Everything old is new again

As I type this, I sit.... alone in my room. It's 11:21 pm. I'm still up. Cool.

Most Sunday nights I would have had to pack for a week away, go to bed early, set my alarm for 4:30am, get a shower, load my car and drive 4 hours to Miami to go to work.

And I would work a full day. A full, usually late-night day. A frustrating, late-night day.

I'm thankful to report that I don't have to do that anymore.

I start my new and hopefully better gig tomorrow. And it's here, near my house. So if I work a frustrating late-night day at this gig, at least I have the opportunity to come home.

Home.

There's a lot I want to do. I want to finish the short story I was working on. I want to draw at my art board again. I want to catch up with some folk that have veered away. I want to drink beer at Natalie's. I want to be home. And I am.

Home.

New job.

New car.

New start.

New perspective - I have perspective I have never had now. It's good. Makes me a better guy.

AND... I beat the shit out of that alarm clock with a hammer.

It may not have been the most mature thing to have done.

And it probably doesn't make me a better guy.

But the symbolism of the end of that damn noise, combined with the satisfactory minor violence around it sure felt great.

Thank you, Great Maker, for those Miami days. Thank you, Great Maker, for these days at home.

Those Miami days are gone.

Gone-didddly-on.

Leebo's home.

Game on, neighborinos.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Change in the weather, change in the sea,

Come back baby, you'll find a change in me

Everybody, they ought to change sometime

Because sooner or later we have to go down in that lonesome ground.

I changed suits, I changed shirts,

I changed, baby, just to get shed of the dirt

Everybody, we ought to change sometime,

Because sooner or later we're going down in that lonesome ground.

I changed honey, I changed money,

I changed, people, just to keep from being funny

Everybody, they ought to change sometime,

Because sooner or later we're going down in that lonesome ground.

*******************************

Lyrics by Sleepy John Estes, but you should be hearing Eric Clapton singing it.

Sleepy John Estes was right. Things are coming down the horizon. Good things.

Soon I may have a new ride.

Soon I start a new gig.

Soon I'll be leaving Miami.

Soon I'm going to do a little life overhaul.

Soon I'm coming home.

I can't wait.

Soon.

TCB, baby.

Yeah.

Heh.

"Estes". :)

Tank you, boyce....

The Boys here are going to show me the man-love tonight.

They are going to show me how much they care and respect me as a person and an individual.

They are going to toast my friendship and hold me in the highest of all possible regard.

They are going to show me their inspiration, based soley upon how high they hold my ideals and standards.

They are going to show me a depth of comarderie that hasn't been seen since our boys at war fought the enemy in foxholes side-by-side with their comrades, using only bayonets and their own guile.

They are going to take me higher.

That's right.

We're going to Hooters.

Another round of Random Shots of Spaceships!

Today, we pay tribute to the last of the Babylon stations. One of my favorite shows EVER.

It was their last, best hope for peace... but it became something greater... their last best hope for victory.

Ladies, gentlemen, Garns and Centari... I present to you... BABYLON 5.

" No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow." - Ivonova


One of the best shows ever made. I salute you JMS. Well played, sir. Well played.

I will never buy another Blackberry Phone again and other thoughts

Figure Leebo-1: Three Great Bluesmen at BB King's in Orlando

Greetings from Leeboworld.

Haven't been on the blog in quite a while. Been wrapped up in me. Hey, that's just good wrapping.

Much has happened during my stay back home from Glorious Arkansas and my time back has been ok. I am hopeful of the future and feel that tomorrow just might be a telling day. Go Labor Day, that life-changing of all days.

Figure Leebo-2, Back at the Swamp thanks to C-lish.

I am struck by the fact that it has been one helluva year. Full of major highs and heart-breaking lows. I have rarely had a year like this one. And it's only September. Oh, crap.

Figure Leebo 3: I am standing on holy ground, the birthplace of rock n' roll.

One major positive this year was visiting Sun Records in Memphis. I cannot even decribe my feelings as I walked into the place, as I walked into the recording studio. I was standing in the shadow of the Immortals. Elvis. Johnny Cash. Jerry Lee. Carl. Roy. BB. Unbelievable.

Figure Leebo-4 : Standing on the exact spot Elvis stood, holding Elvis' micrphone. Unreal. Surreal.

I actually stood on the exact spot Elvis stood (the "x" tape is still on the floor) and held Elvis' microphone. My Mom would have been proud.

Unfortunately, all of my pics on my phone from the last year are gone. My media card on my brand new Blackberry shit the bed. I'm told that this is a common occurance.

I am pissed. Many photos of my journey I had yet to save were on there.

Gone. In the words of Ned Flanders, Gone-diddly-on.

I wanted a smart phone. The owner of my Company I work for talked me out of it. I will never buy a piece of shit Balckberry again.

Very frustrating.

But hey, tomorrow's Labor Day.

That most life-changing of all days.

Wait. What? Ummmmm.... yeah.....

Has it really been this long since I put something on the blog?

Wow.

I should really do something about that......

Believe in the power of INCEPTION

I have seen something I have not seen in a long time. A truly original movie.

INCEPTION, by Christopher Nolan, is quite simply, one of the finest movies I have ever seen in this or any other life.

Run, don't walk to see this.

More images from Arkansas: Leebo's Bluff

This is a part of the farm I call Leebo's Bluff.

I call it that because of a conversation I had with Jeremy.

I asked him what this part of the farm was called, and he told me that it had no name.

I told him that it should be called "Leebo's Bluff".

He accurately pointed out that this is not a bluff.

I told him "That's the bluff".

It was funnier in person, but not by much.

It probably should be called "Leebo's Rock" because I have talked to EVERYONE, from family to friends to co-workers to truck brokers to truck drivers to insurance agents.... I have talked to, and reflected upon, just about everyone and everything on that rock.

I think it is my favorite part of the farm.

I have thought a lot about my Mom here. This rock and I are companions in reflection, it and I.

This is a good place. I will remember it for the rest of my life.

Images from Gillam Farms, Judsonia, Arkansas

Images from my stay with some of the greatest people I will ever know. My friends at Gillam Farms, in Arkansas.

This face opens doors, baby.

Clay and Parker: COMEDY

Clay and Parker: TRAGEDY

This monstrosity was parked outside my hotel room one night. I believe it to be a recreation of Smokey cloning himslef and having a bizarre bear hug orgy.

They have had no rain here for six weeks and the average temps have been around 100 degrees F with the heat indexes reaching around 118F. The blackberry plants are not faring well.

My QC girl Kayla is a sweetie. She rocks. And she's a good girl.

Even though she's standing next to me.

The Ghost Who Sucked

ATTENTION WORLD: THIS IS NOT THE PHANTOM.

I have just watched SyFy Channel's new miniseries called "The Phantom". To say I did not like it is a galactic understatement.

I'd like to provide my review: This redition of The Phantom is a f-ing abortion and I deny its existance totally and completely.

I despise and loathe this. I hate every damn thing about it. From the shitty costume to the crap story. This rendition of THE PHANTOM totally and completely sucks.

To take a character I love as much as THE PHANTOM and sink it to these depths is the epitome of a miscarriage of source, story and character. These idiots do not get it. They had no business even being involved with Lee Falk's beloved character. They have no soul and no love for the source material what so ever. They suck. Forever. This crime is inexcusable.

With THE SPIRIT sucking ass, then this PHANTOM abomination, and then the oncoming onslaught that I see to be JONAH HEX, it is truly a Trifecta Of Shame.

3 great characters lobotomized by unfeeling Hollywood A-holes who have no grasp on what made them great (Though with Frank Miller, I do believe he knew what made THE SPIRIT great, he just completely, and mysteriously, misfired.).

This SyFy shit is not THE PHANTOM. IT IS NOT THE PHANTOM.

I'd like to repeat that, because it sounds fairly important:

THIS SHIT MINISERIES IS NOT THE PHANTOM.

F-you, SyFy Channel.

My hatred toward you right now is undying and will exceed my lifespan for eons upon eons.

This crap you have spent millions to produce is not THE PHANTOM.

Below is THE PHANTOM.





I wish a pox on all involved with this complete and total piece of garbage miniseries.

If it gets turned into a series I will have acheived a new disrespect for how truly stupid the public truly is. And believe me, that would be an impressive low.

F-you, SyFy, you completely and totally suck huge amounts of ass.

Random Shots of Spaceships!

For your viewing pleasure, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a really cool little kick-ass ship.

The U.S.S. Defiant!

Arkansas Blackberries Are My Life

Howdy.



I'm in Razorback country, by way of Tarheel country, by way of Gator country.



Confused? OK, I'm in Arkansas.



It's Father's Day and I am away from my Dad, yet I called and he seems reasonably OK with that. Perhaps that's the greatest gift I can give him: not being in the same state.


So, I sit in places like Gillam Ridge (see above) and hang out in the 108 degree heat, which makes a dry county even dryer. Not to worry, though, I still have plenty of Sheiner Bach beers and some Crown in my hotel fridge.



I haven't really documented my travels very well. That ends now. I want to take some pics of the great people here, my friends at Gillam Farms. I'll be posting more over the next few weeks.

After all, who would want to miss genius and beauty like this?

Random Act of Strangeness

Hi.

I'm currently in NC by way of Gator Country.

I don't really have much to say. I've just been taking things day by day.

This post is just going to some random stuff from my travels.

It will be more entertaining if you've been drinking.

The above illustration was actually in a bathroom stall at one of the blueberry farms I have been to.

See, some people are from poor countries where plumbing is scarce and they come to America to find that they are unused to the splendor and majesty that is the American sewer system.

They don't know that bullshit is what holds us together as a country and we know how to handle our massive surplus of crap by sending it through various tubes and pipes that go places most sensible people don't even want to think about.

Fortunately, some alert, sensible person created this job aid/procedure/process defintion.

God bless America.

I love JONAH HEX. I think he's a great character. They should make a movie out of him.

That is why I believe this movie will totally and completely suck.

See, I loved THE SPIRIT too.

At a little plce on the river.... that I think was called The Crab Shack....in Savannah, GA....in the parlance or our times...you can order a drink named after The Dude.

Far out, man.

This piece of crap that passes for art is in Wilmington, NC off the Cape Fear river.

Or... maybe I'm missing the point.

Nah. It's crap.

This chair should be mine. It rests in the sole liquor store for miles in Elizabethtown, NC.

There's a sign saying please don't sit in the chair. I really want to sit in that chair.

Mechanical picking at Lem's farm in NC, high above it all.

It was a whole new world up there. Plus, it made my ass vibrate. Groovy.

Soon, I leave the land of NC and Fat Tony's and go to rural Arkansas.

I would love to say my creative juices will be flowing there.

The beer certainly won't be, so maybe the creative juices will.

Or, maybe I'll drive 50 miles to go get some beer.

The Dude Abides.

I surrender

Attention, Engineers and others like you:

I give up. You win.

My resistance is futile, I shall assimilate myself into your collective. I renounce all that I know and pledge to you the following:

I shall not think... and when I am in danger of thinking I shall call at least 4 people to keep it from escalating.

I shall not act when I can over-analyze every micro-fiber of every problem, delaying even the simplest of action or reaction to the point that it is critical that it should have been acted on yesterday.

I shall not say "idea" when I mean "concept". Because "concept" is YOUR word.

I shall constantly analyze and re-analyze the minute and the meaningless... and I shall create grand discussions about it and its perceived repercussions amongst the disinterested masses. Repercussions, people.

I shall not celebrate my success or the success of others. I shall treat any success as a lucky happenstance considering how inferior we are as a cohesive unit. And I shall worry about those that enjoy each others company "after hours" to the point where we must all work to eliminate "after hours".

I shall not laugh unless I am extremely funny and even then, I will be the judge of that.

I shall drink warm soda and eat cheesy poofs, but I shall indulge in them only on holidays. I shall also work to eliminate holidays.

I shall feel responsible. Even if it was beyond my control. Especially if it was beyond my control. And I will exact repercussions on those I deem responsible besides myself, whether they have responsibility in the matter or not. Said repercussions will not reach me, but others. Repercussions, people.

I shall not trust and no matter how lofty of a position I have, I shall dissect with excrutiating detail any and all records or expenses of those beneath my position. I shall render those who should be monitoring that activity for me useless but I shall pay their salaries anyway.

I shall panic when discretion and dialogue are necessary. I shall guage each problem by the amount of panic I am able to lend to the situation.

I shall berate and belittle when diplomacy is needed to make someone better. I shall also be threatened by people trying to be better. After all, they should have been up to my lofty standards in the first place.

You win. I surrender.

Just kidding.

Bad news, creativity and imagination still live and still thrive. Just not in your world.

And you make me wonder.

And hunger.

For cheezy poofs.

Conrats to my friend, Jeremy Gillam, State Representative for Arkansas District 49!!

I have personally thanked future Governor of Arkansas, my friend Jeremy Gillam, for his successful 66% majority vote, trouncing his oppontent into obscurity for his bid to become State Representative for District 49 in Arkansas.

Watch The Leeman's congratulations through the wonder of pixelated technology!

Conrgratulations, Jeremy!

http://growing49.com/

More Random Shots of Spaceships!

I certainly have to include early in our random shots of spaceships collection the Firefly-class vessel, SERENITY.

From the late and much lamented Joss Whedon TV series FIREFLY, which, after being cancelled, inspired The Big Damn Movie, SERENITY.

Click on it to embiggen it. To paraphrase Mal, this here's a spectacle worthy or some consideration.

Raise a glass of Mudder's Milk to her. She's shiny.

God help me.....

.... I've finally gone and done it.

I'm on Twitter.

I'm a Twitterer.

It's just one more way to follow my hilarious hijinx.

I'm not sure that's how you spell "hijinx", but you get the picture.

I'm on Twitter as TheBigLeeboski.

Natch.

it's just one more way to belong to the machine.

Greetings, programs.

http://twitter.com/TheBigLeeboski

Frank Frazetta, R.I.P.

Just learned Frank Frazetta passed away.

Very sad, a true visonary, his works will live on.

To see some of his fine prints, click here.

To check out his story, click here.

I remember litstening to a lot of Molly Hatchet growing up and marveling at his work.

An unparralelled artist, to be sure.

Rest in peace, Mr. Frazetta.

Random Shots of Spaceships!!!!!

Welcome to a new, exciting chapter of our little part of Cyberville. Random shots of spaceships.

Basically.... its random shots of spaceships. Yes, I'm a geek.

And what better spaceship to start with than the most famous one of all....The Starship Enterprise?

Live long and perspire.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

You are on my mind and in my heart today.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom, wherever you are.

I love you.