Easter Pix

I'm a liar and a jerk. Or so women tell me. Forgive me.

I promised you Easter pics and I meant to take a ton of them and upload them up on here. However, this Easter was so ho-hum. I did not want to let you down. No really, I didn't want to be like that boyfriend you had sophomore year that had his hands up your skirt one day and promised that he loved you, but then by the following week he was going out with Judy Galvan and everyone saw them making out behind the bleachers and it made you cry so much you vowed never to drink another Pepsi again. No, see, I'm not that guy. I let you down for my own selfish reasons of which I am not at liberty to discuss, due to certain contractual obligations.

Nonetheless, my fellow blogger, Furniture in Life, has posted a pretty neat entry about her eggs-ellent Easter. So hop on over there and read it. Just don't tell her I sent you.

The 80's are over

Some of you might have noticed that our sister blog, the Rad 80's, has been deleted. Unfortunetly, I was unable to provide constant updates and I simply fell behind schedule, so I did away with it. Also, it lets me focus on more pressing projects that I have scheduled for later on this month. I'll keep you posted.

I did not want to let go of my 80's blog, but it had to be done. So sad. Don't worry though, Theo Huxtable still loves you. : )

Alli en Laredo (Rene y Rene)

Recently, I spent the better half of an afternoon going over my father's LP records. His eclectic tastes range from your standard Tin Tan and Pedro Infante material to The Platters, Los Hooligans and Ray Coniff.

When I was a child, I always knew when he had drank one too many cold Shlitz's because he would get home and slam his vintage records on our Sears brand turntable and crank the volume up loud enough to scare away his buzz. On nights when he was really loaded, "Smoke gets in your Eyes" by the Platters, was his song of choice.

On other nights, especially on payday Fridays, he would spin  Los Apson Records and drink Miller HighLife, leaving behind Schltiz for days of despair. My dad was an elitist. I especially liked Los Apson because they played some sweet rock and roll covers, my favorite being their take of "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones.

But it was on mellow nights, after coming home from a Texas Ranger's win, that he would play Rene y Rene. He spoke endlessly about them so much, that I used to think he was traveling with them as a groupie or something.  That was sometime in the late 80s, in days so far and long ago that my mother still made flour tortillas by hand (damn you Sandy's!).

So it was, several days ago that I came across an old LP of Rene y Rene and spun it on my Technics turntable and heard that music from long ago, that music from cold,rainy Dallas winters, when my childhood home smelled of freshly made flour tortillas and my half-finished homework was spread across the table.

It's strange how a simple song can take you traveling through time, like a musical Marty McFly DeLorean, complete with enough nostalgic images to fulfill a Ken Burns documentary.

So I leave you with this song off a classic Rene y Rene record. I transferred it from LP to Mp3 myself, so pardon me for the bad quality. I dedicate this one for the good times, the un-finished homework from my 5th grade year, the sweetness of 1989 and my father's  warm, un-drank Schlitz beer still sitting upon that old Sears turntable lost somewhere in time.

Easter

Bring out the cascarones, hide your chocalate bunnies, and indulge yourself with carne asada.

I'll try to bring you Easter pics tonite. TTYL I'm being dragged to Mass

Free Ricky Martin Tickets

 

Run. Run. Pronto pronto for free Ricky Martin tickets.

If you go, me la platicas despues.

Tony's Restaurant

Sign found at Tony's Restaurant in the Southside.

I'm so almost

time and the universe have been conspiraring against me lately. Everything has been out of whack. However, don't fret I will be back in the Milky Way soon.

The hand goes to Arlington

This past weekend, the hand was fortunate enough to go to Arlington and watch the Texas Rangers sweep
the BoSox. The hand had a great time!

Today, an early game at 1pm almost caused me to play hooky from work. I had my hand on the dial ready to call in sick...its only April though.

The hand outside Ranger's Ballpark

The hand an hour before the game

Ranger's Opening Day

Texas Rangers came so close last year to winning it all, but it was just beyond our grasp. Nonetheless it was a fun ride and they won their first ever AL Pennant and reached the World Series.

On Friday April 1st, we open the season against Adrian Gonzalez and the Boston RedSox. Even though I was unable to score opening day tickets, I have front row seats in my living room. Come over if you want to watch with me, just bring a six pack of Pepsi (The choice of a new generation).

Go Rangers!

OMG Loteria Chicana is getting married

Sometime in 2003 I stumbled upon the blog of CindyLu over at Loteria Chicana and I fell in love with her charms and writing style. Over time, I developed a mini-internet crush on her. Today I read she is engaged and I was like-OMG-it cant be.It's not like I know her in person or anything, I'm just a casual reader with a crush for her wits. We wish her the best and a sincere congrats to her and her beloved. I'm going to go cry in a dark corner now...

Giving up Lent

Giving up Lent

by BG

The season of Lent has returned and Laredo is once again flooded with capirotada, seafood and the silly practice of denying one-self Cheetos.

Inexplicably, for Lent, some people actually “give up” Cheetos. I’m not trying to mock someone else’s spirituality, but I have always failed to see how sacrificing such a trivial thing such as “Cheetos” could be interpreted as an act of self-denial. For the past several weeks, I have heard from friends and relatives how they have “given-up” one thing or another. Some have vowed to abstain from all sorts of things such as bread to soda pop, to red meat, and even chocolate bars.

(I’ve never fully understood why red meat is such a big no-no during Lent, while fish is seen as acceptable. Giving up red-meat, like dieting, is a luxury that not everyone can partake. But I guess it gives an economic boost to fish and seafood eateries so I will get off the topic before the good people over at El Pescador Restaurant send their goons to silence me.)

Maybe it’s just me, and maybe I’m totally wrong but is that what Christianity has come down to now? Has Lent been reduced to something as nonsensical as refusing to eat Cheetos in the vain hopes of becoming a better person?

I’m certain that quitting high sugary drinks like soda pop has its health benefits, and eating less red meat during Lent might be easier on your cholesterol, but some of us seem to have taken it to an absurd level.

My point is not to sound too pompous (too late) or self-righteous, especially since I’m not a dedicated believer and I don’t sacrifice a thing for the Lent season. However, the past several weeks I have heard from decent people that they are practicing repentance and self-denial by abstaining from a plethora of non-important foods and practices. If that makes them a better person, then great who am I to judge, right? But maybe we are going about this all wrong. There are many ways to becoming a better person and being an asset to society. However, abstaining from junk foods doesn't seem like one of 'em.