Good luck charms ... happy omens ... sings of positive change ...

Walking through Central Park this morning and saw this basketball floating in Harlem Meer. It is a good luck symbol for me, and a sign of totally crappy luck for whoever owns that basketball, but I'm staying positive.

Harlem Meer basketball float (via y5kmusic)

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Welcome one and all to the x-mas holiday Trail Mix!

While my family in Oregon gathered last night, and assembles again today, and my lady's family and several of our friends head this way in NYC now for a day of eating, joking around and present giving, I'm really struck by the level of goodwill out there in the world and within even this withered and weary soul of mine.

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Ah, and so begins a new pre-season with a "A New Beginning" junk drawer. It all seems so poetical (ha!): A new season, new faces, Martell Webster seems to be doing well on a suddenly (potentially) much better T-Wolves team, and on a personal note, I'm eating a little crow, going back to former employers I thought I'd left long behind, and asking for work again. Ah, the spring of autumn.

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You ever see something you really like but just can't support, How do I say this better ... OK, Jerome Kersey played for the L*kers for a while. Got me? Well I always liked the NRA's slogan. I remember growing up my dad's buddies always had "I Am the NRA" bumper stickers. Can't remember if Dad had one or not. I love that slogan, even if I feel the organization has dubious intentions.

More examples? Nazi uniforms were super nifty looking. Most things made of non-biodegradable plastic. Hummers and large aircraft. Fake boobs. Nixon, I mean the guy is so easy to vilify (especially if you listen to the tapes) but at the same time, he establishes the EPA and rams through the Clean Water Act (Hello... paging Mr. Obama!).

What else: I dig children's minds and smiles, but hate dealing with them. I adore pizza but I'm a bigger fan of the sauce than the cheese. I LOVE many many drugs but think they are bad for me, and thus I don't like them. I like the idea of reading long dry books, but then start and quit a few pages in. I'll buy a friend's record but maybe only play it once, even if I love the person. I like brickabrack crap, but hate the clutter after a while.

Well kids, it looks like an end of an era. I'll likely be moving back to NYC in a few months. The lady's got a new job there again and off we go, likely in September.

The bummer thing is, I'm supposed to attend two weddings in Sellwood in early August and can't afford the airfare. If the official move was a month earlier it would be grand on the old wallet, but as it is, I'll have to decline seeing two, three or four really, of my best friends get wed. a bummer.

This is Junk. I'm allowed to talk about personal crud 'n zach.

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Welcome to the Cinco de Mayo Junko.

I'm your host, Senor Muy Stupido (AKA Y5k)

Being as it's Mexico's independence day, I've decide to break my BEdgecation with a Junk Drawer dedicated to random zach you have collected on vacation that you never use/look at/glad you bought.

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One one thing more eternal than "BEAT LA" and that's the special thing that mommies and daddies do when they are very much in love and alone and in the dark late at night and ... well, kiddies, you get the idea.

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I made an obligatory visit to the NBA Store during a recent visit to NYC. I was prepared for the usual overload of green and white, purple and yellow, blue and orange, LeBron and Yao and K*be and Dwight.

But what to my wondrous eyes should appear? Loads of Blazer gear, everywhere!

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The Trail Blazers opening night is a few tantalizing hours away.

This calls for a Mad Lib:

Adjective:

Nickname:

Current Blazer:

Number:

Number:

B-ball statistic category:

Current Blazer:

Number:

Number:

B-ball statistic category:

Three Stooges member:

Synonym of "small":

Cartoon character:

Derogatory Adj:

Something smelly:

Current Blazer:

Positive adj:

Something ferocious:

Rocket's player:

Past-tense verb

Same Rocket's player:

Body part

Famous African American pop/R&B music pianist known to wear dark glasses:

Synonym for menacing:

Adjective:

.... wait for it ... don't cheat ...

The glorious Portland Trail Blazers opened their season with a ___(Adj)___ win over the Houston "___(nickname)____" Rockets at the Rose Garden Tuesday night.

___(Current Blazer)___ led all scorers with ____(number)___ points and ___ (number)___ ____(b-ball statistic category)__. ___(Current Blazer)___ added ____(number)___ points and ___ (number)___ ____(b-ball statistic category)____.

Houston was led by ___(Three Stooges member)___, who managed ___(synonym of "small")___ points and ___(cartoon character)___, whose ___(derogatory Adj)___ play reminded Trail Blazer fans of ___(something smelly)___.

"___(Current Blazer)___ is clearly The Man," said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. "This team is so ____(positive adj)___ that I don't know what more I could ask for."

There was a tense moment in the third period when backup center Joel "_____(something ferocious)____" Przybilla and ___(Rocket's player)____ grappled for a loose ball. Przybilla ___(past-tense verb) ___(same Rocket's player)____'s ___(body part)___. Referee ___(famous African American pop/R&B music pianist known to wear dark glasses)___ called Przybilla for the foul, but retracted the called after meeting the ____(synonym for menacing)____ center's ___(adj)____ glare.

Aghhhh!

So it's been sometime since I've done a post of any kind, much less a junkdrawer, but this nightmare last night I must share with people who will understand. Dear Lord.

The LA L@kers in front of a large fountain (St. Mark's Square, Vatican?). Some are shirtless. I think Rick Fox is there ... They're all toasting with Heinekens and laughing while TV cameras (Entertainment Tonight) roll. Over this whole horrible mess, Wham's awful, awful hit "Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone" plays louder and louder. AHHHHHH!!!!!

I woke in terror.

Sometimes my brain sets these little traps for me so I will wake ontime for work or whatever. But I just can't shake that dream. Yikes.

(Just did a search on these internets: Turns out the song is by "Glass Tiger," not Wham.)

The boys in Black and Red have the day off and so do I. (Well, they may have practice, and I have a few things to do, but we'll call it even.) I spent my last day off alternating between dealing with the new dog -- who came from the pound as has a few issues -- and looking for work -- because I have a few issues.

Which got me to thinking ... the Blazers are not on today, what to do?

First off, it's 3:05 PM here in Hong Kong and I've just returned from a butt-kicking yoga session. No joking around. I am WORKED.

Which got me thinking, I probably owe some people a few apologies. I was kinda of a jerk to a few people during and after the Cavs game the other day. I just got really worked up and was ticked about a few things. Normally I don't talk trash to other BEdgers, but I lost my cool. Sorry.

I've also recently had a friend of 20 years turn his back on me. Strange. I can't think of what I did or didn't do to tick him off so much, but I think it was just things running its course, I suppose. That's what my wise woman tells me, anyway. She usually gets things right, or pretty close to right.

Some good games coming up, and by "good" I mean "Blazers run up the score and Ike and Shav play good minutes while Roy rests and Greg gets his per-game averages up."

Sleep now, my little west coast babies. I've got to go shopping for a Chinese cellphone.

Y5k

(ah crap. I can't edit the typo our of the poll. and the good times continue to roll ...)