hour. I was a general flunky and one of the first jobs was to remove a large tree stump from the stable area. I was paired with a short little dude named Butch Conlan who lived on the lake. It took us a week to unearth that stump and Butch and I have been dear friends from that moment on.
At the end of the summer I sat down with Jorgy and after carefully examining the books he told me that I owed him $37.50. He had a list of every meal and anything that I had gotten from the chalet store. I remember him looking at me and saying….”Well I guess you’ll have to come back next year to work off what you owe me.”
The next summer I came back after passing a certification test and was officially a boat boy for Echo Lake.
The summers of 63, 64 and 65 will never be forgotten and the wonderful memories of Echo are forever etched in my mind.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Fake news
I'm trying to remember the first time I heard the expression FAKE NEWS and since one should give credit where credit is due I'm fairly certain our esteemed leader used it during the campaign of 2016.
OF COURSE there is a history lesson here and it's up to you to do the research.
Fake News
So as you've probably learned by now the term fake news has other names such as propaganda and yellow journalism.
Modern channels of communication have created an entirely new brand of fake news.
Of course for a long period of time in our country there was only print media and unless one made flyers, information was only available through a newspaper....and of course letter writing but that was probably confined to personal matters.
And if you stop and think about it....from 1776 to 1910
THERE WAS ONLY PRINT MEDIA
Books and pamphlets were printed but if anyone wanted actual news during those years they had to read a newspaper or listen to someone who talked to someone who talked to someone. By the time the story moved along the information highway of people talking to people the facts generally became something entirely different.
Newsreels appeared in 1910 which could be viewed if one went to movie theaters.
Wikipedia
Created in 1911 by Charles Pathé, this form of film was a staple of the typical North American, British, and Commonwealthcountries (especially Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), and throughout European cinema programming schedule from the silent era until the 1960s when television news broadcasting completely supplanted its role. The National Film and Sound Archive in Australia holds the Cinesound Movietone Australian Newsreel Collection, a comprehensive collection of 4,000 newsreel films and documentaries representing news stories covering all major events.
The advent of radio in 1920 opened up an entirely new avenue with which to create fake news
Today the amount of channels for creating information, whether it be true or false, appear to be infinite.
Ok........maybe infinite is a blatant exaggeration very much in line with today's topic but I'm sure you get the point.
Now what you do with that point is either ignore it or expand upon it and perhaps just alter it a little bit here and there until it fits your brand of information storage.
Trump does get credit for making the term fake news......news.
Wikipedia
During and after his presidential campaign and election, Donald Trump popularized the term "fake news" when he used it to describe the negative press coverage of himself.[14][15] In part as a result of Trump's use of the term, the term has come under increasing criticism, and in October 2018 the British government decided that it will no longer use the term because it is "a poorly-defined and misleading term that conflates a variety of false information, from genuine error through to foreign interference in democratic processes."[16]
I salute the British for stepping up and trying to reduce the use of the term but then again the Brits are usually a few steps ahead when it come to civility. The Canadians and Brits really do have the manners thing down pat.
What is now required of anyone who wishes to be informed is RESEARCH, RESEARCH and more RESEARCH.
If you listen or watch one source you are not informed.
AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS NOT FAKE NEWS
and I shall repeat this very important message.
IF YOU ONLY LISTEN TO
OR WATCH
ONE SOURCE
YOU
ARE
NOT
INFORMED
It seems we have a tremendous amount of voters in this country who only listen to one source or perhaps don't listen to any source and only watch game shows on television.
Am I feeding you a line of bull or do you actually think I might be right?
I'm not sure how else one would explain that 50 million people still regard our current administration as a viable answer to the betterment of America.
His administration's viewpoint on Climate Change and how they are altering and eliminating the Clean Air and Clean Water initiatives put in place over the last 20 years
should
be
reason enough to
say
SYLMF
(see ya later are the first three words and I'm sure you can figure out the other two)
And in conclusion I give credit to Donald J. Trump for making the term Fake News relevant in today's media frenzy world.
I remember the old adage......"it takes one to know one"
No one knows fake news better than Mr. Fake News himself.
He is the Master of the genre.
But his policies are detrimental to the health of Americans
and
that's
not
fake news....it's sad news.
Michael Timothy McAlevey
OF COURSE there is a history lesson here and it's up to you to do the research.
Fake News
So as you've probably learned by now the term fake news has other names such as propaganda and yellow journalism.
Modern channels of communication have created an entirely new brand of fake news.
Of course for a long period of time in our country there was only print media and unless one made flyers, information was only available through a newspaper....and of course letter writing but that was probably confined to personal matters.
And if you stop and think about it....from 1776 to 1910
THERE WAS ONLY PRINT MEDIA
Books and pamphlets were printed but if anyone wanted actual news during those years they had to read a newspaper or listen to someone who talked to someone who talked to someone. By the time the story moved along the information highway of people talking to people the facts generally became something entirely different.
Newsreels appeared in 1910 which could be viewed if one went to movie theaters.
Wikipedia
Created in 1911 by Charles Pathé, this form of film was a staple of the typical North American, British, and Commonwealthcountries (especially Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), and throughout European cinema programming schedule from the silent era until the 1960s when television news broadcasting completely supplanted its role. The National Film and Sound Archive in Australia holds the Cinesound Movietone Australian Newsreel Collection, a comprehensive collection of 4,000 newsreel films and documentaries representing news stories covering all major events.
The advent of radio in 1920 opened up an entirely new avenue with which to create fake news
Today the amount of channels for creating information, whether it be true or false, appear to be infinite.
Ok........maybe infinite is a blatant exaggeration very much in line with today's topic but I'm sure you get the point.
Now what you do with that point is either ignore it or expand upon it and perhaps just alter it a little bit here and there until it fits your brand of information storage.
Trump does get credit for making the term fake news......news.
Wikipedia
During and after his presidential campaign and election, Donald Trump popularized the term "fake news" when he used it to describe the negative press coverage of himself.[14][15] In part as a result of Trump's use of the term, the term has come under increasing criticism, and in October 2018 the British government decided that it will no longer use the term because it is "a poorly-defined and misleading term that conflates a variety of false information, from genuine error through to foreign interference in democratic processes."[16]
I salute the British for stepping up and trying to reduce the use of the term but then again the Brits are usually a few steps ahead when it come to civility. The Canadians and Brits really do have the manners thing down pat.
What is now required of anyone who wishes to be informed is RESEARCH, RESEARCH and more RESEARCH.
If you listen or watch one source you are not informed.
AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS NOT FAKE NEWS
and I shall repeat this very important message.
IF YOU ONLY LISTEN TO
OR WATCH
ONE SOURCE
YOU
ARE
NOT
INFORMED
It seems we have a tremendous amount of voters in this country who only listen to one source or perhaps don't listen to any source and only watch game shows on television.
Am I feeding you a line of bull or do you actually think I might be right?
I'm not sure how else one would explain that 50 million people still regard our current administration as a viable answer to the betterment of America.
His administration's viewpoint on Climate Change and how they are altering and eliminating the Clean Air and Clean Water initiatives put in place over the last 20 years
should
be
reason enough to
say
SYLMF
(see ya later are the first three words and I'm sure you can figure out the other two)
And in conclusion I give credit to Donald J. Trump for making the term Fake News relevant in today's media frenzy world.
I remember the old adage......"it takes one to know one"
No one knows fake news better than Mr. Fake News himself.
He is the Master of the genre.
But his policies are detrimental to the health of Americans
and
that's
not
fake news....it's sad news.
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Landed on Mars but we can't feed our children in need?
I like the fact the human species safety landed a craft on Mars after traveling 33 million miles.
BUT......
The statistics regarding children that both are homeless, and or go to bed every night hungry, are staggering.
I expect you to research the numbers and see if you don't agree that those statistics are
staggering.
I'm not sure you believe me if I simply posted the numbers.
I live in Santa Monica, California in case you were wondering.
Everyday when I walk two blocks to get the morning paper I see the same man coming out of the market with multiple baskets FULL of bakery goods ranging from bread to pies and everything in between.
These items are being given to certain groups that hopefully feed the people in need
Nothing over three days can be sold so it's donated.
This only applies to baked goods.
The amount of produce that is discarded is also
staggering.
Is the word staggering starting to grab your attention yet?
Food being wasted in Los Angeles County and children going hungry.
Nationwide the same scenario is taking place.
World wide it is beyond staggering if you read the UN reports.
But the United States of America should not have staggering statistics when it comes to children being hungry.
Do you think our President knows the statistics regarding children that go to bed hungry?
The young adults that work in the Promenade in Santa Monica
trying to raise funds to feed hungry children
don't seem sincere....and I'm not sure why.
So much money is given to charities to fight this kind of problem and yet
the
numbers
are
not
improving.
The attention given to people from third world countries, trying to enter the United States, is the main priority of our current administration.
I simply wish the number one priority was making sure that no child went to bed hungry.
Seems like a natural and logical wish.
Landing on Mars seems pretty cool.
Allowing children to go hungry is so not cool
and
yet......
Call the White House and let them know...and don't tell me you don't know the number!
Michael Timothy McAlevey
BUT......
The statistics regarding children that both are homeless, and or go to bed every night hungry, are staggering.
I expect you to research the numbers and see if you don't agree that those statistics are
staggering.
I'm not sure you believe me if I simply posted the numbers.
I live in Santa Monica, California in case you were wondering.
Everyday when I walk two blocks to get the morning paper I see the same man coming out of the market with multiple baskets FULL of bakery goods ranging from bread to pies and everything in between.
These items are being given to certain groups that hopefully feed the people in need
Nothing over three days can be sold so it's donated.
This only applies to baked goods.
The amount of produce that is discarded is also
staggering.
Is the word staggering starting to grab your attention yet?
Food being wasted in Los Angeles County and children going hungry.
Nationwide the same scenario is taking place.
World wide it is beyond staggering if you read the UN reports.
But the United States of America should not have staggering statistics when it comes to children being hungry.
Do you think our President knows the statistics regarding children that go to bed hungry?
The young adults that work in the Promenade in Santa Monica
trying to raise funds to feed hungry children
don't seem sincere....and I'm not sure why.
So much money is given to charities to fight this kind of problem and yet
the
numbers
are
not
improving.
The attention given to people from third world countries, trying to enter the United States, is the main priority of our current administration.
I simply wish the number one priority was making sure that no child went to bed hungry.
Seems like a natural and logical wish.
Landing on Mars seems pretty cool.
Allowing children to go hungry is so not cool
and
yet......
Call the White House and let them know...and don't tell me you don't know the number!
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Just a simple observation
I think that this Thanksgiving has special meaning because it's the first time we've actually had a real turkey living in the White House.
HAPPY
THANKSGIVING
HAPPY
THANKSGIVING
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
11+7=18
Just finished watching the press conference with President "Biff" and besides the actual answers to assorted questions the one thing that stood out was the HOSTILITY.
Has there ever been a more hostile President?
Even Tricky Dick when he was under fire always seemed in control.
This man in the White House just starts name calling the minute someone asks a question that he doesn't like.
The leader of the most powerful country on this planet, simply put is.....an asshole.
The only news team he answers, without a snide remark, is Fox.
BUT
the real truth of yesterday's election is that "Biff" made a difference in those rallies he attended for the important Senate races
I am continually amazed that a large number of American citizens really like HIS personality and I've come to the simple conclusion that the reason is based on one fact.....
....THEY and HE have similar personalities.
I'm quite pleased that the House of Representatives got flipped back to the Democrats.
I'm extremely excited that Beto O'Rourke gave Ted Cruz a scare....and introduced himself to the national political stage. I'm fairly sure that we haven't heard the last of Beto, and the fact is this might have been his opening salvo for 2012.
As for the Senate races that didn't go well toward letting "Biff" think twice about his run for 2020...all I can say is WTF?
Also this morning I had to hear Mitch McConnell warn the Democrats in the House not to spend time pounding on our President.
Every time Mitch speaks I get a large pain that runs right down my spine and lodges in my butt....and it stays there and constantly reminds me of what politicians shouldn't be like.....and then I recall that he keeps getting elected over and over and over and once more I realize that the people electing him must be just like him.
What does that say for the fine state of Kentucky?
How does a guy like that appeal to ANYBODY?
I get the "Biff" Trump attraction because he is a TV celebrity and people really like fake tans and orange bleached air (even though it's usually reserved for the female gender) and ski goggle eyes, but Mitch is so unappealing that I actually get worried that people in his home state just vote for him because he looks sickly.
Please also note that a man who leads the Senate has 4.4 million people in his state. We have more people living on Wiltshire Blvd. than his entire state....and he's in charge of speaking for the United States Senate.
The following two facts speak volumes for our current political system:
The President of the United States received 3 million less votes than his opponent
The Speaker of the House has 4 million people in his state.
THESE TWO PEOPLE SPEAK FOR AMERICA on all issues large and small.
We need a voice that can explain the current insanity sweeping this country.
Reclaiming the House of Representatives is the first step forward.
It's time for the second and third steps.
STOP THE LIAR IN 2020
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Has there ever been a more hostile President?
Even Tricky Dick when he was under fire always seemed in control.
This man in the White House just starts name calling the minute someone asks a question that he doesn't like.
The leader of the most powerful country on this planet, simply put is.....an asshole.
The only news team he answers, without a snide remark, is Fox.
BUT
the real truth of yesterday's election is that "Biff" made a difference in those rallies he attended for the important Senate races
I am continually amazed that a large number of American citizens really like HIS personality and I've come to the simple conclusion that the reason is based on one fact.....
....THEY and HE have similar personalities.
I'm quite pleased that the House of Representatives got flipped back to the Democrats.
I'm extremely excited that Beto O'Rourke gave Ted Cruz a scare....and introduced himself to the national political stage. I'm fairly sure that we haven't heard the last of Beto, and the fact is this might have been his opening salvo for 2012.
As for the Senate races that didn't go well toward letting "Biff" think twice about his run for 2020...all I can say is WTF?
Also this morning I had to hear Mitch McConnell warn the Democrats in the House not to spend time pounding on our President.
Every time Mitch speaks I get a large pain that runs right down my spine and lodges in my butt....and it stays there and constantly reminds me of what politicians shouldn't be like.....and then I recall that he keeps getting elected over and over and over and once more I realize that the people electing him must be just like him.
What does that say for the fine state of Kentucky?
How does a guy like that appeal to ANYBODY?
I get the "Biff" Trump attraction because he is a TV celebrity and people really like fake tans and orange bleached air (even though it's usually reserved for the female gender) and ski goggle eyes, but Mitch is so unappealing that I actually get worried that people in his home state just vote for him because he looks sickly.
Please also note that a man who leads the Senate has 4.4 million people in his state. We have more people living on Wiltshire Blvd. than his entire state....and he's in charge of speaking for the United States Senate.
The following two facts speak volumes for our current political system:
The President of the United States received 3 million less votes than his opponent
The Speaker of the House has 4 million people in his state.
THESE TWO PEOPLE SPEAK FOR AMERICA on all issues large and small.
We need a voice that can explain the current insanity sweeping this country.
Reclaiming the House of Representatives is the first step forward.
It's time for the second and third steps.
STOP THE LIAR IN 2020
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
November 6 2018
Seriously important day for the direction of America.
AND THOSE WORDS
CANNOT
BE
UNDERSTATED
SERIOUSLY
IMPORTANT
DAY
AND THOSE WORDS
CANNOT
BE
UNDERSTATED
SERIOUSLY
IMPORTANT
DAY
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Let's wrap it up
Regarding the Dodgers.....I pretty much said what I felt in my previous post and although it sounds like rationalizing when one loses...it's a truth.
Only two teams played baseball on October 28.
Silver medals are a good thing.
Finishing second after seven months of playing baseball at the highest competitive level in the world is not something to feel ashamed off.
Being the only team that can go the World Series three times in a row is not a bad thing.
If they go again next year and lose....keep in mind that Fran Tarkenton lost four Super Bowls and he gets $100k for giving motivational speeches on how to deal with hard losses.
I don't regard losing Super Bowls as a hard loss.....there are so many more types of losses that are REALLY losses that it seems rather silly to be extremely angry or deeply depressed because a sport team suffered a defeat in the last game of the season.
It's their livelihood and they can be sad for a few days.
Fans simply have to turn their attention to another sport or use the great baseball axiom known as
'WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR."
I will say one more thing. I would not be surprised if Dave Roberts received thousands of thank-you e-mails from Boston fans that read something like this
Dear Dave,
You are still an iconic figure in Boston and after some of the decisions you made during the last 5 games...we know you still love Boston and maybe you could be our GM
Love
Boston Fan Base
And because of the Rams
most LA sport fans can simply turn our attention to an 8-0 team.....and hope for one last moment of redemption.
Super Bowl Jan 2019
RAMS................... 35
PATRIOTS............21
Thank you LA Dodgers for another World Series experience
and
GO
RAMS
P.S......it's too early to talk about what changes the Dodgers should make.....but
hustle sometimes Manny
is gone
as is Dozier
Madson
Woods
Grandal
Freeze can stay if he wants to play part time
and last but not least
Chase Utley should be added to the coaching staff....immediately.
Spring training is only four months away
And remember to set your clocks back next weekend.
Like I said earlier
GO
RAMS!
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Only two teams played baseball on October 28.
Silver medals are a good thing.
Finishing second after seven months of playing baseball at the highest competitive level in the world is not something to feel ashamed off.
Being the only team that can go the World Series three times in a row is not a bad thing.
If they go again next year and lose....keep in mind that Fran Tarkenton lost four Super Bowls and he gets $100k for giving motivational speeches on how to deal with hard losses.
I don't regard losing Super Bowls as a hard loss.....there are so many more types of losses that are REALLY losses that it seems rather silly to be extremely angry or deeply depressed because a sport team suffered a defeat in the last game of the season.
It's their livelihood and they can be sad for a few days.
Fans simply have to turn their attention to another sport or use the great baseball axiom known as
'WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR."
I will say one more thing. I would not be surprised if Dave Roberts received thousands of thank-you e-mails from Boston fans that read something like this
Dear Dave,
You are still an iconic figure in Boston and after some of the decisions you made during the last 5 games...we know you still love Boston and maybe you could be our GM
Love
Boston Fan Base
And because of the Rams
most LA sport fans can simply turn our attention to an 8-0 team.....and hope for one last moment of redemption.
Super Bowl Jan 2019
RAMS................... 35
PATRIOTS............21
Thank you LA Dodgers for another World Series experience
and
GO
RAMS
P.S......it's too early to talk about what changes the Dodgers should make.....but
hustle sometimes Manny
is gone
as is Dozier
Madson
Woods
Grandal
Freeze can stay if he wants to play part time
and last but not least
Chase Utley should be added to the coaching staff....immediately.
Spring training is only four months away
And remember to set your clocks back next weekend.
Like I said earlier
GO
RAMS!
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Let's talk some baseball
The Dodgers are in the World Series for the second year in a row.....after not being there for 28 years.
That's the good news.
There's a very high probability that they will lose their second world series in a row since they are down 2-0 to a very good Boston Red Sox team that won 108 games during the regular season.
If they go to the World Series next year and lose again and then go to the World Series the year after and lose again......I WILL STILL BE PLEASED.......let me explain why.
Every spring 30 major league teams get together and start a very long season that ends in the fall.
EVERY TEAM HAS ONE GOAL
To get to the World Series
just like every football team has one goal....
TO GET TO THE SUPER BOWL
Realistically 15 of the 30 teams know they don't have a prayer but baseball is a funny game and just when you think something can't happen.....IT HAPPENS...ie....The miracle Mets in 69, the 88 Dodgers and the Giants recently winning 3 in six years.
WINNING THE WORLD SERIES IS THE BONUS TO THE ORIGINAL GOAL
THE CHERRY ON TOP
THE BIG ENCHILADA
THE ULTIMATE WAVE
of course the team that loses the World Series in the 7th game has a different perspective than the other 29 teams.....they REALLY want to win but their MAIN goal is to GET back to the event.
IT'S VERY HARD TO BE ONE OF THE TWO LAST TEAMS PLAYING IN LATE OCTOBER.
I LOVE THE FACT THAT THE DODGERS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW.
My beautiful granddaughter Isla was born in March of 2017
She has never known the Dodgers NOT to be in the World Series.
Just like Cody Bellinger as a major league player. Two years and two World Series experiences.
Obviously EVERYBODY WANTS THEIR TEAM TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES
I know this sounds silly but I just want my teams to play in the final games or game of the year.
I want the Rams to play in the Super Bowl
I want The Trojans to play in the National Championship Game
I want the Dodgers to play in the World Series
WINNING ANY OF THOSE EVENTS
IS
A
BONUS
By the way.........It's a capitalistic cultural problem. Finishing second in America at anything is regarded as a failed experience.
Thank God the Olympics give out three medals and Bronze medal winners are proud of their accomplishment for the rest of their lives....AS THEY SHOULD BE.
GETTING TO THE OLYMPICS IS A HUGE DEAL......winning a gold medal is a
BONUS
Now you might be saying that I've adopted this perspective because I know the Dodgers cannot win this current match-up against the Red Sox.
Please believe me when I tell you that I've always had this perspective.....and a psychologist can probably explain how that perspective has kept me from achieving my ultimate goals.
{AS AN ARTIST.....ULTIMATE GOALS are supercalifragilisticexpialidocious......but that's another tale for another time}
Please note....I'm not saying the Dodgers are going to lose this World Series because they are down two games. I'm just saying all the negative talk by sportswriters and fans IF they lose is just a bunch of people not looking at the entire process in a correct way....and the poor Dodger players and front office people will have to hear a bunch of stupid questions next spring about how the team feels after losing two in a row.
Having said that....I do have a couple of questions for Dave Roberts regarding a few of his decisions....but he sounds like a politician when answering certain questions...."I felt good about that certain match up at the precise moment."
Hard to argue with hunches.
When a hunch works out.....you are genius
When a hunch doesn't work out.....you are an idiot.
God.....I LOVE
BASEBALL.
I especially love baseball in late October when the Dodgers are playing.
In summation.....
The event is so much more important than the result.
unless of course
you
win
As a small footnote...I've had numerous calls from political canvassers during the World Series and I simply say....."you should be watching the World Series, it will take your mind off the bs."
and
then
I
remember
that most people don't even know there is a World Series.
7 billion people on the planet and maybe 700 million are interested in the World Series.
That's 10 percent of the population....AND I might be extremely generous with my estimation.
So if the Dodgers lose the 2018 World Series.....practically speaking it's safe to say....
MOST OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET WILL HAVE NO IDEA WHO FINISHED SECOND AND WHO FINISHED FIRST.
Last thought about Baseball......I wonder how many ballplayers are in that caravan headed toward the United States from Central America?
There could be a 10 year old future Hall of Fame shortstop sleeping under a lean-to in Mexico dreaming about playing baseball in America.
I hope the Dodgers scout him and sign him and he leads them to a World Series in 2034
GO DODGERS
That's the good news.
There's a very high probability that they will lose their second world series in a row since they are down 2-0 to a very good Boston Red Sox team that won 108 games during the regular season.
If they go to the World Series next year and lose again and then go to the World Series the year after and lose again......I WILL STILL BE PLEASED.......let me explain why.
Every spring 30 major league teams get together and start a very long season that ends in the fall.
EVERY TEAM HAS ONE GOAL
To get to the World Series
just like every football team has one goal....
TO GET TO THE SUPER BOWL
Realistically 15 of the 30 teams know they don't have a prayer but baseball is a funny game and just when you think something can't happen.....IT HAPPENS...ie....The miracle Mets in 69, the 88 Dodgers and the Giants recently winning 3 in six years.
WINNING THE WORLD SERIES IS THE BONUS TO THE ORIGINAL GOAL
THE CHERRY ON TOP
THE BIG ENCHILADA
THE ULTIMATE WAVE
of course the team that loses the World Series in the 7th game has a different perspective than the other 29 teams.....they REALLY want to win but their MAIN goal is to GET back to the event.
IT'S VERY HARD TO BE ONE OF THE TWO LAST TEAMS PLAYING IN LATE OCTOBER.
I LOVE THE FACT THAT THE DODGERS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW.
My beautiful granddaughter Isla was born in March of 2017
She has never known the Dodgers NOT to be in the World Series.
Just like Cody Bellinger as a major league player. Two years and two World Series experiences.
Obviously EVERYBODY WANTS THEIR TEAM TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES
I know this sounds silly but I just want my teams to play in the final games or game of the year.
I want the Rams to play in the Super Bowl
I want The Trojans to play in the National Championship Game
I want the Dodgers to play in the World Series
WINNING ANY OF THOSE EVENTS
IS
A
BONUS
By the way.........It's a capitalistic cultural problem. Finishing second in America at anything is regarded as a failed experience.
Thank God the Olympics give out three medals and Bronze medal winners are proud of their accomplishment for the rest of their lives....AS THEY SHOULD BE.
GETTING TO THE OLYMPICS IS A HUGE DEAL......winning a gold medal is a
BONUS
Now you might be saying that I've adopted this perspective because I know the Dodgers cannot win this current match-up against the Red Sox.
Please believe me when I tell you that I've always had this perspective.....and a psychologist can probably explain how that perspective has kept me from achieving my ultimate goals.
{AS AN ARTIST.....ULTIMATE GOALS are supercalifragilisticexpialidocious......but that's another tale for another time}
Please note....I'm not saying the Dodgers are going to lose this World Series because they are down two games. I'm just saying all the negative talk by sportswriters and fans IF they lose is just a bunch of people not looking at the entire process in a correct way....and the poor Dodger players and front office people will have to hear a bunch of stupid questions next spring about how the team feels after losing two in a row.
Having said that....I do have a couple of questions for Dave Roberts regarding a few of his decisions....but he sounds like a politician when answering certain questions...."I felt good about that certain match up at the precise moment."
Hard to argue with hunches.
When a hunch works out.....you are genius
When a hunch doesn't work out.....you are an idiot.
God.....I LOVE
BASEBALL.
I especially love baseball in late October when the Dodgers are playing.
In summation.....
The event is so much more important than the result.
unless of course
you
win
As a small footnote...I've had numerous calls from political canvassers during the World Series and I simply say....."you should be watching the World Series, it will take your mind off the bs."
and
then
I
remember
that most people don't even know there is a World Series.
7 billion people on the planet and maybe 700 million are interested in the World Series.
That's 10 percent of the population....AND I might be extremely generous with my estimation.
So if the Dodgers lose the 2018 World Series.....practically speaking it's safe to say....
MOST OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET WILL HAVE NO IDEA WHO FINISHED SECOND AND WHO FINISHED FIRST.
Last thought about Baseball......I wonder how many ballplayers are in that caravan headed toward the United States from Central America?
There could be a 10 year old future Hall of Fame shortstop sleeping under a lean-to in Mexico dreaming about playing baseball in America.
I hope the Dodgers scout him and sign him and he leads them to a World Series in 2034
GO DODGERS
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Baseball Playoffs are perfect answer to political stress
Midterm elections are approaching and tension is high.....but when one is a baseball fan and has a favorite team in the playoffs
NOTHING ELSE REALLY MATTERS
Happy, excited AND nervous people live in
Houston, Boston, Milwaukee and of course
LOS ANGELES
NOTHING ELSE REALLY MATTERS
Happy, excited AND nervous people live in
Houston, Boston, Milwaukee and of course
LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Quick opinion of Supreme Court situation
When the GOP refused to acknowledge President Obama's choice in 2016 for the vacated Supreme Court seat that was the beginning of tit for tat that is now taking place. For almost 13 months the Supreme Court of the United States only had eight judges.
There are three branches of government and one of the branches was incomplete for 13 months because the GOP didn't want a Democratic choice on that seat.
Democrats don't want a second Trump choice on that seat but all indications point to the reality that there's no stopping that from happening.
But watching the Treasurer of a high school club called the 100 Keg or Bust Club testify in front of the Senate and act like he didn't party hardy in High School, or College, made no sense.
By the way, it's true....he was the treasure of the 100 Keg or Bust Club in High School.
When he was asked if he had blackouts his answer was.......didn't you?
His best friend Mark Judge is a recovering alcoholic who won't come forth.
His short temper while sitting on the current hot seat is not a good indication of how he will judge cases.
I think it's time to move on
BUT
the real problem is
the next person selected...
And just to be a real jerk
DJT will pick some extreme right wing religious fanatic
who
will
get
the job and
we will really be screwed.
November midterm elections might help
offset the
insanity
VOTE
VOTE
VOTE
STOP THE LIAR
Michael Timothy McAlevey
There are three branches of government and one of the branches was incomplete for 13 months because the GOP didn't want a Democratic choice on that seat.
Democrats don't want a second Trump choice on that seat but all indications point to the reality that there's no stopping that from happening.
But watching the Treasurer of a high school club called the 100 Keg or Bust Club testify in front of the Senate and act like he didn't party hardy in High School, or College, made no sense.
By the way, it's true....he was the treasure of the 100 Keg or Bust Club in High School.
When he was asked if he had blackouts his answer was.......didn't you?
His best friend Mark Judge is a recovering alcoholic who won't come forth.
His short temper while sitting on the current hot seat is not a good indication of how he will judge cases.
I think it's time to move on
BUT
the real problem is
the next person selected...
And just to be a real jerk
DJT will pick some extreme right wing religious fanatic
who
will
get
the job and
we will really be screwed.
November midterm elections might help
offset the
insanity
VOTE
VOTE
VOTE
STOP THE LIAR
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Liar, liar I WISH his paints WERE on fire
There are people and organizations that keep ACTUAL track of what politicians say.
One of those groups claims that the current President of the United States has said over 3000 things that were incorrect.
INCORRECT is a very soft way of calling someone a liar.
I'm not sure I have to worry about libel suits so I'm just going to say it.
OUR PRESIDENT IS A LIAR
In fact I'm pretty sure he lies on purpose in order to confuse the American public.
Is that a crime?
It should be BUT instead
it is considered
a TACTIC
or
a STRATEGY
and
we've let this tactic, or strategy, work to perfection.
The magic question is
ARE WE GOING TO ALLOW
IT
TO
HAPPEN
AGAIN?
The time to start making sure that doesn't happen again
is
NOW!
Campaign slogan might simply be......
STOP THE LIAR
One of those groups claims that the current President of the United States has said over 3000 things that were incorrect.
INCORRECT is a very soft way of calling someone a liar.
I'm not sure I have to worry about libel suits so I'm just going to say it.
OUR PRESIDENT IS A LIAR
In fact I'm pretty sure he lies on purpose in order to confuse the American public.
Is that a crime?
It should be BUT instead
it is considered
a TACTIC
or
a STRATEGY
and
we've let this tactic, or strategy, work to perfection.
The magic question is
ARE WE GOING TO ALLOW
IT
TO
HAPPEN
AGAIN?
The time to start making sure that doesn't happen again
is
NOW!
Campaign slogan might simply be......
STOP THE LIAR
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Presidential Seal of Approval
The BEES keep disappearing and most experts trace the problem to a pesticide class known as neonicotinoids which are manufactured by companies such as Dow and Bayer Corp Science.
There was an additional 15% increase in colony collapses from the previous year according to the USDA.
The NEW EPA(the one that has no interest in protecting the air and the water) under the NEW PRESIDENT(the most obvious narcissistic human ever to hold this office) does not accept the science and basically has slowed down their interest in preventing Colony Collaspe Disorder.
In other words.....FUCK THE BEES......SUPPORT THE CHEMICAL COMPANIES AT ALL COST.
Just to understand how far behind our government is regarding this issue.
In 2013 the EU banned SOME neonicotinoids and this year restricted the use of the pesticide to greenhouses.
I've previously spent serious time writing about CCD and if you are unaware of the problem then you are one of those people who has chosen to ignore information in order to remain calm and happy.
Happiness might be based on much truth one can ignore (from Neo-Illumination # 6)
The Trump Asbestos story falls into the surreal category.
There was an additional 15% increase in colony collapses from the previous year according to the USDA.
The NEW EPA(the one that has no interest in protecting the air and the water) under the NEW PRESIDENT(the most obvious narcissistic human ever to hold this office) does not accept the science and basically has slowed down their interest in preventing Colony Collaspe Disorder.
In other words.....FUCK THE BEES......SUPPORT THE CHEMICAL COMPANIES AT ALL COST.
Just to understand how far behind our government is regarding this issue.
In 2013 the EU banned SOME neonicotinoids and this year restricted the use of the pesticide to greenhouses.
I've previously spent serious time writing about CCD and if you are unaware of the problem then you are one of those people who has chosen to ignore information in order to remain calm and happy.
Happiness might be based on much truth one can ignore (from Neo-Illumination # 6)
The Trump Asbestos story falls into the surreal category.
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals,[1] which all have in common their eponymous asbestiformhabit: i.e. long (roughly 1:20 aspect ratio), thin fibrous crystals, with each visible fiber composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released by abrasion and other processes.[2] They are commonly known by their colors, as blue asbestos, brown asbestos, white asbestos, and green asbestos.[3]
Asbestos mining existed more than 4,000 years ago, but large-scale mining began at the end of the 19th century, when manufacturers and builders began using asbestos for its desirable physical properties.[1] Some of those properties aresound absorption, average tensile strength, affordability, and resistance to fire, heat, and electricity. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. These desirable properties made asbestos very widely used. Asbestos use continued to grow through most of the 20th century until public knowledge of the health hazards of asbestos dust led to its outlawing by courts and legislatures in mainstream construction and fireproofingin most countries.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious and fatal illnesses including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis).[4][5] Concern of asbestos-related illness in modern times began with the 20th century and escalated during the 1920s and 1930s. By the 1980s and 1990s, asbestos trade and use were heavily restricted, phased out, or banned outright in an increasing number of countries.[6]
Despite the severity of asbestos-related diseases, the material has extremely widespread use in many areas. Continuing long-term use of asbestos after harmful health effects were known or suspected, and the slow emergence of symptoms decades after exposure ceased, made asbestos litigation the longest, most expensive mass tort in U.S. history and a much lesser legal issue in most other countries involved.[7] Asbestos-related liability also remains an ongoing concern for many manufacturers, insurers and reinsurers. On July 12, 2018, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $4.69 billion to 22 women who alleged the company’s talc-based products, including its baby powder, contain asbestos and caused them to develop ovarian cancer.[8]
I was told my a neighbor yesterday that I drink it everyday in the tap water.
FACT CHECK. A Canadian study from 2002
Water Asbestos is introduced into water by the dissolution of asbestos-containing minerals and ores as well as from industrial effluents, atmospheric pollution, and A/C pipes in waterdistribution systems. Exfoliation of asbestos fibres from A/C pipes is related to the aggressiveness of the water supply (3). Although A/C piping is used in about 19% of water-distribution systems in Canada, erosion of such piping appeared to contribute measurably to the asbestos content of water supplies at 2 only two of 71 locations surveyed (7). In contrast, high levels of asbestos have been recorded in association with the severe deterioration of A/C pipe containing chrysotile and crocidolite in Woodstock, New York (USA) (8). Chrysotile was the predominant type of asbestos detected in a national survey of the water supplies of 77 communities in Canada; concentrations varied from not detectable (<0 .1="" 0.5="" 2000="" concentrations="" estimated="" fibre="" in="" it="" lengths="" m.="" median="" mfl="" range="" that="" the="" to="" was="" were="" while="">1 MFL in the water supplies of 25% of the population, >10 MFL for 5% of the population, and >100 MFL for 0.6% of the population. Concentrations were higher in raw than in treated water (7).
The results of a number of surveys indicate that most of the population of the USA consumes drinking-water containing asbestos in concentrations below 1 MFL (9). In 1974, concentrations of optically visible fibres up to 33 MFL were detected in drinking-water supplies in the Netherlands (10).
The results of a survey of asbestos concentrations in raw and treated waters in the United Kingdom suggest that most drinking-waters contain asbestos fibres in concentrations varying from not detectable up to 1 MFL (11)
EXACT LEVELS OF ASBESTOS IN OUR WATER.
The EPA has established a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for asbestos in drinking water of 7 million fibers per liter (MFL) > 10 µm in length. ...
Whether you agree with the FWR, the EPA or both, what all of this means is—yes, asbestos could be in your drinking water.
NOW SWALLOW THIS!!!!!!
A new study in Italy that says drinking asbestos might be as dangerous as breathing it.....and with that thought......
I give you our Presidential Seal of approval.
Russian asbestos company that operates a giant mine in the Ural Mountains is marketing its wares with President Trump’s image, according to photos it posted on social media, citing former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt as well as Trump’s outspoken support for the carcinogen.
The company Uralasbest posted photos of the pallets adorned with a seal with Trump’s face in the center on its Facebook page in June.
“Approved by Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States,” the seal read, according to a translation supplied by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit focused on human health and the environment that flagged the posting.
I'M NOT TELLING YOU NOT TO VOTE FOR TRUMP IN 2020....
BUT IF YOU DO....THEN YOU DON'T GIVE ONE THOUGHT TO THE FUTURE OF YOUR CHILDREN OR YOUR GRANDCHILDREN.
-30-
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Music to calm Rudy Guliani's twisted mind
But I doubt that anything will help. Rudy is full of IT.....and if he gets any fatter he might explode.
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Something great happened last week and then I read a few more stories
I was so damn excited when I heard that Scott (Let's completely f**k the planet) Pruitt resigned as the head of the EPA....and then I looked at the record of the guy taking his place and threw up on my new blue suede shoes.
Of course I don't have new blue suede shoes but every chance I get to reference Elvis I will do and never apologize.
One of the strange things I noted in the article, referring to his resignation, was the fact that his odd ball behavior regarding personal matters, such as the phone booth dealio and flying first class and helping his wife get a job or a chick dick franchise, was the main focus of the story.
NOT THE FACT THAT HE HAS ATTEMPTED TO REVERSE
EVERY CLEAN WATER, CLEAN AIR AND RENEWABLE ENERGY GESTURE THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA HAD MADE DURING HIS ADMINISTRATION.
(by the way in case you are wondering.....YES I am now shouting)
SCOTT PRUITT IS A NON-BELIEVER IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND FULLY SUPPORTS THE INCREASED USE OF COAL AND FOSSIL FUELS TO SUPPLY OUR NATIONAL ENERGY NEEDS.
Remember this is the dipshit who sued the EPA 14 times on behalf of oil and coal companies when he was the Oklahoma Attorney General.
THE POINT OF MOVING FORWARD INTO A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE IS TO MOVE TOWARD THAT SUSTAINABLE FUTURE BY CHOOSING DIRECTIONS THAT WE KNOW WILL WITHSTAND THE TEST OF TIME.
The SUN is the main direction in which we should be traveling.
WIND is the second direction in which we should be traveling.
ELECTROMAGNETIC is the next direction and possibly more important than the first two as far as making machines operate.
And then comes WAVE energy and GRAVITY.
(making something operate by GRAVITY seems too obvious)
THOSE FORMS OF ENERGY WILL RESIDE ON THIS PLANET LONG AFTER ALL THE COAL HAS BEEN DUG OUT OF THE EARTH AND ALL THE FOSSIL FUELS HAVE BEEN
CONSUMED. HOW THEY BECOME AFFORDABLE COMMUNITIES IS WHAT THE HUMAN SPECIES DOES BEST.......we figure stuff out.
SCOTT PRUITT WAS A MAN WHO DIDN'T WANT TO FIGURE THINGS OUT BUT INSTEAD JUST WANTED THINGS TO STAY THE WAY THEY ARE.
WE ALL KNOW THAT CURRENTLY FOSSIL FUELS ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY DOMINATE THE CONSUMPTION SCALE OF WHAT WE USE TO MAKE THE SYSTEM (often referred to as society) OPERATE ON A NORMAL BASIS.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE TO IGNORE BUILDING A BASE SYSTEM FOR SOURCES OF ENERGY THAT ARE FOREVER.
For an example that I've often used.....Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House in 1977
Ronald Reagan removed those panels in 1981 and set the solar panel industry back 25 years.
A very similar situation happened in the 1950's when the oil industry put the ca-bosh on mass transit in Southern California.
By the way....Let's gently disgust that term forever and try not to scare the crap out of anyone.
I've always thought that NASA exploring space was extremely important for the continuation of the human species even though I know the demise of our SUN isn't scheduled for about 5 billion years.
It's not like you and I are going to benefit from discovering a new planet in a new solar system within a new galaxy but I always considered that one of our jobs as human beings was simply to help avoid extinction.
Which is actually part of Neo-Illumination #17....and if you don't know about Neo-Illumination then you don't know anything about me and or you just think I'm bonkers.
Both options are part of my ongoing reality check.
What I've been thinking about lately is the true reality of the future of the human species.
Two things don't bode well for permanent occupation of the planet Earth.
The Sun's eventual inability to heat our planet
and
The collision of the Milky Way Galaxy with the Andromeda Galaxy.
As I stated before the Sun's next phase( which is not good for anything living on Earth) will take about 5 billion years.
The collision of the two galaxies will happen in about........huh?
Before we reveal that number let's look at the facts.
Both galaxies are traveling at around 300,000 miles an hour TOWARD each other.
At the current time The Andromeda Galaxy is about 3 MILLION light years away.
Each single light year (as in the number 1) is 5.9 TRILLION miles.
My calculator doesn't have a big enough screen so I called my math guy Butch, who happens to have 8 degrees and he quickly said to add about 18 0's to 1 and that would be the distance.
The problem with survival is that we have a very long time to find another planet but if the nearest galaxy is going to collide with us then we need to find a galaxy that is further away and then figure out if that galaxy is on a collision course with another galaxy before we settle in.
I think what I'm trying to say is that we need to make the best of what we have and do as much as possible to make this planet the heaven on earth that it is suppose to be. The problem I see is that when human beings( like Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt) come along who wield power and only direct that power to the satisfaction of those who control the current power cords, such as big oil, then we aren't doing our very best....and in fact we are ignoring the one element that makes us unique.
WE ARE A PROUD SPECIES OF PROBLEM SOLVERS and if we simply follow a status quo because that's the easiest path then we are asking for trouble.......and the trouble isn't millions of years off.
The problem of clean air, clean fresh water, healthy oceans and abundant pollution caused by massive irresponsible consumption is HERE.....NOW.
A few generations down the road simply means your children and their children will face extreme conditions generally caused by US.
When a man like Scott Pruitt comes along and says clean air and clean water inhibit big business from rewarding their share holders then WE REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM.
Yes I am extremely happy that he is gone.....but the next guy got appointed already by the main guy who sits in the White House and just doesn't give a f**k about anything that doesn't directly affect him.
And then I just read a story about LIMA, Ohio where they have started refurbishing mothballed Tanks so that the town can have people working. President "Biff" has increased the defense budget so that we can have more TANKS?
WHERE WILL THE NEXT GROUND WAR WITH TANKS TAKE PLACE?
I'd love to see how long a tank war would last with Drones and Missiles being launched from thousands of miles away by techies sitting in an air conditioned suite underneath NORAD.
This might be the stupidest thing DJT has done so far.
Even dumber than hiring Scott Pruitt....and that probably wasn't actually dumb but more hostile toward policies that Obama had put in place.
I'm trying to bring my emotions down to Earth so I can help solve issues now. It's hard because I've always been species orientated and extinction never appealed to me.
Maybe I should just accept the inevitable and try to laugh more.
That would be funny.
For now....good riddance Mr. Pruitt and I hope they make you take that phone booth home where you can install it in your bathroom.
Michael Timothy McAlevey
I'm trying to bring my emotions down to Earth so I can help solve issues now. It's hard because I've always been species orientated and extinction never appealed to me.
Maybe I should just accept the inevitable and try to laugh more.
That would be funny.
For now....good riddance Mr. Pruitt and I hope they make you take that phone booth home where you can install it in your bathroom.
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Just another irony that tickles my sad
In early February of 1959 I was home from school due to the measles. I remember being extremely itchy and uncomfortable and I was getting ready to turn 13 and it didn't seem fair and of course I blamed it on Sister Mary Margaret of St. Ferdinand's grammar school in San Fernando, Ca.
I blame everything on Sister Mary Margaret and every nun that taught me for eight years was named Sister Mary Margaret.
I'm seriously telling you the truth.
I can't remember any nun in my life who wasn't named Sister Mary Margaret.
I would describe what she looked like but it might cause me to have some new physical abnormality....like a mini-stroke or another outbreak of the measles.
I assume that I was in the 7th grade. The previous summer I had played my only year of Little League and was getting ready for Babe Ruth League. The Dodgers had finished 7th in the National League during their first year in LA (I promise that there will be no more Leagues in this story) but 1959 would prove to be a great Dodger year and my loyalty to the boys in blue has never wavered. Of course I love the sport of baseball but the Dodgers were more than just a baseball team......they were the main thing that got me through the next few years of my life along with Soupy Sales and Elvis.
Obviously there's a side bar story here but this is not the time or place to explain.
Back to that early February morning in 1959.......
We had a nice RCA color television that my mom had won in a church raffle a few years earlier. The picture seemed large at the time but it was probably only 24 inches.
I recall the interruption of whatever I was watching and the announcer talking about the tragic deaths of three rock and roll stars and especially focusing on 17 year old Richie Valens who was from San Fernando.
Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and young Valens died that day in a plane crash outside of Clear Lake Iowa.
Years later the song American Pie by Don McClean with the infamous lyric "The Day the Music Died" would forever immortalize that day in rock and roll history.
So much has been written about them and the stories regarding who wasn't on the plane and how the last minute switch of passengers took place.
The fact that anyone got on a small plane in a snow storm with a 22 year old pilot is really one of the big questions....and can probably best be answered by the simple statement. YOUNG PEOPLE ALWAYS SEEM INDESTRUCTIBLE to themselves and then add the success of their recent records and the great fan response on their current tour and I'm sure sensing tragedy had no place in their minds.
I was watching a documentary on the event last night and within 30 minutes three different people had claimed to have had a coin flip that determined who would and who wouldn't get on that plane.
Dion said he gave up his seat to Richie Valens because Richie was cold and didn't want to ride on the bus.
Waylon Jennings said he flipped a coin and won but then gave his seat up because it seemed like the right thing to do.
A dummer on the tour said he flipped a coin and lost to young Valens.
Dion has a quote that says he is amazed at how many people claim to have flipped a coin at that small airport in Iowa. Someone knows the truth and this might one of the cases where the winner writes the history....winner being anyone who is still alive.
Please note that DION is still alive.
The entire point of this story is actually based on the date of that famous tragedy.
While watching the documentary (and I've watched many different shows related to that plane crash because I think Buddy Holly would have become one of the greatest song writers in rock music history rivaling the Beatles and Bob Dylan) I realized for the first time that the plane crash was actually
on........
FEBRUARY 3RD
February 3rd 1994
is the worst day of my life and it has nothing do with
Buddy Holly
Richie Valens
or
The Big Bopper.
I share a sad date with each of those family members and friends and I just realized it last night.
For those of you reading this that don't know what happened on 2/3/94.......I'll tell you later.
Maybe
Michael Timothy McAlevey
I blame everything on Sister Mary Margaret and every nun that taught me for eight years was named Sister Mary Margaret.
I'm seriously telling you the truth.
I can't remember any nun in my life who wasn't named Sister Mary Margaret.
I would describe what she looked like but it might cause me to have some new physical abnormality....like a mini-stroke or another outbreak of the measles.
I assume that I was in the 7th grade. The previous summer I had played my only year of Little League and was getting ready for Babe Ruth League. The Dodgers had finished 7th in the National League during their first year in LA (I promise that there will be no more Leagues in this story) but 1959 would prove to be a great Dodger year and my loyalty to the boys in blue has never wavered. Of course I love the sport of baseball but the Dodgers were more than just a baseball team......they were the main thing that got me through the next few years of my life along with Soupy Sales and Elvis.
Obviously there's a side bar story here but this is not the time or place to explain.
Back to that early February morning in 1959.......
We had a nice RCA color television that my mom had won in a church raffle a few years earlier. The picture seemed large at the time but it was probably only 24 inches.
I recall the interruption of whatever I was watching and the announcer talking about the tragic deaths of three rock and roll stars and especially focusing on 17 year old Richie Valens who was from San Fernando.
Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and young Valens died that day in a plane crash outside of Clear Lake Iowa.
Years later the song American Pie by Don McClean with the infamous lyric "The Day the Music Died" would forever immortalize that day in rock and roll history.
So much has been written about them and the stories regarding who wasn't on the plane and how the last minute switch of passengers took place.
The fact that anyone got on a small plane in a snow storm with a 22 year old pilot is really one of the big questions....and can probably best be answered by the simple statement. YOUNG PEOPLE ALWAYS SEEM INDESTRUCTIBLE to themselves and then add the success of their recent records and the great fan response on their current tour and I'm sure sensing tragedy had no place in their minds.
I was watching a documentary on the event last night and within 30 minutes three different people had claimed to have had a coin flip that determined who would and who wouldn't get on that plane.
Dion said he gave up his seat to Richie Valens because Richie was cold and didn't want to ride on the bus.
Waylon Jennings said he flipped a coin and won but then gave his seat up because it seemed like the right thing to do.
A dummer on the tour said he flipped a coin and lost to young Valens.
Dion has a quote that says he is amazed at how many people claim to have flipped a coin at that small airport in Iowa. Someone knows the truth and this might one of the cases where the winner writes the history....winner being anyone who is still alive.
Please note that DION is still alive.
The entire point of this story is actually based on the date of that famous tragedy.
While watching the documentary (and I've watched many different shows related to that plane crash because I think Buddy Holly would have become one of the greatest song writers in rock music history rivaling the Beatles and Bob Dylan) I realized for the first time that the plane crash was actually
on........
FEBRUARY 3RD
February 3rd 1994
is the worst day of my life and it has nothing do with
Buddy Holly
Richie Valens
or
The Big Bopper.
I share a sad date with each of those family members and friends and I just realized it last night.
For those of you reading this that don't know what happened on 2/3/94.......I'll tell you later.
Maybe
Michael Timothy McAlevey
Thursday, June 28, 2018
And then the main reason for the last election becomes center stage.....
Anthony M. Kennedy will retire on July 31st 2018.
I'm guessing that 60% of the American population aren't quite sure who he is.
60% might be a tad bit off....give or take 5 to ten percent.
I have to assume that if you are reading this article than you know exactly who Mr. Kennedy is and you are either very disturbed or extremely excited. (While I might not have a large audience I do know that my readers pay attention to social-political matters)
This is not a neutral subject matter.
When one stops and remembers that 40% of the eligible voters don't participate in a Presidential election then it makes perfect sense that MOST of those people cannot name the Supreme Court Justices. Now add the people who do vote but only vote every four years and could care less about how the rest of the government operates.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE AMERICAN POPULATION CAN NAME THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE?
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE AMERICAN POPULATION CAN NAME THE HEAD OF THE EPA?
The appointment of a Supreme Court Justice is the most important result of a Presidential Election and after that fiasco during Obama's last seven months in office where his appointee didn't get a chance to even be questioned and Trump got Gorsuch within the first year of his administration......after all that, NOW HE GETS ANOTHER PICK and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sick.
The most interesting thing about Anthony Kennedy is that he was a Ronald Reagan appointee but looking at his record it was often hard to tell that he was put there by an right wing President.
Many pundits think that we was a left leaning Justice because he coauthored the Rowe vs Wade ruling, eliminated the death penalty for juveniles and also supported the right of same sex couples to be married........
.........and now those same pundits are joyfully anticipating another nomination by President Trump that will officially shift the Supreme Court into the RIGHT WING column of social responsibility.
Now stop and think about RBG being 85 and the reality very clearly shows that Donald J. Trump could have THREE picks during his first three years in office. If he somehow manages to win in 2020 (I'm now officially sick) he could have another pick if Steven Breyer, 79, resigns.
AMERICA is about to shift in ways that MOST PEOPLE can't even conceive.
I'm sorry...but I just vomited all over my desk, my computer keyboard and any reading material close at hand.
THIS IS VERY SERIOUS
and
90 percent of Republicans still support Donald J. Trump and will vote for him in 2020.
IF DEMOCRATS CAN'T RISE UP AND MAKE THEIR PRESENCE FELT BY 2020 THAN
GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
What we need is a person who verbalizes what America truly stands for and once more shows us that dignity and grace of leadership outweighs verbal boosting and obvious narcissistic behavior.
Attacking the current Administration is the responsibility of the public.......
Whoever represents the Democratic Party in 2020 has to speak on a higher level that goes well beyond the attack mode of a normal election campaign.
WE NEED SOMEONE LIKE
ABE LINCOLN or ROBERT F. KENNEDY
How hard can that be?
Probably about as hard as making a monkey fly out of yours or my....ass.
I wished I had better news.....but go back to yesterday's post and watch the boys from Australia.....nothing quite feels like great rock and roll and nobody does great rock and roll better than AC/DC.
For those about to VOTE.....I salute you!
Michael Timothy McAlevey
I'm guessing that 60% of the American population aren't quite sure who he is.
60% might be a tad bit off....give or take 5 to ten percent.
I have to assume that if you are reading this article than you know exactly who Mr. Kennedy is and you are either very disturbed or extremely excited. (While I might not have a large audience I do know that my readers pay attention to social-political matters)
This is not a neutral subject matter.
When one stops and remembers that 40% of the eligible voters don't participate in a Presidential election then it makes perfect sense that MOST of those people cannot name the Supreme Court Justices. Now add the people who do vote but only vote every four years and could care less about how the rest of the government operates.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE AMERICAN POPULATION CAN NAME THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE?
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE AMERICAN POPULATION CAN NAME THE HEAD OF THE EPA?
The appointment of a Supreme Court Justice is the most important result of a Presidential Election and after that fiasco during Obama's last seven months in office where his appointee didn't get a chance to even be questioned and Trump got Gorsuch within the first year of his administration......after all that, NOW HE GETS ANOTHER PICK and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sick.
The most interesting thing about Anthony Kennedy is that he was a Ronald Reagan appointee but looking at his record it was often hard to tell that he was put there by an right wing President.
Many pundits think that we was a left leaning Justice because he coauthored the Rowe vs Wade ruling, eliminated the death penalty for juveniles and also supported the right of same sex couples to be married........
.........and now those same pundits are joyfully anticipating another nomination by President Trump that will officially shift the Supreme Court into the RIGHT WING column of social responsibility.
Now stop and think about RBG being 85 and the reality very clearly shows that Donald J. Trump could have THREE picks during his first three years in office. If he somehow manages to win in 2020 (I'm now officially sick) he could have another pick if Steven Breyer, 79, resigns.
AMERICA is about to shift in ways that MOST PEOPLE can't even conceive.
I'm sorry...but I just vomited all over my desk, my computer keyboard and any reading material close at hand.
THIS IS VERY SERIOUS
and
90 percent of Republicans still support Donald J. Trump and will vote for him in 2020.
IF DEMOCRATS CAN'T RISE UP AND MAKE THEIR PRESENCE FELT BY 2020 THAN
GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
What we need is a person who verbalizes what America truly stands for and once more shows us that dignity and grace of leadership outweighs verbal boosting and obvious narcissistic behavior.
Attacking the current Administration is the responsibility of the public.......
Whoever represents the Democratic Party in 2020 has to speak on a higher level that goes well beyond the attack mode of a normal election campaign.
WE NEED SOMEONE LIKE
ABE LINCOLN or ROBERT F. KENNEDY
How hard can that be?
Probably about as hard as making a monkey fly out of yours or my....ass.
I wished I had better news.....but go back to yesterday's post and watch the boys from Australia.....nothing quite feels like great rock and roll and nobody does great rock and roll better than AC/DC.
For those about to VOTE.....I salute you!
Michael Timothy McAlevey
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