Truth or Consequences

Geraldine Farraro is another idiot.
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She makes racist comments about Obama then thinks that she can vehemently deny on Good Morning America. Geraldine, your words speak for themselves. You said that if Obama was a white man or a woman, he wouldn't be in the political lead today.
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You should have thought before you said what you really felt.
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Would it be so bad if what you said was really true? That maybe the Democrats want an articulate and charismatic African American for a change? That a white candidate wouldn't fill this sociological and psychological need? That the things that Obama says might not be followed as closely if he was white because the country wants to heal the deep scars of a country whose founding fathers owned blacks as slaves?
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That's not a bad thing, Geraldine.... We don't live in a historical vacuum. Best thing to do when the spinners attack you for telling the truth is to shut the F up. Everybody knows what you said is true, and the spinners will never get off it.
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The Democrats have to choose whether they want to be honest or political. You can't have it both ways.
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I'm sure that Ferraro isn't truly an idiot. Obviously I spoke before I thought.

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Piscatelli said...
For those of us looking for substance and not bluster in our leaders, it is a bad thing that votes are determined by race, either way, over substance.

It goes right to valuing the content of one's character over the color of one's skin of which Dr. King so eloquently spoke.

Fist in the air.

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Peeps..... just so you know, this is the same Piscatelli dude who was emailing all over cyberspace that we won't be successful in our Marine Corps Marathon challenge.

Obviously he runs to the defense of Ferraro because of the vowel at the end of her name!

The "Free Speech" policy in this country can be so annoying.

Paying the Price

Having sex is not a crime.
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All over the news today is the story of the Governor of New York buying a high priced prostitute in Washington, D.C. There are all sorts of cries for his resignation.
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At least he didn't use his office to diddle a twenty year old intern. He didn't use his power to get off on a freebie. He paid big money to a pro who seeks out this lifestyle. There are degrees of betrayal, degrees of stupidity.
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But, being a stupid asshole is not a crime. And the moralists calling for dismissal are the latent perverts in denial.

Tuna Lips said...

Amen I say unto them there words. And throw in a hallelujah. And relations with animals make us one with the chain of creation. No sin there.

I am in a composin' frame of thinkin' and thus my silence is defeanin. But I could not stand idly by and not testify. Hookers gotta eat and be clothed too. "When I was hungerin' you gave me to eat, when I was thirstin you gave me ta draink, now enter into the home of my pahhh-ppy. Whatsover you does, to the least of my people, that you does unto me."

In case you were wonderin, thems is the words of a feller I knows, called JESUS. So lay off the Horny Governor of NY.

Punk Piscatelli

Wojcik called me today, wondering how the training was going. He said he begins in earnest today.
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Then Piscatelli sent around this blasphemous email saying that it would never happen.
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There is movement in the firmament.
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If you ever want to motivate me, tell me I can't do something.
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I'm not talking about things that are immoral, unethical or illegal.
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I'm talking about things that other people can do in business or otherwise that seem to pose a challenge.
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Like running a Marathon in freaking October!!!!
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Go ahead, Piscatelli.... you Juris Doctoring, Chinese Speaking, South Boston legendary, Street Kid from Taft School, Northern Italian, Certified PMP......
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Make My Day.

McMahon said....

Hey J.

These buddies of your do realize they are just battling it out for second place right?

No way I'm losing to anyone on that list.

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You realize Tommy, that to come through on this smack, you're going to have to break three hours? Because that's where Towne will be.

I'll be cheering you on.

Before You Even Ask

Cardinals, Blue Jays, Black Eyed Juncos, Chickadees, Mourning Doves, Sparrows, and a few White Breasted Nuthatches.
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Plus the Squirrel.
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So now you don't have to ask your ultra-annoying question about which birds have been visiting the feeder lately.
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Just let it rest for awhile.
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And no... not one Tufted Titmouse. You Wise Asses!!!

Gut Check

Robert Towne, the famous senior ultra-distance runner from the State of Washington, (and my former roommate at UMASS, where I had no trouble kicking his ass) has accepted the Marine Corps Marathon challenge.
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This brings the list to....

• J. Nestor
• J. Colllins
• B. Wojcik
• T. McMahon
• B. Brown
• M. Nestor (big maybe)
• R. Towne

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Peeps.... This is so pathetic. Where is your sense of self worth??? Where is your self respect???? How can you be such wussies?
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I would have expected the list to be in the hundreds by now. Katelyn Nestor says she is training for a 1/2 marathon. Unacceptable!!!
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Courtney and Ryan are non-committal and the Crawford Brothers have not even risen.
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Where's Steve Lewis, Benny Martin, Nathaniel Clarke, Kelley Clark ? Where's Dave Bruett, Lauren Rathbone, Mike Rockett, Doug Maxfield, Brian Butler, Lindsey Kepnes??? Absolutely no word from POTY, Michael "Murph" Murphy. The depressing list can go on and on.
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Where are You???? Reading this blog entry and sitting on your sedentary ass.
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You know who you are......you aspiring Nanepashemet Peep Pretenders.
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Fine.... Be like that. But when you see us walking around with cool Nanepashemet Peep Marathon T-shirts next fall, you'll have nobody to blame but yourselves.
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Examine your conscience. There's still plenty of time to do the right thing.

Moose Stats

10,000 moose collisions occur each year around the world, resulting in hundreds of human fatalities.
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Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
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I wonder what the Democrats will do about this.

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Doug Maxfield said....
Make no mistake...if given the chance they would kill you and everyone you love. I'll look for the picture from my accident and send it too you. You would never think anyone could have survived.
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That sounds scary Doug, but are you talking about the Moose or the Democrats???

The Tudors

Joanne and I have been watching the Showtime series "The Tudors" about Henry IIX and Anne Boleyn.
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Very well done, with high regard to historical detail. I wasn't sure of the validity of the short hair on the actors but found out that the period actually persecuted long hair.
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This series seems to capture the intense political intrigue of the period. When Henry was denied a divorce by the Catholic Church he founded the Episcopalian Church.
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This was a guy who refused to lose.

Weather or Not

The weather report for this weekend is partially crappy, followed by crappy.
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I'm so sick of this crap.
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Need some sunshine badly.
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Need to get a row out in the Tender on the Harbor.
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I don't mean to whine, but March always gets on my nerves. Time for some warm. When my trust funds kick in, I'll be leaving for my Carribbean Island each year for the entire month of March.
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Trouble is, none of my ancestors were considerate enough to leave me a huge inheritance. So until I make a score, I'll be forced to put up with March in New England.
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BTW, it's Katelyn's birthday today. She's getting older.... so are we.

Peep of the Week - 10

We lost a decent job today. One that we were cultivating for about 4 months. I really thought we had it in the bank. Definitely let my guard down. I have to admit that I truly believe that the customer made a stupid business decision. There is a lot of that going around.
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Nanepashemet Telecom will carry on. But I'm pretty pissed.
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It's not that I mind losing.... check that - I hate freaking losing! There is no rational reason that we should have been underbid on that job. I've passed the pissed off at the customer stage and have entered the self loathing phase. Might as well select the POTW's.
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ANNOUNCING....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 10th week of 2008.

• Ed Hudson
• Ivy Kushner
• Ben Martin
• Will Crawford
• Jill Phillips
• Andrew Peabody

The selection process is a little healing and cathartic.... but not much. At least I'm moving from the self loathing phase to the life sucks and you can kiss my ass stage.

Personal and Confidential

All day long...
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My phone was ringing, my email was smoking.... with all of you Peeps hounding me for news of my appointment with Dr. Casale.
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Peeps.... Don't you think I'm entitled to a little privacy???? It's really kind of confidential between me and my physician.
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I can tell you that I got a clean bill of health, that I've lost weight, and that my blood pressure is perfect.... But beyond that, it's none of your freaking business.

Credited to Wanda

Joke of the Day
A three-legged dog swaggers into a saloon in the Old West.
He bellies up to the bar, downs a shot of red eye, turns to face
the crowd of rowdies, stares them down and announces:
"I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."

Bonus Burn

My workout today was one of the worst so far, and also one of the best.
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Although my Cybex Bike mph ave. was almost under 20 and I barely made it to 10.2 miles in 30 minutes, I was psyched, because I almost didn't workout at all... my motivation was at a low. Even with Collins talking smack, I just didn't want to go.
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Which is why I'm totally stoked about getting the burn. Since I didn't want to workout, but did anyway, it's all gravy. And that talk is making me hungry.

ArchRival Smack

More marathon training smack from my ArchRival, Joe Collins.

That's right Joe.... keep golfing.... that will definitely get you ready.

Jay:

Like Brown and Wocjik, I too traveled to FL and trained last week... It takes a great deal of effort to hit 3-4 buckets of golf balls, play 18 holes; smoke cigars and drink beer - this is a very difficult regimen ! However - I also began the limbering program - stretching for Golf; stretching for biking; and stretching for running.

To cut to the chase... 3 rounds and about 10 buckets of balls (and btw, I was striping them down the middle !)

2/25 1.5 mile run and elliptical total 700 calories; 100 situps;

2/27 10.1 mile bike 75 situps; weights

3/4 12.5 mile bike 75 situps; weights

Wt is now down to 205 (from 220 start ! !) I hope that when I return to FL this week - that I'm not hounded on the beach with requests to be a personal trainer !

Tell Mike I want him to make the commitment and set this as a goal ! It will be one more chance to show the 'ol man that Mike can "take him down" !

- Svelte Archie

I can't wait to scorch this cocky bastard in October.

Sinner

Kathy Peabody committed the cardinal sin.
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She asked me to mention her son, Andrew in the Blog.
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Andrew is a talented goalie for the St. Paul's School hockey team that just lost the New England Prep School Championship to Avon Old Farm's. He's a good kid and we've known him since he was a baby.
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Happy Kathy???? Now you're gonna pay.

A Champion's Creed

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win but you think you can't
It's almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost.
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with the fellow's will,
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are;
You've got to think to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
- Author Unknown

Wanda tells me that this is from Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich". You'd think that I'd remember that since I read that book about 20 years ago.

Wanda said...

Hi, John!

Ummm...that poem is in "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.
(^__^)

Mistaken Identity

No...
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This isn't me.
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1. This photo is obviously shot in San Francisco Bay, and I haven't lived there for over ten years.

2. The planking of this tender is lapstrake, and mine is cedar stripped. Plus I don't have a burgee flying off of the transom.

3. This guy is skinnier that I am and he has a beard. It's obviously not me... but I sure wish I was out there rowing.

So how could you make such a stupid mistake?????

Thinking of Pre and Jaz

It's so sad that Steve Prefontaine was cut down in his prime.
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He was inspirational in the way that he gave his all.
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Who knows what he would have accomplished if he didn't die so tragically in that car crash? He'd probably be a Nike executive, but I'm sure that he would have pushed the running envelope.
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After all these years, and even though he's dead, he still provides motivation.
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When I was at UMASS, there was a kid a year ahead of me on the track team that reminded me of Pre.... Tom Jasmine. He was a little reckless and seemed to push the limit.
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I remember running with him on snowpacked snowmobile tracks in the wooded Berkshire Hills. Jaz was a lot better than I was, and he was way ahead of me on the trail, but waited for me to catch up with him at key turns, so that I didn't get stuck out there lost and alone.
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He used to call me "kid" which seemed funny since he was only a year older than I was.
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Jasmine and his girlfriend died in a car crash too. A tractor trailer slammed into them out in the Berkshires at the end of his Sophomore year.
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I think about Pre and Jaz every once in awhile.

Spring

From an astronomical standpoint, the seasons have changed from Winter to Spring.. It's still freezing, but there was a flock of Robins in the Japanese Flowering Crab and the snow covered lawns on the street yesterday.
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They always look out of place in the cold and snow.... but they must know what they're doing.
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After all... it's Spring, and Robins are the experts.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

This is just in case you haven't heard enough "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" by Earl Scruggs lately.



Johnny B. Goode

Careful Preparation

Brown and Wojcik are in Las Vegas. Do you think they are preparing for the Epic October Event???
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Me Neither.
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As you can see, I have carefully and thoroughly planned my approach to success in this matter of pride, honor and manhood. Brown and Wojcik will taste ignominious failure in October, due to their frivolity in March.
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I have reduced the training phase to a spreadsheet complete with links to Hal Higdon's marathon coaching web sites for an 18 week intermediate Marathon training program. If any of you pretenders want a copy of the spreadsheet, I will email it to you free of charge.
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That's how confident and magnanimous I am.