Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 5/31/17

Bacon of the Month (for May '17).

Used in a sentence: "The new(ish) super-bacony blog concept for 2017 continues with the next entry in the series -- here's Bacon of the Month (for May '17)."


As a reminder, all this year, we'll be working through the "outrageous" bacon treats at the first link below (or to follow if you're seeing this on the Facebook).

The slot for May was dedicated to Bacon S'mores -- which, for me, who LOVES himself some s'mores any way possible, was the perfect combination!  And by "perfect combination" I mean that this is definitely something they serve every night in heaven.  *This* is my ambrosia (s'mores-brosia?).

Be sure to come back in late June to see what bacony goodness shows up next month!

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE FIRST 12 BACONS:
http://www.neatorama.com/2015/08/25/12-Outrageous-Bacon-Treats/

THE RECIPE WE USED FOR MAY:
http://dudefoods.com/smores-bacon/



2 0 8 4:M i s s i v e 16

My papers have arrived!

It's the last day of your month in 2017 so I have a small window of time to reach out to you with an update about my life here in 2084, which is the year to which I was transported through the Vitalnet app on my phone.  As I've explained in past communiques, your life is moving along month by month, but only days have passed here since my last message as Ilion (the name I took on to avoid confusion between the Troy that is still in 2017, the Troy that is newly here in 2084 [aka me, Ilion] and the Troy that aged into being here in 2084 [aka t1a7n72.lif]).

In order to leave the Florida Isles, which is all that remains after the rapidly rising sea tide took over the land mass once known as Florida proper that always had been surrounded by water, the InstransiGents that took me in to the refugee camp as instructed to by my SQ, IQ and EQ files that were uploaded to the Vitalnet prior to my traditional "death", procured them for me so that I may travel.

These papers are indeed PCB approved (hopefully you recall all the information I provided about the Population Control Board in my last few notes -- or if you don't recall, you have access to them through my social media accounts from your era), and that means I will be travelling by cocaine cargo barge from these lands now owned by the Chapo-Escobar cartel, as they do control all the remaining dry land in what was once known as the Caribbean and Latin America, including these Florida Isles.

I understand that I will be arriving in Old Orleans, a wild bit of town on the Bay of Mississippi, which has separated East and West America since the New Madrid Quake of 2023 -- brought on by unregulated excessive fracking in the heartland.  Overlaying a map from my time on to a map from this new time, it appears to be in the area where Tuscaloosa, Alabama would have once been.

My friends in the IntransiGents assure me that it is the easiest entry point into East America, and that my papers won't be as scrutinized there by the Covfefe Crew -- an organization of extreme nationalists who have accepted the outsourced task of immigration control in the new Americas.  However, the papers are still essential in order to avoid any attention being drawn to the fact that I am neither six-fingered (as the children birthed in the zoos by the PCB have been genetically engineered to be for greatest efficiency in texting) nor am I in possession of the notifications implant in the spot behind my right ear.

I have no more time, what with the end of month update to the Vitalnet that creates this opportunity almost complete, but I do hope to speak with you on the last day of the month next from the heart of Old Orleans.  Until then, I remain, as I always do, Ilion in 2084 as brought to the future by t1a7n72.lif., communicating with you through the use of Troy in 2017's social media accounts.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Random TNT for Tuesday 5/30/17


TNT ... Chicago 22

1  She envied Gabriella as she slept, what with her adorable tiny scrunched up face and her darling little clenched fists.  2  Her needs were basic ... and were, for the most part, met.  


3  Maria wondered if her daughter's baby brain had any thoughts or troubles at all.  4  Did she use the downtime to ponder why she came into the world ... or who the people were that fawned over her?  5  Did she fantasize about what she'd eat in a month or two when she'd be allowed solid foods?  6  Did she reflect on what she'd seen that day, processing the information and filing it away to be recalled as needed?

7  Or worse -- was baby sleepy time actually the only chance the tiny human had to escape her surroundings?  8  Could it be that she absorbed any of the adult anxiety that was around her all day long?  9  Did she see her mother crying and feel any sense of guilt about the pressures she added to her with her arrival?  10  Did she absorb any of the tension between her mother and her uncle when they discussed how difficult it was to pay the bills when the priorities changed to put her immediate safety, health and welfare above all else -- even if it meant inexplicably jeopardizing the long term?

11  She was most definitely too little to understand that when cash flow was a constant worry, the little bills manage to get paid at the expense of the big dollar items ... because there was never quite enough left over to cover something of that big amount.  12  Rent was the largest line item on her budget, and even though Zar did his best to contribute, in the first few months of this new year, every extra dollar had been going to "baby this" and "baby that".

13  Now she was two months late, the landlord had started using the e-word in the messages he was leaving on her phone.  14  She thought it strange that Mr. Kissinger hadn't tried to catch her in a face to face meeting -- unless she was somehow successfully evading him at every turn.  15  The stress of living in fear that the next knock would be him at the door with papers setting up a timeline that would end with her and hers on the street was starting to wear on her.

16  Complicating matters was the fact that the one year anniversary of her dirtiest little secret was just around the corner -- that time the previous April when she was in a similar financial bind.  17  That time she traded herself for forgiveness of a month's rent.  18  That decision from long ago also weighed heavy on her mind.

19  She envied little three month old Gabriella as she slept ... for she didn't have to make the hard decisions like her mother did.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Random Memorial for Monday 5/29/17

Gone but not forgotten:  another bootleg tape from Reba in the trash can ('cause that's the way this thing works -- I'm every so slowly discarding cassettes for which I also have the CD in the music collection).

This time I'll choose a song from side A ... and we'll save side B for the next slot a fortnight from now ... which means the selection will be from her 1990 album 'Rumor Has It'.  

As I frequently say, there are so many great songs from which to choose -- but I'm going to skip the ones that were released and became classics ('Fancy' or 'You Lie' anyone?) and go with something else instead.  I had narrowed it down to two choices a bit opposite in nature, so I'll provide them both.  If you're feeling sad, take a listen to the first track about sad goodbyes ('You Remember Me') -- and if you're mood is more optimistic in nature, then choose the second and go 'Climb That Mountain High' (bonus points to those of you who then go search for her later hit where she's even stronger and decides 'I'm Gonna Take That Mountain').  

Said another way:  it's reader's Reba choice tonight.

THE FUNNY WAY I SIT THERE WHEN SOMEONE SAYS GOODBYE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZj7gLDYuqk


SEE WHAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxhosWVAsC0

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 5/28/17

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

... just the fact that it's national burger day.

(Although, be careful, this "holiday" is May 28 each year ... but national CHEESEburger day is in mid-September [and don't yell at me -- I don't make the burger rules.]

As to how I'll celebrate, I'm going to finally update my ongoing Burger Quest series, where I'm trying to partake of each of the best burgers in the country (as of the 2013 zagat list [yes, I've been doing this for awhile]).  Stops #11 in Charlotte NC and #12 in Orlando FL actually happened back in October of 2016 ... and stop #13 in San Francisco (Berkeley) occurred in February of 2017.   (Plus consider that I'm actually posting this in June 2018 and back-dating it to May of 2017 and you get a sense of my life [I may fall behind, but I eventually get caught up]). 

By the way -- that's buttermilk fried bacon (yes you read that right) AND homemade bacon mayo ('cause bacon) on that pictured burger from Big Daddy's Burger Bar in Charlotte ...

NOT THAT I NEED ANOTHER LIST OR ANYTHING:
https://www.refinery29.com/2017/05/156073/national-burger-day-cheeseburger-orders-pictures

THIS IS THE LIST I'M WORKING ON (AND NOW JUST OVER HALFWAY THROUGH):
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2013/02/18/get-your-buns-to-zagats-top-25-burger-joints/1928829/

THIS IS THE FACEBOOK RECORD OF IT ALL (BUT YOU HAVE TO BE MY FRIEND):
https://www.facebook.com/troy.neidermyer/media_set?set=a.4477027784149.1073741830.1843633569&type=3

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Random Soapbox for Saturday 5/27/17

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

... how happy was I that Margaret Colin joined VEEP in season 6?

The answer:  very very very happy. 

I came to love her as John Goodman's wife in 'Now and Again' ... (and by John Goodman, I mean Eric Close, as fans of *that* show will understand) ... but I'll take her anywhere that I can get to see her present her usual classic classy brassy confidence on the screen, small or large.  She holds a deserved spot in the pantheon of go-to-strong-women ... and she will instantly improve a show when she walks on set and guarantee a smile of mine when it airs.

I can only hope that the seventh and final season (delayed a bit as Julia Louis-Dreyfus deals with her cancer diagnosis [and well wishes are sent to *her* for a speedy recovery]) somehow finds a way to keep her in the mix on one of the funniest comedies of the modern era (even if the current administration is giving its fictional one a run for the absurdity money). 

More Margaret please!

WHAT SHE LOVES:
https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2017/06/23/realestate/what-i-love-margaret-colin/s/25WHATILOVE-MARGARETCOLLI-slide-PZMI.html

THE SHOW WHERE I "MET" MARGARET:
https://variety.com/2000/tv/news/breakout-faces-from-the-99-00-season-margaret-colin-1117782692/

NOTE TO SELF ... ADD TO WISH LIST PLEASE:
https://www.amazon.com/Now-Again-DVD-Eric-Close/dp/B00J2T1856

Friday, May 26, 2017

Random Flashback for Friday 5/26/17

Tonight's theme for the 37th batch of photos of my father's that I inherited when he passed is "puppy polaroids through the seasons" (because there were SO many pics of critters [mostly puppies] in that collection that I've been alternating every other one of these types of posts to get through them all).  As I said the last time this little white ball of fur was featured, I'm all but certain that each one is of Fluffy, the protective dog I associated with visits to my grandparents in my youth.  But that being said, it doesn't always look like exactly the same dog in each picture.

#181:  Fluffy (?) in spring/summer on an end-table in my grandparents' driveway in front of the flower bed
#182:  Fluffy (?) next to a big pumpkin on my grandparents' enclosed front porch
#183:  blurry fuzzy puppy Fluffy (?) in front of a christmas tree
#184:  older Fluffy (?) in front of a different brighter christmas tree with my dad's writing of the word "puppy" on it
#185:  groomed Fluffy (?) on hood of a car in snowy winter with Dec 1979 written on back