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Inspired by the great Tommy Angelo! I watched his introduction video on his YouTube channel. His intro is great but I found myself obsessed with the background noises of the card room and the “Chirping Chips”

– Riffling

– Shuffling

– Reconfiguring into stacks

– Pushing a pile of chips from the center of the table on to a winner player

– The mound then stacked into columns … rows .. pillars

There’s a sea of poker tables under one roof. Commerce, The Bike, The Rio – A poker room near you.

The chirping crickets drown out the murmuring … the grumblings … the forced awkward conversations are a bit more muffled these days.

– You got it.

– You call with that?

– Nice hand

– Chips table 33

– Steve! Your seat is ready

– Set up!

– Big blind please!

There are masks now and they further dampen these voices and amplify the arena of insect legs rubbing against each other.

Here, I get my tiny stage. I can call for your attention with simple gestures. Eyes shift according to an awkward rhythmic but unexplained cadence. I get to perform here. I love to perform here.

These performances add to my bankroll. Collecting these bugs have paid for celebratory meals, wild nights out, quick vacations…

More recently they have been paying for art classes, swimming lessons and even tutoring. I’m slowly becoming Joey Knish

– “I owe rent, alimony, child support … My kids eat…”

I’ve been different versions of him for various portions of my life.

But life did take me away from this theater for a brief decade – Removed from the echoes of chips chirping.

Some of the fallout from 2020 brought me back. I had no idea I missed the comforting chirps of this arena.

I was performing again in front of old childhood friends and some little chirps came through over Zoom. The stages started getting bigger with different crowds. The chirps grew louder with a more serious audience. They noticed my performances as the weeks went by and the virtual chirps were my reward.

The soothing chirps were only memories of live casino chips. The memories turned into a home in beacon while I slept. 

As the family fell asleep one Saturday in July of 2021, that beacon led me to the Commerce Casino.

I walk in and all the worries over the last year slowly evaporate. The casual chirps gradually bring me comfort. The routine hasn’t changed much. The rituals are still there. Under each motion a chip is moving.

– Chips riffle *chirp*

– Shuffle machine opens, the dealer switches the deck out and the trap door closes *chirp*

– Cards are dealt and I can hear them individually glide off the deck *chirp*

– “It’s on you” *chirp*

I signed up as if it’s open mic at a comedy club. It’s been so long since I’ve done this and I wonder why there aren’t butterflies in my stomach. I realized that the crickets swarmed in and quietly consumed those butterflies the moment I heard the first chirp.

I head to the casino cage and get my chips. We’re ready to perform. I take my seat and as I take my chips out of their rack, I hear all of it. I’m joyfully treading through an ocean of chirping chips:

– I piece my columns of chips together *chirp*

– I post my blinds *chirp*

– I peel my cards and 3 seats down I hear it *chirp*

– Did he inhale with his mouth? *chirp*

– I fold my hand *chirp*

– I scoop a pot *chirp*

– I tip the dealer *chirp*

I swivel my chair to catch everyone do their part to keep the ocean of chips moving, chirping … performing

Food for thought… as IMHO this is a very selfish post and mentality:If this doesn’t sum up the teaching profession for those not in education, nothing will!Society: In the richest country in the world, between 11 and 13 million children live in food insecure homes.Schools: We can help….. Kids can eat breakfast and lunch at school, and in many places, teachers will spend their own money on snacks. For the most needy, we will send food home for dinner and weekends.Society: Over 4 million children in the US do not have health insurance or adequate healthcare.Schools: We can help….. we will bring doctors to do free physicals, eye exams, and dental treatments right at school. In many places, school nurses will spend their own money on sanitary supplies for girls.Society: Over 17% of US children live without basic necessities.Schools: We can help…. we will install washers and dryers in schools. We will hand out clothes, school supplies, shoes, and winter coats for free. Many of these items are purchased by school nurses and teachers.Society: There are 5.5 million reports annually of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect of minors.Schools: We can help…. schools will be safe places and teachers will be safe people. We will have some counselors, but not enough…. some therapists, but not enough, right in the schools. Teachers with minimal training in trauma will come to school early and stay late to mentor these children. Teachers will spend more time with their students than with their own children. Teachers will cry and sometimes crumble at the thought of not being able to do more for the innocent children in their care.Society: Almost 25% of US children have parents that work past school hours.Schools: We can help…. we will install before and after school programs in thousands of schools where kids can get another meal, get help with their homework, and participate in organized activities.Society: Almost 14 million children in the US are obese.Schools: we can help… Physical Education classes will be mandatory and we will incorporate lessons about healthy food choices.Society: The US averages one school shooting every 77 days.School: We can help… we will do lock down drills and train our students to hide and be quiet. And if need be, teachers will literally die for their students.Society: We are in the midst of a global pandemic which our government has failed to control. Almost 130,000 Americans are dead and the numbers are rising, not declining, in many places. Because we have chosen to ignore, for decades, the racism, inequality, and discrimination that is at the root of all the aforementioned problems, we now need schools to reopen so that kids can eat, get healthcare, get clothes, shoes, and school supplies, be safe, be healthy, and be supervised. Oh, and so that they can get an education. It appears that COVID doesn’t affect children, so let’s go back to school.Teachers: We can help…. but what about the 25-30% of us that are over the age of 50? What about those of us who are immunocompromised or live with someone who is? What about those of us who are pregnant… we still have very limited data on what COVID does to unborn children. Will you have PPE for us? Will you have hand sanitizer for us? What if we get sick, and don’t have enough sick days to cover the time that we are out? What if a family member gets sick and we need to care for them?Society: Wow, why are you suddenly being a bunch of crybabies? Before you were always willing to sacrifice your time, your money, your mental health…. and now when we need you, you aren’t willing to sacrifice your health and possibly your life? But 75% of you are women…. and that’s what we, as a society, expect women to do… sacrifice yourself for others.*For decades, schools and teachers have been the band-aid on society’s failings because we care about children. Schools and teachers are not the ones who can repair our broken society. At the same time, we cannot be the lambs sent to slaughter because no one else cared enough to actually fix society while schools and teachers were holding it all together with said band-aid.-

Alison Hoeman*Feel Free to copy and paste.

Another restless night for you? Yeah… Me too! And what do I do when I can’t sleep?

• Battle laundry?
  • Laundry is undefeated and will remain undefeated through the end of time
• Should I pop in that DDP Yoga DVD and get my ass to stretching?
  • He’s 62 y/o and in better shape than most Millennials.
    • Not my battle tonight
• Read the War of Art (again)?
  • I’m definitely fighting some resistance!

Like most nights, I end up looking for the bottom of the internet. Tonight, I’m looking for it on Twitter. That’s when I came across this post that had me going down memory lane:

Alright, let’s celebrate the good and cringe at the bad music of the 80’s

Post an 80’s tune that you love or detest and I’ll review and rate it from 1-10 pic.twitter.com/fpLa6PFRl0

— Adam Schwartz (@ASchwartzPoker) April 8, 2020

Adam Schwartz (formerly of the Two Plus Two Pokercast and now the cohost of DAT Poker Podcast) has always brought up his love music on the shows. So, I knew this tweet was going to get a lot of interesting replies and I had to rail it.

I’d say that most of the songs mentioned in the thread are relatively obscure. But, I did enjoy a lot of them. I liked them so much that I went ahead and created a YouTube playlist

The majority of the songs on the playlist above are on the New Age and Punk Rock tip and totally have that 80’s feel to them. You might even find a few POP, Metal and Rap gems in there.

If 90’s Slow Jams are your thing, I also created a playlist for that:

I hope you get to enjoy them! I’m going to try and finish off this Tiger King series now!

As a Gen Xer that was raised in Los Angeles, I’ve been listening to Kevin and Bean for close to 2/3rds my life. At age 45, I’m not sure exactly when I started listening. I don’t have a first memory of tuning in. But I do know it was around my junior or senior year in high school (1991 or 1992).

What I do remember is back in 94 when I was in the Navy and deployed out at sea, I would ask my family and friends to record the Kevin and Bean show and mail it out to me so I’d have some idea of what’s going on back home. I remember calling home in 95 when I got off the ship from a deployment and my sister told me that OJ was being chased by the LAPD and the first thing I said to her was “You better record Kevin and Bean when they are talking about this!”

Shortly after my time in the military, I ended up in the Northern California, Bay Area where I was in a relationship with someone living in Los Angeles. I would ask her to record tapes and send them to me too. She hated doing that for me and I’m glad to say that it did work out with her! I’m sure she’s glad too! =)

I remember one time fairly recently, I was flipping channels and I came across the Los Angeles Kings broadcast. The two announcers brought on Kevin and asked him some questions. The two Kings broadcasters were in their suits and ties and there was Kevin wearing a hoodie and shorts (it was night time so maybe he was in jeans?). I stuck around and listened for a few minutes and remember Kevin doing much better than the two hosts. If I could find the clip, I’ll show you the look on the faces of those two guys. The look they had… They knew they were in the presence of a broadcasting legend.

When Bean said his farewell late last year, I took the day off from work so I could listen. I’m not kidding when I say that I’ve listened to the final podcast a couple dozen times since it aired. The vulnerability and honesty from the group is so refreshing and rare to find these days.

The days leading up to the final show, they do mention that Kevin and Bean will be honored at the NAB as Hall of Fame inductees and there is no shortage of fragility in their speeches.

I don’t know that I’ll ever find a radio show that is so honest. I want to thank everyone that’s been part of the show the last 30 years. I’m extremely upset with the way KROQ treated you and kicked you out without a proper farewell. But that doesn’t compare to how much I’ll miss the familiar voices on my drive into work. The mornings were hard enough when Bean left. But now with Kevin getting fired, my mornings will be that much more difficult.

Bean quickly found a gig in England and I know that Kevin will be broadcasting again soon. Please get back to us after your 1 week nap!