Father of the Bride

It's nice being the father of the bride when the wedding planning is going on. I have no responsibilities at this point really. I just get to sit back and listen to all of the trials and tribulations of the goings-on and shake my head yes or no and make those approving or disapproving faces depending on what information I am being provided. Hoping I shake it the correct way so I don't have to hear, "you're not even listening are you?"  The wedding isn't until May 2014 but that will be here before we know it. I will do what is asked of me but most of this stuff is way above my parental pay-grade. I know I am just a side dish and I am okay with that.Who doesn't love tater tots or spinach dip? I don't know much about flowers or dresses or wedding food or wedding songs. I don't know much about trigonometry (I just got lucky on spelling it correctly even)...  If it were up to me it would be like a Superbowl party with the wedding portraying the part of the game. Was I suppose to use the phrase "The Big Game" instead of Superbowl for copyright or trademark reasons? Buffets seem to be the way to go with anything I believe but that's where my expertise ends. And, I am not really sure if that is the way to go either so I suppose I will just stay out of it like I know I should.

Today is the parade or whatever the celebration for the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup is called. I cannot think of anything more awful. I have seen some video and photographs of the tens of thousands of people there and don't really know what they get out of it. Maybe 2% of the people there will see anything other than the back of somebody else's head. I am as excited as anyone of the winning of the cup. I have been a Hawks fan since I have liked hockey back in the 70's. While in college we probably went to about eight or nine games a season. We even went to see a game in St. Louis and one in Philadelphia but that was to games where we could see something. Maybe I am just old now and think about the driving in there and trying to find a parking spot for which I will pay way too much for and then not being able to see anything and getting beer spilled on me and have somebody screaming in my ear and then fighting Friday traffic (with the added Hawks traffic) to come back home. And then having to try a bathroom. I still am not sure why public urination is a crime! Or riding the train with a bunch of drunks and that one dude who throws-up on my shoes... Maybe if I didn't have such a vivid imagination I would enjoy life a little more huh?

I am already second-guessing no longer doing Dirty Laundry Podcast. It is mainly a hardware issue I think and getting a new MAC, though somewhat pricey, would solve most of the issues. There are pros and cons both ways. Just stay tuned - I have a feeling we will be back before you know it.

I just heard that Queen Elizabeth is getting a raise in 2014. Her pay will go from $55,000,000 to $57,700,000. That is the equivalent $87,883,089.79 in U.S. dollars (as converted at blog time). I know the Royal family and their home... are the reason for most of the tourism in England but that's a lot of coin for having your butt smooched all of the time. I would do that job for far less money. Just to live in the palace and wear those clothes (I don't look very good in pill-box hats though)and drive those cars...

It's 5 PM on your Friday so you are starting your weekend now most likely while I get ready to head into my Tuesday morning. I know I gripe about that all the time but it makes me feel better somehow to complain. It must be that way for most of us because we all feel like we need to complain about thing. Why is that? I don't feel better after I complain yet I still feel like I need to complain. Isn't that the definition of insanity? Now it all makes sense. I am gonna head out. Thanks a lot for stopping-by. You know I appreciate you. I just heard that over 2,000,000 people showed up for the Blackhawks celebration. Could each and every on of those people just send me $1.00 so I could get a really kick-ass studio and get the podcast going again? Have a great Frinight. I will probably blog again over the weekend. TTTThen....MITM (father of the briding) OUT!

This Concludes Our Broadcast...

It's been ten days since the last blog. I have been sick nine of those ten days. Yesterday I felt like I was almost 100% and now I have slipped back to about 70%. Fabio started the illness in the house and he has spread it to Cha Cha and I and now he has it again. I guess we know how to share in this house. It seems to be just a cold: stuffed-up nose at times, runny nose at other times, sore throat, cough, headache, very run-down - that's all of the symptoms but that appears to be enough.

Last night we recorded Dirty Laundry Podcast but I am afraid it will remain in the vault for eternity. Maybe one day it will be "the lost episode." I think the podcast has run it's course. I feel sad even typing that this is the end. It has become much more trouble than it's worth lately. Last week we were sick, Cha Cha had a huge project to finish for her paying gig and then she went on a wine tour of the Shawnee Hills down south with Splenda - so we didn't do a show last week. Then when we did the show this week the ghosts in the machine decided they wanted to play and I was not in the mood. Maybe we will find that we really miss doing the show (undoubtedly) or we will get such an outcry from our fans (doubtedly) that we will return but at the very least it appears that we are on hiatus for now. Thank you to everyone who listened and for those of you who were guests on the show and supported us through many different ways: artwork, cartoons, letters, music, suggestions, listening, praise, criticism... We met and got to know a lot of really great people that we would not have met, we heard a lot of great music that we may not have listened to, and, we did some pretty cool things that we most likely would not have done without the podcast. We have and do appreciate you very much. It's weird to write that we are done after over two years of doing shows. I am not going to blog lie - I will miss doing the show a great deal.

Happy Sunglasses Day! There really is a day for everything isn't there? For a change it isn't raining here in the MIDDLEwest. Mother Nature even knew it was Sunglasses Day it seems.

Seems like progress has been made in LGBT rights. Many people are very happy (me included in that) and many are very unhappy. I do not understand how people can not be excited that we are allowing people to be who they really are. How can people be so hateful? In America our entire foundation is based on freedoms yet some don't want people to be able to exercise their freedoms. This would fall under liberty and the pursuit of happiness for sure (two of the big three) and life (that is kind of a bologna freedom unless it means more of the right to live our lives the way we seem fit in which case that is the big three) probably. Hatred and bigotry are not rights. There were a few bad things in some of our early papers as a government but amendments were put in place to right many of those wrongs (slavery is outlawed, women have equal rights...). I sort of see the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender people as the slaves and women of the past who are being freed from their bonds of inequity. Way to go America! Proud to be an American just a little more though we still have lots of work to do.

We talked a lot about Rex Reed and Paula Deen on the podcast you probably will never hear. I thought of that based on that last paragraph up there. Apparently they are bigots and/or racists. It seems like this may be National Bigotry Cleansing Week!

I have to run to the store now. I may be blogging more again since I need to communicate and the podcast is resting in  peace. Thanks again for stopping in here and for listening to the 116 episodes of Dirty Laundry Podcast. You will never know how much we appreciate you. TTTT...MITM (shuffling out) TA!

Blog Quarantine - Read with Caution

This will be quick because I am sick.
Head filled with fog makes it difficult to blog.
Knives in my throat and chill with a coat.
It's my Friday today so writing anyway.

I am guessing by that half-fast rhyme you can guess that I am sick. I am really happy that I only have to struggle through tonight before I get a couple of days off. Hot one day cold the next. Working in the rain. Working in the cold without a coat because it starts warm and turns. I can attribute my soar throat, stuffed-up nose and aches and pains to many things but no MATTer what I know it's my fault somewhere. Our illnesses are because of our own doing I feel even though we don't usually know what we did or didn't do to get sick. Whatever I did to cause my illness this time I hope I don't do it again. It may have a lot to do with my sleeping habits. The last week or so I have not been sleeping like I should; I ma probably too excited to sleep because I know Sanata Claus will be here in about six month.

Another thing that has been causing me stress lately is the problems we had with Dirty Laundry Podcast last week. The new show from this week is up and it went much better. I did the editing on a different computer this week and realize that our old Mac may have seen better days. Using a newer Mac made it much quicker, easier and without incident.

Now I am coughing uncontrollably and my nose is stuffed-up. I need to stop my whining - it's a waste of time and effort.

I just read that they are digging for Jimmy Hoffa's body again and they think they know where Amelia Earhart plane is. What a busy day in unsolved mysteries. I predict they will not find Hoffa's body when they dig and what they believe to be Earhart's plane is a bunch or rocks formed to look like a plane or a bunch of fish. And what will they accomplish by finding these two things? I am as curious as anyone but enough. Hoffa was probably fed to lions and been pooped out and Earhart crashed and was probably fish food. We are all just put here to be fertilizer and worm and bug food anyway. I am cool with it.

The darkness is taking over so I need to stop. I will blog tomorrow if I feel better but we are supposed to record the new podcast already again tomorrow though we may wait until Wednesday depending on things. Oh yeah, I took the lawnmower in for repair (I write it here so I can read this and not call the cops and report the mower stolen). Thanks for stopping by - sorry if I coughed or sneezed on you. Please listen to the podcast and pass it along. Have a better night than I will have - I wish that for you every night and I hope mine is great so yours is better. TTT I feel better...MITM (achoo) TA!

Moxie Matt!

Normally we'd be recording Dirty Laundry Podcast right now but Cha Cha got home from her real job and she is tired. We went down to the studio and sat there for a minute and I noticed she was kinda out of it so I suggested that we record tomorrow instead. It's not really a big deal when we record when we don't have a guest especially this week when we didn't even get the show up until about three or four days later than we normally do because of server errors and such. I am really tired too but it dawned on me that when I blogged yesterday I wrote "TTTT"  "tomorrow" is the last "T" in that so I figured I had better blog.

Since last week's show I have contacted: The Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Rob Thomas, Marc Maron, Kevin James, Kevin Costner, Brian Posehn, Russell Brand, Rumours Follow and Albert Brooks about being on the show. This podcasting gig takes a lot of time and energy. You'll have to listen to the show when it's up in a couple of days to see where we stand with these potential show guests. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook (Dirty Laundry Podcast) and/or follow me on Twitter (Matt The Agitator). Those are probably a couple of the fastest ways to stay caught up on the show. Also, this will give you a little time to get your letters into the show.

I cannot believe once I am done writing this I can actually go to bed. We're talking like around 22:00 or 22:30. I usually don't get to bed until 06:30-07:00 (on a good day). Tomorrow night Fabio and I are supposed to go to a Kane County Cougars' game but I heard that there are supposed to be severe storms moving into the area tomorrow late afternoon / early evening. Whatever will be will be. If there is a rain-out maybe we will go to a movie or something instead. That would be a shame because I am a really big Burlington Bees' fan. I am not sure why a bee is an affiliate of an angel (California Angels) or acougar can be related to a cub (Chicago Cubs). I know a cougar has cubs just like a bear has cubs but these are different animals, oh my! I guess angels and bees both have wings huh? Okay, it all makes sense now.

I am entering a food / recipe contest. I have some great ideas but I only have until the end of the month to get my entries submitted. I think I will be fine. If I win I get some kind of a food party for me and ten friends. That sucks because I only have about six friends. Okay, I exaggerate- I have six acquaintances. I have always been a pretty good cook and I tend to think outside of the box (sometimes that is good and sometimes that is bad) so new ideas have rarely been a problem.

My new friend Katee Sackoff

I just read that an actress by the name of Katee Sackoff lost half of her Twitter followers. Apparently she is one of the stars of a show called Longmire on A&E. I have never seen the show and don't know anything about it but I think I am going to follow her to make-up for part of the void and I would recommend you do the same. The reason she is losing followers is because, after a 4-year-old accidentally shot his father in Arizona with a loaded gun that was left unattended, she tweeted "please practice gun safety this is horrible." I just went and followed her and sent her a comment saying that safety with anything can never be a bad thing. I guess she was on Battlestar Galactica too - still don't know who she is but I like her moxie! Moxie goes a long way with me. That's why they call me Moxie Matt!

I am gonna wrap-up now. I am sleepy and I may not get this opportunity again for awhile. I do appreciate you coming by here as often as you can and I do appreciate you listening to the podcast. You make me feel like my stop on this planet isn't completely a waste. Have a great night and a great however long it takes me to get the podcast recorded, edited and uploaded and getting back here to blog. TTT (probably Thursday unless that game is rained out)...MITM (taking at least five) TA!

The Blog-roads

I am at a bit of a blog-roads. Nothing major probably but I feel it's time to figure out what to do with the blog and the podcast. I suppose it's well enough to do them as hobbies because I enjoy them both but feel like I am spinning my wheels. I haven't blogged for nine days and, other than missing the writing, I doubt there were any other ramifications. I do enjoy writing but I feel the blog lacks purpose. I need to focus on one topic that I am interested in, other than daily life and my observations, and make it more marketable. I think it would be really cool to be paid to write as a profession. I also feel it would be better to feel like I am a special purpose. I have this sense of fulfillment in that I hope I cheer people up occasionally or make people think and it has been said that he who changes one person changes the universe. I am not sure that's exactly how it goes but you get the gist. If I influence one person to be kinder or forget their sorrow or make them laugh just one time that could start a huge ripple-effect and eventually everything in the world would be better. Maybe that could be the new blog focus; future-changing?

We got Dirty Laundry Podcast uploaded, finally, yesterday. First, there was a problem with the site that hosts the podcast (Podomatic) and then, after they got their act together, I found that we had problems on our end too. The podcast is taking up so much Mega and Bit and Byte and Giga, Tera, Exa, Zetta, Peta space that we ran into that hurdle. I never knew that there were so many Greek prefixes for sizes. And they say that men are obsessed with size. It must be really tough to be a Greek man. I have pictures of the film 300 running through my mind now. My oh my how I can make myself think and become distracted. Now we are talking external hard drives and terms I do not even remember. It makes me think of all of the money I spent on baseball cards over the years. I still look at some of them from time-to-time and there are some great memories there and that is really all of what life is isn't it? Memories! That's why people have regrets on their death beds - memories. Without memories the pharmaceutical industry and the illegal pharmaceutical industry wouldn't need to exist. Drugs are 90% about forgetting if even, just for a short while I think. Maybe that's one of my problems - I have never really done drugs. I must admit I have always relished the prescriptions I have received when I have had injuries. The last time I had kidney stones, earlier this year, I got a prescription Hydrocodone (I think it is a derivative of codeine) and I didn't take any of them. I would rather suffer through the agony and the pain in case there comes a time in the future that I will need them more. I think I may be a pharmaceutical hoarder. Why do I have to have a prune chaser with this drug? Can I just have plums instead?

Tonight is my Friday. And then tomorrow night we record the podcast again. Monday is my favorite day; I know I am in the extreme minority in that sentiment. We have been doing podcast non-stop since last week's show so this came quickly.

I am doing laundry now and have to clean the kitchen. I usually do laundry once a week and most of the times that is Tuesday or Wednesday because those are my Sa and Su. I must have been doing too many sweaty things this past week because I had to change underwear so many times that I don't have any clean pairs to get me through tonight? Why is underwear "a pair" when there is only one? Anyway, maybe I will have to buy some more underwear or pairs of underwear or underwears or however they are referred to.

I have to get the dishes done because that is the only thing I can think of since I wrote it. Maybe I need to use the blog as a source for power of suggestion. Subliminal Blogging? Daily Blogfirmation? It would probably only work on weak-minded readers which is why it would work on me. Keep up the healthy eating -  you are doing great. That last sentence was to see if it works on me. I have started to get my focus on eating corrected again and it's working very well for the past week or so and I am dropping the LBS. Maybe we should do a segment on subliminal thought on the podcast this week? Maybe like a hypnosis segment? Let me know tonight or tomorrow morning what you want/need to work on and I will try it on this week's Dirty Laundry Podcast. Maybe I have found my new calling?

Okay, that's enough - see how your subliminal thought just brought that on? Thanks for stopping in. I hope you have a great rest of your day and your night. TTTT...MITM (Yrettol eht niw) Keep repeating that parenthetical phrase and remember me when it works! You're We're welcome! TA!

Cha Cha's a Total Hoser, EH?

Marilyn Monroe would have been 87 years old today. I cannot imagine Marilyn at 87. It seems like a lot of the celebs that die young are the ones that would have been hard to imagine older. Maybe that's because we never saw them older. Marilyn, James Dean, Andy Gibb, River Phoenix, Elvis, John Kennedy, Mozart, Bobby Kennedy, Freddie Mercury, Heath Ledger, Kurt Cobain, Tupac, Freddie Prinze, Buddy Holly, Croce, Bruce Lee, Bernie Mack, Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, Belushi, Michael Jackson, Farley, John Lennon, Estelle Getty... There is talk of one celebrity that died young that I have always thought faked death and there is recent talk that this celeb is not dead. I have already made a virtual post-it to talk about it on this week's Dirty Laundry Podcast. This has happened a lot with celebs. Many of those that I listed up there have had rumors surrounding their deaths. Total weirdness - while I was writing this Cha Cha just told me that Jean Stapleton died today at 90. Can you imagine Marilyn and Edith Bunker being almost the same age?

Cha Cha and I just got done cleaning the garage, I bet the garbageman really hates this time of year. Especially in my neck of the nape where it rains every day too. Maybe the rain kills some of the heat and the smell sometimes. My arms itch from insulation now - I hate that itch. It lasts for days.

For Mother's Day, among other things, Cha Cha got one of those Pocket Hoses. In case you are unfamiliar they are bright green and are very small until you turn the water on and then they grow. Then when you turn the water off it returns to the compact size for easy storage or hanging... She LOVED it. What a hoser. It was easy to use and compact. You can probably tell, since I was using the past tense there, that something happened. Today the hose blew and she is very sad. Perhaps the one she got had a defect and we kept the receipt from Bed, Bath and Beyond and will return it for another one in hopes that this one was just a defective hose. I am making so much progress as a human. I resisted so many bad jokes though maybe me mentioning that is just as bad huh?

I am watching game one between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings while I write this. The Hawks are winning right now with less than two minutes in the second period. The game will probably be over by the time you read this but I have blog space to fill.

I have to try to get a nap so I am out. Have a great night. Hopefully there won't be any more storms in the south; those poor people have had enough already. Thanks a lot for stopping in. I probably won't blog again until Monday or Tuesday so god luck with the blogdrawal. So, have a great tomorrow to now that I think of it. TTT? MITM (ghost) TA!