Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: If you are easily offended by sheer honesty, or you think me having my own opinions is "being negative", then this is not the place for you, and I suggest you leave and head elsewhere. I call a spade a spade, and I don't sugarcoat anything.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Interview With Dylan Howard

More INXS news!! Garry did an interview with a man named Dylan Howard in LA. He spoke a little more in detail about the break-up with JD and the new album on the way. Seems he says the door is always open to JD, and vice-versa. But the band found JD's comments on TV offensive. Well. At least he didn't say they are cutting JD out forever. Sorry as I am they didn't like what JD said.

Seems a lot of other bands were influenced by INXS. Well, who in their right mind wouldn't be? Andrew is a damn good songwriter!! Even hard rockers like Marty Casey have confessed to being inspired by INXS. I cannot write songs and I cannot sing, but my inspiration from INXS comes out in my stories. Because they write about what they believe in, and so do I. Well, I will always love these guys (gotta keep reminding them!! LOL!) Garry said Brandon Flowers is a beautiful man, and very shy. Who'd have guessed? But he too was inspired by INXS for his band. Face it, INXS are damn GOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!

Anyway, here is the article:

They are one of the music industry’s great survivors. But INXS are also dignified. When reality TV winner J.D. Fortune ignited a scandal, with sensational claims he’d been sacked - forcing him to live in a car - the band remained silent. Now, for the first time, a band member responds. Bassist Garry Gary Beers spoke to Dylan Howard, in Los Angeles.

DH: There was talk J.D. Fortune’s departure may well have been the final straw for INXS. Was it ever a possibility?

GB: No. Never. We were always going to go on. I wish JD all the best. He is a good guy and we did really well, for a while. I think he just opened his mouth too far. He got caught out. But regardless, I – and the band – wish him well. He is a great front man and good luck to him.

DH: How did you learn about J.D.’s comments?

GB: It popped up in my inbox on a Google alert and I thought, ‘Oh, here we go!’ Look, J.D. is a nice bloke, but he is one of those people who just likes to talk. But it was unnecessary, because we parted on pretty good terms. He says he misquoted himself, which is an interesting way of explaining yourself!

DH: Did the band find the comments offensive?

GB: Well, we weren’t too pleased with it! When someone says they were fired, which wasn’t the case at all, it is disappointing. We tried to contact him. We even had him on the phone, but he claimed he was too busy to talk to us. It was unfortunate that the media jumped all over J.D.’s comments, but the bottom line was that it was inappropriate.

DH: He admitted he took cocaine while with the band. What was your reaction to that?

GB: It was just unnecessary for J.D. to make comment about that. People don’t want to know about that. But J.D. is a very honest person in what he says. He wears his heart on his sleeve – and that can be a good thing. But sometimes it can be a bad thing.

DH: Have you spoken to him since?

GB: No.

DH: Would the band ever work with JD again?

GB: The door is always open. He is a great singer and a front man. We had two very successful years touring with him and made a great record. He is doing his own thing, a solo album, and we’re doing our own thing. Let’s see what happens down the track.

DH: What’s on the horizon for the band now?

GB: We are re-recording some of our hits. Some of the band member’s more popular songs. The idea, from our perspective, is to get all top-notch singers who we have a musical connection to through the mutual admiration society. I guess we have influenced a lot of bands and they are showing their appreciation for what we do.

DH: What’s on the play list?

GB: ‘The Stairs’, but I don’t want to get into that too much!

DH: Come on – give us something!

GB: Well, we have re-recorded ‘Beautiful Girl’ and we got Brandon Flowers from The Killers to sing the vocal. He is a big fan. The Killers were touring Australia and he came into the studio to work with us. We all then went to his show that night.

DH: What was it like to work with Brandon?

GB: To get Brandon was a big thing. He was very shy, to be honest.

DH: Shy?

GB: Well, The Killers have only made two albums and he has always sung with his band. But he is such a beautiful guy. A sweetheart. Really quiet. Which is bizarre when you see him live. After working with him, I do see the INXS influence on their music. I love the band.

DH: How does the track sound?

GB: It sounds incredible. All I have is a rough version with drums, bass, one guitar, some rough keyboard and Brandon singing. It sounds amazing. Hopefully it will be released before the end of this year.

DH: So, what about ‘The Stairs’ – who will sing vocals on that?

GB: Gary from Snow Patrol – we hope. They are in the UK right now, but we are hoping to secure that in the next few days.

DH: What do you think Michael Hutchence’s reaction would be?

GB: He’d love it. He’d love it. This is exactly the kind of project that he would love. Michael would always come to us and say, ‘Have you heard this band’, or, ‘Have you heard this singer?’ He was the one who always tried to bring new influences and an inspiration to the band, so I think he would be in awe of this project. It is a great thing. “If anyone of us left a mortal coil, like Michael did, I would certainly want the band to go on. I love the guys and we still make great music together.

DH: Will you eventually look for a new front man?

GB: Don’t know. We are really enjoying working with individual singers who are like-minded and whom we admire and have influenced. It is really artistic. Inspiring. It is fun to be working with these people, as opposed ot churning out another record and going on tour. We have done that. Now we are doing some artistic projects.

DH: Is another tour on the cards?

GB: We don’t know. We’ll just see how it goes. We will do this project and see. We are just having a great time.

DH: You live in Los Angeles now, with your new wife Jourdan. How do you manage living in Los Angeles, while still with the band?

GB: I have been living here for three years now, but I just get on a plane when the band calls. People here think it takes forever to return to Australia, but for me, it is just dinner, a few drinks, sleep and breakfast – and I’m there. I am concentrating on my song writing here in LA. I have a backlog of songs as big as a cricket field. When you work with Andrew Farris, one of the best songwriters in music history, it is hard to get a guernsey. So I have a backlog of songs that never made it onto an INXS record. I just got a song on Scott Weiland’s (Stone Temple Pilots) new solo album – so that’s a pretty good start.

DH: Do you realise you are a member of one the world’s great surviving musical acts?

GB: We try! We love what we do. We are really good friends. It is like family. We have been together as a band for over 30 years and as friends, we have been together all our lives.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A Blessing

This may sound terrible to some viewers, but you've got to know the circumstances before making a judgement. My ma's best friend Nancy is losing her husband, Paeng. I heard the news today. He's got up to 10 days more to live and then he's gone. I said Good!! I know that sounds awful, but it really is a good thing. Paeng and Nancy were married, but they were not really husband and wife. He didn't love her!! He just loved her money. Nancy however never saw that. I remember when me, Nancy and Paeng used to all work in the same place, and Nancy told me that she wanted to marry Paeng after only knowing him for 3 weeks!! I told her, "After knowing a man for only 3 weeks, I'm not even holding his hand yet!!" Then I met Paeng, and I did not like him at all!! My instincts kicked in, and said he's not a good person.

Well, as usual, my instincts were right! I warned Nancy not to marry him, I didn't think he was right for her. But a month after telling me she just met him 3 weeks ago, Nancy married him. Despite my begging and pleading with her not to. Right away I began to hear some stories from Nancy about what Paeng did to her. He would call her names in relation to her size (she's kinda chunky, but Paeng made out like she was 500 pounds or so). He also made her pay for everything, never once treated her to nothing. Then finally Nancy told me that Paeng revealed to her that he once lost $20,000 gambling in one year. Nancy laughed about that, but I didn't. It is not a good thing when someone tells you they lost $20,000 gambling!!! That should have raised a red flag to Nancy, but Nancy is like a newborn baby. She has no instincts, and no sense of danger. And she always gets taken because of it! Without fail! I was that way before I finally said a couple years ago that I was never going to ignore my instincts again, I don't care what!! I won't even spend $10 gambling! LOL! I have my limits and I know them, and I don't go too far. Keep that in mind when I go to the casino tomorrow. hehe!

Well, Paeng was diagnosed with liver, bone and spinal cancer, and now has only 10 days to live. I say good riddance. He was useless anyway, never did nothing for Nancy. The only time he did any favors for her was when she paid him, and he would make her pay him! Nancy had to work hard for that money too. Paeng never did anything, he didn't work, he just sat around the house, he'd never help Nancy, again unless she paid him. He even made her give him gas money just to go to the corner market to pick up a carton of milk. You can wager that he did not buy gas every day when Nancy would give him money. He'd get gas once and then the money he'd get the rest of the week from her, he'd send to his relatives. Particularly his sis in law, who also refuses to work and raise her own money. Meantime, Nancy has nothing for herself.

Well, Nancy told Paeng's sis in law that he's dying, and she wanted Nancy to pay for a $3000 urn to have his cremated remains put into. Ma told Nancy to say NO!! She told her "For once in your life, stand firm!!" I agree! It's so simple. But Nancy is afraid I guess of standing up for what she believes in. Not good, because it has allowed other people to walk all over her over the years. She thinks she cannot live without a man, but she can. She does not need the kind of men she seems to always be attracted to, like Paeng. I knew he wasn't right for her, and I always told her so. But she didn't listen.

What I am afraid of now is that Nancy is going to turn around, now that ma's not there, and pay for the $3000 urn that Paeng's sis in law wants. Ma told Nancy to tell her if she wants the $3000 urn, then she can pay for it herself, and that should shut her up! I'm sitting here hoping that Nancy does it. Then there is another problem, there's another man who is Paeng's friend, he's homeless, doesn't work, and he said to Nancy he will take care of her after Paeng is dead. But even Paeng told Nancy not to trust him. I said he must be really bad if even Paeng doesn't trust him. Ma was hoping Nancy would shoo that one away, and tell him that she doesn't need him to look after her. I hope so too, because he's just going to take advantage of her if she does let him in. Ma said that if Nancy does take him in, then she will just wash her hands of Nancy. I personally would hate to see that happen. But at the same time, I'd hate to see Nancy throw her life away. She's going to go to school to become a CNA, and she has a promising future in that. She's good with people, sweet, friendly and she's got a strong back! So, I hope she does good in that. But first, she needs to get rid of Paeng and all his friends and relatives, and then she will go far. I cannot wait to see how well it works out for her!

So really, Paeng's death is a blessing in disguise. If everything goes down the path they're supposed to, Nancy will do good for the rest of her life.

New Book in the Works

It's been a few days since I last posted. I've been so busy!! I am re-working a book I actually made a long time ago. It's all about the dog breeds of the world. There is no special reason I am doing this book. I say it's just a personal triumph for me. I first made this book back in 2000, and it turned out good!! But I never published the book or even had it bound. This time, I want to do that. At least have it bound.

The world of dogs is so fascinating!! I've found pics of almost every breed there is and there are over 400 varieties. I'm not getting pics off breeder sites, because I know how funny they are about their dogs, so I don't even ask. Nevermind that this kind of a project is another way of showing off their "pieces of art", and gaining them more publicity. Having been in breeder forums before I happen to know that they get all fussy and shit their pants when you use their pics. But that's OK. I found a lot of great pics even without the help of breeder sites. Some of them I've had since the first time I printed this book. I don't think I will be releasing this book to the public. Like I said before, it's a personal project.

I don't know how a person can look at the many breeds of dogs there are out there and not be fascinated. If there is one thing I've always found to be a little bit frustrating about being an INXS fan it's that every other INXS fan is a cat person. Cats aren't nearly as fascinating as dogs in that aspect. There are more than 400 dog breeds in the world, and they come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Cat breeds don't have those options. The most unique looking cats I've ever seen are the persians and exotics. And the hairless. Of course I don't hate cats, my favorites are the siamese. But first of all, I don't like cats in my house! The only time I ever voluntarily considered getting a cat was when we had rat problems, and even then, I gave it a LOT of thought before going out and getting one. And by the time I made up my mind to get one, all the rats were gone, and so I didn't need to get one then. LOL!! So, I never got a cat. Besides, there are breeds of dogs that can kill rats as good as any cat can! Look at rat terriers, and jack russell terriers. So I would get one of those before I would even think about getting a cat. At least I bond better with dogs. They make it easy to bond with them!!

But I just don't see how a person can look at the many varieties of dogs out there and not be fascinated. Unless they just don't like variety, and I know some people don't. But working on this book, I personally cannot help but become fascinated with the world of dogs all over again! Most dog breeds come from Europe, and I've gotta tell you, there is a breed for every town, city, and village in all of Europe!!! It's amazing! And new ones are always popping up. Though the last official breeds were created in the 70's. I will not be covering such things as "labradoodles" or any of the so-called "designer mutts" in this book! Because they are not official breeds. I'm only covering breeds recognized by reputable registries such as AKC, FCI, UKC, CKC (Canadian), and TKC. Continental KC does not count! They'll register a gym sock! Though I hear AKC has programs now for mixed breeds, but it's mostly agility stuff. I still don't see the point in stuff like that, because if I want a dog, I want a pet. I don't care about competitions and junk like that.

This book has kept me pretty much awake all day and all night for the past 3 nights. I'm exhausted but it's a labor of love. I want to do this project. I don't have my supervisor's OK or anything, I'm just doing this for myself.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Good Weekend

Well, it's been quite a week. I finally put the last sample book in place on the site. So now every book on the site has an available sample preview chapter. Well, all except the one about my experiences as an INXS fan. I just don't really know how to fix up a sample chapter of that one, it's not in comic book format like the others. I also have not yet figured out how to create a sample of the comics collection. So, I guess I should say MOST every story has a sample there. The comics collection is something I have to discuss with my super. May take a while.

My ma got fired from her job at the Ramada here in OS. Just as well though, they did not treat her right. The supervisor kept on complaining (most of the time in a round-about way) that she had to sit down on the job. Ma said that she actually saw that building up ever since she had to be out of work because of the urinary tract infection she had. But she could not help that! That happened all of a sudden. That was a fiasco from the get-go! Ma had let that go too long because she could not afford to have a hospital visit. But I made her go anyway, I practically had to pick her up and throw her in the car! She was in pain, you could see it in her face. I wanted to take her the night before, but she said she was too tired. But she had a bad night that night, and never got to sleep. So, she should have went anyway that night. But as for the Ramada, ma is better off without them. She told me that another worker told her that the gossip that goes on there behind the scenes is bad!! I was thinking "It's like working for the delusional fans forum!" So yeah, ma's better off without them.

I think I found Tim's Facebook page! LOL! I actually sent a friend request thinking it was another Timmy fan, not Tim himself. That is until I looked and saw who his friends are and then I was like "oh my GOD!!" LOL! So why doesn't he have a MySpace? LOL! Well, I'm thinking he can say no if he wants to. He seems like the type to me that only accepts family and very close friends on those kinds of networks and he and I barely know each other, aside from pics and a few meetings. How embarrassing!!!! Well, heck! I'm still loyal to Timmy. His name just popped up on my Facebook home page and it said "Add as friend", and I thought it was another Timmy fan (Hutch fans use Michael's name all the time) so I clicked "Add as friend". LOL! Well, I even found out the guy I met last year, Lowell, has a Facebook. But I don't know how much he uses it. I sent him a request, and I have not heard anything back from him. Probably won't. Tim probably won't accept me either. But that's OK. I don't know how often he gets on Facebook either.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

I Loved It!

Ya know, I actually loved it that INXS did the Rockstar: INXS series. People have been downing on them just because they did that and that was how JD Fortune was recruited to their band. People mock it and make fun of it, and I'm like, I really don't give a shit! I loved it that they did the Rockstar series!! It was the best summer of my life! Without it, I would have just sat around and complained back then about how fricken hot it was!!! LOL!! I never even noticed the heat. Well, Tim makes me feel hot and spicy anyway, so how would I have been able to tell the difference between a weather-front or an act of Timmy? LOL!

Now, I look back on my Rockstar series and sometimes I feel sad that it is all over and there won't be any more summers like that. Make fun if you will, but I enjoyed that series!!! I'm also just so sad that it ended with JD the way it did after all they went through. And as hard as JD worked for that to try and impress them. But I think most of that is their manager's doing, not their's. I don't blame the men of INXS. I like Chris Murphy, but really, he needs to get a grip with JD. JD was a good singer and great for their band.

I had no clue if Brandon Flowers would be actually joining the band INXS or not, I was on the fence about it, trying to see something in this new album they are coming out with. Seems more people now like the Killers and not INXS. But not me! Flowers is still too young for me. Sorry, that's all I see. Nothing else. I can have friends that much younger, and I don't mind it. One of them, Katrina, is my best friend, and she's much younger than Brandon Flowers!!! But to see them as rock icons, and look up to them as such, no. It ain't a-gonna happen! Not with me. The sad thing is there's never going to be another INXS. Brandon Flowers is downright fugly compared to Tim (even compared to JD!) He looks to emo for me. Plus, I don't like too much guyliner on the eyes. A little is OK, but too much makes a guy look weird!!!!

Well, that's just me. I'll never get into these bands run by a bunch of young sprigs. Too many young people today have gone emo. Not my style!!! At least with the men of INXS, most of them are very handsome! I cannot explain why it is INXS keeps coming out with remakes of their back catalogue, as I am not INXS and I cannot speak for them. But hey, if that's what they want to do I am all for it! I love their back catalogue anyway. I just wonder if they are going to keep the rights to Pretty Vegas. Those were JD's lyrics after all. But if INXS want to do a tribute album in honor of Michael, I say go for it gorgeous!!!!! I'll still be there in line to purchase a copy! I love these guys, nothing will change that. As long as they don't kick me out of the concerts (which they'd have no reason to, as I'd never hurt anybody or anything) I will always follow and look up to these guys. Of course understand if Tim goes with another group, I'll have to change to going to that groups' concerts. LOL! What can I say? I'm truly a Timmy fan!! He is the main reason I am still clinging to INXS fanhood now.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Sample Chapters Are Up!!

Samples of our stories are now up on our site. Go to http://www.unclemartinandthegang.com/ to download sample copies of each story. We've been working on this for the past couple of weeks, and now that we've got one sample for almost every story on the site, we put them up today. Of course we're not finished. We've still got quite a few to go before we are done. But most of the stories now have sample clips.

Keep in mind now, these are not the full versions of these stories! And in many cases, we took a little bit from one part of a scene, and connected it with another part of another scene, so that it leaves a little suspense with the readers thinking "Hmm, I wonder what happened in between here?" hehe! Had to do that!! These are freebies, and you do not have to be a member to download them. But they are only a little bit of an indicator of what the story is like. And you cannot post a comment on the site, telling us what you think of the story. For that, you would have to purchase the full-version of a story.

Don't worry about us tearing you down if you post a comment that you don't like what you read in a story! We don't do that. We respect everyone's opinions. The only thing you are not allowed to do when commenting on a story is threaten anyone with harm of any kind. That is the only thing my supervisor frowns on. I won't tear any commenters down on here because my supervisor, Trisha, she monitors my writings even on here for when I talk about the site, and if I tear anyone who is a member of our website, believe me Trisha will burn my butt!!! I'll be fired for sure!! That's one of the reasons I've really toned down here. I just recently found out Trisha has been looking in!! I was like "Oh SHIT!!!!" I don't care about anyone else, but if Trisha says she doesn't like what she sees, I know I'm in deep shiot!!!

I spoke to my super on the phone last night and we were kinda yakking and funnin', I happened to mention to her and ask her if I should put "Inspired by INXS" on the inside of some of my covers. LOL! I was kidding, of course, but so many of my stories are inspired by INXS, either directly or indirectly.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the samples.

WARNING: A lot of these stories were made with the young and the young-at-heart in mind. So if you are one of those "ultra-serious", all-grown-up, play-it-by-the-book-without-bending types of people, these stories will not appeal to you!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

New Story!

I have another story posted on the UMG Productions site. It's Gracie's Odyssey. I highly recommend it, it's one of our masterpieces!! There's only one problem, it's such a large file, I could not get it to upload onto the site. I tried several times, and it just wouldn't upload. So, I had no choice but to make it available only as a paperback. You can order it just like any other book on the site, and once the order is placed, it will be sent through lulu.com to the address on your account. Gracie's Odyssey is one of the stories I have that is INXS inspired. Me and Cairo worked on it back in 1997, right after Michael passed. It's kinda indirectly inspired by INXS. Cairo knew how much I loved INXS, and how devastated I was after Michael died. Well, in a symbollic way, he is in this story. It's complicated to get into, but it turns out to be a cool story!

We are still discussing a nation-wide tour for the site. It may be some time next year. On my end, it's going to be fun! All I need are body guards in place now, just in case. I'm working with my supervisor on some sample versions of each story. Each one will be about 8 to 10 pages long, and gives a little bit of a look of what each story will be about. Those will be freebies, but they won't be the whole stories, only a small part, more likely the beginning before the plot comes into play. I don't want to give away too much of the stories. I'm thinking 10 pages is too much, but they could be less. For shorter stories, we'd have to go for less than that.

I still need ISBNs man!!! But that comes a little bit later on. :) I will get them before the tour for sure.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

New INXS Frontman??

Apparently Brandon Flowers was chosen to be the new lead singer for INXS. I didn't even know who the heck the dude was, so I looked him up. The first thing that jumped out at me was he is a young sprig!! Born in 1981. I was like "My GOD!!" He was in diapers when INXS was popular! If there is one thing I won't do, it's look up to someone that young. But I still support my favorite men, and if this is who they want, it's their choice. But why someone so young? Maybe to appeal to today's young people. Who really knows? I'd feel better though if it was someone older. I mean, these are men in their 40s and 50s. They should find a singer that fits more into their age group. But then again, I still want to support my favorite men. I'm just going to have a hard time accepting this very young man as a part of their band. But then, I don't have to look at him anyway. I go to the concerts to see Tim, Jon, Andrew and Garry. No one else.

Anyway, here is the somewhat vague article, as posted to me in a bulletin from one of my MySpace buds:

'A new INXS frontman''

Aussie '80s supergroup INXS has a new frontman again and this time it's The Killers' Brandon Flowers. Brandon has teamed up with the lads from INXS to record an album dedicated to the band's original lead singer, the late Michael Hutchence who died in 1997.

"Michael would have loved it," says INXS bass guitarist Garry Beers. "He was the one who always tried to bring new influences to the band, so I think he would be in awe of this project.

"Flowers recently recorded the INXS hit 'Beautiful Girl' secretly while on tour in Australia. Other former INXS singers include JD Fortune, who was sacked after being recruited through a US TV reality show, Terence Trent D'Arby, Suze DeMarchi, Jon Stevens and Jimmy Barnes.'

I must have missed the time they had Suze DeMarchi as their lead singer. I don't even know who the heck that is. INXS have had so many lead singers since Michael died. I love these guys and I don't mean to sound hurtful, but when are they going to finally settle on a lead singer? I accepted JD Fortune and I learned to like him a lot. Just as I was beginning to love him, he is no longer with him. But I will not look up to this Brandon Flowers! He is too young for me. I have a severe block against idolizing celebs so much younger than I am. There is a long story attached to that, and you would have to have known me back in the early 90s to understand why I got this way. But thinking of Brandon Flowers as a member of INXS and accepting him directly as such is something I won't do. I love INXS, I love my favorite men, I can like Brandon Flowers, but I'll never love him like I do INXS, and I'll never look up to him like I do INXS. Sorry. Just won't happen. In my eyes, he's not that great-looking either. All I see is a man who looks like a boy. But INXS has had ugly people fronting them before, look at Jon Stevens. He looked like Barney Rubble with long hair. They can't find someone in their own generation who is good-looking and can sing? C'mon guys!! Look harder!!

That all being said, I hope they do intend to continue making more albums. I've been such a huge fan of INXS for so long, I don't know what I'd do without them. Without the feel of excitement I get when it is mentioned they will be releasing a new album, or they are going on a world tour. INXS has taken me to so many exotic places. I would NEVER have had the courage to drive all the way to Michigan if they hadn't done a gig there. Maybe next time, they will take me to NYC or some place like that. Shoot! Even Eva couldn't get me to go there! LOL! And I am still waiting for Tim to release his home video, Fish In Space!!! When will that happen? He said to me he may release it on the site, but that seems not possible now that the site is down and no one knows when it'll be back up.

I remember on the Pluba chat room, someone who called herself ShihTzuLady said she hated INXS!! She heard like one song of their's and judged their whole musical career on that one song, Need U Tonight. She told me she likes 80s "hair bands", and I thought "Has she even seen an INXS video??" I mean, really! No one I knew of could shake their hair like Michael did! But I said nothing to her because well, it's her own opinion, and I'm not out to change anyone's opinions! But it more sounded like a typical show breeder giving an opinion about someone or something they know nothing, or very little, about. One of the main reasons I despise show breeders!!

INXS are still getting a lot of bad press, but I just wonder how much of what is being said is really them, or their manager speaking for them. I've just gotten to where I say I don't care what anyone says. I still love my favorite guys, and whatever they do, I will still be there to cheer them on. Tim is the only one I care a great deal about anyway. As long as he is there, INXS is always INXS to me.

Anyway, if you want to know more about Brandon Flowers, I found his page on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Flowers

Friday, May 15, 2009

http://www.umgproductions.com/2013/06/timmyfans-pillow-talk-random-blasts.html


Well, in this video I discuss what came to my mind. The night before I had been looking in on some chihuahua breeder sites, and that was the thing stuck in my mind. There are still some breeders I respect and like. But one person who came to mind when I recorded this was one breeder that was nothing but a big pain in the butt. For some reason, she was instantly obsessed with me. Maybe it was the "lone duck" appeal JD spoke of on Rockstar: INXS. But she was the reason I have very little respect for show breeders. She was the first reason anyway.

People expect everyone to treat show breeders like they are some kind of great deities or something! I won't! Where I am concerned, you have to give respect to get it. That is something I don't just give someone. There is a long story to that, but anyway, that's the way I've always been. I want to make one thing clear, I think of everyone as just people, because that is what they were before they were whatever they are now. The show breeders I like are people who treat everyone (including all newbies) as an equal. I don't like the overbearing ones, or the ones who think they are better than anyone else. And I don't believe a newbie should have to deal with show breeders who taunt, tease or snicker at other people behind their backs (or in PMs if they happen to be on the internet). Those are the show breeders I have zero respect for. I won't even pretend to respect them! And they are more numerous than you'd think. I used to see them all the time in the Pluba forum. They know who they are, I don't have to mention names. I also believe in karma. I've seen it happen all the time.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

I Knew Danny Would Win!

There was no reason Danny shouldn't have won this season's Hell's Kitchen, he was good, one of the better cooks. Toward the middle of the series, I started thinking that the 2 finalists would be Ben and Andrea, then I saw the improvment in Danny's performance. I knew then that he was going to be this year's winner. After he won, he was wishing his mom could be there to cheer him on. I say his mom is now in Heaven looking down on him and smiling. I believe our loved ones can really see us from above, even though we think they are totally gone. I still believe my grandma can look down and see my progress and is smiling on me.

It was interesting that Chef Ramsay brought back some of the old contestants, I was shocked to see Lacey there!! I was like, why did he bring her back? To sabotage the chef who gets her? I was thinking the whole time she was going to drop the pans and retreat to her bed, like she always does! Surprisingly, VERY surprisingly, she didn't. But I think she came awfully close to doing just that! She hadn't changed at all, she's still a whiny-ass little bitch. She kept saying she's not a bitch, that she is a nice person. I kept saying "Well, if that's true, PROVE the others wrong!!" But she did stick to her post. I'm glad. But Danny won! I knew he would.

Well, Danny's win was a bittersweet moment. The sad thing now is I no longer have Hell's Kitchen to look foreward to on Thursday nights. Without it, there is now only TruTV goodies on. But heck, they're funny! They consist of Speeders, and Smoking Gun. Now, I cannot wait until next year, when Hell's Kitchen goes at it again. This is actually the second time I knew who was going to win Hell's Kitchen before they won. I knew who was going to win last season too. Roc was a darn good cook, and like me, paid attention to details. I pay much more attention to details now than I did a couple of years ago. But I think I am wearing down. Time to break in the Ginkoba again!! LOL! Hey man! That stuff really works!!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

New Stories Posted

I have some new stories posted, I finally got the cover designs today. Cathy kinda works on them in bits and pieces. She's still hard at work on some more, so I should be putting more up soon. Anyway, here are the stories posted just today:

Vacation Time! (With The Gang)

Jasper lends the gang his yacht for the weekend, and Mr. Blackwood becomes the weekend captain. They head off thinking they are going to have some fun sailing on the ocean. But because of Captain Blackwood's lack of skills, and the fact that Tim and Todd cannot stop fighting, everything turns to chaos! Then the final straw that ends their weekend abruptly, when the ship comes across a sea monster! Find out what happens between the ship vs. the sea monster.

The Wedding

This story is one that I based on my own relationship in 1997. Candi is set to marry her long-time boyfriend Leopold. They meet at a cafe in the beginning, happy that their marriage is to take place the next day. All goes well until Leopold drops a bomb, and informs Candi that he is still seeing his old girlfriend, Stacy. Devastated, Candi runs away, and angrily confronts Stacy. Find out if their marriage is still on and what happens between them.

At The Hospital

This is the story of Caroline, a silly lemur, who Bandit fears has been getting more than her share of colds and sniffles, so she has to have her tonsils taken out. But Caroline values her tonsils and does not want to have them removed. This leads to turmoil at the hospital, when Caroline tries anything she can to get away. This story has a surprise ending. Check it out!!

Click any of the titles to view their pages, and purchase if you want.

In other news, I was reading an article that Jon Stevens said that INXS was boring. I don't give a shit what Jon Stevens said!! I hate that guy!! I never liked him. He's not even as good-looking as he thought he was. Even Kirk was better looking than Jon Stevens was. Shoot, even I'm better looking than Jon Stevens!! LOL!! Jon Stevens did succeed in breaking the monotony of the band, being the ugliest person that was ever in the band. If he is saying this shit about my favorite men, he deserves to be kicked out of the band! And he deserves all the bad-mouthing he gets for saying this shit! I'll still stand by my favorite men, nothing can break me away. I notice INXS is getting a lot of bad press. I hope they hang in there, it's all bound to end soon and they can get on with their new album. I hope!! Lots of people miss them, not just me. With my luck though they probably will not come back to this part of the country again, and I'll have to go to some place like NY or something like that. And I hate NY!!!!! LOL!

Well, keep praying, and fingers crossed that they do make it here. It'd be awesome if they came and performed here in this town. Then I wouldn't even need a hotel room! Just stay here. hehe! And invite them to park their motorhomes in my cul-de-sac for the night. hehe!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Groucho's Day

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Well, it is Groucho's Day. A day I set aside to celebrate the life of my beautiful Groucho. I still miss her so much!! I think next year, I am going to do something a little bit different. I always use the song "Wish You Were Here" sung by Marty Casey. I think next year I'll use INXS's own "By My Side", which basically means the same thing. It's a beautiful song, and also describes my feelings about Groucho, because she was always by my side when I needed her the most. That is what I miss about her. Vegas is a little more independant. He's by my side when he wants to be. LOL!


I remember a lot of things happened after my Groucho passed. One good thing that happened is that it encouraged me to begin a makeshift "Tim Farriss appreciation society". What I call my Timmy-Love Space. There is a reason for that too. After I lost my Groucho, as is so typical when I am feeling bad, I watched my INXS videos and played a lot of their music, and once again, it was Tim who made me feel good again. That's why I love that man so much!! I know Tim could not have any knowledge of how good he made me feel. But the important thing is I did. He put a smile on my face when I needed it most. Usually, that was Groucho's job. But for a while after she passed, to think of her was a sore spot for me. It was a deep void that only Timmy could fill at that time. Since I didn't have my Grouch, the one person who could make me laugh and smile again was Tim Farriss. And I knew it. That is why I am grateful for all my INXS videos I have. And grateful that Tim is still Tim and o-so funny and cute!


I'm not saying Tim was my ultimate replacement for Groucho. I mean, no one could replace Groucho. No one will ever take her place in my heart and soul. Just won't happen.


You know there aren't many breeders anymore. I was thumbing through the internet and I found some old sites I used to look into regularly, usually just for the Hell of it. Some of the more knowledgable sites devoted to chihuahuas are Tanya's Toys and Kandee's Chihuahuas. I found something interesting on Tanya's site, she says the merle chihuahuas are in fact not accepted by the CCA, but that they just decided not to alter the standard not to include them. Well, I hate to argue with her but there are merles now winning in the ring. I would never breed for merles, as I think something like that is better left to those who know the ins and outs better, but I have seen some nice merles out there. Some of the nicest-looking merle chihuahuas I've ever seen were bred by Sunset Kennels. I recently saw their ad in Dogs USA. When I read through it, I saw where she wrote "Looking for a Taco Bell lookalike? You won't find it here!" I thought "She ripped off my line!!" LOL! That line has been on my site since the beginning (2002). But you know what? I don't even care. First of all, I'm not breeding anymore so that line doesn't matter on my site anymore. Second, at least that breeder is doing good by the breed. She has some nice dogs. Even merles, like I said before. I'd rather someone who is doing good by the breed steal my words than someone who would not do good by the breed and just use those words to make false promises to their clients.


I know I bad-mouth show breeders a lot! That's not news! It almost would seem hypocritical of me to say that they do well by their dogs. But I have never denied they do good by their dogs! I've never denied that if a person is going to buy a dog, buy from a good breeder (IF you can get past their unpredictable attitudes). It's not their canine skills I question, it's their people skills. But some things are totally undeniable! If you love purebreeds, but don't want to deal with the health problems most of them seem to be infamous for, buy from a reputable breeder. I wasn't a show breeder, but I was reputable. I had a lifetime guarantee with my dogs that even now, I still hold up to. I do not breed anymore so I cannot offer anyone a replacement, but I am always willing to buy back any unwanted dogs bred by me. No matter what age they are. That way, the previous owner could use the money to buy another dog from another breeder.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Voice and Video Blog: How I Became Me

http://www.umgproductions.com/2013/06/timmyfans-pillow-talk-family-and.html

I always wanted to tell the story of how I became who I am in a voice and video blog. Cool! I wasn't always the outspoken liberal I am now. I used to be very mellow, way back when social networks were still a very new thing. Then I discovered pet forums, and they changed me forever. Mostly in a way that most people don't like or cannot handle. Here I tell the story in a somewhat humorous way. Anyway, it looks funnier with pictures and recordings.

Groucho's Day is coming up. It's a family day, and that is the day I celebrate Groucho's life. This time, I did it with another voice and video blog. I am currently working on it. I do hope Marty Casey doesn't mind that I used his song again. The same song I dedicate to her every year. It describes so well how I feel, and how I've been since I lost her. This time, I added pics of my baby to the song. I felt it was only appropriate. Besides, I love how he sang it. I think it sounds better than the original version!!

Friday, May 1, 2009

What the????

OK, I started reading this article, and it looks like the regular Supreme Court Justice David Souter is retiring, and Obama wants to appoint a new Supreme Court Judge. Normally I would be like OK, it's his own business if he wants to appoint a new judge for the US Supreme Court. What stood out the most was this statement:

Souter's retirement after almost two decades of unpredictable decisions gives Obama an early chance to place his stamp on the nine-member high court, possibly by naming a minority — a second black or the court's first Hispanic — or a second woman, as well as to affirm if not strengthen its support for abortion rights.

OK, a couple of things fly out at you immediately. First let me say I admire Obama's stand on wanting to be different, and break the monotony by hiring a black or Hispanic judge to take his place. But what the Hell has race got to do with being a good judge??? Don't get me wrong! I'm a hispanic myself and I root for them all the way. If this is the first time one would be appointed to the position of Supreme Court judge, I'm all for it! But why the heck is Obama making such a big howdy-doo about the nationality of his choice for the next SC judge?? And why is this article going along with it??

Another thing that flies out is the fact that Obama thinks that just because this is a woman that she will affirm support for abortion rights. What's up with that??? Maybe I read it wrong, and if I did, someone please correct me, but that's what I got out of that last sentence. How many women are actually going to support abortions? I'm a woman and I don't even want any kids, but I would never get an abortion. Not unless my life was in danger from the pregnancy. Otherwise, I'd have the kid and put it up for adoption if it happened to me and I don't want kids. Let someone who cannot have kids enjoy the one I brought into the World. Maybe they could give the child a better life than I could.

Anyway, here is the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090502/ap_on_go_su_co/us_scotus_souter_retiring