I'm Back!

Did you miss me?

I took a sabbatical to try something different last year. I went to a writer’s website in England to get a new audience, comments and challenges. The audience was much younger and with a different outlook.

I write as I always write and got scowled by professional writers on grammatical errors and my wandering style, but they learned to read my ideas and accept my ramblings.

While I will continue to write on ReadWave, I decided to come back to extend what I had started with “Just Another Life”.

This site keeps getting read and while much of what has been posted is personal, I will use it as a diary of daily thoughts and imaginations. If I feel the story or recollection or even history is good enough, I will post it on both sites.

One of the reasons I left “Just Another Life” was that I was beginning to repeat myself. Then after over 200 posts on ReadWave, I realized I continue to post repetitive subjects and ideas. These topics of interest and thoughts are what makes me, me.

I could pay shrinks big bucks to do the same thing, but I find writing is therapeutic and I have no secrets. I write what I think and feel without restrictions to the reader. The comment fields are open to anyone to make whatever judgment or statement on any of the post. If I see spam, I will delete it but otherwise, as any writer or artist, appreciate any comments. And to the reader, if you don’t like it or it wastes your time, don’t read it.

So what have I been doing for the past year?

Well I’ll look at those important events of 2014 to see what happened.  Let’s see… I didn’t get put in jail or rape anybody in a frat house or get shot or shoot anyone. I didn’t walk any red carpets or take any lewd selfies or tweet rubbish. I didn’t lose any airplanes or shot down any airplanes or even ride any airplanes, but I did take a rather long train trip. I watched a singer go out as a Viking, an old restaurant close and another one move, another brewery come to town and some guys with loaded rifles walk down my shopping district. The battle flag still flies outside the museum on the way to a possible new bike path down an inner city street to purchase an unused tablet. I didn’t attend a same sex marriage but became tired of the whole LGBT thing. Also became tired of the lack of governmental process except for the reversal of a buffer zone on abortion clinics, but I won’t fuss about it. I didn’t feed the poor or walk a marathon or donate for whatever cause because there are too many and I am but one. I did buy two more guitars and had three windows replaced. One was necessary and one was just what one can do. I fed the critters everyday and met the new next-door neighbors and enjoyed watching the moon on the summer evenings.

Boring? Sure, but if you detail your everyday life, it is boring. Brush your teeth, comb your hair, do the laundry, buy your groceries, take your medicines, do your chores, take a poop and sleep. We accent these mundane activities with the occasional party or outing or vacation that is too quickly over. We pay our bills and sweep our walks and eat too much and become numb to the constant drool from the media.

I could relate all those who died last year, but there are people who die every year. Because the calendar changes doesn’t mean we are not growing older and the grim reaper is just around the corner. I’ll be lucky enough to be able to remember to write 2015 on the checks today.

So what is the outcome?

Does there have to be any?

It was just another year in “Just Another Life”.

Please place your comments in the box below.

Enough of this…

For the pass half decade I have been posting stuff here. Some of it was important for me to record and a bunch of it was just silly nonsense. There have been several interesting comments and a possible interested reader or two, but it is not time to move on.

I have written about losing a job, losing a wife, trying to adjust to the new reality, riding my bike, communication, holidays, emotions and lack there of, strange stories and real tales that could not be believed unless you were there. A soundtrack of the past five years has been written in words.

A book has been written, another blog started and another writer’s site have accepted my futile messages that I write freely for others to view. I seek no monetary reward, but only the occasional comment as in any conversation is required.

My goal was to write 1000 post and this is it. I’ve actually written more than that on other sites, but on “Just Another Life” I’ve reached my end.

I may continue to write, for I have another project “When The Band Broke Up” that I have started years ago. Yet the daily details of life in ‘Puppywoods’ are becoming repetitive and no reader wants to continue to bore themselves with the details of a “Just Another Life”.

I may return, but for now, that’s all folks.

Making Ends Meet

This may be the biggest challenge of every life. Everyone wants to follow his or her dreams, but you got to pay for it. You got to put food on the table, buy a table to put the food on, a place to store the food, something to cook the food, a place to sleep, something to wear, a method of transportation to go get the food and all of this takes money. How much money does it take to live?

Part of the answer asks another question “How well do you want to live?” If you seek abundance and opulence with all the luxuries of celebrity, then you know you have to become a basketball player or a rock star or a movie idol with a greedy agent who will get you lots of cash.  The bank account may be bulging if your accountants are good and not correct, but you must also keep up with the facade to continue making large sums of money.

The common slob on the streets must live within their means. Whatever income can be scraped up decides how the family will live. Economists study the levels of what people can and will earn to signify wealth versus poverty.

Many people live by whatever money they can gather. Livelihood means survival rather than monetary income. Spend anything they can trade, sell, scrounge or steal and then adjust their lives for everything else.

I try to live by my means. I only spend what I have and I keep track of every penny. I make sure there is a reserve in the piggybank and all the major expenses have been paid (I hope). Even had enough to buy some toys last year.

So a new year is starting and hopefully I’ve found a pattern to control the bucks and have enough to enjoy life, for that is the real reward.

And it don’t cost much.

You Think You Got It Bad?

She just got out of prison. She shot a cop in the back. The cop was in the hospital room of her ex-husband. Her ex-husband was also a cop. She shot a bad cop who was on the payroll of the evil richest man in town.

Before getting beat up her ex-husband was having a fling with the evil richest man ex-wife. Her ex-husband has a sister. She got knocked-up by her ex-boyfriend. Then her ex-boyfriend came out of the closet.  The ex-husband’s sister had a baby. She then moved in with her ex-boyfriend (the babies father) and his lover.

His lover turned a coffee shop into a bar. The woman who shot the bad cop in the hospital trying to cut of her ex-husband’s wee-wee is getting married to the evil richest man’s son. The woman and the evil richest man’s son were having a party at the new gay bar when the bad cop’s wife came in and shot at her.

Unfortunately the evil richest man’s youngest son got in the way of the bullet. He had been involved with the ex-husbands sister when she was trying to kill his girlfriend who has left town. The girlfriend’s dad was the doctor who took care of his gunshot in the hospital.

The doctor has the hots for this blond chick. She also works at the hospital. Her husband just died in an elevator accident after an earthquake that also killed the other richest man’s son’s girlfriend.

The other richest man’s son was about to get married when she died. In his trauma he turned to drugs. The other richest man became involved and then married the doctor’s mother.

Then the evil richest man’s daughter comes home, makes whoopee with the other richest man’s son and they plan on getting married. But the evil richest man’s daughter doesn’t like the mother of the woman who shot the bad cop and makes a video of the woman who shot the bad cop’s brother. The woman who shot the bad cop’s brother is a priest.

The doctor thinks the priest was drugged. The video was shown at the other richest man’s son’s wedding and the evil richest man disappeared in a car crash.

After the evil richest man’s elder son who is going to marry the woman who shot the bad cop tried to take away control of the family company only to fail, the evil richest man comes back to town. The other richest man breaks up with his wife, the mother of the doctor, but they make up.

Meanwhile the blond chick’s daughter is getting it on with a black doctor and the evil richest man’s son (before he gets shot). The black doctor takes the high ground and leaves and the evil richest man’s son deflowers the blond chick’s daughter.

The blond chick’s son comes home from a far away school. The blond chick’s son is having drug problems. He is also jealous of the blond chick’s new boyfriend, the doctor. He wrecks the doctor’s car, sells drugs to the blond chick’s assistant, and gets arrested for being a public nuisance.

The doctor finds the blond chick’s son and her assistant overdosed on drugs but he and the blond chick are on a break. The blond chick’s son says he is turning over a new leaf but the blond chick’s assistant has a video of them making whoopee.

Just to make things more interesting the ex-husband’s sister is attacked by her ex-husband.  Her ex-husband has been stalking her since she moved in with the gay guys with her baby. Her ex-husband tries to get to cozy and she bops him in the head with a rock.

Then the woman who shot the bad cop and the evil richest man’s ex-wife come across the scene and helped drag the ex-husband’s sister’s ex-husband dead body into the river. Don’t be too concern. Before the ex-husband’s sister’s ex-husband’s body sank he showed up in a beer commercial.

You think you got a lot of stuff going on in your family. Well these are just days of our lives.

What have you been listening to for the past year?

-->

What music has caught your ear? Have you purchased any new music?

For me it is pretty simple. I’ve listened to a bunch of old favorites because they are comfortable. I’ve also listened or studied some homemade sounds trying to inspire myself to start recording again. New music?  

“Tim Minchin” has become a popular favorite. Also listening to “David Gilmore” more and “Crosby, Stills, and Nash” harmonies. “Gotye” song ‘somebody that you use to know’ caught my ear. ‘Call Me Maybe’ also caught my ear but I enjoyed the covers as much or more than the originals. A group called “Foxes and Fossils” doing covers also interesting but only for a short period of tie. “Tuneola” song ‘No Leaving Today’ seems to be a repeat listen. “Kimbra” an offshoot of “Gotye” I thought was interesting but never went anywhere. “The Hold Steady” I liked for the energy and the hooks. “The Duhks” version of Bob Dylan was interesting, but again, couldn’t find any other tunes that kept me listening. “The Rolling Stones” ‘doom and gloom’ was the best of there last repeat of repeat favorite hits CD. I guess I did buy a CD this year. “The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie” caught my ear, and even with Charlie being so sly, that music is in my DNA. “The London Symphony Orchestra” version of ‘Gimme Shelter’ is still a fave. “Richard Aven Cornwell” did a cover of ‘Tommy Tunes: 867-5309’ that caught my attention but I am partial. Heard a few things on NPR but didn’t track it.

Don’t know what will appear as a new trend on the music scene but I’m ready for it. Just remember, if it doesn’t catch me in the first two minutes, I move on.  

Wrapping Up Another Year

Seems like only 365 days ago it was last year. Who could imagine it would go so fast?

Seems a bunch of people who were born a lot closer to my birth date have died. There was a storm and another storm and some tornados and some crazy people with guns shot up the place. The government shut down for a while because they could not figure out a budget and stuff. Some people went to work and some people didn’t. Our armed forces shot and bombed a bunch of people and they got shot and bombed. I think they call that war. It must be popular because a lot of other countries were doing the same thing.  There were bad movies made, a bunch of young dressed up dudes and dudettes walked around drinking wine before getting bad stories in the tabloids and a lot of books winded up on electronic readers. Scientist watched some meteor go by and invited 3-D plastic guns. The pope got pooped and a new pope became popular. Bombs were going off at races making people wondered if they should run marathons or go to school or work in a factory making t-shirts. Some guy in the government spilled the beans that everyone was being spied on – big surprise. Cute puppies were saved at least on social media and taxi drivers charged too much. Television didn’t get any better and good music was hard to find.

And Miley Cyrus was twerking.

Closer to home one neighbor moved and another moved in and they are still strangers. The seasons were fairly mild and time was wasted. Several houses became mansions. Had a nice long walk and conversation with a friend after his mom passed. Seems like more of my friends are passing. And I don’t just mean wind.

Bought too many toys without rewarding myself for accomplishments. It must be time for a new year’s resolution. Didn’t travel or go to a movie or buy a video or book, but did buy some new long johns. Oh, that is probably too much information.

The budget seemed to withstand all the analysis wrangling on the economy. Some others have crossed over to the dark side and a few more next year. Kids begetting kids started to take off and they are popping out everywhere. The construction look of last year continues gathering spider webs and piles of dust bunnies.

I’ve spent too much time writing as a therapy and a release and just to clear my head. Wrote about talking, riding, watching, eating, sleeping and the most mundane features of life. Holidays, emotional turns, philosophical thoughts and psychological reflections have all been written about. Technology, friends, history, death, education, television, haircut, age, dating, food, laughter, faerie doors, shopping, heaven, news, nipples, dancing, bunnies, monsters, money, sleeping and variations there of have churned from my head to the keyboard. Maybe I’ve run out of ink.

So come Tuesday night, I’ll fill a glass with the bubbly and toast another year passing and more adventures coming. I’ll buy a new calendar and start up a new excel spreadsheet to track my every move and expense. I’ll wash my cloths and ride my bike and eat whatever I can come up with. I’ll sleep the restless sleep and maybe follow some of my resolutions.

Time will tell if I get in another’s face at midnight.

The Lazarus Sign

Before we start, let me explain this subject is from one genders viewpoint and may not be suitable for every reader. If easily offended, look away.

As defined a boner also known as erection, a stiff, chubby, hard-on when an erect blood filled penis is brought on my sexual arousal.

A boner could be described as:

1. An erect penis

2. What your boyfriend ‘has’ when you are ‘making out’ with him

3. How big you wish his penis was all the time

The bane of an adolescent young man's existence is the boner. A boner usually happens during class, normally after eyeing an attractive girl. Extremely embarrassing the boner is. When a boner happens, you'll stick your hand in your pocket to tuck it into your boxers in a futile attempt to avoid discomfort or embarrassment. The worst case causes ejaculation in the pants.

Spontaneous erection, also known as involuntary, random or unwanted erection, is commonplace and a normal part of male physiology. Socially, such erections can be embarrassing if they happen in public or when undesired. Erections can occur spontaneously at any time of day, and if clothed may cause a bulge which (if required) can be disguised or hidden by wearing close-fitting underwear, a long shirt, or baggier clothes.

If this is getting too uncomfortable, let me get technical.

Parasympathetic branches extend from the sacral plexus into the arteries supplying the erectile tissue; upon stimulation, these nerve branches release acetylcholine, which, in turn causes release of nitric oxide from endothelial cells in the trabecular arteries. Nitric oxide diffuses to the smooth muscle of the arteries (called trabecular smooth muscle), acting as a vasodilating agent. The arteries dilate, filling the corpora spongiosum and cavernosa with blood. The ischiocavernosus and bulbospongiosus muscles also compress the veins of the corpora cavernosa, limiting the venous drainage of blood.

Erection subsides when parasympathetic stimulation is discontinued; baseline stimulation from the sympathetic division of the ANS causes constriction of the penile arteries, forcing blood out of the erectile tissue.

After ejaculation or cessation of stimulation, erection usually subsides, but the time taken may vary depending on the length and thickness of the penis.

A death erection, angel lust, or terminal erection is a post-mortem erection, technically a priapism, observed in the corpses of men who have been executed, particularly by hanging.

That is enough of the science. You can look back now. I’ll stop talking about the awkwardness of boy’s reactions to girls at that tender age when mating starts taking place.

My point here, excuse the pun, is during the time when ‘making out’ takes place there are voluntary and involuntary signs of attraction to each other.

Then again we often pull a ‘boner’. No, it is not what you are thinking. Get your minds out of the gutter.

When we do something really stupid. We buy the wrong present or forget an anniversary or run a red light or wake up with a stranger in a hotel. That is a ‘boner’.

Maybe it was the Lazarus sign

In ‘The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion’, art historian and critic Leo Steinberg notes that a number of Renaissance era artists depicted Jesus Christ after the crucifixion with a post-mortem erection. The Roman Catholic Church suppressed this artwork for several centuries.