Badger Badger Badger

what's that, steph? you wanted scooter? okay.
scooter scooter scooter.
commute commute commute.
bullshit bullshit bullshit.
happy fucking independence day:
to whomever still truly believes in it and feels like the government serves us and has our best interests at heart;
to us, as a nation and an idea, who depend on celebrities to titillate us and distract from those issues not nearly as important (like civil rights, group morality, justice for all, equality, honesty, humbleness, compassion for those in need, transparency of government, protection of the weak, an open ear to the powerless, a turned cheek to the angry, not casting the first stone if one is not completely innocent of any wrongdoing) so that we may while away our days feeling superior to those coke sniffing, beaver flashing, head shaving, bible in prison carrying, wife join the scientologists making, little black baby stealing, next unnecessary pregnancy announcing, overblown steroid denouncing, nascar fist fighting, posthumous porn star dna paternity testing, dead pregnant housewife idolizing miscreants who make our country the star of hope that it is to the rest of the world (and why we are held above all others in god's eyes);
to the brave men and women (unless they're fags or dykes) who are overseas shooting at insurgents and terrorists ranging in age from 5 to 95, because their commander-in-chief is too busy commuting the sentence of his little buddy and preparing for a full pardon (even though he didn't consult the Justice Department, the prosecuting attorney, wait until all appeals are finished as is the normal doctrine or the convicted actually asked for the commutation) and can't be concerned about a "minor uptick" in military casualties, which he said should be expected for the next unforseeable future, and the soldiers are in fear for their lives, because they still don't have enough body armor, plate protection on their trucks and tanks, proper directions from their field commanders or protection from the enormous amount of depleted uranium they have unleashed into the air and ground;
and to those among us who merely want to blow shit up in a safe and sane environment on the one day of the year when it's sort of allowed and don't really intend to hold a silent vigil or a moment when we remember all of those who have fallen or whatever.

join me at you know where for festive fireworks, food and drinks. all religions, ethnicities and sexual lifestyles are encouraged (except fags, dykes, muslims, vegetarians, and methodists).
Commies and fascists okay so long as you agree to hold the fireworks while i light them.

WAR

the bane of the tomato grower. that pesky little critter that i've been told is part of the sphinx moth family (those huge ones that used to fly around on hot august nights whose wingspan would easily reach 6 inches...alas, no more due to decades of insecticide). below is the damage i returned to (i show not nearly all of what hapened in a 2 day span) from san francisco. i caught two mammoth caterpillars that evening, 4 moderate sized the next day and 2 moderate and 6 babies the next. and i've been checking those plants since the first sign of damage a couple of months ago.

sucks to be popular.

WTF???

when the State Equalization Board sends you a Cigarette and Tobacco Products Use Tax Return and it turns out to be a form on which you are supposed to tell them how many untaxed cigarettes you purchased iin the last year, you gotta wonder.
when you call and tell the representative that you've never purchased untaxed cigarettes before in your life and she then insinuates twice that you're lying, you gotta wonder.
when you ask for her superviser and are told that he is unavailable and you ask for his number and are told that she doesn't give out that kind of information and you ask how to get in touch with him and you are told that she will take your name and number and you try to give her your name and number and she begins repeating a federal code while you are reciting your name and number and when she hangs up on you as you are still trying to relay your contact information, you gotta wonder.
snippet:
"what's your account number?"
"--------."
"and how can i help you?"
"i got this form in the mail today and not only did you spell my name wrong, but i've never purchased untaxed cigarettes before."
"it say right here on my computer that you bought 98 cartons of untaxed cigarettes over the past three years and stopped in early 2007."
"did you just call me a liar?"
"sir, we received sales receipts from ----------- with your name and address. now, why would this company pull your name out of thin air?"
"you just called me a liar again."
"no sir, i never used that word."
"oh, i'm sorry. you insinuated i'm a liar."
she hung up on me shortly thereafter.
i called back immediately, made my complaint and was transferred by the main switchboard to one of their supervisers. hmmmm.....
turns out my SSN and driver's license are not in their system, which greatly worried the superviser (he gave me his direct number and his extension should i decide to call through the 800 number).
the quote of the conversation with him was:
"i hate to tell you this, but you're not lying."
coming on the heels of a collection agency coming after me even though they had my first name completely wrong and being told by a creditcheck group that i worked at a hardrock cafe in las vegas for a year i'm beginning to hear little paranoic bells in my head (sounds like my alarm going off in the middle of me sleeping off a particularly bad bender).

now he's part of the executive branch, but the order still doesn't apply to him? or the president? excuse me for coughing sputum violently into my hand while i try to keep from shitting out the Constitution i was forcefed a while back by republican operatives. give me a fucking break.
first, dick cheney claims that the National Archives have no oversight concerning his emails, letters, etc, because he's not amember of the Execiutive Branch seeing as how he technically presides over the House of Representatives (if there's a tie vote he's called in to break it). then, under massive scrutiny and witnessing massive outrage, his lawyers realize he's not actually disassociated from said branch. but he still says he's exempt from congressional oversight.
whose government is this, people? his or ours? huh? we have an administration that's been rewriting the rules since day one and we've sat passively by as the Constitution has been trampled and our civil liberties have bee taken away and yet we do nothing.
we let this cretin come in and rule by fiat. and fear. and intimidation. wake the fuck up, folks. as long as you say nothing, we all lose.

this, too, started very innocently. we knew generik would meet us at a certain spot, so we exited the cable car early in order to sneak up on him (much like when i was in the jungle and had to snare the wily crocodile)...
we got closer and the prey remained unaware, too consumed with his immediate surroundings...
we knew that eventually we would have to make a dash for him if we wanted to eat that night...
...too late, he saw us...
as i held up and took a picture of the elusive beast, katie turned and went for the crosswalker...
the inside of generik's lovely wife's outstanding fabric shop...

one place we did not frequent...
...and another...
...still one more...
...negligee, cowboy hat and boots and accordian...sigh...
...um...

woamn playing mandolin while teetering on a totter...
...even the aliens think they should get a handout...
view on the way to the ballpark...
lady giving birth...
one more view on the way...

barry bonds swings and...misses...
arod
arod swings and...connects four friggin' times!!!!
bonds swings and...actually makes contact, even though it was foul and he later settled for a groundout...

home dugout. lots of seeds, spit and paper cups. whoo hoo. but what a game. 13 innings, a massive homerun hit by arod, plenty of good fielding and a comeback by the giants. what a day.

oh, and one more place we didn't get to go...