merry christmas to all

my new year's resolution is to post more blogs more often.
until then let me go out of this year singing and dancing and happy that my family and i have our health and may you and yours have a happy and healthy new year.

where have i been, mother dear

I borrowed the cassette pic from a facebook friend because it's so true. I always enjoyed making cassettes for friends (we called them mixed tapes) and altho I enjoy burning cds it's just not the same.

Where have I been? To quote Lisa Stansfield I've been all around the world, aye yi yi yi...
After trying other blog sites I am back to the comfortable blogspot. Seems to be the easiest and is comfortable like an old shoe. And all the sites I follow are here, too. Been busy so not alot to write. Vacation coming, diners to sample and a dx-pedition on the horison,

Fiercely proud of my son, tho. He has created a website @ Yola: http://bestofanime.yolasite.com/ Not bad for a kid who's not even 11 yet!

Check out ME-TV if available in your area. Our local station recently switched from RTV to ME-TV whcih carries Beverly Hillbillies, Dobie Gillis, My Three Sons, Family Affair, Batman, all the programming which made TVLand and the early days of FX great. Now if they would just show the Green Hornet!

Pour me a cup and we'll talk soon.

Inspiration can come in many forms but this is by far one of the better magazines on the market. Our house has always accentuated the postives of collecting and, altho I joke we are just "this side" of the program Hoarders I do collect a lot of things. This past spring I was lucky enough to attend an auction with Bumper (much to my wife's dismay) and won an old china closet for $10. It is now full of most of our collectables. This is not to toot our own horn but to illustrate that my family has been "green" since before it became fashionable. I come from a long line of thrift shoppers and have a special spot in my heart for flea markets and yard sales. It is not just the collecting and picking up that "prized item" but also the heart-warming feeling one has when using or re-using an item. We have an old 3-tiered microwave shelf that has been used for everything from an entertainment center to a stand for my short wave radios to (currently) a gaming area. A cousin once gave me an old country table that has been used as a tv stand to a kitchen table to an entertainment center and is currently being used in my office fto hold my tv, Hammarlund ham radio, printer and radio books. Heck, my whole office is green. Take a gander at the current Better Homes and Gardens special pictured and tell me you don't come away with a few ideas of your own and think twice before you buy that brand new hutch or shelving unit - grab the desk or shelf you see lying by the road first!

joan rivers "a piece of work"

One of the best documentaries I have seen in a while, certainly since "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" about Tammy Faye Baker.
Altho over long here and there, this documentary is said to have taken place over a year in the life of Joan Rivers. I started out thinking that she looked like a muppet reject, making Yoda look like Burt Reynolds or Clark Gable or even (insert your current favorite here). I have come away from this movie with respect for Joan, much like the feeling I had toward Ms Baker, truly because these two women in their years in the business have come away with not only being icons but also being the brunt of many jokes including my lame Yoda joke. Yes it's true that Joan has had a lot of plastic surgery and at times looks as if she is wearing a mask but then again the woman is 75 which I did not know and is competing with comedians and comediennes that are literally half her age.
The documentary starts out before her "Celebrity Apprentice" appearance and just before her 75th birthday celebration and she is in a lull wondering where or when she will be working, mentioning that (while showing an empty calendar) "this is my nightmare". There are mentions as well as clips of her play "A Life in Progress" (which she folded voluntarily after it's England debut, already having done well in Scotland) as well as historical clips from The Tonight Show and her failed Fox show Late Night. It was interesting to note that she married her husband Edgar after four days of knowing him and she does go into some detail about his suicide.
Being in the business since 1968 she has truly become an icon; she does not feel she has opened doors with the subjects she talks about and because she is a woman comedian; she feels she is still opening those doors. She jokes about Kathy Griffen being more popular than she is (at least at the time of filming) and Ms Griffen has nothing but glowing comments toward Joan including the opening of doors for other women, et al.
One of my favorite albums of the 1980s was "What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most", which a friend of mine can still quote to this day; she has truly gained the respect she deserves, at least from me. Altho during the filming of this documentary one of her employees was said to be no longer associated with her because he couldn't be counted on ("and it's a shame because he was my last link to..." this and that), her come uppance of no longer being black-balled (as she puts it since the Carson era) by NBC and a renewed resurgance in her carreer was a great ending to a great film. A little over-long in some parts I still write that it's worth the rental (I got this at my local library).
Take care and be well.

new blog found

http://monstermagazineworld.blogspot.com/

While looking up a site for the old Monster World magazine put out by Warren (think "Famous Monsters") I stumbled on this site and was worth the fall! It is now on my "follow" list and am looking forward to more writings.

(Photo from the mentioned site)

i'm back?

I admit to not writing frequently enough thru this winter. This has felt like the longest winter I have ever experienced but I have at least put the time to good use, or at least tried when not shoveling. I have also enjoyed time with my family especially around the holidays which is the single most inportant thing in life. I hope to write more.

I am attempting to upload a video of a marble construction kit which Bumper got as a Christmas present about seven years ago - we are STILL having fun with this! Bought as a spur of the moment item at KBtoys this was the hit of Christmas and will probably be around for Bumper's children. I really need to get another - I probably have as much fun as Bump but then again I'm just a big kid anyway!

With winter finally winding down we hope to get out more, work the yard and possibly hit a day trip or two this summer. Hope to write more as well.