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February 28, 2013

For Your Love - The Yardbirds

According to the description under the video, this is a promo for French TV; I chose this one because it was fun and more like a musical video of today and not just the music w/ a static graphic like other options.

This would be in my Top Ten List on the definitive rock and roll songs of all-time.


My Music Personality

I like Mozart and Metallica, AC/DC and Adele, Clint Black and Black Sabbath, so I figured my music personality would be more bi-polar, but....

Some of the questions I could have answered with "none of the above".

Your Music Personality is Upbeat and Conventional


You love music that is easy to listen to. You like a catchy melody and a few good hooks.

The types of music you tend to gravitate toward are top 40, pop, oldies, country, and soundtracks. You don't have to look far to find music you enjoy.

Of all the types, you are the most agreeable. What makes others happy tends to make you happy as well.


You are also the least open to new things. You tend to have plenty of things you like, so you don't seek out novelty.

It's likely that you are quite content with yourself and your life. You are confident in who you are.


You are social and easygoing. You like to be a part of a group, and you value harmony. 


February 26, 2013

Jessica - The Allman Brothers (live)

Originally posted March 25, 2008.

"Bumped" to say RIP Dan Toler


Dedicated to my pal, Garazon.

February 25, 2013

xeric

xeric xe·ric [zeer-ik]
adjective
of, pertaining to, or adapted to a dry environment.


Most of the time, I'd rather this part of Texas wasn't so xeric, but today the wetness is in the form of blowing snow. I'd settle for a little xeric conditions instead of this blizzard.   Oh well, at least it will be good for the farms and grassland.

That would make a cool name for a town, though, huh?  "Xeric, Texas".  You'd know someone was from out of the area if they pronounced it "Ex-er-rick"

Moon Phase Widget



Courtesy of Joe's Web Tools

An explanation of Lunar Phases

Countries in the different hemispheres see the Moon from a completely different vantage point from each other. In the northern hemisphere the first quarter looks like a growing D, while in the southern hemisphere it looks like a C. In the northern hemisphere the last quarter looks like a C, while in the southern hemisphere looks like a D. 

A handy memonic device to figure out if the moon is waxing or waning in the Northern Hemisphere is by thinking "DOC" as to the current "shape".
(D first quarter O full Moon C last quarter)

In the Southern Hemisphere it would be "C O D"
(C first quarter O full Moon D last quarter)

Oscar Talk

Without going through each of my picks on the Miramax Oscar Challenge contest, it looks like I did fairly well but probably not enough to win anything. I got the two Best Actor awards correct, as well as some lesser awards, but I'm sure I wasn't close enough to have a chance.  Oh well, I wasn't expecting to win anyway...as I said in the linked post, I hadn't seen any of the movies except for the one short "Paperman". (and I read that the producer of the short was thrown out of the ceremonies for a brief time because, when the award was announced, she threw several paper airplanes from the top balcony)

I didn't watch a single moment of the show, but checking the Drudge Report to see who had won, I decided I wanted to see the "We Saw Her Boobs" song Seth McFarlane did that caused such controversy.  I thought it hilarious.

I am a conservative, but enjoy McFarlane's "Family Guy" as well as "American Dad!" (to a lesser extent)  Both shows poke fun at traditional values but it would be disingenuous to say they only slam conservatives. (that's another post for another time)  I really enjoyed the skit with William Shatner as Captain Kirk calling from the future to tell McFarland he was rapidly ruining the show.  I wouldn't be able to compare any recent hosts with McFarland, but from what I saw, he did a fairly good job.  He wasn't as good as Billy Crystal, but he was much better than the abomination that was David Letterman's performance.

I'm really glad I missed the Best Picture award presentation, the Oscar announced by Michelle Obama.  I have no love for President Obama, but am growing very weary of seeing her mug on the news or anywhere two or more celebrities are gathered together. (It seems I'm not the only one)  I've ranted about this before, but it's sickening how Hollywood and the progressive leftists are in bed together. (I suspect most in the audience were top donors to Obama's campaigns) It's bad enough that far too many movies mock Christianity and conservatives, but to have politics take over the awards show that honors those films (even more than usual)...well, it's just one more reason I'm glad I didn't watch. 

Calling All Ships

Did you know if you want to make a phone call to someone aboard a ship at sea, you'll need to use the global maritime area code "870" ?


February 24, 2013

Don't Double Dip!

I just noticed an odd thing on this blog's Feedjit counter; someone had multiple hits on the 7-Layer Mexican Dip recipe I had posted quite a few years ago. I've never checked search engines, but that post must be up near the top when people are looking for that particular recipe because it's one of the most-visited posts. (sometimes even more than "gay dwarfs" or "sister's feet".)



I wonder what would cause that? I'm sure they didn't click the post that many times, so it must be some sort of glitch.

Whatever it was, it reminded me of this classic scene from Seinfeld. (the best version didn't allow for embedding, so I had to settle for this one which cuts out the scuffle between George and the other guy. Still funny, though.)



And The Oscar Goes To...

Me! Best Documentary for "The Mating Habits of Roughnecks".

"I'd like to thank all the little people out there who I stepped on or slept with  along the way! Thank you, thank you! You like me, you really like me!"

You Would Win Best Documentary Feature

You are very curious about and engaged with the world. Everyone is interesting to you.

You have a variety of interests, and you delve into them quite deeply.

People are impressed by the sheer quantity of stuff you know, and you're learning more every day.


However, you're not just informed. You also are very informative. You share what you know in an engaging and interesting way.



February 22, 2013

I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty

And The Heartbreakers


Shave Like a Man

One of the best commercials I've seen.(in a while, anyway)

February 21, 2013

Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945

Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a beautiful, undeniably scary time-lapse map of the 2053 nuclear explosions which have taken place between 1945 and 1998, beginning with the Manhattan Project's "Trinity" test near Los Alamos and concluding with Pakistan's nuclear tests in May of 1998. This leaves out North Korea's two alleged nuclear tests in this past decade (the legitimacy of both of which is not 100% clear).

Each nation gets a blip and a flashing dot on the map whenever they detonate a nuclear weapon, with a running tally kept on the top and bottom bars of the screen. Hashimoto, who began the project in 2003, says that he created it with the goal of showing"the fear and folly of nuclear weapons." It starts really slow — if you want to see real action, skip ahead to 1962 or so — but the buildup becomes overwhelming.

Miramax Oscar Ballot Challenge


Take the Miramax Oscar Ballot Challenge for a chance to win prizes.

From the site:

Here’s your chance to win a massive prize pack of Miramax Oscar®-winning films. Are you ready to take the challenge? Complete your ballot now!

GRAND PRIZE: 20 of Miramax’s Academy Award®-winning films
2nd PLACE: Miramax’s Best Picture, Actor and Actress winning films
3rd PLACE: Miramax’s Best Picture winning films

All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Saturday, February 23, 2013.

Before you start, review the official rules.

I haven't seen any of these movies in their entirety (although I did embed "Paperman" earlier this month, but have now noticed the video has been made  private), but I have seen some of the trailers and read "the buzz" on most.  So, my entry into the contest is riddled with (mostly) educated guesses and a few favorites.  Here are my picks:

Actor in a Supporting Role: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Animated Feature: Frankenweenie
Original Song: 'Skyfall' - Skyfall
Original Screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty
Animated Short: Paperman
Documentary Short: Redemption
Live Action Short: Henry
Makeup: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Adapted Screenplay: Life of Pi
Supporting Actress: Sally Field, Lincoln
Production Design: Les Miserables
Costume Design: Lincoln
Sound Editing: Life of Pi
Sound Mixing: Life of Pi
Cinematography: Life of Pi
Original Score: Skyfall
Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Documentary Feature: How to Survive a Plague
Film Editing: Life of Pi
Foreign Film: Kon-Tiki
Actor in a Leading Role: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Actress in a Leading Role: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Best Picture: Lincoln

After you fill out your choices, you'll get an email listing them.  I hope I don't get more spam because of it, but if I do...oh well.

Miramax Oscar Ballot Challenge

February 20, 2013

Procession - The Moody Blues

A homemade video of one of the most interesting songs that's ever been written. With only three words for the lyrics, "Procession" basically describes the history of music from the beginning of time up to the present.


Read more about "Procession" at Wikipedia

Fun Phone Fact

Did you know the first phone in the White House was installed  in 1879 during the Rutherford B. Hayes administration? (even before electricity in 1891) Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, gave Hayes personal instructions on how to use it. The number was "1" because at first it was only connected to the Treasury Dept.



I wonder how long it was until the President was interrupted during dinner by a telemarketer?

February 18, 2013

The Gourde

Did you know that the official currency of Haiti is known as gourde, named after the gourd? (botanically classified as a fruit) In the early 1800's the ruler of northern Haiti declared all gourds to be state property and had them rounded up and brought to the state treasury where they were then reissued as currency. Eventually banknotes and coins replaced the gourds, but gourde has remained the name of Haiti's official currency.




I first discovered this fact when I read The Black Sun as a young man. My folks were big fans of the Mandingo series of books, as well as others written by Kyle Onstott and his partners. The books were really too adult for my age but I guess my parents thought it better for me to find out about sex that way instead of them having to uncomfortably explain it to me.

There were gourds growing in the pastures surrounding the house where I grew up; not sure what specific type of gourd they were, but they usually didn't grow much larger than a baseball and, in fact, throwing them was the most fun I had with them.  The vines and fruit smelled to high heaven when crushed, with an odor like day-old B.O.  After working hard all day during a hot summer, I often heard my dad say "I smell just like an ol' gourd vine." 

February 17, 2013

A Head's Up

Thought I'd better let everyone know a week in advance:

I won't be posting on this blog on Feb. 29th or the 30th.

It's a religious holiday for me.

February 16, 2013

Not Exactly a Comedy

But I'm watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets .... for probably the twentieth time. Not really "watching" it because I'm sitting at the computer but it's on behind me.



You Should Watch a Comedy

You are a fun loving person who is able to laugh at all aspects of life.

Some may think you're light-hearted, but you're also able to be amusingly dark.

You can see both the best and worst in people. More importantly, you understand how absurd life can be.

You find a well written comedy to be intelligent and even insightful. Anyone can make a good movie, but only a genius can make a hilarious movie.


I'd agree with the results. I DO understand how absurd life can be. Well, I understand how absurd MY life is.

I haven't watched a good movie in quite some time.  Oh, I've watched movies, but none of them have been too good.

Yeah, should watch a comedy.   The only comedy that's coming on is Beetlejuice and I watched it (again) not too terribly long ago and that will do me for that particular movie for about five more years.  It wasn't all that great the FIRST time I saw it.

Too bad I can't sit back and watch my love life.  It's laughably non-existent. -sigh-

Carpet Sprouts

Note:  Originally published on November 11, 2008. I noticed a hit on an old post from that month and got to looking though some of them. (checking to see if the videos still worked, etc.) I just bumped it up because I thought it funny and have been slacking off on posting here lately. Hey, if no one has seen it, it's new to them, right?


The young couple had just started to move in a few houses down from me. I went down, introduced myself and offered to help them move in. They were grateful, but declined and told me before they moved their furniture in, they were going to shampoo the carpets. I agreed that that was a good idea as the last tenants had been less than tidy people.

I noticed them down there until later that night, then the next day the guy knocked on my door. He asked me to come down to see something strange at his new digs, so I followed him into the house.

The house was almost unbearably hot and humid, not something I wanted to experience on a normal hot and humid Texas afternoon. The wet heat hit me as soon as I walked through the door. He told me they had shampooed the carpet the night before, then turned on the heater to help it dry.

Until the day I die, I will probably never see another sight as I did that day. There, poking up out of the shag carpet, were thousands and thousands of little white sprouts, tiny things with little green leaves coming out of the tops and I recognized them immediately: they were freshly sprouted....

....pot plants.

I had seen this phenomenon before, albeit on a much smaller scale, a long time ago when my wife and I moved into some less-than-clean quarters.

The moral to the story is: Vacumn before you shampoo the carpet. If you smoke pot, flush the seeds.

Stresstest


February 15, 2013

60 Years of CBS Actresses



Hat tip to TYWKIWDBI

Too bad CBS has morphed from a once credible and respected news organization into the mouthpiece for the progressive wing of the Democratic party.

February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

To all my faithful readers and random visitors alike.

It's a little too late for me, though.



Roses are #ff0000, violets are #0000ff, all my base are belong to you.

Happy ♥ Day!

Your Song - Elton John

Happy Valentines Day to all!


February 13, 2013

My Beer Personality

I was a little surprised at these results. I'm not a Heineken drinker and in fact, always thought that brand tasted a little "skunky". To be fair, I might never have had good, fresh examples of it.  Another similar test said I was Budweiser, which has always been one of my least-favorite beers.

In all honesty, I'm not much of a drinker, beer or otherwise. When I DO drink, it's not for the taste.

You Are Heineken

You appreciate a good beer, but you're not a snob about it.

You like your beer mild and easy to drink, so you can concentrate on being drunk.

Overall, you're a friendly drunk who's likely to buy a whole round for your friends... many times.

Sometimes you can be a bit boring when you drink. You may be prone to go on about topics no one cares about.


Besides getting the beer wrong, the other results might very well be true, esp. about blathering on when I'm drunk. I sometimes turn into Cliff Clavin when I drink.



No, not much of a beer drinker, but I do like this song!

I Like Beer - Tom T Hall

Today's Spam


It would be my luck to meet a FreeCamsToday girl that had PMS.

My momma once told me that PMS stood for "Putting up with Men's Sh*t".

February 12, 2013

Amazing Trivial Coincidence

Note: links go to YouTube videos of the songs. Four embedded videos in one post is a bit too much.

Did you know "I Think We’re Alone Now", a #1 hit in the U.S. for Tiffany in 1987, was written by Ritchie Cordell and first released by Tommy James & The Shondells in 1967? You did?

Well, I bet you didn't know that the #2 hit on the U.S. charts that year was Billy Idol's "Mony Mony"...which was also written by Ritchie Cordell and first recorded by Tommy James & The Shondells.

February 10, 2013

Scare Tactics

I've seen some strange spam, most of it sexual in nature, but this one is just about the strangest I've ever seen. It came from "Expess Pharmacy" and in the subject line was this:


I don't know what could cause that (outside of getting on the bad side of Lorena Bobbitt), but I sure don't want it happening to me. I don't use mine for much, but I'm still fond of it.   I'm attached to it and I want it to remain attached to me.

February 9, 2013

Egypt Blocks YouTube

I normally don't delve into serious news or into religious issues, but when I read this earlier: Egypt court orders YouTube blocked for a month I had to see what all the fuss was about.  It seems the Egyptians are all butt-hurt over a movie, Innocence of Muslims.  I won't embed it, but here's the trailer (with a disclaimer by YouTube).

The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as being potentially offensive or inappropriate. Viewer discretion is advised.

The full-length movie has also been uploaded, so if you want to see it before it's taken down, you'd best hurry.

Those Muslims...they're always getting their panties in wad over something trivial in the grand scheme of things.   I see Christianity mocked all the time, from frequent segments on Family Guy and American Dad! to "artists" calling a crucifix in urine "art".  You didn't see ME rioting in the streets and you never will.  I doubt I'll ever even dash off an an angry email to the network.  I'm damn sure not blowing myself up and/or killing someone over it.

Oh well, what can you expect from a bunch of savages? I've done a lot of reading on Islam, but everything I really ever needed to know I learned on 9/11.

Someone better not tell them about THESE two videos;  they'd really get all bent out of shape.

King Tut - Steve Martin


Little Egypt - Elvis Presley



Igor Presnyakov

One of my newest subscribed-to channels on YouTube and rapidly becoming one of my favorites. Igor Presnyakov covers all sorts of tunes, from Metallica to Adele, from AC/DC to The Beatles in an inimitable fashion. If you like songs played with a finger-style guitar, then be sure to give Igor's channel a try!

From his official website

Born in Moscow, Russia, Igor Presnyakov studied classical music at a nearby academy and would eventually graduate as both a guitarist and a conductor for ensembles. He relocated to the Netherlands to further his career, which has now spanned over 35 years. His unique acoustic guitar-style is influenced by various musical genres from Reggae, Rock and Roll, R&B, Country-western, Jazz and Heavy Metal. His most noticeable attribute, is his creative style of “beating” the percussion of the song, onto the body of his acoustic guitar while playing. This replicates the sound of multiple musicians, while only Igor is playing. While he sometimes sings on many of his original and cover-songs, Igor is more famous for mimicking the vocal parts of a song, into guitar-solos, while often adding a softer, jazzier sound.

Igor’s popularity has risen since he first debuted on YouTube in 2007. He currently has over 132 million total upload views, in addition to over 256,000 subscribers.

I could have embedded any one of his 244 videos (at the time of this writing) but this is one of his latest and most beautiful.

Here Comes the Sun

February 8, 2013

For The Record, I'm a Guy

Not so sure about the rest of it, but....

You Are a Girl or Guy Next Door

You are as all American as apple pie, and you're so normal that you belong in a TV sitcom.

And really, that's a pretty great thing. You're a solid person, and you pride yourself on being quite down to earth.

You value your friends and family, and you don't need much in life to be content. You feel grateful for what you have.


You are honest and you have a great work ethic. You believe in giving back as much as you can. 



Here's my favorite stereotype:

 photo stereotyping_cliche_lg_wht.gif

wiseGEEK Widgets


From wiseGeek, a couple of great widgets for your blog or website.



I follow the site on Facebook as well as subscribe to it in my reader. They have all sorts of categories with some fascinating facts (and to be honest, some NOT so fascinating) For example, from today's posts, this question is posed:

Why Does It Hurt to Pull Off an Adhesive Bandage? They give you the explanation and also ask if you knew this fact: Did you know about 1.5 million injuries a year are caused by removing adhesive bandages? It's not just trivia; in this case, they explain the most pain-free way of removing a bandage.

Great site, great widgets!

February 7, 2013

Amazon Cloud

I got this email from Amazon the other day:

You may have noticed that songs from 11 CDs you have purchased from Amazon were added to your Cloud Player library. This means that high-quality MP3 versions of these songs are available for you to play or download from Cloud Player for FREE. You can find your songs in the "Purchased" playlist.

In addition, we're excited to announce AutoRip. Now when you buy any CD with the logo, the MP3 version of that album will instantly be delivered to your Amazon Cloud Player library for FREE.

I've been aware of the Cloud Player, but since I don't have a device (other than this computer) to play my songs on, I didn't use it.  I download free music from Amazon all the time and have purchased quite a few mp3 albums as well as a dozen or so CDs.  I can't remember when they started the Cloud feature, but I reached the limit quite some time back and deleted a lot of the songs that were in my Cloud as so to make room for new ones.  I already had them on my computer and couldn't see the need for my Cloud except as backup. 

It's nice that my purchased CD tunes are now in my Cloud. That will save me from having to rip the music to add to my mp3 jukebox.

On my Cloud page it says I have room for 250 more songs.  I could get more space if I bought it, but...The best thing about it is that it's much easier to download the songs now.  The settings were confusing and seemed to change on their own and when I got new songs, they sometimes didn't download to my computer but were instead put into my Cloud  Here's what's in my Cloud right now.
































There are some duplicates in my mp3 jukebox, but I've been working to get rid of them. Some are dupes that happen to be on two albums by a particular artist or band and some are freebies I got from Amazon that happened to be in different collections. At last count, I had over 21,000 songs. Before updates to Windows Media Player, it tallied up the total size and time of all the mp3 files and I had enough to listen to music non-stop for a couple of weeks.

February 6, 2013

Scroll Clock

Another cool clock - Scroll Clock

(graphic below is a screen capture of the actual clock)



Scroll Clock

Hank Skinner Interview

The latest Skinner interview, in two parts



February 5, 2013

Goin' For The Win

You Are a Two Point Conversion

You are an adept risk taker. You love to go for the glory.

You do what others are scared to do, and it pays off!

You have no fear, and because of this, you're able to look at the odds rationally.


You've taken enough small risks to get ahead in life, even if every risk hasn't panned out. 


Wild Thing - The Troggs

R.I.P. Reg Presley

February 4, 2013

testmy.net


Take a "truly accurate speed test" at testmy.net.

From the site: TestMy.net is the first and only fully HTML5 & PHP driven speed test online. Unlike other connection speed tests that require third party applications like Flash or Java, TMN uses only your web browser. This makes TestMy's speed test more sensitive to browser misconfiguration and is an excellent way to highlight performance differences between browsers. Users of TMN can see all browsers are not created equally.

Why Should I Test My Speed?

Simple, to make sure you're getting what you pay for. This speed test is useful if you feel a connection slow down or want to see how your Internet is performing. This isn't like any other broadband speed test. TestMy's proprietary method is proven to help identify issues other speed tests fail to detect. The TMN Speed Test shows your true speed.

testmy.net

February 2, 2013

Good Sports


Did you know there have been three sports movies to win Best Picture Oscars?

They are: Rocky (1976), Chariots of Fire (1981) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).

Let's hope the people associated with the movies that lost were good sports about it.

Alone - Heart

Live & accoustic


February 1, 2013

Paperman

Countdown to the Super Bowl

I Should And I Will

You Should Watch a Comedy

You are a fun loving person who is able to laugh at all aspects of life.

Some may think you're light-hearted, but you're also able to be amusingly dark.

You can see both the best and worst in people. More importantly, you understand how absurd life can be.


You find a well written comedy to be intelligent and even insightful. Anyone can make a good movie, but only a genius can make a hilarious movie. 


I know the perfect one, too.

Been There, Done That

Read the paperback, got the soundtrack.


Feb. Trivia Tournament Begins!

Try your luck in the ToTG Trivia Tournament. Easy to do; register and play! The questions, however, aren't quite as easy. Each day there's a different category and they're the hardest the site has to offer.  Hurry when answering because time is a factor in your score.

ToTG Trivia Tournament