Aren't I clever (This would not fit in the title.) 
 
 
    I hate Valentine's day. I always have. It started out as an anti-consumerism that some teenagers go through but, like a select few, have realized that's part of your life and just moved on. I hate in on an entirely different level. It's designated romance day and that's not alright. Is romance all that hard? Is it so mind bending that stuffed bear seems like a good present? I mean really? A stuffed animal? Is your girlfriend/wife four? Is she an idiot? Does she have a fetish for them? No? Then put it back you insufferable imbecile.

    I take umbrage with the fact that most people find that jewelry is somehow romantic. Are people so emotionally detached that shiny things make us more in love with another person? Are we that shallow? I know that my teenage rooted hated is coming back up but with good reason. I thought that it meant someone cared when they sat down and had a conversation with you. When they asked you how your day was. When they generally put thought into a gift. Jewelry is easy. You find the shiny thing that's shinier than everything else and you buy it. That's no fun. That's not romantic. That's lazy. Even flowers are incredibly simple. You know what would be great? Finding out who her favorite author is and buying they're next book without a hint being dropped. Try it. And guess what, it doesn't have to be just Valentine's day. You could do it on a Tuesday in the middle of August. Make her dinner. Don't know how to cook? Practice. Take her shopping so that she can pick out an outfit that she thinks would look good on you. Does that sound crazy?

    “But Myckel, how would that make her happy?” I'm glad you asked. She would like to dress you up. I don't mean to say that she thinks you dress poorly on a regular basis but there are things that she would like to see you in that aren't in you normal wardrobe. Every women has a dream outfit that they would like to see they're partner in. It sounds sexist as hell and is, but it's true. Bust it out every once in a while.

    “What about those who have squeezed all that we can get out?” Clean the house while she's out. Again, making dinner is perfect. Just show a little initiative. Try. That's it. You'll get it eventually. It may not be on your first or even tenth try but you'll get it.

    The point I am trying to make is that it isn't necessary to make a big stink about it on one day out of the year. It's best if you understate it as much as possible. Tell her it wasn't a big deal. It shouldn't be. Do it all of the time. Don't ever leverage it as “Hey look at this sweet thing I did for you, what do you have for me?” . If you care enough this shouldn't be so hard. Fuck Valentine's day.

 Bluesapalooza is a large blues festival in Covina, California. It's held on a large closed off street surrounded by restaurant and bars. Its about an hour from where I live. I'm a huge fan of blues and love to see live shows anytime I can. So when my grandfather called me to see if I wanted to go, I was excited. This wasn't my first Bluesapalooza. In fact, it was my third. There's also a car festival that is held with it called Thunderfest. Cheesy name, Gorgeous cars. The cars were lined up for about a quarter mile on both sides of the street. The day started off rocky when we were walking through the crowds and stumbled upon a man on a stool yelling at passersby about evolution. He had a giant illustrated pad that stated that evolution was wrong and was challenging people to prove it right. I'm a believer in evolution but I'm always willing to listen to other peoples ideals. He was out the just to tell people how wrong they were and went as far as to chase after someone to argue with them. After we passed him everything got a lot better. 
   The first band I watched, Chico's Bail Bonds, was really good. I caught the last few songs in their set and the obligatory three minute solos from every band member. The second band, The rhythm Kings, had a Santana vibe to them. 1960's Santana, not just Carlos by himself. I watched their entire set and it was spectacular until the keyboardist solo came up and he preceded to run his elbow across the keyboard for about a minute and a half. After that he decided to play with his ass. All was redeemed when it was the drummer's solo. It was fantastic and the highlight of my afternoon. Third was L.A. Jones and the Blues Messengers. They were the least memorable because their music was very generic. The only reason I remembered their name is because Mr. Jones started asking for money two songs before their set was over. All of the other bands had brought CDs, T-shirts, and other merchandise. He was asking for money straight up and that left me feeling a little uneasy. The final act I saw was Brad Wilson. He had a fantastic organ player that made the entire show. His music was very upbeat and had various couples dancing in front of the stage. Overall, they were some great shows. 
   The cars they had there were beautiful. Almost all of them were classic American cars that had been rebuilt. I kicked my self every time I looked at one of them because I left my camera at home. On a completely random note I saw a forty year old man with a large beard rocking a Battlefield 1943 shirt. That was pretty awesome.      
 
Now I will leave you duders with some pics of the awesome shirt I got. 
 

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