tales of shoveling woe...

i won't bore you...i will say this...i learned two things about myself the last two days...not so much learned...as remembered...

the physical vigor that i assumed started eroding away five years ago...is still in full effect...

and i am a stubborn...non team playing...son-of-a-bitch...gold plated...

in other news...

you know all about our snow here...thanks to WALL-TO-WALL TEAM COVERAGE...but you may be suprised to learn that we have a snow shovel shortage...yes you read that right...i have a theory...my wife likes to call these moments...james conspiracy theories...

this week...my theory is...the shovel shortage is a ploy to get us to buy snow blowers...

BTW, Today is Rudyard Kipling's birthday...

here's a sample from a master storyteller...

The beginning of everything was in a railway train upon the road to Mhow from Ajmir. There had been a Deficit in the Budget, which necessitated traveling, not Second-class, which is only half as dear as First-class, but by Intermediate, which is very awful indeed. There are no cushions in the Intermediate class, and the population are either Intermediate, which is Eurasian, or native, which for a long night journey is nasty, or Loafer, which is amusing though intoxicated."

it's been a good year...

remember when you were so excited about what you got for christmas that you couldn't wait to go back to school to show off that snazzy new sweater your grandma gave you...well...it was that kind of christmas for yours truly...

the best of this year's shwag...







and the the only thing better than this gift...



was the look on ms scribe's face when she saw her wedding ring...the one she's been asking for...for what...almost two years...

please...please...please...don't go...

damn brother man...

damn..

snowday '06...

yes it's snowing here...



this was yesterday...





and last night...after some shoveling...





and this is what we woke up to...



so we spent this morning digging out...







and then there was this in the backyard...



now, i find home and yard maintenance just slightly less tedious than shaving...but that was fun...

farewell '06...

it looks like i peaked early this year...

this was the most popular post of the year...hell...it's the most popular thing i've ever done on the internet...so far...



personally...i like this one a little better...



as far as words go...most of you seemed to like... my humble advice...

as for the rest of it...feh...i can do better...and i will...

onward...

the books, movies and music i enjoyed this year...and what they may...or may not...say about me...


how to be a better poker player...or just look like one...



lessons...lessons...lessons...


or...how to start a franchise...


grasping at mysteries...


and what a great franchise looks like...



under appreciated gordian knot of a movie...



spike gets no props...



how to make vengeance sweet...



tough talkin high school kids...



word...nerd...



if you get a chance to see it...don't miss it...



marty in top form...



a hero redefined...



i'm a walking cliche...


let the haters hate...this is hip hop...


the meaning of...a body of work...


subtle beauty...and deft poetry...


neoretro...rock and roll...


too bad for the 5...really...their loss...


for my money...the best turntablist...anywhere...anytime...

and finally...i wanna say it was not a great year for hip hop...nothing really knocked my socks off...

sure, there were important...with a big i...releases...like...




and




even straight ahead solid records like...




and...




hyped up albums like this one...




and critical darlings like these...







none of them could touch me...

theres only one hip hop album i've kept playing over and over all year...




it bounces...this is the disc...playlist...whatev...that you drop during a party...and you know people are gonna move sumptin...say what you want...this is my best hip hop album of '06...

and i'm out...

the man's got a point...

all i can say is i can't wait to have these kinds of problems...

"What really burns me, though, is hearing the constant plea to support independent bookstores, while those same independents don’t support writers from independent publishers, i.e., me. I’ve had two independents in town tell me point blank that they will not carry my books. Why? I don’t know. It can’t be because of the critical response, which was positive for both, especially The Contortionist’s Handbook. It can’t be due to sales. Though I’m light years from being a household name, the Handbook is the living definition of that business buzzword du jour, “long tail.” It continues to move in small but steady increments, slowly gathering a wider and wider audience."