Favre sets a deadline for word to Vikes.

Former Green Bay and New York Jet quarterback Brett Favre has announced that he has given himself a July 30 deadline - the start of NFL training camp - to give his decision to the Minnesota Vikings about whether or not he's playing for them this upcoming season. Here's the story.

Regarding the condition of his arm, there doesn't seem to be any question the Ironman gunslinger still has it. According the AP article, "He was crisp on short timing passes and was hitting receivers in the end zone from about 50 yards away. He attempted a few deep passes off bootlegs and usually hit his targets in stride...Favre's spirals held true and he proved he still has plenty of zip when he tossed a deep pass to a college receiver who dropped by to work out. The pass split the receiver's hands and hit him in the face."

"He's a senior from Southeastern Louisiana, so I put a little more on it," Favre said with a smile.

Any hesitancy by Favre about making a bid for his 19th season and adding on to his record-setting consecutive starts for a QB (2nd overall for any position, and if he plays he will be the all-time leader in this category for any position) is explained in his Tiger Woods analogy,

"He goes out and hits a 2 iron and he thinks it will go the normal distance it has all his life, then all of a sudden it's 13 yards short, and he says, 'I don't know why that is because everything felt perfect,' so that's what I have to get through," Favre said.

If you've read this blog, you know I'm a Favre groupie. Always have been. I support whatever his decision is. However, I hope he plays for the Vikings and kicks the shit out of the Green Bay Packers - and every other team they play. GO FAVRE IN 2009!

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Prince Fielder is the 2009 Home Run Derby Champion!

Milwaukee Brewer 1st baseman Prince Fielder won this year's Home Run Derby...congratulations, Prince! Now how about doing that when it really matters?

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FoxSports.com hack Hench calls Favre a "quitter"?

As usual, the hack writers at FoxSports.com - the National Enquirer-esque sports website - have nothing substantial to write about so they're picking on Brett Favre again. They featured him in a serious of Worst Comebacks (Favre with the Jets) which doesn't even make sense since the Jets finished 5 games better than the previous season (so I won't even comment on that one). The one I will comment on is Kevin "my-haircut-looks-like-my-ass" Hench's photo essay on most infamous quitters in sports. You can see the photo essay here.

Favre made #7 - and he's the lead-off picture for the series. Hench writes, "Brett Favre's decision to walk away from the Jets after last season appears to be a new twist on quitting, even for him. Heading to the Vikings -- if he does it -- would be his ultimate parting shot at the Packers, the team he "retired" from a year before going to New York."

The copy under the lead-off picture of Brett in a Jets' uniform says, "Some quit on their teams, some on themselves, some while they were ahead. Heck, some even like quitting so much they've done it more than once (see below). Here is Kevin Hench's list of the most infamous quitters in sports."

Where dipshit Hench fails miserably is in his interpretation of the English language - specifically, the word "quit" (and all derivations of the word). If you take the basic definition, "to stop, cease, or discontinue", you can use that in reference to all sports figures. They all "quit" at some time during the course of their career. However, the definition of "quit" that most people think of when discussing sports is "to stop trying, struggling, or the like; accept or acknowledge defeat."

To refer to Favre as "the king of quitting and un-quitting and re-quitting ..." is absurd. You wanna say Favre's guilty of waffling on retiring, that he gets his jollie off of retiring and unretiring, fine (and technically, he's only retired and unretired once...he hasn't signed with the Vikings yet so again the hacks at FoxSports.com are jumping the gun).

And the audacity that anyone lumping Favre in with a guy like John Daly - who walked off a golf course in the middle of a tournament -preposterous. You see, Henchie, what Daly did, THAT's "quitting" in sports.

Why didn't you mention MLB'er Gary Sheffield, who admitted later after the Milwaukee Brewers finally traded him, to throwing balls into the stands on purpose and giving less than a 100% effort so the Brewers would trade him. He ADMITTED IT - that one's not even a stretch. You also didn't mention the dozens of sports figures (hundreds by now) who've used illegal PED's (performance enhancing drugs) and got game suspensions. THAT'S quitting on yourself, your teammates and the game.

I guess while you're calling Brett Favre a "quitter" you dumb fuck, you should mention how well Favre played (4 TDs, 399 yards) in Oakland the day after his father died, or how he played almost an entire season with a broken thumb on his throwing hand or his ironman consecutive starts as QB (& ranked 2nd overall for all positions).

Think I'm over-reacting 'cause I'm a Favre-groupie? Check out the other crap Hench calls "sports journalism" - Hench telling Favre why he's ruining his legacy, Hench giving Favre and the Green Bay Packers love advice during their PR debacle last season, my "Queen Witch" honor I awarded Hench, and, the creme de la creme - Hench berating a baseball player for his poor performance when it was a known fact that said baseball player had a possible life-threatening illness that was affecting his playing. I don't make this shit up. The writers at FoxSports.com are quite capable of doing it by themselves.

This is exactly why FoxSports.com has a reputation for yellow journalism, tabloid crap stories. It employs guys like Hench - wannabe screenwriters who are the real quitters. Henchie (whose title is "national sports columnist" - like so many others - quit his profession as a journalist and put his want for celebrity and notoriety ahead of writing responsible, intelligent sports pieces.

Hack. Douch bag. Scum.

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Separated at Birth? Vera Farmiga and Kate Beahan.

Vera (left) and Kate (right). You may recognize Vera from The Departed and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and the TV series, Roar. Kate was in Boston Legal, Farscape and the horrendous Nicholas Cage remake of The Wicker Man. Vera's one year older and Kate's got huge lips.

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Artie got arrested. Artie got arrested. Heehee.

Well, Howard Stern's sidekick Artie Lange took my recent advice - went out on a bender - but he didn't die. He just drove his 2009 Nissan Sentra into the back of a Pontiac last night in Toms River, NJ and was arrested for suspicion of DUI. He was then charged with DUI and reckless driving.

What a douche bag and a half. If you didn't read how Artie made an ass of himself on Joe Buck's new HBO show, here's my post.

I love it when bad shit happens to bad people. Wait...hold on...don't hear you joking about that, Artie.

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Checkers Update! Jeff = 34, Colton = 1

The last time I played checkers with the boy was in November of last year. Whew! Time flies. Not! You know, he did win a chess tournament at school not too long ago. I was disappointed on how badly he lost last night too - took only two of my checkers. VICTORY IS MINE!

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Jamie Foxx's mistake? He opened his mouth.

"No need to be sad - we want to celebrate this black man," Foxx said. "He belongs to us and we shared him with everybody else...It didn't make a difference what he looked like. It matters what he sounded like."

Those were Foxx's comments about Michael Jackson at the BET awards last week.

I think it's a laugh-riot when folks like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson toss out the race card when discussing Michael J., while others say that Michael J. was all about bridging race, gender and social status issues and getting the world to live in peace and harmony (my words but you get the picture).

Well, Mr. Jamie Foxx. You were good in Ray but you need to hire some handlers who can advise you when to shut your piehole. Saying that he (Jackson) belongs to US (black people) and WE (black people) shared him (Jackson) with everybody else (non-black people) does nothing but perpetuate the race issue that Jackson worked to bridge.

AND Foxx contradicts himself. If "it didn't matter what he (Jackson) looked like", why does Foxx bring race into his little speech about Jackson? Funny how Foxx gives the impression that he's all warm, fuzzy and humble and he's about keeping it real and remaining true to his Texas roots and all. That comment about Jackson proves he's nothing but a fake. Never did like Foxx. Never.

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Happy Birthday, Earl Hamner, Jr.!

86 years young today! Earl is the creator of the hit TV series, "The Waltons", among others. As a huge fan of the show, it was an honor to have made Earl's aquaintance several times and consider him a friend. "The Waltons" was the inspiration for me to take up writing years ago - a pleasure I indulge in to this day. Thank you, Earl, and Happy Birthday.

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MLB'er Ryan Braun is an ass.

I don't follow Milwaukee Brewer's baseball (it's my hometown, you know) so I have no right to comment on them. When I watch them they lose. I'll watch a few games in May when I'm home fishing 'cause my dad watches them. They made the playoffs last year for the first time since 1982 (when they went to the World Series and lost in 7 games against St. Louis). But inevitably as quickly as they're ahead a few games they end up in the toilet.

Braun made the all-star team this year. He's a great player. But he's an ass. Even my mother thinks so and her gut instincts are as honed as mine. Case in point, Braun recently made some strong comments about the Brewers' pitching - or lack thereof. Fine - he's a leader of the team and if he has some strong feelings I have no problem with him voicing them. Here's exactly what he said:

"I wish I got to make decisions like that," Braun said Sunday. "But I know he's trying to make our ballclub better. I know he understands the significance of making a move and making it soon." Braun also laid the team's recent struggles directly at the feet of the team's struggling pitching staff. "No matter who is in there, we have to find a way to throw the ball better for us to have success...I think when you're constantly behind in games, it's not easy and it's not fun. Their starting pitcher was clearly better than ours this series."

It was fairly pointed out by one of the coaches that the Brewer's could also use some more hitting at times.

So Braun mouths off about the pitching. My issue with him is he backed off his original comment. Softened it, as you will. This is why he's a ass:

"At times, I am emotional," Braun said. "I am passionate, and (my comments) derived from wanting to win. I definitely take full responsibility for that. That being said, me and Doug are cool. Everything is good. I have no issues with anybody. I apologized if I offended anybody in the organization. That clearly wasn't my intent. I wasn't trying to disrespect anybody. I wasn't trying to call anybody out."

Well then why did you make the comment in the first place? Ass. And a douche. My mother thinks he's an ass. I think he's an ass; therefore, he is...an ass.

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TGIF! Friday presents...Berlin's "Metro" (2002)!

OMG! To see Wang Chang, Cutting Crew, and ABC LIVE! is wayyyy different then hearing their hits on the radio. Fucking awesome concert at Universal Ampitheater...with the cherry on the cake = Berlin. Teri Nunn is in better voice than she was in 1983. The 3rd time I've seen her in a year! 'Effing awesome. By far her stage presence and voice are in the tops of ANY female artist I've seen.

Special thanks to Jay & Susie for treating me to this most excellent concert. Damn! I wish you all could've been there, particularly if you grew up on 80's music.

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George.

My favorite portrait of Beatle George. It became the cover (after some minor changes) of "All Things Must Pass" (1970). In 2001, a colorized version of the album came out. I prefer this one best. Thanks, Courtney.

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#17 - "Grace Notes from a Bohemian in Wanderlust." Avoca.

("Grace Notes from a Bohemian in Wanderlust" is a series of posts about my 3.5 week May vacation in Seattle, Chicago, Milwaukee, Lake Tomawk, WI and Miami. They're in no particular order - you can type "Grace Notes" in the upper left hand corner of the search feature and all the past posts will pop up.)

There's one special place in a little town named Avoca, WI where my brother goes 'shroomin' for morel mushrooms (that's Jason above). If you've never tried them, you're missing out. It's a delicacy (you've got perhaps a 2-week window in the spring to pick them) and they're expensive if you have to buy them. $25-35 a pound fresh. I've seen dried morels advertised for $220 a pound. Not unlike caviar or truffles.

It's private property - 1,000 acres. If you step foot on it you WILL get shot, guarantee it. Jas and I spent a day and a half there enroute to our fishing spot in Lake Tomahawk back in May. Click on READ MORE! and come take a looksee.

Real log cabin. No heat, but it has electricity. 1,000 acres like I said. This view is from the main road.

Here's a closer look.

Those buck have all been shot with gun or bow on this property. My brother has one up there...I think it's toward the bottom - way in the back. Ask any of the "regulars"...they know whose is who's. Who's is whose?

Saw this plaque on the wall. Made me think about our fishing trip we were enroute to in Lake Tomahawk. Made me think of PETA too (they don't like us fishin' neither). They just don't understand.

Calf and her momma.

Barns have a lot of character, if you didn't already know that. I spent some time taking headshots of this one.

Jas and one of the regulars (foreground) visiting from Florida relaxing on the porch. Nice guy - can't recall his name now.

That's the barn I was taking pictures of earlier. In an unintentional ode to "Edgar Sawtelle", this shot turned out hazy but I liked it. Justyna thought it was wonderful (my friend who recommended the book, "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" to me).

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"Misread" or 'incomplete information"? You pick.

VP Biden: "We misread how bad the economy was..."

Pres. Obama: "No, no, no, no, no,"...Rather than say 'misread,' we had incomplete information."

So then this most recent stimulus package was configured on "incomplete information"?

President Obama just recently put his initials on a new $15 billion food security program intended to assist poorer countries in their food production. The emergency supplemental appropriations bill that was signed a couple weeks ago spends billions overseas. We seem to have an endless supply of money to dole out overseas, yet our unemployment rate is rising and the economy isn't on an upslide.

And there's talk that OUR COUNTRY may need another stimulus package. Where's that money coming from? Doesn't this strike a chord with any of you out there? California is so broke it wants to hand IOU's to state taxpayers and so is the City of Los Angeles and yet LA found $1.4 - $4 million to spend on Michael Jackson's memorial service.

Why are there's so many of you acting like nothing's happening? Is anyone taking this seriously?

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Writer's block?

A writer (me) watching another writer (Donovan) through a camera lens. He's not really having writer's block - I just didn't know what else to write for the headline.

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Separated at Birth? Lenny Dykstra and Bill Paxton.

Ex-MLB'er Dykstra (left) and actor Paxton (right).

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AT&T is screwing me.

27 cents to check my own voicemail? WTF?

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Jefferson and Adams died on July 4th.

In the festiveness that is the 4th of July (or I should say that miserableness that was my chest cold), I forgot that yesterday was the anniversary of the deaths of President Thomas Jefferson (left) and President John Adams. Both died on Jul 4th, 1826.

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Mel Gibson & Ted Thompson. Two July 4th revelations that made me smile.

1. A friend's friend's friend (still with me?) was a former assistant to Mel Gibson. This former assistant couldn't say enough good things about Mel, commenting that he was an extremely wonderful man who has gone to great lengths to help family's pay their children's medical bills through one of his charities.

2. I met a guy who's got a connection to an NFL scout. According to this NFL scout, within NFL scout circles, Green Bay Packer General Manager Ted Thompson has a reputation of being an odd ball. Might explain the struggles between Brett Favre and TT, which eventually led to Favre being traded from Green Bay to the New York Jets.

So, aside from having a chest cold that ruined my 4th of July partying, two things I already felt to be true were verified by reliable sources - Mel Gibson, my favorite actor, is a magnanimous person, and Packer GM Ted Thompson is a douche bag.

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Jackson Market in Culver City.

Sometimes the best things ARE right under your nose.



I deviated off my regular 5-mile walking route and ran smack dap into this place. It's right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. What a pleasant place to sit and relax and write. Too bad I'm moving in a month to enjoy it. Tatjanna is a friend of mine (we used to work together). She had her first child - Lav (a boy, she's Serbian) - and she was shy in front of the camera.

Right under my nose for three years and not the faintest idea it was there....

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Geo. Washington takes the oath of office.

From the acclaimed mini-series, "John Adams" . I've posted this before, and I realize it doesn't have a 4th of July significance per se (it does represent the birth of our country's formal leadership), but it's so poignant that I tear up every time I watch it.

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Largest July 4th Fireworks Display in America.

Ooooooooooo! Ahhhhhhhhhh! Pause the jukebox above while watching this.

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Happy 4th of July!

Culver City football field, July 2007. Enjoy the holiday...and Happy Birthday, America.

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My favorite 4th of July memories = Greendale, WI.

Greendale is the town/village I was born in. Suburb of Milwaukee. My father grew up here as well and his father helped to settle Greendale back in 1938. The 4th of July's I spent in Greendale were some of my most satisfying. Click on READ MORE! and join me as I relive a bit of my youth.
Above: Float building for the 4th, July 1944.

The "Greenbelt town" program originated as part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, aiding the poor by hiring the unemployed to build the towns and then by providing housing for low-income families. It was an innovative and radical intervention in American city building. Three towns were constucted: Greenbelt, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C.; Greendale, Wisconsin, outside of Milwaukee and Greenhills, Ohio, outside of Cincinnati.

For me, Greendale represents everything that is Norman Rockwell and Americana. It'a unique town and people visit from all over to experience the quaint, quiet life just outside of Milwaukee. When I move back to WI in late July, you'll more than likely find me spending a lot of time there.

Above: 4th of July band concert at the gazebo downtown (the Village) Greendale. My family has a brick laid in the floor of the gazebo to commemorate the Ircink's contributions to the town.

Above: Children gathering for the 4th of July parade in 1944. Our 4th of July celebrations centered around Uncle Jerry and Aunt Ruth's (Dad's sister) home - an "original" house from 1938. Barbecue, volleyball, playing near the woods and creek that runs along their backyard, lots of soda and beer drinking (when I was 18), and music. It wasn't unusual, at some point during the day, for Uncle Jerry and my mother to kick up their heels to some 50's tune playing on the record player. Uncle Jerry has since passed. I miss him - and my youth.

Above: Decorated children's floats for the 4th, 1944. Greendale has a wonderful parade and it everyone seemed to know everyone participating - either you knew a kid on a bike or you knew a veteran marching with the American Legion or you knew the Village President - for many years that was Bernie Schroedl, my dad's cousin's husband. Helluva guy, that Bernie. The town had a regular festival with rides, food and games...they'd dump a gigantic sand pile and hide change it for the kids to sift through. And for a few years, my Uncle Jerry owned an ice cream truck and my brother Jason, and Uncle Jerry's boys - Tom and Mike - would help sell cones. My cousin Mike just passed away unexpectedly a couple months ago. But if you asked him or Jas or Tom, they'd tell you the same thing. Good times.

Above: 1944's version of the Greendale 4th of July beer garden! There's a huge beer garden up near the high school. When I turned 18, I was finally able to imbibe (much to my mother's chagrin). Often it would get outta hand and it was difficult for my mother to get overly upset because on more than one occasion I was getting outta hand with friends of my Aunt Ruth's who were my mother's age.

Greendale today, with the village hall in the background - a replica of the town hall in Philadelphia. If I had to pick one place to live in Wisconsin, Greendale would be that place.

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"Man Wearing A Committee Badge".

"Man Wearing a 'Committee' Badge". That's just not some "man"...that's my Grandpa James Ircink, in Greendale, WI around 1942. Found this random picture on WisconsinHistory.org while writing this post. My Grandpa Ircink was involved in a million things throughout his life - Knights of Columbus, Air Raid Drill officer during WWII in Greendale, Jaycees, Holy Name Society, church usher, Scouts - you name it...he did it. I miss him terribly.

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Dave Myers' view on Favre is smart, objective and rational.

Dave Myers of the Lacrosse Tribune (WI) weighs in on Brett Favre's potential signing with the Minnesota Vikings. One of the more smarter, objective and rational articles I've read thus far. Especially number 5.

Check out the comment section too.

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Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad and I walleye fishing this past May on the Rainbow Flowage - Lake Tomahawk, WI. Up North.

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TGIF presents..."La Maison en Petits Cubes", by Kunio Kato!

The 2009 Academy Award winner for Best Animation Short. Very poignant. I loved it. Watch it here. Quick! Before it's pulled from the Internet a 2nd time.

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I eat like a king when I visit Tujunga.

Maria (that's the Maria w/the Donovan and Grace and Baby Gwyneth, my goddaughter, in Tujunga Maria - come on you should know this!) cooked us this wonderful meal on Monday evening. Grilled chicken Mediterranean with polenta (that yellowish foodcake stuff made with ground yellow or white cornmeal) and covered in ratatouille, a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish. The crepe-ish looking thingy on the top left is spanakopita, filled with spinach.

Bravo, Maria! Mmmmm, good!

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$1.15 and $1.15 billion are two very different figures.

Totally unexpected! This check for $1.15 from my publisher - my cut from two copies of my play "Stan's Addiction". Man, I love our free-market economy! WHOOOOOO! (In case anyone from Heuer is reading my blog, you know I kid).

The $1.15 billion is the cost for the new Dallas Cowboy football stadium.

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4 Views of "Pass the Salt, Please.".

Stephen Trovilion and Elena Maria Garcia in Miami.

Linda and Dave Parke in Los Angeles.

Gary Benser and Julia Kent in Cedar Rapids.

Michael Blum and Heather Ward in Seattle.

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WTF? FU to CA's IOU.

California is something like $350 billion in the hole. With budgets due for the next fiscal year, the state has suggested one way to make budget is to pay all its debts with IOU's.

Convenient. Only the gov'ment can get away with such bullshit. Another reason I'm getting out of this state the end of July.

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OMG! Now Favre wants to play soccer.

Jay Demerit (right) - the "Brett Favre" of the U.S. National Soccer team. And, he hails from Green Bay.

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