Do You Know What Day It Is Today?

Happy Festivus for the rest of us. If you are unfamiliar with the holiday of Festivus, I strongly recommend you watch the 1997 episode of Seinfeld called The Stike (one of the best of all episodes and you can purchase it on YouTube here - I do not get kickbacks I am mentioning it as a place where you can find it). It is a blast. 

 

Here is a clip, of most of the episode dealing with Festivus, for those too lazy or poor to watch the whole episode:

 

Then after watching that episode - and I suggest only after watching it - read up on Festivus here. Amazingly, it was a holiday tradition, in rebellion against the commercialism of Christmas, for at least one family for over 30 years - long before being made famous on Seinfeld.

Enjoy your aluminum pole (or clock in a bag if a stickler for the original), Festivus meal, the airing of grievances, feats of strength and Festivus miracles. 

 

Happy Festivus for the rest of us!

 

ETA: Today is also the day, December 23rd, when in 1888, Vincent van Gogh mutilated imself. As some would have you believe, cutting off his own ear was as an act of love. I have always thought though that he was a bit of a psycho (as evidenced by his paintings and due to his self mutilation). We would have gotten along just fine!

All the best,

Glenn B

FUCK THE HOLIDAYS...

...and all the assholes that come with them. I am happy the so called holiday season is halfway over and am truly looking forward to it being over. Thank god New Year day is the last one for quite the while (no I do not celebrate the year of the many or scaly critter, aka: lunar new year). One more holiday weekend and then there is nothing for me to celebrate until Ground Hog Day. I celebrate that one because almost no one else does, at least around where I live. Ground Hog Day is the definitely the best one - no pressure at all, no gift buying or giving, no big dinner, no asshole relations over for whom you have to act nice even though you despise them, no trips to see anyone, you don't even have to wish anyone a happy this or merry that - there is no anything, unless you want to do it for yourself and yourself alone (well, and maybe for the rodent known as the Ground Hog). Thus the reason I will celebrate it better than all the rest. Even Festivus cannot compare to Ground Hog Day - not in any way, shape or form. Ground Hog day is most certainly the best of all holidays! As for the rest of em, fuck them.

Yeah, that's right something put me in a foul mood this holiday season, the same thing that can put me in a foul mood any day of the year - and she does not even have to try. The holiday season sucks regardless of how bad she makes it though, I am finally convinced of that (the holidays need no help from her at all, but oh how she can make it worse).

All the best,
Glenn B

Labor Day Weekend - What Did You Do?

Labor Day – What Did You Do? Here is what I did this weekend:

Well even though Labor Day was initiated as a day off for the working man (in NY City of all places), I did not get off today. Sure I had off from work, but I also had chores around the house and the garden. I’ll admit though, these chores sure beat working for someone else.

I primed and painted a closet this weekend. The first coat was applied Saturday, the rest today. I also did some light gardening, nothing back breaking for sure. I am also supposed to stain the front door, but am not too sure I can get back into the work mode. I’ll know soon after the Paulaner Hefe Weissbier I am about to imbibe. If it is quickly followed by a second, well work around the house is on hold indefinitely, or at least until next week. Of course I may get the front door done regardless, it may just be a good bier I need to get going with it. Staining fiberglass with gel stain is a royal pain in the arse. A wood or steel door will replace the one I have if I live that long. No more fiberglass, unless it gets painted, and even then I would prefer the others.

As for the gardening, I got a bunch of jalapenos and tomatoes today. It looks as if just about the last batch of tomatoes that will ripen on the vine are starting to do so. I have a lot of very green tomatoes left over, and if they do not appear to be getting either red or yellow (dependent on the type) by next week, off the vine with them, and into little paper bags in which they will ripen they will go. All of the hot peppers have been picked, the butternut squash looks about ready for picking – sadly only three fruits this year as all the others rotted for some reason. There is a good batch of spearmint to be picked. The basil also needs picking before it dies off. I don’t think anything else, except for a small Broccoli plant, has anything left worth picking. That has about three mouthfuls of broccoli on it. Oh well, all good things come to an end sort of. The garden has not ended – just this season for it has ended. Soon the plants will be uprooted and put into the compost pile to make fertilizer and earthworms for next season.

Did I forget to mention, yesterday I visited my mom out east on Long Island. Quite the drive going there, it took over 2 hours for about 85 miles. The drive back only took about 90 minutes. We had a nice day together. We went into Sag harbor for a walk – all of about 75 yards round trip from car to dock to car. Halfway through the walk we sat on a dockside bench and my mom got to watch the antics of the boaters, the gulls, and the killie fish. It was a nice breezy warm day with blue skies, so this was picture perfect. Then back to the car, a we took short drive of about a block and a half to a local restaurant/bar, where we had a good meal, and I had a couple of pints of Stella Artois. Then back to my sister’s house (where my mom lives). You maybe wondering why such a short walk for me and my mom – she has had hip replacement twice on one side, knee replacement on the other side, and a wired hip on the same side as the knee only because with the fake knee they could not also put in a fake hip. Add to that the fact she will be 84 in December, and you get the picture I am sure. All in all it was the nicest day I have spent with my mother in decades.

On Saturday we had a barbecue, that is after I primed the closet. My mother-in-law and brothers-in-law came by, as did Celina and Kevin her beau. Brendan and Julia were upstate fishing and having fun. The BBQ was pretty good, just burgers, franks, and Bratwursts (none of those prepackaged television commercial 'brats' for us, we had real Bratwurst made at a really ethnic German butcher, and fresh at that). Washed it all down with Paulaner Weissbier. Hmm, that reminds me, wasn’t I about to have a cold one?

Now, for me anyhow, I am going to go to get that bier – a nice cold one at that. Let me know what you did for your Labor Day weekend.

All the best,
Glenn B