Bark's Lounge

You can get away with some stuff. I did this for myself... for the challenge.?

Hello everyone. If you remember me It's been a while since I have been around. The last handful of years I have been trying to revive old dreams as an original song writing musician in a band, but that is a hard thing to do. We were doing good for a bit, but as it goes, someone gets bitter and the project ends. The really good thing about that was I was unanimously tasked with creating posters for our gigs and it awoke something in me that was dormant for many years... art! Mainly mixed media and illustration. I know this is long winded so I want to wrap this up. This is my 3 part series of Alfred Hitchcock/Star Wars themed mash-ups.

It's baseball. You win some you lose some. Not every game goes your way. Splitting the series is less than what you would want, but still they were in every game and didn't surrender. This is an extremely good ball club. My hope is after the draft they make a push for Kimbrel for 50m for 3 years. That would fortify what I think is a good, but not great bullpen. Game changer kind of signing. The books are pretty clean for the Twins... not much of a risk.

Something seems quite magical about this team. 2006 seems like the last time I felt this way, but the game was quite different then... the Twins still had that stank to them. We have a semi new regime on our hands and the vision is panning out so far... no stank. We'll see how it goes. It's been damn fun to watch.

I don't want to sound too cynical. But who in there right mind would want to be a police officer these days? We are living in an era of lies, deception and the overload of social media hysteria. Certainly there are Captain America types who want to serve the public with honor, but it is really just a job that probably attracts a great percentage of people with bias and disdain for other certain groups - people who are not fit for that duty and want to enforce their idealism. I really don't know how you fix it, but making the job a more lucrative one that could attract intelligent and objective candidates would be a start. IDK? That is my take on it. Higher pay, raising the bar of educational requirements and tough ass psycological tests to get the job.

One of my family members was one of the first female patrol officers in her city. She retired early because of the sexism and racism that was systemic in the department... it really took a toll on her. I also was a passenger in a vehicle with a driver who was a minority friend who was driving and we were pulled over for no good reason. They pulled him out of the car like he was wanted as a murderer. There was nothing illegal going on... no drugs, no weapons, no ill intent. It was infuriating. A deceased friend of mine once said there is not much difference from a criminal and a cop... he was a troublemaker in his youth and I shrugged it off... but I now believe it to be true. Certainly there are good police officers, but the Philando Castile murder haunts me and that MFin officer got acquitted for that MURDER. Throughout the country serious reforms need to be made in the hiring of police officers and getting rid of the ones who poison the well. Saying that, the Noor guy who killed the Australian should have the book thrown at him as should have happened to Yanez in the Castile murder.

Love your post Carole!!! Spot on!

I am not going to defend gunarthor for what he said.... he can defend himself. But I have his back 100%. This is the worst I have seen the state of this country in the almost 44 years of my existence. When the leader of the free world can't condemn a pussy ass band of bigots that marched on Charlottesville , VA - Who were carrying tiki torches, chanting "Jews will not replace us" and "Our Blood, Our Soil" which one of them murdered an innocent woman, and to add on the colored people "****hole Countries", etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., x infinity kind of comments. I believe gunarthors post was sort of mild. Our current president is a cancer... and it's not even political to me any more... give me John Kasich, give me Jeb Bush. When you vote to destroy something, sometimes you destroy yourself.

Words sometimes are easy to misinterpret. My bad.

I did not know that. I was only taking a guess. I don't think the original idea comment was necessary... it feels like an insult. But I know you are a very passionate Star Wars guy and I'll leave it at that.

My gut tells me the story will reveal how Palpatine was responsible for creating Anakin in his host mother with a certain plan in mind and that will pretty much sum up the title of the movie with some kind of shock and awe. I'm probably wrong, but what the heck.

Miss you too Van. You've made that quite clear about Bernie...lol! And I respect that whole heartedly and your points are taken seriously my friend. To be honest Texas probably will go Trump, but you never know. The demographic is changing in TX, but I think we are probably 15-20 years away from that change. You are right. Bernie has his gangsters, just as Trump does. I guess it is a choice between the Bloods and the Crips. I hope it doesn't come down to Bernie v. Trump and it is probably best to table this debate until we are are much closer to the election. Check out Mayor Pete, he's the right guy I can firmly believe in. I have no faith in Gen Xers and the Baby Boomers. Christ, Biden and Bernie are too old to be in those demographics.... yikes! It's your generation I'm placing my bets on.

Hey Van. Long time no talk. I see that you despise Bernie as much as Trump... at least from what I have read and that is okay and your right. I'm not a Bernie guy myself, but I don't despise him. Bernie wants to utilize ideas from a time that benefitted Americans like FDR's New Deal. Trump wants us to go back to a time where woman didn't have a choice and knew their place and Christianity was the absolute way and there was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Obviously we cannot go back in time and who the hell would want to? The way I look at it is we have a deadly poisonous snake in the backyard where our children play and we have a garden hoe or machete available to chop the snake's head off. Trump is the poisonous snake and the object to kill it is the democratic candidate. Bernie is no certainty, it's too early in the game to even get close to determining the Dem field outcome. I have seen a lot of folks on this site, who would probably usually vote Republican, and maybe you are one of them, but things have changed. This is not the America sensible people want to live in and I admit, I was very left, I have become much less left. I really feel the purpose in 2020 is to cut the poisonous snake's head off and if we have to recalibrate again... so be it. The back yard will probably always have it's problems. I just don't want what we have now. I respect your right to do what you feel is right to sleep at night and if Bernie is the candidate and you cannot pull the trigger - I get it. I only want the snake out of the backyard and my neighborhood. BTW - I am a Pete Buttigieg supporter.

That's a losing bet..lol! I don't have the words to describe my reaction when Trump said that - I actually thought I heard it wrong at first. Like you said people now actually believe that... what a mess and weird time to be alive.

I'm urging people to buy ear plugs.

I have my doubts about Warren's winnability... she has been in Trump's lost well of souls for a long time now, The Pocahontas crap, the lineage test. I think it hurts her if she goes up against that Cult of Personality moron. IMO.

I absolutely do not despise Millennials FWIW. Go Mayor Pete!!!

Despise shouldn't be there if I am understanding your post correct. I was echoing what I F'ing hear all the time. It is fraudulent.

It may seem like an impossible climb, but I am all about Pete Buttigieg. I think the Gen Xer's and Baby boomers are a part of the problem. We have developed a strange despise for Millennials. Sure some of them are entitled, but name me a generation that didn't have it's problems. I like his ideas, I like his background, he is refreshing, and not part of the DC establishment... he speaks to me. BTW, I am a Gen Xer.

I was surprised to not see an Ichiro Suzuki thread to honor his legacy. Metrics probably do not do him much justice, but he was one of a kind. Certainly a first ballot HOFer. He is the embodiment of baseball, maybe not in modern terms with the 3 true outcomes. The man was a magician, he was phenomenom and a joy to watch on the field of play. Whether it be his unorthodox super successful batting approach, or his defense and cannon arm in the outfield. We were damn lucky to see this man take the field in MLB and I will certainly miss him. Ichiro Suzuki is of the baseball likes that we will never see again. His ending was one of fairy tales.

I'm just about done with Sano. 3B should be done and he should be a 1B or DH. He is naturally a 280lbs guy - that will never change. If he gets down to 255 he will always bounce back to 280 unless he works harder than the majority of MLB players. It is my belief he will miss 1/5 to 1/4 of each season because his body cannot withstand the beating because when he is going at full steam, he is a fairly athletic guy. I just don't see it working out or him having a fruitful career. His big size is his arch enemy IMO.

Baines was a professional hitter. Much respect for him. He's shouldn't be a HOFer, but he had some great allies on the panel that probably put him over the edge (Larussa, Reinsdorf). I'm not going to look it up but I think it was Frankie Frisch who was on a veteran's HOF committee or something of that nature who was persuasive to get a bunch of his buddies and peers into the HOF who were not deserving 50-60 years ago. That's how it goes. Crime Dog better get into the HOF now.

Today is a sad day, but it is the right decision. No game is worth jeopardizing your future health even though some damage has been done and the future could have some unfortunate ramifications... I certainly hope not. Watching Joe play HOF ball from 2016-2013 was a more than a fantastic baseball experience - it was something I looked forward to everyday of April-September (Sometimes October) during this time period. I hope someday down the road Joe will get his HOF call, but that might be a steep hill to climb. It doesn't really matter though as I know how great he was and so do you folks. Until recently I have lived my whole life in St. Paul proper, and it made me very proud that such a super talented baseball player came out of the city I love, plus being a somewhat contemporary age wise was kind of cool. I was not alive when Molitor, Winfield and Morris graced the St. Paul ball fields as high schoolers. Anyways, Thanks Joe for the great memories and the awesome display of baseball talents! Good luck in retirement and have a great life with your family and other endeavors you might pursue.

Uncle Tony was a true bad ass. His death hit me hard back in early June. He took me on adventures that I would have never seen, especially with Parts Unknown... but I loved No Reservations as well. Parts Unknown is like a top notch documentary every week when it airs. The great food, the food that I would never eat, his humor, his cynicism, his thirst for cultural knowledge, him introducing us to that culture. It goes on and on and on. I look forward to the final episodes of Parts Unknown, but it's going to be tough. I don't call him Uncle Tony for no reason. He was the underground rock star of food and travel. I love the guy and will miss him dearly.

I haven't chimed in for a while, but I thought I would put in my two cents. I always knew that Trump was unfit for office and he would be a disaster... blah, blah, blah... I think most of us knew that from the start. I have known a lot of insecure men who want to play the tough guy or strong man and they were douche bags, liars and were eventually ostracized by the group they associated with. But I have never seen anything that comes close to this level of depravity. I have hated this man since I became aware of who he was 30 years ago. He is a bad person, he has no depth, he has no compassion... he is the most prolific liar I have ever seen. I have severe Trump fatigue. I hope this guy and his cronies go away sooner than later. The Circus is supposed to be fun. Not this one.