The rise in homelessness over the past year has been caused by two factors: The lack of affordable housing and the rise in poverty. Foreclosures have increased the number of people who experience homelessness.  Unemployment rose to 12% in December. The biggest job losses came in leisure and hospitality business as they employed 5,200 fewer people. Manufacturers lost 800 jobs.  

 Miracle Hill Ministries shelters  600 people nightly.  Thank you for donating food and paper products.  Some people gave the jackets off their backs!

Paige

I had an opportunity to interview the Red Cross about the efforts for the people in Haiti.  Check it out!

Interview with the Red Cross

Hey guys-

The Pussification Of America series will continue next week . I wanted to take a break and share with you a story.

That’s Little Miss Firefly. She’s a 26 year old, 26 inch tall midget – part of the Hellz A Poppin’ Freak Show. We had her, Penguin Boy, and many of the other members of the troupe in studio. Penguin Boy is like 3 feet tall, has no arms, and 2 left hands. Literally, when he was a kid his abusive father cut both of Penguin Boy’s arms off. His hands are transplants, and oddly enough their both left hands.

Little Miss Firefly was a sweet little thing. As I held her in my arms, all I was thinking was….what would this be like? I’ve never been with a midget. And yes to the PC Elite and the haters, she calls herself a midget, so send your email elsewhere. Quit being offended for no reason, pissy.

But as I thought about what it would be like, it hit me. I don’t think I could. Even if she had a bangin’ body with Jessica Alba’s head, it would be difficult. I have a (almost) 7 year old daughter and when I was holding Little Miss Firefly, I was thinking, “This 26 year old is smaller than my kid.” Therefore, I do not feel I could hit it.

Also, here’s the crew with the cast of Hellz A Poppin’ including the man Penguin Boy on the bottom right of Faybay’s gut.

I held a midget, and I liked it…just not like that.

Tickle It Guys,
-Maffew-

TickleItGuys.com
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Soooo wife won’t have sex with you?  Don’t want to cheat on her and hook up with someone else? Try cutting your junk off like this guy did…  Who’s never gonna cheat on his wife?  THIS GUY!

Well I am finally starting to pick up the pieces from 2009 and I am feverishly rebuilding my empire for the new year!  Thursday I got my renter’s insurance check in the mail so on Friday I went and picked up a new PS3, Blu-ray remote and HDMI cable to replace the ones that were stolen during the break-in last month.

After work that night I went to the Handlebar to catch NOXIOUS’ return to the Upstate with special guests KELEN HELLER and DOGFIGHT.  I ended up tuckering out rather early that night since I had to head up to NC first thing Saturday.  P1 QuickKart31 had not only invited me up to catch another night of SWA (Southern Wrestling Association) but also to fix my Jeep Compass which had several war wounds from being both scraped and keyed in late ‘09.

When I got into town, he met me and led me to his dad’s shop, 3D Kustoms and Restorations in Ellenboro, NC to drop my car off.  QuickKart and I then ran to grab some lunch and went to the Forest City National Guard Armory where I ’helped’ set up the ring for that night’s wrestling event.  By the time we got back to the shop, my car was done but still drying so I rode with QuickKart back to the armory so he could get ready for his THREE matches that night – ALL of which he won (under the name Kendall Slayer) with one of the matches being the main event cage match!

After the event was over, everyone gathered at the wrestler Wicked’s house for some after party drinks and continued mayhem as I got fairly tanked (yes, that’s me holding the belt and drinking pineapple juice and vodka out of a HUGE Mason jar)!

I ended up catching a ride with QuickKart’s two brothers Mark and Justin and crashed at their place after making a much needed stop at Waffle House!

The next morning I caught a ride with their dad, Will who did most of the awesome work on my car and rode with him back to the shop to pick up my car and head back home to catch the last two playoff games of the weekend.  I kept up with the first two by checking the scores on my BlackBerry and was pleased to see New Orleans venture on to the NFC Championship as they will be taking on Minnesota who slaughtered Dallas!  I was disappointed that Baltimore got taken out by Indianapolis and that my Super Bowl pick San Diego lost to the New York Jets.  This weekend should be great as I am torn between the Vikings and the Saints for the NFC title.

Monday morning I went to the dentist to have him look at what seemed to be a piece of tooth protruding from my gum where my last pulled wisdom tooth was.  As it turns out, it was actually my jaw which had healed with an angular rough edge that was cutting through my gum so he grinded it down and smoothed it out a bit.

After leaving the dentist’s office I went to the doctor to get a physical and have them look at my suspected herniated area.  Indeed, I have a hernia so I will be making an appointment with a surgeon in the near future to get that taken car of (JOY!).  Since I had breakfast that morning, the doctor told me to return the next morning after fasting for at least 12 hours so I could get some bloodwork done.  She did, however, have me go ahead and get a Tetanus shot (I HATE those!  My arm STILL hurts!).

After getting my physical, I treated myself to a movie and let my curiosity get the better of me as I broke down and went to go see Avatar and see what all the hype was about.  And I’ve gotta say I was actually quite impressed!  I admit the plot wasn’t entirely original as our webmistress, Tracy pointed out, it’s basically FernGulley: The Last Rainforest just live action and on another planet.  And just like Aliens (which James Cameron also directed) this one features Sigourney Weaver as a strong-willed protagonist facing off against a greedy corporation and working with futuristic Marines one of whom is a badass Hispanic tomboy.  But, despite the film’s lack of originality, it’s eye candy is spectacular and almost worth the hype if you go see it in 3D at a movie theater.

Avatar  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m

Yesterday morning I got up early and went straight to the doctor to get my bloodwork done then came home and showered and got ready for work.  At about one (my usual lunchtime) I had my replacement TV delievered to my apartment so I took a few minutes to get it set back up and hook my PS3 up to it and made sure everything worked fine. 

Now my living room is at least functional as it once was before my apartment was broken into….and my car looks like it did the day I bought it (or it WILL after I give it a BATH)!

After getting off work Friday night I went home and grabbed a bite to eat to save my broke ass some money and then headed out to the Handlebar to catch TREND KILL OMEGA, GHOST IN THE MACHINE and WAITING FOR AIR.  When I got there I found out that, instead of three bands, six bands were playing as the openers SHARP SHOOTER had already played.  WAITING FOR AIR was next followed by SECOND TO NONE and FROM TOMORROW.  GHOST IN THE MACHINE took the stage next and then TKO wrapped up the show.

I had fun with a bunch of local musicians and then joined Mark and Eddie from KELEN HELLER at IHOP for a late night bite which Mark’s girlfriend graciously treated my underfunded self to.

The rest of the weekend I stayed at home watching the NFL Wild Card games as New York defeated Cincinnati which will send the Jets into San Diego to face the Chargers this Sunday.  Unfortunately I had to witness Dallas dominate Philadelphia but the Cowboys will surely not fare quite as well when they face the Vikings in Minnesota this Sunday….or so I hope not!

Sunday’s games went much more to my liking as it turned out to be the Day of the Bird as Baltimore pummeled the Patriots IN New England allowing the Ravens to advance on to face the Colts in Indianapolis this Saturday.  I just hope they can keep up Poe’s poetic prose and send a message to the former undefeated AFC team, “Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”!

You couldn’t get any more of a knockdown-dragout fight than watching the Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers go back and forth during the second half of the game as neither team’s defense could stop the other team’s offense.  Then Arizona missed what would have been the game-winning field goal and then lost the coin toss at the beginning of overtime.  Things were not going well for the Cards when, all of a sudden, the Packers’ had the ball pop up and into the hands of Arizona defensive linebacker Karlos Dansby who ran 17 yards to score the winning touchdown and solidified a date with the Saints in New Orleans on Saturday.

I can’t wait for THIS weekend!

Everyone is asking how I am getting  around with my broken right leg.   I can’t drive.  I am dependant on the kindness of my Family to get me to work.  The other question is, Does it hurt?   Well yes it hurts.   Hurts like hell!!   It hurt so bad when I broke it, I felt like fainting.   The cast is heavy and bulky.  It is hard to get comfortable.   I can’t take a shower.  I have to take a bath with my leg hanging out over the side.  I wash my hair in the sink.  Thank you for your kind words . I really appreciate the encouragement.

Whoa there is almost too much happening in the world right now. Or at least in the part of the world I occupy. I don’t mean geographically. It’s more of a mindset thing. When I say there is a lot going on in the world, that means there is a lot of football or baseball or fighting or basketball or boxing on TV. That’s generally what excites me. Those things, zombie movies and whacked out conspiracy theories! Especially whacked out conspiracy theories about zombies who play football.

Football can go first. Clemson won impressively in a largely defensive battle with Kentucky. South Carolina lost horribly in a largely horrible game against a far more inspired, driven, competent UCONN team who wanted to win one for a fallen teammate. Good for the Huskies. They’re a better story. ‘Team rallies around fallen teammate’ is a better headline than ‘Dumb QB leads Gamecocks to victory two years after keying professor’s car; pees off balcony during celebration’ and pretty much ever lame duck sportswriter in America was dying to write just one more article where they could exploit Jasper Howard one more time. Because another story about Jasper Howard’s death is easier than trying.

Boise State is the real story, in my mind. They looked great Vs TCU. The pre-game talk was entirely about the TCU defense, which proved to be a phenomenal unit all season long. Every Clemson fan will tell you quickly that TCU’s defense is legit and among the best few in the nation. Every Boise State fan will agree. But the Broncos’ D wasn’t supposed to do what they did to the Horned Frogs. It was an impressive win over a very good team. The game showed everyone, in primetime, that Boise State and TCU deserved to be BCS teams this year. Utah did it last year. Boise State has done it in the past. It’s a beautiful thing.
Even better, that Boise State team from last night is largely the same Boise State team we’ll be seeing on that ugly blue field in the fall. There wasn’t one senior offensive starter for Boise State in last night’s Fiesta Bowl. If that isn’t enough, 10 of 11 defensive starters will be back in the fall. That’s 21 of 22 starters returning to a really, really good football team.
The Fiesta Bowl win and the number of players returning to an already dominant, undefeated team might mean…I can hardly bring myself to think about it. But it probably means a top-5 (more like top-3) pre-season ranking for Boise State football. And another undefeated season (with Virginia Tech on the schedule!) could mean a Boise State date for the BCS Championship this time next year. That’s the biggest sports story to watch. Actual sports story, that is. Sports story that takes place on the field rather than in an electrical closet or Tiger Woods’ Nike golf slacks or Gilbert Arenas’ gun safe.

UFC 108 went down over the weekend. The card was cursed, supposedly. The main event was never going to be the main event till a month ago. Rashad Evans was going to fight Rampage back at UFC 107, but Rampage had a falling out over going to play Mr. T in an A-Team movie. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera was on the card, but he got hurt and will fight in February. Jim Miller beat Duane Ludwig. Miller was originally scheduled to face Tyson Griffin, who was replaced by Sean Sherk, who was then replaced by Duane Ludwig before the fight could finally happen.
Despite all the setbacks, UFC 108 was a really good show. Better than UFC 107 and almost as good as the most recent Strikeforce card on Showtime. Rashad Evans looked a little rusty, but he owned the first two rounds before maybe relaxing too much in trying to wait out the decision in round 3. Still, you can’t question trying to wait out a decision against a fighter as dangerous as Thiago Silva. Rashad proceeded to show why trying to wait out the final round might not be a good idea against a fighter as dangerous as Thiago Silva. There is a downside. The downside, of course, is getting knocked out. It almost happened. We almost wound up with Rampage Vs Thiago Silva. Which would be a fantastic fight, but come on. We want Rampage Vs Rashad.
Thankfully, we get our wish. Rashad had enough guts and a strong enough chin to take a few stiff shots and not go down. So we get Rampage Vs Rashad in 2010, then we probably get that winner fighting the Shogun/Machida rematch winner. It’s a good time to be a light heavyweight in UFC, providing you don’t mind getting beat up.
For the record, I can’t help thinking Gegard Mousasi would steamroll all these dudes if he wasn’t hanging out in Strikeforce with no one to fight. It’s a shame. Mousasi might be the best 205lb. fighter in the world right now and it’s only fair that we get to see him fight in the best 205lb. divison. Instead, the Strikeforce 205lb. division is a shallow, poor comparison where Mousasi can easily run wild the same way BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre have cleaned out the UFC 155lb. and 170lb. classes. That’ll be fun to watch too.