Saturday, November 21, 2009

Keep It Legal

My Real Estate Broker's license expires in Dec. and Massachusetts law calls for 12 hours of Coninuing Education in order to renew.  
~
I've let it go this long, but now today is the day, and I am going to sit in class from 8:00 AM to 8:30 PM to check off this requirement.
~
I've always preferred self teaching to classroom work.  Anything that I do really well, I've taught myself.   Music, Computing, Woodworking, Boatbuilding.  (ok, I'm not that good at Music, but I plan to be.)
~
But the Massachusetts Government knows best what is right for me and I will comply with the law by planting my ass in a classroom for a day. 
~
Sometimes, being a Mountain of a Man means that you have to suck it up and keep it legal.

Friday, November 20, 2009

POTW Week 47

My wife, Joanne, came through big time this week to end the drought around gifts of Lagavulin causing an automatic Peep of the Week selection.
~

I love her so much.  Even more than I love the "King of Scotch".
~
Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 47th week of 2009


Joanne Nestor (Automatic Lagavulin Rule)
Bobby Brown
Sam Khairi
Lauren Rathbone
Maria Rowen
Lou Panakio

I won't be as mushy if one of you breaks down and coughs up a Bottle in the next few weeks.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

The rumor is that Joanne is buying me a Gold Star 100 Bluegrass Banjo for my upcoming birthday.
~
It certainly would be an appropriate gift, giving me and all who hear me play so much joy in the future.
~
OK, I really can't play that well, but I'm going to learn.   And I'll teach my Grandson's Will and Ethan to use my old Washburn Infinity.  Maybe we'll start a group in a few years.... Country Will and the Nanepashemets.  I can definitely see that.
~

Joanne is super thoughtful, but I helped her along a little by placing the order myself  on Amazon a few days ago.



Tuna Lips said...


Son, you gets to pickin' that harp, well, me an Shoo will bring the Bristol boys with they jug band round yer place real soon, get us some friendly gals outta Memphis, some eats and spirits, hooey! We gonna roast us a pig or maybe a big ole 'coon and pass a jar o' talkin' juice, dance us a jig, weez gonna have a right fine time. You invite that Mexicano gal, Maria along, we have a good ole hoot.

Maria Rowen said...


Fee fie fiddley i o...o...oh...I hear the Gold Star "Mexican" blue "Grass" is the best you can buy...but...don't tell your fishy-friend...he is alreay way beyond the 'rocky-mountain-high'...

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Automatic

Sometimes I take even the most obvious things for granted.
~
For example, it's been a while since I set you Peeps straight on the sacred criteria that is used to select the weekly Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week. Unlike the Brotherhood of the Masonic Temple, there are no secrets here.  Our rituals are open for the world to see.
~
Because of this, I tend to think that all of you are proficient in the decision making process.   But since it has been so long since someone has become an "Automatic Peep of the Week", it is clear to me that an alarming number of you are lacking in the basic protocol.
~
Just so you know....
To be named a POTW, you must....

... have done something annoying, and/ or,
... have done something inspirational, and,
... not be dead, or deceased.,and,
... not be an animal.

However.... should you take the exceptionally admirable action of buying me a 750 ml bottle of Lagavulin 16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch. you are automatically named a Peep of the Week, regardless of the appicability of any of the other criteria.
 ~
And I remember warmly those of you who went the "Automatic" Route.   People like "Mountain of a Man" Bobby Brown , the Insidious Bob Wojcik, Mike Elsier, Jay Turner, Tammy Pham, Archrival Joe Collins, to name a few, have appropriately achieved the honored status by going this route.
~
It actually makes the most sense to buy me a bottle of Lagavulin, because otherwise, you can never know why you were a chosen POTW.   And this can cause needless angst and anxiety.
~
So become an "Automatic POTW".  You'll feel good about yourself and I will certainly enjoy the "King of Scotch".
 ~
BTW, if you are really ambitious, you should know that a case of Lagavulin would buy you an automatic Peep of the Year title.  And not just for next year.... I actually would dethrone the current POTY, Lauren Rathbone, to accomodate you immediately.


Lauren Rathbone said....

What did I do!!


I really am not going to be able to get over that last sentence. Jason thinks I am overreacting, but I am hungover today and this was not what I needed to see. And now I am suspicous of the peep of the week selection.

Lauren -
Surely you would have to step down if somebody else bought me a case of Lagavulin!!!!  That goes without saying.

However, you can nip this in the bud by buying me a case of Lagavulin yourself.  That way, you will have total assurance that no one could pre-empt you in the last month or so of your POTY reign.

It's your choice.
- J

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Nanepashemet Poll Results

So I found myself in an act of self flagellation this evening as I watched George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson discuss the results of an "ABC Poll" that proclaims that 56% of the US population supports and "likes" President Obama.
~
I continued to watch as these two pundits discussed this "news".   This made up, biased poll that obviously supports their lefty suppositions was substituted as national news.  I guess I'm as bad as they are for watching this charade.

~
Maybe I'll come up with a Nanepashemet Poll that we can all swallow as absolute fact, and vindicates all of my wacky positions.   Can't be any sillier than the ABC Poll.
~
In fact, in our first Nanepashemet Poll, 78% of Americans felt that George Stephanopoulos is anal retentive.  And the same Poll found that 69% of Americans think that Charlie Gibson picks his nose during commercials.
 ~
Now that's some damn objective news if I say so myself.
~
So back to our rival ABC Poll.
~
Do 56% of America like President Obama????.... or do they really have the hots for his TelePrompter????













Tuna Lips said...
Ise self-flagelatioed meself to that pic of Miss Sara on the cover o' that magazine I lifted from Sol the Shyster's newsstand. All the right moves, TL, still got 'em.

Monday, November 16, 2009

No Pause for Palin


From a few quick glances at the Flat Screen, Sarah Palin on Oprah was sizzling hot as usual.  But I really couldn't listen to her because I was in the midst of some roiling work issues.

Lauren Rathbone said...
You can read the transcript on Oprah.com. She places a lot of blame on John McCain and how the campaign was run. The most surprising thing in the interview for me is how tiny she is! I dont think I will read the book, maybe if someone gives it me or I borrow it. I can't come to grips with spending money on it.


Pisc said...
check this out: Click here: CapeCast Video: CapeCast: Man versus tuna! | CapeCodOnline.com

Sunday, November 15, 2009

U Phuk Dup and Forgiveness

Does everything occur for a reason and for the better?
~
It seems perverse to think that major tragedies are for our greater good.
~
You almost have to agree to a reincarnation theology or at least an afterlife to justify some circumstances as happening "for the better".
~
How could the Holocaust have happened for the better in any other case?
~
But in the confines of the lives of people that I have experienced, it does seem that this trite little axiom seems to be true.
~
Now that I am cruising toward the downslope of middle age, I'm able to look at a lot of experiences, that I viewed at the time as horrific setbacks.   Surprisingly, in light of the ultimate outcomes, it does certainly seem that they happened "for the better".
~
When I was younger, it was easy to discern any situation as "right" or "wrong".... "good" or "bad"... "white" or "black".   Now it seems very blurred, because of the realization that everything happens for a reason. If everything is really shades of grey, and you move away from wide swinging, judgmental emotions, it definitely is a calmer, more centered daily existence.
~
I've found that forgiveness is a powerful tool for your own wellbeing, rather than a sign of weakness.
~
I've also come to the clear indication that there is no model way of life, that everybody is festooned with foibles.... in other words.... fucked up.  So if that's the case with yourself as well as everyone else, you might as well forgive them for their transgressions towards you.  Especially if the very action of forgiving actually strengthens you.
~
The eastern religions... Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism... say that "good" and "bad" are really the same thing, and can't exist without the other.   The way to Enlightenment, or Heaven, in this cosmology is to seek a center point between good and bad, where you don't celebrate success or scorn failure.
~
Easy to say, but not so easy to achieve.

Tuna Lips said...
i reject them voo doo thinkin' chinks, a'ceptin whens I am a the Tokyo Health Spa getting a body shampoo from one o' them slant eyed heathens. I like the green tea, exspecially with some white litnin', chinky style. You can't get er done likes theys does knowin' nothin more than acceptional hoorin' principles.
Maria Rowen said...


For me, this kind of thinking is bottomless (probably topless for Tuna Lips). Maybe the whole good/bad thing is just a well designed social construct to take us to and guide us through our foibles. Who really knows? This earthly existence is so incredible and full of pain and suffering at the same time. It’s hard to reconcile or find balance. We learn at an early age how to mix the colors black and white to get gray. If you are lucky enough to apply that principle to life…maybe that’s enlightenment…

Saturday, November 14, 2009

POTW Week 46

Went out to get some Fresh Ayer this morning and ended the trip by delivering Kate's Adirondack chair to its new home on her South Boston Deck.  Then we took Kate and Mike out for lunch at Amrheins on the corner of West Broadway and A Street in South Boston.
~
By the time I got back to Marblehead at 2:30PM I was really tired and treated Joanne to a snorefest on the couch for an hour's nap or so.

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 46th week of 2009


Sarah Palin
Larry David
Dale Johnson
Sarah Crawford
Dr. Thomas Kingston
Tom Raich


At the end of the month, I have an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist to whom I will plead to rip from my throat whatever is causing this incessant snoring.  Everytime I dose off, I wake up feeling like I've been screaming non-stop for a couple of hours.   Which is practically the case.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Obscene Inaction

Saw in the network news tonight a story about some firefight for a forsaken piece of dirt and rock between our US Troops and the Taliban.  Nine US Soldiers died.
~
Taliban are fighting for God and to repel the Invaders from their country.
~
And we are fighting and sending our sons to die for....... What????
~
That blank should be able to be answered immediately and briskly.... and with conviction.  If  you have to stretch and think.... even a little....while our people are being shot at by religious zealots screaming "Allah Achbar" and gladly looking to die, then the situation borders on the outrageous.
~
So we are waiting for President Obama to make up his mind what to do.
~
Well Barack.... Shit or get off the Pot!   Either pour resources in so that we can send these wackjobs to gaze first hand at Allah..... or get the hell out of that high end piece of bullshit global real estate.
~
Beautiful Afghanistan... What a freaking garden spot.  Really worth seeing our sons and daughters being gunned down by brutal medieval zealots killing innocents in the name of God.
~
But leaving these kids over there in harm's way, and doing nothing but pontificating while  they get killed is obscene and immoral.   Get some Balls and stake a direction.

Tuna Lips said...


Downer, and I feels the same. Now, how about some boobies, like that Gay's Anatical gal with them big ole breastistes . . . . Holidays issa comin', ho ho hos for all the fellers!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Buff Bound

If you've followed this Blog, you've seen me make attempt after attempt to lose weight and get into shape... all for naught.
~
Well.... I'm going to make another push to drop some pounds between now and the end of the year.
~
More Cybex, More treadmill.... less pepperoni pizza, less Chardonnay.  As much Harbor Rowing as possible.
~
Being a Mountain of a Man means that you not afraid to admit defeat... you just get back up, dust yourself off, make another pointless resolution, and hop back on the Cybex.
~
Meet me in BuffLand around the end of the year.


 Harvey Rowe said....
Ok.....John, I am hoping you keep it going.......less talk more focus...no excuses
 ~
Trash Talk from the Bionic Octogenarian.

Tuna Lips said...


Ise recomendates you skip the veeno and hit the corn mash, Mr. Daniel's makes a fine brew that many in yer neck of the wood tolerates. Start smokin', too. Lotsa gals walkin' round these parts with a dixie cup of sour mash and a menthol danglin' from theys ulceratin' lips, done smoked theyself thin, and slaked they parched throats. These eyes dont lie.

Turning Back Time



This is a picture of Will Crawford, Cam D'Orio and Will Nestor....
But if you knew their fathers, Will, Brendt, and Ryan when they were around that age... the resemblances are uncanny.

Kerry D'Orio wrote...
Handsome little devils! XOXO Cam's Mommy

Monday, November 09, 2009

Cheap Shot Payback

Thanks to the Internet and the Information Age, this dirty soccer player will be scarred for life. Looks like she was a bad mood. A bad mood that she will never live down.
~
Elizabeth Lambert of the University of New Mexico, with a lot of help from YouTube, has demonstrated that you just can't get away with a cheap shot these days.
~
Brigham Young won the game, and Lambert lost a whole lot more.
~
The sad part is that if you look closely at the video below, Elizabeth was really retaliating in each  instance.  First she took an elbow, then responded with a slam to her opponent's back, and then she was grabbed in the crotch when she pulled her opponent to the ground with her ponytail.  Even though she was met with aggressive play, her over the top retaliation is what everyone notices.
~
She probably was justified in some form of retaliation, but she over did it to the point that nobody notices the original transgressions.
~
You have to believe that we are in for a new era of good behavior.  How can you risk acting like a jerk when it can be broadcast worldwide  and memorialized forever???   I can think of a couple of occasions that I am damn glad never made it to the Web.






 
 
 
Pisc said...
FROM THE WSJ The typical argument for ObamaCare is that it will offer better medical care for everyone and cost less to do it, but occasionally a supporter lets the mask slip and reveals the real political motivation. So let's give credit to John Cassidy, part of the left-wing stable at the New Yorker, who wrote last week on its Web site that "it's important to be clear about what the reform amounts to." Mr. Cassidy is more honest than the politicians whose dishonesty he supports. "The U.S. government is making a costly and open-ended commitment," he writes. "Let's not pretend that it isn't a big deal, or that it will be self-financing, or that it will work out exactly as planned. It won't. What is really unfolding, I suspect, is the scenario that many conservatives feared. The Obama Administration . . . is creating a new entitlement program, which, once established, will be virtually impossible to rescind." Why are they doing it? Because, according to Mr. Cassidy, ObamaCare serves the twin goals of "making the United States a more equitable country" and furthering the Democrats' "political calculus." In other words, the purpose is to further redistribute income by putting health care further under government control, and in the process making the middle class more dependent on government. As the party of government, Democrats will benefit over the long run. This explains why Nancy Pelosi is willing to risk the seats of so many Blue Dog Democrats by forcing such an unpopular bill through Congress on a narrow, partisan vote: You have to break a few eggs to make a permanent welfare state. As Mr. Cassidy concludes, "Putting on my amateur historian's cap, I might even claim that some subterfuge is historically necessary to get great reforms enacted." No wonder many Americans are upset. They know they are being lied to about ObamaCare, and they know they are going to be stuck with the bill.



Tuna Lips said...

Lizzy girl, come tell TL all yer troubles and doubts. I know that tuggin on your nickers has ye all confusified.

Kerry D'Orio said...

Those pretty little Mormon girls didn't stand a chance! Ouch!

I swear...
the more I look at the video, the more I think that Elizabeth was right to be pissed.  Those Mormon girls were messing where they shouldn't have been.