Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello my dear friends!  How are you?  I'm broke, so when a call came in from the Bahamas from one of my best customers, I flew there.  I just got back a few hours ago.  So that's why my blog is late.  And it's a crappy day out there, cold and wet.  I know that the landscape needs the rain, but it's depressing.  And I'd swear that some of the rain drops were actually s-word.  I know, I know, were headed that way whether we like it or not.  Put me down for "not."

I look to local news but all I see are political lies and gore.  It's way beyond depressing in that area.  Criminals and fools are the best the local news can do.  I swear, someday I'm going to get a job at the Journal Times and change everything.  That's right after I fix the rest of the world.

Everybody's fighting somebody.  There's so many players on the field that I can't keep track of them.  Or, rather, perhaps I don't want to.

Just like I don't want to believe that our heroic warriors Green Bay Packers were laid low by the Minnesota Vikings.  The tune will change this time, as Lambeau Field hosts the Detroit Lions, at noon, Sunday, September 25.  Murder da bums, boys!

Here's the standings from the Irregular Football League:

  
I guess that neither I nor Mr. OrbsCorbs have anything to brag about.  We'll see what next week brings.

I can't take the drone of the political ads and interviews and "events."  My mailbox is stuffed almost daily with political ads.  The television spews their bile regularly.  It's only going to get worse as election day approaches.  Also, those oversize, high gloss, political ads barely fit in my mailbox.

And the thing is it's almost all bullshit.  In any case, most voters decided who they're to vote for months ago.  Wouldn't the money expended on these mailings and TV ads be put to better use helping the lowest in our society?  Of course it would, but you'll never see it.  The candidates will all come out with some bullshit plans to help the poor.  They'll talk on and on, BUT the poor rarely see a cent.  More importantly, it robs them of a chance at a job.  That BS money could help train people for the jobs of today.

If I ran for president, I think I'd keep it at a very low key.  I wouldn't go around the country promising lies to each group I met.  I wouldn't send out any political mailings.  I'd announce my candidacy, and have copies of my master plan available.  If any reporters want to talk to me, they have to come to me.  I'd have an online base of operations with said master plan available for downloading.  I guess I'd have  to go to the debates, but I'm not a performer.  I'll say what needs to be said.  I might even win.

Hah!  Imagine OrbsCorbs with his finger on the nuclear trigger.  I might just take everybody, a city or country or two, out of circulation.  If the French don't like it, fuck them.When's the last time you heard about the French winning a war?  I'd pull all of our troops out of other countries.  If something flares up, it's their business.  If they insist upon making their business our business, we nuke 'em.  After a couple of those, the world just might be a finer place.

Well, thank you, my dears, for stopping by to read my blog and maybe share a comment or two.  I love getting readers, and I love you.  We are family.

Who is going to win this weeks match ups in the Irregular Football League?  Ask madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Don't forget to stop by next week.  We'll be here with new and interesting content.  Heck, just about every day has that on the JT Irregulars.  We love you.

Open Blog - Wednesday


Yay, Wednesday!

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Citizens FUnited

From Shepherd Express:

By Art Kumbalek 4 hours ago

I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, I hear our Governor Snidely Whiplash’s billionaire-boat, the USS Pay For Play, has sprung a leak, what the fock.

Here’s what I know, and it’s the strangest thing. Some days ago I thought to check my dinky email inbox. I only get about a handful per week—messages from Sears about their latest sale on men’s socks, and like ilk—but I couldn’t get the goddamn thing to open. So me, being a regular Mr. Dell Jobs, assumed the logical thing to do would be to curse a blue streak whilst rapidly hammering random buttons along with a flurry of combined random buttons. Sha-focking-zam! Not only did the inbox pop to life but I had way, way over 1,000 new messages to gander at, I kid you not
.
None of them were for me. All were addressed to and sent by people I’d never heard of. Jeez louise, had I accidentally hacked into someone else’s schmutz? So of course I began to open these babies so’s to take a peek and maybe get a fix on what the fock was going on here.

The first one I opened said this: Hey, since the Governor is so ecstatic that our lead paint provision passed the Legislature, should Scooter’s new nickname be ‘Sherwin’ or ‘Dutch Boy’?

The next one: OMG. The Guv confessed to me that he had a HUGE crush on Bea Arthur when he was younger. Wasn’t she one of those transgender types?

And: To all: The Governor reiterated to me to remind you that at the risk of immediate termination, to never, ever mention to absolutely ANYONE that he always roots for the Bears.

Holy focking cow, ain’a? But before I could open another, the mysterious emails vanished, along with the few older ones addressed to me. Was I hacked? Beats me, but a few moments later a new message popped up. It had no identifying info or text or attachments; however, in the Subject box was this: “Cheerio, Mate.”

Anyways, anybody hear anything about Bart Starr’s latest stem cell treatment down Mexico way? Yeah, me neither. And why the poor guy has to go to a foreign country south of the border, I’ll never focking figure out.

Hope it goes well, although I am surprised there hasn’t been more hubbub about it, in a righteous negative way. Cripes, I remember not that many years back when a whole bunch of citizens were clapping their hands and waving American flags (the special flags, the ones with a 51st star for the State of Ignorance) on account that a U.S. district judge put the kibosh on federal funding for all embryonic stem cell research. These were the people whom the lord told that that glob in a lab dish is a human being and oughtn’t be dicked with.

And what a life, ain’a? I tell you, if that were me flat on my would-be ass in a Petri dish, I’d say who needs this bullshit. All around me I’d hear the lab guys and gals making lunch plans, going out for a smoke break, making plans for the weekend and all the time there I am, stuck in a dish. That’s no way to live, I don’t care who—or what—you are, or were, I kid you not.

As one sitting in a dish, I sure as shootin’ would want the scientists to get their butts in gear and figure out the way to grow me into some kind of human tissue, so I could replace the crappy cells inside a real, live, walking-around human being. Now that would be sweet.

Yeah, get out of the dish and get planted into some guy who’s going to start feeling a whole lot better because of me, and then watch out! We’ll take in a ballgame, have a couple, three ice-cold bottled beers.

Maybe take a walk along the beach, or decide to screw it and just stay home, make a nice baloney sandwich and watch us some TV. Or wait, best yet, we’ll go get us a wad of singles yea-thick and head on over to the nearest gentlemen’s club and research the female form. Now that’s what I call living.

And you know what? Apparently it’s not too late to help these human beings stuck in lab dishes get a real life. Write all your bonehead politicians and tell them you demand that they either push real hard to get the green light for unlimited funding for this eggs-cell-ent research (there’s money to be made in eradicating disease, what the fock), or you’re going to conduct your own research on replacement politicians to better serve the body politic come next election (early voting starts in a couple, three days, don’t you forget), ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

Read more:  http://shepherdexpress.com/article-28471-citizens-funited.html

Related:  https://theshepstore.kostizi.com/

Open Blog - Tuesday


Keep on truckin, Snoopy!

Friday, September 16, 2016

Four for Fridays!

Hello everyone I hope all of you had a good week. I just can not believe how fast the week has gone because next week Saturday is my sons wedding. Well here are your questions for this week.

1) Are you enjoying the nice cool weather we are having?

2) Is anyone watching football this year?

3) How many phones do you have including cell phones?

4) What kind of camera do you have?

I hope everyone has a great day!

Open Blog - Friday


Oh yeah!

Thursday, September 15, 2016

"Registration of jtirregulars.com successfully renewed"


After THB and Drew were nice enough to pay for our domain renewal, I sent, online, the money to Google, expecting it to renew our registration.  But nothing showed up there.  I received a receipt that referred me to my documentation number.  It's big time getting anything done over there, especially because they hide telephone numbers and email addresses.  Finally, today, I received the above.  Hallelujah!  We're legit for another year.

Thank you Drew and THB for another year.

Top 10 Media Thursdays

Open Blog - Thursday


I agree.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Where Did Summer Go ?

 
 
 
I'm so sorry to see Summer Go.   I couldn't wait until it came.   As we get older time seems to pass us by.    What did you do this Summer ?   Gets dark earlier.   What's you favorite pass time to do at night ?   Myself I like to do research & reading on the computer.  

What are your Favorite Memories Of Summer ?   Any songs that keep your Memories Alive?   Mine is Come Saturday Morning.   Wishing you the Best in the Coming Fall.  

As you know all the Holidays will soon be here.   Then 2017 not far off.    Enjoy,  Carol Lynn 

Anti Bullying Project | Saving Sadie | An Anti-Bullying Film


Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my loving boys and girls!  How are you?  It's supposed to be a relatively cool day today.  Fall marches on.  To be honest, I like the days with warm temperatures and cool nights.  But ir doesn't last forever.  Enjoy it while you can.  And I hope you don't have a huge yard to be raked of leaves this fall.  I love oak trees, but they can keep bunches of leaves well into winter.  Maples produce some autumn leaves, but none like the Norway maple.  In any case, it's all a guessing game, When is the best date to rake up your leaves?  Ask Mother Nature, she oughta know (ha-ha).

Well, the NFL full season has started, and our invincible Green Bay Packers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars.  We're off to a good start, but I don't think any NFL expert can say we're loaded with talent.  This Sunday's battle is against the Minnesota Vikings, at the Vikings, 7:30 PM, on NBC.  Let's see if we can't pull out another win.

As to the Irregular Football League, check it out:


I'm sorry I can't make it larger, but if I do, portions of the right side become chopped off.  The Racine Irregulars are in first place, with the Fighting Mongrels chasing them from second, while the Orbliterators  hold third.

The one thing I like about football season is that it burns a lot of Junior's energy,  School keeps his brain occupied (hopefully) and football takes care of his body.  He's a letter man at school.  He's hot stuff, as long as there's a mother behind him taking care of things.  I love him and I hope that sports give Junior some of the "fathering" he didn't get when he was younger.

Speaking of Mr. Z., I haven't heard from him in a long time.  Probably because he's so behind in child support.  Thanks for nothing, Mr. Z.  Go rot in hell.

As for my regular and irregular readers, I feel nothing but love.  Crowd around and hug each other.  You never know what can happen in a crazy world like ours,  Keep the faith.

How do you "keep the faith?"  Ask: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

I love you all.  Enjoy the weather while you can.  Fall is a great time to tackle chores that were just too damn hot in the summer.   It's also a great time to check out the trees.  Whatever you do, do it carefully.  We want to keep you around here. 

Open Blog - Wednesday


Ahhh! Fall is coming.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

"Charges dismissed in 2015 child sex assault case"

From The Journal Times.com:

CARA SPOTO cara.spoto@journaltimes.com

"RACINE — A case against a Racine man accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl last August has been dismissed.

"Orlando Deleon, of the 1600 block of Holmes Avenue, was charged on Sept. 2, 2015, with first-degree sexual assault of a child, after it was alleged that he assaulted the girl in his home.

"According to a criminal complaint, the victim, a 6-year-old friend and her 8-year-old sister were playing with Deleon’s cats when the victim stayed behind.

"The 6-year-old allegedly told investigators that the victim went back inside, where Deleon is alleged to have given the girl a dollar because 'she had played a game.'

"As part of the 'game,' the victim later told investigators that she was blindfolded and walked to a bathroom where the assault is alleged to have taken place, the complaint states.

"The victim’s sister told investigators she saw Deleon place a blindfold on the victim and guide her to the bathroom. The older sister also allegedly heard Deleon tell the victim: 'Don’t tell anyone.'

"Deleon told investigators that he had merely asked the girl to close her eyes and then placed a spoonful of applesauce in her mouth.

"Deleon was jailed on his charge and given a $100,000 bond. The case was proceeding towards a Sept. 13 trial date when the state on Friday called for the charge to be dismissed on a prosecutor’s motion.

"Asked why the state had asked for the dismissal, Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete stated that there 'were burden of proof issues.'

"The prosecutor handling the case, Assistant Racine County District Attorney Robert Repischak, had recently reviewed the entirety of the case with the victim’s family, including the Child Advocacy Center interview, Chiapete said, and based on a meeting with the victim and her family it was agreed that the case would be dismissed without prejudice.

"'ADA Repischak indicated that they met at length and that the family understood the issues with the case,' Chiapete wrote in an email. 'If additional information or evidence is received that impacts this case, it could be re-issued.'

"Deleon had faced up to 40 years imprisonment if convicted on the charge. It is not clear how long he spent in jail while the case was proceeding.

"To Explore Strange New Words"

From Shepherd Express:

By Art Kumbalek 3 minutes ago
I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, as our state legislature extends its egregious efforts to make America’s Dairyland the Mississ-focking-ippi of the North, so as to rank near or at the foggy bottom in every measurable category from your soup to your nuts, I’m reminded of a little story:


On Friday afternoon, the entire state legislature of a state located not-even-close to either coast was aboard the official state bus touring a remote rural area when the driver lost control and crashed the bus into a ditch. Sometime later, a local farmer sauntered by and, upon finding the politicians lying in the road, buried them. 


It was reported that county sheriffs then arrived on the scene just as the farmer finished tamping the dirt down over the last member of this state’s legislature. Upon questioning the farmer about the wreck, a sheriff asked, “So you buried ALL the politicians? Were they all dead?”


The farmer reportedly answered: “Well sir, some said they weren’t, but you know how them politicians lie.” Ba-ding!


Cripes, I almost forgot that I’ve got such big news I could almost focking squee. A friend of mine alerted me to the fact that the Oxford English Dictionary (“the definitive record of the English language,” just so’s you know) whipped out their list of new words they’ve recently added to their very fat book. Among such what-the-focks as yolo, biatch and spanakopita, the OED finally got with it and added a word dear to my heart: focking, I kid you not. Here’s their low-down:


focking, adj. and adv.: A. adj. Used as an intensifier, expressing annoyance, frustration, hostility, etc. B. adv. Intensely, extremely. Also simply as an intensifier.


Focking-A, ain’a? Although, I must admit to being a tad jack-offed that my name is not mentioned as the word’s foremost godfather. Still, to have a word that you nurtured and heard grow for more than 30 years to be listed in the Ox, hey, that’s some hoity-toity company focking be now keeping, you betcha.


And speaking of words, perhaps you’s have heard somewheres that the newspaper business seems not to be exactly a bed of leaf-love, lo, these days, what the fock. And me being a newspaper guy chagrined by the alleged dire straits this industry be floating upon, I figure the best way to offer assistance is for me to attract more readers to my cozy newsy nook back here in this paper. One small step for man, one kind-of leap for peddling products you don’t really need, or an “experience” soon to be forgotten.


And so I need to attract not just any kind of reader, but better readers (no offense intended), the correct kind of readers who quote the Oxford English Dictionary as opposed to the ’til-now usual low-rent scrubby rabble that turns out for my weekly oracle, the kind most likely to spend a Saturday evening riding the bus, talking to themselves, what the fock.


Hey, I need the reader who’s with it, on top of it, lives it, breathes it, eats it, full of it: I want “today’s” reader—today lends me ten bucks; tomorrow, can’t remember. Yeah, that kind of reader, the kind of focking reader I can turn around over, under, sideways down to advertising types who will then solicit my contractual John Hancock and turn me into a mega-media pitchman, so’s I can commercially endorse their fine products to you whom I’ve herded to the marketplace. Boner pills, anyone?


OK, so talking about the right kind of readers I need, I ask this: Gents, how do you measure up? Ladies, how do you stack up? Fock if I know, but let’s find out with this brief exercise in analytical reasoning. I got to know from you’s what you think the following animals, vegetables, minerals and stuff got in common. Here’s the catalogue: Forbes Field, the pie-billed or pied-bill grebe, Dick York, sulfuryl chloride, the Treaty of Ghent, caulk, trinomials, Paul Gonsalves, sufferin’ succotash, compound umbel and Parcheesi.


Take a couple, three minutes to figure. I’ll go have a smoke.


** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Ready for the answer? If you guessed “not a thing,” or more accurately, “not a focking thing,” you are abso-focking-lutely correct sir, or madam. Random material in a random universe. Welcome aboard. And if you’re still working on the exercise above, forget about it. The best I can do is save you a seat on the bus. Try the No. 30 on a Saturday night. You’ll recognize me. I’ll be the one, right rear, talking to myself ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

Read more: http://shepherdexpress.com/article-28431-to-explore-strange-new-words.html

Related:  https://theshepstore.kostizi.com/

Birds!

Well like I said with the Fall pictures we went to Horicon Marsh this past weekend and I thought I would share some bird pictures also. So here are some pictures.

                                                          These are Trumpeter Swans.

                                                         This is a Downy Woodpecker.

                                                                  This is a Great Egret.

These are Cattle Egret flying over Hwy 49 when we first got to Horicon Marsh. There was about 30 of them flying over us.

I hope everyone enjoys the pictures as we enjoy going out and taking the pictures.

Open Blog - Tuesday


Have a great day!

Monday, September 12, 2016

Fall Colors!

This past weekend Drew and I took a trip up to Horicon Marsh. The colors are starting to change up there and I have some pictures to share with everyone. Here are the pictures.




Open Blog - Monday


Friday night drinking.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Happy 8th Birthday to the Racine Mirror

Although I suspect the majority is done manually around there and not online, Happy Birthday to "The Racine Mirror:" https://theracinemirror.wordpress.com/  "The Mirror" is one of those free magazines that you find at food store doorways, most gas 'n' go joints, etc.

I got my printed copy at Mialecki's Piggly Wiggly yesterday.  Eight years, just like the JT Iregulars became earlier this year.  No, that's not fair.  They are much happier.   

Open Blog - Weekend


OMG!

Friday, September 9, 2016

Four for Fridays!

It just seems like the weeks keep going quicker I just can not believe it is Friday already. I hope everyone had a good week. Here are your questions.

1) Do you like to do your shopping online or go to the stores?

2) When you do your shopping at the stores do you like to go during the day or in the evening?

3) When you do go to the stores do you have a hard time finding what you are looking for?

4) Do you have to travel far to get to the stores?

I hope you have a great weekend!

Open Blog - Friday


It's hard not to.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

"HobNob is finalist in supper club online vote"

From The Journal Times.com:

0


"SOMERS — HobNob Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge is one of 20 state restaurants in the Travel Wisconsin Supper Club Showdown, an online voting contest.

"Wisconsin’s state tourism agency invites people to vote for their favorite to win the Travel Wisconsin Supper Club Showdown Champion title. As of Wednesday afternoon, HobNob, 277 S. Sheridan Road, was No. 11 on the leader board with Schwarz’s Supper Club of New Holstein leading.

Dear Madame Zoltar



I'm so sorry.  I forgot about today's blog.  I blame Labor Day.  I don't know what day it is . if you do, please let me know at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.  I love you all.  Please have a safe week.

Open Blog - Wednesday


Or, turn over and go back to sleep.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

"A Category Pour"

From the Shepherd Express:
 
By Art Kumbalek 1 hour ago
 

I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, I hear another Labor Day holiday has come and gone, that day when we honor the workingman by pissing the day away drinking beer in the backyard or a picnic park somewheres. How ’bout next year instead we pay tribute by working twice as hard and twice as long that day? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

But so here we are, September, what the fock. I’ve been trying to cool my heels for this month since April, and now finally I hear my favorite season coming up the stairs to knock on my door, I kid you not.

And speaking of the fall, I also hear we got an election coming up right around the bend and that the Democrats have a shot at taking back control of the Congress’ Senate chamber. Which reminds me of a little story:

So this guy rubs a genie out of a lamp who says he’ll grant the guy one wish. “I want to live forever,” the guy says. “No can do,” genie says. “I’m not allowed to grant wishes like that.”

“Dang. OK, then I wish that I want to die after Congress gets their heads out of their asses,” the guy says.

“You crafty bastard,” says the genie.

Anyways, my time here this week is tighter than Superman’s leotard. Next week I plan to dish out some sound advice as to which way you ought to vote come November. And if you don’t think I’m able to pass out swell and constructive advice, let me give you an illuminating example from some years back when I was the Shepherd’s advice columnist for one week. It went something like this:

I’ve been having this problem of hearing voices in my head. For example, just the other night I’m in bed lying next to a certain female, and a voice inside my head says, “Relax...you’re not the first doctor to sleep with one of his patients.” But then a few minutes later, I hear another voice reminding me, “Richard, you’re a veterinarian, for crying out loud.” Can you please make these voices stop?

Doctor Not Feel Good

Jeez louise, pally. Hearing voices can be a bitch, I tell you, ’cause who the heck knows where that kind of nutbag stuff may lead, ain’a? In far, far too many cases of voice-hearing I’ve heard about over the years, seems one day some guy’s hearing voices, the next day he’s out carving up Cub Scouts, I kid you not. I’m no expert when it comes to hearing voices, but listen up ’cause I got two words for you: Ear focking plugs. OK, maybe that’s three words. Sue me.

But Richard, before you get the earplugs, please allow my voice to remind you that no matter what one’s profession may be, remember that one is allowed to have a personal life. From your letter, I can only assume that yours includes a sexual attraction to—perhaps even preference for—another species. In this conservative Christian voodoo age, a regular guy can feel like he ought to get fried at the stake just for checking out JC Penney’s latest bra ad.

I admire the courage inherent in the matter-of-fact manner in which you describe your problem—that is, you understand that your problem is not the fact that you’re boning a Doberman, or sheep, or even a goddamn chimpanzee for all I know; no sir, that’s not your “problem.” Your problem is simply only with these voices you hear. Good.

Cripes, I know I don’t think I could take the raised eyebrows the New Puritans would give me if I showed up at a cocktail party or after-hours business function and my date was a focking barnyard animal. And you must remember this: If you ever begin to feel blue from any kind of harassment like that, I can only suggest patience. Remember that medical science makes a bunch of breakthroughs every day, even as I speak. It may seem like only yesterday—when, in fact, it wasn’t—that it seemed really unusual and focking weird that guys could go to Sweden and come back as gals.

So hey, stick to your peccadilloes, Richard, ’cause one day doctors will perfect the species-change operation and then Richard can be Rover and everybody’ll say big focking deal. Now roll over and play dead ’cause I got to go, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

Read more::  http://shepherdexpress.com/article-28393-a-category-pour.html

Google Billing


Time to renew out registration as "JT Irregulars."  The cost is $10 for a year.  Are there any volunteers out there to pay the $10?  If so, contact OrbsCorbs at orbscorbs@jtirregulars.com, or, if you know him, use any email that you use to contact him, or just give him a call.  You can also use the PayPal donation widget on our sister site, OrbsCorbs.com

Open Blog - Tuesday


Zzzzzzz . . .

Monday, September 5, 2016

Sunday, September 4, 2016

"Digital distractions: ‘Is my smartphone making me dumb?’ and other digital age questions"

From Wisconsin Gazette.com:


Friday, September 2, 2016

Four for Fridays!

I just can not believe how fast the weeks just seem to be going lately. My daughter is going back to school this weekend and then my son is getting married this month it is just coming to fast for me. Here are your questions.

1) Do you have any plans for the Holiday Weekend?

2) For Labor Day Weekend have you ever went on a vacation when you were younger?

3) Do you think the schools should start two days before a three day weekend?

4) Do you think all employers should close for the Holiday Weekend?

Have a safe and fun Holiday Weekend!

Open Blog - Friday


Everything tastes better on Friday.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The damage done


Fender is bent.  Hood is sprung.  Shit.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my Kings and Queens!  How are you?  We received some much needed rain.  But we still could use some more.  So get out there and do your rain dance.  If anyone asks what you're doing, ask 'em to join you.  Before long, you might get a few hundred to do their rain dance.  That's no guarantee it'll rain, but it sure would be fun!  Maybe make it an annual event in every late August or early September.  Unfortunately, neither Real Racine nor the Downtown Racine Corporation have given my idea their blessing, so it'll go nowhere.  Maybe if we slip a few dollars to lying John . . .

I read below where Mr. OrbsCorbs talked about being in an accident today.  I called him immediately and asked what had happened.  He said he was at the corner of Graceland Blvd. and Hwy. 31, facing the west, attempting to get across the roadway to head south.  He looked to the left and there was some traffic way off and he looked to the right and there was nothing.  He pulled out to make his turn and he hit the right rear of a car speeding north on Hwy. 31.  He was amazed there was a car there.  There wasn't a second ago.  Mr. OrbsCorbs sounded a little depressed.  Now he has a $100 ticket and the right front headlight assembly of his truck is destroyed.  (That poor man.  Nothing but bad seems to happen to him.)  I asked again if he was OK, and he said yes.  I told him to call me with any problems he might have.

I'm proud that the JT Irregulars have received permission to reproduce Mr. Art Kumbalek's column, Art For Art's Sake, from the Shepherd Express.  Mr. Kumbalek has been writing the column for over 30 years.  I hope he has another 30.  He's definitely a blue collar, south side Milwaukee man.  (I think.)  Welcome, Mr. Kumbalek, to the JT Irregulars.  We look forward to a long relationship.        

The battle of teaching Junior how to drive continues with Señor Zanza at the helm, mostly.  They're using my car.  I can't even think of the times Junior has driven my car.  I don't want to even hear about it unless I need to call my insurance agent.  When and if Junior gets his license, he's not driving my car around.  He'll have to get his own, which means work to generate money.  Ha-ha, that'll be the day.   He's growing up.  The responsibilities increase.  Oh yes, and he'll have to pay for his own auto insurance, which will be high just because he's a young, male driver.  I have Safeco. but I don't know what will be the best for him.

Hey, how about that arena idea?  I wonder how many will receive how much as this farce moves along?  The Chicago Tribune thinks we've got it made: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-07-08/news/8702190931_1_marina-project-boat-slips-lakefront-redevelopment  So what the heck, with so much money coming in, we might as well build the arena/hotel.  Maybe there will be a few extra bucks to replace some streetlights.  Ha-ha!  We can dream, can't we?

Thank you all for coming here to read my blog.  I so love the attention.  Blog readers are some of my best friends.

How much will the repairs to Mr. OrbsCorbs' truck be?  Ask madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

It's supposed to be cool for the next few days, but then it will warm up again.  Enjoy the waning days of summer.  

Open Blog - Wednesday


I agree.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

"Caveat Selector"

From Shepherd Express:

By Art Kumbalek 3 hours ago


I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, as America’s essayist it now and again occurs to me the possibility exists that there could be unwary or non-focking-informed first-time readers who may not know what they’re getting themselves into when they peruse this page; so here, smack-dab in the middle of my gala 30th year whipping out essays for this Shepherd newspaper, I figure it’s time again to play ball and bean you my “product warning,” “consumer caution,” “Hit the Dirt!” citation.

Space prevents me from sounding the alarm every week; so I would behoove you to either memorize the following or keep this page handy so that you can refer to it week upon week before digesting my latest dispatch, what the fock.

Warning: The views, news and opinions expressed in any one of my essays are strictly mine and they ought to be yours, too. And because they might not be yours, too, is the reason I churn out these goddamn essays in the first focking place ’cause I tell you, if everybody and his brother thought and felt about things the same way I did, I’d find regular life to be a much more many-splendored thing than I currently do; and so there’d be no need for me to write an essay anymore and no need for you to read them and get bent all out of shape. It’s all so simple.

And don’t forget you can sometimes come away with some good old-fashioned useful information as a reward for slogging through the rest of what you might feel is bald-faced blather. For example, how ’bout right now I give you a diet tip I found in a little story about a dangerous food to avoid, OK?

So this dietitian was gasbagging a large audience the other day to the tune of “The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks erode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. Vegetables can be disastrous to some. And none of us realize the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all, and we all have eaten or will eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?”

Some old guy in the back row stood up and said, “Yeah, wedding cake.”

Warning: This essay will contain plenty of crude as well as a smattering of purportedly foul language that some would swear doesn’t have a place in so-called “good writing,” which leads directly to the next warning. (Sorry about the two “fockings,” one “fock” and one “goddamn” that already got focking slipped in above before you got to this warning.)

Warning: This essay has abso-focking-lutely nothing to do with “good” writing. Hey, this is a newspaper, not Oprah’s Book Club, for christ sakes. Now about this supposed need to segregate your foul language from your good writing: This was not hardly always some kind of standard of choice on the part of writers who today are known as “good” who wrote books yesterday that today are known as “good.” Hell, no.

Nay, a segregated and separated state of fair and foul was for two reasons: one, ’cause of the heavy-duty censorship going around like chicken pox in the olden days; and two, because people got the short-stick on freedom of expression, they were long on reading ’tweenst the lines.

In fact, I’ve delved into some hardcore investigation and boned up on this very topic whatever-it-is, and wouldn’t you gast your flabber to know that Hermie Melville’s original title to the whale book was Moby Focking Dick until some pisspot wrote a prissy letter to his publisher? Same damn thing happened to the Russian guy Dostoyevsky (The Brothers Kara Focking Mazov), and it happened more recently to Papa “Watch Where You’re Aiming That Thing” Hemingway (For Whom the Focking Bell Tolls). Jeez louise, they even made one guy change his own name, from Fockner to Faulkner.

The last instance of this practice occurring that I know of came in 1960 with Harper Lee’s To Kill a Fockingbird just so it could win one of those Pulitzer Prizes. She was so upset with the forced title change to “Mockingbird” that she never wanted to publish another book the rest of her life, I kid you not.

Warning: Do not, I repeat, do not even think of operating any kind of machine while reading this essay, with the exception of a cigarette lighter or cocktail blender.

Supplement Fact: It’s my job to speak the unspeakable, think the unthinkable, make up the unmakeable and ledge the illegible, not yours, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

Read more: http://shepherdexpress.com/article-28353-caveat-selector.html

Open Blog - Tuesday


Have a great day.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

"DNA sequencing saves young Racine girl"

From JSOnline:

, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 9:56 p.m. CDT August 27, 2016

"Alan Mayer stared at a wall in the intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, worrying as his patient, 15-month-old Addyson Valley, grew dangerously ill.

"The pediatric gastroenterologist had placed her on the highest doses of calcium and phosphate a patient can receive, yet her levels remained desperately low. The heart depends on calcium to beat properly, and the infant’s deficiency threatened to send her into cardiac arrest.

"Also, Addyson’s gut was leaking protein, impairing the function of her intestines and raising fears that a buildup of fluid outside the vessels could turn her body into a boggy swamp. She could, in essence, drown in her own body fluid.

"She was bloated. She was lethargic. She was dying."

"Addyson had been sick all of her short life, projectile vomiting most food, lagging severely on the growth charts, going through one infant formula after another, and one medical test after another. No one knew what was making the Racine girl sick. And since arriving in intensive care, she had grown steadily worse.

"'We’re doing something to make her sicker,' the doctor told himself, noting that all they’d done was to feed her formula.

"'Let’s stop feeding her,' Mayer told the medical staff. As he said it, he realized he’d been in this situation before.

"'It’s the Nic story again.'"

Read more: http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/health/2016/08/27/dna-sequencing-saves-young-racine-girl/89412240/