R.I.P. Walter White

Some Breaking Bad fans put this obit in the Albuquerque newspaper:

whirligig

whirligig whirl·i·gig [hwur-li-gig, wur-] noun
1. something that whirls or revolves.
2. a whirling motion or course: the whirligig of fashion.
3. a giddy or flighty person.
4. Dialect . a merry-go-round or carrousel.
5. a toy for whirling or spinning, as a top.

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Whirligigs have always fascinated me, especially the more complex ones.

What Fall Spice Are You?

Not so sure about the "tact" part.

I've bought quite a bit of cinnamon over the last year, prob. more than I'll be able to use before it loses its flavor.  I've got some Saigon cinnamon and Ceylon.  I prefer the Ceylon; the flavor is good, milder than the Vietnamese kind which has a bit of a "bite" to it.  They're both good, I just like the Ceylon better.  I sprinkle a bit on my breakfast oatmeal, not only to add some flavor, but for the health benefits;  it seems to keep my blood sugar in check. (as long as I don't eat a chocolate bar later)

You Are Cinnamon

You are warm and friendly. You are a social creature and a true extrovert. You are welcoming, and you love to have people over to your place. You make everyone feel at home. You are sweet, but you aren't overwhelming. You know how to be subtle with people. You have tact. You love life, and people love to be around you. You are very popular without trying to be.

What Fall Spice Are You?

Cinnamon - Tommy Roe

Ozymandias

As read by Bryan Cranston

End of Breaking Bad

Really clever synopsis of Breaking Bad.

Warning: SPOILERS

Duh.

The Piano Trebuchet

One of the best scenes from the hit TV series Northern Exposure. The original intent was to "fling a cow" but this was better.

Smart Cow

Crazy Chicken Captions

A few months ago I had been on YouTube looking at videos about raising chickens; one of the recommended vids was this one How To Care For Free Range Chickens, done by a lady with a lovely British (I think) accent. I didn't have any problem understanding her, but didn't have the time to watch the video so I clicked on the "Watch Later" button...but instead, I hit the "Closed Captions" button. What I saw after that was hilarious. Here's the introduction:

Huh? It gets funnier.

As I said, I didn't have any trouble understanding her accent, but apparently the caption software did.

Where did they get THAT?

Gas mask?

Politics gets inserted into EVERYTHING these days!

That was only a few of the more hilarious captions.

Mr. Potato Head

In 1952 Mr. Potato Head became the first toy advertised on TV.

I'm a Wiseguy

I'd say inscrutably so, but that would be racist in this context.

You Are Wise

You are very curious about the world, and you like to investigate as much of it as you possibly can. You enjoy being alone, and the role of detached observer serves you well. You enjoy sitting back and making observations. You are very perceptive and thoughtful.  You shy away from intense experiences because there's plenty of intensity in your own mind. You may have a very sharp mind, but you also have a gentle heart. You treat everyone with compassion and kindness.

The Japanese Art Test

contrail

contrail con·trail [kon-treyl] noun

a visible condensation of water droplets or ice crystals from the atmosphere, occurring in the wake of an aircraft, rocket, or missile under certain conditions.

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That's what it means to most people, but it means something else to "certain"other people.

Line Of Fire - Junip

One of the songs featured in the last episode of Breaking Bad.

Goodbye

To the best - IMHO - television show ever. I'll write more about it in a few days...after I go through withdrawal.

Undun - The Guess Who

Hector's Bell

If you're a fan of the AMC show Breaking Bad, you'll find this funny. If you've never seen it...well, you've missed out on an excellent show.

Click the bell to make it ring; click it several times and you'll be treated to a video of the scene in "Face Off", the last show of the fourth season of the award-winning series.

WARNING:  Spoilers and certainly not for the squeamish!

Hector's Bell

No-Brainer Results

You Are a Right Brained Learner

You are a great learner, but you definitely learn on your own terms. You need to be able to do things the way you want to. You aren't the type to sit down and read a textbook cover to cover. Instead, you learn in fits and spurts. Your learning is random. If you are motivated by interest in a subject, then you learn better than almost anyone else. But if you're bored, forget it. You need to figure out a way to make every subject interesting and relevant to you. And by doing so, you learn very creatively and intuitively.

Are You a Right Brained or Left Brained Learner?

Archetypes

Archetypes is an interesting new* concept in social networking.

An archetype, according to the website, “is a pattern of behavior. It explains who you are and how you engage with the world around you.” The archetypes listed on their website are Creative, Athlete, Rebel, Caregiver, Visionary, Queen/Executive, Spiritual, Fashionista, Advocate, and Intellectual.

Discover an entire universe tailored specifically to your unique blend of archetypes. You'll be able to find new things, make new friends, find old friends and share all the things you love.

From The Concept page: Once you know your archetypes, the world becomes much easier to navigate. Based on your archetypes, you can make more inspired choices about everything from relationships to excelling at work to choosing a piece of clothing. Through the prism of those archetypes, the world is clearer. You can live a truly empowered life knowing which doors you should walk through and which are best left unopened. Knowing your archetypes gives you the vocabulary to help you understand yourself and others better.

*I'm not for sure when the site came into being; if one of the archetypes was "procrastination", then that would fit me because the date on the saved URL was back in early February of this year and I just never got around to working up this post.  Here are my results from the quiz, but I bet if I took it again, it would be different - almost every quiz I take and then re-take is that way.

Archetypes

Tail Spins

Staggering Beauty

WARNING: Flashing Images (That's what the site says, but it bears repeating. I'm not sure if any epileptics visit this blog, but I sure wouldn't want anyone to suffer a seizure from one of my time wasters posts)

"Staggering Beauty" isn't the name I would give to this time waster, but I didn't make it, so.... The page appears to have been created in Asia, so maybe "Staggering Beauty" means something altogether different than it does in the West. Here's what you see when you enter the page:

I know what you're thinking, and I did too, only I'd have added "blinking" to the description. (because the "thing's" eyes blink every now and then) Move your cursor and the "thing" sways with it, sort of like a cobra in a basket. Ahem.  After a little while, a message will appear "Shake vigorously".  Ahem, again.  Move your cursor rapidly and the magic happens. (another "ahem" here would be overkill)

That's about it.  Check it out for yourself.

Staggering Beauty

10 Incredible Facts About The Moon

My Autumn Sense

This was a fun quiz to take, but also a little difficult because I could have chosen not only the answer I eventually did, but one or two others as well. I don't really associate too many sounds with fall except for the roar of the crowd and the band and loudspeaker noise from the nearby h.s. football stadium on autumn Friday nights.  If there had been a question about the sound of geese and cranes migrating back south to their winter grounds, it might have swayed it to sense of sound. That sound always makes me a little melancholy, knowing that winter isn't too far behind the high-flying migratory fowl...and wishing I could fly south with them. (although I'd have to take Southwest Airlines!) 

The results are probably correct for me, though, because I most associate Halloween and Thanksgiving with eating...even though these days I don't eat anything special on those holidays as I used to do, especially when my mom was alive.  Now it's just a few dollar store marked down candy bars the day after Halloween and a turkey and dressing TV dinner while I watch the football games on Thanksgiving.

And that's another thing that made it a little difficult for me. My mom passed away nine yrs. ago this week. -sigh-  I don't think a day has gone by that I haven't thought of her at least once.

Your Autumn Sense is Taste

It's pretty simple... you love fall because it's the most delicious time of the year. From Halloween candy to Thanksgiving leftovers, there's always a culinary treat right around the corner for you. You also enjoy the smaller seasonal foods of fall - a pumpkin latte, apple crisp, or butternut squash soup. You wait all year for your fall food favorites to return, and you're going to savor every single one of them!

What's Your Autumn Sense?

First Name Basis

The first names of Mammy and Pappy Yokum (from the classic comic strip Li'l Abner) were Pansy and Lucifer.

Palisades Park - Freddy Cannon

I was watching Confessions of a Dangerous Mind last night and this song was included in the movie because it's a (supposed) autobiography of Chuck Barris, the man who wrote the tune. Even if half the things in the movie weren't true, he still led an interesting life. He was accused of lowering the quality of television and while I wouldn't argue that either way, you you can't really blame him for the schlock that's on the tube these days.

Several of his game shows were huge hits, The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game being two of them, but he was probably best known for The Gong Show.



Well, maybe he didn't any GOOD for the quality of TV....Maybe he DOES share some blame for the schlock that's on these days.

Creepy Box Spiders

This page didn't have a title, so I didn't know what to call this time waster, but the first thing that came to mind was "Creepy Box Spiders".

Nothing to do, not really.  As soon as the page opens, the creepy box spiders start crawling on the screen.  Put your cursor on it, and they start to home in on it.  Move it around and they'll follow. Stop, and they'll all eventually make it there and crawl all over it.

Like I said, creepy, but there are some shorter legged boxes that are "almost" cute.  Almost.  There's at least one box with hardly any legs at all and it can barely move and you can almost feel sorry for it.  Almost.

There's no annoying music, no colors, no adjustable parameters, no goal or payoff...just those creepy box spiders.

Creepy Box Spiders

humdinger

humdinger hum·ding·er [huhm-ding-er]
noun Informal
a person, thing, action, or statement of remarkable excellence or effect

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This is a word that's pretty much fallen out of disuse in my lifetime. I remember it being used to describe all sorts of things: "This is one humdinger of a party/game/car/etc." After seeing it in this blog's Word of the Day module, I decided to Google it and see if it had any other modern definitions.

Oh boy, has it.  I won't link to the most obscene ones, but what was most insulting was the word being described as being "used only by dumb yokels and rednecks".   Oh well, I won't rant about how stupid people are for saying things like that.   I remember using "humdinger" to describe something, but I am also prone to say "Gee whiz." or "Aw, shucks."  I guess that probably makes ME a yokel and redneck.  That's OK, I could probably spot that person a dozen IQ points and still beat them by that many or more.

Looking up other definitions, I saw where Humdinger IS still being used!  I'd like to try that beer, sounds like it would taste great to a redneck like me.

I Won't Get Fooled Again

Well, maybe....

You Are Not Easily Fooled

You may have been fooled in the past, but you won't get fooled again. You're wise to the ways of the world. If something seems fishy, you stay far away from it. And if you're not sure, you investigate. You know how to protect yourself. You know how to cut through the crap and see what someone's truly about. You may come off as skeptical and doubting, but you've found that your skepticism is often warranted.

Are You Easily Fooled?

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fleer

fleer [fleer]

verb (used without object)

1. to grin or laugh coarsely or mockingly.

verb (used with object)

2. to mock or deride.

noun

3. a fleering look; a jeer or gibe.

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I never heard the word used in that context; in fact, when I first saw it in the Word of the Day module, I first thought of the Fleer company bubblegum Dubble Bubble.  It was always fun to fleer when someone was blowing a huge bubble with their gum and it burst on their face.