An Anniversary R.a.n.t. Special

R.a.n.t. of week 07/28/13
One year ago, I started ranting about ants invading my house. It's something I've done before, r.a.n.t.ing I mean. Back in 2004 I had a personal website I maintained which came with a discussion group. On a weekly basis, I would find something to complain about, to inspire people talking. It lasted for about four months till I started running out of time and forgetting about it. In 2008 I started my blog and continued with my r.a.n.t.'s where I left off, but this time it only lasted five weeks. Finally, in 2012, I began to r.a.n.t. once more. Here it is a year later and I'm still ranting. A week ago, I asked several people if they'd be interested in helping me do an anniversary r.a.n.t and a few agreed. I asked them to be short, light and as humorous as they could possibly be. I would have done all these topics myself, but sometimes it's nice to get a fresh perspective from someone else. Plus, with such a variety of topics, I'm afraid I'd get writers block before to long.


Business

Thanks for the opportunity to write something. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but it hit me this morning what I can write about. Just heard the local coffee house Alterra is changing it's name. It's now going to be called Colectivo Coffee. What? So ridiculous. What was wrong with the Alterra name? And they sold the name to another company. Now I'll be confused when I see the Alterra name. Is it the coffee, or the coffee cafe? What's in a name? Such upsetting news, and before I've even had my morning coffee.
By, Erick / Visit my blog at erickthered.blogspot.com
- I couldn't agree more. (Jeffrey Scott)


Food

They are back! Yes, Twinkies are back. I love these golden baked goods. So tasty and fun. What were they thinking not selling them anymore. Everyone loves the Twinkies and thats why they ahd to bring them back. So in a way, us the buyers win. They thought they could deprive us. #Fail. One of the biggest times I ever got in trouble was when my mother came back from the store and I found the box of Twinkies. I remember taking them into the basement and eating them all. I was maybe five. When my mom looked for them I said I didn't no where they were so she thoguht the store forgot to put them in the bags. I was dumb though, and crusehd the box up and stuffed it under the dryer. About two years later we got a new drier and my dad found the empty box. By that time I forgot I put them they're.

- I appreciate the humorous story Katy.


Sports

Dude, check it. The Milwaukee Brewers are lame, and everyone knows it. But not as lame as Ryan Braun having to forfeit the rest of the season. The rest of the season? And just because he wanted to help out his team and his career? "But his performance was enhanced" (I hear you whine). Suck it up, buttercup! That's such a bad thing? I can certainly see the tragedy in that.... NOT! Complaining that PED's are a disadvantage to other players is like complaining my wife's coupons are a disadvantage to other shoppers. She uses what resources are available to her advantage, so did Braun. I'm no Braun fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I'll call a duck a duck. I could go on, but I won't. I've got tickets to see the Detroit Tiger's tonight. Now that's a ball team!


- Your fascination with the Tigers baffles me Kenny. But I'm not really in a good position to dispute that at this time. LOL Go Brewers!


World News

Kate Middleton,
Most people are so upset with all the press Kate Middleton is getting lately regarding the birth of her baby. My complaint is about all THOSE people. If you don't like the news, shut it off. Having a baby is a wonderful blessing, and Kate is such a beautiful mother. It's not beneath me to say I'm a little jealous. And how adorable is George Alexander Louis. How could you not fall in love with that precious bundle of joy. Kate, you really have it all; you are gorgeous, have a great fashion sense, a wonderful husband and the cutest baby ever. What more could a girl ask for?
With love,
Vicki

- You know what they say, haters are gonna hate. Nice job Vicki.


Rebuttal
My rant is a rebuttal to something you wrote last year - describing feelings of "being invisible". I wonder if it's ever dawned on you, you are likely the biggest part of the problem. Being quiet and shy isn't an excuse. Get over it and approach people. How can you complain about others doing this to you, if you do this to them? And explaining your problems using Doctor Who? Yawn, give it a rest. Maybe the next time you do this, you can give ME the 'business' section. I'd cover something more informative than a simple name change.
Jenni Long.
- Thanks for the kind thoughts Jen. I can always rely on you to call me out. You certainly like to complain more than I do. I don't know why you don't have your own r.a.n.t. blog.


This anniversary r.a.n.t has come to it's conclusion. Lately, it's been hard when trying to help others celebrate their own anniversaries, when I don't currently have anything to celebrate myself..So now, in a way, I have. Maybe it won't be so bad for me any more.

Once again, thanks to everyone who contributed something! It means a lot. Even if I don't 100% agree with all of your views. I'm looking at you Jen!

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

Jenni Long is a writer and editor
of the Canadian children's magazine
'Fille Forte'. That being said, her
thoughts do not necessarily reflect
those of myself.

A Real Boy

Would you want a wooden nose?

Tell a lie, and then it grows.

Fresh baked cookies, you take a sniff.

Rewarded with a stale & wooden whiff.

To see you use a painted eye,

then ditch that annoying cricket spy.

Listen with elongated donkey ears,

from smoking cigars and drinking beers.

Inside a whale you take a look.

Dance a jig as the wires are shook.

J.A.Scott

Smoking Is Bad For Your Health

R.a.n.t. of week 07/21/13

Did you know smoking can be hazardous to your health? I found out exactly why last week. As I was driving to drop my kids off at their mothers house, I suddenly noticed a woman laying on the ground with a wheel-chair tipped backwards. I rushed back to see what assistance I could offer when suddenly a man came out of another car not too far away and shouted at me not to move her. Puzzled, I looked down to the lady who was conscious but not hysterical. I almost began to wonder if this was some kind of a scam, but the man told me she was from the nursing home we were in front of, and they were already alerted to her condition. (The elephant in the room I want to discuss is why he was sitting in his car when I got there). He further explained he didn't want to risk moving her and accidentally doing more damage than good. However he relented to try and make her more comfortable and took a backpack from the tipped wheel chair and used it as a make-shift pillow for her. A box of cigarettes fell out and she asked him if he would light up a cigarette for her. He told her she would have to wait as the nurses from the facility were now on their way out, though they had to walk across the large parking lot to reach her. Before they did, a police officer showed up to find out what the commotion was and as he bend down to ascertain her situation, the lady (from out of nowhere) offered the officer a lighter and cigarette and asked him if he would light it for her. Keep in mind, she's still on the ground, laying on her side, resting her head on the 'pillow'. Of course the officer told her no, indicating they already called an ambulance for her. Then, for whatever reason, she explained she had an important appointment at St. Luke's Hospital at 7:00. The time currently was 7:10.

The nurses finally showed up and we received additional background information about the lady when one said, "You certainly are thick-headed, ain't you?. Didn't we tell you, you didn't have time to take a smoke? And now look what happened, flat on your back. We told you this would happen when you axed to go for a cigarette? The wheelchair can't make it over this hump (in the sidewalk). Now an ambulance is coming for you, and it's just as well because you missed your appointment." You could tell she was frustrated. Now I don't know this part of the story, but my observations tell me the lady on the ground was originally inside and wanted to have a smoke, but when told no, decided to go outside anyway. Trying to get out of view of the care facility, she went across the parking lot to scoot up the sidewalk a bit, when she suddenly flipped over backwards. And all this for a cigarette. Those things aren't addictive or anything are they? They certainly are dangerous.

Dragon Boat Racing - 07/13/13

Each Drag Boat raced to the beat of a different drummer.

Not knowing most of the teams, I just called this the blue team.

Each team member must row together if they want to be effective. Posing for the camera is optional.

Normally I'd call this the yellow team, but my friend Ray is one of the rowers. This is the Miller/Coors sponsored "Dragon Brew" team. No dragons on their shirts, but who needs a mascot as long as you've got the strength to win.

While the rest of the team is hard at work, Ray takes a refreshing break.

Notice his co-worker glowering at him.

When the real race begins, it's every team for themselves.

It's going to be close. Who's going to win?

It's my blog, so I can say what I want. Would you believe me if I told you Miller/Coors was number one?

Truthfully, they came in second place.

Ray enjoying his second place medal along with one of his co-workers.

I'll Just Help Myself

R.a.n.t. of week 07/14/13

Today is going to be a great day! Lots to see, lots to do. I'll really need to be on my toes. I love how Milwaukee has so many festivals and things to do. If it's not Summerfest, it's the State Fair, or one of the many ethnic festivals like German-Fest, or Irish-Fest, or Festa Italiana. Most people hate such large crowds, but I don't. I love it! Especially when beer is involved. People don't pay such close attention to their belongings when they are having fun, especially while drinking. That means it'll be easier for me to pick their pockets, check their cars for valuables or run simple scams on them. Who cares how they'll feel victimized, traumatized and humiliated when I rob them blind. At least I'll acquire new items to sell on craigslist. More money for me, less for them. Less money because they'll have to pay to replace the items I've stolen. Or they'll have to pay a higher premium on their car insurance, or maybe if I'm lucky, I'll find a few credit cards with which I can use to pay for gas for me and my buddies before they realize the cards have been stolen and cancel them. Granted, it's a lot of hard work to make sure I'm never caught and the stress and aggravation makes me like myself even less. But at least I'm not working an honest job, earning a living or doing something my family would respect. I wonder how long it'll ultimately be before I'm finally caught, or graduate to grand theft auto. When busted I'll probably spend most of my life in and out of jails. But that's the price you pay in my line of 'work'. Uh oh, gotta go. Just saw someone leave their truck unlocked. I saw a laptop bag in their earlier, hope it's still there. I've earned it! Well not really, ha-ha, but you know what I mean.

* Though this hasn't happened to me recently, my good friend Ray had his laptop bag stolen from his truck on Saturday while he was competing in the dragon boat races. Turned an awesome day into an awful day for him.

Brady Street Storefronts

Not much to say with this set. The photos really speak for themselves.

Essentially, a few of my favourite Brady Street storefronts.

Which are your favourites? Hope you enjoy the set.

J.A.Scott

Brady Street Signs

Not much to say with this set. The photos really speak for themselves.

Essentially, a few of my favourite Brady Street signs.

Hope you enjoy this set.

J.A.Scott

Becoming the Responsible One

R.a.n.t. of week 07/07/13

When did I become the responsible one? Not saying I'm not a responsible person, I am. In my own way. Responsibilities are paramount to an adult, but not everyone looks up to the same people. This past weekend was a very busy one for me. I had almost no time for myself. Just a few of the things I did: take my step-mother shopping, help a friend with his computer IT problems (have you tried turning it off and on?), volunteered some time to set up a pioneer school and then helped a friend move.

Let's concentrate on the move, because that's where I felt most in charge. First and foremost I did a lot of things outside of my comfort zone. For one, driving a moving van. I've never been big on driving larger vehicles but I felt I needed to in this instance. Right from the start I was the eldest helper, at least initially. So when it was time to get the moving van, I was the logical choice. I went with Jo to pick up the van and drove it to their place. A place in back was the ideal spot to load up, so all I had to do was back it up into the spot. Having a bad time with judging distances, especially from such a large vehicle, and only having the help of kids was fairly nerve-wrecking, but I did it.

So we started loading up the van. Because mostly it was younger ones helping and they were just placing stuff into the back of the van, someone had to step up and I've done this rodeo a few times, so again I was the logical choice. Most of the furniture had already been moved so essentially we just had to make sure everything was packing in tight. The last thing you want to happen when moving with a van is things flying around. The current time was 1:00pm and the van had to be back at 4:30 (I thought 4) so I wanted to get this done in one trip. I stacked as best as possible, but there were more odd sort of items than boxes so I had to be creative, yet smart. You don't want to place a box of books on a bundle of plastic wrapped dress clothes, you just don't. By the time the van was filled, all items in the house were gone.

Once again I was in charge of driving the van, fortunately there was space in front of the new place, though I had to do a bit of parallel parking with the moving van. Did I mention I'm not good with spaces? This time I took the "lead" unloading the van. Did I push things along too quickly? Well, I did stress a few times we had to get the van back at a certain time in hopes of inspiring others to 'move it'. But I don't think I was being brusk. But then again, that would be up to anyone else who was there.

I wanted to take the van back right away but food was prepared and others were ready to eat, so I backed down on that opinion of mine. Truth be told, I needed some water and a bite to eat also. It was nice to be able to associate for a little while, but the van still needed to get back so I took charge of that again, making sure I had a friend come along so I had a ride back to my car.

I know, not a very compelling story this week, not very funny, and more than likely I didn't seem like the person in charge or the most responsible one of the group to others. In all things, beauty...... errrrr responsibility is in the eye of the beholder.

Plus is it very responsible to crack yokes all the time?
Sorry, bit of a hang-over from last week.

P.S. If everyone thought this article was going to be about me crashing a U-Haul van. I guess the jokes on you. The van was returned safely.

Tick Tock

Watch the hand upon the wall. - Tick

Watch the clock set in the hall. - Tock

An hour glass - sands of a brick.

Sun on dial - do not block.

Quickly comes the time of nick.

When opportunity comes to knock.

Waiting ever patiently. - Tick

The boiling of a kettle pot. - Tock

J.A.Scott

Dreamy Kiss

I woke upon an awkward kiss,
to not relate I'd be remiss,
a snog I will not reminisce.

I watched my cherished saunter near,
then a humpback camel did appear,
kissing me, caused dream to disappear.

J.A.Scott

The Road Less Travelled

I'd like to travel global,
see the frigged Southern Pole.
Or maybe when I'm mobile,
find an abandoned trail to slowly stroll.

Just keep me from the city,
Or A metropolis by the Sea.
A road less travelled's pretty,
and the grandeur's always free.

J.A.Scott