by definition

Extraterrestrial - of or from outside the earth or its atmosphere.

Pardon me while I back up. (danger! old man backing up give me some room)

Long ago, I went to Catholic grade school. It might have provided the foundation of my moderately successfully life. Or maybe I would have been better off without its influence. I’ll never know. Nobody will ever know. Those “if you could go back blah blah” games are just games. Thought games are good but they alone don’t provide solid evidence.

After 6th grade I transferred over to the public school system. Now slide the timeline to 1982. The movie E.T. was a big hit. Our family watched it a few times. No connection to my early grade school came to my mind while watching. You might recall the movie showed an extraterrestrial visit from the perspective of children. (adults often fail to get it right) Our children really enjoyed the movie at the time.

I found this in a description of the E.T. movie, “E.T. is a sci-fi adventure that captures that strange moment in youth when the world is a place of mysterious possibilities…”. Ok, but for me mysterious possibilities have arisen in my mind for my entire life. It’s not just for kids.

Yesterday, I’m standing on my deck enjoying the nice day. I started wondering (I highly recommend wondering in nice weather) what life would be like for an extraterrestrial visiting earth. I have no indication that I’m from beyond earth, but I still wonder. Then a few scrambled thoughts came together in an odd way. My collection of thoughts had me saying, hmm I need to post this odd idea.

Jesus was an extraterrestrial by definition.

Depending on your background my conclusion may be shocking, blasphemy or meh. If in fact I have a guardian angel assigned to me, I'll need to remember to ask about my idea.

Should I have titled this post “Close Encounters of the Blog Kind”?




 

Lions tigers and bears oh my

Bear - a killer bear (All flesh eating predators kill. Those that happen to try out a human meal are called killers. Why is that?)

I started reading this non-fiction book, “Elastic” (an Amazon book link). In it the story of Timothy Threadwell is given as an example of a person on the far end of the novelty-seeking spectrum or a “sensation-seeker”. Maybe just a sign of me getting old but the younger generation seems to have an abundance of sensation-seekers.

Any chance you heard of Timothy Threadwell? The 2005 documentary “Grizzly Man” was about him. I didn’t see that movie and first heard of him was in this book. So Timmy (I suspect he did NOT go by Timmy) went searching for a new thrilling adventure after years of drug misuse. He found Alaska and an area full of grizzly bears. He spent many summers there living among the grizzlies. He claimed he had discovered the secret to surviving with them. Not long after he announced his talent, he and his girlfriend were attacked and eaten by a bear.

I believe this is an example of extreme overconfidence of one’s abilities.

I can live with stuffed bears

I’m not on the yellow brick road. I’m just on the web. I have been on brick streets and found them not very smooth or long lasting.

While traveling on this web road a podcast was suggested. Not being a big fan of podcasts, I thought the suggested one by Radiolab, called “More Perfect” appeared worthy of a listen. It’s a series about the US Supreme Court. I listened to a very interesting story about RBG’s case that opened up the idea of gender discrimination. I plan to see the movie RBG soon.

What does RBG have to do with a bear? Nothing best I can tell. However, the iconic Supreme Court justice does have a connection to beer (just one letter difference! how does lions, tigers and beer sound?).

Back in the mid 1970’s when RBG was with the ACLU a case came up involving beer and discrimination in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma had an “odd” (stupid, who-the-hell-thought-of-that-idea) law that prohibited males from buying beer until they were 21. However, the same law said females could buy beer after age 18. Many girlfriends were persuaded to buy beer for their boyfriends during that time. One guy decided to challenge the law in court. The case Craig v. Boren went to the Supreme Court. It was the first time the court imposed what is known as "intermediate scrutiny" on laws discriminating based on gender. I take that legal stuff to mean the court started to actually review laws that possibly contained gender discrimination.

Next time I open a cold one I will remind myself that drinking beer was in the chain of events that brought us the #MeToo movement.

Oh, don't waste beer on a grizzly. They might just throw the beer and eat your face. I don't think they discriminate either. 

so glad you made it

At first I thought this post would be about the sixties hit by The Spencer Davis Group, "Gimme Some Lovin'".

Then I noticed a youtube suggested clip (honestly I like youtube suggestions much better than anything FB ever suggested ) while I was checking out a few "Gimme Some Lovin'" clips. The suggestion was a creation of the "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher" song mixed with a dance scene of Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire. (link to the clip)

Not only did I enjoy the dancing clip but also starting checking other suggested mixes with Rita Hayworth. (he was last seen exploring the depths of youtube)

Rita Hayworth in "Gilda"

"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Here's a collection of them.

• Rita Hayworth Is Stayin' Alive
• Rita Hayworth - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
• Rita Hayworth - Uptown Funk
• She's Magic: A Tribute To Rita Hayworth
• rita hayworth is the dancing queen!!

And there are even more of them. My favorite one mixed old movie dance scenes with Led Zepplin.  Well my favorite one was removed from youtube. It happens too often. Do you wanna dance with somebody?

 

Gimme some comment

waiting for my oscar

Oh never mind, they don't award Oscars for just going to the movies. 😕

No award for fastest to finish off the extra large popcorn bucket. Like pie eating contests they should hold popcorn contests.

stumped on the stump

We watched the Oscars. I liked the hosting that Ellen did back in 2014 better. The playing of clips from "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" movie has piqued my interest in seeing that one. I really enjoyed "Fargo".

Please share your opinions about the awards show and/or any of the movies in the comment section.

✋Hold on, my train of thought will be jumping over to different set of rails now. I want to avoid causing confusion here. I realize reading my mind is not possible - yet.

I subscribed more than a year ago to an idea type site. I should just drop my email subscription now since my interest in their ideas has dropped. Any readers have a neglected set of email subscriptions like me?

I just opened up their recent email (probably get two a week). It provides a list of articles with links. One of them was:

If a nuclear bomb is dropped in your city, here’s what you need to do

Followed by:

A psychologist explains the best way to rewire the brain to let go of worrying

I found the ordering of these articles funny in a weird way. If the second one really works you don’t need to read the first one.

Over time I’ve found the site Quora a great place to discover new knowledge on many subjects. This is an email subscription I'll keep. Their accuracy in matching my interest is good but the following one left me puzzled as to why they passed it along to me.

Weapons: How far must you be from an exploding hand grenade to avoid injury?

I’m wondering if the author of that question is still around to read the answers.

Oh, I learned from watching the academy awards show that a remake(sequel?) of Mary Poppins will be released this year. Here's a parody of one of it's songs.

donald goldfinger

This post might just ruin a great classic James Bond film.

Before I jump into comparing and conjecturing about a celebrity candidate, I want to be clear about my intention here. This is not a persuasive post. (once I wrote a persuasive type post about Sheryl Crow) I’m not recommending anything for anyone. I love puns but I’m no pundit. I have my opinions and you have yours. Now this post could certainly be considered political. I rather think of it as political satire.

diversity in your crayon box is desirable

Back in my crazy thrilling teen years (many thrills but mostly spills) my favorite movies were James Bond flicks. A cool and smart spy who would say witty lines and drive a fast well defended car. You could quickly get gadget envy learning how 007 was equipped.

During a bit of youtube watching I came across a clip from “Goldfinger” where 007 is about to be sliced in two by a hot laser. (here’s a link if interested)

Then I noticed something, possibly something that has gone unnoticed until now (good for Lisleman’s Broken News feed) - Donald Trump is a the doppelganger of Goldfinger. I would say evil twin but I’m sure which one is evil. Now a comparison of a politician to a fictional character is not new. Remember the “Dark Vader” vice president we had in the early 2000’s?

unique hair styles attract

While not a perfect matching set, Goldfinger and Donald have a similar look and here are a few other similarities:

• They both were successful business tycoons running global companies.
• They were both low rate actors.
• They both enjoyed golf.
• They probably both have the same balding pattern but you can’t tell with Donald due to his weird hair style.
• Both had private jets. (bonus points for the name of Goldfinger’s pilot)

The trait that really matched them up in my mind - obsession with gold! In the following clip you'll learn that Donald's jet has gold plated seat belts.





Goldfinger had a heart of gold and a kiss of death. Donald has plenty of gold things.

fragments from a future time

About that title - While digging deeper into the meaning of time, I have found it described as a series of spacetime snapshots that run together like a movie. Instead of snapshots, lets use the word fragments since it’s time for the Friday Fragment post.

In this Friday’s edition, I’m discussing paradoxes. To understand paradoxes you need to think logically. We certainly don’t always react logically to situations. We often let emotions drive our thinking which is probably a great thing. If we didn’t use our emotions, we wouldn’t enjoy a laugh from a joke. Many jokes don’t have much logic.

be sure to read the headline

Here’s a quick fun logical paradox. The Liar Paradox - "this sentence is false". If "this sentence is false" is true, then the sentence is false, but then if "this sentence is false" is false, then the sentence is true, and so on. Ok snap out of it, you can get stuck in paradox.

The reasoning behind my seasoning of this post with paradoxes is my recent watching of the movie, “Interstellar”. I highly recommend the movie for everyone who enjoys thinking.

Are you familiar with the time paradox? You know the one that explains why going back in time is a big problem. For example, lets say I went back to the late 1920’s and was able to kill Hitler. There’s a sequence of events related to World War 2 and my parents that might not of happened if WWII didn't occur.  I might not exist. However, traveling forward in time doesn’t have that problem.  There would still be problems such as forgetting to cancel your cable before you left. (years later the cable guy probably still would have never shown up at your house though.  We lack a theory explaining cable installer time.) 

I suggest a little refresh, visit wikipedia or youtube, for time travel info and perhaps a bit of Relativity Theory before seeing the movie. It’s like watching a war movie without knowing who the two sides were. A little background helps you enjoy the movie.

The plot doesn't actually focus on this time paradox but Relativity Theory's time dilation due to speed and gravity creates a time travel situation. If this movie inspires people to use their free time for staying curious and exploring then it has been very successful. The movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" sparked my interest in science and then engineering.

Don't confuse paradoxes with mysteries.  While they both make you wonder, a mystery typically lacks any logical basis. For example, there is no logically reason the sharing of a women's oily skin condition on the internet would get so much recent attention. It's a mystery to me. I also don't how such a huge butt could fit into a twitter feed. Maybe, she is forming a cover tribute band, "Booty and the Ho-fish". Nah, she doesn't have that much talent.

I'll end now, with this personal paradox (or mystery?); why does this Gif of bad mom make me laugh?

Now this was one of my longer FF posts but that's the great thing of the FF post - very few rules. Well, my train of thought has left the station.  If you would like another FF ride check Mrs. 4444's blog she has station full of them.

are those moments still magic

Maybe not, but being able to recall how magical those moments were to experience brings a twinkle of magic.

My mind recalled my shooting-the-shit time today (one of many actually). When old shit gets really old it can stop smelling bad. Sometimes it will refresh a faded memory.

How many of you remember when cruising didn’t involve a ship?  (unfortunately tickets might be involved and nobody wanted those)

from Lucasfilm site

If my grandkids wanted to know about cruising, I would sit down and watch George Lucas’s American Graffiti movie with them. Back before food courts at an indoor mall, there were local hang-out restaurants. Some were diners and some were drive-ins with car-hops. Cruising on summer nights between hang-outs was a regular part of the dating game.

Wow, I remember the regular circuit into town and then back out. Nobody worried much about gas prices, maybe running out of cigarettes. Yeah cruising back when the gas was cheap and the windows were rolled down by hand. Shooting-the-shit and hanging out, I would have never thought a movie about it would become one of the most profitable films of the modern era.

my style of cruise ship back in the late 60's early 70's

Nice wheels you have there!

Pearl’s post today (titled "We Sometimes Went Days Without Taking Our Own Picture" ) and this memorable song I found on youtube got me remembering. Can you dig it?

Oscar thoughts

I'll be clear from the start, this post has nothing to do with fashion (it seems dresses are a big part of the event, oh you're wearing JC Penny?).  We all get to have opinion about everything and Hollywood often offers more show and less substance.  However, I will not even attempt to pretend any knowledge of fashion.

Oscar probably goes horizontal at those parties

Did you watch the Oscars?

I heard it hit high in the ratings.  She-who-knows and I watched the whole show.  We both like Ellen.  Just like on her TV show, she was creative in producing laughs.  All award shows should be filled with good laughs.

It's a night of celebrating the movies and not a horse race (do only the winners say that in interviews?). I already posted my favorite for best picture (even though I only watched 3 of the nominees) in a January post.

Leonardo DiCaprio was shut out again.  Often nominated but never a winner at the Oscars.  He did generate a few hashtags, #poorleo and #giveleoanoscar


I found the above Leo gif and the following Amy Adams gif over at "the not! live blog of the 86th Academy Awards".

Even if Amy Adams wasn't a winner she can do a quick dance to keep the fun going.  Like Leo, she has been often nominated but never won at the Oscars.

twitter breaking selfie

The real winner of the night was Ellen. Her selfie that she asked viewers to tweet actually brought down twitter. She ordered in pizza for the Hollywood elite. She had the pizza guy on her TV show today. What I thought might happen apparently did. She said on her show that Harrison Ford sauced his shirt. So now Harrison and I have that in common. Getting laughs, bringing down twitter and messing Harrison Ford's shirt all in one night - she's the winner.

we all hustle to survive

Holy plunging neckline, “American Hustle” is a good movie. (does a neckline transform to something else when reaches far far from the neck? I mean I stopped looking at her neck instantly.)

We took in “American Hustle” at the matinee this weekend. It should win best picture (the only other nominee I’ve seen was “Gravity”). Now that’s just this fool’s opinion. Movies like other art is very subjective. The movie has been released for more than a month so there has been plenty of talk and buzz about it. I don’t care to see movies on their opening weekend. I dislike crowds.

The plot is based on the real ABSCAM story from the late 1970’s. There was a real con man who the FBI used in a large sting operation. So often truth is stranger than fiction. Of course they added a good amount of fiction to the story too. The twists and moving shifts in the character’s relationships kept me wondering who was scamming who. Who was going down and who would end up on top at the end. I guess in the end we all scam each other and ourselves at some level.

The creators pieced together perfect background music for the various scenes.  Ok the story takes place in the late 70’s, so the soundtrack appeals more to those that were adults (older teens) during that disco era. One of the best matches was the scene with Jennifer Lawrence whose character had just ratted on her cheating con-man husband singing “Live and Let Die” as she aggressively cleans. The scene focuses on her anger in a funny way. (my wife doesn’t sing while cleaning but if she ever started belting out this song, I would be hitting the road)

I found a site called what-song that not only lists the songs but a short description of the scene it was used it. From their list I discovered that the “White Rabbit” cover was done in Arabic by Mayssa Karaa. It was such a fit that I didn’t even notice it was being sung in a different language. The scene involved the mob meeting with the fake Sheik.


Finally, this movie refreshed street wisdom I tend to forget: 

Hustlers are found in both genders.

 

follow the fragmented road on friday

I’m off to read the wizard, the wonderful wizard of FF.

Grab your little dog (stuff animal will do), kick your scarecrow and snap at your local lion, it’s time to read FF posts, kids!

The FF wizard doesn’t live in Kansas anymore (don’t know if she ever did) but she probably knows a few good witches. I do know she has a little dog (don’t know about her ruby slippers).  Also it’s green around her place until it turns brown then white. After fighting the flying monkeys here, click your heels and go see Mrs. 4444 the FF wizard.

My Oz theme today came about because of a bad dream. Well ok, I did have a weird dream. Awhile ago a favorite post of mine (do you have favorites?) was messed up when I had to switch the site where I stored the pictures (do you mend your broken links?). The pictures in that old post were from Oz park in Chicago. So I thought why not use those missing pictures (I recovered them) as fragment dividers today.  I just know you'll like my idea.

Oyster crackers - Do you ever wonder about that name? Probably not. I do. I enjoy eating them in my soap or chili. Does anyone eat oysters with oyster crackers?

Just another observation - do you think there is a connection between “The Walking Dead” zombie show having a record number of viewers while our government was suffering a shutdown?

I think low-key is the missing key to having a relaxing time. Low key can save you money too. Maybe the best key was the roller skate type and they don’t make those anymore.

I'm still too young to be singing the blues. Goodbye yellow brick road. Oh I've finally decided my future lies beyond the yellow brick road. However, you can keep any of the horny back toads I happen to find.

remember my actor nephew

He is still at it.  His pursuit has to be harder than blogging.  Of course the reward potential is better in the entertainment industry.  Someone please tell me when blogging is added to the entertainment industry.  I like to think there is potential other than a free hat that I got for my blogging effort.

don't know if Justin got a free hat for starring in Petey

I first wrote about Justin back in May.  At the time he was in the final shooting of the movie Petey.  Petey was shown at a Charlotte NC film festival.  If you go to the web site for it you can buy the DVD (also watch the preview).  However, I have not heard (I'm sure I would have) if the movie had been picked-up by a distributor.

Well that Petey movie is old news now (to be young again and have things happening so quickly). Now Justin has moved on to another video/TV project. It's on kickstarter and if you never heard of that, don't think of the bar used on motorcycles before they had electric starters. No, it's a site that raises money for projects.





Door to Door the series has a FB page of course.  Justin actually did a summer of door-to-door sales once.  I thought he was nuts.  Good to see he is working on getting the most from that experience.

Blogging also allows one to make more from their experiences.  But, that idea is good for another post.

Justin's pursuits has me thinking of the movie the "Graduate".  Remember when some older guy (uncle maybe?) tells the graduate one word - plastics.  My one word today would be - nanotechnology.  However, the actor Dustin (rhymes with Justin) Hoffman did much better with acting than going into the plastics industry.

(full disclosure -  Justin's old uncle Lisleman only got post ideas from his nephew's acting work.  However if there are any Petey hats left - Christmas is coming up you know.)

premiere public screening Charlotte NC

Anyone remember the movie I wrote about last May? The one that my nephew, Justin is starring in. Anyone remember anything from last May?

My nephew, Justin is wearing the red shirt

I have a good update. The movie Petey will have it's premiere public screening this weekend (Aug 17) at the Halton Theater in Charlotte, NC.

I assume my nephew did not get a big advance on his starring role, since he is not flying me down to see it.

Here's an interview of him about his role. Interesting that he mentions Wisconsin. His formative years were there but he also spent time in KY and IL. I'm hoping the movie gets picked up and we will be able to see it locally. Also, as I mentioned in my post back in May, I'm hoping I could drive his car.

the blog abides

Hey Dude!

my "The Dude" picture

I was blog browsing today and noticed a picture that reminded of The Dude (Big Lebowski movie) on the blog, I Can't Believe I'm Not Bitter. The next thing, I find myself watching youtube clips from the movie. I have not watched the movie enough to memorize the script as some people do. Lebowski Fest

Strikes and gutters - that's Dude wisdom.

I thought of not using the above picture of myself since I just used it in a recent post. It is the most dude-looking picture I have. I don't want to appear narcissistic. As we know, a personal blog offers one's own view of the world.

After blogging for years you start noticing blogs going down like beer bottles at a Big Lebowski bowling tournament. A Few Clowns Short abides. I plan to persist and survive the onslaught of smartphones, facehooking and twitter.  I'm sure to have my share of strikes and gutters.

One thing The Dude and I disagree about is The Eagles. In the movie, The Dude gets thrown out of a cab for hating the Eagles. I would have appreciated the good music during a cab ride.

Way before the movie, Mott the Hoople, sang about All the Young Dudes.  Maybe I'm more of a boogaloo dude.

gingerbread and ginger baker

The grandkids were intensely watching Shrek 2 the other morning. (Why rent a new DVD when they have not gotten enough of the classics we own?)

I’ve watched bits and pieces of most of the Shrek series. Funny writing and voices. Hollywood learned long ago to throw adult jokes in kid movies. It just makes sense to entertain the adults in the audience too.

One scene that I caught while I was in the room gave me such a good laugh I needed to pause the movie and replay it. My granddaughter complained a little so she certainly didn’t “get the joke”. That’s good since it was an adult type joke.

In this scene the gingerbread man has the group’s attention and tells them,

“It looks like we're up chocolate creek without a Popsicle stick!”

Cracked me up.

The gingerbread man started me thinking of Ginger Baker of Cream fame. A great band a great drummer. I wonder if he was ever up a creek without his drum sticks.

knew him since he was a baby

You know that feeling? Why it seems like just yesterday I was helping him with his homework. I had helped him with math homework while he was in high school. I considered him excellent at math. I encouraged him to pursue math or engineering. My influence was limited as just an uncle. Who knows it might have backfired if he listened.

Now he's starring in a romantic comedy called "Petey".

My nephew, Justin is wearing the red shirt

When I first heard that my nephew, Justin, wanted to work in the movie industry I thought "Yeah right kid, I wanted to be a spy and later a rock star too." We had traveled up to his high school to watch him perform a Shakespeare play once. I think it was "Macbeth". After just doing a quick look-up on "Macbeth" I know it was that one because I remember the wicked wife character (wicked women - it's a warning kid). Justin starred in that performance too and he was good. But hey I'm no talent scout, movie agent. Occasionally I'll drop some money on a ticket. Often I just wait for the DVD.

Justin finished college picked up some part time jobs but kept his focus on his dream of working in the movie industry. I thought he might get his script picked up someday. I heard he had a few advertising gigs. This star role (He plays Petey if you didn't pick that up from the poster) really surprised me. I was surprised because I've never known a movie actor. I wish him success but I hope it doesn't come too fast.

Here's the web site about the movie with clips and behind the scenes photos - Petey the Movie

Oh, Justin, if you had time to read this during your busy shooting (I heard it's not completely finished) and promotion activities, remember me when you need some investment advice. And this movie thing goes really big - I can drive your car.



Full disclosure: I have not received any compensation for this movie recommendation although free passes would be most appreciated (Justin are you reading this?).

fragments from the edge of my mind

If you are a drive-by clicker who has never read a post here before don’t judge the whole blog by this post. Not all my posts are this good.

Escalating on an escalator or plunging with your plunger - it doesn’t matter. Get yourself over to Mrs. 4444’s blog for some fine fragments after finishing up mine.

Have you ever forgotten to remove your clothes before you step into the shower? 

I have never had that problem and I suspect most don’t. But have you gone downstairs wearing less than you needed or go outside with less than what the weather calls for? Many have had that experience. I sure have.  Is it logical then to conclude taking clothes off is more natural than putting them on?

hope this family can afford a lawn mower

Big things could be coming this year. We might sign a contract with General Motors.   Toyota might win the bidding.  Just don't know yet.

Buying a new car is always fun for the first few minutes.  A number of things must fall into place before this happens.  If you would like to send money to move it along let me know.

Things older couples do - reading newspaper articles out loud to each other. After one such incident our youngest adult daughter said, “after so many years of marriage you need a safeword to indicate ‘stop reading out loud I’m not interested’.”

Sydney heat wave joke; Australia is so hot, the dingo had to blow on my baby first.

“Lincoln” - the current movie with the British actor, Daniel Day-Lewis. 

We took in a matinee this week and both enjoyed it. My wife was so involved with the movie she quietly asked me to eat my popcorn during the loud parts. (I like think it’s because she was intently watching and not my horse chomping popcorn eating) Pay attention in this movie and you’ll learn that wheeling and dealing in politics is not new in Washington D.C.

We managed to see two of the oscar nominated movies so far. The other one, “Argo”, was also a great history based movie. One last comment on “Lincoln” - Tommy Lee Jones looked much much better in “Men In Black”.  Don't you think?

Oh one more thing. If you are reading this on Friday and it’s not too late in the day (Chicago time I have no idea of what time it is where you are at) my BIONIPT game is still open and you should jump in.

send lawyers, guns and a happymeal

Where are the riveting courtroom drama movies of years past?

"Presumed Innocent" 

"Erin Brockovich"  

"A Few Good Men"

"Kramer vs. Kramer" 

"Runaway Jury"

"Happymeal-gate"

Alright, the last one was never made into a movie. 

 
Years ago during some random clicking and link following I stumbled upon the Happymeal-gate story.

Happymeal-gate - are we ever going to get past the watergate thing?

Short story (a brief?) - Hot shot Chicago lawyer told a judge that she was

"a few French Fries short of a Happy Meal"

and he almost lost his license in that court. He was dropped by the client and probably (I'm guessing) a few fries short on his year-end bonus.

Hmm - wonder if he had used "a few clowns short of a circus" instead perhaps the judge would have let it go?

This could be a new version of that Warren Zevon song.
 

Send lawyers guns and a happymeal,
the Big Mac about to hit the fan.

fall fragments might freeze

But don’t cover your fragments up. I’m a little early on this Friday fragment post since I will doing guard guardian duty for a few grandkids the next few days. Be sure to check the fragments offered at the fragment hostess,  Mrs. 4444’s place.

Pumpkin spice smell reminds of pumpkin pie that my mom would make from scratch with the pumpkin guts left after carving. Scents are well known for producing memories which reminds me I should shower.

Our youngest daughter really got into carving one year. She did multiple pumpkins and bought a set of tools. I suspect she will be too busy this year since she started grad school. Here’s one pic below and a link to an older post.

Thinking of Halloween, (happens when I wake up and scare myself in the mirror) do you think the cycle of scary movies has run their course? In my opinion it peaked with “Halloween” in 1978. You just can’t kill that Michael Myers dude. When I first saw the movie I didn’t even think zombie. The bogeyman had been in my imagination long before this movie. That movie really heightened the scare level of a bogeyman (is there a bogeywoman? I mean we all have had a bad date or two right?)

I can remember TV without remotes. You actually had to walk up to the TV set and twist a knob. Our flat screen has hidden (black on black - what ergonomic designer had that brain crash of an idea?) buttons on the side. Do any of you go up to the TV to change a channel if you can’t find the remote?

Breaking Disney news (breaking as in breaking open some brew) - Disney offers beer. “tomorrowland” might need to be renamed “day-after-land”. Wow that wild ride threw me to the ground.

One last puzzling question that’s not on anyone’s mind before you browse away. Will the day come that you’ll hear rap music during music-on-hold periods? 

(proofreading provided by C. F. Eyecare)

she's leaving town

She was big here.

She will be gone next week.

They are not saying where she is going.

I took a few pictures of her last summer.  Great body, nice legs, pretty face.  At 26 feet, she towered over the place.  Here's a video clip I made of my pictures:

The front page of the Chicago Tribune had her picture and story about her time in the city.

An excerpt for that article:

"No matter what opinions people had about Mega-Marilyn as a work of art, it was rare to have a sculpture that could attract a crowd at any hour of the day or night," he said. "Even passing by late at night, I never saw her standing alone. And when someone tagged her leg with graffiti, there were actual expressions (of) outrage and indignation. There were definitely unusual forces at work in the way she was received by the public."

I would guess she is going another big city. She always struck me as a city girl. Would you want her coming to your city or one near you? (she very quiet)

friday fragments and freebird

As you fly into Friday, don’t flap your yap.

Wishin or bitchin, 

it don’t matter  

post it as Friday Fragments, 

you'll have comment flatter. 

Now after this post get over to Mrs. 4444’s place to check out the fragment chatter. Do you get extra points for rhyming in your FF post?

Now this is unusual for me. In addition to using the word dystopia, I saw a blockbuster movie on its opening weekend. I avoid crowds so I don’t mind waiting a week or two. I was the only one in our group seeing this dystopian thriller, “The Hunger Games” who had not read the book (they couldn’t wait). I enjoyed the movie but consider its level of violence too much for very young viewers. The violence is a main element of the plot so you should expect it.

Having seen the movie and knowing the Katniss character, today’s Chicago Tribune article about the “Katniss factor” made even more sense to me. Introductory archery classes have been packed recently and mostly by young women. I had not thought of the archery connection. Anyone know a good bow company? 

Movies and merchandising of course go together like Katniss’s arrow and squirrel. No surprise then that Mattel is releasing a new Barbie doll based on Katniss. I bet it could kick Ken’s ass.

Wondering about the freebird in the title? Ok, go back take a quick look. Now are you wondering about the “freebird” in the title? 

While down in the basement man cave, I hear my wife calling (note work on soundproofing) to alert me about something the neighbor had discovered in our downspout. What? I step out into the back yard to hear the bird-stuck-in-your-drain tale. As I’m being told the story, I restrain myself from asking why the neighbor is listening to our downspout. “What are you a weirdo downspout listener?” I want to ask but don’t. 

At first I figured it must be a chipmunk but in fact it was a bird. I tried a few different ideas to evacuate him but my bird negotiation knowledge is severely lacking. The sun would set in 30 minutes and the area was very muddy so after those failed attempts I did what I do best - procrastinate and think about it. 

Our daughter had an outside-of-the-box-thinking idea. Her suggestion which I tried was to place a light in the downspout to scare the bird to go out the other end. Sure it was an outside-of-the-box idea but it wasn’t an out of the drain one. I think the bird enjoyed a night light. 

The next morning I disconnected the downspout and drain pipe. I even stepped back and waited. Nothing but a little scratching around. I got a long stick and thought maybe I could push him out. No, but I was able to clean some debris from the pipe. I could see him and he was larger than I expected. I held the pipe down level and just waited. About a minute or so he jumped out. One jump and he was in the air. I don't think he even touched the ground first. Flew to a nearby tree and was gone. Freebird!

thanks Mrs. 4444's mom -  tossing money is fun

My last post offered a puzzle to solve. Here’s the explanation for those of you wanting to know: 

It's not a solution to an algebra type problem. Really it's just accounting confusion. Think politicians running a budget. The 3 guys did pay $9 each for a total of $27 but the store didn't get the whole $27. If you divide the people into two groups - 3 customers make one group (#1) and let the store and waiter make the other group (#2) you'll be able to account for all the money. Just locate the $30 after the money has been distributed - group #1 has $3 and group #2 has $27 - this totals $30. No missing money. 

(proofreading provided by C. F. Eyecare)