Stocking Up

So ya'll want some satire, do ya?...how about these apples...the one person on staff that you re-up his contract...for an additional 3 years...and then watch this bloke, the apparently highly regarded GM...er, AJ Preller...do his magic on getting the team, the mighty San Diego Padres, stocked up with better players for the oncoming year, and wait for it...years...to come...

And GASP out loud at what he came up with...yesterday...widely panned, as owning the poorest starting pitching staff in the bigs...he signed a couple of dudes to bolster that group...you know, to improve it...oh my...Tyson Ross and Chris Young...what?...former Pads, that have seen their better days...this is what he spends his, er, the Pad's $ on?...let's see...he already brought back Chase Headley...is Adrian Gonzalez next?...I know Kooz is out there, too...hey, is Jake Peavy ready to commit?...cuz, that's what they are gonna do...to this asylum...

We could be the ancient Padres...a last settlement for the oldies but maybe goodies...OK, I will try to give the bloke a break...maybe, just maybe, he has a master plan that he is keeping away from the public...hmmm, let's just say, it is well hidden...

Stop the Horse...on a runaway streak in the bowl picks!...won 9 straight and just has to be in the mix...again...were you surprised at how easily the Ohio St Buckeyes destroyed the USC Trojans...and made their QB, Sam Darnold, run for his fb life?...not really, as it is apparent, that after all these bowl games...the Big 10 (er, 14) is a real powerful conference...and the Pac 12 is not...oh yea, I am now 21-10!...4 more today...

All kidding aside...the Countess has admitted herself into rehab...

Waldo is still missing...and so is the dude who fathered her pregnancy...I guess they are BOTH missing...check the rehab centers...

For those of you who worry about these things...it has been written that Prez T has spent 80 some days at one of his golf compounds...in lieu of the White House...during his tenure as the POTUS...must be the rats...

Nobody, I mean NOBODY has ranted about my selections as Best and Worst of '17...this is a good thing...

We took down our Xmas tree and stuff yesterday...and into storage it went...we were a chuckling...as we thought about who saw what we had put up...as we took painstaking time doing so...the Mackles, the kids, and the housekeep...that's it!...thus, we do it for...mostly, ourselves...I'm OK with that...it makes me feel good...

Your plans for the New Year?...egads, ours is similar to the previous paragraph...having a bit of the bubbly...watch the pixels...see if Mariah can sing without lip-syncing...do this, in the confines of our now...Xmas free condo...and be bedded down by 10...now THIS is what the oldsters do...apparently...

Hey, got to wrap it up...off to the golfing compound...that's what we call it now...thanks to the Prez...take out me new M-2 Driver and WHALE at it...er, with it...

Fore!...

The Horse Awards

'Hey baby, they're playing our song'...you recognize that line?...this is the day, that the Horse gives out his BEST and WORST of the year, two thousand and seventeen, er 2017...or '17...whatever...over 360 days of trials and tribulations, whatever that means...dictates the brain of the Horse...to divulge the winners...his winners, er, MY winners...do not speak in the 3rd person...listen, kids...it is just an opinion...you may not agree with me...it's OK...I get that a lot...

Do I start with the best or the worst?...let's go with the BEST...first...so many nominees...without a doubt, for ya'll in it, the stock market...a steady upward angle that befuddles most of us...the DOW, S & P, and the NASDAQ...all up substantially...normally, this would be the winner...nothing tickles the Horse more than $...normally...

Tweets...what?...this could also be in the worst...however, gone are the fireside chats of other Prezzes...this is the mode of info in the now world, I guess...at first, I thought that this was a joke...maybe it is...but, in the big scheme of things...let's lump it all with social networking...and leave it at that...couple this with FACEBOOK...which is an incredible web net phenomena...keeping in contact with friends, not only in the now, but in the past...way cool...and certainly a candidate for the Best...

Cell phones...in particular, the iPhone...hey, the Samsung peops swear by theirs, too...where or when, did you ever think that you were going to be carrying your own little computer around with you...everywhere you go...now, the face recognition to open the dang thing up...just keeps getting better and better, and costlier and costlier...still...

You see, these are mostly daily things...that have improved and made the day go a bit faster and...better...right?...but, the award goes to a couple of groups...of people...civil servants...that PROTECT us...the police and firefighters...the daily watch of potential disasters by the scum of the earth...Cops must be vigilant...on guard...and have dedicated their lives to save ours...and...oh my...the year's fires in Cali...both tragic and terrifying...battled and beat by the firefighters...no people more deserving...yup, the Horse goes to them...with great adoration...

On the other side of things...the WORST of '17...well now, we live in a highly negative press world...witness the amounts of stories that are BAD...or people acting BAD...be sure, that the story will be the headline...99% of 'em are in this category...thus, we have more to sift through...just do what I do every single day...you probably do...read all eleven of my sources...before I write...rarely, and I do mean, rarely, is there a positive one...

So that's where I'll start...the demise of the written word...in newspaper form...I fear, that soon, it will be a thing of the past...most millennials, do not subscribe...in lieu, read the web net, or, gulp, watch the pixel news...for their info...the ONLY positive one on the air, is CBS's Sunday Morning...

The lack of melodic songs...this was the worst year ever...EVER!...name me one that you can sing...er, hum...it's about time to get back to the ones, that have lyrics...and melodies that are not only catchy, but match up...and yes, don't get me going on the now MOVIES...it's been forever, that we have had the itch to go see one...

The Weinstein thing...long considered a trait of the business...of movie making...but mostly in jest form...turns out to be real...and real ugly...certainly, the worst of the worst...but, I ain't gonna give that bloke any award...

The NRA lobbyists...every year a candidate...and every year we have some form of mass executions at the hands of rapid fire assassins...and every year we have Congressional types calling for reform...and every year, somehow the issue gets tabled...and every year we hear that it is a by-product of someone who needs a psychiatrist...blah bah blah...

Lavar Ball...the worst parenting pattern...you know there will be copy cats...he's the dude who marketed his kid...all the way to the NBA...and is doing so with his 2 other kids...see above, I am not giving this bloke anything...I could say this about the KFam, too...perennial nominees...ha ha...but NOT the winner...

Geez, this is getting to sound like one of those pixel morning shows...I am sorry...so, I will get to the award...so we can get on with the day...the Horse for the WORST goes to...drum roll please...the Spanos Group...for taking our Chargers away...settling the team in a soccer stadium....that maxes out at 27,000...which they have never, ever....even come close to filling up...what a pooh...and I mean much worse, much worse...

Oh yea, the first line that I started with...was by the Buckinghams...

Everyone's Gone To The Moon

'Streets full of people'...as the song begins...Everyone's Gone To The Moon...you see, I was playing so many old vinyls the other day...and stumbled on this song...it's a beauty...from the LP, 'The British Are Coming'...OK, I peeked (peaked?) your interest...

Jonathan King wrote it and recorded it...others like Chad and Jeremy, Nina Simone, Jan & Dean, and even Doris Day covered it...I listened to it a couple of times...yup, I liked it then and I like it now...but, listen up kids...you can actually hear the words to it...hmmm...and they got me a thinking...what is their meaning?...not like so many of the pop songs of this era...just a gaggle of words (maybe) clumped together...to fit whatever melody there may be...

And then...I saw the ultimate interpretation...that it had to do with the military peops...JK wrote it in 1965...he was a student at Cambridge U...it was an abstract tune, that had reference to the futility of the soldiers in Vietnam...think about that...it was the BEGINNING of that shameless political battle...dig it up...or find it on iTunes...powerful...

Other...

These damn bowl games...go figure...sailing along so nicely...and then miss 6 of 7...thus, I am 12/10 and probably right in the middle of the group...or worse...

The Cavs got beat...in...gulp...Sacramento!...what?...40 yr old Vince Carter led the Kings with 24!...imagine, he is 40...and they whupped the King...ha ha...the Kings beat the King...Golden St woke up in the 2nd half and absolutely buried the game Jazz...still, the Warriors are without Curry...and still, winning...

Weird day yesterday...we went to Cedros St on a look see...and...as we got out of the Lexus...the fob wouldn't lock it...tried Marsh's...same fate...called Lexus and they said that the batteries needed to be replaced...we wondered, 'both at the same time?'...off we went to a locksmith's...the dude there was so hammered, that he mumbled that he didn't have a screwdriver to unfasten the fob...I guess...we bolted...and as we got out to the rig...somehow, it worked!  WTH?...still does...

And...we have been looking to replace my office chair...rather than just buy it online...I like to actually see it in person...and sit in it, er on it...off we went to Jerome's for one that seemed ok ...when we got there...there was the one, that their workers used, too...and it was all beat up...weird...we bolted...long story short...Pier 1 has and we have, now, the perfect one...they matched the online price discount...whew, TMI...

After all the letdowns of the past 2 or 3 weeks, the Titans can STILL make the playoffs...if they win vs Jacksonville...hmmm...watch carefully on your bets this weekend...as the teams already in...are resting many of their stars...sounds like a good time, to NOT wager...

It's that time of the year...that the Horse gives out his best and worst...of '17!!!!....so many nominees...that's for sure...coming out tomorrow...it's a can't miss version of Crazy Horse...

4 more bowlers today...one over at the Q, or whatever it is called now...MSU vs WSU...as I look over me picks, I have TCU beating Stanford...I must have been high on extreme amounts of shots of bourbon...

Later, dudes...

Finishing Up

Them bloody New Year resolutions...do you do 'em?...I think we all try to...well, most of us...and in our inevitable aging process, we attack the weight issue...boo...for you youngins, it's a much easier task...us senior citizens, it's pretty much how many pills we take...laugh now, you heathens, your time is coming...

The time between Xmas and the New Year has always been a discerning space of sand in an hour glass...scrambling to return gifts...using up days-off wisely...finding the hidden gems of 'sale items' that are all about...choosing how to celebrate the New Year...watching gads and gads of sporting events...oh yea, and down here in SD, playing the golf thing, with the only time that you need a turtle neck...it's true...and sure...figuring out your NY resolutions...

Hdcp Andy and I hit the off track, 2 blocks away at Striders...I must say it is way too convenient...outside of that obviousness, it is magnificent...cheap beer, and good food...I hit all but one race...in some fashion...even the one we left on...$17 bucks on the nose, that I had a 5 spot on it...which gives me moolah to start with when we go back...no, kids, this is one thing I will not give up for the NY...

We are determined to go to the movie house in this interim time...our fav spot is up in Hillcrest...ez chairs, booze, and awesome sound...and well run...now, if we can just find a fun, comedic, flick...to see...the wrench in the whole idea...

So what's the point of having a Presidential Show, if he is not to be in attendance?...bring in past Prezzes?...hey, this bloke, marches to the beat of a different drummer...

Debbie downer...the Horse lost all 3 of the bowl games yesterday...and now, I am sure I am with the commoners...maybe below them...that UCLA one really bugged me...the QB feinted a concussion..I believe...if you saw him on the sidelines, dancing like a Bee Gee, well...maybe he is off his rocker...booooooo...I'd a never picked the Bruins if he was out...

Is fruitcake a done deal?...do you even know what that is?...I was THE one who liked it in our house...maybe, cuz I was the only one...so, I got it all...in a big fam, any food advantage you took...and ran with it...even tho it might have not been the best food commodity...you would learn to like it...

You ever get one of them multi packaged thingers?...a box within a box within a box within a box...right?...I can only imagine you have the same thing with one of them KFam gals...

YOUR Prince Harry...in his very fatiguing set of duties...has to come up with a guest list for his upcoming wedding to Meghan Markle...it is said, that Harold has to choose between former Prez O and current Prez T...but NOT both...you see, that's why he is a Prince...making them tuff decisions...

Staying in royalty...the arrest of the Countess...has grown deeper...in her alleged attack on a cop...she was allegedly found in bed...aw, c'mon Horse, you CAN'T be going there...thus, the story is stopped...

Oops...more law breakers...2 G League hoopsters...let's go to this...it's a derivative of the NBA...were flying and were 'gifted' a couple of blankets from first class, allegedly from some people in first class...get it?...American Airlines would have none of this...the flight attendant refused to allow the plane to take off...all Hell ensued...after some apologies, and some First Class tix, the issue was settled...hey, what is G League?...

In your resolution list...you may need to start taking some pill supplements...you know like vitamins...hmmm, the top ranked 'new need' is a fish oil pill...really...Omega 3...helps the brain...diabetes...losing body fat...hey, see the first paragraph of today's blog...do they smell fishy?...

I can't give you any more than this today...I have some freshly frozen wassies to consume...what?...the new year is a week away...

Where's Waldo?...er, Kylie...

Wrap-up

Morning, kids...so, how did YOUR Christmas go?...ours?...was a spectacular one...our kids were here...we did the usual and it was just...great...topped it off, with a superior meal at Island Prime on Harbor Island...so so good...here is the pix after...and before they made their jaunt back to SB...we are not complete, without them...we are...blessed...

Throughout the day, the NBA popped the cork on some interesting games...the feature one...was the Cavs at the Warriors...geez, I just lurve watching GS play the game, the right way...and the King losing...albeit, the Love kid out of Portland, had a super game...still, even without Steph Curry, the Warriors won...and later on...in the nightcap...the Rockets visited the Thunder (Soopersonics)...I guess I have to give up on their former name...as of this date...OKC got it and yup, I like to see the Beard lose...I will say this...he is playing harder...and passes the rock real well...

How are the Xmas decorations in your area?...seems to me, that more peops in the city were gone...traveling?...I dunno...but the amount of trees that were lit up, was down from years past...we love the deco...makes us feel festive...and good...

A gift Marsh got for me (us?) was a new turntable...you know, the ones that play vinyl...for some reason...the sound that it produces is FANTASTIC!...not sure if it's the needle...or the mechanism itself...but the sound is full and rich...just like how I dig me coffee...come our way and I'll give it a spin for ya...

So what's going on in DC?...nothing but talk about the TAX CUT...or whatever it actually is...you know, when you have a 3 inch stack of papers, there must be a gaggle of loopholes...throughout...call me...the doubter...

You know that time marches on...when one of the youth stars of the movie, the Sound of Music...died at the age of 68 yesterday...Heather Menzies-Urich...say it isn't so...

Where is Waldo?...now THIS is THE topic on web net...well, at least in the social media...ha ha...the KFam Xmas card is out...and nowhere to be found...is the preggers Kylie...oh NO!...how can this be?...a full scale investigation is going on as we speak...the CIA is involved...

You see this tid bit?...Russia is offering to play the peacemaker between the North Koreans and US, like in USA...really?...wonder what the angle is there?...there must be a price of something...has to be...

I have decided to give up on bourbon...just as soon as all of my 9 bottles of the hooch are empty...could be around June, I suppose...now THIS is a resolution...er, a revolution...

You ever wonder why some people always smile?...what have they got that we don't?...what are they thinking about that we aren't?...or is it, they aren't thinking at all?...I'm confused...

Well now...Santa Anita has it's opening day...and HDCP Andy and I are hitting the off track...hey hey...now I AM SMILING!...

Have a great day, after...

Merry Christmas

                         From the Horse, to all of you out there on the web net...a wonderful...

                                                         MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well now, it appears I have more time than I thought...the sugar plums are still in bed...how about this...pictured above was on our dinner cruise in Maui...'heaven on earth'...

If you like the NBA...you got it...all day long...as they play the entire Christmas...not sure how they roped all them players into this...and...this is the season for many, many injuries...for some reason...so, not all of them stars are hitting the floor...they already have...

Your NFL...sweetness for you (and me) Cowboys...non-lovers...as they virtually got eliminated from the playoffs yesterday...in another defeat...ha ha...of course, the owner, Jerry Jones, expressed his view that the coach is safe...boing...alas, the Titans lost a close one to the surging Rams...dang...still a very long long shot...the Chargers won in NY against the awful Jets...and are still hanging in there...imagine a Ram/Charger Super Bowl...LaLa...hate Spanos...

The Countess lost her cool in Florida...and got arrested...oh my...for you in the know...she is the royalty of the Housewives of NYC...hmmm, still intrigues me...as none of these gals are married...

I talked about the manure sent to the Treasury Secretary...well now, the culprit admitting to it, is an LaLa psychologist...seems to me, he may be taking too much of his prescriptions that he doles out...

Must say...that Meghan Markle, fits right into the Brit's Royalty...judging by the pix that was released...is that good?...

Man, I gots lots of weird looks...here at the home...as I took the Festivus pole thru the lobby down to the storage area...bewildered the non-LD peops...

OK...if I had all the money that Warren Buffett has, I'd be a great investor...it's true...

T or F...Michael Keaton and Courtney Cox dated...

Right about now...you are probably unwrapping presents...those who get awards, are the ones who can carry off the 'best present ever' smile and verbiage...I think that goes along with having the best personality, too...unfair advantage...for them...we, the calm and cool characters...stumble about for the right thing to say...they win...

All kidding aside...my best to all of you out there...I'm glad you take some time out of YOUR day, usually morning....and read the Horse...hope I make you smile...and chuckle a bit...and...make the web net a lot more useful...

Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas

Man, we have loads to be thankful for...don't we all?...the kids have escaped what could have been devastating...the Thomas Fire...now ranked as the biggest fire in the state's history...imagine having to start over from the ground up...well, we are celebrating the goodness...

Sometime today I have to pop in the turkey in the oven...is there not a gazillion methods of success for this?...I'm gonna try it at 325* for approximately 3 hours...we only have the two sides of the breast...no legs and wings (and necks and beaks, inside joke) to cook up...I dunno...any hints I should be using?...please share...I am a rookie at this...

Not often I get surprised...I did yesterday...as my son and I went out golfing...for you PNWers you will lurve this...we were on a FROST delay...so went over and hit some balls to pass the time...away...got back to my golf bag...and took out a wedge and a 7 iron to swing...and Cris said, 'hey, hit this one, too'...he had snuck in an M-2 Driver...!!!...best gift and best son EVER!...yes, I do hit it further than me old, mashed up, dilapidated previous 1 wood...ha ha...

So...my college bowl picks...now at 10-4...this is a good thing...but 2 of my losses, are the teams that I write about and follow the most...them Ducks and Aztecs...go figure...I had them as sure bets...which, my good friends, is a an absolute joke in itself...just one game today...Houston and Fresno St...not sure why, but I have the Bulldogs...I think this was an eenie, meenie, miney mo thinger...

The culprit of the 'brooch gate?'...the Princess Michael of Kent...the Queen's cousin...yup, she has since apologized for her lack of good judgment...but, hear me out kids...she has feelings that are real...I'd like to be at their Royal Christmas Party for the confrontation...er, is that coronation?...ah yes, the benefits of the Brits tax dollars...wait, is that pounds?...not sure...

14 straight wins...got that?...the streak that the PDX Blazers have on the LaLa Lakers...really?...continued last eve, even without Dame Lillard...hmmm, go figure...I like the improved play of the Lake Show...but something is still missing...

I bet...if you bet...on the Denver Nuggets...beating the Golden St Warriors in Alameda...last night...you are counting your cash right now...GS was like 3 fer 27 from the 3 ball line...yessiree bob, that'll do ya...

This is smelly...Steve Mnuchin...you know who he is?...the US Treasury Secretary...got a suspicious package sent to his house in Bel Air...wait, I thought he was working in the DC area?...anyway...turned out it was bag of horse manure....from some sorry bloke who called himself, the 'American people'...well, someone was upset about the tax plan that YOUR Congress passed...

Well, that's not in the spirit of the season, now, is it?...let's get passed these types of emotions...find the good things that are out there...

Listen kids...I hope you get the chance to enjoy your family and friends in the Christmas time...share the passion of the season...watch a good time 'Home Alone' flick, or something like that...laugh, and be jolly...listen to some Johnny Mathis stuff...

Merry Christmas...