GhostOfTomJoad

14 Songs has some monsters on it. World Class Fad, Silver Naked Ladies, and Runaway Wind are staples in my rotation.

Yeah. Had to go back & edit since it didn't like the characters I inserted. And I assume she had a cheat sheet with names & buzzwords that signal her to hang up. The curious thing to me is just how far one can reverse troll these fuckers? I kept ignoring her calling me "James," but if someone wanted to string them along until James Deez-Nuts of 123 Dingleberry Lane, Muledick, TX tries to make up a phony CC number how far could he get?

I answered a call from an unknown number yesterday because a colleague had just texted me that someone was going to call me with questions about one of our products. Turned out it was an old lady who addressed me as "James"and thanked me for being a supporter of conservative values, but now my help was needed to ensure election integrity. She rambled for a minute about the threat at hand but also listed recent wins they'd had in Michigan by "cleaning" voter registration lists. I said just enough to get her hopes up & when she thought she'd closed the deal with "James" and could I be counted on for the recommended $250 donation I asked how much did one need to donate to get a God Bless the USA Bible? "OH gee, we don't distribute those. That's separate from us." James: "What if I donate $500? Can you get me a Bible signed by Trump?" Her: "if you sign up to be a repeating donor we have several patriotic items including pictures, flags & t-shirts! [Excitedly] Would you like to do that, "James?" James: "how much for a picture signed by Stormy Daniels saying 'it's really, really tiny?'" "Click"

Bingo. My aggy BIL who is a straight ticket R voter for life and refers to the old compact fluorescent lights as Obama bulbs & decries how hideous they were for the environment while he pours used motor oil into the ground is even trying to distance himself from Trump publicly. His wife & daughter vocally refusing to vote for Trump in 2020 (both did in '16) has caused him to tone down his support slightly. His Yeti beer cooler is covered in stickers from breweries, aggy shit, and even a Longhorn logo one of his buddies put on as a joke. And there's one strategic Trump 2020 sticker. When I said "looks like you need to stop by a new microbrewery & get some decals to cover that up" he tried to laugh it off as if it was just a prank someone pulled on him a la the Texas sticker. But like every O&G worker in Tomball he's gonna pull that lever for Trump 100 times out of 100.

We loved it. Definitely need the subtitles on or you'll miss a lot of the humor.

Air Supply (!!!) is playing at the HEB Center in Cedar Park later this summer, although they're probably spreading the schmaltzy '70s -'80s timeline.

Welp, got back this afternoon after helping w/ the MIL's move Fri - Sun. The "turnkey" place she bought is, umm...interesting. She's just gonna need a few minor updates like: adding an acre +/- of fencing (post & wire). That's actually far more than she needs to do to accommodate her 2 old dogs but she's decided that she'll install the max allowed by covenant redo the driveway so delivery vehicles can access the house gut the entire kitchen including all of the 30 year old appliances replace all of the existing tiny, low-height commodes replace 75% of all of the light fixtures, install new CFs, a new garage door and opener and while the electrician is there she might as well spring for him to actually label the two breaker panels--one in the garage, one in the master closet which currently have handy notes like "plugs and lights upstairs" and "kitchen" with an arrow through 6 different breaker slots replace upstairs carpeting (downstairs is all tile) that previous owners' dogs used as a toilet and now one of her dogs pisses/shits on whenever he gets a chance. She's installing a baby gate for a temp fix but the upstairs stinks to high heaven That's just the must-do list. She's also talking about the clearing of agarita bushes and scrub trees, installing raised planter and flower beds, finding a way to cohesively connect 3 separate covered porches that wrap around 2/3 of the back of the house. They currently have multiple levels and steps that are incredibly unsafe in addition to looking like the designer was a failed Escher disciple. Then there's the repainting (interior and exterior), installing new bathroom fixtures, safety-proofing her bathroom that features a jacuzzi tub she accesses by walking up 3 tile steps without a single safety railing in sight. By code she should also have to install new tempered glass windows in the tub area but I'm guessing she'll balk at that. Speaking of safety, she's probably going to need more than the current two total smoke detectors--one per floor, installed in hallways--if any of us want to get a restful night's sleep when we're away. So an easy six figures worth of renovations are coming. But I suspect it's more about her trying to find a way to get her kids to visit & help her with these projects which is just not physically possible at the level she's expecting. Mrs GOTJ is already fuming about what a money pit this "turnkey" place is going to be. I almost wish she'd go the route of other old people with some money & take up traveling to a casino when she's bored. She'd at least get some decent comps and she'd probably light less money on fire in the process.

Yeah, and Trump Digital or whatever Truth Social is operating under had like $1 million in ad revenue last month and losses of over $26 million. So just the kind of investment opportunity any astute investor would love to be part of [emoji1787]

Donald Trump "I'm the king of debt " t-shirts should sell like hotcakes.

If anyone ever doubted Michael Dell's motivation in life then watching him suck off a Nazi-sympathizer whose platform is paving the way for a massive rise in racist, anti-semitic behavior should make it clear. How many more billions does Dell need, and how does he figure aligning himself and his company with Musk is going to help him obtain it?

This is the same douchebag who traveled to an NFL game with the expense of an entire secret service security detail just so he could walk out as soon as players took a knee in an act of civil disobedience. That was at least a quarter million bucks for a photo of. By Memorial Day he'll be claiming that migrants are terrorizing his native Indiana. Red hot poker. Fuck him with it. Post haste.

Vikings and Texans w/ pick swaps will make for some intrigue. Houston sends 23rd and 232nd picks to MN for the 42nd and 188th plus a second-rounder in '25. Minny armed with the #11 and #23 definitely looks like they're perched to move inside the top 3-5 for a QB.

Double wrap it if you do.

We should all be thankful that this douchebag is being exposed for the piece of shit he is now before he's immediately moved to the broadcast booth and we're forced to listen to him as a $25mm a year color commentator. Only Newsmax would touch him at this point.

To me, this sums up the difference between listening and committing. Not judging at all. The sound & melody is what first pulls us in, after all I've always been a lyrics guy. What is the artist trying to tell me? Am I hearing it? What subtext is being hidden beneath the hook & confection? It's like what Scorsese said about film. The director's job is to try & make the viewer care about the filmmaker's obsession.

One of my favorite concert moments was at a Bruce show (maybe The Rising tour?) When Joe Ely joined him on stage and the E Street Band backed him on All Just To Get To You. Joe just owned that stage being the consumate pro that he is, and the E Streeters proved why they're one of (maybe the?) best bar band of all time. They were all having a blast & played the shit out of that song. I've seen Joe join Bruce several times since, but that moment is burned in my brain. Joe deserved to be there.

Because aggy would never admit to being duped by AI, the reasoning will be "Death has 12 digits in honor of the 12th Man, you stupid sip! Whoop!"

Shit... Eric, Donny and his non-Ivanka daughter he couldn't pick out of a lineup wish they got as much attention as the grandson.

And the Vikes are about to sign Aaron Jones for 1 yr/$7m which is quite nice. Dammit, they're going to give me hope again.

They signed Sam Darnold for peanuts [emoji1645] which telegraphs their intent to go QB in RD1. But I'm having PTSD of Jefferson becoming Moss v2.0, spending a HOF-worthy career toiling away, racking up stats & accolades but no real hardware.

Christopher Guest would've been my guess. Dang.

Dialogue is the key. My challenge is dealing with a sense of failure when I can't immediately take away her discomfort or make her feel better. The best i can do is potentially alleviate some of the side effects, but there isnt a toggle switch solution. This could take years so it's part of the ride & we're gonna make the best of it together.

Yeah, and I showed it to my wife. She's gotten some much needed laughs as well as made some notes to discuss with her docs at her next checkup. So go thread shit somewhere else.

If you can't approach this topic with a sense of humor (a la getting old sucks thread) you don't stand much of a chance.