Link Of The Week

As you know, I'm a big texter. In fact, the full QWERTY keyboard was the main reason I chose my LG Envy cell phone last spring.  But I digress.  Something you did not know about me is the fact that I'm a big note taker.  I am jotting down things all the time - ideas for TWIT, songs or books I want to check out, websites I want to visit - you get the picture.  I'm also a big forgetter - as in writing down a note and losing the paper.  Last week I found a site that is the answer to my prayers.  It's called Kwiry - a site where you can sign up and then can text messages from your cell phone to your computer. It's easy to use - just sign up and start texting messages.  Check it out at http://www.kwiry.com.  One note: when you text the messages, you will be texting to 59479 (the corresponding numbers for KWIRY on a phone keypad) not to KWIRY.  But add 59479 as a contact in your cell and it will be much easier and quicker.

Notorius P.U.D.D.I.N.

Whenever I ride my bike on Saturday mornings, I usually will see at least twenty cyclists out on the bike path.  Everyone is friendly and they always say hello, and when I stop at my mid-way point and sit on the park bench while I have some water, it never fails that cyclists that pass by me will stop and ask if everything is okay.  Today while having my water break, a group of three cyclists whizzed by me.  I was getting ready to make a call on my cell phone when I noticed they turned around and were coming back toward me.  As they got within ear shot, one of the cyclists asked if I rode in the Tour de Cure last Saturday.  I proudly told him that in deed I did.  He said that they were members of the Louisville Bicycle Club, and they talked to some other members that also rode in the tour.  For a second, I thought that it was just coincidental that he asked if I rode in the Tour.  But then he said something that almost made me fall off of the park bench.  He said that the club members that also rode in the Tour last Saturday had told them about a woman who rode an old school mint condition Schwinn bike in the tour, and who finished all 15 hilly miles without gears.  I told him "Yep, that's me." 

We chatted for a couple of minutes and before they pedaled off, they invited me to join the Louisville Bicycle Club and gave me an application.  I doubt if I'll join, but I was honored that they invited me.  And for a few minutes, I felt notorius.

Flashback Friday

                  

For the past few years at the Bats games and at various concerts, I've run into brothers Bill and John Keeling.  By day, they are both officers for LMPD, and by night they still have one of the better cover bands in Louisville, Caribou.  I stopped to talk to them a couple of weeks ago at a Bats game, and we started reminiscing about a gig they played back in 1980.  It was at the state FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) convention here in the 'Ville, and yours truly was President of the chapter at my school.  Both of them said how they remembered that gig, and how it was in their top-ten gigs of all time.  One of the brothers said that they almost didn't get paid because the manager had to tell them four times to turn the sound down. 

I told them that I had a picture at home in a photo album taken of the three of us at that concert back in 1980, and how we were all that back in the day.  They said they'd love to see the picture, so that night after the ballgame I ran down to the basement and found the picture.  I'm hoping to see them Sunday or Monday at the Bats game and can give them a copy of the three hotties from back in the day.  And I don't know who had bigger hair - me or John Keeling.

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Democratic Convention Review

A faithful reader contacted me today, and asked if I, a registered Democrat,  would share my opinion of this week's Democratic National Convention.  As always, I was only happy to fulfill a request from my faithful readers.  You might be disappointed when you read my review of the convention, but I am being totally honest: this week's Democratic National Convention has just worn me out.  In fact, the entire Presidential election has worn me out.  But I digress.

If I had to pick one highlight from this week's Democratic National Convention, it was when Hillary Clinton finished her speech the other night and as she was leaving the stage, they played Lenny Kravitz singing "Are You Gonna Go My Way."  Yep, that was the hightlight for me. There's not much else I can say about it except to three-peat and say that it has worn me out.  And we have to face the Republican National Convention next week.  I can hardly wait.  Have I mentioned that it has all worn me out?

Triple Coupon Day

I read an interesting article on saving money with coupons. The article said that a billion dollars worth of savings are sent out every year in the form of coupons and only about 1% of them ever get used.  That's a pretty staggering statistic but I totally agree with it, based on the amount of useless coupons that we receive in the mail and in the Sunday sale papers.  Anyhoo, the article gave four tips on how to get more out of your coupons.  I agree with them for the most part.

1. Pay attention to coupons and clip ones you can use at the stores that you frequent.  That's pretty much a no-brainer.  Why would someone waste their time and energy to cut out coupons for items that they don't have at the stores where you shop? 

2. Paper clip coupons to your shopping list so you don't forget about them.  Another no-brainer.  Except they didn't tell you what to do to remember to bring your shopping list with the coupons clipped to it, provided you even write out a shopping list.

3.  Don't use coupons for the sake of using them; only use coupons for items you normally buy. I have to disagree with them on this one.  Everybody likes to think they're getting a good deal on something, even if it's something they don't use.  If I have a 50 cent coupon for a bag of broccoli, and I'm shopping on a triple coupon day, you're darned right I'm going to buy that bag of broccoli and use my coupon because I'll be saving a buck and a half. 

4. Don't be afraid to contact companies by mail or phone to ask for coupons.  Sorry, but once again I disagree.  If I don't have time to cut out coupons, write a shopping list and clip the coupons to said list, I sure as heck am not going to have time to write or call companies and ask for coupons. 

Mullet Watch

Faithful readers, I believe we have another first for Mullet Watch:  yours truly has spotted what I believe to be our first celebrity look-a-like with a mullet.  The mullet host looked just like Mr. Haney from "Green Acres", except he was sporting a very wavy gray mullet instead of the hat that Mr. Haney used to wear. I half way expected him to blurt out "Mister Doug-lasss."   I wish I could have taken a picture of him, but there was no easy way to snap his picture at the carry-out counter at the fish place while I was waiting for our order. 

Mullet count: 18

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

After I put in my 10 miles tonight (this time, on the exercise bike because it was still raining) Dad and I drove over to an old friend's to deliver some green beans.  His friend Noble worked with Dad and Mom at Brown and Williamson back in the day, and since he moved back from Macon, Georgia a few years ago, they've kept in touch with him.  While we were chatting with him tonight, he and Dad started reminiscing about people they all worked with.  Most of the names weren't familiar to me, but when Noble mentioned "Bertie" my ears perked up.  Dad said he didn't remember her, and Noble reminded him that she worked with Mom for years.  He was trying to get Dad to remember her and described her big red beehive hairdo. I spoke up and said that I remembered Bertie, because she drove a big long Delta 88.  I distinctly remember the car because she picked me up from school a few times when she and Mom carpooled from work.  Noble went on to say that Bertie moved back to the south end of the 'Ville and now lives out in Fairdale.  He also said that Bertie is a millionaire.

I have to say that other then the people that own the company I work for, Bertie is the only other millionaire that I know.  Of course, there could be more, and the millionaires just don't want me to know.  As soon as we got home, we told Mom about her friend being a millionaire and she wasn't very surprised.  I thought Bertie might have opened her own business or had some awesome investments, but I was wrong.  All Mom said was "Her husband left it all to her."  Nuff said.  Way to go for marrying up, Bertie. 

Link Of The Week

The Food Network is still my favorite cable channel.  I've never tired from all of the cooking shows over the years.  Being a person who doesn't cook, I enjoy watching he chefs and other people cook things.  In case you've never checked out Paula Dean or Giada de Laurentis, now is your chance.  Visit http://www.foodnetwork.com and be prepared to enter a world of recipes and cooking know-how.  Once there, you can check out all of the Food Network TV show hosts and can find all of their recipes if you are motivated enough to attempt to cook their dishes.  Please email if you try something new.

Tour de Cure 2008

Let me preface by saying if I'd driven my car through the 15 mile course of the Tour de Cure this past week, I would have said there was no way in heaven that I would have attempted to pedal my Old School bicycle through the 15 miles.  It was uphill all the way.  But I persevered, and made it through the 15 miles on a bicycle without gears.  In fact, a few people that passed me by mentioned something about me riding on an "old school" bike. 

The day started out at 5:50 when I woke up, and progressed with a 30 mile trip hauling my Old School bike out to the park where the ride would begin.  Let me first say that I was not intimidated in the least by all of the other people wearing their cycling jerseys and padded Spandex shorts and cycling shoes. I got my Old School bike off of my carrier on the back of the Blazer and set out pedaling just like the other hundred or so cyclists on the Tour. 

I'm not going to sugar-coat it - I'll be the first to admit it was hard pedaling up all of the hills on a bike with no gears but I did it, and proudly wore a sign on my shirt that said I was riding for my mother who has diabetes.  I must have did something right in all of my training the past few months, because I was the first person in the 15 mile route to finish.  It took me awhile to get my legs from being wobbly, but I can proudly say that I rode 15 miles through many hills, and lived to tell about it.  And I raised over $800 for the ADA, too.

I got home, walked around a bit to shake out the wobbles that were in my legs and had a turkey sandwich and a glass of iced tea while sitting in the Lazy Boy.  Then I had the energy to run a few errands.  Other than napping for about 15 minutes while watching the Food Network, I haven't slept or crashed; I'm going to the Bats game later tonight and I want to keep my momentum going so I'm going to try and stay awake and coherent till then.

I can't say that I will do it again next year - I hope I do, but after what I experienced today the jury is still out.  But who knows?  That's a year away.  If you said in August of 2007 that in a year's time I would be riding my bike 15 miles up hills, I would have said you're crazy.  So I'll keep you posted. 

Tour de Cure Eve

It's hard to believe that in less then twelve hours, I will be on my bicycle and on my way to pedaling 15 miles.  The new Old School bike is ready for the ride, but we did have some issues today.  First of all I had to go to the bike shop to buy a bar to hook onto the bike to get it onto the carrier on the back of my Blazer.  When I got home, the next task was to take my big comfortable seat on my old bike and put it on the Old School bike.  But we had some issues getting the post off of the Old School bike and ended up dropping it down into the frame of the bike.  So off I went on a second trip to the bike shop.  I had to go there again anyway because they were going to put on the speedometer because I didn't have the patience to do it myself, so it wasn't like I was making another trip.  I dropped off the bike and the shop owner, Larry (who looks like George Jefferson) said he'd call me when it was fixed.  Of course I switched to panic mode and took half of a Xanax to calm myself down.  He called at about 5:00 and I went back up to the bike shop for the third time today to pick it up.  But as of now, it's still on the carrier, bungee corded and locked with my stainless steel cable and ready for the trip to E.P. Tom Sawyer Park tomorrow for the Tour de Cure.  I'm very happy to report that I raised $800 for the American Diabetes Association.

I'm off to bed now so I can get a good night's sleep before getting up at 5:30 to head on out for the ride.  I've got my Camelback hydration system ready to be filled with ice cubes and water, and more importantly, my iPod is charged up and ready to play me some good jams tomorrow while I pedal.  Thanks again for your support and encouragement, and I will keep you posted.

Let's Kick It Old School

                   

A few months ago, the 'Rents promised that they would buy me a new bike when I reached the 50 pound loss mark.  I'm still a couple of pounds shy but this week while I've been off, we went shopping and yesterday they bought me the old school bike that I've been wanting.  It's hard to believe but this was the only women's bike in the entire shop that didn't have gears.  It was made in 1963 and has been completely restored.  The shop owner restored it hisself, and he guaranteed that it is in better shape than it was on the day it left the Schwinn factory.  I told him that I'd been riding 10 miles a day and he said I would be able to ride 20 with this bike since it was lighter weight.  He was right.  I just now got back from my first ride on it and breezed through my 7 mile route with ease.  This afternoon, we'll swap out seats and put my big padded seat on the old school bike and I'll ride it Saturday in the Tour de Cure.

 

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Way To Go, Leda Smith

Armed 85-year-old woman makes intruder call cops

Tue Aug 19, 7:40 PM ET

An 85-year-old woman boldly went for her gun and busted a would-be burglar inside her home, then forced him to call police while she kept him in her sights, police said. "I just walked right on past him to the bedroom and got my gun," Leda Smith said.

Smith heard someone break into her home Sunday afternoon and grabbed the .22-caliber revolver she had been keeping by her bed since a neighbor's home was burglarized a few weeks ago.

"I said 'What are you doing in my house?' He just kept saying he didn't do it," Smith said.

After the 17-year-old boy called 911, Smith kept holding the gun on him until state police arrived at her home in Springhill Township, about 45 miles south of Pittsburgh.

The boy will be charged with attempted burglary and related offenses in juvenile court, Trooper Christian Lieberum said. He was not identified because of his age.

"It was exciting," Smith said. "I just hope I broke up the (burglary) ring because they have been hitting a lot of places around here."

All I can say is I would love to hang with Leda Smith.  I know she'd have my back.

Give Me Your Email Address

Today's TWIT entry is brought to us by a faithful reader who emailed me about this concern.  I immediately told them to write something for TWIT, and reassured them that others will feel the same way. 

Give Me Your E-Mail Address
It starts out innocent enough; a friend wants to send you a photo or some other piece of information, so you jot down  your email address.  No harm in that, right?

But then it happens. 

Why is it that just because you give someone your email address they automatically assume you share the same (usually extreme) political views as them?  And it's not just one party, I get them from Democrats and I get them from Republicans.  A cartoon that depicts the president as a stupid monkey scratching his rear, or a warning about Obama's ties to terrorism.  And they just don't stop!  I get at least one politically charged email a day from our former I.T. Director who I hardly even know!  I finally just quit opening them.

I learned a long time ago that if you want to keep your friends, you'll refrain from talking about religion or politics whenever possible.  And if you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't send it in an email.

Bottom line, I'd love to see a snapshot of your kids, or just get a note from you telling me about your summer vacation.  But if you want to send me stupid political propaganda please delete me from your contacts list!

I'm a faithful reader and that's what I'm thinking!

Hello, Dolly

                          

                          

My good friend and faithful reader SH and her toddler daughter had the house to themselves this weekend, as her husband and son visited Dollywood and had the chance to see Dolly Parton in a rare concert appearance.  They called me Saturday evening as they were leaving the concert and said it was awesome.  Here's two pictures they took of Dolly at the concert.  I told them I would be more than happy to share them with my faithful readers.  It's great to see a woman in her early 60's still performing with as much energy and excitement as she did thirty years ago. 

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Link Of The Week

I'm very happy to announce that this coming Saturday morning, I will be participating in the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure - a fifteen mile biycle ride to raise funds and awareness for diabetes.  This will be my first official bike ride since I started my serious bike riding a few months ago.  I'm proud to say that I will be riding in honor of my mother, Minnie, who has diabetes.  If you would like to contribute or just follow along, please to go http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC184308030?px=1655425&pg=personal&fr_id=5015 and check out my Tour de Cure website.

 

No Identity Theft At The Compound!

It's taken me awhile to calm down long enough to be able to type legibly this afternoon.  But before I tell you about our very disturbing afternoon, rest assured that the 'Rents are protected from identity theft.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the big TV in the family room bit the dust, and we have been shopping around for a cool thin LCD TV.  We narrowed our choices down and this afternoon went up the street to our local Wal-Mart to purchase the TV of our dreams (a 42-inch Vizio).  We even picked out a very nice glass and mahogany TV stand for it, too.  The sales associate, Ryan (he was so good, I want to give him props in TWIT), had the TV and stand on a flat cart and was ready to haul it out to the Odyessy while another sales associate took Mom's check to run through.  Imagine our surprise when the sales associate said that it had been declined.  Actually, the "surprise" didn't last long at all, before developing into shock, awe, and anger.  At any given time, the 'Rents keep a minimum of at least ten times the amount of that check in their checking account.

I called the check processing place and surprisingly enough got an actual person on my first try.  I gave her the routing number, checking account number and check number of the alleged "bad check" and Mom got on the phone and gave her some more info, and then she put us on hold while she checked with the bank to see if funds were available.  Let me say when Mom heard the woman say that, she could have spit nails. You have to realize the 'Rents are a couple who have never had a bounced check or overdraft in their lives, and who have never used a credit card.  After what seemed like an eternity but was only a minute or two, the woman came back on the phone and said that we would have to contact our bank on Monday.  No other explanation; end of conversation. Believe me when I tell you this took Mom's nail-spitting to a much higher level. We just stood there in disbelief, feeling like we were deadbeats trying to pass off a cold check.

First of all, we know it was not Wal-Mart's fault; we're blaming this one on their bank and the limits they put on debit card and check purchases in an effort to protect against identity theft and fraud.  Maybe we can blame this on the Patriot Act, too.  Maybe if we'd gone to the store and tried to buy a new TV earlier in the day, they would have been able to get in touch with their bank.  Who knows.  All I know is that I'm glad that I will be working Monday morning at 9:00 when the 'Rents go up to their bank. 

Flashback Friday

                              

A lot has changed at the Kentucky State Fair in the 40+ years that I've been attending. The most noticeable change has been the increase in prices - not only the admission and parking but all of the food and the rides.  As if paying four bucks a gallon for gas to get to the fair isn't bad enough, you hemorrhage money from the time you pay to get in the place until you've had your last overpriced corn dog. But I digress.  One thing at our state fair hasn't changed - well, I should say hasn't changed too much - Freddy Farm Bureau.

For over fifty years, gigantic Freddy Farm Bureau has greeted visitors to the state fair.  He always sits on a gigantic bale of hay in front of Freedom Hall, and if you get close to him, he'll talk to you.  He usually will say something like "Hi blonde girl with the khaki shorts and blue t-shirt. Are you having fun at the fair?" You get the picture.  As a kid, I was a little bit afraid of Freddy - not for his size, but because I felt like he knew me. Yeah, I know that's a bit odd, but I'm being honest. 

Freddy celebrated his 50th anniversary (or should I say birthday?) at the fair last year, and I remember when we went, Freddy was wearing a big birthday hat.  A couple of years ago, Freddy got an extreme makeover and now we have the new version. He's almost identical to the old Freddy, but to the trained eye like I have, you can see a noticeable difference.  His clothes are lighter blue then they used to be, and his head isn't quite as big.  But he's still big.  And will still talk to you if you're brave enough to get close.

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Just Keep The Cake

I'm a bit disappointed to report that the Margarita cake and Mom's bourbon balls didn't win any ribbons at the fair.  But my cake is next to the blue ribbon winning cake in my category, though, so at least lots of people should see my cake.  But I'm not really disappointed - I'm happy that I actually made a cake and entered it in the fair.  If you'd told me six months ago that I would bake a cake and enter it in the fair I would have said you were crazy.  But since this is the year for trying new things, it all falls into place.  I'm already thinking about any slight changes I want to make to the cake recipe for next year, so I will try again.  Thanks again for your encouragement and support. 

Farewell, Sandy Allen

                         

I am saddened once again by another celebrity death - the third one this week.  TWIT is sad to report that Sandy Allen, the world's tallest woman, has died.  Allen passed away yesterday at the age of 53.  She died at a nursing home in her hometown of Shelbyville, Indiana.  The cause of death was not yet known.  Allen had been hospitalized recently as she suffered from a recurring blood infection, along with diabetes, breathing troubles and kidney failure.

The Guinness World Records confirms that Allen was still listed as the world's tallest woman. Coincidentally, Allen lived in the same nursing home, Heritage House Convalescent Center, as 115 year old Edna Parker, whom Guiness has recognized as the world's oldest person. 

Allen said a tumor caused her pituitary gland to produce too much growth hormone.  At birth, she seemed like a normal baby, weighing 6 and a half pounds.  By age 10 she was 6' 3" tall, and at age 16 she was 7' 1" tall.  At age 22 she reached 7' 7", and underwent an operation to stop further growth.  But she was proud of her height, and used it as a tool to educate people.  She appeared on television shows and spoke to church and school groups to bring children the message that it was all right to be different.  A friend of Allen's said that she loved talking to kids because they would ask more honest questions, where adults would stand back and stare and not know how to approach her. 

I saw an interview with Sandy Allen on "Prime Time Live" last year, and thought how content and happy she was with her life.  Sure, she got around in a wheel chair because of her health problems, but she still was happy and content.  She truly is an inspiration to us all -- a challenge for us to be happy and content with things we can't change in our lives.

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Keep The Cake - Just Give Me My Ribbons

I can't believe that weeks have gone by and I totally forgot to tell you, faithful readers, about a Major Event in my life. 

For the past year or so, Dad has been baking an awesome orange cake made with tequila and triple sec, appropriately named Margarita cake.  He's made it for friends' and neighbors' birthdays and other occasions, and each time he's gotten rave reviews.  A few months ago, I told him that he needed to bake one and enter it into the Kentucky State Fair, because I thought that the cake had a great chance of winning a ribbon.  To my surprise, he said no, but instead he would coach me (one who does not cook/bake) while I made the cake.  I made a couple of practice cakes, and this past Saturday morning while my support crew looked on, I made the prettiest Margarita cake you will ever see. 

In addition to asking Dad to make his Margarita cake, I asked Mom to make her awesome and world famous bourbon balls.  Well, not really world famous, but she has made them and sent them to friends and relatives all over the country.  She said she'd love to make a batch for us to enter into the fair.  So last Friday, she got out her chocolate, bourbon and other ingredients and made what we believe to be her best batch of bourbon balls ever.

This past Sunday after we got home from church, we carefully hauled the cake and bourbon balls out to the fairgrounds and handed them over to the judges.  The judging should be over by now, as the first day of the fair is tomorrow and all of the winning items entered will be displayed with their ribbons.  I'll be running out to the fairgrounds as soon as work is over tomorrow so I can see if I am one of the lucky ones that has a ribbon hanging on their cake or candy.  And I've already got some ideas about a couple other things I want to bake and enter in the fair next year.  Wish me luck.  I'll keep you posted.

Farewell, Isaac Hayes

                           

TWIT is very sad to report that Isaac Hayes has died.  The soul music pioneer died Sunday afternoon after he collapsed near his treadmill.  He was 65 years old. 

With his muscular build, and his trademark shiny head and sunglasses, Hayes was a striking figure back in the day when most of his contemporaries were wearing Afros.  His music came to be known as urban contemporary, and paved the way for disco as well as romantic singers like Barry White.  Always ahead of his time, Isaac Hayes was one of the first singers to use spoken-word introductions and interludes, and he was basically rapping before there was rap. The best example was in Hayes' biggest hit, "The Theme From Shaft."  The song became a #1 hit in 1971, and Hayes went on to win an Academy Award and two Grammy awards for the song.  At the Oscar ceremony in 1972, Hayes performed the song wearing an eye-popping amount of gold and received a standing ovation.  Isaac was even wearing major bling before bling was popular.

Isaac Hayes began his music career in 1964 when he was hired by Stax Recods in Memphis. He started out as session musician for Otis Redding and others. He began writing songs, and wrote such hits as "Hold On, I'm Coming" and "Soul Man" for Sam and Dave.

His career hit another high in 1997 when he became the voice for Chef, the school cook and ladies man on "South Park."  Chef spoke his mind, and was sensitive enough to help the four South Park children who frequently came to him for advice.  Chef was also a singer, and his song "Simultaneous Loving" was a favorite. 

Hayes was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 - an honor that fortunately he was able to be part of and not something that happens posthumously like with so many other Hall of Fame inductees. 

"The Theme From Shaft" has been one of my all-time favorite songs ever since I first heard it on my AM transistor radio back in the summer of 1971.  In fact, it was the first song thatI ever called the radio station and requested.  I remember holding my tape recorder up to the radio and taping the song when it was played, and I wore out the tape playing it over and over.  The song was one of the first ones that I downloaded to my iPod, and it is in frequent rotation on my bike-riding playlists. 

They say that cat Isaac Hayes is a bad mother.  But I'm talking about Isaac Hayes, and we can dig it.

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Cycling Lingo 101

It's been picture perfect cycling weather here in the 'Ville for the past few days - the temps have been in the low 80's with no humidity.  I've taken advantage of the nice weather and have upped my daily milage as part of my new training regimen.  At lunch today, my co-worker and cycling mentor JN was telling me about a very fun ride next month called the Old Kentucky Home Tour.  He found the website for the ride and as I was walking past his office, he called for me to come over and look at the tour website he had brought up on his computer.  The info about the tour mentioned "SAG" quite a number of times.  I asked JN what that meant, other than pants or various body parts hanging down.  He said he had no clue, and added that other cyclists he asked didn't know, either.   Always the inquisitive one, as soon as I got back to my desk I did a quick Google search and quickly found out what "sag" meant in the cycling world.  It simply stands for "support and gear." Some say it stands for "support aid group."  Regardless of what the initials stand for, it means the same thing -- in a cycling or running event, it's the support vehicles or people that follow the cyclists or runners and give medical or mechanical support if needed.  SAG also are at the event rest stops, handing out water, food, and the above mentioned medical or mechnical help.  So now we know.

Link Of The Week

In case you've been hiding under a rock the past week, the Summer Oympics are under way in Bejing, China.  What a better way to cheer for our team than to do it publically.  You can watch  people that have cheered on Team USA at http://www.AmericasCheer.com. You can watch others that have downloaded their videos of them cheering for our team, and if you want to, you can download your own video cheering for out team over in Bejing.

Farewell, Bernie Mac

                           

TWIT is very sad to report that Bernie Mac has died.  He died this morning from complications due to pneumonia. The comedian and and actor was only 50 years old. He suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung diesease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the disease went into remission in 2005.  He was hospitalized recently for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.

Bernie Mac worked hard to overcome a childhood in poverty, growing up in Chicago's South Side.  He began doing standup comedy as a child, and becamse one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of the same name that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.  He appeared in the popular "Oceans Eleven" movies, and starred in the box office hit "Guess Who" - the comedy remake of "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner". Bernie's career highpoint was with his Fox television series, "The Bernie Mac Show" which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006. The show was about a man's adventures raising this sister's three children. Mac won the prestigious Peabody Award in 2002 for the show. 

In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote about having a poor childhood - eating bologna for dinner - and a strict, non-nonsense upbringing. His mother died of cancer when he was only 16, and Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up.  He wrote "She believed in my long before I believed."

Bernie Mac was one of my favorite comedians. I practically wore out the DVD set of the first season of "The Bernie Mac Show."  One of his frequently used lines from the show "Pray fuh me, America" became one of my favorite and often used terms.  One of the reasons I loved the show was because his character would admit and apologize (although sometimes reluctantly) to his nephew and neices if he screwed up.

In an interview, Bernie Mac told reporters "I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy.  I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."  And that you did, Bernie Mac; that you did.   You will be missed, Bernie Mac, but your comedy will live on forever. 

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Flashback Friday

                    

Today's journal entry could also be titled "This day in Louisville history", for on this day thirty years ago, the infamous Louisville Falls Fountain was unveiled.  Yep, on August 8, 1988 the residents of Louisville were blessed with a new symbol of Louisville - one that some said would be synonymous with the St. Louis Arch or the Empire State Building. Riiiiight.

The fountain's machinery was in a 20 foot high octagonal steel platform what stood above the water, anchored 1,650 feet from the Ohio River shore. Every fifteen minutes from May 1 through Thanksgiving Day, 41 jets sprayed almost 240,000 gallons of Ohio River water into the air, and for four minutes a central nozzle would spray water at 125 miles an hour to form the fleu-d-lis, the symbol of Louisville.  The fountain cost $2.1, and was a gift from Mary and Barry Bingham Sr.  They paid to have the fountain built, and created a $500,000 endowment for it's first five years of operation.  But that fund was exhausted quickly due to unanticipated expenses.  Operating costs were higher than expectged, and the fountain malfunctioned many times, quickly depleting the maintenance fund.  The Louisville Water Company then took over the maintenance, and to lower operation costs, the height of the spray was reduced from 420 feet to 375 feet.  After more malfunctions, the fountain was shut down permantly in 1998 and sold for scrap.  But for ten years, we were able to drive by downtown and the riverfront on I-64 and could see what I affectinately called "The Big Pisser." 

I thought the fountain was very cool, especially at night.  It had colored lights, and was clearly visible from the Belvedere and in downtown Louisville and across the river in Jeffersonville, Indiana. I always wanted to go inside of the fountain platform.  I pictured it being like the inside of a small submarine.  I was very bummed when they shut it down and hauled it up river and sold it for scrap.  I would have liked to have bought it.

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Welcome To My Mid-Life Crisis

For the past few years I've been wondering and worrying about what my mid-life crisis would be.  Would I go out and buy a sports car like a lot of middle-aged men? Or would I get plastic surgery like a lot of middle-aged women?  Well, I'm not rich so those two things are out of the picture.  And I don't need any more bad habits, so I'm not going to start smoking or doing cocaine. So, I did the only thing I could do for my mid-life crisis: I became a cyclist. And not just any cyclist; for my mid-life crisis, I'm going to enter my first official charity bike ride.

On Saturday August 23, I will be joining hundreds of other bicyclists in the American Diabetes Tour de Cure.  The ride is either 15, 35 or 62 miles.  I've been riding 8 or 9 miles every night, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to make it through the 15 mile ride.  The ride starts at one of our parks and we'll venture out through the east end of town. 

I'll be riding in honor of my Mother, who was diagnosed with diabetes almost five years ago.  She's doing great - she's able to keep her diabetes under control with diet (she lost 47 pounds after being diagnosed) and exercise (she walks 2 or 3 miles a day faithfully) and with medication (she takes a half of a pill once a day).  So I will be riding for her and other family members, friends, and co-workers who have diabetes.

As soon as this ride is over, I hope I can find out about another charity ride to enter.  I'm thinking this is going to be the start of something big in my mid-life.  And it's a lot cheaper than a new Corvette or a face lift. 

Holy Cheetos, Batman!

                          

It's hard to believe that it's been almost four years since we heard about the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich being auctioned on eBay for $28,000.  A year or two after that, we heard about the Nun Bun being stolen.  In case you've forgotten, the Nun Bun was a cinnamon roll that resembled Mother Theresa.  Since the Nun Bun was stolen, there hasn't been too many discoveries of junk foods resembling religious icons.  That is, until now.  A pastor in Houston, Texas found a Cheeto that he says looks like Jesus praying. 

Pastor Steve Cagg was eating a bag of Cheetos when he found one that he thought looked odd.  At first he thought it looked like a dog, but when he turned the Cheeto around he saw what he said was an image of Jesus praying.  One doubter in his congregation said the Cheeto looks like Lieutenant Dan from "Forrest Gump." But the Cheeto is still special to Pastor Steve - he refers to it as "Cheesus".  There's no chance that this Cheeto will end up on eBay - he keeps it in a plastic box so he doesn't eat it by accident. 

I wish I could have found some different angled shots of the Cheeto, because I don't think it looks anything like Jesus praying.  If you ask me I think it looks like one of those old school little candy babies. 

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Nashville Star - The Finals

The final show opened with Billy Ray Cyrus and the finalists singing his hit "Achy Breaky Heart."

Gabe Garcia - sang "Celebrity" by Brad Paisley.  Minor pitch problems on the high notes; got the crowd into the song; seemed very at ease; still consistent with another solid performance.
Melissa Lawson - sang "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts.  Received a standing ovation before she was even done with the first verse; great vocals and great control; could understand every word she sang.
Shawn Mayer - sang " Gun Powder And Lead" by Miranda Lambert. Too breathy; couldn't understand a lot of the words; talked instead of sang.  Tried to figure out why she knocked over the mic stand on purpose.

Last weeks voting found Shawn Mayer [thankfully] eliminated, leaving Gabe and Melissa as the final two contestants.  I'm still surprised Shawn stayed in the competition for the finals.

Gabe Garcia and Melissa Lawson - sang "Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. Great version; nailed it; Gabe was a bit hesitant but kept up with Melissa who clearly outsang Gabe on this duet; stayed right on pitch on the harmonies. Great vocals and harmonies, but would need some major rework if they ever perform as a duet; both looked like they would get cooties if they even held hands while singing.
Melissa Lawson - sang "Something More" by Sugarland. Great arrangement; sang to the audience; sang like Melissa Lawson without trying to sound like Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland; made the song her own.
Gabe Garcia - sang "Gone Country" by Alan Jackson. Another great, consistent performance; made the song his own without sounding like he was singing karaoke; smiled more; still more at ease.

The voting results were revealed after much hype by Billy Ray Cyrus, and Melissa Lawson was chosen as the next Nashville Star. She sang "What If It All Goes Right", which will be released as her new single, and will be available to purchase on iTunes today. 

I was so thrilled when Melissa won - from her first performance, I had a feeling she was going to win.  I'm also thrilled because the Americans that voted her as the next Nashville Star chose someone with talent and didn't chose some little blonde cut from the same cookie cutter that Nashville is inundated with right now. 

Another Milestone For TWIT

I am very, very pleased to announce that TWIT has been chosen as AOL's Guest Editor's Pick of the Week.  I was notified yesterday of this honor.  In addition to this prestigious honor, last week marked the fourth anniversary of TWIT.  It's hard to believe that I've been blogging for four years.  And I've enjoyed every entry I've posted.  I have to give all of the credit and thanks to you, my faithful readers, for being interested in what I have to say.  I've said it before and I will say it again - I have the most faithful readers in all of blogdom.

 

 

Link Of The Week

If you're one of the chosen few that have me in your email address book, then you know that I love to email pictures that I've taken.  Unfortunately, I don't have Photo Shop, so I have to send out the pictures as is.  And I don't have the patience to add captions in Paint, either, so I'm at a loss. But this week I found a site that will change all of that.  At Speechable.com I can easily add captions or text bubbles to any photo.  Visit them at http://www.speechable.com and fancy up your pictures.  And please send them to me when you get your text bubbles or captions on there. 

Mystery Solved

                          

Back in the winter, I started seeing these mysterious orange bins show up throughout the 'Ville.  We even had one in our 'hood.  I meant to stop and take a closer look at one, and read the fine print on the bin but never took the time.  A sign on the bins said "clothing and shoes only" so I deducted that it was a bin collecting used clothes and shoes for charities.  Boy was I wrong.  Just the other day, I investigated further and found out that the people behind these orange bins are not a charity.  After reading the website for the organization called "USAgain" I found out that they recycle the clothes and shoes, but they don't recycle them in a green fashion - they bundle the items up and ship them off to a store somewhere that sells the stuff.  Here's what their website had to say about it all:

The organization finds a place to host a box.
U'SAgain puts a box on the property for people to drop textiles in.
Next people come and drop off textiles they want recycled.
When the boxes get full, U'SAgain's drivers go to the sites and unload the boxes.
The drivers then bring the textiles to the warehouse.
Warehouse workers then sort the textiles into different piles.
The textiles get bundled together.
Once bundled, the textiles get loaded onto a truck and are shipped out to their desired location.
Once the textiles get to where they are going, people can buy them for a great price.

Now we know the truth behind the big orange bins.  I thought this was a fairly new thing, but when I saw the above photo on the USAgain website, according to the gas prices on the sign, the picture must have been taken back in the 1970's. 

Flashback Friday

To say grocery stores today are nothing like grocery stores back in the day would be a gross understatement.  Even though today's grocery stores are way bigger and sell more things, they have fewer departments.  Certain areas in the grocery stores have become a thing of the past. For instance, grocery stores no longer have a photo developing department, nor do they have movie rentals.  Another area we haven't seen in the grocery in years is the glass bottle return area. 

It hasn't been that long; I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.  The grocery stores would have a metal roller conveyer and you would put the carton holding the empty pop bottles (or beer bottles) on the conveyer and give them a shove and they would roll on back where a store employee would take them off.  Before shoving the bottles on their way, another store employee would add up how many bottles you had returned and write out a receipt for the amount and you would give that to the cashier when you checked out and they would deduct the amount from your grocery bill.  Or if you just wanted to return the bottles for the cash, you would take the receipt to the customer service counter and they would pay you. 

On our Friday night trips to the grocery store, the bottle return was my job.  I didn't get to keep the money, but I still thought it was fun to put the bottles on the conveyer and shove them on to the back.  I was easily amused as a child. 

The little store down the street from The Compound even had a bottle return area with a smaller conveyer.  They never gave receipts, though - they would always give cold hard cash.  Needless to say, I would scour our yard and the neighbors' yards for bottles that people had tossed out of their car windows while driving by.  The little store would even let us return empty beer bottles if we found them.  Every nickel added up in our pockets.