Halloween 2009 Hike

I spent this Halloween on Tanner Beach, which is located at the bottom of, you guessed it, the Tanner Trail. I hiked in with my Ranger friend, Laura, who happens to be made of similar to mine own go-with-the-flow material. She should have been a big mean grouchy panted person, due to cold weather, a surprise upper respiratory infection, and oh, I don't know, being in the backcountry instead of in Vegas for Halloween, but man we had a great time! Even in a tent on sleeping pads, our matching synthetic 25 degree Kelty bags were not sufficient for 41 degree lows. We did not get out on the Beemer trail as planed due to, perhaps being too relaxed and enjoying out vacation too much, or we can blame the nasty chest congestion Laura woke up with on Day 2. I lost one half of my expensive Leki hiking poles down a gully in the dark night at the end of our hike and we then topped out in the chilly night air, to find my truck battery dead.

A BIG Thank you to Dutchy, for the late night Jump and last minute Dachshund Sitting.

http://www.smokeythepig.com/albums/Tanner/

Handi Girl Takes Down The Tool

I know I wrote a lot about my Pre Riot Fest excitement, but failed to update on the actual event. I was sort of waiting to sort out photos, but then I got lazy or more likely, distracted. The music was awesome, but here is my favorite cultural memory:

I entered The Punken Drunken Bowling Fest with some high school palls. I am a shitey, but happy bowler. Free Jameson's was passed around, which may explain the following event.
Our lane was situated between a group of skinny intellectual type musicians and a set of "gone to the beer belly" heroes of high school pasts. Further down to our left was a group of Punker girls to include a chick with staples in her head, wearing a safety helmet and a full leg splint. Every one was having great time when one of the very tall (6-5 or so) beer bellied man ran up to one of the more compact (read smaller than me) guys, belly first, of course. It was as though BeerBelly was a shepherd attempting to heard Compact Boy, his naughty sheep, with aforementioned belly away from... I don't know, maybe the Jameson's? I had not seen these two talk or even look at each other, so I was mildly confused. Beer belly gesticulated and seemed concerned that Compact may have had a problem. Compact suddenly did have problem and just as Beerbelly was backing off gave him a big what for in the face. That is, he punched Beer Belly in the face. At the same time, Handi Girl, whom I later learned was highly medicated and just released from the hospital, made a running jump, circling her arm around BeerBelly and bringing him to the ground, where she proceeded to beat the ever loving shite out of him.
Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Murder and Mayhem in My Bed: A Book Review

Why is it that I find this book so fascinating come bedtime? I put off reading this book about Mormon history, faith and violence, because I thought it might be a bit on the hateful side. I prefer my newspapers and non fiction books with a complete scope of facts, and am often disappointed by the lack of information conveyed due to a skewed view point. Yes, yes, the story of Mormonism's creation is ever so out there, just as is the stories of the creation of the Muslim and Christian faiths. Religion, well, it is not generally a credible thing. People use their faith as launching pads for great acts of charity as well as heinous crimes against mankind, no matter the brand. It is not the roots of a religion which ultimately matter, but the modern day applications of it.

The only beef I had with Krakauer's report, was his portrayal of the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping. He stated that she was more prone to succumb to the brain washing of a violent pedophile because of her Mormon upbringing, not because she was a child. Krakauer supported this idea not with facts but by failing to mention the threats made against Smart's family, in particular her younger sister, as well as statistics involving abducted children and Stockholm's Syndrome. Children are amazingly adaptable, and rely on their survival instincts more than their rationale. Aside from this minor disappointment, I thoroughly enjoyed this case study, per say, of the ladder of religiously inspired fundamentalism and violence.

Riot Fest Bowling

My vacation itinerary includes the following:

RIOT FEST 2009 DRUNKEN BOWLING TOURNAMENT
Friday October 9th and Saturday October 10th come join us at the legendary Fireside Bowl as the First Annual Riot Fest Drunken Bowling Tournament commences! Put together a team with a witty name and bowl on the lanes that you probably used to spit on as a teenager with members of some of your favorite bands! Registration will cost $96 for a four person team and both nights the bowling will start at 10:30 PM so there's no need to miss any of the shows. Each night's winner will get backstage passes to the remaining Congress Theater show of their choosing as well as chances to win various forms of free shit throughout the night. Sorry kids but because of the late running time these events will have to be 21+.
The Fireside Bowl is located at 2648 W. Fullerton, as if you didn't know that already.