Whoo Hoo! China FoilsTerror Attack!

Unfortunately, like the rest of the civilized world they fail to foil the terrorism that they themselves perpetuate.

West L.A. is a Ghetto...

I saw a bunch of the children of the future looking to make their marks on the world yesterday after school. I was turning left onto Texas off Westgate when I noticed four "students" vacating their car. They were flashing gang signs and yelling obscenities at a "student" walking alone on the side walk. They met each other half-way, blocking thru traffic with their petty gangster posturing and their parked car.

A middle-aged white man in a black Volkswagon Jetta that was right behind the "student's" parked car when it stopped suddenly decided he didn't want to witness the free entertainment and threw it in reverse. The guy really must have been shit his pants because he floored it, flying straight for me in reverse. I had to swerve off to the far right side of the road to avoid him.

I was a little freaked out myself, but the exhilaration and curiosity won out. I slowly pulled forward to watch the scene unfold. The three "students" who jumped out of their car to ambush the individual "student" were busy calling him a "bitch", "coward" and "faggot" as they crept towards him. He was bravely standing his ground on the edge of the street corner while throwing back his own insults. I couldn't believe he wasn't running; I certainly would have been if I were outnumbered by four big ass motherfuckers looking to kick my ass. Then I found out why he wasn't running, and so did they. He opened his coat to reveal something, I'm not sure what because I didn't see it, but it made his four adversaries run like hell back to their car, jump in with slammed doors, and squeal their tires as they got the hell out of there.

I always see these dudes walking down the back of my alley after school, before school, and during school. I've even ran into a few of them smoking bud by my car.

Wow, this place is really getting better everyday, really showing improvement. Shit, it's like Motorcycle Boy said in Rumble Fish: "California is like a wild girl on herion: you can show her the scars, but she still won't believe you when you tell her she's dying". I'd expand that to the rest of American and the world as well.

And this is where they come from-right across the street. Notice the nice new gang signs tagged on the wall, one of which is crossed out.

God damn it, I didn't think people still stole car stereos. I guess I must of gotten on a "students" bad side when I expected him to work hard and educate himself. I should have just left him alone to his own mutually assured self-destruction. It's just the nature of humanity, I guess. No matter where we come from we like to destroy things, especially ourselves and everyone around us.

Worry, be Sad...

Okay, so things aren't that bad. In-fact, things are going pretty damn well. Life is interesting and things are progressing. However, I'm still hurting over the Memphis loss. And the fact that I dropped Bill Hall for Mark Buerhle in my Yahoo! fantasy baseball league. What the fuck was I thinking? The season hadn't even started yet, and I didn't even need starting pitching. Oh well, at least my ESPN team is looking good. On the other hand, I miraculously got the first pick in both my drafts and subsequently took AROD in both drafts. Lucky for me? No, unlucky for AROD and the Yankees. There's no way he or the Yankees can do well after I landed him in two drafts. AROD and the Yankees received my fantasy pick of death. Good thing I hate AROD and the Yankees. Fuck, I should have picked Hanley Ramirez. Then again, I like Hanley. He doesn't deserve the fate of my fantasy draft-day touch of death.



I went to the body worlds exhibit this weekend. It was quite the experience aside from the freaky cadevaers posed in artistic poses that were supposed to be more science than spectacle. I have to agree that the exhibit is more science than spectacle. The primary spectacle came from observing the people that show up to such public events.

I was surprised by the number of young children at the event. I think there should at least be a: "You have to be tall enough to see in the glass case without being held up by your parents rule". And if your 10-12 year old daughters or sons aren't mature enough to refrain from commenting publicly about about the male/female genitalia in a sexual manner then you probably shouldn't bring them along, or at the very least reprimand them when they say something inappropriate. It still blows me away that I kept hearing a girl that couldn't have been older than 12 repeatedly commenting to her younger sister/friend/relative about how the men's "cocks are rather small" and how she's "had much bigger" throughout the exhibit. Apparently, her parents/guardians didn't give a shit.

However, the most shocking thing of all at the exhibit was the couple passionately making out, feeling each other up, and whispering dirty sweet nothings in each others ears while intermittently glancing at this exhibit. There was also a huge crowd around them. They were shameless. So are we.

It's all about the money, man...

Hellz, yeah! Sorry, UCLA friends, but my boys from da dirty dirty are taking me to the bank. I had them picked to win it since the first week of the season.

I've been an avid college basketball fan since I was in elementary school and this is the best college basketball team I've ever had the pleasure of watching. At the very least they're the most fun to watch play (even more fun than my beloved fab-5).

Oh, and I'm officially shifting Rose from my #2 pick in the draft to #1. The guy just has mad basketball skillz-both mental and physical. He knows when to make the pass, when to take it strong, and when to pop one off. He's just a great baller in the mold of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Jason Kidd and Baron Davis. The thing is he's better than all four of those guys when they were freshmen in college.

Go TIGERS!

APRIL FOOL...

Well, I didn't make it by the school today. I didn't work today. I did do my taxes, which is torture in itself. Apparently, I've been pre-approved to buy a car I can't afford, with money I don't really have. Kind of like the government and the economic stimulus plan. The market is still hanging in there, but I still can't get the numbers. People's portfolios are doing fine. There's hope. I hope the numbers don't catch up with the hope.

And speaking of economic stimulus fuck you OCPD for giving me a speeding ticket when I was going with traffic flow, not to mention I was being passed on both sides. In addition, it was more dangerous to pull me over in that heavy traffic to begin with. I bet you pulled me over b/c I had Santa Monica plates. Well, there goes three-hundred dollars and my perfect driving record. Fucking bastards. You fucking suck.

I think I should go down to the street corner and find those students. Maybe they can hook me up with some shit that will help me "just not give a fuck"?

THE STORY PROJECT

It's always a great way to start the day when the teacher leaves you a stack of referral forms on the desk. Not to mention, the note about how her class is completely uncontrollable is nice too.

I don't blame her for the prior apologies she left in her note concerning her classes' behavior. It's pretty typical throughout LAUSD. An atypical day would be the class being well-behaved and ready to learn.

What is ADHD?

As if I needed a form instructing me "what to look for" when I have thirty-plus kids a class that I see on a daily basis who display the symptoms. However, sometimes I do mistake crackbabies, victims of fetal alcohol syndrome, drug addicts, alcoholics, bratz, lazy asses, and snarky little shits for kids with ADHD. What I really need is a pamphlet that helps me discern the subtle differences in a politically correct manner that isn't objectionable to anyone's idealistic snow globes.

I look up and see this note on the wall while I watch the kids do absolutely nothing of importance aside from talking about stuff that they think is really important but doesn't mean shit. I've given up trying to gain control or enlighten them in any way. Even though they can barely read or write they know and have experienced everything. They think they should teach me, which they do in their own ways.

Oh well, not even the real teacher can control the kids. And according to one of her aides I'm doing a good job. She says I'm being really patient with them, but it's really because after three years of giving a shit I'm just too tired to give a shit anymore. But at least I got them to read the first page of their two page reading assignment during the first half-hour of class, which is more than they usually do. It was like pulling teeth.

Read 25 books? When? In their life-time? What kind of "books"? The fifty page ones with the three-inch type? Shit, I don't know what's sadder: that they don't care or that I don't care anymore?



Somebody put this on my back during fifth period. I was in the library during my "planning period", which I spent watching a teacher deal with the class I just had. I didn't have to be there, but went there to jot some stuff down in my notebook. I thought it would be quiet.
Anyways, a kid must have put it on me while the class was getting their learn on in the library.

The librarian was going over the "The Story Project" with the raucous class as the class's teacher ran around screaming in an effort to get them all to sit down and pay attention. "The Story Project" is a way for Hollywood to give back to the community while sending their kids to private school. It's a way for them to get their hands dirty without really getting their hands dirty, so they can look in the mirror each day they get home and say: "I'm beautiful, and I'm a good person. See, it's not my fault, it's somebody else's." Here are a few of the kids responses to the story project:

STUDENT 1
"How fun is it going to be?"

LIBRARIAN

"A lot of fun. You're going to meet industry professionals and they're going to teach you."

STUDENT 1

"Do we have to read and write?"

STUDENT 2

"Are there explosions?"

STUDENT 3

"Do people die?"

STUDENT 4

"Is there blood?"

STUDENT 5

"What about hot bitc... I mean hot chicks?"

STUDENT 6
"Do we have to read and write?"

STUDENT 7
"Do we have to work hard?"

STUDENT 8
"Do we have to pay attention?"

STUDENT 9

"Do we have to do anything besides stare at the screen?"

LIBRARIAN
Yes, you have to work hard, read, and write. And no to all the other questions.

MAJORITY OF THE STUDENTS
"Ah, shit, that's gay then."

TEACHER
Watch your mouths!

The "students" complain some more about the assignment they have to do after the librarian finishes up his lecture on The Story Project. It's all background music to me as I read the paper and jot in my notebook. However, I heard an interesting come back from the teacher to one of her student's generic responses to work that entails something like:

STUDENT

"This is boring, blah, blah, blah. I can't learn because it's boring. How do you expect me to work if it's boring? You're a bad teacher because it's boring. I can't learn because it's boring. It's not my fault because it's boring. Wah, wah, wah."

TEACHER
"Boring, boring, boring. Everything is boring because my name is _______ and I'm boring"

I also ran into a parent in the library. I guess she volunteers at the school or something. Good for her, the school needs more volunteers. But the crazy thing is she bragged to me about her kid's behavior problems. She was beaming when she mentioned her kid _______ was the biggest terror in my infamous 3rd period class, which every teacher who has them (and especially her kid) can't stand. However, according to his mother: "He's just a little sweetheart at heart who needs love and attention". I failed to inform her that her son is an obnoxious, misogynistic little shit who needs some discipline and respect, among other things (like he needs to learn to read and write already).

So, that was pretty much my day. The only other thing of note that happened was that I saw a bunch of the kids at school that I know (strongly suspect) smoke pot and do drugs walk down to the corner of Venice and Walgrove to buy drugs from the high school kids. I saw them exchange handshakes with bills and baggies in their hands. They even about jumped out of their clothes when they heard a cop's sirens blip from the other side of the street. When they noticed the cops were chasing a car in the opposite direction they went back to conversing and making exchanges with the middle school kids. If I would have been thinking I would have took a picture. I didn't think of it until just now, though. I think I'll go back tomorrow and take a picture. Hopefully, they'll be there again. I have a feeling they will be.

Opening Day, Same as Yesterday....

Opening day, same as yesterday.
The day when everyone has a chance to be a winner, a chance to win the world series. Well, at least if you're not the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Tampa Bay "Rays" (formerly known as the "Devil Rays"). I'd like to think I'm neither. I'm more a Colorado Rockey myself-talented, but disappointing. Well, this year it's all going to change. I finished the last edit of my novel "The Land of Lost Dreams" and will be posting excerpts on the blog soon (like, this week).

I swear, I will not procrastinate any longer:

I will not publish blogs and/or pics days or weeks after they were taken (kind of like these lazy-daze pics taken before opening day yesterday).

I will improve upon my blog.

I will submit, submit, submit.

I will keep not smoking cigarettes (24 days and counting).

I will get the hell out of "The Vortex" (aka: Los Angeles).

I will stay in shape.

I will not complain as much.

I will try to be content (as much as a human being can living within a consumer world).



Okay, today is my opening day. I hope history doesn't repeat itself. So, here's to going yard this year, same as last year?...