The musings of a madman...

You know what? 2009 has been an all around not-so-great year, but I am thankful to have made it to the other side in a better position to take on the next than that which I entered this one in. I came into the year still mad at the world with the NC Dept. of Revenue up my ass with quite an amount of time ahead of me at the time of that posting before I would see it resolved. -except- It was apparently obvious that I was right and they were wrong, I was just apparently in wait for something to take place, evidenced by my very next post . Yes, resolution had taken place in between my phonecall and posts, putting me in a better place, in that my wages were no longer being garnished and that I would be getting a decent amount of cash back for my troubles. I would begin receiving that right in time for my annual Atlanta trip at the end of April/early May. A weekend of motherfucking monsoons and a clear picture of what a breaking/broken phone (Murph's, not mine) can do to take what is c

Okay, following the advice of a few of my readers and my own idea presented for solicitation of such advice, I waited until year's end (or until the last Tuesday of the month year, so no more music is releasing) and I will NOW make my 2009 post for the time capsule that is the internets... Let us understand that by the time you read this, 10 of the 12 months' releases will have been filled in, but as I TYPE this, I am expecting the ugliest of clusterfucks. I base this SOLELY on what I recall having been released to this point in the year (10/26/2009, 8:42am EST). To be totally honest, I am describable as angered right now just thinking about it, but I will let it ride. I committed to the project, so I will do it to completion. January We get the not-so-good-soundtrack to a not-so-good movie, Notorious . I won't even get into why I didn't see the movie, but know that it has a lot to do with the fact that it featured people portraying people who were NOT dead in the movie

I don't know that I will be doing this every time that The Katie and I go to the movies, which it seems I have done more of this year than many before it, but I am compelled to talk about this. I also led into an album review post I made with a similar disclaimer, but have since done another drop or 3 reviewing albums that interested me for whatever reason at the respective times. That ALMOST led to me discussing my disappointment with Alicia Keys' album last weekend. This is not about that. Went to see Sherlock Holmes yesterday afternoon. Now, as a fan of Guy Richie movies and a within-the-last-few-years rediscovered fan of Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder anyone?), my hopes coming into this were quite high, and I will concede that my opinion of the film may have been swayed by such. Look, I am a reader and a writer, very much of both, but I have NEVER read the Sherlock Holmes novels, so there is nothing to ruin here. I understand that the movie is an amalgamation of differen

True healthcare reform needs to start with hiring people who are actually competent to be tending to peoples' health. While I concede that getting service to people without it is important, the severe mishandling of those who DO have access to it now is motherfucking SCARY! There was once a time where being a nurse in a doctor's office or hospital was something that young girls and some boys desired to be. They went to school for it and completed their task in a decently competent manner. They were well-informed and acted as if they wanted to be helped. Nowadays, though? It seems as if having to have a job is a part of the deal for someone's probation or parole or probation, and being a nurse or nurses aide or whatever the hell they call themselves happened to be one of those jobs that just popped up without a lot of in-between. These days, it seems that the scourge of the industry become the patient/support-facing people in these offices. What is to come is some real-life

A crime of opportunity is defined as a crime that is committed without planning when the perpetrator sees that they the chance to commit the act at that moment and seizes it. Such acts have little or no premeditation. You can think of it as the high school kids who walk past someone's car warming up one morning on their way to wherever it is they were headed, and taking it out for a spin. Or perhaps the braintrust who thinks that it is fine to leave the car running while they run into the store and come outside to the need to call the police and their insurance company. A parallel could be drawn to what precisely would happen the FIRST time I see Bob out on the streets somewhere, he will be immediately fucked the fuck up. [ Phlip note - don't sweat that last part, it is an inside joke] Anyway, with all the Tiger Woods talk of late, there seems to be a new found interest in the phenomenon of infidelity, if such a thing could be described as a "phenomenon." In a post

I been thinking (yes, I concede that this is often a dangerous state) and, while I am about sick and fucking tired of Tiger coverage, I feel the need to go in, if only to keep my blog near the top when someone enters "Tiger Woods" into a Google search. [ Phlip note - don't judge me, I blog, I want the fucking attention] Tiger was heavy in these skreets before he met Elin, he HAD to be! What multimillionaire bachelor -- straight or zesty -- who happens to be hundreds of millions into his earnings DOESN'T take his pick of whatever the best of whatever city he is currently situated in, as per his preferred gender of sexual congress (and several NOT of it, but that is another blog that I will never post)? The way I see this, he has had a harem of jumpoffs all along -- only a fool would believe otherwise. I am to FURTHER believe that he, very much like Diddy -- except with about 2-3 times the bankroll and a million times more acceptance in at least SOME of white America

Is it possible to be a lesbian, but still be a virgin? Do black women really get their asses on their shoulders when a black dude is with a white woman? If so, why? When the hell did people become so socially inept? I know the internet may have a large influence on this, but there is little to no excuse for people who are, say, my age or older. Example: I ask you a direct question in conversation, you do not know the answer to the question I have asked... Why in the FUCK would it be acceptable for you to sit silent instead of acknowledging that someone has spoken to you? Anyone else tired of hearing about Tiger Woods in the news? Is anyone, like me, NOT surprised that this could happen to Tiger Woods, or ANY billionaire athlete for that matter? [ Phlip note - Tiger is the ONLY athlete to have cleared a billion if I remember that correctly] Is it just me, or is college basketball weak as hell this year? Is it wrong that I am less than a week back from an enormous vacation and I am alr

I work in a place where I have to actually talk to people from doctors' offices. Often times, I see or hear people with names that cause me to HONESTLY question: what the fuck their parents were thinking when they saddled them with it? if said parents were even a MOMENT over the age of 16 when they named them? are fathers REALLY so pretentious as to need to name their DAUGHTERS after themselves? Enlisting the assistance of The Katie in the name of collection of the names as presented, as well as offering up a few of her own, I have compiled here a list of some of the most egregious of the names I have since come across... If you happen upon this list and find your name, don't take it personally... If you happen upon this list and you see the name of YOUR child, TAKE IT PERSONALLY and apologize to your children as soon as possible. If you've bestowed one of these names upon an as-yet unborn child, please rethink your strategy, use a different and STILL apologize to your chi

After having passed through SC on my way to and from Florida last week, I am convinced that the signs entering the state should read "Welcome to South Carolina... [no homo]" if only for the amount of proud touting of Cock in this state. Wait, stay with me here, now. I know some of the two of you are not from the Southeast and might not make the connection of what that means, so I will have to explain it to you. The University of South Carolina , located in the state capitol of Columbia, is mascoted (no, that is not a real word yet, but context clues help) by Cocky, the Gamecock. For those of you not familiar, a Gamecock is a rooster bred for Cockfighting, which is NOTHING compared to sword fighting, make sure you remember that fact and the above link on the chance someone invites you to visit/witness a cockfight. Also, cockfighting is illegal in the United States, so I would strongly suggest that you turn down any invites to see any such, lest you could be speaking to a fede

I left you on the last one kind of abruptly, but I left that day kind of abruptly myself, and I would be damned for it. No big deal, I fall asleep often when I have been up and physically exerting myself. ... 0030 - Back up from my little nap, the game is now in the 3rd and the Lakers are up 9. [ Phlip note - You didn't REALLY think I would leave you hanging, did you?] 0052 - The Heat are making a run for it and have gone up late in the 4th quarter. 0108 - 'Foul and play your ass off' strategy employed and the Lakers are within 3-5 points. Derek Fisher 3 brings the game to within 1, Miami hits another free throw and are up 2... 0115 - 3.2 seconds remaining, NO question who gets the ball here. [ Phlip note - Miami SHOULD have fouled him, lol] One dribble, two dribble, off-balance and fading to the weak side... HO-LEE-SHEEIT!!! Kobe Bean Bryant for 2009-2010 MVP. 0119 - Back to bed, dammit. ... and now we can get back to business here, no? 12/05/2009 Final Day at Sea 0

This is to be our last "stop" on this trip, and it is to another place that I have been before, but again this should not be a problem at all, as I enjoyed my time here the first time. Luckily, it was not as hot this time as it had been 2 years prior. Having been here also provided the enviable position of knowing generally where shit was as well, making navigation of the very small area we were situated in quite easy as well. 12/04/2009 Cozumel, Mexico 0846 - Awake and into el bano, not due to arrive until about 10am, but the map on channel 19 tells me that we're close and are actually slowing down as if close to port. 0930 - Breakfast buffet. I am still less than thrilled at the fact that I cannot find any real cheese on this fuxing buffet. On our way in to the cafe, Linda and Cornelia were already on their way down to the gangway to get the city out of the way. 1000 - So, this is how it goes... I knew this 2 years ago when I was on the Carnival Valor this same week.

Grand Cayman... It is where your favorite crooked Wall Streeter is storing your bailout money. Laugh to keep from crying at that, because it is absolutely true. For such a small island, there are a LOT of nice cars here, and that is to say "nice" by your standards OR my own. Not a lot of lead in to this one, as I have actually been to this port once before and know what to expect of it. Trudging through to it in spite of should speak to the fact that I liked what we will be up against here, even if I DON'T have a ton of pocket money to play with here. 12/03/2009 Georgetown, Grand Cayman 0808 - Wake up, use bathroom and notice that the ship doesn't feel like it is moving right now... Strange, we're not supposed to arrive til like 9am. Turn on the TV to the channel showing our course and confirmation that we're not moving is reached. Fine, let's get ready for breakfast and get ready to hop a tender over to the island. *Pause button* For those of you unfamili