Supplication - very humbling indeed.....

I am not one to beg or plead or whinge....not my style but today I learned that even with a bank, that evil faceless and nameless corporation, there can be soul. And that soul is found within the ranks of the mostly female bank employees who have been dissed by their former spouses. No, we are not talking acrimony a la Jerry Springer here but rather talking a group of sympatico professional women who have been tested, vexed, abused, used and worst of all - lied to by the ones that they thought had the best intentions for the long haul.

I will write more on this episode later, maybe tomorrow but for now suffice to say, I achieved a minor miracle in terms of wheeling and dealing on a hope, prayer and bravado - and whilst I was getting somewhat verklempt.....

Bless you today who could empathize. Bless you today who could appreciate my integrity and give it a value because in these corrupt and trying times integrity is worth something.

When Life becomes a Telenovela

Funny thing it is, or is it tragic, that when one makes a popular culture reference that they believe has finally made it into mainstream consciousness and makes this remark as a framing reference for events in their personal life, the person or persons of whom this remark is addressed to JUST DON'T GET IT! And they are professionals? Either that or I have become so removed from the average zeitgeist that I have to "dumb" myself down more often than not in order to get my analogies understood. Such is the case with a particular reference to my personal life events, that of the TELENOVELA analogy.....

Telenovelas, or soap operas (daytime drama in the new parlance) en Espanol, are uber-cheesey or as we would say in Mexico, muy grande queso de vida!!! They are even cheesier than their American counterparts and much more fun to watch. Remember Dos Mujeres Camino starring Erik Estrada?

That particular show catapulted Estrada out of celebrity Siberia and right back into the slimelight...I fondly remember when I lived out in the Bay Islands of Honduras what would happen everyday at lunch hour....shops would be locked up and the women who ran them would crank up their televisions and block out the rest of the world because that show was on. It was a great way to learn Spanish and if you got into the show, a great way to win the hearts of the local women.

Ahhh, but back now to how I use this reference as it pertains to my life.....and no, sorry, no super gory details for as much as I love to share stories of misadventure (and I have many) there are just some stories that are too hard to tell and because they are still unfolding, a little too close to the surface to make jokes....those come later once all parties involved have more or less finished with their fuckery (god, I love that Caribbean word "fuckery"). Always better to say it funny than try to gain sympathy as everyone has shit to deal with and may just want to sit back and laugh for a change?

Laughing at myself is sometimes the only way I can get through some events, hence the reference to cheesy Latino soap operas. When I tell folks that my life has become a telenovela they laugh if they get the reference and then the story can ensue. It's a good process for either party especially if the story can be filed under the heading of TRUTH IS DEFINITELY STRANGER THAN FICTION category. Unfortunately though the punchline is lost on those who have never made that discovery of Latino soap operas. Oh well, give them the reference and if they are still willing to listen? Go for it.....

I am working up to something here and yes, I am more than a little cautious about spilling the frijoles so to speak because as much as we live in a culture that encourages us to share our bowel movements via Twitter I still believe that there are some things that should be kept reasonably private or at the very least, hinted at....in other words if you cannot read between the lines then perhaps you should take me out for drinks, get me hammered and then I will gladly talk until you are ready to kill yourself like in those scenes in AIRPLANE! where everyone who listens to the lead character's tragic tale of lost love wind up snuffing it in some very creative ways....hahaha.

Seriously, I do not wish to be called an emotional vampire anytime soon....this is why laughing at oneself is an exercise that should be undertaken every single day no matter how down one may be feeling. Shit, when did i get so touchy-feely? Where is that inner-curmudgeon hiding today? Get your ass out here woman!!!

Allusions, foreshadowing - techniques that the writer employs or in the case of a good telenovela, the director will zoom in on a character's face as a tool for the viewer to get that sense of apprehension or anticipation as to what my happen in the next episode. The cheesy music builds up and then as abruptly as it ends you know you have to come back for more because you curious fool you need your fix.....ahh, but what does one do when they find themselves, reluctantly, engaged as a lead character in a telenovela that they are not scripting?

Stay tuned.....mas queso arribe pronto!!!! (I have this propensity to mix Spanish and Italian) And yes, laughter should prevail....ESPECIALLY if I start to make edits to that particular script?

TROLL REDUX part deux.....some things bear repeating

Oh ya gotta love the tenacity of trolls. Just when you think they have crawled back to their respective spot under the bridge (well, that would be hard to do right now with the high river levels) never to be heard from again they magically reappear only this time they think that by seeking sympathy, apologizing for past transgressions or that by taking on a new identity (as if we could not figure out who it was) they can fool us and thus draw us back into their evil, twisted games.

Some would venture to say that by writing these very words I am sucked back in. Au contraire sayeth I - why should we censor ourselves? I say bring it on, have some fun and if anything one would be educating others as to this unique form of net behaviour. Heaven forbid these retards ever go public right? First off they could be prosecuted for stalking or making threats, secondly they would lose their "anonymity" (the one bit of power they think erroneously that they possess - Thank goodness for tracking software) and thirdly EVERYONE would know that so n' so is a total TARD. Maybe everyone knows that already? Well, at least within that troll's particular circle of acquaintances....mind you, maybe trolls only chill with other trolls? Plausible theory. To be examined later perhaps?

Trolls love forums and if they can cross-pollinate, they will go to social networking sites to wreak more sociopathic havoc. They are the bi-polar babies of cyberspace. They can turn on you in a heartbeat if you catch them at their game like I did yesterday. Oh this is too funny. Yes, a wee bit of clarification is in order here.

Trolls think they know your Achilles heel and will try their best to get at you. This particular troll who has been working several forum sites and has now moved his attentions to FaceCrack (Yeah, I know its a "him") figured he had me that is until he posted some craziness on my wall under one of my gaming posts.....it was about his depression and tie that in with his profile page where he says he belongs to a Mood Disorder group? It did not take me long to figure out who it was. Two days prior to his wanting to suck me in he shows up on a political forum that I belong to and this time under at least four different identities......once again, figured out it was him about a week or so ago because he let slip misogynistic and anti-semitic remarks under one of his new names.....the troll can only maintain civil and intelligent behaviour for so long and then they snap and when they do it is usually in a spectacular way.

I wonder what these folks do in the real world and should we be concerned?

I politely informed this person via Private Messaging that I had deleted his remark and had decided to remove him from my FB site....not once did I mention that I knew who it was but instead just said that I did not need anyone's baggage. He then goes on to write me two very schizo messages - the first one saying that he was joking and that he wanted to take me out for coffee immediately followed by a second message that does not bear repeating except to say that it was very true to woman-hating troll form.

Wow. There is that behavioral pattern again. You, the intended victim, have found the troll out and banished them in as nice a way that you can only to be attacked again and again and by the same person using a multitude of identities. I believe this latest salvo is just the beginning so keeping that in mind I shall observe and pat myself on the back for being able to predict this person's modus operandi so easily.

Stay tuned as I like to say.....not like this is the first time I have encountered this crap and I know it will not be the last. Mind you, the stakes are decidedly higher for this troll in that - well - if they cannot figure that out perhaps it is time for them to adjust their meds?

Another Arty Farty day.....

When my friend asked me to help him with a meter pic I kind of figured he was up to no good. Excellent!!! Yes, I do have big meters.....muahahahahaha.......life is serious but art is fun. Good credo to live by.

No fool like an April Fool?

Yes, to all you fellow reprobates and lovers of double entendres, here is a hearty DG salute to not only April the first but this whole damned Easter weekend! Never understood what all the fuss was about. Like it's not the first time someone has died for their beliefs right? So not to diss any of my religious friends out there (who do btw have a sense of humour and not a broomstick up their assholes) but I had to put this pic up that my one FB buddy Sandy posted on her wall.....it does make sense if one is a George Romero film fan???!!