Sure. They wanted a "Summa Banger" but all they got was a "Bumma Sanger".  It's Tropical F**k Storm from the video/song of the same name and from their album "Deep States" They sum up in one song what I guess this summer has been for many of us. It looked so good as we were getting into it. Dipping our toes into doing things like the old days. You know, 2019? At least here in the states, there hasn't been the unrest of summer 2020 but pansamatic wise, we're going backwards. I needed an album like "Deep States" Every song on it grabs me and shakes me and says "this is the ONE!" I can place it on random and not miss the order the band placed it in  because, every song is as good as the next and there is no mood set, every song has it's own mood. I could rant on forever.  Yet, even in Austrailia, they were bummed as they had to cancel their record release party/concert. Now that truly is a "Bumma Sanger".

..Meanwhile, elsewhere in Australia, my other currently favorite band "King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard"  released their second album THIS YEAR. "Butterfly 3000". Oh yeah, it's completely different from anything they have released before, yet, distinctly Gizzard. Boy,  if that didn't seem like writing from a critical template, but that's what it is with this band. Don't like this record? Wait for the next one to see what direction they go.  When a band with this much talent and rabid fans (Dogs-Rabid-Bad) they can change it up and every album you see the best. I'd say for sheer volume, this band wins. Here's a minimal/electronica/psychedelic album but towards the end "Ya Love" lifts this album to heights that made me a fan. I may love King Gizzard but, I SAW/MET Tropical F**K Storm when they came to Cleveland.  Ohhh..  Shake the hand that shook the hand of P.T.Barnum and Charlie Chan. *skitch* Grateful Dead. Thanks.

*Cues Barney Miller Theme* I finished my Barney Miller box set over this summer so I'm back to consuming MASH eps. This taken from Lakewood park on a weekend morning. Nothing special but it shows that yes, I got out this summer. I didn't go anywhere special other than my one day in Pitt. So, If you're like me and enjoyed traveling, but after a year, you decided not to travel so much, daytrips were for you. Driving to the record store (yes, they are still there)  was a trip for me. Also going to the bar that damned the closing notes in March 2020 was another trip.  (Irish dive bar asked to close a few days before St. Patrick's day for a  microscopic spiky thing? F-That! The shag carpet on the side of the bar will keep us safe.) Hell, I just wanted to try it once. If you like a stripper pole and a cigarette machine that actually worked as items in your bar.. I'm just glad they were still there in 2021 serving up the finest in beverages. (Yuengling? We don't have that fancy stuff. )

LAWNMOWER REPAIR

I had been battling all summer the lawnmower. I have a Honda Electric. It's a plug in job. You know, the kind you keep mowing over the cord so that the cord has several patches in it? Yeah that one. This mower was provided by my friend Boomer so many years back when the lawn mower that came with the house decided to go all "80's Chrysler product" on me.  It was a self propelled deluxe model and one day I was mowing and heard chunks of metal being chewed and the unit wasn't self propelled anymore. The transmission had exploded. So, Boomer who had a yard with a back 40, (not good for corded lawn mowers) gave me this one. Funny, in all the years I've been mowing with this one, my sis-in-law and Boomer have replaced gas mowers.

This has plastic tires, and this one started to crack apart and gradually wore itself down and fell off. I had been trying to repair it all summer and this one I thought sure would hold. Gorilla tape, bushings and a clamp. You see, I couldn't get the bolt on the end to unscrew. So I thought I needed to go around it. Yep.

I mean, I had tried the clamp to hold it on and it worked for a few weeks but the clamp wore through the sides of the tire so much that if I made one wrong turn, it came right off the clamp or got stuck. You know, they have the internet right? You know you can find how to fix anything right? Not me. You know I still have a Haynes auto repair manual for my PARMAVAGON, a 1989 Pontiac 2.5L4 with stick. It helped me figure out how to fix my door and rig my electrical system so I could keep the car from overheating. How far we've come with cars since 1989.

Ain't she a 'beaut :)  This car was also a "Gift" from my brother, but I needed something that ran until I got new wheels. My Saturn SL had just been destroyed by a lumber truck and I needed wheels. I didn't have much cake and didn't think I could get into a fancy new Hyundai so my brother who had just bought a deluxe new Chevrolet extended cab full sized pickup, just gave me this because he was going to sell it for $500 but didn't want the hassle of advertising-showing.  It really helped me get through the summer, but by no means was it supposed to be a touring car. I used it as a touring car. Louisville-Pitt and Louisville-Memphis and Louisville-Cleveland. It was more than the Parmawagon could handle. Single best memory? When it was over 100 degrees while driving to Memphis and NO AIR. I heard a "POP" and my windshield decided to self destruct on it's own. From a small crack in the corner to a HUGE crack. Yeah, I used the vice grips on the window knob to roll down the window after that and endured hot wind. Anyway, back to the lawn mower.

When the taped up tire with metal lag washers and the clamp lasted 5 minutes before melting into a pile of goosh, I felt I had to go nuclear. I had to hacksaw off the AXLE to get the bolt end off of it and replace the tire. No internet looking for me. Oh no. I'd do it the hard way. Yep. I went to my local drug store chain where I get all my lawn mower parts. Yes, my local drug store chain, Doesn't everybody buy lawn mower parts from their local CVS or Walgreens? No, this local chain has everything. Like a modern Woolworths. I got my tire and took a hack saw and started sawing. I got a groove and started sawing and sawing and sawing. 90 degrees. 80% humidity. Saw saw saw. POP. The windshield on my current car broke from the heat. Well, no, but towards what I thought was the end of sawing the axle, I got a hammer to take it off. A few whacks and what? Did the axle just move? No, the BOLT just moved. What? It moved? Grab those damn vice grips that were a window crank on a 1989 Pontiac Grand Am....

Just like Snoopy when he cries out. "Waaaaaaaaaaa". Yes, those bolts DO twist off. They have a lock washer on them, but DUMB DUMB DUMB, they do come off! The new tire screws on and bolts into place. DUMB DUMB DUMB. So, I went thee to my local big box and matched up the bolt and got extra washers so that the tire fit "just exactly perfect" (thanks Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead.) One of the washers is already on the one side.

All nice and new. No more forcing it while the tire disintegrated. I'm a Jean-yus right? Three more tires to go but the plastic is all pretty decent on those, for now. On to the one offs about this summer.

I was watching a late night show and they had Billy Crystal on and he was talking about the old times and he reminded us that this flick was indeed 35 years old. Running Scared. It's always been a favorite of mine. I don't think I saw it in the theaters but because I was taping all of the David Letterman shows in 1986, I have Billy Crystal when he was on the show promoting the movie. When it was available for rental, I got it and when I could get the DVD, likewise. It just reeks of mid 80's buddy cop tropes. 80's soundtrack? Check. Cops quitting the force in 30 days? Check. Jimmy Smits as a nefarious drug dealer. Check. What? There are a few catchphrases that I use to this day from this movie. "Mama! Could I have some more mini marshmallows in my cocoa?" "OhhhNoooo"  Ahh, but Jimmy Smits had the role of his lunchtime in this film. Great actor reduced to screaming "My COOOOOKE!" Yep. See it and enjoy a juicy trope filled flick, but still funny after all these years.

Now to the retail of it all. Mom and I went to said retail store in Mentor. This was Higbees in the 1970s. Like many department stores like it, "what, spend money to redo the outside of our store? ". It became a Dillards in the 1990s and has maintained it's "classic" look since. Well, they used to have windows all across the store, but the decorations of Christmas or the latest 70's disco fashions displayed in the windows went away as smash and grab got too costly. This Dillards didn't have what mom was looking for and had very little in the way of Men's "hideyerfatinthesummerbywearingaHawiianstyleshirt" shirts. Plus this mall soldiers on and was pretty full despite being down two anchor stores at either end.

Can YOU tell what this used to be? (You can see what it was from the label scar, the impression left by having a sign on your building for years.) If you answered a MAY COMPANY, I would have given you a 70's cigar..or a McDonalds french fry from the floor of my 1979 Chevrolet Monza. May Company then became Kaufmanns which then became Macys in the mallmageddon of the early '00's. Oh, it didn't kill many of the stores just then, but Macys buying the May Company chain meant turning off regulars and killing off some of the smaller malls through the 10's. Then, as malls go, so does Macys go. Eating oneself. When Sears threw in the towel, if you had a mall with Sears/JCPenny/Macys, well that meant... Likely Macys was next and JCPenny has been shaky but soldiers on at many of the malls where other department stores are long gone. This one closed before the pansamatic. Who needs ya. We still got a Dillards which will likely become a Dillards Clearance before it goes and we have good ol' JCPenny. Hey, we also have a huge bowling alley/fun center with a trendy microbrew in one side that took an anchor and a Dick$$ Sporting Good$ $tore making it another anchor. HOTCHA!

Now I have a few pictures showing that the summer was a good time to do the things I haven't done since 2019. You would think a year isn't that long to wait until I could have a cuppa sludge but to go to said sludge seller and sit in their lobby enjoying my sludge and get a "credit" for making a drawing at a new sludge shop, well, that's what I missed okay? Yep. This is a sludge shop that is like many of the new shops in Cleveland thankfully. They have an actual LOBBY. They have a place to stretch out and enjoy your doublesludgefrappecappacHimo. (Intentionally spelled that way.) This one and a new Burger King was on the site of an old hodelmodel. Guess they got out of that business just in time before the pansamatic hit as these stores have been there for two years, but the pansamatic..well, you know...

See a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll BE GETTING THE GERMS! Really, I always pick up pennies, even though the feel like they are made of plastic these days. Since the pansamatic, I didn't pick up any change because I'd have to reach for the POOPIEZ. I used to say "if I get too rich that I won't pick up a penny, then I'll pay someone to pick it up for me." What a douche. I mean, what a douche. Revved up like a douche. Lord and lady Douchebag. I slathered it in Purell.

I can't say enough about the hand sanitizer that got me through the summer of 2020. Natural Concepts. It doesn't smell like real dook, but it does have a nasty kind of scent. Not really repugnant, but not the best thing to use on your hands before having a sandwich. I used to separate bottles, one for when I was eating and Natural Concepts for everything else.  The huge stocks at my local lawn mower parts store/drug outlet are dwindling but those that know, bought the now plentiful Purell. I had bought one of these to give to Boomer for his Christmas in June, but you know, I'm a cheepdog..and it was 99 cents..and not made in China..so..

"WHY?" you may be asking. "Why buy something that you didn't like, even if it was at a give away price? Why Ricochet why?" WHY? Why ask why, Drink Kentucky Tavern bourbon till it's DRY. WHY? Because Red Fang, the stoner/metal/sludge/geek band came out with a new album called "Arrows" and keeping with their kick ass humorous cheap beer fueled videos, released "WHY" as one of the singles. Fans of Chuck E. Cheese rejoice for nostalgia reasons. This video tips the depression scale, but its full of funny mascots right? Witty video while the song talks about sinking into drug addiction. It really is brilliant. The band makes a cameo appearance. :)

Hey, what would this blog be without a picture of BOOZE. Do I drink? Yes I do. Do I drink the cheapest stuff? Pretty much. I bought this because the price of bourbons has gone up and up. Not living in Louisville anymore I'm stuck with what my local has. Some of the cheaper brands are being squeezed out by the boutique bottlers. Now I've flirted with the bottom before, but bottom shelf bourbon, if you're not mixing it with something, ick.  If you live in Louisville, there is twice the bottom shelf offerings and some of them are really good as a straight shot. Here in Cleveland? Um... So, I got this bottle, and well, yes. It's a mixer not a sipper. Too bad I've stopped the cola mixers in an attempt to reverse the summer post-pansamatic pounds I had begun to place back on my frame. It isn't the worst cheap bourbon I've had and was good in cola, but spend a few more dollars and get something you'd drink as a sipping drink.

Another good thing about this summer was going to Fat Heads Brewery. It was a Pitt restaurant, and when a deal fell through for a microbrew here in Cleveland by another company, they combined their super sized sandwiches with a Cleveland brewery and opened Fat Heads North Olmsted and brewed beer for the Pitt location. As their beer grew popular and they were selling it more retail, they opened a master brewery with a restaurant in Berea in an industrial setting. For two-three years it's been someplace I wanted to try but as I have weekends off, that's when they are most busy so I stayed away. This summer I've had one "long weekend" a month which I planned to be in Pitt. That didn't work. So, I went on a weekday to this joint and man. If you want to know what a palace to the art of brewing is, you gotta come here. HUGE tall ceiling eating hall is just a part of it. Large gift shop is another.

...but the BAR. Yes, just about every flavor that they are trying to see if peeps like it and if it goes to retail, is here at the bar. Behind that was the brewing operation with employees tracking the process or putting ingredients into the brewing equipment. I can't state this enough. If you have a weekday off and you're around the home of WBWC, stop in for lunch and a beverage, beer fan or not. Oh yeah, they had plexi separating  the bar seats and you needed to be lead to the bar by the greeter. Damn pansamatic.

Here's a few summer quickies. One tradition I had for a long time when I went to Mentor to hit the Record Den for the latest releases was to have a 32oz fountain drink on the way home. Indeed this summer was the return of the calories. Gee, you wonder why I said that pounds were ticking back up? Nothing better than a Cherry Dew and ..oh yeah, we're still in a pansamatic. At least that's Purell in there.

The tale of the fans from the schmuck who buys them. For years I've had this type of fan. The one I had the longest finally froze up. It could have been saved with a trip to Boomer's Fan Repair service, but I just went out and bought a new one. That lasted several years until the metal in the base and the screws that attached the rest of it to the base went to bubble gum. So I bought one with a base that was really heavy and I thought it would be with me for at least ten years. Well cuz. Actually the base was a plastic substance and around the metal pole, that substance broke apart. I was able to shore it up with large washers but it failed and failed. So, like a sheep, I went and bought another, but this one is smaller. It's not as top heavy and the base is hollow hard plastic. Last longer yes? Ohy.

Another thing I used to do is spend time at a participating Pawnera. I go to the coffee urns and mix dark with light to make a drinkable coffee. (Alone, not so good, but mixed, a good cuppo.) The few Pawneras I've been too this summer, other than the Purell dispenser they have at the front door, it's business as usual. Oh yeah, employees wearing masks. Okay. Oh yeah, some Pawneras are drive through only as they don't have staffing. Denied once I was.

Not denied here either! I went to the Arbys I'd gone too earlier that I'd creatively said "They don't have the seats." Ha ha ha. Still laughing. WHY? Well, on my most recent trip, I went in to have my slider lunch and well, they had just opened their lobby on the previous Monday of that week. WHY? Employees. I guess the word hadn't spread, but usually in the afternoon about the same time on the weekends, the lobby was pretty much the same. It was another chunk of returning to BPP. (Before Personal Pandemic.)

The truth of the matter. I haven't been to Pittsburgh since going there once this summer. WHY? You figure it out. Therefore I can't buy my favorite serving size of Pabst. 24 Oz Ziggy Zocky size. I don't need that size beer for the drive alone to PA with no other meet fun so I'm back to the 30 packs for 4 beers once a week. Yes, I'm still doing that.

Keep smiling. "Deep States" has great premier reviews and chart numbers for this little band from Australia and I'm sure more are going to tell two friends and so on and so on and so on. Third time for this pic on this blog. Braindrops, the TFS second album is no slouch. Get them all.

-Junk Blog