The Manly Blogger Guy Award

It had to happen sooner or later. I am the proud recipient of a blog award. David C. of Lugubrious Drollery and The Marx Brothers Blog has presented me with The Manly Blogger Guy Award. According to David , The qualifications for the award are as follows:

1. The blog receiving the award must demonstrate masculine qualities such as sloth, boorishness, urinary hesitancy, or flatulence. In the interest of equal opportunity, these criteria do not entirely exclude female nominees.

2. No blog which plays background music such as "Somewhere My Love" or "My Heart Will Go On" is eligible.

3. The award should be passed on to as many other blogs as possible, but watching televised sports or taking a nap should take precedence over passing out awards.

Click here to read the original Manly Blogger Guy Post: http://davecory2.blogspot.com/2009/07/manly-blogger-guy-award.html

I'm deeply touched - in a manly way.

David has asked that I pass the award on to deserving bloggers in my circle. After careful deliberation, I am forwarding the award to the following manly blogger guys:

Rick Rivers of Chicanizmo. http://chican-izmo.blogspot.com/
Rick came up in one of the roughest barrios in Northern California and went on to become a college professor. What's more macho than a smart tough guy?

Bullshee of A Monk in Hot Water http://monkinhotwater.blogspot.com/
Pull up his blog and the first thing you'll see is beer, ice cold beer. Manly, very manly.

Guely of Guelyland http://guelyofsweden.blogspot.com/
Guely has on more than one occasion expressed an appreciacion for the everlasting coolness of Steve McQueen. Need I say more?

Bryan Frank of BeFrank http://coolshots.blogspot.com/
Bear with me - I know a little something about this guy. Bryan and I did stand up comedy in the eighties. I once saw him give another comedian the scary stink eye after the guy stole one of his jokes. Bryan has read more Robert B. Parker, Joseph Wambaugh and Charles Bukowski than any blogger I know. He lugs a hundred pound video camera around the mean streets of L.A.. And what's more, I know for a fact the man can still crank a one armed Rocky Balboa style push up. Macho, muy macho.

Congratulations, men.

As per Richard C., feel free to pass the award along to deserving manly guys.

The 100th post: Clif the Lawyer's Prescott Photos

This is my 100th blog entry. I don't really know that it means anything; just thought I'd mention it.

The 2009-2010 school year is up and running and I've been busier than a one armed chicken plucker. That's right I wrote "busier than a one armed chicken plucker." This is my 100th blog and I can write whatever I like. Besides, I think it's a colorful simile. Anyhow, I've got lots of blogs piling up in my skull. If you check in from time to time, you'll eventually learn about about the Arizona heat wave, a scorpion invasion, the smartest ficus tree,in the world and The Manly Guy Blogger Award.


Here is a shot of the all too heroic Arizona Justice League of Photographers in Prescott, Arizona.

Clif the Lawyer developed this logo. There could be Arizona Justice League of Photograpers could be tee shirts in the future. Maybe we could get patches made and sew them onto the backs of leather jackets. Then we could buy Harleys. We could roll down the Americas highways and backroads protecting people in small towns from outlaw biker-photographers.

Guess we'll see how it goes.

Above is Bryan Frank and the original Justice League, the Los Angeles Justice League of Photographers. http://coolshots.blogspot.com/

The following photos were taken by Cliof the Lawyer.

The Hassayumpa sign has been there since 1927.

Here's a fantastic shot of the Bird Cage Saloon. The Bird Cage is a biker hang out. I have a personal connection with this joint. Did I mention my wife and I were married in Prescott? On the morning of the wedding I rodeto the church with old friends Pat Rodriguez, Danny Martinez and Steve Vanderwall. We some how lost the directions. It was eight a.m and the Birdcage was the only place open. So we ducked in for directions. There were a half dozen tough looking bikers bellied up to the bar. One of them gave us the directions and another bought us each a shot of Jack Daniels. We threw back our shots, thanked the bikers and got back in the car. We hadn't made it half a block when we realized that each of us thought one of the others had been paying attention to the directions. So we cranked a u-turn and piled back into the birdacage. Danny Martinez bought a round of shots for the house and Pat Rodriguez jotted the directions down on a bar napkin. The wedding went off as planned, thanks in no small part to the bikers at the Bird Cage Saloon

Here's a shot from the entrance of Matt's Saloon.

This is Gurley Street, Prescott's main drag. That's Thumb Butte in the background.

A little film called Nobody's Fool, starring Eric Roberts and Rosanna Arquette was shot in Prescott in 1986. Dig that mullett on Eric Roberts.

Well, that's all I have for today. Now that I've posted my 100th blog I somehow feel - like I need to burp.

If you're new to this blog, you probably didn't know I wrote THE EIGHT-FINGERED CRIMINAL'S SON, a quirky collection of mostly true stories about growing up in 1970s Southern California. And you can download the e-book for a measly 5 bucks by clicking here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Eight-Fingered-Criminals-Son-ebook/dp/B005NWH8L4

Arizona Justice League of Photographers Two - Eric's Photos

The following photographs were taken by Eric on the Arizona Justice League of Photographers' Prescott outing.

The Hassayampa Hotel opened in 1927.

The hotel is the home of two ghosts, Hope the jilted honeymooner and the night watchman. She has been sighted looking out of the top window above.

The night watchman, who has been sighted descending this stairway.

This photograph was taken from the entrance to the Peacock Room, one of the finest restaurants in Arizona. My wife and I dine here each year on our wedding anniversary.

The lobby hasn't changed much since 1927. I can tell you from experience, it's the perfect place to read the sunday paper.

I once played Chop Sticks on these keys.

Above is the Hotel Saint Michael. Theodore Rossevelt and W.Z. Snyder slept in this hotel. My wife and I had our wedding reception in the hotel's banquet hall.

The Territorial Court House

The Bucky O'Neil Rough Rider Memorial is recognized as one of the world's finest equestrail staues.

The Rough Riders are remembered for their charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War.

It was later learned that the Rough Riders actually charged up a land formation called Kettle Hill. Theodore Roosevelt commanded the regiment. Bucky O'Neil's last words were, " There isn't a Spanish bullet made that can kill me."

Eric caught the historic flavor of Precott.

This Civil War guy was hanging out in front of the Palace Saloon.

These cowboys were cruising the town square in search of elligible cowgirls.

Here's a Word War I Doughboy. I did the math; he's not old enough to be a real World War I Doughboy.

The Vietnam Memorial

Billy Jack, one of the reatest B movies of all time, was filmed in and around Prescott in the early seventies. When I was in the eighth grade I thought it was the greatest movie ever made. The story followed an Indian former Green Beret who protected peace loving teenagers, Indians and wild horses from local rednecks. The theme song isOne Tin Soldier. I owned the 45 and must have played it a hundred times a day.

Here are links to a film clip and One Tin Soldier.

Billy Jack Film Cilp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRnra0KRnDk

One Tin Soldier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDu6HYWdxkQ

Four of a Kind

I’ve been tagged by fellow blogger, Bullshee of India.

http://monkinhotwater.blogspot.com/

Here are Bulshee’s instructions.

"The basic idea, which does not need you to derive Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty is to fill in headings (sets of four), with your own words...don't use mine again. I'll kick your ruddy ass if you do."

FOUR BAD JOKES

1. Why won’t cannibals eat clowns?
They taste funny.

2. Why did the genie go to school?
He wanted to become a genie-us.

3. My brother fell into an upholstery machine.
Don’t worry, he’s fully recovered.

4. What happened to the thief when he fell into a cement mixer?
He became a hardened criminal.

FOUR VERY COOL BIG SCREEN PERSONALITIES





1. Steve McQueen.
The original king of cool.



2. Bruce Lee
He’s Bruce Lee for Crying out loud.


3. Denzel Washington
Smooth.




4. John Wayne
The Duke makes my list for spanking Maureen O’Hara.


FOUR BOOKS NOT TO READ



1. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
This book was so bad I stopped reading the thing. And I paid $14.95 for the piece of junk. I don’t understand how this author made something as intriguing as time travel so monotonous.



2. The Cell by Stephen King.
Say it ain’t so Stevie. How could such a great writer who wrote a rotten book. Actually he’s written a few stinkers over the years, but The Cell just might be his worst. The premise is kind of cool, maybe even funny. Everyone in America turns into a zombie except the people who don’t own a cell phone. Good premise or not, It’s a mess

3. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
I want my time back. How do you write a dry vampire story? Make it a story about librarian vampires, which is what Kostova did. Horrible!

4. Hawkes Harbor by S.E. Hinton
Another bad vampire book. S.E. Hinton wrote some great books. The Outsiders was a masterpiece. Hawkes Harbor is the first book Hinton wrote in something like 25 years. I guess she lost something in the lay off. Perhaps she should stick to writing about teenaged kids instead of grown up vampires.

FOUR FUNNY MOVIES

1. What’s Up Doc?
Funniest movie I’ve ever seen. Strangely enough, the movie starred Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neil, neither of whom where comedians. Furthermore it was directed by Peter Bogdanovich, a guy who wasn’t known for making comedies. The film includes the greatest comedic car chase ever shot.

2. Be Kind, Rewind
I saw this movie with my wife about a year ago. She did not seem to appreciate the humor. I’m pretty sure most people did not appreciate the humor since I was the only person in the theater who was laughing uncontrollably for the duration of the film.

3. Animal House
There’s never been anything like it. John Belushi was in his prime. Director John Landis nailed the elitist nature of college fraternities.

4. Slap Shot
This has got to be the funniest sports movie ever produced. Paul Newman is hilarious but it’s the Hanson brothers that steal the show. Whether you like hockey or not, it's funny stuff.

I’ve tagged the following superbloggers.

1. Bluesfrau of Germany

http://bluesfrau.blogspot.com/

2. Guely of Sweden

http://guelyofsweden.blogspot.com/

3. BeFrank of L.A.

http://coolshots.blogspot.com/

4. David C. of Indiana

http://minniesboys.blogspot.com/

The Arizona Justice League of Photographers Ride

The Arizona Justice League of Photographers embarked on its inagaural mission to Prescott, Arizona on Saturday July 18, 2009.

Isn't this slick? I got a shot of Fellow Justice League member, Eric taking a picture in the Prescott town square.

I happen to be a member of the newly created Arizona Justice League of Photographers. We were inspired by the Bryan Frank and the original Justice League of Photographers in Los Angeles. My photographey background begins and ends with the photography class I took as a freshman in high school.

The five members of the Justice League stopped for lunch at the Palace Bar on Whiskey Row.

The building burned to the ground in the Whiskey Row fire of 1900. The bar you see above was saved. Patrons disassembled the bar and reasssembled it across the street in the town square. The bartenders continued serving drinks as the Palace went up in flames.

Junior Bonner with Steve McuQueen was filmed in Prescott in the early seventies. One of the major scenes was shot in the Palace Bar.

The newspaper clipping above is located in the men's restroom. That's Steve MccQueen without the shirt. The girl is his costar Barbra Leigh. I think it's a cool photo. Sorry about the weak photography on my part.

I snapped this photo because they were advertising $8.50 Budweiser draft beers. I went with a glass of water. If I want to pay $8.50 for a beer I'll go to an professional baseball game.

I had a Rueben sandwich and corn chowder. It wasn't bad.

How about a cheesy dog photo?

Fellow blogger, Blues Frau in Germany takes fantastic Bicycle photos. Thought I'd try my hand.

Here's a shot of a couple of Justice League photgraphers. That's Rick the I.T. Guy down low and his brother, Clif The Lawyer up high. They actually knew what they were doing.

This is Matt's Saloon on Whiskey Row. Legend has it that Bruce Springsteen rolled up on his Harley one night in 1989. Locals say he bellied up to the bar, had a couple of cold ones and proceeded to play a set with the house band.

Here's a photo of the Boss and the E Street Band, not Matt's House Band.

You never know who you're going to run into on Whiskey Row. Here's a shot of Kris Kristopherson. Pretty cool, huh. Bryan Frank and the original Justice League of photograhers got a shot of Shugg Knight of Death Row Records in Hollywood a couple of weeks ago. I think Kris Kristopherson trumps Shugg Knight. OK this isn't Kris Kristopherson. It's actually Wild Bill Kathan, but he looks a heckuva lot like Kris Kristopherson. He's planning on breaking the world pushup record next month. The standing record is 1,400 pushups in an hour. Good luck, Wild Bill.

This is Wild Bill's car.

And here's a shot of your's truly rifding in the back seat of Wild Bill's car.

The first potography excursion of the Arizona Justice League was a success. We plan to meet again in a month or so. The real photographers are going to send me some photos and I'll post them as soon as possible.

Bryan Frank and the original Justice League of Photographers, thanks for the inspiration.