Tuesday, 1 July 2014

The Ongoing Exploits of Frank Sledge #55

Women.

If it weren't for the off chance of hitting on the local checkout girl at the grocery store on his weekly routine of milk, fruits, vegetables, chicken and pasta run, Frank would have never ended up in a place like this. There’s something he despised more than having other guys hitting on the girl he liked than having them doing it on reality TV.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. What I wouldn’t do for a piece of ass" he thought quietly to himself. Not that it was too hard to come by, the local girls at his favorite watering hole Essie’s made it pretty obvious who he was going home with that night, but he’s been eyeing up Pam now for quite some time. The long brown hair, big pouty lips and fake bust were hard to ignore. A little shorter than his taste but Oh! Those big blue eyes of hers, Frank could easily see himself getting lost in them…amongst her better parts.

Sitting in a studio lobby waiting anxiously for her to come out, looking at the other “competition” Frank sizes up each man around him. The man on his left, a tall lanky metrosexual wearing beige slacks and striped button up shirt with his peach sweater vest made him a no match in his mind. Unless it was for being the biggest bore, that he was sure he would win.   

The slightly older gentleman to his right was playing up the sophisticated type with his reader’s glasses, trimmed beard and a briar pipe. The smell reminded him of the same pipe his old high school football coach use to smoke during the half time show. Who the fuck smokes a pipe nowadays? And what type of dumbass does he think she is? How many girls have fallen for this douche canoe?  The thought of it angered Frank, and made him want to punch his pompous chin that much more.

The two gentlemen sitting on the sofa wearing their jeans and white affliction no limit tee shirts could pass off as brothers…or lovers? That made frank smile. Seeing no visible scars, crooked noses or even a cauliflower ear put his mind at ease that these two were no fighters, but daytime posers.  Frank doubted them ever being in a fight unless it resorted to snapping each other asses with a wet towel in the shower.

The Guido in the tight fitting black shirt sitting on the edge of the sofa posed the biggest threat. Maybe not so much in the fighting arena, judging the way he’s built -  barrel chested, big arms and shoulders, but skinny legs beneath those designer jeans. They always seem to skip leg day. No surprise there. The only surprise frank thought is how he even got into those jeans without removing his testicles. They must be located in that man purse of his wrapped around him.

6:05pm. Glancing back from the black and white clock on the wall across the room it’s about half past time Franks waited. Listening to the five of them bicker like a bunch of clucking hens about who was the best man for her, who had the higher education, who had the bigger dick, cluck, cluck, cluck, is all he heard. Frank was not known as a patient man, more of a quick to rise and fight, and his temperature was past the boiling point. 

“Listen up needledicks!” Frank shouted as he kicked out the stool underneath the legs of Mr. Pompous.

“I have a show for you that you’re not gonna wanna miss tonight.”

Room falls silent.

“Alright. I had enough of you pansy ass, wannabe, dinglefucks. Wipe that sand out of your vaginas and Stop crying about what’s going to happen, and start worrying about what’s happening right now!” 

Shocked the five of them have all eyes glued on frank now, but not as shocked as when Frank pulled off his shirt and his pulled down his jeans and stood there amongst the five of them in his white, baggy, fruit of the looms underwear and red socks yelling “BANANA TIME BITCHES!!!!!”        

Stunned by the sheer audacity of the now underwear clad man where reason once stood beside them failed to see the first blow land on Mr. Pompous chin, knocking him clean to the floor. Frank noticed the metrosexual standing with all his weight on the right hip, and a well-placed kick to his knee brought him down faster than a three legged horse with polio.  “Ha-ha!” Frank shouted with glee just before he ran at the two on the sofa and announced “Look up Buttercups.” Frank leaped over the brothers, smashing the two knuckle heads together, knocking them unconscious before his feet landed on the other side.

Without a moment to spare Frank turns around and just before he was about to punch out the remaining contender, the Guido sticks his hands up like he was being robbed and says “don’t hit me, she’s not worth it you crazy cazzo!” Frank wasn’t sure what cazzo meant, but he took it literally as this guy needs a fucking karate chop to the neck. So that’s what he did. And down like a sack of hammers he went.

By this time Pam and the studio director come out after hearing all the commotion and saw what appeared to be displayed before them was a picture of pure testosterone insanity. Slowly doing up the zipper on his Levis, Frank could care less whether or not they were standing there open mouthed and aghast. 

“You there” The studio director said grinding his teeth, He was a short man wearing white slacks and a black button up shirt, with a big nose and even bigger moustache.

“Just what the flying fuck happened in here??? And why the hell are you not wearing any clothes??”

Frank bends over and picks up his shirt and flings it across his shoulders while slipping on his high tops.

“Well??!” Big nose asked.

Frank flashed a sly grin and replied: “isn’t it obvious?” 

The director just shrugged his shoulders with a dumbfounded look on his big nose face.

“Winning your contest…Like a man.” Frank turned around and waved an arm as he walked away.  “Let’s go Pam.”  He called out as he steps outside and pulls out his keys to his 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner. And she did. And that’s how frank landed number #55. Like a man.


Friday, 3 January 2014

Weather or not.

Weather. Love it or hate it, it’ll always be a part of us. We can’t avoid it even if we wanted to. Sunny and plus 20 one day,  then slowly throughout the night, winter creeps into our lives (uninvitingly I might add) and robs us of our morning  sunshine with freezing wind, frost on the windshields, icy roads  and 6 or more inches  of snow. It’s just like that damn raccoon that slinks into my yard at night, busting open my garbage for a free meal, and then proceeds to spread our family’s disposable contents across the lawn as if to leave some kind of message (particularly to the family dog). Seems to be working too, I have never seen Rocco so terrified of something in his entire life.  One particular reason I got the dog was to stop the neighbor’s cat leaving fresh presents on my fresh cut lawn in the mornings. Being higher up in the food chain I thought that by getting a dog I would be one upping nature. It seems I have been played the fool, for nature saw my king high and raised me with an ace. I could have only imagined what nature would have had in store for me if I had been allowed to raise that cougar that I always wanted. No matter. It’s just nature’s way of letting you know whose boss. And she seems to be throwing her weight around the world these past few years - Fires, Floods, Hurricanes, Tidal waves, Rabid wildlife creatures, Bird flu, Syphilis, Sharknado’s, it’s all been a big pain in humanity’s ass and were left with the aftermath to pick up the pieces.  I’ve noticed that she’s been especially cruel to those countries that don’t have much to begin with and are in need of some kind of relief funds.  Being in a first world country the help relies on us to extend a hand, but I can’t help wonder what if the tables have turned on us?  Would we get the same treatment?

1st World Countries:  So a flood broke out.

Rest of the World: Uh huh.

1st: And it did a lot of damage.

ROW: Ya.

1st:  So we were wondering…

ROW:?

1st: Well…we would really like some money to help us out with that…?

ROW: Huh?

ROW: Oh. You mean us?

1st: Ya.

ROW: Sorry. We got none for you.

1st: Well that’s funny.

ROW: What’s funny?

1ST: Remember all those times we gave you all that money?

ROW: Nope.

1ST: For those disasters…

ROW: Which one?

1ST: All of them?

ROW: Not a clue.

1ST: What do you mean NOT A CLUE?

ROW: Weren’t those charitable donations?

1ST: Uh…Well you see it’s kinda like this.

ROW: Like what?

1ST: Well we were doing it in the sense like - If I scratch your back…

ROW: Uh huh.

1ST: You scratch ours.

ROW: Oh I see. So none of which you gave us was out of the kindness of your heart?

1ST: Well not all of it.

ROW: So just some of it then.

1ST: Well it was supposed to be a “donation.”

ROW: Well we took your “donation” and used it to feed our people. And build makeshift hospitals and houses for those that were destroyed in the disaster.

1st: Yaaa...So out of fairness we would now like some of that back.

Row: Like an Indian giver.

1st: Like what?

ROW: You know, A Indian giver, someone who gives you something then takes it back.

1st: Huh? How do you know this?  Isn’t most of your population illiterate?

ROW: I dunno. You tell me. You built our schools.

1st: Sons of bitches! You do admit to using our funds for something other than relief.

ROW: Well…

1st: Well what?

ROW: You gave it to us.

1st: Out of charity.

ROW: And we thank you.

1st: Grrrrr…All were asking for is a little relief money to get by that’s all.

ROW: Isn’t your countries the countries were money comes from?

1st: Well our money.

ROW: So print more of it.

1st: It doesn’t work like that.

ROW: What do you mean?

1st: Agghhh. Fuck. Because of trading, and stocks, and debt, and shit.

ROW: Easy big guy…

1st: Well quit dicking us around and give us some money so we can fix this.

ROW: No.

1st: Please?

ROW: We’d like to,

1st: Uh boy.

ROW: But um you see it’s like this…

1st: Here we go.

ROW: We owe all of these other countries…

1st: Uh huh.

ROW: And the wives have been up working late to help with the bills…

1st: Ok.

ROW: And the rent was due like yesterday…

1st: Ya.

ROW: And you see… we... just... don’t... want... to?

1st: Don’t want to?

ROW: Yaaa...

1st: That’s your story?

ROW: Um sure.

1st: Well fine, fuck you then. See if we ever help you guys out with your fucking tsunami’s, and build your stupid mud huts and fix your fucking bicycles, and your gay straw hats and precious motor less fishing boats, it’s the fucking 21st century for fuck sakes, get a fucking clue, or job or stop building on the side of a fucking cliff using palm tree leaves, or shit. Fuck.

ROW: You ok there big guy?

1st: ……

ROW: Would you like a soda?

1st: Piss off.

ROW: Would you like to tell us what’s bothering you?

1st: No. You know why.

ROW: Com’on…

1st: No.

ROW: Feeling better?

1st: ….…I’m ok.

ROW: Would you like an ice cream bar?

1st: Sure. I’d love an ice cream bar. If you give us 50 million dollars I’ll go buy one.

ROW: Nice try.

1st: Fine. Maybe next time we might just fix your country by blowing it up. Like a clean slate.

ROW: Fine. Then maybe we will just stop building your toys, cars, and any devices you happen to use in you’re little greedy money grubbing daily life.

1st: Fine. Maybe we will do that then.

ROW: Fine. Maybe we will.

1st: Well ok then.

ROW: Well ok, be that way.

1st: We will. Enjoy your barren land with your communist run government of HIV populated, uneducated, Low mortality rated, weaponless, pathetic society of underfed, lazy, toothless, farmers.

ROW: We will. Enjoy Justin Bieber fags.

1st: Ohhhhhh... Fucking hate those guys oh so... so much right now.

ROW: HA ha!


END


Sunday, 25 August 2013

Tales of A Maintenance Man #258

So I thought today was gonna be like any other day,
Fix some machines, eat some food, fix more machines, and go home.
Yes, today did start like any other, but wait, what’s this?
A call to the ace room?
Nay I say, the machines up there run like a doozy.
Aie, there was But one machine that did not.
Cryptic she be too the operators that swarmed like
Moths attracted to a flame.
What is this mysterious spell that has fallen upon #4?
We have not seen this before, maybe on goats but not this?
Have their eyes deceived them?
Was it Voodoo?
Alas! It was a box.
A mighty fine beast she was and mustered up a good fight,
But in the end it was just a box.


Nothing more.


Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Calgary Expo '13

    Being a closet geek most of my life, I find it wonderful that someone out there has come up with the idea of Comic Con. A convention where your true inner nerd comes to life and the people around you could care less if you’re into Dungeons&Dragons, Doctor Who, or that you know all the songs from Kirk and Spocks Spaced out album. Better yet they might even embrace this fact and sing a few bars with you and a new friendship bond develops and you laugh and talk about it over a game of Cattan.

    Visiting the Calgary Expo (Canada's version of Comic Con) this past weekend, First thing you notice is how you’re immediately thrown into this universe of geekdom that covers everything from board games, to anime, from comic books to cosplay. Like all shows they get you ready by standing in line so you can then stand in a bigger line for hours, and hours at a time. It's like prepping an athlete for a contest. Although if you look in this crowd you might not see the finest, most fit specimens on the planet waiting in line to spend $10 on a burrito with extra cheese. But you will see a fat batman and his 8 year old son joker standing there checking out the powerpuff girls in front of them giggling about what celebrity their going to get their photo with next.

    I myself, like any of the thousand pubescent virgin males around me gawk at the wonderful women portraying their beloved characters in the least amount of clothing possible. Never has any of these cartoon characters ever looked so so good in so so little. I applaud their commitment to character and wished there was more troopers out there like them. The 33 year old me stays cool and collected on the outside, but the 16 year old in me is running around like a crazy person high on testosterone, Vodka and Red Bull, wearing nothing but body paint and shooting roman candles off inside my head. If only I had a real camera instead of this Sony camera phone BS that looks like my 6 year old nephew was taking the pictures. Everyone is either too far away, terrible flash, and out of focus. Just great. Hey is that Wolverine? Wait, wait, nope it's just some hairy bastard with posters in his hands...

Anyways,

    Walking down the aisles of the Comic book artists I always feel guilty. It's as if it feels like walking by a pet shop with a giant window and all the artists are the puppies on display, with their big, sad, puppy dog eyes looking at you for approval. Browsing their work and to keep on walking is almost like telling them "Hmmm you’re not bad, but that other guy's talent is better. I think I'll take his work home instead. Sorry. Maybe next year." Although that still doesn't stop some people from taking them all home at once, they're the real humanitarians of the convention.

     The Expo has many booths for every type of fan out there. I still do not understand the whole furry movement and I don't think I ever want to. I love animals but not to that extent. Sorry. And as much as I love Anime, my parents probably will never understand what it's all about and why I'm so into it. Maybe it's the fact you have to read it as well as watch it...or maybe it’s the fact that a grown married man such as myself is watching cartoons more than his children. I dunno. I'm just a sucker for Caucasian girls in skimpy clothing, with huge eyes and breasts that speak Japanese. I admit it. I have no shame.


    I also happened to drop by the Steampunk booth to check out all of the neat brass weapons and gadgets they had on display. It's a pretty big movement that's been growing in the last few years, But don't dare ask them what their all about or anything they are selling if you are not one of them. I don't know what makes them so stuck up or think they are above everyone else. But I do know that they have developed a way to make fat people fashionable. Who knew...?



Sunday, 4 November 2012

Determining Baby Names - First The Boy.

*Article was written before we gave birth to our son Axle Slade on Friday Oct.19/12 at 9:04pm.*

    Right now I'm on borrowed time. Since my informed me about getting induced this Saturday, my first worries of a father spring forth, and reality is closing the door, igniting my worst fears like a house fire...and me burning inside, armed with only a water pistol to put the flames out. This is how equipped I am with the ever present ticking time bomb in my wife's womb. No matter. I work better under pressure - or the last minute. I have many pressing matters ahead of me, all of which could be better described as me standing naked, on a Saturday morning at a farmers market with a tuna in one hand and a flashlight in the other, asking passersby if they have seen that cat - the one who answers to Clark. Now Clark may be a dumb name for a cat, but this is no cat I will have to name in a day or two. This child will have to live with a lifetime of embarrassment or pride, depending on the decision I we are about to make.
    One could take the easy route and name the boy after yourself. This just proves how egotistical you are and how unoriginal thought process is. What have I done so great? Other than clubbing the mother and dragging her back to my cave and having my way with her. With all the previous decisions I have made so far, I'm lucky I'm still alive to attract a mate to hang around long enough to procreate. Have I discovered the atom? Have I invented the first light bulb or produced the first automobile? Have I invented the time machine? No I have not. If I did I'd be the world's wealthiest man and the mother would probably most likely be Megan Fox or Marilyn Monroe. And for those of you who can't answer any of the above questions as well, I say pick something else.
    Next you can look up to your hero's for a chosen name. Naturally most (good) fathers end up being the hero in a boy’s life. One problem. Those who know my father well call him BOB, short for Robert, which is his middle name. The problem is I know more Roberts than any other name. I have heard that Muhammad is the most common name in the world but I beg to differ. I know so many Roberts that I have to call them by a sir name - cowboy Rob, work Rob, Rob the smart ass I went to school with ect. And why would you name your kid after a prophet anyways? Seems like you’re setting them up for failure from the beginning. Did he set your people free? Doubtful. Other than Ali is there any other famous Muhammad’s? And that's not even his real name! Fail. Try again next time.
    By now you’re probably spit balling some names. Guarantee that any name you and the misses throw out there, you have probably met in your life by now and reject the name outright based on the fact if the guy was a dickhead or a Nancy boy.  I for one try to think of the strongest, manliest, name I can think of. Something to the tune of if the cast from the Expendables were packed into a one testosterone filled anabolic sandwich, chewed up and spit out by Clint Eastwood himself. A name so manly that every other guy in the same room might as well be sporting vaginas. This ain't no sissy bar. The world can have their girlish names of Lance, Tracey or Clarence; Unisex names are for the weak who can't decide if their boy should have been a girl or vice versa. Some goes as far as giving their poor boy a girl’s name, such as Sarah. Well Sarah, we know who wears the pants in your family. It’s a shame really.

    As much as I like the idea, I think it would be hilarious as a Caucasian male to give your kid a name that is the complete opposite of your race. Like Japanese-Mongolian or Turkish-Zimbabwe. Here meet my son Yamaguchi Khan or my son Dundar Ncklkckxwjdkkikxacc. Or how about a whole string of vowels? EIEIEIO. As funny as that would be I'll stick to a manly name.