a fragment followed me in here

Quick shut the door behind you. Those fragments have gotten nasty over the summer.
If you have fragments buzzing your head, dump them into a post and link up over at Mrs. 4444s blog in the woods.

buzz me

Consumers stockpiling cash - These words were used in a recent stock market article I perused. Oh sure people have been known to stockpile stuff. Doesn’t the word imply that the item being piling up is a stock of something? Like a stockpile of crackers, peanuts or beer (Tony Bennett singing My Favorite Things just popped up in my head. Too early for Christmas?). If you have a stockpile of dollars and coins you should probably invest it. The stockpile should be called an investment. The article specifically called out checking accounts. Unlike before the great recession of 2008, those accounts now offer about zilch in interest. That being the case I guess the term investment is not very accurate. However, if you’re holding extra cash for emergency funds then call it a buffer/insurance for possible emergencies. That sounds like good planning not stockpiling. Do you think stockpiling is the best term to use?

Ok, writing even a short fragment about savings and investments is boring. No wonder people find investing difficult. Bored out of their minds they lose interest (both types).

some days I just want to

Has this ALS Ice Bucket Challenge run its course yet? It has been reported that our granddaughter has been giving ice bucket challenges to her stuff animals. I asked her (not yet 3 yrs old) about the ice bucket challenge the other day.  She proceeded to grab a little cup and pretending it has ice water, tipped it on her head, and laughed.

Record amounts of donations for a great cause and many refreshed cooled off people, but you know how these overdone fads get to be annoying. Remember that Korean star with his dance song, Gangnam Style? Or the Harlem Shake? (there were no set moves in that right?)

I confess that after practice and a few drinks I enjoyed trying the Macarena.

Another pic from our recent road trip

Hairs on my keyboard, smudges on my screen. Could that be the start of an urban cowboy song? I still use a keyboard with real keys that move.  Tapping screen keys just doesn't do it.  If I was older I would probably long for the click-clack of a typewriter.

No matter how hot and humid it becomes, I remind myself it is still room temperature in my house.

my ship coming in

The other day Unknown Mami of San Fran blog fame mentioned the use of Getty Images. They sell their images for $$$, but you can embed a selection of them. So I tried out their free non-commercial embed feature.

#454184031 / gettyimages.com

A few shots, photoshop and magic!

#140355528 / gettyimages.com

Now what type of job does this pretty lady have?  Nice European looking office.  Oh I know, she is a model.

Writing my boring stockpiling fragment put me in a Tony Bennett mood. I’ll leave this clip here so I can listen to Tony while I read your comments.  There will be comments right?

don't leave a message after the beep

What the beep?  Is voice mail dead?

We still have our voice mail on our landline which I know is another thing fading away.  Ages ago back in the dial-up modems (look it up kids I'm not going to explain it) days, I switched to a system where the phone company hosts the voice mail.  You might recall that incoming calls could disrupt your modem connection.  Having the phone company host the voice mail solved that problem.

In today's Chicago Tribune (yes we still get a real tree killing paper) there was an article about voice mail.  The author didn't like it anymore and would rather people sent a text or email.  Most all cellphone plans come with voice mail.  Today I probably get more texts than voice mail messages.

So say I were to try to contact you, would you be annoyed if I left a voice mail?  Oh wait a minute, I need to reword that question.  So say someone who you like to talk to (assuming you still know how to talk on the phone) left you a voice mail, would you be annoyed?

I noticed blimps are back again. 

Let’s not split hairs

Back in my streaking days, a hairy chest was an asset. (Warning: The post you are about to read contains Lisleman’s distortions and speculations. The truth is out there, I just don’t know where.) I did a little streaking on fishing trip to Canada once. Well sorta, the cabin didn’t have indoor plumbing and I needed a rinse. (discovered the lake had more rocks that I thought)

Back then, a shaved head on a twenty something young man would have looked very odd. The only ones I remember were on Hare Krishna guys chanting in their orange robes. Times change. I don’t think anyone would disagree that each generation creates different likes and dislikes especially when it comes to appearances.

My last post had a youtube clip of the Bee Gees. Just one image was shown while their song played. Here’s the picture of the trio from downunder. 

Imagine those guys with shaved heads? Would their muscular hairy chests alone give you a Saturday night fever?

(yes I know just the hair alone doesn't do it. Trim, tan, good voice, blogging talents, etc.)

In the comments on the last post, I wrote:

“...However, as I look at the picture on this video clip I think those hairy chests just seem too much. As in too much like an ape. Well I guess it's better than tattoos…”

Whoa, I just hit two current popular eye candy items in one comment. Well maybe I did, but then maybe I didn’t. Are hairy chests as popular now as they were during the Bee Gees top charting days?

I found a report on a study that says the hair is not so popular. Yeah, if you look hard enough you find a study that says most anything. I just wish I could get a piece of that study grant money. According to this news report on the study, 80% prefer a smooth skin chest.

What do you prefer?

Next time, the bling or the blog make the man?

a blog with no name

This year, I have had more parodies circling my brain than ever before. I do enjoy a good parody. Laughter is an emotion you know.  Emotions go good with music.

There are two problems with my parody efforts. One, I can't sing. I can only carry a tune if I have my I-pod in my pocket. Second, being old I tend to parody older rock classics. I suspect that doesn't work as well with younger listeners.

Oh well, I can’t sing. I ain’t pretty and my legs are thin. Don’t ask me what I think of you. I might not give the answer you want me to. Now that we have that cleared up lets get on with the parody. It’s a gold record from the 70’s (thanks and sorry America).

(guitar strumming - click the youtube clip below if you want background music)

On the first part of the journey, 
I was looking at all the pics. 
There were chat rooms, and apples and things, 
There was video and a cat that sings. 
The first thing I used, was modem with buzz, 
And the screen, with no clouds. 
The PC was hot, and loading was slow, 
But the site was full of sound.

I've been through the internet on a blog with no name, 
It felt good to be out of the same. 
On the internet you can forget your name, 
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no claim. 
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la

After two nights, the internet spun, 
My eyes began to turn red. 
After three nights, in the facebook fun, 
I couldn’t make it to my bed. 
And the story it told, of a comment that flowed, 
Made me sad to think it was from Fred.

You see I've been through the internet on a blog with no name, 
It felt good to be out of the same. 
On the internet you can forget your name, 
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no claim. 
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la

After nine nights, I let the blog run free, 
'Cause the internet had turned on me. 
There were rants and tweets, and clicks and things,
There was text and a cat with blings. 
Facebook is a desert, with its life underground, 
And a perfect disguise above. 
Under the pages lies, a heart made to pound, 
But twitter will give no love.

You see I've been through the internet on a blog with no name, 
It felt good to be out of the same. 
On the internet you can forget your name, 
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no claim. 
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la



More?  want more?  really?  check out this other parody I posted. 

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Will Mother Goose make it through the social media world of today?
Should those rhymes continue unchanged?

I'm surprised Mick can still jump at all.

Certainly not in a flash.

The world and culture has changed. Jack and Jill's story sounds like a report of child labor and workman’s comp. Besides most everyone has plumbing with running water. Children today could better relate to a Brita filter than fetching water with a bucket.

Peter, that pumpkin eater (have you ever called anyone a pumpkin eater? is that an insult?) would certainly be convicted of spousal abuse in today’s courts.

New parents, don’t be rocking your babies on treetops. The wind will blow and your lawsuit against the cradle maker will be thrown out of court since I’m sure their warning label warns you not to place unattended babies in treetops.

Oh and those dudes in the tub - the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker

• The butcher sold his business and became a vegan.
• The baker lost his apron trying to cash-in on the short lived muffin top craze.
• The candlestick maker was sued after Jack jumped over the candlestick and burned his ass. (see the candlestick inadequate warning label)

Don McLean told us in “American Pie” that:

Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend.

Thinking of updates, here’s an updated version of that “American Pie” song.


 

twerking lessons

Act now!  Be the first to twerk on your block.
It's better than pole dancing, no equipment needed. 

you'll be exhausted after my twerk lesson

Seriously, if you have read any posts here before you probably know I would be as likely to offer twerking lessons as write reviews of the VMA show. MTV and I were never close. About the closest I ever came to MTV was its reference in a favorite song, “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits. “I want my MTV!”

Actually I don’t want any MTV or cable programming anymore. Dropping cable TV was a good move. I get all I need from broadcast channels and the internet.

Slight tangent - Cheryl posted a funny “review” of the VMA show. Here’s a link.

Twerking - I first noticed that word show up on a suggested youtube video list. Beyonce can twerk well. Miley? I didn’t watch her twerking except for the few clips on the internet. Her twerk sure was tweeted. From the little I’ve seen and read, her tongue should have been tweeted off the stage. What’s with the dog tongue? Twerking does not require your tongue to exit the inside of your mouth.

Two small bits of news on twerking (a Lisleman’s newsdesk rehash of stuff found on the web) 

• Twerk has a good chance of being included in the next Oxford dictionary. 
• These senior ladies have a twerk viral video going for them.
  

I never would have believed I would saying this back then.  But oh, I long for the days of a simple Macarena.  I want my, I want my, I want my Macarena.

Can’t tweet my feeling of you

Wise men say only fools post on blogs. Really what would a dead Elvis know about blogging? I’m not doing another parody with an Elvis cover. I did that once. Remember you’ve lost that linky feeling?

Today I’m picking on/messing up/wasting your time on the Frankie Vallie song, “Can't Take My Eyes Off You” which is the ultimate stalker song. Remember the Jersey Boys musical? That great musical introduced their music to a whole new generation. (oh this parody is evidence that I should never buy an I-phone)

not many pics of me on stage so just go with it

You're just too good to be true
Can't take my finger off of you
You'd be like heaven to touch
I wanna tweet with you so much
At long last I-phone has arrived
And I thank Apple it’s alive
You're just too good to be true
Can't take my finger off of you

Pardon my walk while I stare
In my hand I read text from the air
The text you leave fills a week
Texting, no more need to speak
So if you retweet my tweets
Please let me know if you eat meats
You're just too good to be true
Can’t tweet my feeling of you

chorus: 
I love twitter and if it’s quite all right
I need twitter to warm the lonely nights
I love twitter, trust in me when I text
Oh pretty twitter, don't bring me down I tweet
Oh pretty twitter, now that I've found you sweet
And let me love you twitter, let me love you

You're just too good to be true
Can’t tweet my feeling of you
You'd be like heaven to tweet
I wanna hashtag you so sweet
At long last love has a link
I thank twitter I don’t think
You're just too good to be true
Can’t tweet my feeling of you 

trend spotter

The future is around the bend, out of sight. The trend of the road on this bend is a right curve but unless you’ve been down this road more than twice, how do you predict the next change in direction.

Time and money is spent everyday on the task of trend spotting. Knowing what the next big thing will be, can make you some money. Blogging was even a trend once.

I’ve been surprised by many trends, from tattoos to twitter. I’m no trend spotter. My prediction of coming out of this bend in the road onto a nice straight gradual climb could be totally wrong. Instead I will find myself skidding into the bridge-out barricade.

Smartphone usage certainly became a trend in recent years. Do you remember back at the turn of the century (why does that sound like I’m referring to 1900? The last turn was 2000) and the market for the PDA (if you forgot or just missed it - Personal Digital Assistant)? It looked like a trend back then. It didn’t last. Many of the functions moved into smartphones. One feature that worked well on my Microsoft PDA was the handwriting recognition. I don’t understand why that stylus writing technique doesn’t show up in smartphones.

The reason I started rambling on about trends (rambling is not a trend but a habit of mine) is I just read an opinion that said DVDs are out and streaming will replace DVD watching. I don’t think so. My Blue-ray player is not that old and I sure hope to watch more movies with it. However, I have used the streaming feature on the player too.
 
What do I know, I often play music on a CD player.

breaker breaker what’s your 20

Blogging - will it become the next CB radio?

If you drove the US highways much in the 1970’s you probably had a CB radio or at least knew about them.  I remember borrowing one once for a road trip.

Similar to blogging, some people got deep into it and others just dabbled with it a bit.  CB radio even shared the broadcast feature of twitter but with a much more limited range.

I suspect twitter, Facebook, and Google+ has reduced and will keep reducing the blog traffic.  While thinking about this, I did a little searching of CB radio and found a long list of CB slang on wikipedia. 

CB radio has more terms than blogging.  Here’s a few “good” ones:

• "Zipper" –  painted dashed line dividing lanes
• "Steak on the Grill" / "Put a steak on the grill" – to hit a cow.
• "Seat Cover" – an attractive female passenger in a vehicle.
• "How many candles are you burning?" – Asking how old someone is.
• "Four Wheel Phone Booth" – Someone using a cell phone while driving.
• "Alice in Wonderland" – Someone who is lost or seeking directions

Any of you using CB radio?


Alice in Wonderland just put a steak on the grill.

another circus 

Friday Fragment Fuzz

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--

Of cabbages--and kings--

- Lewis Carroll

Too bad the Walrus didn't know about Mrs. 4444's Friday Fragments.  She offers a collection of posts talking about many things or as some would say, fragments.

Easily distracted - I didn’t used to be. I had great focus and concentration. I remember focusing on tough math or engineering problems in college. No more. I’m lucky to remember I’m making a sandwich after the toast pops.

⇐⇓⇔⇑⇒

Does the following mean I need to workout at a gym?

L.A. Fitness' poll for Body of the Year (I didn’t know they had a Body of the Year poll.  Did you?  Do they need to pay Playboy royalties for this?)

Winning female - Helen Mirren (funny that the headline didn’t even mention the male winner)

Winning male - David Beckham (I had to read the article for that info)

You know you are getting old when a few of the names on the list are completely unknown to you. Who is Cheryl Cole? (number 5)

One more observation on this - L.A. Fitness, an American company does a poll and most of the top ranked people are British (what's with that).

⇐⇓⇔⇑⇒

President Obama turned the big 5-oh this week. He came home to Chicago (which he has not visited very often during his term) for his birthday and I believe his gift wish is campaign contributions. My favorite Chicago Tribune columnist, Mary Schmich, used his birthday as reason to write about life’s odometer clicking off 50. I like the advice she ended with:

One of the gifts of 50 is coming to understand that however old you get, the age that came before will one day seem very young.

⇐⇓⇔⇑⇒

There are and always will be life mysteries I don’t understand. I probably over think too often. Here’s one - baby showers needing a theme. 

Doesn’t the name of the party - baby shower - just provide you with all the theme you need? Did you notice it contains the word ‘baby’. 

Oh and one more point on this subject, weird baby-looking cakes. Really? Does anyone really enjoy cutting up a baby-looking cake? Maybe I could start a new business selling “Bambi” cakes to hunters.

⇐⇓⇔⇑⇒

New definition - context - texting from a con man.

⇐⇓⇔⇑⇒

Bit of blogger news - 

The Original Bean is having beans. 

That would be my headline if I were to need one.

Jene has a fine blog and running shoes. However the running stuff and the other stuff (child, life, work, music, stories, prime numbers, the typical stuff) are going to be separated into two blogs. Check out her focused on stuff blog today.

⇐⇓⇔⇑⇒

I’m not egotist. But some of my comments pretend to be, especially if they are taken out of context (no not a text from a con). I really didn’t mean your post was less interesting than the toast that just popped up. Damn where is the butter?

egg on face

Let’s not beat around the bush (but beat those eggs), Easter is almost here and people are getting eggcited.

I don’t want to stir up a hornet’s nest out on a limb, or skate on thin ice (still kinda cold here). At times around certain people I feel like I’m walking on eggs.

As the years pass I occasionally pick up some knowledge and a trace of wisdom. One thing (why I think diversity is good) I’ve noticed is how different religions and cultures have many common things and yet some odd customs and beliefs. Given the combination of sweets and eggs that have produced chocolate eggs, why don’t we find the chocolate Jesus more popular?  Also, (maybe I should write a Cardinal) I think communion at church would be more popular if the communion host was chocolate covered.

I just learn this year that bread is destroyed before the Jewish Passover (purge chametz). Symbolizing the many aspects of life with common daily objects and food can get a little confusing as the many different cultures come together in today’s world.

As I was researching around the web about Easter, bunnys, and eggs. I learned that hares and rabbits are different. Similar but different.  I should stop splitting hairs.

A recent comment by Mrs. 4444 started me thinking (dangerous at times) about the message in “Jesus Christ Superstar” musical/movie. Here’s a youtube clip and part of the lyrics:

You'd have managed better
If you'd had it planned
Now why'd you choose such a backward time
And such a strange land?


If you'd come today
You could have reached the whole nation
Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication

The Chicago Tribune has finished they annual peep diorama contest. I like this “peepmares” one the best.

Do you think someday in the future, peeps will replace colored eggs at Easter?

Have a Happy Easter, Passover, Good Friday, Spring Fertility, and/or fill-in-the blank Festival.

comment to the fourth power

A comment about comments about comments or comments cubed.  I guess this comment makes it comment to the fourth power.  Ok, what I'm struggling with here is the power of comments.  Maybe 'power' not the right word.  Let's say, the effect of comments.

Comments = sharing

Now what is being shared can be thoughtful, inspiring, hurtful, anger, humor, or any assortment of emotions and opinions.  I like the positive and/or humorous ones the best.  You probably do too.  Even if the comment is the blogosphere version of a smile or friendly glance that's better than no comment.  But we don't always want to smile.

I was thinking of using a new comment system but I'm not sure it would be better for the readers.

One favorite blogger, Unknown Mami, (funny as time goes on she is becoming more and more known) has taken comments to a new level, maybe even an art form.  She's been thinking outside of the comment box and becoming a comment diva.
 

She remembers (collects?) her comments and makes a post from them. I must also tell you about alantru over at sickdays. His last post now has 535 comments - it's alive!  So comments are big in the blogosphere.

So maybe you don't think about it but I am asking for your comment.  Most bloggers are asking for your comment.