This is a photo dump from the end of summer. I ended up going to the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Baiscally the pictures are of me taking the train in, the parade that they had through the midway, BMO field where FC Toronto of the M.L.S. played D.C. United when I was there, The IAMS super dog show, Sloan in concert at the band shell, the national trade centre where they were selling almost anything you could think of in a agricenter at the Erie County Fair kind of way.

I was enjoying the day going for a stroll up and down Elmwood. Unfortunately, I was interrupted by a few fools on bikes riding on the sidewalk. You may be eco-friendly by using your own power on two wheels to get around town. Heck it may even make you look cool and give you street cred with some hipsters in the village.

It's just that riding on the sidewalk in against the law! You're a vehicle not a pedestrian. Sorry that your bike does not protect you against that BMW SUV or that Ford 250 driven by some contractor working for some real estate mogul. It's just that I like to walk down the street on a sidewalk and not get run into you.

I'm so sorry that you don't feel safe riding down the Elmwood strip with all of the traffic, but there's always an alternative. Richmond runs parallel and will get you close to where you may need to go and there is even a BIKE LANE, Image that! Ashland doesn't have all that much traffic on it. But that bike you bought at some second hand store along with those clothes you bought at a similar store won't be seen by as many people on Richmond as opposed to Elmwood.

So all I can say is Screw you hipster bicyclists, Obey the Traffic Law. I don't care how you look or anything else. The sidewalk is for walking not riding. If you don't like riding on traffic use Google maps to find a less congested road to ride on.

Why do I have the new Good Charlotte's "i don't wanna be in love" stuck in my head???

On a somber note I stopped by a wake this afternoon. I just hate that freaking feeling of super gravity against you when you are at a funeral/wake. It was interesting to see old posh Lewiston in mass with everyone dressed up. You just don't see men wear suits to wakes/funerals too much any more.

So I ended up seeing a ton of people that I almost forgot from high school but I just wasn't playing that game. I got in and gave me condolences to the immediate family. I know too well of what they are going through, especially with their proportion of their family and a traumatic loss of which they just suffered.

I did find the video that they were playing in the reception line set to a Phish song quite well done.

Time to attempt to get a inline skating session for the first time in forever...

I was just talking to my friend Bill last night when he told me about an accident in Youngstown. Then he said Oh, it's someone you know that graduated around when we did. He gave me some other info that just left me shaking me head. Then I checked the obituary section this morning to read this

Needless to say I hate living stuff over again every time I hear about something along these lines.

I remember going to parties at my friend Wally's during high school. She lived with her Mom next door in this old mansion that was divided into a duplex. Once in a while Walter would sneak on over there with her boyfriend at the time and would have just insane times.

Once in a while I would see her or some ex-boyfriends around town but nothing of real substance. What really is making me think is what was her state of mind the last couple of years. One can get totally sucked into this alternative dimension that is Lew-Port even if they have other things going on with their life.

I just hope it was a just a bad luck wrong place wrong time accident. Having experience in what goes on behind closed doors and the warped perspective people have that are natives down here my mind is just racing. I can let myself get really sad if I let my imagination run wild.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Doyle family.

:'(

Although the Canadian Dollar "the loonie" is not quite at par or equal to the U.S. Dollar it is within striking distance. The last quote was at 98.6 cents US. So it isn't equal as of yet, but if you are going over to Canada anytime soon you are going to be getting less Canadian money than American when you to engage in the exchange transaction. The 5% juice or profit margin that the banks, casinos, traders use to make money their profit will put you "underwater."

So yea, "Helicopter Ben" may have cut rates to save the housing market but in the end he's going to do more damage then good in cutting rates today.

What is going to happen is the people with money are not going to park in the U.S. to get substandard returns with lower interest rates while having their principle getting gnawed at by a depreciating currency. They're going to go to Canada or Europe earn a better return on investment and gain with an ever increasing exchange rate on principle.

So now after 30 years of those red state ugly Americans ripping on the "Monopoly Money" guess what that $1 bill is only worth 0.98 cents in Canadian Funds! Not bad for a "Socialist" country, Eh?

and Whoa, when did I get to 200+ entries!?!

The two lead stories on the news today were right out of '94

OJ in trouble with the Law

Hilary pimping her universal health care plan for all.


Looking back I can't believe I haven't posted here for 2 weeks. I've been posting over on my LJ but only due to the fact that it is so easy and compatible with my phone and service.

I have been a total nervous wreck the last week. All I can say is I'm extremely grateful for an Ex-Girlfriend in being sympathetic to my worries.

Saturday night I stopped out to the Mark Freeland Tribute needless to say seeing the fems play was a pretty special experience.

During that time I had a pretty good conversation on why people like myself and my friend D* have just pretty much resigned ourselves to be semi-alone. The kicker of the conversation is how when guys get old they totally miss the point when it comes to sex with their wives. We concluded that as guys age and become "dirty old men" they still fantasize about that barely legal college co-ed working out somewhere. Then when the come home late they just "poke" their wives into action still lost in the head with the vision of that 22 year old blonde wearing some skimpy ambercrombie outfit. Obviously, no foreplay is initiated as the guy is just using his wife in masturbation instead of either of his hands. All being a byproduct of nature and fueled even more by the "porn" culture of the U.S. Mind you this is just a theory...

On another note through this conversation she basically told me that the whole "women still wanting more" after is not necessarily true if the guys works in a descent amount of foreplay and "knocks it out" in a respectable manner. Women will zonk out after a good lay just like guys do if the right amount of effort is honestly undertaken.


Again these aren't my opinions just a generalized pharaphrased conversation over a beverage or two in a really creative environment. Since I obviously cannot speak from a woman's perspective.

I'm going to attempt to hit a Trifecta as they say in Horse racing.

In about 20 minutes I'm going to hit the Chicken Wing Festivities at Dunn Tire Park

Then Rusted Root @ Gateway park for that Canal concert series

I do plan on having enough gas in the tank to stop by the 24, eta 11:30 ish

Not the Red Hot Chili Pepper album, but the show on Showtime with David Duchovny.

Fuck, I just love watching it. It just is a overload of my fantasies about living the Posh life in California. I feel more enthralled just watching the last two episodes than hitting a small trifecta from Del Mar.

The episode tonight about the fired office assistant being a suicide girl and then revealing that secret to get her job back was just INSANE!

HBO when there were on top had The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, now Showtime is on fire with Weeds and Californication.

All I can say is good job Viacom, in bridging the gap between good intelligent subject matter and softcore!!!

I was bored last night and didn't feel like doing much on the way home. So I overheard someone from work say that they were going to the Kenny Rogers concert. I must admit that some of his songs are guilty pleasures of mine. Lady, The Gambler, Through the Years and that song that he did with Diana Ross.

It was all I expected the usual wide spectrum of the socio-economic in regards to people just attending. Although I did get a kick out of this family that had a cooler of Natural Ice for the show.

The place just too crowded as this was the only place where I could find to be able to see KR as a white blotch. He did put on a great show and told a bunch of great stories like a true showman.

Now time to eat some of his Roasters chicken ;-) If he still was in business.

I'm just off balance. This weekend really did it to me. First I hang out with my friend Peter's guest worker tenant from Belarus and while it was really cool to hang with a 22 year old chick that is a 9/10 at the same time it just screwed with my mind on a couple of levels. I did get to bond with the topic of emotional musical concepts but in the end there was just something that never came through. This was due in part to Pete telling me that she wanted me to be more "aggressive" but in essence that just isn't me. So when I was hanging with her at a local watering hole in Y-town to me it was just good enough shoot the stuff & soak in the perception that these local guys I know assumed/thought I'd hook up with her. It didn't happen for whatever reasons but after hearing his "inside info" from her other roommate friend I just was totally sick. Although it's just not me to be ultra mr feel upper. If I did that with women from this country usually one would be brought up on charges. It was just exhausted thinking about it all. Oh, yea and during this whole experience I was just pulling emotional experiences from my ex wife who was half Polish/Ukrainian straight out of the old country. YEA....

Now on to violence.

While having a really shitty afternoon @ Fort Erie Racetrack, I noticed all available security officers moving to the left of the building. So having a little bit of curiosity I head in that direction. When I arrived in the next room I saw an "old man" late 50's early 60's all bloody in his face pushing a pile two other people wrestling/fighting. From what I gathered the "old man" got into a fight with opponent B over cutting in line at a self betting machine. Old Man's son stepped in to help his dad. It was a freaking mess. The worse part of it was the son's wife was there holding their 5-7 year old kid, the "old man's" grandson yelling at her husband/boyfriend. I just could see the kid shaking, crying not knowing what is going on. It just made me sick. The last thing I remember hearing was the mother yelling at her guy, "He [our son] is more important right now while was still getting into it with the security guards.

To top off this wonderful experience I wait an hour and 20 minutes to cross the Peace Bridge. Also while waiting on the Q.E.W. some bad ass looking menacing type tried to cut in on me with the line backed up more than a mile. He did squeeze in as I just sat there not moving or waving him in at all. After giving me the finger, ironically he did pull out of the lane and snuck in further down the line by cutting through the Duty Free Store's entrance way to the bridge.

So on a day where they had a Chicago cover band play of which was a really good act I had my experienced ruined by this event. I just sent a check to re-up my old Xpressbet account. Screw all of this hassle, I'm just going to play online by phone watching the Horse Racing channel on the Dish. I just don't need to deal with all of that shit. If I save up enough money I plan to go out to California to spend some time playing out at the actual track if its Santa Anita or Del Mar. Fort Erie is going to die anyway with the border hassles and Buffalo Creek Casino. Although I figure I may be the last of the horse players I'm going to do it from the comfort of my home or through technology. I don't have to go and get a Daily Racing Form from the track.

I'm going to hide under my covers now :-0
ARGG