jeezzuss.....

i sent an e.mail last night about a barry mcgee piece i featured earlier today...and, i got an e.mail back.

..........

Dear Garnet Harry,

The Barry McGee vitrine is $60,000.  Please let me know if you should have any additional questions.

Best,
Monica LaStaiti

...............

holy cow!

g.

if i had a million dollars....

that is all.

g.

leeanna's last stand and a new gun

topanga staffer leeanna is hitting the bricks. tonight was her last night and we'll miss her smilin' face...even though she wouldn't give up a photo, she did her best fawn hand in the photo stance. nice. krista, her sister, who is sticking around has been known to gaze off into space so tonight we got her to give us her best.
i tried out the new gun in the topanga and was pretty happy with it....and on the way home i gave it the night street test...pretty good. good shooter, no shitter....

night night.

g. xo

lawns in the rain, all india and the art of being a good car salesman

last night before my, perhaps, final bombers game, marcy and i headed to all india sweets for a curry hoedown. or is it ho-down? or hodown? whatever. the food there is pretty good, especially the butter chicken. which maybe better than tandori king, but i don't know about new tandori king. we ate like champs and in the end marcy had enough leftovers for her lunch today as well.



today was a shitter with the weather playing games with my head. when the weather changes one way or the other my head feels the pressure and i get headaches and other good stuff. i also experienced the dizzy, passout feeling again today - just not as bad as last time at laurie's place. i was at joel's doing his lawn and all of a sudden had to take a small time out. nothing serious. and i had eaten a good amount before i got there, on purpose, but still i felt wacky. maybe i'm dying. slowly. i guess we all are....oh well, i'm just dizzy.
then from west van it was off to the dog lawn in richmond...where for a few minutes, that seemed a lot longer than usual, it rained on me while i plugged away on the yard there. i wasn't stopping. there was no way i was gonna finish half the grass and have to drive back to richmond tomorrow or sunday....i've got shit to do. before leaving richmond i went over to 3 road and bought myself a little treat i've had my eye on and then headed back to vancouver.
i went by rachel's office to get her to sign the transfer papers for the car i'm helping her sell...i think she may be a big wheel. she dresses like one...all fancy schmancy like...i'm glad i was able to help her out.





now i'm home and may need a snack. i have a movie for later but need something. torack called so i think it may be el presidente time.....

more later.

i start work on the new show tuesday. i'm giddy.

g. xo

meet you at 6...

see the thing below? it's a phone. you talk on it. sure, this one takes photos, plays music, etc....but it's a fuckin' phone! there's no need to line-up for days to get it. and to all of you out there who have been in line for days, weeks, etc. to get one - YOU ARE FUCKING LOSERS!



IT'S A FUCKIN' PHONE!

peace, out.

g. xo

giving in.

(a rambling pissed off late night post after losing a poorly played hockey game...)

every once in a while it hits me, like a ton of bricks, that i should really give up playing hockey. really. at 43 i feel like an old man out there and after games like tonight's - where i played very poorly - i want to nothing more than put my hockey gear in the closet and forget about it. basketball great charles barkley recently said during an interview that it didn't sem to matter how much he works out, he just continues to get fatter. i feel like that. i go to the gym, cut lawns, play hockey, and am as fat, or maybe fatter, than i was at the start of this year. and that hurts. if i catch a glimpse of myself naked or at the very least without a shirt on, say in a mirror or at the gym or...wherever, i want to shoot myself in the head. when people send me pictures they have taken of me at some recent event, i can't delete them fast enough. but i digress. hockey. at one time i was pretty good, or at least an asset in some regard. now, not so much. i know what should be done out there, but i just don't have it anymore. and it think a large part of that is the drive aspect. part of it, a large part - and i have said this before - is gone for good. i loved playing for thr bombers this last spring but am now re-thinking my part in the upcoming winter session. i think i'll have to drive around and think about it. cut some grass and give it real thought. maybe being a spare is a better idea, or take a season off and just go to the gym. i told corie tonight that at least on the treadmill i only have to be good for me, not the team.
i was shit tonight. i wouldn't say the reason we lost was my fault, but i sure wasn't helping the cause much. i'm tired of the infighting, the looks after i take a shot instead of passing - something i have been told to do more of, etc...i take it all very personally, even though i know i shouldn't. i think my real game is a solitary one - at the gym, riding a bike, walking, staying away from people. i may need to give into my old age, or at least my middle age.
sure, it's late, and i feel like shit and i wish things had gone better tonight, but they didn't and it's only gonna get later. i think i'll wash my gear, put it away, and forget about hockey for a while. the winter league will come along and i can revisit it then and see if i want to drag the gear out and play. and if i don't i think i'll be ok with that, and i know it will be ok with the others as well. sometimes you need to step away, know when to say when, 'know when to fold 'em'....or something like that.
i've also decided to give something else up for six months or so - mishi knows what this is - and tonight i feel pretty good about it. like it will be a cakewalk. i may even go longer than six months and se how i feel...

ok.

thanks bombers for a fun spring session. you're a great bunch of guys. i couldn't ask for a better bunch of guys to play hockey with.

g. xo

it's a yard, i think...not a lawn.

last night i was talking to a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, and she was saying how her co-op was going to fine her $100.00 if she didn't get her back 40 in order. how bad could it be? really? i've seen some unruly lawns/yards - rosanne's place, the farmer miranda's yard - how bad? she sent me a couple of pictures last night and i was stunned. so much so i had to go by today for two reasons. 1) just to see this amazing display of yard overgrowth 2) to help take care of it so a good pal wouldn't get fined a bunch of cash.
it was even better (?) than i thought it could be. i have only the pictures to show you the greatness of it. it can't be put into words.
later i had lunch with the fawnz, now known worldwide as FAWNOC, at bosa where i may have made a faux pas....but...well, ok i feel badly. but it's over now and i shouldn't have mentioned it...i had a great sandwich and got to see fawn...
i also ran an errand for tonack and washed larry...he's been sitting downstairs unwashed and alone for two months now...soon he'll hit the road but today i decided he needed a bath...dusty.

now i need a shower....

more later.

g. xo

before.





after.

more watching, more mexican, more coffee and some kim....

watched a guy work some more today, it was the same guy as yesterday, so it wasn't as interesting as the first time - still paid okay though. i got to do it twice - nice. inbetween watching a guy sand a wall, i installed some plexi-glass at the network's so her new dog doesn't do a nosedive from the loft while she's at work, cut a lawn on mcgill and then...went back and watched him work some more.
my pal kim, all star student and level 2 - working on level 3 - barista, and i had made plans to hang out today so after my watching job i headed down and grabbed her and we headed up to main street and the bubble tea place next to voltage. i decided to pass on the bubble tea but am always interested in the way it looks...kim had some sort of watermelon jingus with them wierd gooey ball things in it....then we went and visited the voltage kids...i miss them - i need to eat more mexcian with them. and since they were working and couldn't, kim and i headed to topanaga for an afternoon mexican hoedown...why not? there are no rules about that sort of thing.
a little later, after helping her with a bike issue - which included taking her to the BOC shop where joel and dan were working, so she got to meet them...she didn't seem scared, i dropped her off at her place and i got on wth mowing a couple more lawns...good times...

now i need some dinner...something....anything.

g. xo

kim rocks the bubble tea.




behind one of the yards i cut there's a bunny ranch.

what the?....

i had to go to the home depot tonight - well, i didn't have to go but i was helping my pal louise get a bbq - when i noticed this handmade sign for the weber bbq's...



g. xo

cake, card readers and watching people work...

there's some serious competition coming garbs way. i may have to set-up a head to head meeting between the garbs and cassidy danger jordan. last night at topanga, for the queen's birthday celebration, danger ate a burrito/tamale combo - full meal deal, and then afterwards, finished off april's meal that she could only eat half of- a chicken burrito. she also had two cokes and some tortilla chips. i was impressed. good work.



it was a nice dinner....i was originally gonna say hello and leave as i had a very shitty day yesterday and didn't feel like entertaining anyone. but, after a few minutes of rantin', and a few more raving, i felt a ittle better. once we all sat down and i could relax a little, it was good...i didn't eat - which may be a first for me at topanga, but maybe not, but i had a beer and margarta and ate a few chips. then cake that danger had brought - she had bought one at fratelli's on hippie street and brought it along. nice cake...not very rich though.



last night when i got home i tried to download the pics i had taken but my camera, which is close to being hurled off the balcony into the alley at the junkies, wasn't co-operating. i lent my card reader to the pickle kids and have been using the actual camera cable that plugs into the side of the camera and last night the connection pins decided to fold on me making it impossible now to download and pictures directly from the camera...fuckin' shit. so today i went and bought a new card reader...so much faster.



corie has been having some issues with his upstairs neighbour, who really isn't a neighbour at all but a guy who flips houses...it's a long story but suffice to say, this guy did some renos in the suite above corie that now required him to come and do work to shore things up from below, in corie's suite. and after a few rounds with this guy corie made it clear that in order for this to happen anymore, i would be there getting paid to watch the work being done, and corie would get a cheque for all the bother. so that's how i spent my day...well, part of it...money to watch a guy work. nice.
i also cut a lawn and have a few more to do but i think it's gonna rain....

oh well...

g. xo

i'm a bad man...

yesterday was my pal hez's birthday - heather watson to the rest of the world.

http://civixen.blogspot.com/

and i forgot it. or at least forgot to mention it. we have been talking about having bbq and such but between the weather and my poor shopping habits, it hasn't happened..yet. but it will.

so happy belated birthday hez!

g. xo

ready for the games?

she can't wait for the games to begin. she especially loves the bobsled and luge.



g. xo

happy birthday to the queen of the universe.

yup. it's her birthday. today. she's back from the rock and ready to meet another year head on. happy birthday babe!

g. xo

rod beck - a man with a good lookin' moustache.

rod beck was fun to watch when he came into a game. like terry forester and maybe david wells - well, maybe not david wells, but....rod was a big man. or at least looked big. maybe it was the moustache. rod beck died yesterday in arizona. no details have been released.

gone to the bullpen in the sky.

g.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Beck

Beck found dead at age 38
Associated Press
Updated: June 24, 2007, 11:51 PM ET
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Rod Beck was a menacing sight on the mound, with a bushy mustache and a searing stare that intimidated batters throughout his 13-year career as one of baseball's best closers.

Yet his friends in the game knew Beck as a hardworking teammate and a jovial character whose early death saddened players all around the major leagues.

Rod Beck was second all-time on the Giants' career saves list.
Beck, an All-Star relief pitcher who earned 286 career saves, was found dead in his home Saturday. He was 38.

"He was a great guy -- always happy, always picking guys up," said Giants outfielder Ryan Klesko, who played with Beck in San Diego. "I know he went through some tough times in the last couple of years, and it just crushes you."

Beck was discovered by police officers responding to a call to his home in suburban Phoenix, police department spokesman Andy Hill said Sunday. Foul play is not suspected, though the cause of death might not be known for several days.

With unruly hair framing his piercing eyes and an aggressive arm swing before delivering a pitch, the outgoing right-hander was a colorful baseball personality and a three-time All-Star. He spent the first seven of his 13 big league seasons with the San Francisco Giants.

Beck was popular with teammates, fans and reporters, but battled personal demons late in his life. He abruptly left the San Diego Padres for a two-month stint in rehabilitation during his final season in 2004.

"He was having some problems, and I just knew he went into rehab and joined us later that year," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, the Padres' manager at the time. "It's so sad when you see healthy players go at such a young age. This is a bad day in baseball to lose a guy who did so much for the game."

Nicknamed "Shooter" and well-known for his fondness for country music, cowboy boots and cigarettes, Beck pitched for the Giants (1991-97), the Chicago Cubs (1998-99) and the Boston Red Sox (1999-2001) before finishing his career with the Padres (2003-04).

Drehs: A man of the people
Rod Beck was the toast of Des Moines when he played for the Cubs' Triple-A team, wrote Wayne Drehs in 2003. Story
While working his way back to the majors in 2003, Beck pitched for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and famously lived in his Winnebago parked just beyond the outfield fence. Delighted fans would drop by for autographs and stay for a beer -- until the Padres called.

"You wanted him to have the ball at the end of the game," said Pirates outfielder Xavier Nady, who played with Beck in San Diego in 2003, when he picked up 20 saves and three wins in an incredible 2½-month stretch. "He was very good at what he did. He'll always be respected for what he did as a closer. He was a guy who was fun to be around, and made other guys smile."

Beck set the Giants' single-season record with 48 saves in 1993. He was on the mound when San Francisco clinched the NL West title in 1997, and was the Giants' career saves leader with 199 until Robb Nen passed him in 2002.

Beck was a favorite at Candlestick Park through most of the 1990s, but left to sign with the Cubs as a free agent in 1998.

"Everyone in the Giants organization is deeply saddened by the loss of a dear friend," Giants owner Peter Magowan said. "Rod Beck was a true Giant in every sense of the word, from his dedication on the field to his selflessness away from the park."

Beck saved 51 games in his first season in Chicago, helping the Cubs win the NL wild card. He had a career record of 38-45 in 704 games with a 3.30 ERA.

"He was helpful to everybody," said Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood, the 1998 NL Rookie of the Year. "Always in a good mood, great teammate, great person. He had the closer mentality. He had a short memory. Every day he came in, he was obviously excited to be there and you could see it."

After games, Beck and several Cubs teammates would often sit around drinking beer and smoking cigarettes as they talked baseball.

"You don't see that anymore," Wood said. "Really haven't seen a whole lot of it since he left. That's part of the old-school mentality. You hang around and you have a few beers and talk about the game and talk about mistakes you made, talk about good things you did and learn from each other."

At a Giants-Cubs game at Wrigley Field last Sept. 2, Beck threw out the ceremonial first pitch and sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.

Beck was involved in charity work with the Pediatric AIDS Foundation and other worthy causes during his time in San Francisco.

"Shooter was a hard nosed, blue-collar kind of guy that wore his heart on his sleeve, and that is what made him so endearing to baseball fans everywhere," said Rick Thurman, Beck's longtime agent.

"He was the utmost professional whose love for the game was only overshadowed by his passion for his family. Rod was the guy who you wanted in the foxhole with you, a warrior on the field and a teddy bear at home."

Beck is survived by his wife, Stacey, and two daughters.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

random yelling and dairy queen goodness

after i picked-up the queen at the airport and then, shortly thereafter, dumped her off at home, i picked-up megan and we headed out to get some dinner. we decided to go to Guu on robson street and have some japanese style tapas...that's what that stuff is right...? a lot of random yelling going on there. no ginger ale, just coke and diet coke - so you know. afterwards it was desert at dairy queen and home for megan.



i'm full. i ate a lot of different foods today....i'll pay tomorrow.

g. xo

confusing sunday hockey and bomber bbq action.

our game today was so fucked...and kind of confusing to tell why here and now but suffice to say that the other team had no goalie at the start of the game and we were trying to kill time until he got there...and then we went to work on beating them like a rented mule - or something like that. i wish that was true. we have not been playing our best hockey the last two games. we have the semi-final thursday and then, if we win, the final on friday night....go bombers.
afterwards, craig and his lovely wife, barb, had us all over for a little bbq at chez northey. i, initially, didn't want to go but felt i should show-up and be a part of the team...and in the end was glad i did. it was a good time. i took control of the bbq and cooked all the burgers and such and ate a little meat myself...why not? i just don't care anymore..
thanks craig! thanks barb!

now, surprise, i'm off to the airport to pick-up the queen of the universe as she's coming back from the rock at 7 pm...

have fun...

g. xo


various pics, in no particular order from today...


mina's mom takes over.



gary durbin (sp?) brought a mechanical humping dog to the bbq....he's classy!



pete enjoys the humping dog.



this is gary. i have no idea what he does.



andrew and dean post game bbq action.



more post game action with bryan looking cool in his ray bans.



meat. fake meat.



brent tries out some of tai's frozen food.

a win for tom.

mishi comes to my place and sometimes writes things on my dusty register. yo!



today, before our bombers hockey game, i mentioned to the boys that two years ago today, my good friend tom - original owner and head honcho of topanga cafe - had died and that i would like to get the win for him...why not? ok, tom was more of a baseball and basketball fan but a win for tom by the bombers was what i was lookin' for...and thanks to the boys it was so. thanks guys. after the game corie and i headed to topanga for a few drinks and food in honor of the man who started it all, tom zallen. he was a good man that tom. a few other regulars were there tonight and knew the significance of the day which was nice...we ate and drank like champs but were outta there early as we need a big sleep tonight because we have another playoff game tomorrow at 11:15 a.m. which if we win we will move on to the semi-finals and hopefully the finals next friday night. go bombers.

i'm tired.

thanks tom.

g. xo

on the way home from hockey i took this picture. nice t-bar.