Cicada.

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Happy Birthday, Jeff!

It's my birthday today. 2:34 p.m. 1964. Some years I get into it and some years it's just another day. That's me 46 years ago. Now that's a good lookin' kid, come on. Listen to my "happy song" here.

There was a child went forth every day;

And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became;

And that object became part of him for the day,
or a certain part of the day,
or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.

- excerpt from Walt Whitmans "There Was A Child Went Forth", from Leaves of Grass (1891-1892)

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excerpt from "Reveille!".

One of the prettiest passages I've ever written.

AMANDA

Well if your demeanor were on a higher plain, what would you write about?
(Silence.)
Oh, come now, Catherin. Don’t be such a sour puss. Say something.

CATHERIN
(Wondering.)
I don’t know.
(Reflecting.)
I suppose I’d write about living here in the valley – before the war - when even the faintest of breezes blows in the smell of sassafras blossoms from a mile away and the mockingbirds swoop down on anyone who gets within a hundred yards of their nests.
(Beat)
I’d write about how that dog of yours slouches around so much so you’d think she were dead to the world except for when she nips at the honey bees flying about her head.

AMANDA
Don’t you dare say one unkind word about Molly. She’d sooner chew off her leg than hurt a flea.

CATHERIN
I’d write about our farm, and how you’re scared of feeding the chickens and how one day –

AMANDA
That ain’t true!

CATHERIN

That’s “not” true and you are too. And how one day you proposed we eat the Rhode Island Red and Plymouth Rock chickens as they were most certainly Yankee-bred and would do irreparable harm to a Southerner’s palate. I’d tell of midnight walks along Pope’s Head Road, lit up by the moon – like a postcard...
(She stops ironing.)
...where you can hear the rippling and splashing of Little Mountain Run in the dark as she snakes down and around through the Shenandoah Valley, and the horned owl joins the bullfrog and the crickets in a symphony that only God could compose. Or the lonesome whistle of the Blue Ridge Railway...clickety-clackety – reminding me there’s a whole nuther world to explore beyond this valley.
(Beat)
To drink that all in - now the world’s filled with nothing but suffering because of some men’s war and I fear I may wake to a rifle barrel stuck in my gut – or worse. Oh I still smell sassafras occasionally but it’s –

(Beat)
– everything I cherish here has been smothered by war. The trains bring men into town, filling our streets with blue troops and gray troops marching off to kill one another. The air is filled with smoke and fire. The Yankees’ blockade stopped Little Mountain Run from rippling and splashing. How many people have we known moved away or killed? This simple life of ours which I derived so much joy is no more.
(Beat)
I used to take pleasure in the rain – a steady, long, slow rain. It washed the earth clean and made everything smell reborn, like fresh laundry brought in outta the wind. The only rain that falls now brings with it the stench of death and the streets run with the blood of young men who are lost forever. And I’m afraid that everything will change and I’ll forget what it was like.
(She goes back to ironing. Embarrassed.)
I’m rambling.

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$28 billion, $28 schmillion...who cares!

The Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA), which I never visited while living in Cali, is planning to transport a 340 ton boulder from Riverside to Los Angeles as part of an art piece called, Levitated Mass. The cost is $1.5 million - just to move said rock.

Now, being an actor and a playwright (and an amateur photog) myself, I'm all for spending monies on art. I think more monies should be allocated to the arts (the liberal in me). However, seeing as we're in the throes of an economic recession, I'm perfectly aware that budgets are tight and "the arts" is one of the first things to get slashed (the conservative in me).

LACMA certainly has the right to spend its monies as it feels. It's just funny (to me) that California has a $28 billion deficit, yet LACMA has $1.5 million lying around to move a rock.

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to smash the boulder into tiny pieces first?

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We're not done with you, Summer....

"Continuities" 

Nothing is ever really lost, or can be lost,

No birth, identity, form—no object of the world.

Nor life, nor force, nor any visible thing;

Appearance must not foil, nor shifted sphere confuse thy brain.

Ample are time and space—ample the fields of Nature.

The body, sluggish, aged, cold—the embers left from earlier

fires,

The light in the eye grown dim, shall duly flame again;

The sun now low in the west rises for mornings and for noons

continual;

To frozen clods ever the spring's invisible law returns,

With grass and flowers and summer fruits and corn.

- by Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1891-91 edition

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Stars and Stripes.

I found this tattered flag at one of the cemeteries I work at during the summer. Looked like something that had been to hell and back. We burn the worn flags - that's what you're supposed to do. So I took it home - thought it would look nice framed. Scraped an old picture someone had given me and recycled the frame.

I think it looks grand. Speaking of grand ole flag's...

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TGIF! presents...At home with John Cleese!

At home with John Cleese. Didn't I just say that? Are you ignorant or just plain stupid? God, I hate Americans. Stupid, stupid people. Anyway, John Cleese from the famed Monty Python comedy troupe takes us on a tour of his home. Enjoy.

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Skuzzfuck.

Harvey Levin. TMZ founder. And skuzzfuck.

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I'm this far from getting the boot.

They, like many liberal/anti-Republican FB sites do not like to hear varying opinions. That is a fact. I've got booted off two others and I'm treading a fine line here. But as I told the FB admin for this site, what good is it doing your cause if you have 10 people commenting on a post with the same opinion, slapping each other on the back congratulating each other? You wanna talk about name-calling, Democrats? I've seen plenty of harsh, derogatory words aimed at myself and others. Yeh, I know..."but the Republicans do it, too". OK - take your ball home now so none of us can play anymore. Does that make it right? Enough with this holier-than-though bullshit. Reps, Dems, libs, conservatives....they all make good points and bad points. There's morons represented by each. I get all that. Fine.

We live in a democracy...yet these people who profess to bring about change in our state by recalling every Republican in office run their social network sites like a dictatorship. Or a socialist-run society. Interesting. I guess that is their right. (But collective bargaining...THAT ain't a right.)

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Orlando? I hardly know her!

PASS THE SALT, PLEASE, our sexy short film adapted from my play which has screened to very happy audiences, thus far, in Sydney, Palm Springs (Jury Award, Special Citation - Best OnScreen Pairing), Big Sur, Los Angeles (ShortsFest) and Rhode Island, was just invited to the Orlando Film Festival, October 19-23.

Bookmark the festival website here. We're in Warsaw, Poland the week of October 7-16 for the Warsaw (how'd you guess?) Film Festival. Then we've got 4 more festivals this fall but we can't tell you about them 'cause the news hasn't been made public yet. I know - it's killing us too.

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Elizabeth, you had me at...

"Every now and then, I catch a glimpse of myself having sex..."

Read the entire 2008 Esquire interview here. I really, really like Banks. Very funny. She's promoting a new movie she's starring in with Paul Rudd...check that interview here.

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Z'licious Zucchini bread.

From the gardens of Glen Mar (that's my digs) to my oven. First time making anything with zucchini. Never liked it growing up, but I've always liked zucchini bread...especially when the zucchini comes from the Ircink garden.

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SI cover preview. YOUR Milwaukee Brewers!

The upcoming August 29th edition. August 29....hmmmm. Something else about the date...

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The art of Kevin Dillon.

I purchased these really, very gorgeous pieces at Irish Fest in Milwaukee Friday (no - wait, one was an early birthday gift...thanks, Jen). $40 each/framed. That's a steal. TOP:  "May you always find three welcomes...in a garden in the summer, at a fireside during winter & whatever the day or season, in the kind eyes of a friend." - Gaelic welcoming prayer. BOTTOM:  "Leave room in your garden for the fairies to dance."

Good luck on the last one...have you seen my garden lately? Rather than me go on about these pieces, read this:

...Celtic artist Kevin Dillon has rediscovered the same mediaeval techniques used by these monks. Using a mortle & pestle, Kevin crushes semi-precious stones - lapis lazuli, cinnabar, azurite, orpiment and malachite to make his paints. Using a dip pen or goose quill, the letters are meticulously applied by hand to the calf skin vellum. One at a time the colors are applied - first blue, followed by the reds, then each remaining color in turn, The final illumination is achieved using 24K gold leaf. The artist's seal, a stylized design of his initials, is imprinted into a molten, charred wax at the bottom of each piece...

Click on READ MORE for a couple detailed photographs. You can purchase more of Kevin Dillon's artwork here.

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It's official! To serve...in Greendale.

My grandfather was on the Board of Trustees back in the day (1940's), my 2nd cousin's husband, Bernie Schroedl, was Village President for 14 years...this town needs another Ircink "on board".

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The Ircink's ARE the Wizards of Greendale!

"Zucchini, tomatoes and melons, oh my!" And eggplant. Didn't quite fit the melody. And that one banana pepper too. The garden at Glen Mar is thriving quite nicely. Surprised in that I've never had a garden before and the weather has been dry. Not surprised as the gentleman who lived here for 40 years (before the last tenant) was a gardening wiz...knew about compost and soils and such and his garden was twice as big as ours. Bernie (my landlord, summer boss & is married to my 2nd cousin, Mary Beth) said I woulda done "him" (the guy) proud.

Look at me (above)...with my babies (yellow zucchini). I'm getting teary-eyed now.

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Goitse!

A big fan? Drunk? Who knows. Who cares - he was having a ball. That's "Go-cha". Lazy FB users who won't go to my blog can see this video here.

Great band. And Aine ain't too bad to look at either. See them below on Balcony TV. Again, lazy FB users who won't go to my blog can catch Goitse here.



You can find more information on the band on their website.

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Cairde maith, deoch maith, ceol go maith!

Happy Irish Fest, Milwaukee!

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Who saw Napoleon retreat from Moscow?

Tombstone at Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery in Milwaukee.

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TGIF! presents...Jeff Bridges' "What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do"!

FB users can watch here.

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Separated at Birth? Isabel Lucas & Michelle Phillips.

Isabel (top), the Aussie actress from the lastest "Transformer" flick, and Michelle Phillips of The Mama's and Papa's ("Monday, Monday", "Dedicated to the One I Love", "Californina Dreaming").

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Slow news day (again) at Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Well it is if you find yourself writing about Brett Favre now, ain't it?

From the UP/DOWN section of the sports page:

DOWN - QB lessons:  Brett Favre tutored Colt McCoy during the lock-out. Come January, expect a teary-eyed retirement announcement from the Browns' quarterback.  - Greg Pearson

McCoy was 9/10 for 135 yards and a TD so Brett's QB'ing tips didn't hurt Colt. Read the story here. It's no tell-all certainly, but it's encouraging. Even with Brett retired and an ex-Packer for three seasons, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel sports staff still finds it necessary to drag Favre through the mud. It's not like Green Bay Packer training camp isn't in full session or that the Milwaukee Brewers are in first place in their division. Why do these assholes keep trying to be funny?

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Harsh sentences following UK riots IS justified.

British actor/rapper Adam Deacon commented in this video that, though the actions of the youths (who seemed to make up a larger percentage of the rioters) during the recent UK riots was reprehensible, they shouldn't be punished - that they need a "voice" . Typical bleeding heart. It was bad, BUT...we should be doing this. Gotta make sure that "BUT" is in there.

Tell that to the elderly barbershop owner (above) whose Tottenham store was ransacked, you dumb fucker. Tell that to the people whose cars were torched, whose businesses were stolen from and whose buildings and apartments were gutted. Tell that to the six people who were found dead lying in the streets. Tell them all that, you stupid, dumb cunt.

(Side story:  Deacon co-wrote, directed and played the lead in the film, "Anuvahood", a "no-pulls-no-punches, coming-of-age story, centering on one directionless hopeless 'shotter', who finds his true worth in the face of urban adversity.") So this dipstick IS sort of a voice for the youth of today, right?

Wrong - just what the British youth don't need is a young actor/rapper commiserating with their "plight". Well, Adam, the UK judges responsible for handing out punishments to the 1,000+ rioters caught by police aren't taking a hand slap attitude with these felons. Examples:  3-month jail sentence for one idiot who stole 6 bottles of water. 6 months for one jerk-off for simply heading in the direction of the riots/looting because he was carrying a ski mask and bin bag (wonder where he was going?). Two Einsteins got 4 years each for plotting a riot on Facebook (even though their plot fizzled). And a dental nurse who left her baby at home while she went to loot the local Tesco received a 3-month jail sentence. Judges have also seen fit to take about social services from convicted rioters (food stamps, rent allowances). The best laid plans, guy & gals...the best laid plans.

Here's a pictorial of some of what happened in London communities as a result of riots that broke out from August 6-10...and details on the rioting here.

The UK judges were right to inflict harsh sentences on these criminals. The sentiment displayed by the UK public was swift and massive - they wanted the courts to come down hard. Harsh sentences means the likelihood that the same criminal behavior will not be repeated. And if it is repeated, just dole out harsher sentences the next time. THIS is the rehabilitation that is needed. In a perfect world, yes, it would be more convenient, less unpleasant if every child/teen in the UK (and the world, for that matter) came from stable homes and had the advantages most children have today - but that isn't life. It's time to quit fucking around making excuses. It's time to make these little bastards take responsibility for their actions. Enough of this bullshit petty sentence crap that fails to send a message that this behavior is wrong and we will NOT tolerate it any longer.

Funny how the bleeding hearts of the world weep and scoff and cry out "but they're troubled; they don't have the advantages we have; they need our help". Yes, we all need to help those less fortunate then us, I agree. However, there comes a point when enough is ENOUGH. Are YOU a bleeding heart? If you are, would your demeaner change if you owned that barber shop pictured above? Would your heart still bleed for the troubled youth of the UK?

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The bountiful harvest at Glen Mar continues...

Patty pan squash, Burpee picklers, black cherry and 4th of July tomatoes. The black cherry tomatoes are ripening daily. I've got about 200-300 4th of July's (the bigger ones) on the vines that are slowwwwwly ripening.

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Greendale's Village Days Rummage Sale - 0. Jeff - 5!

$13 for the lot. I done well. Irish coffee not included.

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TGIF! presents....Darth Vader counts!

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I bet Johnny wishes Jeffrey had eaten Tracy.

You heard about the motorcyclist who died while protesting his state's new helmet law? He wasn't wearing his helmet. I can't help but think - no, forget it. Oddly enough, the motorcyclist rally was sponsored by American Bikers Aimed Towards EDUCATION. Maybe ABATE should abate some of its bylaws regarding the freedom to wear (or not wear) protective clothing - or change its name.

How 'bout this one? The dude who led the police to apprehend serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Tracy Edwards - himself an intended victim of Dahmer - pled not guilty to Milwaukee police recently after he threw Johnny Jordan over a bridge into the Milwaukee River, where Jordan drowned...over an argument. 

I wish it were that easy.

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Deity in a tree?

The Virgin Mary? A disciple of Jesus'? Mother Theresa? Ben Bernanke? It's somethin', ain't it? Bet you'd like to know where, too?

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SI's Peter King: "Shut yer piehole!"

I'm tired of this douche bag. Leave it up to one of the biggest mouths in sports to open up a can o' worms regarding Brett Favre. King recently wrote HE THINKS Favre MAY BE SLIGHTLY tempted to coming out of retirement.

I think, from what I'm hearing (not from the horse's mouth, but from someone who would know), Brett Favre is being slightly tempted about playing football again. When I say slightly, I mean slightly. I don't think any team is going to come after him now, and I don't think he's going to pursue anything. But I do think if a starter gets hurt or stinks, and the coach has no faith in the backup, Favre is going to get a call. Depending on the team, he might consider returning.

"Thinks". "Slightly". Not from "the horse's mouth". Wow. Now that's some good reporting. Sounds like some of the stories that FoxSports.com leads with every day. You know, the MIT writer's club consisting of Glazer, Marvez, Kriegel, Schein and Hench. All superior douches in their own right. Now this is what King wrote back on July 28, 2009:

I give up...So now I've been wrong three times. I thought he was retired last year and he played for the Jets. I thought he was retired this year, and I said he'll come back to play for the Vikings unless his arm is a problem. His arm wasn't. And he still isn't going to play. That's why I give up. Don't ask me anymore what I think about Favre, whether I think he's going to play or whether I think he's going to mow the grass for the rest of his life. I don't know because I honestly don't think he knows.

Did anyone ask him his opinion? And even if they did, that doesn't mean he's gotta write about it. I thought you gave up, King? This is why I hate the media. This is why, more times than not, I don't blame Favre for half the shit that gets reported because the media blows shit out of proportion and writes non-stories. Now Favre will get shit over all this. Please, please, please, Peter King....quit typing.

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The Buckinghams! The Grass Roots! The Association! Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders! The Turtles!

It's The Happy Together Tour 2011 at the Wisconsin State Fair!

My friend Michelle and I took in this 60's/early 70's flashbook concert (2 1/2 hours worth) last night at the Wisconsin State Fair. 1st tier of the grandstands (still not close enough). If you know me you know I like classic rock/oldies. Was never a HUGE fan of The Turtles, The Association or The Buckinghams but each had a few tunes I dug. But when it comes to The Raiders and The Grass Roots - BIG FAN. Which made the concert all the more painful for me as Grass Roots lead singer Rob Grill passed away on July 11. Nuts. However, the rest of the bands were in fine voice (including "The Grass Roots" which was really nothing more than a cover band w/o Grill).

The highlight for me was watching Mark Lindsay (who turned 69 in March) run around the stage like it was 1968. Really, really a pleasurable night of music. THIS IS ALL FOR YOU, ROB GRILL!

You can look up the bands on the Internet to see what hits they had....and there were a lot. One quick factoid on each:

1.  In the entire history of Rock n' Roll, only 9 bands (including The Beatles) have charted more hits on Billboard's Hot 100 than The Grass Roots.

2.  BMI accredited The Associations' "Never My Love" as having the 2nd most US airplay in the 20th Century.

3.  Paul Revere & The Raiders hold the record for the most TV appearances by anyone in the 1960's - over 750. "Indian Reservation" became Columbia's biggest-selling single for almost a decade.

4.  In 1967, The Buckinghams were named by Billboard magazine as "The Most Listened to Band in America."

5.  The Turtles hit song, "Happy Together" , was lent to this tour since it began in 1984. The two lead singers ("Flo & Eddie) performed with Frank Zappa for many years after their success with The Turtles.

Here's a couple vids of each of the bands playing at least one of their top songs: Paul Revere & The Raiders' "Indian Reservation", The Buckinghams' "Hey Baby" , The Grass Roots' "Midnight Confessions", The Associations' "Along Comes Mary" and The Turtles' "Elenore".

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How to eat a cream puff at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Not...

...like...

...this. $4 for one. What a mess. Haven't been to the fair since before I moved to Cali in 1998. A 1/4 of this puff woulda been just fine. And my stomach felt like shit afterwards. It was good though.

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Jeff Ircink. Fricken landscape ar-tist.

I've taken pictures of everything in the yard - flower garden, vegetable garden, kitschy shit in the flower beds, the "watcher" in the vegetable garden, rabbits chippys beetles, etc. Never took a picture of what this area looked like between my garage and the neighbor's. It was weedy. That flower bed to the left was already there.

I wouldn't compare it to the landscaping design of New York's Central Park (Daniel E. Sickles - New York congressman and Civil War general  initiated the creation of the park but gets no credit for it. Travesty!). The most difficult thing was moving my ass and getting it done. Rototilled it out (1st degree burn on my hand from the carburetor), raked it, put down two layers of that black garden tarp, then got six small loads of free wood chips from the Greendale dump (sorry, Department of Public Works) and VOILA! Looks a thousand times better.

I'm gonna go out and look at it again....

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January...my favorite month.

"Mad Men's" January Jones.

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Happy Birthday, Mom!

"I see the sleeping babe nestling the breast of

its mother, The sleeping mother and babe -

hush'd, I study them long and long."

- "Mother and Babe" , by Walt Whitman 

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TGIF! presents....The Outfield's "Your Love"!

Here's to Brit John Spinks (guitar/vocals, tall guy, looks like Ted Danson) who's fighting a cancer relapse...hang in there, John! We're pullin' for ya!

Here's my Separated at Birth? post on Spinks and Danson.

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Cape Gooseberry.

Physalis is a genus of plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Or you can just call them "ground cherries". Jason planted two of these in my flower garden. It's almost sexual, ain't it?

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