Latvians

It is a disgrace that I have not posted here in almost two weeks now. I apologize to those of you who follow this for whatever reason you do.

Because I am a hypnotist I have this odd, niche, cult following around the world. It’s not large but it’s certainly diverse and definitely loyal and growing.
This blog has been read (more than just random accidental times) by people in 31 different countries now. Some of them also found their way here, and vice versa, because of the filthy podcast show I produce, which has invaded 55 countries now.
It doesn’t really matter; I find it interesting and amusing.

The Latvian Flag (for our Latvian followers, of course)

So since the hypnotism followers want to read about that subject, I’ll start there for this.

Obviously a hypnosis show requires volunteers. Well, what happens when no one wants to volunteer?
I’ve had occasions where in a crowd of 50 people or so at a party where there was a sever lack of volunteers to the point where only one hand was raised. But last week I did an event, a smaller one to be sure, where absolutely nobody wanted any part of it.

Normally what this means is that I have to take extra time in the introduction portion of the show to explain more about hypnosis and talk about the myths that everyone has heard and dispel them. Then I can usually pull enough people up on stage to have a successful show. I know that they won’t all stay until the end, but I can at least have a good show.

But this particular evening not a single soul was going to get up on stage and maybe one person performed well during the suggestibility tests.

This was an issue and one which I let the small crowd know was an issue.

But, telling them that was part of what I then needed to do to pull off what happened.

The show was then described as a demonstration for those in the audience and a chance for people to de-stress a little bit and “practice” to see if perhaps hypnosis would work for them for some other reason at a future point in time.

All of the audience except for two of them then participated right in the chairs in which they were sitting. From there, I just did my regular show and half of the crowd that started the induction process ended up being the stars of the show for the entire show.

It was tricky, but it was necessary and it paid off big time. The group that brought me there scheduled me for a return visit next year.

The show schedule is still very slow right now. I am hoping that some company’s move parties to January to take advantage of lower venue rates. But we’ll see. I think I’ll have to focus harder on teaching and doing some more hypnotherapy until we get people who know how to run an economy back in charge around here.

It’s that dead time of the baseball year where we are now waiting for the winter meetings to heat up and hopefully we will see some hot and heavy trading action. This hasn’t been the case recently since players are locked up in contracts that make it nearly impossible to trade people at this time of the year.
All of the awards are out now. If you’re a baseball fan you know who they are, of course. The only real surprise to me was that Tiger’s pitcher Justin Verlander won the MVP award. On the same team you had the AL’s batting leader in Miguel Cabrera who plays every day. Granted Verlander with the 24-5 record and the pitching Triple Crown winner was valuable but I just think the MVP has to go to a position player.

Let’s see…well, we’re in holiday season now. For years I had taken the last two weeks of the year off to relax and enjoy the season. During recent years I have kept my schedule open so that I could book shows.
The main thing that I do like to do is try to stay away from the news. It’s very difficult since I am glued to headlines and news like it’s a job for me. But because it is by the time the end of the year comes around I get so depressed and overwhelmed because of all of that negativity. So I turn it off whenever and wherever I can.

On a personal note, I am a completely single dude now and will be 50 in December. I can’t tell you how awful this really is. I suppose it’s better than being in a horrible relationship but knowing that it’s pretty much over as far as a dating or relationship life is concerned is rather tough.
I have tried to put myself out there a bit. But frankly I can’t stand the process. I hate having to tell the same story over and over again and getting judged about how I look and what I do and what I say and what I write.
One of the reasons I started the dungeon show was to talk about all of that nonsense and make fun of it and ridicule it and bash it and do so without a care about what people think my opinion of it is.
I said long ago that my last relationship was going to be my last whether it lasted forever or not. I’m pretty sure I am going to stand by that. I guess maybe someone might come along and sweep me off of my feet. But the reality is that I’m 49 going on 50, not 29 going on 30. Sure you might think that there is still plenty of time and plenty of people, but the real world reality is much different, especially here where I live where its just awful…freaking awful.

Well, that’s it. I’m going to try to write more and not leave my Algerian and Latvian followers disappointed.

Done.

Times They Are A Changin

There are a couple of interesting big changes on the horizon in Major League Baseball.

First, the Houston Astros were just sold and as an incentive to get a 70 million dollar discount on the sale, the new owner agreed to move the Astros from the NL Central division to the AL West division.
This now gives both leagues an even 15 teams each with 5 teams in each division.

The second change, still being negotiated, is the addition of two more wild card teams, one in each league, at the end of the year. The two wild card teams from each league would play a one-game playoff to determine the official wild card team and then the playoffs would resume as they have for over a decade now.

Naturally there are fans who expressed opposition to this. 30% of all teams now make the playoffs but I’m not so sure that just getting one more game and one more team is all that negative. I think it makes the wild card spot not as exciting to get because now in just one game the season could be over for that team. Currently the wild card team’s only disadvantage is that they don’t get home-field advantage for the first round, which is a best of 5 series.

This change in the league structure will, however, mean that interleague play will be year round. On days where every team plays it means that at least one interleague game will be played on that day.

Even now I’m still up in the air about interleague play. I’d sort of rather see the leagues compete within their own leagues. This was one of the topics that was always great for debate…which league was better?

I do sort of like seeing some of the geographic rivalries each year like the Mets and Yankkes, the Cubs and White Sox, for example. But I never really cared about the other matchups that end up unfolding. Who really cares about a Seattle vs Florida matchup?

Oh, I should say Seattle vs MIAMI matchup since the Marlins are now going their city name with the move to their new ballpark.

The Red Sox former manager Terry Francona has decided not to try to find a team to manage this year. It must be nice to be able to make that sort of decision, don’t you think?
There was talk that since former Red Sox GM Leo Epstein took the Cubs GM job that Francona might head there, but Dale Sveum just landed the Cubs managerial spot.

As expected Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers won the leagues Cy Young awards. Since both were pitching Triple Crown winners these were obvious choices.

No one cares about the Manager of the Year awards but they went to Joe Maddon from Tampa Bay and Kirk Gibson of Arizona, neither off whom went to the World Series which simply makes the award sort of stupid to me.

Ok, so my favorite team is the Mets and my least favorite team is the Phillies.
This might provide a clue about the 2012 season and these two teams.
Transactions:
Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent 1B Jim Thome.

Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent RHP Jonathan Papelbon.

New York Mets signed free agent OF Vinny Rottino.

New York Mets signed free agent 1B Valentino Pascucci.

However, the Mets are moving in the fences at Citi Field slicing the playing surface there by 2%. Based on information provided by the team, had the fences been at the new dimensions since the stadium opened the Mets would have hit 81 more homeruns there and opponents 70. So this is a good thing for my team. I just don’t know if Rottino and Pascucci are just as good of a move.

Speaking of Free Agents, there are many but just a few of real consequence. Thome and Papelbon were decent signings for the Phils. With Ryan Howard out for months because of his Achilles tendon surgery, Thome can fill in there at firstbase. Papelbon, a closer for the Red Sox will take over that spot in Philly…for way too much money, but let them spend everything they have, I don’t care.
Other key free agents of note…
OF Carlos Beltran. He went from the Mets to the Giants in a mid-season trade and had a decent year coming off knee surgery. He should get a good chase.

SS Jose Reyes. This one kills me. If the Mets don’t sign him I’m going to find it tough to continue rooting for them. The fact that they signed Rattino and Pascucci makes me think the team, which has had financial difficulties, is saving to pay him.

1B Albert Pujols. St. Louis fans are probably saying the same thing that I am saying about Reyes. There is no way that city can let Albert go.

1B Prince Fielder. I think Fielder is a lock to leave Milwaukee. I will actually be shocked if he stays there, but the Brewers were fun to watch this year making the playoffs and they put butts in seats so maybe enough cash is there.

RP Heath Bell. I think paying closers anything more than a million dollars a year is a waste of money since they pitch one inning at a time. But of the closers still available he has been one of the best.
OF Grady Sizemore. Yes, he has been injured but he is still just 29 years old. A 3 year deal might be workable and a team could get a decent return for him for a contract much smaller than he would have had if he had not been injured.
SP Mark Buehrle. Buehrle is just 32 and a lefty. Every team needs a left-handed starter and one who has thrown a couple of no-hitters is icing on the cake. If the Mets don’t sign Reyes I think they need to sign this guy or…
SP Roy Oswalt. He was part of that monstrous Phillie starting rotation and he had a decent year. He is 34 so anything more than a 2-year deal is foolish. This makes me think he stays in Philly, but we never know, do we?


So that’s baseball talk. I would talk more about hypnosis but my show schedule has been light. I’ve been getting requests to go all over the country but the fees people have been expecting to pay haven’t covered air fare, which is something that completely baffles me.

So with the show schedule light, hypnotherapy is spotty, hypnosis training is spotty and pretty much everything else I have tried to do not producing much, I have to find some additional ways to do better than just survive.
I am open to suggestions here.
I find myself at a crossroad in my life…again. And just when I find myself there and was dealing with the loss of my dog for a while, someone in my life kicked me and pooped on me when I was down. This is something I shall not forget…ever.
But I shall try to use it to my advantage in some way. Hopefully I will figure out exactly what that might be.

At least Beavis and Butthead are back on TV. They make more sense to me than what is going on in my world these days.

Done.

Speaking His Mind

Longtime CBS news correspondent and editorialist Andy Rooney just died at the age of 92.

This dude was at CBS for 60 years and most notably was the guy who closed out editions of the TV show “60 Minutes.” His essays at the end of each show were what he was known for writing and broadcasting.

I was never a Rooney fan but I respect someone who is courageous enough to say what he believes he needs to say in front of millions of people regardless of the consequences. Rooney, during his tenure in this spot, angered Blacks, Indians (oh crap, I just said Blacks and Indians…forgive me…African-Americans and Native-Americans,) Gays, Christians, and even fans of OJ Simpson and Nirvana.

He even called out CBS executives, on the air, to fire him over the responses he would get to some of his work.

So in his honor, I’ll proceed. Read on with caution.

Andy Rooney 1919-2011

I’m staring at my hypnosis show schedule for December and I am still stuck on ONE.
The Holiday season is one for Holiday parties, mostly Christmas parties of course, but some places have become freaked out enough that the parties are simply named Holiday parties so as not to offend any other group that doesn’t celebrate Christmas. You know, that 15% of people living here legally and not in a sleeper cell.

So why only one show? Well, it could be because my show sucks, but with plenty of other places bringing me back to do shows during my other normally busier times of year, that might not be it.

I have spoken with one particular person who had me scheduled for a show but now the company doesn’t have enough money for entertainment.

But why is that? I thought this country was on the road to “recovery!”

Hogeffingwash, that is.

I watch and follow the news and see people in the streets protesting in front of big businesses telling these businesses that they “aren’t paying their fair share,” and other sorts of commie nonsense.

These “unfair” companies are the ones who hire someone like me at Christmas parties where they spend thousands of dollars to celebrate the season with their employees. Not a single one of these companies is obliged to do this, but lots do. Many more are beginning not to do so. They are cutting back because times are tough and because they are told that these types of expenditures are frivolous and wasteful. They are told that they don’t have the right to celebrate like this because other people are out of work and that such a celebration spits in the eye of those who don’t have jobs.

So what happens? I teeter on the brink of bankruptcy by the end of the year if this doesn’t change, or if I don’t find an alternate plan for myself.

So, it’s cool and all that people want to go out and protest and speak their minds. We all have that right. But these particular demonstrators are calling themselves “occupiers.”
Now, I would imagine that since most of these demonstrators are leftists, and we know this is the case since both the Communist and National Socialist (NAZI) parties are in solidarity with them, that they were, and are, against the so-called “occupation” of countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course I speak of our own military operations over there where our own soldiers are called “war criminals” and other such names by the people protesting in America.

So if our military is “occupying” a country waging a war, aren’t demonstrators who are “occupying” a city such as…let’s say…Oakland, where there is now violence in the streets, waging and committing acts of war?

I would say that those revolutionaries are doing just that…waging Civil War in our country…and we should take tanks and machine guns and go to war with them.

Oh, but wait! President Obama used to be a lawyer with the community organizing group ACORN which, I suppose just coincidentally, is at least one of the groups that has organized these demonstrations. So I guess it’s ok then for these revolutionaries to revolt like this, right? Because Obama is the President of the US!

But isn’t the Presidents #1 priority to safeguard the people of the United States? I see that in the Constitution, at least. Are big businesses doing business in the US not eligible for protection from violent mobs?

I’m confused. I have heard Mr. Obama rage against banks and other big businesses that aren’t spending enough money supporting his campaign (like General Electric, Solyndra, etc.) so is then this his Army of people rioting now in the streets? Are we supposed to be at war with banks and businesses in this country?

Help me out here, please! Banks loaned me money to get my house. Businesses hire me and pay me to do work so I can eat and buy clothes and all of that happy stuff. They both give money to charitable causes and generate tax revenue for local governments. WHY ARE WE AT WAR WITH THEM?

The banking regulations slapped on banks in the last couple of years by the Obama administration and the leftist controlled congress from 2009-2010 have made it extremely difficult for some people…oh, I don’t know…maybe LIKE ME…to get a business loan. So coupled with a poor economy (oh wait, I’m sorry…VP Joe Biden and head of the DNC Deborah Wasserman-Schultz say that everything is just fine) increased regulations, and the increased demonization of any big business that isn’t trying to build solar panels and wind mills that aren’t keeping my energy bill lower, I, and many others like me, face…let’s say…an uncertain future.

So if war is being waged against banks and businesses then people, praised by none other than our own President and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, are effectively waging war on ME, because I am directly affected by these regulations, restrictions and demonstrations.

So against whom do I fight back? No one, that’s right, because I simply don’t have the money or power to do it. And that’s by design, make no mistake about it.  

I can speak about it and write about it, for now. How long will that last though? Hopefully we can all make it until 1-20-13 where we change things back to a time where we weren’t on a road to Greece and we can call Christmas, Christmas, call Halloween, Halloween, call Easter, Easter, have hypnosis shows at celebrations of all of those types of events and parties, and we can all have fun and make money and grow and prosper together…all of us, not just one or two select groups, but all of us. As long as we have a President who stands in front of our people and actively chastises and pits one group against another…for example, the rich against the poor…this will not happen.

Three guys who I had hoped would join the race for President are not going to do so. I currently like Herman Cain, who is running. I mentioned him some time ago in this dumb-assed blog. I’ll be happy with any of the above right now, even Ron Paul. I just want to work at helping make people laugh at parties. This President has done nothing to help facilitate that…AT ALL.

I take a big risk writing down this stuff here. I don’t have the resources to fight off being placed on some black list by people who might hire me but don’t agree with what I just said and decide not to do so. I might even have an agent or two who disagrees with me. I know I have at least one who says her corporate business is down 80% though, so I’m betting she is with me.

She probably wouldn’t say it like I just did, but I am writing to speak my mind just like Andy Rooney did for all of those years. He got paid a lot of money to do it though, so he took a lot less risk than I did. But I’d be a coward if I didn’t stand up for and speak of the things in which I believe, regardless of the consequences.

And to think when I started this that I didn’t really have anything to say. RIP Andy Rooney, and thank you for doing what you did.

Done.