Thank Grog it’s Firday!
And yes…like you, I barely know what day it is…and am writing this way early.
It is going to be one of the shorter posts I’ve written…which will please a good number of you.
First…my apologies for anyone who got a notice that this had posted yesterday. Fat finger syndrome. I hit the wrong button on my iPhone when I was trying to start this post.
Next..for the love of God. Matt is messing with us with the SkyFinger main screen image. That STILL is not a finger…even if you put a wrestling singlet on it.
OK now to the real post…
The fact is, I’m working hard on finding the Joy these days,,,,this thing is starting to get personal. Not going to go into details…but suffice it to say that “The Covid,” as CrankyOldGuy likes to call it, has taken a handful of folks I knew closely, or next-to-closely. And, the loss of John Prine hit me harder than I expected. I had the good luck to interview him back in my radio days. Class act. Hilarious sense of humor…and probably one of the best songwriters around. I loved the way he wove humor into pathos…and using words that sounded common and conversational…while being pretty damn deep.
Ironically, one of my favorite songs was, “Don’t Bury Me,” which spoke of how he wanted his body used after he went. After beating cancer twice (barely), there wasn’t much left of “ol John” to go around.
Irreverence is underrated.
But, as always…I DIGRESS….
What I meant to write about was how thankful I am that Bob is still working double shifts at EA, and somehow broke through the insanity of the lockdowns in California to put up this weirdly funny event. We really need something that is familiar, and light, and silly…even if it is redundant, and they DIDN’T INCREASE THE ITEM LIMITS!!!
But, I like it. So shoot me. Let me tell you why…
I was a huge fan of Portland Wrestling when I was a kid. And I suspect that Matt Groening was too. Everybody from my age group, who lived in Portland, (Matt and I grew up there, and are the same age) loved Portland wrestling. It was so, damn, fun to watch. Guys like “Lonnie Mayne,” and the dreaded Von Steiger Brothers – (German bad guys), along with the perennial “Good Guy” (when he wasn’t a bad guy) Tough Tony Borne!
While the “wraslers” in TSTO and the Simpsons, are clearly modeled after “next gen” WWF/WWE showboats…they would have nothing on these guys, for raw, bloody, crazy entertainment.
When I was watching, in the mid-to-late 60s, they were broadcast from the Portland Armory, on independent TV channel, KPTV- Channel 12. Frank Bonnema was the foil/announcer for these mini-passion-plays. He was a friend of one of my friend’s Dad’s. He was a tool.
Lonnie Main doing his bit to warm up the crowd in an interview before a match, with feckless Franky Bonnema, who always looked completely uninterested, until one of the guys would rough him up a bit.
Part of Lonnie’s bit, was that he was “crazy,” and couldn’t be trusted to listen to the referee, once he got going.
Tough Tony Bourne was mostly a good guy, who usually teamed up with Lonnie Mayne for tag teams.
And then…there was the von Steigers, who were never good guys…mostly because they looked, and acted like Aryan Nation guys…waaaay before anyone knew anything about the Aryan Nation. They fought dirty…but almost never won in the end.
People were freaks about Portland Wrestling. Heck, my Boy Scout troop went to see it live one time, and sat close enough to get spit and sweat on us. Not cool.
That would never fly during the current Covid social distancing. Or would it? These pinheads defy logic and common sense…
That’s right…Wrestlemania will go on…despite the danger to everyone involved. But hey…maybe Natural Selection will take over…and the prime purveyors of pinheadery, will be “relieved of their belts.”
People are super passionate about all sorts of crazy stuff.
Like PETS. My guess is that the “Rescue Pets” for people with anxiety and PTSD, will need to be rescued…and maybe years of therapy…like maybe getting their own, therapy pets. We’ll have pets for the pets.
OK…I know. There are a TON of Pet Lovers out there. I get it. They mostly love you unconditionally (except for cats) and don’t end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise and educate.
But, with the current Covid-19 Stay at Home policies in place…people are abusing their pets in ways that nobody could ever have imagined before.
That’s right…I’m talking about people EXPLOITING THEIR PETS FOR HUMOR!!
And even more specifically…those insidious “Talking Pet” vids people are making with the Talking Pet App…
And no…I’m not going to list the URL here…because that would be counterproductive to my mission. TO STOP THESE VIDEOS FROM BEING PRODUCED!!
But…as you might guess…the best way to STOP something is to “REPLACE” it with something better (a lesson the Commander In Tweet should have learned about destroying the “Previous administration’s Health Care”…without REPLACING IT!)” But, I digress…
I came up with a GREAT APP… that let’s me Talk to Animals…and warn them of the exploitation their “Masters” (I use quotes on masters for cat owners…who are you kidding? Cat owners are owned by their cats).
Enjoy. And, PLEASE stop posting those videos. The world will be a better place for it.
And if that isn’t enough…and you still need a chuckle (and who doesn’t?). Here’s John Prine, singing “Please Don’t Bury Me.”
Enjoy.
—————-
Footnote added Saturday Morning, after reading MangoFusion’s comment.
It should be known, that as I implied in the first paragraph…I have had a hellish week. I have put in close to 120 hours in the past 7 days…Non-stop, trying to help clients, and the non-profits in which I am involved, pivot and stay alive during this mess. For the first time ever…I almost told Alissa, that I couldn’t do a post this week. I never miss deadlines. Ever.
So…this was mostly typed on my iPhone…which autocorrects but misses all sorts of minor typos. I didn’t are… but, apparently MangoFusion did. And as I am here to serve at the pleasure of the readers…this morning (Saturday), after the first real 8 hour sleep I’ve had in a week…I had a chance to go back and proof a bit. And Mango was correct…there were more than a few.
Here’s what I caught…but of course, as it appears that some of you have absolutely nothing better to do, you are welcome to “play along,” and see if you can find more! It’s far more fun, than playing one of those insidious “Name ten things, and one is a lie” posts on Facebook.
Here are the changes I just made…
Opening Line- Auto Correct messed up my usual opener…Thank Grog It’s Firday…and made it Thank God it’s Friday… eep!
2nd paragraph- Changed Plural Images to image.
P-5- in to changed to into
P-5 – Tthe Covid changed to The Covid
P-5 Safe after the comma and word closely.
P-10 Added comma to the phrase, “DIDN’T INCREASE THE ITEM LIMITS
Pic description- changed Lonney to Lonnie
Pic Discription – Changed Bournene to Bourne
P-17- Aruan to Aryan
P-17 – the to they
There…that’s all I caught. But, I haven’t had my coffee yet.
But…just as an added bonus, I’ll do one of those 10/9 -1 lie games for you!
Ten things I LOVE about writing for TSTO Addicts
1. The sense of community we have built here
2. It helps me fund the work we do in Uganda
3. It is a bond between Alissa and me
4. I still love the Simpsons
5. I like breaking up the monotony of playing the game
6. Some of the comments make me laugh
7. It makes me feel connected with readers around the world.
8. I get to blow off steam from an otherwise weird world
9. I need a distraction from real life once in a while
10. I LOVE worrying about “typo/spelling police types” who are apparently worried that my “publisher” will reject what I write, and the book won’t come out in time for Christmas!
Have FUN! STAY INSIDE…Wear a mask if you have to go out. Nobody will know if you are smiling or grimacing.