April 6, 2022

"OMG OMG OMG -- my BEST-paying photo gig EVERRRRRRR!"

"I don't know which of the bands who performed at the Dingbatz rock club in Clifton NJ on 4/3/2022 is responsible -- Brainwashed Youth or Seafox or Origami. But because this was left on the floor rather than given to me directly, I have no doubt that they all chipped in. So thanks, and that goes triple for all of them!

"I took this photo as a keepsake, of course -- and of course, I will be bypassing the teller machines at my bank to deposit my bounty IN PERSON first thing in the morning!"


Brainwashed Youth:



Seafox:



Origami:




Rocknation

March 25, 2022

I don't always make GIFs. But when I do,

I will be grateful to Stephen Wilhite from now on.










GIFs that I "fostered" in DU posts from my Web host server which were "adopted" by DU as official smilies (the last one within 18 hours):





Rocknation

March 17, 2022

EVERYONE'S "big league dreams" deserve respect -- and SELF-respect.

Tebow allowed an over-entitled over-piety to "outscore" whatever self-respect and work ethic that he did have -- and should have invested in -- developing his (God-given?) talents and leadership potential.


Rocknation

February 1, 2022

A lesson I'm constantly trying to teach my celebrity-struck young friends

It's not how much you're worth (the difference between what you have and what you owe), it's how much actual cash that you actually have which you don't owe.

When her brother incurred criminal charges in 2015, rapper Nicki Minaj raised bail by putting up real estate she owned as collateral on a pair of $50,000 promissory notes. You'd think that someone who was allegedly worth $65 million at the time would have at least $100K sitting around with nothing better to do than gather dust and compound interest, wouldn't you?

And remember when rock star Jon Bon Jovi tried to buy a piece of an NFL team? He couldn't because he was "only" a millionaire on a billionaire's playing field. Every cent of his estimated $350 million net worth would have to had been converted into cash -- by selling off all his assets AND paying off all his debts -- just to come up with his share of the franchise fee!


Rocknation

November 17, 2021

Was hoping for at least 60 months of hard time, but 41 plus his probation totals 77

And remember, he doesn't want be known as the "Q-Anon Shaman" anymore -- The "Q A-Nut Sham Man" it is, then!



Rocknation

October 13, 2021

It's been quite a while since I've thought about the Minnesota airport, too

Rocknation

September 11, 2021

I have come to reducing my 9/11 mourning to 9/11 mornings

I put two candles in the window, share the good works of DU-er Symbolman, Jon Stewart, Michael Moore, and Black Sabbath; confront the irony of probably not ever becoming a DU-er if 9/11 had been just another day; and pat myself on the back for my eternal vigilance against being seduced or intimidated by the rightwing machine.

After which I just proceed to get on with my life.

Rocknation

July 29, 2021

Biles' fatal error was calling her problem "mental" when even the Olympics called it "medical."

At the press conference, she said there was a 5 1/2-hour period after the morning workout during which she found herself "shaking" and "could barely nap," which she had "never" felt going into a competition previously (hope she got to eat during that time). Her warmups went "a bit better," but after her vault, she decided "No -- mental is not there."

She also said, "I was trying a two-and-a-half and I ended up doing a one-and-a-half. Just got a little bit lost in the air." Athletes refer to that as "the twisties," a form of vertigo due to your brain and ear canals (which monitor your sense of balance) NOT being accustomed to flipping through the air two and a half times.

That is to say, Biles' "mental" hesitation was due to "physical" symptoms -- a genuine "medical issue." Her timing couldn't have been worse, of course, making it easy for her to be subjected to accusations of being a loser, coward, diva, and disgrace to her race.


Rocknation

June 29, 2021

As I've been pointing out since Election Day Eve (and in the immortal words of Condi Rice)

what "nobody could have anticipated" was 26 million people voting Democrat or Republican in 2020 who DIDN'T vote in 2016. That's where Duh Don got the 11 million votes that boosted him to 74 million -- unfortunately for him, the remaining 26 million votes are what boosted Biden to 81 million!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=14890483


Rocknation

March 18, 2021

Joe Biden has made me the mother of twins!

Even before the pandemic, I was saving for a second camera that would compliment my Panasonic Lumix FZ80, which I use for low-light stop action concert photography. With the weather improving and Covid restrictions easing, I also wanted to be equipped with a "daylight" camera better suited for quality stationary and portrait shots; outdoor concerts and events; higher-end video; and less-than-perfect weather.

The solution was the Lumix FZ300 camera on the left. A second Lumix saves me the time of having to learn it from the ground up, and also saves the cost of an additional set of accessories for the lens and flash. Most important, the price was right in more ways than one!

I bought the FZ300 out of the $600 that Biden immediately released -- the "rest" of the $1200 that then-President Duh Don "owed" us -- so I consider it to be "Trump's reimbursement." Meanwhile, I consider the $1400 stimulus to be "all" from Joe, especially since it allowed me to replace my FZ80, which I had purchased used nearly two years ago, with a brand new one -- that's the camera on the right!

Purchasing the FZ300 was a pre-planned business move that the stimulus merely allowed me to make ahead of schedule. But thanks to Biden, I was able to replace my FZ80 simply because I could afford to. I sure don't look at it as a "government handout," though -- after the past four years, it feels more like a war reparation. In retrospect, perhaps I should have put the FZ80 on the left and the FZ300 on the right!


Rocknation