Turqouise Nation

Quitting

Well, I put in my letter of resignation this morning. It is official: the Muse is moving to Santa Fe. I think I might meet LC in the Magic City the first week in June, come back here and work at the Diamond 6 ranch until mid-August, and then start classes the end of the month.

I am taking classes focusing on philosophy and theology my first semester. I should be super confused by the time I come home for Christmas. It is snowing outside right now: it is a sign from Krom. Winter is a symbol for the end (my job), and spring is a time for rebirth. It seems like spring and summer are lumped into August in the GD Rockies.

This weekend: work, work, work, and more work. We are rebuilding this deck on the ranch. These people are crazy. The owner wants to maintain the rustic feel by maintaining this stuff. If I owned the place, I would do all the work with a lighter and matches.

String Cheese is touring with Allman Brothers...that is like getting kicked in the nuts and the ribs at the same time.

Looking for Answers?

I was pondering many of life's difficult when questions when I happened upon this site If this site fails to answer your questions, I can be of no help to you.

I have been watching the NHL playoffs with vigor. My picks were just a little off. I also made some kick-ass chicken chili last night. Here is the recipe:

Steve's chicken chili

In a big pot

Cover the bottom in olive oil
Add a fair amount of crushed garlic
chop one large onion
-green pepper
-package of fresh mushrooms

-sautee for a few minutes and then add a can of beer
cook in beer for a few minutes
-add a can of tomato soup
-small can of tomato paste
-can of diced tomatos
-can of stewed tomatos
-can of kidney beans
-can of black beans
-can of one other beans (don't remember)

Grill 1 1/2 - 2 pounds of chicken, shred/chop and add
Add at least 3 tablespoons of chili powder
Dump a fair amount of worshestire sauce and let simmer for at least three hours.

I am going to add zucchini next time I make this.

La Resistance

The movement has officially started. I need throw out props to my colleague and good friend John Lamb(from Fort Collins, not Fargo) for making me this shirt last weekend. I have a feeling that shirt will cost me a broken nose somewhere down the line. You all know how defensive those texans can get.

I worked on the ranch again this weekend. I had a good time digging in a cattle grate on Saturday. I spent yesterday in Breckenridge scouting a couple of hockey teams. I ate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. It is amazing how the restaurant is almost as annoying as the movie.

One of the servers threw up on the patio when I was there. Yesterday was the last day of the ski season, so all the workers were taking things pretty easy. In the span of about 15 minutes, said server had: a red bull and vodka, a seven and seven, a shot of jagermeister, and a couple of shots of Yukon Jack. It made the dining experience worth.

I also found time to slaughter some gophers and a fairly large jack rabbit.

The Onion | America's Finest News Source�

Excellent
Great weekend! I put some tin roofs on a couple of log structures at the Diamond 6 Ranch on Saturday. We did, however, find some time to slay some gophers on a couple of breaks. I went up to Reeder Creek yesterday and watched the sage grouse do their mating thing. The males have these white sacks they puff out to impress the females. The birds dance around - great excuse to get up at 6 in the morning. I then hiked around and found some elk. I got within twenty yards of 4 majestic beasts. It is a pretty cool spectacle.

Larry called me on Thursday night. I was sleeping soundly, it was around 3 in the morning, and the phone started ringing. It was Larry on the other end. He asked, "Why did you answer your phone?" I replied, "Because you called, dumbass?" Even though I am hearing impared, I have no trouble hearing my phone in the middle of the night. One day I will find the exchange humorous.

I am hoping to take in my first Rockies game of this season this coming Friday. They are already tanking - this insures that I will be able to get some great seats. For those of you that are baseball fans, I would suggest a weekend series at Coors Field. It is fun to drink beers and watch homeruns. The Astros will be in town. Look for me on the television.

I am going to the dentist at 3 today. The excitement is just not there. I am praying to Krom for no cavities.

THE FIGHT AGAINST tEXAS IS STILL ON...I have found a couple of websites that will aid in the battle. Many of you may recall my platform that will not only alleviate our problems in the Middle East, but will also rid the Red, White, and Blue of the fungus we call texas. Forget the alamo.

-Annex Canada
-Send everyone from Quebec to texas
-Give texas to Mexico in exchange for 7 sombreros and a hand carved chess set.
-Drain Canada of its natural resources
-Move The Avalanche back to Quebec (renamed "Steveland")
-Send the Stars back to Minnesota
-Give the Minnesota Wild to Minot
-Quit treating strippers like they are criminals - give the respect they deserve. Treat them with the respect they deserve; they are women in nursing school trying to catch a break.

OUT

Maybe Alan Ginsberg is still alive!

Wow, you need to check this out. This is unbelievable. My buddy John found this and had to point it out to me. It reminds me or a GWAR song.

Bill Ocean

I had the pleasure of hearing a couple Bill Ocean tracks over the weekend. I feel that Bill Ocean is the most underappreciated artists of the 20th century. He is the friggin Pablo Picasso of the soul/pop blend. He takes those two genres, puts them in a blender, and creates a smoothie that no sane individual can resist. Thanks for the memories!

It is research paper time for the sophomores at West Grand High School. Check out this site. This is what I put up with on a daily basis. My favorite has to be the young ladies that end the majority or their sentences with an exclamation point. I still don't understand why some folks are so excited about everything! Sometimes they write about world hunger! Homelessness is another that will catch the eye of a young lass! My all time favorite is reflections on racisim!

I have decided that I am going to graduate school for sure. I am pumped to move to Santa Fe. The high country will be missed.

Oh, I almost forget. I branded cows this weekend. It was one of the more interesting things I have done in my life. Kelly branded the cows, Vince and another guy gave them shots, and I put this stuff on their backs for worms. MY favorite part was drinking Bud at 11 in the morning when we finished up.

One more time for the stache.

I was thinking about the Stanely Cup Playoffs this morning. I would not allow my players to grow beards. Instead, I would have them all get Stanley Cup Champion tatoos before the playoffs started. If my team would lose, then all the players would have to undergo painful laser surgery to remove said tatoo. I think one year of that shit, and I would have one motivated hockey club.

NoDak

I noticed that the overwhelming sense of North Dakotacentrism has even found its way into Scott's blog. I have been feeling this way was well. I am the hockey reporter for the local paper (Middle Park Times), and I use the pen name NoDak.

I have been reading Steinbeck's Travels with Charley - In Search of America with my American Literature class. I had forgotten the nice things that Steinbeck had to say about Fargo and the great state of North Dakota:

"Curious how a place unvisited can take such hold on the mind so that the very name sets up a ringing. To me such a place was Fargo, North Dakota...Fargo to me is brother to the fabulous places of the earth, kin to those magically remote spots mentioned by Herodotus and Marco Polo and Mandeville. From my earliest memory, if it was a cold day, Fargo was the coldest place on the continent. If heat was the subject, then at the time the papers listed Fargo as hotter than any place else, or wetter or drier, or deeper in snow"(135).

Wow! ND getting some props from the man who blew the whistle on the great depression. Where is Oprah's Book Club now, biatch?

RESPECT

Magnum Muse

This is the photo that you have all been waiting for. It has really become a part of me. The respect keeps coming from other gentleman "in the know."

The NHL playoffs start tonight. Here are my picks for the first round.

Eastern Conference:

(1) Tampa vs. (8) NY Islanders
-Tampa will win this series easily in five.

(2) Boston vs. (7) Montreal
-I hate to admit that Montreal will lose this one in six. Boston will go on to win the Stanley Cup

(3) Philadelphia vs. (6) New Jersey
-The defending champs(NJ) will defeat the Flyers in six. The East is so close that ranks mean little.

(4)Toronto vs. (5) Ottawa
-Toronto will take the Senators in six. Toronto has a tough squad and made some trade moves late in the season (Leetch via NY Rangers) that will insure the Leafs a birth in the second round.

Western Conference

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Nashville
-Detroit will win, but it will take seven games. Nashville finished the season strong.

(2) San Jose vs. (7) St. Louis
-The Sharks will beat the Blues in five. I think the Sharks will represent the West in the Cup Finals.

(3) Vancouver vs. (6) Calgary
-Calgary will win this series in five. The Canucks have lost their luster after Bertuzzi was suspended. Calgary's goaltender, Kiprusoff, is the hottest thing in the NHL. He finished the season with a 1.69 goals against average. If he plays well, the Flames right his train just like Anaheim did last year with Gigure.

(4) Dallas vs. (5) Colorado

Dallas will win this series easily in five. The Avalanche have been sucking hind tit for the last month by not beating a team with an above five hundred record. They finished the season losing games to Nashville and Columbus as well as blowing the division title.

I have got run. You all have an excuse to get drunk tonight - get Cup Crazy!

mustache

I have had mustache for five days. I have been fully accepted in the sacred fraternity of the mustache. My life has been totally different. As soon as one makes his facial hair exclusive to the top lip, it suddenly becomes evident that a number of men have a mustache. I have noticed a lot of nods from other mustached men. They nod and suggest, "hey, I have a mustache and so do you. I hope that my mustache looks half as sharp as yours. Individuals like you remind why I grew a mustache in the first place."

Vince told me that after the third day I would start to love the mustache. His prophecy has been fulfilled. So many men have mustaches. I am proud that to have made the transition. For those of you that have never had a mustache, I would encourage you to grow one. You feel foolish for the first couple of days, and then you realize how sharp it looks.

Take a look around this weekend. You might think it is Magnum P.I. and then realize that it is the muse.

mediocrity

Oh yes! The battle cry of all educators is the growing belief that mediocrity needs to be encouraged and rewarded. People around here often pose the question: "why didn't you give my kid an A?" Rarely do I hear the question: "Why didn't my child earn an A?"

I have slowly started to accept the fact that people no longer have any desire to excell at anything they do. I have been looking at our yearbook so far, and it sucks. I have way too many kids in this class and have been having a lot of trouble with the publisher. I could be doing more, but I think that I have showed them what they need to create a nice book. I just don't understand why these kids don't use their time and put together a kick ass book. The reason why I am writing this is because one of my seniors is really mad she earned a B for the quarter. I am being nice because the kids should all have Fs. But, they have been conditioned to think that throwing something together at the last minute in a half-assed fashion is A+ material.

I am confident that if I implemented a true grading scale - A=excellent, B=above average, C=average, D=below average, and F=failing, I would lose my job after one quarter. We are now awarding an A for average work. Under a true grading scale about 50 percent would be at a C level, 15-20 percent might earn an A or B, and at least 30 percent would fail.

I just find it odd that the same people that scream for accountability are the ones that wonder why their kids aren't getting the grades they deserve. I am not allowed to teach because I am a babysitter. On a daily basis a number of students want to move and are ready, but we cannot leave the stragglers behind. We have tried to dispute Darwin's theory in the public schools too long. If we want testing and accountablity, then it is time we start tracking. When will special education include all students with special needs?

I just had an interesting conversation with a student. He is doing a civics project for another class and was seeking my input about his proposed changes to our voting system. It is interesting to compare and contrast his work with that of other students. I know his paper will be three or four times better than any other in his class. Why then will a number of students receive the same grade as he? This can lead to the old curve argument, but his paper is excellent. The others will be merely average. Why would he have a desire to excell?

I guess it is time for me to go back to school and be on the other end. It is nice that our education system has declined so much that a moron like the muse not only gets accepted to grad school, but receives a scholarship as well. Back to the grind...out