Link Of The Week

In the year that I've been blogging, I've read hundreds of different blogs; some I put in favorite places so I could check back every day; a few outstanding blogs made it to TWIT as required reading; most weren't the effort. I came across a blog this week that is one of the best blogs I've read. Once I get her permission, she's going in the required reading section.  It's written by a woman who's a caterer and chef.  Her blog is titled "The Diary Of A Food Whore."

Don't turn your noses up at the title of her blog - once you read her explanation, it makes perfect sense.  She says that by definition, a prostitute, or in this case, a whore, is a person who sells their abilities and talents for money, or is a person who compromises theirself for money.  Her talent is being a caterer, and she does it for money.  And after reading her blog, you will see how she compromises herself to keep her client, or in the blog, her "trick," happy. 

I sat for hours the other night reading her archives, and would have stayed up longer if I'd had the next day off.  Check her out for yourself at http://www.thefoodwhore.com.  I think it's apropos that I found her site on the anniversary of TWIT.  She's given me new inspiration for another year of blogging. 

Happy Birthday, TWIT

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.  Happy birthday dear TWIT, happy birthday to me.

It's hard to believe, but one year ago today, I entered the wonderful world of blogging with the first post in TWIT.  Time sure flies when you're having fun. 

Thanks again to you, may faithful readers, for, well, being faithful readers.  You rock. For my faithful readers at work, it's become harder to keep up with my posts since TWIT and many, many other high-traffic sites have been blocked by SonicWALL.  Even though it sucks that my co-workers have a hard time getting to TWIT while at work, it's an honor that the IT people considered TWIT to be a high traffic site.  I'm urging my co-workers to please continue reading TWIT from your computers at home.  Your support means alot to me. 

Thanks again for our first anniversary.  I hope to give you many more years of blogging. 

Road Rage Rears Its Ugly Head Again

It's not often that my Mother gets riled up.  She's usually very calm, especially when those around her are riled up.  It's a trait that friends and family say I've inherited from her.  It's a good thing.  It's a characteristic that helps me tremendously at work. But this morning, we were both riled up.  At the same time.  And it wasn't pretty.

We were on our way back home from a quick trip across town to check on a vacationing friend's house and to get their mail and newspaper, when the Road Rage Incident occurred.  I was in the middle late on the expressway, and to my right was a big ole F-150.  It makes perfect sense in retrospect; it had a bunch of NASCAR stickers on the back window and tailgate, and had a NASCAR license plate frame. Anyhoo, this big truck just comes on over to my lane.  No use of turn signals or anything.  Luckily for us, I was able to swerve over in the far left lane to avoid getting smashed by this idiot.  As soon as we were safely in the other lane, I laid on the horn.  I glanced over and my Mother was riled. There were no obscene gestures made toward the lunatic driver, but there were a few choice names dropped.  The truck sped up and pulled up alongside of us, and the driver, a woman in her mid-20's talking on a cell phone (hard to comprehend, I know) rolled the window down and shrugged her shoulders and yelled "Sorry."  Uh huh. Sorry my ass. 

We watched the F-150 cut in front of a dozen other cars going down the expressway.  I kept my distance from the crazed driver, but from what we could tell, she didn't roll her window down and tell any of the other drivers she pissed off "Sorry." We watched, and she took the same exit as us - onto Dixie Highway.  She might have gotten by with cutting in front of people on the expressway, but if she pulls that stunt on Dixie, she might get to see what road rage retaliation from a south-ender feels like.

Rock Star: INXS - Round 4

 Jordis - sang "Gimme Some Lovin'" by the Spencer Davis Group.  Got audience involved.  Stayed in pitch, something the rest of the rockers are having alot of trouble with.  Missed a line of the song but nobody cared.  She rocked.
Suzie - sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. Nailed it. Could understand all of the words. Gambled by playing the harmonica, and won.
Jessica - sang "Because The Night" by Patti Smith.  Picked a bad key for the arrangement.  Sounded like Cher singing Natalie Merchant.  Looked like a Vegas showgirl with the feathers coming out of her halter.
Mig - sang "Lola" by the Kinks. Good arrangement. Stayed in pitch. The red military coat was classic rock and roll.
Brandon - sang "Tempted" by Squeeze.  Struggled.  Pitch was bad. Needs to actually sing instead of talking the song.
Ty - sang "Everybody Hurts" by REM. Major props for doing the acoustic thing.  Didn't use the big Broadway voice for a change.  Really worked the song.
Heather - sang "If It Makes You Happy" by Sheryl Crow. The key was way too low.  Struggled through entire song. Pitch was all over the place; voice was very shakey.
J.D. - sang "We Are The Champions" by Queen.  Intro was weak - couldn't understand the words. Pitch was way off.  Was the worst performance of this round.  Even INXS said "You did not do the song justice."  Ouch.
Deanna - sang "Give A Little Bit" by Supertramp.  Bad choice of song, but worked it the best she could with the acoustic thing. Voice was shakey.
Daphna - sang "Rock The Casbah" by the Clash. Too forceful.  Pitch was way off.  Looked like she had on her nightgown.  INXS said she "murdered the song." Ouch Ouch.
Tara - sang "Suffragette City" by David Bowie. Coolest outfit of the entire 4 rounds so far.  Sounded like Cher singing David Bowie. Came across as campy, but the outfit made up for being cute.
Marty - sang "Lithium" by Nirvana. Weak on the soft parts of the song. Lost pitch on the screaming parts of the song.

The voting results were revealed, and the three with the least amount of votes performed an INXS song.

Daphna - sang "What You Need." Another fave INXS song. Could have taken the song and ran with it.  A lackluster performance.
Heather - sang "By My Side." Couldn't hit the low notes.  Couldn't hit the high notes.
Jessica - sang "Elegantly Wasted."  Elegantly worked the stage like a pro - no bump and grind, no standing rigid like a robot.

In an unprecented move, INXS booted out Daphna and Heather.  They told them that neither of them really did anything to prove they wanted to stay. 

It Happened Again

I know I shouldn't get all worked up over the gas prices, but I just can't help it.  Wednesday, in my neighborhood and work 'hood, gas was $2.38.  I had a big shopping trip across the river in southern Indiana, where the gas is always cheaper.  I stopped before heading back across the bridge and filled up the BMW for $2.16 a gallon.  I was almost giddy with excitement on getting my gas for 22 cents cheaper.  When I drove home from work yesterday, it was $2.09.  I know what you're thinking.  "Puddin, you should be happy that you still saved 22 cents a gallon."  Yes,  I should.  Should.

As a humanitarian gesture toward to all of my faithful readers in Kentuckiana, I will let you all know when I buy gas.  That way, you can go buy gas the next day when it will be much cheaper. 

File Under: WTF?

I read a very interesting article the other day, about a bizarre cult in Malaysia.  Last week, Malaysian authorities arrested 58 followers of the "Sky Kingdom" cult forpossessing documents contraty to Islam. They face a fine of up to 3,000 ringgit (about $789 in U.S. currency) or two years in jail.  Among the cult members arrested were a police officer, a member of a popular local rock group, and the fourth wife of the cult's leader, Ayah Pin. No, that's not what's bizarre about this cult.  Nor is the leader Ayah Pin, who says he is God and the owner of everything, the most bizarre fact.  The most bizarre thing about this cult?  The cult is built around a giant teapot.

Apparently, the local Muslims have declared a jihad against the Sky Kingdom cult. Just two days before the cult members were arrested, about 30-35 Muslim extremists, armed with machetes and Molotov cocktails, attacked the commune.  They burned Ayah Pin's Mitsubishi mini-van and the roof of a building, and scorched the giant teapot.  Damage to the teapot was external and minimal. Thank goodness the giant teapot is made of concrete.  (Note: You can see the charred teapot in the top right of the third picture above. Is nothing scared anymore?)

In addition to the giant teapot, there is also a giant vase and a giant half-opened umbrella. I'm guessing they're made of concrete, too. At first glance at the picture of the commune, the place is very colorful, and it looks like the commune should be declared a tourist attraction.  It's something you'd expect to see at Disney World, or at least at a roadside tourist trap, next to the live alligators or Bonnie and Clyde's death car. 

The sect believes the teapot has healing properties. Riiiight.  The teapot signifies the purity of water, while the umbrella signifies God, who, in this case, is Ayah Pin, who shelters everyone in the world.  Ayah can't be doing very much sheltering right now - he has gone into hiding after the attack.

I wonder if this cult performs "I'm A Little Teapot" at their meetings?

Parents Say The Darnedest Things

Things overheard in the waiting room at a local vision care supercenter.

Things said by parents/adults to small children:

"I'm going to knock you out!"
"I'm going to beat you up!"
"I'm going to beat your a$$!"
"Shut up!" (heard at least 25 times)
"You don't want me to take you into that restroom!"
"Do you want me to take you into that restroom?"
"Say no ma'am.....SAY IT!"

Things said by parents/adults to other parents/adults, overheard in same
waiting room:

"If he was mine, I wouldn't give him no warning, I'd beat his a$$" "When I was little if I didn't do what I was told I got my a$$ kicked clear across the room!"
"He's big enough now, I can just throw something and hit him with it!"

Happy Life Day To Me

Just an hour ago, I experienced post-traumatic stress syndrome. No, this isn't going to be a lead-in to a funny thing that happened or about something I saw on TV or in the news.  This near-panic attack was caused by actual post-traumatic stress.  You see, 13 years ago this evening was when I had my wreck that almost killed me. 

That evening of July 26, 1992, I was on my way back from Mike Linig's Restaurant, bringing home fish for supper.  The wreck happened less than a mile from my house.  It was actually in front of my cousin's house.  He heard the crash, and recognized the car I was driving (Mom's new Blazer) and he called Mom and Dad and told them.  Of all of the pain and crap I went through getting my foot rebuilt and the rehab afterward, the part of the whole experience that bothered me the most was seeing the look of horror on my Mother's face when Dad and she walked over to where I was.  They got there before the fire department and the EMT's, and I was still in the Blazer, waiting for them to pry open the door and get me out.  I never want to see that look on my Mother's face again. They flew me by Stat-Flight helicopter to University Hospital, and thank the Lord, my only injuries were a big gash on the top of my head and a shattered right foot.  I was in the hospital a week and a half, and was off from work almost six months.  But I made a full recovery, and other than arthritis and the fact that my right foot is almost half a size bigger than my left foot, there was no permanent damage. 

A good friend at work also had a near-fatal wreck, and on the anniversary of his wreck, he and his family celebrate what they call "Life Day."  When he explained to me about his wreck, and about how on Life Day they all do something together as a family, I decided to call the anniversary of my wreck "Life Day", too.  But to be honest with you, with a lot of things going on with me and loved ones right now, I didn't think a thing about today being Life Day until almost the exact time of the wreck this evening. At work, I knew it was July 26, but it didn't click until tonight.  I was on my way to Mike Linigs to get fish for supper when I remembered that 13 years ago, almost to the very minute, was when I had my wreck. For a second ortwo, I started to turn up a side street and go to another place for fish instead.  But I decided to conquer the fear and went on to Mike's.  I even had them put the fish in a cardboard box to carry out, like they did for me 13 years ago.  Then I got in the BMW, got buckled in, and made the 2 mile trip home. I drove on through the place where the wreck happened, and truthfully had an eerie felling; I could have sworn I still saw the skidmarks, too.  But I drove on, and made it home with supper this trip, unlike 13 years ago tonight.

Way To Go, Lance

TWIT would like to congratulate Lance Armstrong on winning the Tour de France.  In case you haven't read nor heard anything for the past month or so, this was Armstrong's seventh Tour de France victory.  That's seven consecutive victories, folks.  The cycling experts say that this record will most likely remain unbroken. 

Armstrong started riding a trycicle at age 2, and received his first bike at age 4.  As he got older, he said he was too uncoordinated to play football, so he just concentrated on swimming and riding his bike. He won the Iron Kids triathlon at 13, and by the age of 16 Lance was earning $20,000 a year from triathlons and bike races.  He's quick to say he wasn't always a winner; he finished last out of 111 riders in his first professional race. 

In October of 1996, after months of ignoring health problems and brushing them off as a case of the flu, Armstrong finally sought treatment and was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.  He underwent brain surgery and chemo treatments.  After a two-year recovery period, Armstrong was back cycling, and won his first Tour de France in 1999. His first Tour victory was bittersweet - after the win, the rumors started flying that he had to have been helped by steroids to have made such a quick recovery from the cancer.  When asked about his bout with cancer, Armstrong says the worst part was not the cancer itself, but the persistent but unproven suspicions of steroid use that has dogged him since his first Tour victory in 1999. 

As if the steroid use rumors weren't enough to deal with, Armstrong also went through a painful divorce in 2003. He received criticism, with people saying how could he dump the woman who stood by him and helped him through his bout with cancer.  He quickly started dating rocker Sheryl Crow, and the rumors started flying once again, with people saying Crow was the reason for the divorce. 

When Armstrong announced in April that he was going to retire after this year's Tour de France, he made it clear he wanted to go out on top.  Mission accomplished, Lance.  You're the prime example of how to Live Strong.

Rock Star: INXS - Round 3

Marty - sang "What I Like About You" by the Romantics.  Worked the stage instead of standing in one place, but screamed the song instead of singing it.
Daphna - sang "I Hate Myself For Loving You" by Joan Jett.  Wore too many accessories. Was screaming instead of singing.  Pitch was flat.  Should try to sing a ballad.
Ty - sang "Somebody Told Me" by the Killers.  Still using the big Broadway voice. Needs to work with the band more instead of being a solo perfomer.
Suzie - sang "Roxanne" by the Police. Nailed it.  Remembered the words and didn't seem scared.  Really used the stage. 
Mig - sang "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith.  Major props for nailing all of the words. 
Neal - sang "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams. Pitch was flat.  Couldn't play the guitar and stay on pitch at the same time.  Didn't pick a "melodic" song like he was told.
Heather - sang "It's Only Rock And Roll" by the Rolling Stones. An awesome arrangement with the piano.  Excellent version.
J.D. - sang "Hand In My Pocket" by Alannis Morisette.  A good arrangement.  Still screaming instead of singing. *Made a catty remark to the affect that he was the only one that knew the INXS songs.
Tara - sang "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.  Screamed.  A bit too angry-young-woman.  She's auditioning for INXS, not Led Zepplin. 
Deanna - sang "The One I Love" by REM.  Good arrangement for a female voice.  Should have kept it soft instead of heavy.  Nearly pulled it off.
Jordis - sang "The Reason" by Hoobastank. Bad song choice.  Started out shakey but took over the song and finished strong.  Had awesome pitch through entire song.
Jessica - sang "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix.  Sounded like Cher singing Hendrix.  Interacted with the band.  Should have made the song a bit different instead of an exact cover.
Brandon - sang "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynard Skynard.  Screamed.  Good thing I knew the song because you couldn't understand the words.  Lose the guitar - that's what the band is for.

 

The voting results were revealed and these three with the least amount of votes performed an INXS song.

Neal - sang "Suicide Blonde".  My fave INXS song.  Ran around the stage a la Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger instead of concentrating on the lyrics and pitch.
Tara - sang "Mystify." Really worked the song. 
Jessica - sang "Don't Change." Lost pitch but regained control over the song.

As they did last week, the band reminded Tara this was her second time on the chopping block.  But the band evidently realized that the rock and roll world already has a Steven Tyler and a Mick Jagger, so they told Neal that he just wasn't right for the band.

Gas Hike Monday

It's been a few months since I've posted "Gas Price Update" - mainly, because the prices have been basically high everywhere.  In keeping with the tradition of my bad luck,  for the past few months the gas prices have gone down the day after I fill up, and gone up the day when I need to fill up.  It makes no sense, so I won't waste space trying to reason it all out.  But the large spikes in prices still hack me, and everyone else, off. 

Case in point, today. This weekend, every person I talked to was excited about how the gas prices have really been "low" for the past few days; low meaning $2.06, give or take two cents.  I even saw it a few places Saturday night for $2.04.  But do you think I took the time to stop and fill up the BMW? Why heavens no.  This morning on the way to work, I saw $2.08 a gallon.  This afternoon on the way home, I saw $2.28.  WTF?  That's all I can say.  I've not been keeping track of this so I can't verify, but a  friend said that the stations have been raising the prices on Mondays ever since the prices started going up back in March.  I think she's right.

Link Of The Week

It's been in the mid-90's for almost a week now, and I've been in major couch potato mode this weekend, but I couldn't let the day go by without our customery Link Of The Week.

We all get frustrated when something doesn't go right in Windows or Word or Excel - I know I do.  It's pretty much effortless, but it just annoys me to do the frequent Windows updates.  I know it only takes a few minutes maybe once every month or two, but it still annoys me.  Here lately, I've come across quite a few people who will never use an operating system besides Linux. 

I came across a site this week that all annoyed Windows users can identify with. Check out http://www.annoyances.org and you'll find "most complete collection of information assembled for and by actual users of Microsoft Windows."  A .gif on the home page even shows a big foot coming down in one of the most annoying Windows features, the Paper Clip help man. 

I Can't Get A Break, Part 3

Last week, I really didn't have the heart to give my faithful readers an update on the BMW's hydraulic fluid hemorrhage.  I've had some time to recover, and I'm ready to talk about it now.  You might want to get another cup of coffee or glass of tea; this might take awhile.

When we left off, it was the week the 'rents and neighbors were on vacation and I was in charge of the gardens.  Tuesday night, we had AAA come back to The Compound and tow the BMW to a very reputible repair shop just a half mile from work.  I had called and spoke with them just hours after the incident Friday afternoon, and they said if it was in deed a power steering hose or line, they would be able to fix it.  I breathed a bit of relief.  Wednesday morning, they called me at work and reported that, yes, you guessed it, it was not something simple like a hose or line; the leak had come from the left rear strut and it needed to be replaced.  And in keeping with my good luck, it was something they really didn't feel they could tackle.  So they recommended a place just about a mile from work, so I called and talked to them about it. After making half a dozen more calls for estimates, this place had the best price.  So to make things still inconvenient, I had my boss follow me during lunch to pick up the car; the shop that had it said it would be fine to drive, since they filled it back up with hydraulic fluid.  And I'm here to tell you, Dohn's Automotive are the most honest people I've ever dealt with.  I went there to pick the car up and fully expected to pay for a few hours of labor since they did quite a bit of searching to find the problem - they only charged me $5 for the hydraulic fluid.  So now my boss is following me over the other shop where I left the car to have the strut replace.  Let me interject that all of this towing around was just so I wouldn't have to take the car back to the import shop downtown.  Are you with me so far?

Flash forward a few days.  The shop called and the $trut has been in$talled.  They called me at around 6:00 that evening, after I'd already gotten home from work. So I told them I'd get it the next day.  After work, I get a ride down there and pick it up.  Let me say they also threw in a front-end alignment and a tire rotation free of charge.  That was big of them.  It drove like a new Cadillac as I made my way downtown to visit a friend.  After a day or two, I got over the $hock of writing out the check. 

Flash forward a few more days to Tuesday morning.  Dad got up early when I did, to tell me that I needed to check out the car; he saw a big puddle of something on the garage floor.  Lovely.  Just get the .22 and point it toward my heart and pull the trigger.  I stopped for gas on the way to work and checked the fluid levels and everything seemed ok.  When I left the parking lot at work that afternoon, I noticed about a 4" diamater splotch where something had leaked.  I kept watch, and the next day I noticed a smaller splotch, but still a splotch nonetheless.  So I called the shop that installed the strut, and calmly told them the problem.  They were very apologetic and told me to get the car there asap and they'd check it out.  First of all, let me give a great big shout out to my dear friend/neighbor/co-worker Bev, who hauls me to and from work and repair shops.  So I drop it off and Bev gives me a ride home.  I start to get nerved up over this, and start to think how good those employee-price car deals are sounding right now. 

This brings us to Friday afternoon.  The shop calls me and said that fortunately, the splotch yesterday was about the size of a quarter.  Unfortunately, the current leak is not coming from the strut; it's coming from the power steering gear box. This wasn't a real surprise; when I put the car in the shop for the major work when I first bought it, they said that I could either live with a small leak from $ector $eal, or I could pay $$$ and have the gear box replaced.  A small leak I could live with; a puddle with standing fluid I could not.  The mechanics were fairly confidant that when the new strut was installed and filled with the factory-required amount of hydraulic fluid, the pressure caused the sector seal to leak bigtime. On a small happy note, it didn't blow the seal out; it just caused it to hemorrhage bigtime.  I then called the shop downtown and explained what had happened, and the owner reassured me that as long as I kept the fluid in the car, a small splotch wouldn't hurt anything except the garage floor. I've got a big piece of cardboard that I'll put under the car when I pull it into the garage, to keep Dad happy, and hopefully the splotch won't become a puddle.

Thank you very much for bearing with me while I wrote this epic saga; I'm sure it was boring, but it's been very therapeutic.

You Don't Want To Make Alan Greenspan Mad

With yesterday's bomb explosions in London, a lot of important news items got pushed aside, and respectfully so.  For instance, you didn't hear much about Sudan's foreign minister calling Secretary of State Conoleezza Rice to apologize for manhandling of U.S. officials and journalists during her visit with the President of Sudan.  Rice's senior adviser and some reporters faced-off with guards at the palace of the Sudanese president. Guards elbowed the Americans and tried to rip a tape away from a reporter.  Rice's interpreter and other aides were also blocked at a gate.

Yesterday, shortly after the foreign minister called Rice to apologize, an NBC news correspondent was roughed up with she asked the Sudan president about the alleged atrocities in Sudan.  Guards grabbed her, and twisted her arm behind her back a la WWF Smackdown or an episode of COPS, and muscled her to the rear of the room as State Department officials shouted at the guards to leave her alone.  The correspondent was Andrea Mitchell.  I'm sure you've heard of her.  She happens to be married to Alan Greenspan.  I know you've heard of him.  He happens to be the head of the Federal Reserve. 

I have a hard time believing that the President of Sudan, Africa's biggest country, didn't know who Andrea Mitchell's husband is.  I know he remembers the three quarters of a billion dollars in humanitarian aid the U.S. has given his country over the past two years.  And I'm pretty sure the G8 Summit, just a couple of weeks ago, is still fresh in his mind.  But I just can't believe that he didn't know his guards were assaulting the wife of the man that controls America's money supply; the money that could be going to help out his country.  Not a smart move.

In an interview last night, Mitchell said she is angry and humiliated after the Sudanese president's bodyguards dragged her out of the the room. As you can see from the picture above, large gun-toting thugs surrounded the 5'3" Mitchell. "It makes me even more determined when dictators and alleged war criminals are not held to account.  If our government is going to establish a relationship and push for a new beginning as Sudan reforms itself, they have to live up to international standards.  A free press is part of that process."   She went on to say that no one from Sudan had called her to apologize. Being the class act and professional that she is, Mitchell said "I would rather see them live up to their promises. What they did to me is not important.  They can't control my life."  Props to you, and your husband, Andrea. 

Serena: What Were You Thinking?

Is it just me, or does it look like Serena Williams is wearing a lamp shade for a skirt?  I'm not real sure about her top, either. I read online that she designed this outfit herself.  I'm thinking she should not give up her day job to become a fashion designer.  But I will give her props for one thing: she wore appropriate shoes and did not wear flip-flops to the annual Espy Awards.

You Wore Flip Flops To The White House?

A photo of Northwestern Unversity's national championship women's lacross team, taken during the athletes' visit to the White House last week, shows four of the nine women on the front row wearing flip flops with their dresses and skirts.  Yes, flip flops.  I'm all for comfortable footwear, but wearing flip flops with a dress or skirt? To the White House? To have your picture taken with the President of the United States????

As you would expect, controversy has ensued.  A front-page story in the Chicago Tribune included the above headline "You wore flip flops to the White House?" Family members of the players expressed similar dismay, saying the summer footwear staple was too casual for a visit with the President.  The mother of one player said to reporters "Don't even ask me about the flip flops.  It moritifed me."  Wow.  You go, mom.  If my award-winning athlete daughter wore flip flops to the White House I'd be mortified, to.

Before visiting the White House, Kate Darmody carefully planned her outfit.  She bought a sundress from Ann Taylor.  She put on a stand of family heirloom white pearls. And then she slipped on flip flops to meet the President.  So did about half of her teammates. 

Twenty- and thirty-somethings will pair flip flops with everything from shorts to sweat pants to cocktail dresses. For the moms and the rest of us, the shoes -- best known for their flapping noise they make -- are meant for places like the pool or beach or the backyard.   One of the hottest trends this summer, flip flops are no longer a dime-store purchase, with some costing several hundred dollars. Whatever.  Regardless if they cost two hundred bucks or thirteen dollars, they still didn't look right for a visit with the President of the United States. 

I guess I shouldn't be to surprised by this - people don't even dress up for church or visits to the funeral home any more, so why should they dress up for a visit with the President of the United States?  Granted, the flip flops the girls wore to the White House are not the old school rubber flip flops from back in the day, but they were still flip flops. All I can say is "What were you thinking?"  If you're runningup to the corner convenience store, or to a neighbor's house, flip flops are fine.  But to the White House???  What were you thinking?

Goodbye, Mr. Smiley

The smiling sun on our state's license plates was just a bit too cheerful for most drivers: they're getting rid of Mr. Smiley.

Until the past few months, I had no idea that Kentuckians hated our smiling sunshine license plates so much.  Recently, I've seen  frowning sunshine decal covering up Mr. Smiley, and have even seen a fake bullet hole decal hiding him.  I didn't think he was all that obnoxious; I thought it was cute.  So did alot of other people - the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association voted it the best state license plate in 2003, beating out Maine's lobster plate by one vote. 

Kentucky DMV records showed a surge in sales of specialy plates and personalized plates over the past two year.  To me, some of the specialty plates are way more obnoxious than Mr. Smiley and his motto "Kentucky: It's That Friendly." The university plates are the worst.  Not because of the design, but in my case, because I have two friends who have U of L plates on their SUV's, and yet they've never attended a single class at U of L.  What's worse - seeing Mr. Smiley on a car, or seeing a university plate on the car of a wannabe?

At a press conference today, Gov. Fletcher unveiled the new design for our plates.  The plates have a plain white background, with a small hard-to-see outline of the state in the middle of the plate, and the state's new "Unbridled Spirit" logo in the upper right corner.  Not very flashy at all.  In fact, after seeing the new plate on the news tonight, I decided I'll be getting a personalized plate for the BMW.  I checked at the Kentucky Department of Transportation site and unfortunately, "Puddin" is already taken.  I'll come up with something clever to take the place of Mr. Smiley.

Another Star Has Fallen

Village People 'Cop' in Trouble With Law

DALY CITY (AP) -- Victor Edward Willis, the original policeman in the 1970s music group the Village People, was arrested by real police who allegedly found a gun and drugs in the former star's convertible, authorities said.

Willis, who co-wrote disco hits such as "Macho Man" and "In the Navy" before leaving the Village People in the late 1970s, was taken into custody late Monday after an officer stopped the musician in his Chevrolet Corvette in Daly City, just south of San Francisco. Willis also had an outstanding $15,000 felony warrant for possession of narcotics, police said.

Police said Willis didn't have a valid license or identification and at first lied about his name and residence. Inside the car, the officer found a .45-caliber handgun as well as rock cocaine and drug paraphernalia, according to a police report. It was unclear what prompted the initial traffic stop, Daly City Police Lt. Matt Bushong said.

Police arrested Willis on suspicion of six felony counts, including possession of a firearm, driving on a suspended license and transportation of cocaine. The musician was booked into the San Mateo County jail and posted $100,000 bail Tuesday.

Police found traces of cocaine and other drug paraphernalia when they searched his home at the Franciscan Mobile Home Park in Daly City, where two American pit bull terriers were locked in the former star's bedroom.

Willis is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 16.

Wow.  This is a real-life oxymoron, is it not? The man who played the cop in the VIllage People is arrested by a real cop.  I don't know what bothers me more - one of the icons of the disco era arrested on a multitude of charges, or the fact that Victor drives a Corvette, was able to post $100,000 bond himself, and lives in a trailer park with two pit bulls?  When the "former stars" fall, they fall hard. 

Rock Star: INXS - Round 2

 Before we get to my review, here's a little info about the show and the voting. As you probably already know, this is like "Survivor" meets "American Idol."  15 hopefuls started out last week, trying to win the coveted spot of lead singer for the group INXS.  For the next couple of months, here's the show line-up:  Monday night, we'll see "behind the scenes" as the contestants go through training to make them a rock star, plus we'll get a peak at how they all get along in the big rock star mansion.  Tuesday night, we'll get to see them each perform one song. After the Tuesday night show, the public can vote on their favorite rock star. The votes will be tabulated over night, and on the Wednesday show, the three wannabes with the least amount of votes will perform an INXS song, and then the group will pick one of those three to get the boot. 

Here's my review of the second round:

Heather - sang "Somebody To Love" by Jefferson Airplane.  She nailed it.  She had great control over her voice, and really worked the vibrato a la Grace Slick.  My co-favorite performance of the night.
Marty - sang "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand.  Wasn't impressed with the fake British accent, and his voice was weak.  He did have a good costume, however - the hat was pretty cool.
Daphna - sang "When You're Strange" by the Doors.  She looked like Slash with the bit top hat.  She lost pitch.  The performance, complete with the hat, was too vaudeville.
Suzie - sang "Call Me" by Blondie.  She sounded like Whitney or Mariah trying to do a Blondie song.  She did remember the words, and was much improved since the first round.
Brandon - sand "Hard To Handle" by the Black Crowes.  Had great stage presence, and nailed the song.  Could do a bit less screaming. Going to be hard to beat among the men wannabes.
Jordis - sang "Heart Shaped Box" by Nirvana.  Nailed the song.  Gave a flawless performance. Will be hard to beat among the women wannabes.
Mig - sang "All Day All Night" by the Kinks.  Wasn't as spastic as the first round.  The audience went crazy over him.  Could work on keeping his pitch.
Deanna - sang "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by the Clash.  Needs to speak clearer and enunciate. 
Wil - sang "Right Here Right Now" by Jesus Jones.  Bad choice of a performance song.  Was very unsure.
Jessica - sang "I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick.  Had no control - her voice was all over the place.  Acted like a stripper on stage, but I give props for interacting with the band during the song.
Tara - sang "Take It Easy" by the Eagles.  Not a very good choice of a song. No flexibility in her voice.
Neal - sang "Fortunate Son" by CCR. Was too busy acting like Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger and didn't pay attention to pitch.
Ty - sang ""Heartbreaker" by Pat Benetar.  Screamed the song.  Still sang with a big Broadway voice.
J.D. - sang "California Dreaming" by the Mamas and Papas.  Bad arrangement.  Sounded like it came from "The Lion King."

 

The voting results were revealed, and these three with the leas amount of votes performed an INXS song:

Tara - sang "New Sensation."  Nailed the song. Did a major 180 degree turn from the Eagles song.
Suzie - sang "Never Tear Us Apart." Nailed the song.  Much improved.
Wil - sang "Need You Tonight." No passion.  After the band told him to play to the audience instead of the camera, he didn't.

The band reminded Suzie that this was the second time her head had been on the chopping block.  But at least she's been remembering the lyrics.  In the end, the band gave Wil the boot.

Link Of The Week

I love trivia.  I especially love music and tv trivia.  I also love going to BW3's (hot wing sports bar/restaurant) just to play the video trivia game.  Words can't describe how I feel when I see "Puddin" in the number one spot on the game rankings that they show in between the questions. 

I found a very cool site that is trivia-packed.  It's even called "Cool Quiz" and you can find it at http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/. I bookmarked it and check it out every day.  You can find all sorts of interesting and even useless trivia on there. There's a Quote Of The Day, Trivia Fact Of The Day, Cartoon Of The Day, and for those trying to impress people with an extensive vocabulary, a Word Of The Day.  There's alot of other features on this site, but you'll have to check them out for yourself.

So tomorrow, after you've read TWIT, take a minute and check out Cool Quiz. 

Ten Foods I Will Not Eat

1. Celery
2.  Coconut (exception: will eat/drink something with coconut flavoring)
3.  Broccoli
4.  Cauliflower
5.  Cabbage (exception: will eat saurkraut)
6.  Calamari and anything in the squid/octopus genre
7.  Anchovies
8.  Liver (exception: will eat fried chicken livers)
9.  Asparagus
10. Beets

Get Well Soon, Brad and Jennifer

Is it just me, or does anyone else think it's a bit odd that Brad Pitt and his soon-to-be-ex-wife Jennifer Aniston were both sick at the same time this week?

Brad Pitt checked himself into the hospital Monday night with flu-like symptoms and was dianosed with viral meningitis.  He was released from the hospital Wednesday.  Jennifer Anniston collapsed on the set of her new movie [appropriately titled] "The Break Up."  She collapsed after complaining of nausea and severe headaches.  She was officially diagnosed with heatstroke, but workers on the set insist the star passed out because she was distraught after hearing that her soon-to-be-ex-husband Brad had accompanied his alleged girlfriend Angelina Jolie to Ethiopia where she picked up a baby girl she adopted.  You know, that would probably make me pass out, too.

I did some quick research, and found that viral meningitis is prevalent in some parts of Africa, so it's entirely possible that Brad could have caught it on one of his trips to Africa.  I just hope he didn't cough or sneeze on Angelina or her kids, or else they might catch it, too.  As for Jennifer's heatstroke, all I can say is if I were her, I'd be hiring me some new assistants or getting a different entourage. You'd think they would have been looking out for her, and at least have given her a couple bottles of Evian or Pellagrino so she wouldn't dehydrate in the heat.

This Really Bugs Me

Yesterday was like "The Birds" and "Ground Hog Day" all rolled into one.  About an hour before quitting time, I had to make a trek out to the tool room in the old part of the building.  From our cubicle to the tool room is almost a quarter of a mile.  That has nothing to do with this entry; I just threw that in. Anyhoo, to save a few steps, I cut through the shipping department and walked across the loading dock.  Huge mistake.  As soon as I reached the loading dock, I looked toward the door going to the tool room, and saw a huge swarm of little bugs.  I trotted across the concrete, and was flailing my arms and swatting at the swarm with my reports.  Needless to say, I didn't use that route on my return trip. 

Once I got back the office, I walked in on our big boss telling a very animated story that happened to him an hour earlier with a swarm of these bugs.  He had gone outside for something during our 2:00 break, and made the mistake of opening his mouth to speak to someone and a couple of the tiny bugs flew in his mouth.  Ewww. I felt my skin craw as I typed that sentence.  He told us that when we left work, to have our keys already out and to run like hell for our cars.  Not a good sign.  Fortunate for us, it was raining when we left work, so there were no bugs in sight.  That is until we went a mile down the street where it wasn't raining.  A co-worker had given me a ride down the street to pick up the BMW, and hand to heaven, I had to sit in her SUV for a good minute and a half to wait for a swarm of the tiny bugs to dissipate before I got out and went inside to the shop. After getting the car, I headed downtown to meet a friend for coffee, and yes, you guessed it, saw more of the tiny bugs downtown on Main Street. 

When I got home last night, I checked with the 'rents and a few neighbors, and they hadn't seen any big swarms of tiny bugs. But when I got to work today and was walking about it with my big boss, a co-worker chimed in and said that he, too, came across a couple of the swarms of tiny bugs in southern Indiana yesterday.  It's just weird.  But I'm glad they weren't bugging us today.

Way To Go, Eileen Collins

TWIT would like to congratulate Eileen Collins on being appointed as Commander of the space shuttle Discovery.  I'm proud to say that Eileen received a Master's Degree in space systems management from my alma mater, Webster University.  This is Eileen's fourth shuttle mission.

Commander Collins graduated from Air Force undergraduate pilot training, and was a T-41 instructor pilot at the Air Force Academy.  She was the second woman to enter the Air Force Test Pilot School, where she graduated in 1990.  She retired from the Air Force this past January at the rank of Colonel.

As stated earlier, Eileen is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.  In February 1995, Collins was the first woman to pilot a space shuttle during a Discovery mission.  In July 1999, she became the first woman Commander of a shuttle mission, aboard Columbia.  She accomplished all of this despite a fear of roller coasters. 

I think it's awesome that this will be the 114th space shuttle mission since the star tof the program in April 1981.  At the same time, it's kinda sad that we as a country don't pay that much attention to the shuttle flights any more; it's like old hat to us.  Out of the previous 113 space shuttle flights, the ones we remember are the Challenger shuttle explosion just after lift off back in January 1986, and the recent Columbia shuttle explosion that occurred just before entry in February 2003.  Those are unfortunately the two shuttle missions we focus on; we forget the other 111.  We take them for granted, and don't realize that they are still a miraculous occurrence. 

Eileen Collins said she has talked with her two children and her husband about this mission, and has tried to calm their fears.  She says "I'm doing this mission because this is something I believe in and we need to carry on the mission of the Columbia crew."  God be with you and your crew, Commander Collins.

Rock Star: INXS Round 1

This is the first in a series of entries this summer about the very cool new reality show "Rock Star: INXS."  Last night, we were introduced to 15 wannabe rock stars, one of which will be chosen to be the new lead singer for the rock group INXS.  Here's my thoughts on the 15 contestants from notes I took during last night's opening episode:

Jordis - sang "Baba O' Riley" by the Who.  She had a strong voice, and a very cool name; one of my early favorites
Marty - sang "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks.  Too theatrical.
Tara - sang "Middle Of The Road" by the Pretenders.  Correction - she didn't sing; she screamed.
Neal - sang "Brown Sugar" by the Rolling Stones. Trying to hard to be like Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger.
Daphna - sang "One Way Or Another" by Blondie. No control over her voice.
Ty - sang "Cult Of Personality" by Living Colour.  Should be singing "Rum Tum Tugger" from "Cats" or starring in "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."
Dana - sang "Knocking On Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan. No pitch.  Should now be wearing clothes that show her love handles.
Deanna - sang "Piece Of My Heart" by Janis Joplin.  We don't need another Janis Joplin.
Mig - sang "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. Had good stage presence. The audience loved him; one of my early favorites
Jessica - sang "Celebrity Skin" by Hole. No control over voice; trying to hard to be another Courtney Love.
Wil - sang "Heroes" by David Bowie. Sang with passion; an early favorite
Heather - sang "Burning Down The House" by the Talking Heads. Shakey voice; almost scared.
Brandon - sang "Rock And Roll All Night" by Kiss. Good stage presence, but trying to be another Jim Morisson.
J.D. - sang "American Woman" by Guess Who. Was too Elvis with the gyrations.  Had a big Broadway voice.
Suzie - sang "Remedy" by Black Crowes. Forgot the lyrics.

The band and host Dave Navarro asked Dana, J.D. and Suzie to stay behind.  They gave valid reasons why each of the three should not go on to the next round, but in the end, gave Dana the boot. There's just something you just can't shake about a lead singer who forgets their lyrics.  Incidentally, I had picked those three as my least favorites.  Maybe I know a little something about fronting a rock and roll band after all.

Down On Main Street

I've soooo got to get a new cell phone with a camera..  In keeping with yesterday's theme of cell phone use while driving, let me tell you what I saw Saturday night.  I've seen some very bizarre things on my way to and from Slugger Field for the Saturday night Bats ballgames, and this past Saturday night was no exception.  I passed by one of the horse-drawn carriages going down Main Street, and the carriage driver was talking on her cell phone as she was holding on the reins. She wasn't holding the phone with one hand and the reins with the other hand; she had the small cell phone cradled to her ear with her shoulder.  I'm no carriage driving expert, but I think that's probably even more dangerous than your average automobile driving cell phone user.  At least they can hold the phone with one hand and steer with the other (unless they're driving a stick-shift car, then it becomse a bit tricky). 

After sitting in a straight-back chair just to prove my point, when I cradled my cell phone with my shoulder, I couldn't turn my head.  It's the same way for the carriage driver - when they're cradling a cell phone, they can't turn their head to see traffic in the other lanes around them.  I didn't notice any side or rear view mirrors on the carriage, either. And the horse had on blinders, so he was no help.  So they're just out there on their own if they want to change lanes.  Thank goodness the carriages aren't operating during rush hour traffic; that's just an accident waiting to happen. 

The Smartbag

A good friend and faithful reader shared one of his pet peeves with me a few days ago. I think we all will agree with him on this.  The subject: the unwritten rule of turn signal override.

When using a cell phone while driving, one does need to concern themselves with using a turn signal for changing lanes or turning. The fact they are on the phone overrides any need for being safe or courteous.  The phone comes on, and then the erratic driving begins.  Case in point: my 'rents.  One week after they got their new Odyessy mini-van, a #$^&* ran into the rear of them while they were stopped at a stoplight.  The #$^&* was talking on her cell phone and did not see that a big vehicle, in this case, a mini-van, was at a dead stop in front of her.  When the police came, she tried to worm her way out by saying "It had been raining and the road was slick."  The officer quickly reprimanded her and said "All the more reason for you to pay attention and not be talking on your cell phone while driving."

We all are guilty of this sin; yours truly included.  But I use my Jabra wireless headset and I don't touch my actual cell phone from the time I get into the car until I reach my destination.  I can simply reach up with one hand (while keeping the other hand firmly on the steering wheel) and touch one button on the headset to answer the phone call.  If I have voice activation for my most frequently dialed numbers, so I don't have to pick up the phone and punch buttons.

My friend said that he is going to petition for the next generation of airbags to be dubbed a “smartbag”. The “smartbag” will first check to see if you are on the phone before it inflates. If you are holding a cell phone at time of accident, it will allow you time to hang up so that it doesn’t interrupt your conversation. One day when all the cell phone-using drivers are dead, the road will be a safer and friendlier place. Thus, the “smartbag” name. This innovation can't come soon enough. 

Welcome Back, Vacationers

I'm very happy to report that the vacationing 'rents arrived safely back home this evening at around 6:00.  Boy, was I sure glad to see them.  Just for old time's sake, while they were unpacking and going through their mail, I trudged out to the garden and did the watering one last time before turning the gardening duties back over to them. 

I'd also like to welcome back Rocky's family. They arrived safely back home yesterday afternoon. They left for their vacation in Florida last Friday, too. Their vacation was cut short a couple of days by hurricane Dennis. Gov. Jeb gave orders on Friday for them to evacuate and head north.  They said they were going to get t-shirts made that said "We went to Florida on vacation and all we got was kicked out." 

I'm glad both of my families are back home.  I sure missed them last week with all of the work and drama going on.

Link Of The Week

It's been almost 7 months since I got my new laptop, and I'm still in the honeymoon phase with it. Aside from the DVD burner and the light weight, the coolest thing about my laptop is the wireless internet connection.  It rocks.  I love being able to take it to any room in the house and be able to get online.  The router and modem will even connect when I take the laptop outside.  I even got a good strong connection when I experimented and took the laptop out to the donkey's barn.  They sniffed at the laptop, but weren't real impressed. 

More and more, we see restaurants, coffee shops, and bars offering wireless connection. As with most things, it's usually not free. Starbucks charges $9.95 for connection for one day.  Nope, it's not for 24 hours that you could use an hour here and an hour there.  Unless you plan on staying at the Starbucks all day long to get your money's worth,  you're going to fork over almost ten bucks just to get online one time.  Not worth it to me. 

If you're going to be traveling out of town, or if you simply would like to see where there is free wireless internet connection where you live, you can find out at http://www.metrofreefi.com.  Just click on the state you want, and then look for the city you want in a drop down menu.  The site will bring up a listing and a map of all of the places that have free wireless connection.  How cool is that?

Another Email Questionaire

1. What’s the most creative way you’ve ever been asked  out?  A guy wrote a poem for me, and sent the poem along with a dozen red roses.  We rode the same school bus in high school, and I always thought he was cute, but after we actually went out, he turned all "Fatal Attraction" on me.
2. Do you have any cavities? If so, how many? None right now, thank the Lord and the U of L Dental School.
3. Would you rather spend an hour swimming in a murky pond full of leeches, or spend an hour sitting in a dark cave full of snakes? Not much of a choice here, but I would pick sitting in a dark cave with the snakes. Maybe I'll luck out and they won't be boa constrictors.
4. What was your favorite thing to do on the playground during recess when you were a kid? Playing kickball.  I dreaded dodgeball.
5. How many states have you lived in? Only one - Kentucky
6. Have you ever had stitches? Yes.  First time was my right knee, the second time was my left knee (in the exact same spot as my right knee), the third time was in my head when I had my wreck, and the fourth time was when they did my foot reconstruction after the wreck. 
7. Have you ever sued anyone or been sued? Yep.  I was sued.  The guy that I hit in the big wreck of '92 sued me, but I had witnesses that proved it wasn't my fault, so the suit was eventually dropped.  It freaked me out to receive the papers at my front door, being served by a uniformed deputy, though.
8. Have you ever witnessed a person or animal give birth? Yes, I got to see the girl next door deliver her first baby.  It has to be the most amazing miracle of all time. Her mother didn't drive, and her dad was gone, and I was the only one in the neighborhood that was reliable enough to get her to the hospital.  Her doctor let me put on the scrub suit and watch. 
9. Did you get an allowance as a kid?  Sure did, even when I didn't do the work I was supposed to do to earn the allowance. 
10. What recurring dream do you have most often? I see a tornado off in the distance, and me and everyone else in the dream takes cover.  Fortunately, the tornado never hits us.

 

I Could Have Had A G8

By now, I'm sure you've all heard about the G8 summit on the news.  In case you haven't been watching TV nor reading the newspaper, here's a brief synopsis: leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) major industrialized nations are meeting in Scotland to discuss African poverty and global warming.  This year's G8 summit is the 31st summit.  The agendas usually consist of topics such as health, the economy, labor and other issues of major or global concern. I follow the G8 summits very closely, not for hearing what the world leaders decided to do, but to see the protesters.

I've always admired protesters - not the militant, violent activists, but your ordinary sign-carrying protesters.  I admire them for their convictions, and for actually doing something about an issue they believe in, even if it's only carrying a sign.  With my warped sense of humor, I love reading the signs that the protesters carry, and especially like their interesting slogans.

From what I've gathered, the police aren't letting anyone remotely near the Gleneagles Hotel, where the summit is being held.  They've erected a five-mile long wire mesh fence around the hotel.  I'm not sure if it is to keep the protesters out or to keep the G8 leaders in. 

The funniest scene from the G8 protests is the group of people wearing the giant masks of the G8 leaders.  I think they look like living bobbleheads.  It must be the same group of protesters year after year - the heads look the same, but each year at the protests, they change the clothes the living bobbleheads are wearing.  I think it's a scream.  Seeing the G8 bobbleheads on the news is way funnier than when the police get hacked off and spray the protesters with the water cannons.  Hmmm.  I might have to look on eBay.  Maybe we can find some of the G8 bobbleheads on there.

Just Two For Me, Please

For the fifth straight year, Takeru Kobayashi has won the hot dog eating title.  The 27 year old from Nagano, Japan won the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog eating contest held July 4 by wolfing down a nauseating 49 hot dogs (with buns) in 12 minutes.  He missed his own world record of 53 1/2 hot dogs, set at last year's competition.  The runner-up was Sonya Thomas of Alexandria, VA.  She set an American record by eating 37 hot dogs in the allotted 12 minutes.

Sonya is known as "The Black Widow" on the competitive eating circuit.  Her technique for the hot dog eating contest is to eat the hot dog and then the bun.  Sonya dips the bun in water to make it easier to swallow with less chewing.  Sonya says she practices, and is working on getting her speed up.  She said that after finishing her 37 hot dogs, her stomach was fine, but that her jaw was tired.  No doubt about that.  

I did some research on Sonya, and found a list of her top ten favorite contests:

1.  Acme Oysters: 46 dozen (552) in 10 minutes.
2.  Hard-Boiled Eggs: 65 in 6' 40 seconds.
3.  Downtown Atlantic Cheesecake: 11 pounds in 9 minutes.
4.  Buffalo Wings: 162 (5.09 pounds) in 12 minutes.
5.  84 Lumber Baked Beans: 8.4 pounds in 2' 47 seconds.
6.  Zocalo's Tacos (Soft-shell Chickem): 48 in 11 minutes.
7.  Cheese Quaesadillas: 31 1/2 (four-inch size) in 5 minutes.
8.  Soft-shell Maine Lobster: 38 (9.76 pounds) in 12 minutes.
9.  Lulu's Crawfish Jambalaya: 9 pounds in 10 minutes.
10. Chicken Nuggets: 80 in 5 minutes.

I'm very impressed with these two kids.  They're just average sized twenty-somethings.  Takeru is 5' 7" and weighs just 144 pounds, and Sonya tips the scales at just 105 pounds.  Yet these two are speed eating stars.  You'd think they'd be as big as the side of a house in order to put away 86 hot dogs between the two of thm in just 12 minutes.  The most hot dogs I've ever eaten in one setting is three.  And that was spread out over probably 45 minutes.  I think I'm going to have to check into this competitive eating thing and see if they have a peel-and-eat shrimp contest.  I think that would be one contest I could probably win.  But they would have to already bepeeled and deveined.  Just make sure there's a big bowl of spicey cocktail sauce and some lemon juice and turn me loose.  Oh, and I'll need a nice refreshing beverage to wash them down. 

A Bountiful Harvest

Yesterday was a day that will go down in infamy.  It was the day that the Divas picked vegetables from the garden.   I'm happy to report that in my 5 days of being in charge of the garden at The Compound, there has only been one casualty: a stalk from one of Mom's jalapeno pepper plant.  But it's only bent, and the peppers are still growing on it, so I think we'll be able to salvage that.  

The Divas took the garden by storm, and in about an hour, we had picked green beans from all 3 long (62 feet long, to be exact) rows of bean plants, and got a few heads of cabbage, half dozen yellow squash, a few zucchini squash, and various peppers.  Our first harvest was quite bountiful.  But it didn't take us long to realize that we weren't cut out for the agriculture industry. During the harvest, we both kept humming the theme from "Green Acres."   At one point during the green bean picking, I lifted a handful of green beans up to the sky, and in my best Scarlett O'Hara imitation, proclaimed "If I have to lie, cheat, steal or kill, as God as my witness, I'll never pick green beans again."  A lot good that did me.  Stacy turned around from the row in front of me and said "Fat chance, sister. These will be ready to pick on Thursday."  Oh well.  It was a nice try. 

The 'rents, and pretty much everyone else we've talked to, all doubted our gardening abilities, so we had to take a picture of our bounty from the first day of picking.  Before they left on their trip to Canada, Mom and Dad gave us both detailed instructions on what/when to pick, etc.  You'd think they didn't trust us.  Some doubting Thomases will say that we probably paid someone to pick it for us (and believe me, the thought did cross our minds) because we weren't in the pictures picking. But let's be real here - do you think the Divas would want their picture taken with our heads down and our butts up in the air as we were bent over working?  I don't think so. Trust us.  We did pick the stuff ourselves.  Our backs are telling us this morning that we picked.  If the donkeys and Rocky the dog could talk, they would vouch for us.

This Day In Music History

On this day in 1954, Elvis Presley's first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, TN.  The song he recorded was "That's All Right, Mama." "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" was on the B-side.  Ahhh, the good old days of the single 45-rpm record.  Incidentally, "That's All Right, Mama" was also recorded by the Jerry Garcia Band.  I will be visiting the Sun Records studio during The Diva's annual vacation in September, and will give a full report when we return.  I'm hoping to find one of the cool black Sun Records label logo t-shirts like the cool country stars and rockers wear.

On this day in 1965, the rock group Jefferson Airplane was formed.  Jefferson Airplane is regarded as the most successful San Francisco band of the late 60s, despite countless personnel and even name changes, and they are considered the best band from the psychodelic era.  In fact, how can you not think of "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love" when you think of the psychodelic 60's?  Decades before the term "music video" was coined, Jefferson Airplane filmed a video for "White Rabbit."  I remember watching it on VH-1 in the 80's, thinking how trippy it was with the psychodelic shapes and colors.  I'm not sure where they would have played the video, but it's very cool that they had a video for the song.  Go ask Alice - I think she'll know.

On this day in 1970, Casey Kasem's American Top 40 Countdown debuted on a Los Angeles radio station.  Every week, Casey would count down the USA's biggest and best-selling records using the Top 40 from Billboard's Hot Hundred charts.  In Louisville, the show aired on Sunday mornings, from nine till noon.  I got to listen to the first half hour of the show before we went left for church. Casey would always start out the broadcast by playing the song that was number one the previous week.  If I missed the first few minutes of the show, I would visit one of our neighborhood record stores, to Shively Records or Phoenix Records to look at their copy of Billboard magazine. 

Freedom?

Our country's focus today is on freedom and independance. The United States has both today, but unfortunately, here at The Compound, I do not.  I spent 2 hours this morning watering the gardens again, but this time, I used my new "Deluxe Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler."  After a morning of trial and error, which resulted in me looking like I've been mud wrestling, I think I have the pattern down.  Wednesday when I water again, it shouldn't take two hours, nor will I end up looking like Pig Pen from The Peanuts gang. 

I'm ashamed to admit that a woman with a Master's degree didn't have sense enough to place the sprinkler far back in the garden, and then move it up toward the gate.  (That's where my Pig Pen impersonation came in.)  But after some adjustments and maneuvering, the rest of the week's watering will be a breeze. 

I'm happy to report that this morning's gardening was accident-free.  The donkeys still were looking at me as if to say "WTF?" but they kept me company while I was gardening.  If only I could have taught them to drag the garden hose, but they would probably end up eating it. 

I hope everyone has/had a safe and happy Fourth of July.  God bless our troops and our country's leaders, and God bless America.

Link Of The Week

If I'm home on Saturday night, or if I'm over visiting friends, I usually try to watch "Cops."  The car chase segments are my favorite.  I love it when the officers pull over a car that has been reported as being stolen.  They get the same answer every time - "___ let me use the car."  Fill in the blank with any relative, former relative, friend, or former friend's name.  And of course, they never have the registration or insurance card, either. 

A co-worker told me about a site that has video filmed from a hidden camera in various bait cars.  I confess I spent an hour that night watching the videos.  It was like how you can't stop from looking at a wreck on the highway.  See for yourself at http://www.baitcar.com.  Steal one.  Go to jail.  It's that simple. 

I Can't Get A Break, Part 2

I hope this weekend is not an indication of how the next week and half is going to be while I'm charge of The Compound while the 'rents are on their annual trip to Canada. 

Not to mention the unfortunate incident with the BMW's power steering yesterday afternoon, I was involved in a scuffle at the grocery store yesterday morning.  It happened at about 8:05 at Buehler's Fresh Market.  I was there just an hour after they opened to take advantage of their one-day meat sale.  Before the 'rents left in the wee hours Friday morning, Mom left me with a list of things to get.  One of them was thin bacon on sale for the low, low price of 99 cents.  I got to the meat aisle, and the shelves were empty.  I couldn't believe the bacon was already gone.  I went on over to the pork section to get my Boston butt roasts, when I saw one of the workers pulling a cart full of boxes of the cheap bacon. I bolted over there, and so did every other person in the store.  I couldn't believe I was reaching for 3 packs of bacon, just like a drowning person would be grabbing for a life preserver.

After all of the drama yesterday, I went to bed at 9:30 last night and slept in until 9:30 this morning.  After coffee and reading the morning paper, I went out to water the garden, just as I had been instructed by Dad.  Well, I think he must have left out about a dozen steps in the instructions, because it sure wasn't as easy to do as he said.  "It's no problem - the sprayer will reach half of the garden at one time."  Uh huh.  If you're about 7 feet tall.  I had to end up dragging the 100 feet of hose all over The Compound in an effort to get all of our garden watered.  The whole time, the donkeys were staring at me in amazement.  If they had been given the gift of speech, I'm sure they would have said "What in the hell is she doing?"  After taking a break for lunch, I went back out and dragged the hose back across the next-door neighbor's yard and watered their garden (they're on vacation, too).  That wasn't much easier.  After cutting my leg on a stake in their booby-trapped garden,  I cussed and fussed but still finished watering their garden and then dragged the hose back across to our yard.  I just left it there and came into the house to put some witch hazel on my leg so it wouldn't bruise.  As soon as I finish my refreshing beverage, I'm taking a shower and a nap. 

Stay tuned.  I'm sure there will be more antics in the week ahead.

I Can't Get A Break

Actually, I'm not frustrated; disgusted is the word I would use if it were in the drop-down menu for "mood" in today's entry of TWIT.  I'm sitting here at home at my computer desk, where I am supposed to be enjoying my vacation day, and am supposed to be looking forward to a long weekend, but I am disgusted.  I just finished having the BMW towed home from the Wal-Mart parking lot.  It doesn't get much worse than that, folks.  I know - it could be a lot worse.  But to me right now at 3:12 in the afternoon, it seems as bad as it could be.

After a quick consultation via cell phone with my mechanic and with the tow-truck driver, we've determined that the malfunction is a loose or broken power steering line/hose.  All I can think about is how I will be hemorrhaging money again soon.  Once word gets out, I'll have to endure the razzing by my friends and co-workers about 1) my BMW being a money pit; 2) putting the BMW in the shop yet again; and 3) will the shop keep it for a month?

There are a few positive things about this unfortunate incident, however.  First and foremost, I wasn't in an accident.  I had been running errands literally all over the city and southern Indiana today, and I am thankful that the Lord let me get almost home before it happened; it could have easily happened when I was out on I-64 or in downtown. I had pulled off of Dixie Highway into the side street leading to Wal-Mart, when I noticed a loud moan when I put on the brakes.  As I pulled into the parking lot, the moan got louder, and then it became hard as hell to steer the car.  I was able to maneuver and get into a parking spot (an end spot, too) and got out to look at the car (like I would know what I was looking for.) I saw a big puddle of something near the back tire, and quickly assessed it to be power steering fluid.  I called AAA and then went in to do my shopping; I figured that since I was there I might as well get what I came for.  The bright side thing about this is earlier this week, I put the Blazer in the shop for a tune-up and a/c recharge, so now it's in A-1 condition.  So thank goodness I have it to drive until I get this fixed. 

I'll keep everyone posted, and will let you know the dignosi$ once I find out what the problem is.