Cleveland Fight Poem

The last time Cleveland won it all
I really can't remember
The fact that I was only 4
(My birthday's in December)

They beat a team from Baltimore
By scoring 27
The Colts were blanked and Collins ruled
(I'll bet that game was heaven)

Since 19 hundred 64
We've never won the biggie
It's not because our teams have stunk
(I wonder what it could be?)

I do not want to downplay
The soccer team we had
Who won 3 championships
In the 90's which wasn't bad

But We don't follow soccer
Our games are the big 3
That's baseball, football, basketball
(I'm sure you will agree)

We've had many chances
Let's talk first about the Tribe
Who, back in the mid 90's
Gave us a real good vibe.

With names like Thome and Vizquel
And pitchers that excelled
We should have won the series
But in the end we yelled!

"Curse you Jose Mesa,
You should have closed the game."
But now instead of series champs
the outcome was the same.

Turning now to basketball
As you all ready know
Some superstar named Jordan
Could not be blocked by Craig Ehlo.

The shot it rang though out the land
And famous still today
We sunk our heads in agony
While Bulls fans yelled "Hooray!"

And even when a young LeBron
With a pretty good team
Got us to the finals for once
In the end they just lost steam.

The Browns in all their glory
Had great games on the field
"The Fumble, The Drive" and Elway
Made sure their fate was sealed.

Why do we put ourselves through this?
What is a REAL fan?
The person who still will back their team
Since losing first began.

The teams still fight and play their best
So why not do the same?
Unless you are fair weather fans
(and I think that's just lame!)

So cheer all Cleveland Sports fans
One day we'll win it all
Because we fought the good fight
(Words of Apostle Paul)

So keep on fighting Cleveland Cavs
and Browns and Indians too
We'll back you till the day we die
(or till our face turns blue)

Sports Fan

Why is it that the people that never played sports are some of the biggest sports fans? Is it because they fantasize about being out there on the court of the field playing the big game making the big plays? Are they envious? Are they jealous? Or is it just the fact that they get a warm feeling inside when their team wins (which is a whole 2 times for us Browns fans this year! But hey, the last one was the Steelers! YIPEE!!) Well, being one of those who never played in any organized capacity, I think it's the last thing I said. No, not YIPEE!! The warm feeling. That toasty, warm, fantastic feeling when my team wins. It's great to see excellent plays but when the score is in my favor at the end of the game, I absolutely love it!

I can only imagine what it would be like to be one of the players on the team at the end of the day. Their feeling has to be 10 times greater than what I am feeling because they played a part in that win. It's got to feel kind of like winning a poker tournament. And I have to say, that rush makes it all worth it! I'm not a sore winner so I don't like to win for bragging rights (although we do have quite a few months of not hearing the Steeler fans talk about how they always beat us). It's interesting because Sue always says, "I never remember you liking sports like you do now." And she is right. In some ways I'm disappointed that I didn't get into sports at a younger age. Maybe even played. I might not have been good but I think I would have had a better appreciation of sports today.

Ah but alas, I will be content just watching from my couch or at the game. God bless all the players and coaches and everyone that goes in to a sports organization. Keep up the good work so I can, at least every once in a while, get the warm fuzzies from a win. And, unlike some so called fans, I will be dedicated to Cleveland and OSU to the day I die. Win or lose, I'm with you all the way.

Suspect?

Can someone please explain to me why we are refering to Nidal Hasan as a "suspect" in the Fort Hood shootings? Now I wasn't their but are they not sure? Is he just a "person of interest?" Did they not catch him red handed? "Is this the man who was shooting at you?" "Gee, I'm not sure it was all so blury. Ah, maybe?" COME ON! He did it! Quit calling him a "suspect". That's what drives me nuts about this country. They never want to offend anyone. And by trying not to offend, they insult our intellegence. Well, I'm hitting the hay now! Good night all!

The Magic says, "No Mo!"

Orlando Magic, tonight, lost at home against the CAVS the first time in a long time. Mo Williams had a major part in that! I have always been a fan of Mo and I say congrats for the win. Keep up the good work!

Come on already Browns!

As Cleveland Browns fans we are very patient! Honestly, we put ourselves through this every single year and what have we got to show for it? Abuse from the Steeler fans, abuse from our spouses and abuse from all of the morons out there that don't follow sports but decide to make comments about the Browns anyway. If that isn't enough, the Browns hire a coach that has a loosing record and showed last week it is business as usual in the quarterback position. Off the record I want Brady Quinn in as quarterback. Regardless of how he does this year I think we should let him make mistakes, learn from them and get better week after week. Obviously Mangini (did I spell that right?) is not concerned about building a team but just trying to get a win from hit and miss.

I've come to this conclusion, pick a quarterback and stick with him. That's it! Case closed. Choose a quarterback, of course I would like it to be Quinn but if it's Anderson than so be it, but regardless of who it is, stick with them. Let them win, let them lose, let them throw interceptions, let them get used to the offense and let the offense get used to them. Once they do that a funny thing will happen. Receivers will start catching the ball, linesmen will start blocking better and running back will be more comfortable with the handoff. I'm not asking for a Superbowl championship this year, I'm just asking for a quarterback that is going to play the rest of the season, barring no injuries (and maybe a win or 2 against those Steelers!)

I'm sick of following the Browns only to look forward to basketball season after 3 or 4 games. Leadership is the key, unfortunately, I don't see any in the Cleveland Browns organization. Neither do the players. And until they do, we are going to continue to struggle. Why did we get rid of Romeo again? Gee, I can't remember. Or did we even get rid of him? Have you ever seen Mangini and Romeo in the same room together? Me neither. I think Mangini is just Romeo and he painted his face to look like a white guy. Only time will tell with this group of Browns but as of now, it' looking pretty bleak.

I'm so busy!

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, you never heard her say she was busy, she didn't have time to complain! You know how to spot a busy person? Their the ones working and not talking about "How busy" they are. One thing you can guarantee, if some one tells you "I'm so busy" or "I don't have time", chances are, they are not busy and they have plenty of time. If some one says their busy what they really mean to say is , "I am so unorganized." I have many pet peeves in my life, one is people who tell me how busy they are. It drives me nuts. If you tell me your busy I'm not going to believe you. I have never heard a busy person talk about how busy they are, I'm sorry but I haven't. The only time people have ever said that to me was when they were trying to impress me with how they are so busy, even though they're not. Don't tell me your busy, just get the job done, like the old woman in the shoe. Maybe if you want to know how busy she is you have to ask one of her kids!

The Quick Glance "Look Away"

You know how you run across someone you kind of know in a store. They haven’t spotted you yet but you have spotted them. You wonder what you should do. First reaction every time is to turn your head the other direction and pretend like you didn’t see them. Then, if by chance they see you and say something you act surprised. “Hey, how you doing?” Come on! That’s why I always try to say something if I see somebody. Now, my wife always says to me, “Can’t you just say hello and that’s it? Why do you always have to chat forever?” Honestly, I’m trying to get better at that. But here’s the follow up. After you do the right thing and say “Hi”, maybe have a little small talk, you still got some shopping to do, so do they. So up and down the isles you go and you run into them time and time again. What’s the proper thing to do? Talk to them some more? Just leave them alone? You know their just as uncomfortable as you are when they see you again! Maybe the second and third time you see them it is the time to pretend like you didn’t see them. I don’t know. What’s proper etiquette? It’s so confusing. Why didn’t they teach us this in elementary school? I’ll tell you why! Because one day I saw one of my elementary school teachers in a store and you know what I caught her doing? Pretending like she didn’t see me. I caught her eye and she looked away real quick; amazing. I think we need to make Busted stickers when someone turns away and acts like they didn’t see you. When you bust them you walk up and say, “Hey, how you been. I saw you look away real quick once I caught eye contact with you. You weren’t going to pretend like you didn’t see me were you? I’ll bet you were! Here’s a Busted sticker you can walk around with for the rest of the day to show everyone what an idiot you are!” Awe but I jest! I’ve done it, you’ve done it, and we’ve all done it once or twice. Some of you arrogant people out there have done it quite a bit more. I know you’re too good for us common people.

The fact remains that there are some people that we don’t want to talk to. Hey, there are some people we flat out don’t like and don’t want to associate with but we’ll run in to them from time to time. Now I think that if you don’t like each other it is quite alright to do the “look away” and not say anything. But when I see people I know doing it, people I like, and then I just think that’s rude. But wait a minute! I just thought of something. Maybe I like them but they don’t like me. I think I just got a whole new take on this “look away” thing. Wow, I’m going to have to reconsider my whole thought process now. Just when I thought I had it figured out!

What do you call Rock and Roll?

If you ask me this is a no brainer but for all of you that don't follow this as close as I do, the great Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just came out with their new list of nominees for 2010 and here they are:

ABBA, Darlene Love, Donna Summer, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, KISS, Laura Nyro, LL Cool J, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Chantels, The Hollies, and The Stooges.

Now I look at this list and agree with some of the choices on here. But I've got to say that the rock hall should change it's name because to be a true Rock and Roll hall of fame how can you nominate the likes of ABBA, Donna Summer and LL Cool J? No offense to any of these artists. They are great writers and singers. They are all talented individuals. They are not Rock and Roll any more than Madonna, oh wait, she's already IN the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

My question is, how can you nominate ABBA, LL Cool J and Donna Summer who are not true rock and roll artists and not nominate Heart, Electric Light Orchestra and (this is the one that really kills me!) Alice Cooper? I mean, who comes up with this list? What group of morons are out there trying to be politically correct and, in the process, skipping over true rock and roll artists to vote in people like Run DMC, Madonna and R.E.M.? It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel (not so) fine. Pop artists, rap artists, while true rock and roll artists get dissed year after year.

This is the first year that KISS was nominated. At first I thought if they got inducted they should not show up at the induction ceremony. Show the rock hall that they don't care anymore. But then I said, "They're better than that! They can be bigger than the rock hall and say yeah you dissed us for many years but we're here now and here to stay!"

But back to my point, of the 2 groups of 3 artists that I posted up at the top. The first group consisting of ABBA, LL Cool J and Donna Summer and the second group consisting of ELO, Heart and Alice Cooper; which of these 2 groups most says rock and roll to you? Stupid question right? EXACTLY! Come on rock hall. Either change your name to Our Favorite Artist's Hall of Fame or keep it rock artists. I mean come on what song of Madonna's or ABBA's shouts Rock and Roll?

Dressing up like KISS!

It was a lot of fun! I still remember it like it was yesterday. Paul and I were big time KISS fans. Now this wasn't always the case. I remember when I was in 9th grade (let me date myself here, this was back in 1975-1976) I used to hate KISS and all KISS fans. I remember saying KISS was a bunch of fags and using the old KISS my A$$ line but hey, we were just kids. Anyway, I used to go to my friend Mark Morrell's house and play pool. One day he put on an album while we were shooting pool. I said, "Who is this?" Mark said, "KISS". The album was KISS ALIVE. I was a fan ever since. Typical of not knowing the music and just judging by the looks. The interesting thing is once I started liking the music, the looks didn't bother me at all. As a matter of fact, I started to like them. One day, Paul McGowan, a personal friend of mine that had a lot in common with me (Martial Arts and now KISS) and I got together and decided to dress up like KISS. It was a spur of the moment thing. He liked Gene Simmons and I liked Paul Stanley. So here's what we did, we went to Murphy's Mart and bought some white shoe polish and used his mother mascara and lip stick and painted our faces as Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and walked down the street. We got whistles, comments and horn honks. In case you were wondering, it wasn't Halloween. We just did it! And we did it time and time again. I vaguely remember one day, a friend of ours named Tad Morrison wasn't feeling well and we painted our faces and stopped over to Tad's house. I don't even remember Tad's mom taking the picture! But, by the power of Facebook, Tad posted it online and here it is today! Thanks Tad for the post. Now everyone can see how crazy we really were!

What a week!

This has just been a crazy week. Not only has Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died but work has been nuts. I must say I am going to remember this week for a while. If anything positive came out of this week it would be the trade the CAVS made for Shaq. But why turn it back on sports? If that isn't enough, I just read a book on Stage Hypnosis and then felt convicted to not do it, and quit mentalism. All in one week. Wow, I'm exhausted! I am looking forward to performing at the Cleveland Zoo on Saturday for the Make a Wish Foundation. That will be a lot of fun. Well, next week will be a good week, I'm sure of it!

Thank God for His Provision.
For Life.
For Family.
For a Career.
For Talent.
For Salvation.

Just a test from my phone.

I'm just testing my phone to make sure I can send a blog from it. Looking forward to a great day.

Kreskin

Isn't Kreskin just amazing?

Isn't Sarah Palin Mean?

My goodness what is wrong with todays society? Sarah Palin and her family go to a Yankees game while they're in New York just to have a good time and what shows up on late night TV? David Letterman telling a joke about A-Rod having sex with their daughter during the 7th inning stretch. Letterman later appologized and said that the joke was in bad taste and he meant it towards their 18 year old daughter not the 14 year old that was actually there. Now I don't know how many of you have daughters but somebody makes a comment like that about my daughter, I don't care if shes 35, I'm gonna get ticked. And whos side is the liberal moronic press taking on all of this? Why David Letterman's of course. Here's a quote from AP just today: And Sarah Palin charged Letterman with "sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity." She CHARGED him! And he was so wrongly accused wasn't he? If you ask me she's just calling them like she sees them. Ah, but no one is asking me.

Oh poor David Letterman! Is that Republican picking on you? I mean, you're just trying to do the right thing apologizing for a bad joke! That joke was wrong from the beginning. He knew it and said it anyway. So why is the media making it out like Sarah Palin's in the wrong here? Because it's a Democrat versus a Republican, the Republican has always got to be wrong. Come on! I'm so fed up with the liberal media I just want to slap someone. Maybe if David Letterman would go back to his roots and talk about the woman cooking bread in wesson oil again it would be a much better world! That's it! Let's go back to the 70's again. When life was a little easier. What did Letterman expect making a joke about someones child like that? There's 2 things you don't joke about 1 - someones kids, 2 - someones mother. Joke telling 101! Honestly David, don't forget your roots. And media, for the love of Pete, get of Palin's back. You'll have plenty of time to harass her in 2012 when she's running for President!

My mind wanders ....

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, my mind wonders. I want to keep focused on one thing and another thing takes over. Let's say, for example, I want to concentrate fully on AutoTrader.com and make sure that I'm successful as I can be with it. All of the sudden I fall upon a website or just pick up a book or just think about ventriloquism or magic. Then guess where all my focus goes? You got it, on ventriloquism or magic. I really need to find focus in my life as well as balance. Is there time for all 3? AutoTrader.com, ventriloquism and magic? You bet there is. But how? One key word, BALANCE.

I have to balance my life and schedule time for each one of these thing. When I do, I will be more successful in all 3. Until I do, all 3 will suffer. So, today, please pray that I find a balance in my life for not only the 3 things I mentioned but also find balance with my family and spiritual life. Balance is a good thing and too much time on any one is not good for anybody. As goes balance, so goes life.

Dream big and never stop!

I often wonder how people get the breaks in life. You may know what I'm talking about. Growing up I had the pleasure of hanging out with a good friend, Johnny Ace Palmer. Johnny has never worked a REAL job in his life. He has never thrown boxes at a distribution center or waited on people at a retail store. Johnny has never had to get up at 3:00am in the morning to make the donuts or wash cars for a living. You see, Johnny is a magician. He always has been and always will be. Johnny knew from a very young age what he wanted to be a pursued that his whole life. I don't know if Johnny has ever questioned that decision but I doubt it. Johnny is doing what he always desired. He's doing what he loves. He always has and, chances are pretty good, he always will.

Then there's Jeff Dunham. I'm not sure if Jeff has actually ever worked a REAL job but I am pretty sure he hasn't. Jeff has been talking to himself for, well pretty much his whole life, and been getting payed to do it. Jeff, like Johnny, has always been and always will be a professional ventriloquist. He's doing what he loves and I'll betcha 10 to 1 he has never woken up and said, "Man, I hate what I do. I need to go find a REAL job."

I remember when I was in Amway we used to begin our meetings getting people dreaming and we would ask the question, "If time and money were no object, what would you do? What car would you drive? What house would you live in? What would you do every day of your life?" It was great to dream. To take some time to say, "What if....." You know why I admire Jeff and Johnny? Because they dreamed when they were young and never lost track of their goal. I don't think Johnny ever expected to be a featured performer every year at the Magic Castle and I'll also bet that Jeff never expected to have 3 specials airing on TV and becoming the next ventriloquist icon. But one thing they did do is chase their dream. They knew what they wanted to do and worked hard to become what they are today.

What is your passion? What do you want to do? What if time and money were no object? What would you do for a living? Ask yourself this question, chase your dream and never falter from it and you too may become the next Jeff Dunham or Johnny Ace Palmer in your field.

Shows, AutoTrader.com and Why I can't sleep.

I'm posting this at 2:43am. I'm sitting up because I can't sleep. I have 1000 things running through my head right now. Many, of which, involve my career with AutoTrader.com and also my entertaining. Just did a show this evening for a 5 year olds birthday party. It went really well. Had a lot of fun and the kids, as well as the adults, were very attentive. Afterward I noticed that one of the children got a Svengalli Deck so I showed the adults how to use it and how it worked. Lots of fun.

I'm trying to figure out some new stuff, especially with mentalism. One thought ran through my head tonight. If you're not a magician this won't make sense to you. But using the Thought Transmitter you can talk about visual and non visual selection and how they make a difference and tell a little about a person. Then, using a Boris Wild deck you have the spectator select 4 random cards, lay them out side by side and tell them to place their hands over all 4 and they will feel stronger about 2 of them. They select those 2 and discard the other 2, then tell them to place their hands of the 2 cards and they will feel stronger about 1. You tell them to keep that card and discard the last but don't look at the face of the card. Next, you lay out the 5 ESP symbols face up and have them think of one. Now, while your back is turned you have them write on a card that you hand them, the value of the card, the suit of the card and the symbol they selected and place it in the Thought Transmitter. Then have them gather up the ESP cards and bury the card they selected in the deck. Turn around and place a rubberband around the Thought Transmitter and then, Cold Reading time! Here's how the card looks that is put in the Thought Transmitter case.

Obviously, using the BW Deck you will know the value of the card and, if you know how the Thought Transmitter works, you know how you know the symbol as well. Gonna give it a try and see how it works out but seems to me like it would be a lot of fun. I'll let you know. This, as well as many other things is what keeps me up at night! BTW, special thanks to Tom Craven for giving me the idea for the card for the Thought Transmitter. He does something very similar.

Mentalist for Hire!

I know what your thinking!

I've put a new show together for adult gatherings that uses mentalism (mind reading). I start out by offering 5 envelopes, one of which contains a $100 bill and let the audience choose 4 of the 5. Then, I give an example of memory with a great routine that involves me memorizing 20 items. This along with the audience writing down some personal questions for me to answer, solving a rubik's cube blindfolded and much more. You can check out my webpage at http://www.mental-acrobatics.com/ if you are having an event that you want to be memorable than contact me today. Mention you saw this on my blog or facebook for an added discount! Spread the word, I need the publicity!

I already miss Breanne.

I came home around 3:30 today and remembered that it was opening day for the Cleveland Indians. While I was watching it they showed a little blonde headed girl making a GO TRIBE sign. It brought a tear to my eye. Because I remember when it was Breanne making those signs. We had so much fun going to Indians games together. The last 3 years we actually went to the Home Opener. I love Mark but I miss our time that we would spend together just us two. It's amazing how quick they grow. I really look forward to what the future holds for Breanne and Mark but, at the same time, miss my little girl. I hope that, through their year together, she brings Mark the same joy that she has brought me so far. I Love You Breanne.

All we are saying is give peace a chance.

I can see it now. Everyone standing hand in hand, swaying back and forth, Black, White, Asian, Indian, Spanish, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, sing "Imagine" from John Lennon. Imagine there's no Heaven, it's easy if you try. No Hell below us, above us only sky. " And then I realize, hey, is this possible? I guess if you are naive enough to think that it's possible then we could be in a lot of trouble. Especially if you hold a position of power in this country and are willing to drop your guard. I'm not a big fan of the song Imagine anyway. I mean, Imagine there's no Heaven? What are you stupid! Why not just say, "Imagine there's no hope." But back to my point. Obama, our fearless leader, wants us to set an example and get rid of our nuclear weapons. Hey, why doesn't he just get rid of our military too. Let the whole world know we're a peaceful country. Not a country of war.

This has got to be some of the craziest thinking I have ever seen. In his first 2 months as president of our country I am amazed at some of the decisions he has made. I hope he wakes up soon and realizes that this country was founded on ONE NATION UNDER GOD! How can God bless this country with what's going on here? God bless the USA? You've got to be kidding! Don't you think it's time real Christians stand up and be accountable for what's going on here? No, let's all sit back and passively let this country go to Hell in a hand basket. I wonder how many "so called" Christians voted for Obama this last election? All I can say is, "Shame on you!"

Strengths Finder 2.0

May I be so bold as to make a suggestion today? Do you have an extra $25.00 to invest in your future? Than by all means go out and pick up the book Strengths Finder by Tom Rath. The first thing to do when you get the book is find the access code for the online test and then go to the website http://www.strengthsfinder.com/ and take the test. You will then discover what your strengths are and, although they may not makes sense to you at first, the more you read about them the more you'll say, "Yeah, that's me alright."

I took the test and was amazed what my top 5 strengths were.

My Top 5 Strengths
Learner
Belief
Positivity
Communication
Responsibility

It's interesting and it's well worth the money to find your strengths! Don't delay, go out and get a copy today or order it from amazon! You'll be glad you did. Below is a link to Amazon that will save you some money on this great book.

Getting up eariler

I really got to get up earlier! Sleep is overrated, although I love it! Last night I didn't get to bed until 2:00am!! My own fault. I was watching the CAVS beat Phoenix. But I had to go exercise with my father-in-law at 7:00 this morning. That meant getting up at 6:45am. Now if you do the math, that's 4:45 minutes sleep! I think Benjamin Franklin was right, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Although I have also heard it said, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man a rooster in disguise." Don't you find when you get up earlier you get so much more accomplished during the day? Huh? Did you hear me? Oh wait, you can't answer, this is a one way conversation! But it's true. So I think and hope that I am now dedicated to getting up earlier everyday! I'd say 6:00 is a good time so that's what I'll shoot for.

Have a great day and GOADS. Go Out And Do Something!!

I gots to get organized!

My biggest problem is organization. Ask Sue she knows better than anyone. If I could just get organized I would be so much better off! Setting goals and organization. That's what would help me out the most. So I just need to keep telling myself I'm organized and soon I will be! Oh, wait, I guess I should take action on it too!

Ah well, dance was fun tonight, worked on the Waltz! Tomorrow is another day! Starting now, guess what ......... I'm organized!

Can't believe it!

I can't believe the way that I let this go for so long but I'm going to get started again. This time I think I will keep up with it more because of my new blog My Daily God.

Here's the news. Breanne's getting married in August. Sue and I are taking dancing lessons for the reception, it's a lot of fun! Maybe I'll post a video later. Also just signed up for a podcast page on podbean so look for some podcasts in the near future. I will have the link soon.

Today I'm thankful for:

1. God's provision
2. God's guidance
3. God's wisdom