I wasn't a joy before, else my knuckles would be white around it, yet boweled out across the smear of the rolling seven days. Never been my style to want to reach back and grab by the nut satchel, but retrospect is twenty-twenty; rolled over onto the back and pasty-bellied to the sky, any potential backup forfeit flew that same heat that clenched the first line. Far from an effort to recreate, after zero lines, a T-bone, and two misconceptions later, I'm skipping backwards on the sidewalk trying to avoid the cracks.


Avast! Second shot, let the week begin on a Wednesday, anyways.

Preafter.

It may be in part of sleeping 'til five thirty last evening, but all I could pull off last night in resemblance to sleep were two and a half hours of lucid dreaming and twilight stage. Still, I don't seem to be in the least bit tired:

Don't get me wrong--void and gasping, I am plenty mucky and all lugubrious--but I don't talk about that.

I do have some other items to register, though. I received a call from my arms dealer this afternoon informing me that I am no longer on S&W backorder, and that I'll have a UPS tracking number for my AR15 tomorrow morning. Lose the girl, get a rifle. At least I am not banking at zero.

To utmost frazzle and bumble, the sixteenth being the night of the opening home bout for the Minnesota Rollergirls, Brother Jorges' return to Minnesota, and a stellar poker night, I was just now informed by Naight that the Jacobins will be performing with their new bassist--their first show since the wee days of ought-six--on what night? The sixteenth.

please cut the sixteenth in two, or let it be me,
-Brenn

Drug across.

Thursday evening brought an end to Kari and I's run; an emailed dumping sprung unexpected. I expect the shock to wane this week, and there's clarity that I am going to have a very long week, so advance apologies for infrequency in postings. This one was difficult enough.

Carl roused up this photograph somewhere...don't look at it too long or you may experience mild perspiration. No...I don't know why the whitebread city of Edina would need it, either, 'cept as the line between military and police continues to gray.

Weekend went fanciful and preoccupied. Went out with Justine, Dan (Justine's), and Luke on Friday, and after the day rolled over, Justine stood in as my escort to the Johns' wedding (I purchased them a safe. Truly a Brenn gift). Anxiety-avoidance of the wedding crowd and afterparty, Luke and I grabbed a case of High Life and a bottle of Jameson to have a run-in with Nate, [my] Dan and common folk. It goes unsaid that I was a wee hungover for this morning's system testing, but no injuries were sustained.

Otherwise, it is Dream Theater week, and seems I've nobody to watch it with. Any applicants?

slow yet abided,
-Brenn

Ducks and glory.

When's the last time there was a film about a plumber? Somebody needs to do a film about a plumber. Call Tom Waits and Terry Gilliam and have them contact me; I can start considering the screenplay. Prompt.

I ask you all to peruse this upsetting article telling the story of an old farmer getting under the black boot from the man. Marines are independently threatening his life on the grounds of [quietly and orderly] making a statement regarding two ordeals that upset him--our judicial system bending him over on another parties' bankruptcy, and his empathy for a mom who lost a soldier to PTSD. Sad shames, today. Send him legal money and regards.

I also offer a plug to activist and gubernatorial candidate Leslie Davis, sometimes-friend of the LPMN, who visits our office every once in awhile, and I occasionally catch on his campaign trail. Can't say I nod to all of his platform, but his actions last night deserve a standing ovation:

[at a Hennepin County Commission hearing on the county-funded Twins Stadium bill] 'One opponent, Leslie Davis, was dragged out of the meeting room by security guards when he would not leave the podium. "You're up to your old despicable ways," Davis, a longtime political activist, yelled as he was hauled away, his papers scattering to the ground.

As he was removed, a small crowd heckled the security guards. "This is what democracy looks like," one critic called out.'

I'm going to drop out on a positive note, now, so put your damned helmets on:
Brother Jorges and his wife are flying into town, September 16th! I do believe we'll be kicking it off with poker, not an hour after it lands in Minnesota and is debriefed. Praytell an evening or two of bar closings and to continue the swill on to the sunrise, in addition.

*wrings hands*
-Brenn

PREPARE YOURSELF, SAINT PAUL!

I laugh and choke.

E-gads. Best poker night in months, potentially years. For those who are in the name-know, Luke, Clint, Rex and I hit the table, in addition to Clint bringing his pal Mike, and Kyle making the event. I hope damn well they all come back, too. I suppose you can see some pictures here.

Kari and I spied the William Shatner Roast last night. Somebody please dig up Dean Martin and let him teach all these kids a lesson before this crap happens again.

Look what our dunderheaded sitting governor said:

"The era of small government is over," Pawlenty said in an interview with the Star Tribune. "I'm a market person, but there are certain circumstances where you've got to have government put up the guardrails or bust up entrenched interests before they become too powerful ... Government has to be more proactive, more aggressive."

I pray all of you feel the uncontrollable urge to grab a torch and a pitchfork. At least they can't kill *my* individual rights, eh?

LPMN State Fair setup on Wednesday. Not looking forward, but it's got to be done!

Congrats on the jobs, MacHairy! Now if you can just quit saying 'internets'...

"it's a series of tubes,"
-Brenn

click-it or concussion

Sue Jeffers rocked the cover of the Star Tribune in this article on Wednesday, and there was another feature centered around her Thursday HHH Institute policy speech, Friday. Though I wasn't present at the event on Thursday night, from the notes that Dane Smith took, it doesn't sound like she had her teeth sharpened enough. I miss the more iconoclastic days.

Speaking of sharpening things, Minneapolis Mayor Ryback paid a visit to Chi-town on Friday, no doubt wrung-hands and cackled with Mayor-Douche-Elect Daley, and ogled the high-tech surveillance police state Daley has spent years building around his citizen-slaves [remember cops "in battle dress"?].

"Officers from the Targeted Response Unit and Special Operations Section will be dressed in black battle fatigues and flak jackets. They'll be backed up by command vans and light trucks.

Sleep tight, Chicagoland.

Delay, no turbulence.

With the exception of swilling and singing sea shanties with Daddy Warbucks and Rex well into this morning, I think I went out every night this week. How uncharacteristic of me.

This six a.m., I went to bed as Kari was getting up for work, hosted a solo sleep marathon, arose about two hours ago, and am in silent wait for the poker gong to hit. With two 'possibilities' in our roster, we've still a damned seat open. Call me to begin the screening process.

If Luke weren't out helping his grandparents move right now, he'd be sitting in front of the tee-vee channel-surfing for Dr. Z commercials. This week, an unhealthy obsession.

Through the blog comment wars that've been a-boil of late, one of the byproducts is the potential of Nik directing Rex in an auto-advice show. Not that I'd watch it, but I'm okay with that, as long as Rex doesn't miss anymore darn ExCom meetings.

Huh...appears I am going to finish learning Latin. Can't get much more pompous than that.

pathetic delays, haven't shaven in a week,
-Brenn

Wrung!

This so happens to be my favorite story this year:

"A 32-year-old woman wielding a machete was arrested Sunday outside the White House, the Secret Service said" ... "Witnesses said Saleh was sitting on the sidewalk when she pulled the machete out of a leather sleeve and began sharpening it on the edge of the sidewalk."

I never thought I'd say this, but 'hells yea'. I wish I'd thought of that.

I'd name it a rather busy week. Items of interest: Thursday swilled a few drinks with an old Youth In Government colleague (Kyle) who is a recent member of the LPMN, now a potential poker recruit, and Luke, Kari and I did some hangings out with Justine and Dan at Zhac's place last night. Again, sadly, everybody tuckered out well before we did. En route home around 2:00 a.m. we laid siege to Rex's unit for a half hour.

Returning from earnings wagery on Thursday evening, I found receipt of a letter from Roy Wilkins--my final invoice for the 2006-2007 MNRG season tickets I'd deposited. Seems for some reason (volume of holders, probably) they were unable to accommodate preferencing this year. Further perusal of the invoice copied that I have seats 111-114, the exact seats I was going to be requesting. VIVA, VIVA! My life is [in all likelihood] better than urs.

It's 5:40-something and I should bathe, and later prepare for tomorrow's LPMN ExCom meeting, where we'll also be completing up the state newsletter (second this year, too...sad, oh my).

keep your helmet on and call me in case of emergency,
-Brenn

Hrm...I'd make a dashing Afro-Caribbean individual:

Change into a nine-year-old Hindu boy get rid of your wife.

There's an agent--erm, I mean an angel watching you...with X-ray video cameras. It's for the children!

"These people are far more adept and capable in many respects than al-Qaeda before 9-11," he said. "They don't appear in any no-fly list or terrorism data base."

Huh...just like most of you! Better get on all the federal lists you can, collect all possible government ID's, and submit to complete fealty, comrade.

You going to eat that last RFID chip, buddy? Starring in your passports, and coming to your driver's license [read: National ID card]:

"A demonstration late Friday by German computer security expert Lukas Grunwald showed how personal information stored on the documents could be copied and transferred to another device."

It certainly won't stop Ze Germans. I know how I feel about the potential of being identified by authorities without my knowledge, by just a walk past, uniformed or not.

Hurry up, S&W.

As a change of topic, if there is anything to look forward to, I am a'brew with excitement over the upcoming 2DVD & 3CD live Dream Theater releases, "SCORE", scheduled for release on the 29th. I check my pre-order every day. I'd throw a viewing party, but it'll probably end up being Kari and I, or a bunch of prog geeks. Any would-be interests?

Nothing else of magnitude. Apartment went without hot water Sunday and this morning, Kari and I have been lounging about most of the time, I juggled being forty down to thirty up in poker this last Saturday, and Nik is planning an outdoor weekend FSP adventure for the end of September.

Jeremy is selling all of his DVD's. "Act now, act now, and receive as our gift, our gift to you, they come in all colors, one size fits all. No muss, no fuss, no spills you're tired of kitchen drudgery? Everything must go, going out of business going out of business going out of business sale. Fifty percent off original retail price skip the middle man. Don't settle for less. How do we do it? How do we do it? Volume, volume, turn up the volume. Now you've heard it advertised, don't hesitate, don't be caught with your drawers down, don't be caught with your drawers down, you can step right up, step right up [all praise Tom Waits]." So he can go to Disney Land? Apparently the public libraries in New Hampshire don't afford all that much entertainment.

see you in Disney Land,
-Brenn

ABOMINATION OF MUSIC, THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!

Backorder, backorder, ohhh how I waaaait. A conversation with Nik this evening has me worried; I certainly hope I don't *need* an AR15 between now and the time in which Smith & Wesson starts manufacturing more goram rifles.

On Monday I was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. Doktor has me taking massive, bacteria-killing horse pills. He wasn't convinced that Pall Malls and Evan Williams could kill it, as I pressed.

In darker, drearier news, everybody's favorite jammer Mitzi Massacre has been 'captured' by the Atomic Bombshells, and hence will no longer be in the service of the Garda Belts. Kari and I held council, and our dedication to the green will not be broken, but it sure did waver. May we all pause for a moment of silence.

MOMENT OF SILENCE! Yea, you, have some respect and turn off that god damned Hootie album, jock-O.

On music, I was having a beautiful, tranquil day, and took a pause to mow down a sub-par Arby's Market Fresh sandwich this evening, when the restaurant's FM station-of-choice played ABBA. Nothing like ABBA to remind you of all the horror in the world.

oh no, is Frida still recording albums? HORROR!
-Brenn

OH--before Clint says anything: