Better Living Through BloggingLatest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives Previous Post: What Did Brown Do For You? Whimsical PixPosted in: Forwarded to me earlier today by my buddy (and arch-nemesis!) George: two delightfully whimsical pictures (via worth1000). The third picture (the moo-cow silhouetted by the moon) was found on MSNBC.com by my kid sister and forwarded to me…I think that it was taken somewhere in Montana, but I can’t be certain. So - do you like ‘em? Which one is your favorite? Oh - and of course, click to see larger view.
posted by david CommentsAdd a comment:Previous Post: What Did Brown Do For You? Previous Post: Home Is Where The Links Are What Did Brown Do For You?Posted in: Nick@Nite recently began airing what might be politely termed a “modern” classic (as opposed to a true classic): a horrible little series called “Murphy Brown.” I understand that Nick@Nite & TVLand exist to preserve our television heritage, but including the Murphy Brown show is just terrible. Don’t get me wrong – the two or three episodes that I watched had a few humourous moments, and the characters were exaggerated out of normal proportions – two critical factors in creating a successful sitcom. But here’s where Murphy Brown lost me: it was supposed to be about a “serious” journalism outfit in arguably the most cut-throat market of all, Washington DC and the politics therein. And the crew of the Murphy Brown was nothing more than WJM set in DC – which is why it didn’t work. I can believe the Lou Grant, the Ted Baxter, the Mary Richards characters putting out a daily news program in a small studio in the smaller market of Minneapolis, and all of the flubs and personalities involved. But what I can’t buy is that same wacky crew operating out of DC and futzing around with Senators, Secretaries, and other VIPs. The creators of Murphy Brown reached too far, and fell flat. I"ve gotta call this a “strike” by Nick@Nite…and when coupled with their airing of “Full House,” I’m beginning to lose respect for N What next – resurrecting “Out Of This World?”
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Home Is Where The Links Are Previous Post: Napoleon Bonaparte Home Is Where The Links ArePosted in: A long, long time ago, I used my customized Excite page as my homepage when firing up the ole browser…but since I began blogging and putting the links that I really use every day on my own site, I’ve been using my blog as my homepage (roughly since 2001). I assumed that many bloggers do the same, but an uber-blogger of my acquaintance told me last week that she uses FoxNews as her homepage. So I’m curious – what do YOU use as your default homepage?
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Napoleon Bonaparte Previous Post: Bloggify Napoleon BonapartePosted in:
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Bloggify Previous Post: Channel Funnies BloggifyPosted in: “…they bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say let ‘em crash.” “…the bought their computers, they knew what they were getting into. I say let’em blog.”
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Channel Funnies Previous Post: Pity The City Channel FunniesPosted in: Right now on channel 24 (USA): The Skulls II. Right now on channel 25 (AMC): The Skull The movies have no relationship to each other.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Pity The City Previous Post: RIP, Baker’s Larkspur Pity The CityPosted in: What the hell did the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin ever do to be dragged into the idiotic, moronic, pathetic Cortislim commercials? Poor Green Bay residents…having to listen to “Dr” Greg Cynaumon compare the entire population of their fair city to the suckers who have bought the snake-oil that he hawks.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: RIP, Baker’s Larkspur Previous Post: My Favorite Quote RIP, Baker’s LarkspurPosted in: You know, if a certain plant grows only in one very specific, isolated piece of real-estate (it “is found in only one place in the world – near a road in western Marin County")…and attempts to grow it elsewhere always fail, then maybe it’s time to file the fate of this plant under “Survival Of The Fittest: NO” and just let it go already. I’ll admit – it is a pretty plant (flower?), but there are lots of other pretty plants out there.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: My Favorite Quote Previous Post: POTUS: The Visit My Favorite QuotePosted in: Quite an experience, seeing the President. Much more enjoyable and exciting than I realized. President Bush is a good man, and his ease and mannerisms in front of the large crowd was great. Many good things were said, and the audience roared with approval many times. I’ll post more later, but I want to point out my favorite part of the speech:
The President said that just after reiterating what he has said before about how important prayer is in his daily life; of course, the audience roared with approval about prayer. I was the only person of the thousands in the arena who clapped specifically at the above quote, though. I’m glad that he said it, and I believe that he believes it. His father’s thoughts on the subject still anger me, so I’m glad that W understands that you don’t have to *believe* to be a patriot and an American. Full text of the President’s conversation right here.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: POTUS: The Visit Previous Post: Ugh POTUS: The VisitPosted in: Live, in-person, one appearance only…President George W. Bush visits Great Falls, Montana on Thursday, February 3rd, 2005! And I’ve got a ticket! I’m not sure why we can’t bring cell-phones into the arena, though.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Ugh Previous Post: 100 Years UghPosted in: Just caught Janeane Garofalo on MSNBC’s “After Hours.” Absolutely disgusting. Where she was once merely annoying…she is now officially an idiot. Her rant was nearly incomprehensible…and her mocking of Senators, other SotU attendees, and regular folks for raising blue-inked fingers was just sickening. She wasn’t able to articulate one single alternative to anything that she railed against…she could only rant and foam at the mouth about how the President lied about WMD in Iraq. Um…Janeane, I think that the “there were no WMDs!” argument pretty much went down in flames back in November. The wacky progressives and liberals should really, really try to come up with something palatable and intelligent, lest they slide even farther into obsolescence. It is waaaay past time for the ABB crowd to Move On. Oh…and where Garofalo at one time maintained some semblance of at least pretending to be moderately attractive, she now looks quite…distasteful. As if she’s gone a few too many days without bathing. Ugh.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: 100 Years Previous Post: All At Once 100 YearsPosted in: Today, February 2, marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ayn Rand. A roundup of some references that I have made here at BLTB over the last 4+ years…Rand on Marilyn Monroe…Scholastic competition re: Rand’s fiction…Possible casting for a big-screen adaptation (or mini-series) of “Atlas Shrugged"…My entry from last year (also prompted by Mark!)…Why did the Randian-inspired chicken cross the road?…Yes, there is an Ayn Rand Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (heh)…A quote from Gail Wynand that is with me every day Elsewhere – Mark has some words of wisdom, and be sure to check out Mark’s newest site: Randex: indexing online news articles related to Ayn Rand and Objectivism…and as I’ve noted before, Objectivists are not completely lacking in humor, despite the stereotype. Finally, I’ll leave you with a link to The Atlasphere, which is sort of a virtual “Galt’s Gulch,” in some respects…and the Ayn Rand Meta-Blog contains some great links to articles about the 100th anniversary.
posted by david CommentsAdd a comment:Previous Post: All At Once Previous Post: Meow Update All At OncePosted in: Of all the features that WordPress has, I think that my absolute favorite is the one that allows you to “Invert Textbox Selection.” It is a thing of beauty and joy.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Meow Update Previous Post: Meow Meow UpdatePosted in: The CowCat is home! They kept her all day and attempted to get a “clean” urine sample from her, but The CowCat is too clever for them – every time they brought the needle near her, she would promptly evacuate her bladder in the cage. And then she got a bath, which, coupled with her blown feathers from sheer terror, made quite a fluffy, wet little mess in her cage. The tentative diagnosis is some sort of UTI/bladder infection, as most of you already figured. So we’re home now with some oral meds, some prescription food that contains less “ash” (?), and one very frazzled CowCat. I passed on all of your best wishes, and she (and me!) very much appreciates it. Thanks, gang.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Meow Previous Post: Seems Like Old Times MeowPosted in:
I miss my CowCat.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Seems Like Old Times Previous Post: Boy-Are-Dee-Licious! Seems Like Old TimesPosted in: Caught the last 45 minutes of “Seems Like Old Times” on Sunday night (TCM)…what a delight! Haven’t seen it in several years. One of the last true great Romantic Comedies of the last several decades…right up there with “Chances Are.” So many classic scenes, lines, and facial expressions. Chevy Chase has never been better, fumbling his way through a situation beyond his control, and Goldie Hawn is perfect as the do-gooder public defender. Charles Grodin is in his element as a slightly befuddled – but always “in control” – DA. The dinner scene is priceless – Chester getting drunk, the Governor being very calm (because he’s the Governor, after all), Ira punching out Nick, Nick punching out Ira…it’s just great. Also: you may notice that one of the two goons (see picture above) who forced Nick to rob the bank is played by the same actor who portrayed “Mickey” the convict in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.” Good stuff…great movie.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: Boy-Are-Dee-Licious! Previous Post: More Name Fun Boy-Are-Dee-Licious!Posted in:
As near as I can tell, there are no strict membership requirements, no monthly fees, no blood oaths to uphold the honor of The Chef, so I figure it might be kinda fun to join.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: More Name Fun Previous Post: A Rose By Any Other Name More Name FunPosted in: I’m sure many of you are familiar with the old joke about villians from the James Bond movies that goes something like this…what do you get when you cross Oddjob and Blofeld? Blo-job! Well, I thought of another one…what do you get when you cross Pussy Galore and Plenty O’Toole?
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Add a comment:Previous Post: A Rose By Any Other Name Previous Post: “Power Ballads” A Rose By Any Other NamePosted in: For some reason, I wondered a few days ago if there is anybody with the last name of “Schitt.” A quick search revealed that there is indeed.
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Add a comment:Previous Post: “Power Ballads” Previous Post: Big Sky Bloggers “Power Ballads”Posted in: Over at MoFi there’s a discussion about Nightranger, and there’s an interesting comment…berncockle points out that the biggest hits of the following bands are, in fact, the “power ballads” referenced below: Night Ranger – Sister Christian Well, those may have been the most commercially succesful hits of each group, but I couldn’t stand any of them (with one exception, years after the fact). The whole purpose of 80s pop-rock was to be loud, clear, and strong! NightRanger’s best song is, unquestionably, “You Can Still Rock In America.” Fast, clean, and patriotic – how could any child of the 80s NOT love this anthem? Alternately, you can also choose “When You Close Your Eyes,” which is pretty energetic too. But “Sister Christian” and “Sentimental Street?” Ack. The only thing that makes me able to tolerate listening to “Sister Christian” is knowing how much it means to Michele. Seriously – between roughly 1988 and finding Michele’s site in 2002, I didn’t even think of that song once, but now I’m hypnotized whenever I hear it on the radio, knowing that it holds a special place in the heart of so many bloggers. And Journey – jeebus, “Open Arms” has got to be one of the sappiest tunes every recorded. Except for “Who’s Crying Now” or “Faithfully” or any number of other soft-songs from Journey. Looking through the discography, you might be surprised to realize how few rocking songs they actually recorded in relation to the number of sappy songs they recorded. If you’re going to appreciate Journey, you must eschew this pap and instead embrace something a bit more lively…perhaps “Don’t Stop Believing,” or “Just The Same Way,” or even “Wheel In The Sky.” But if you must listen to a ballad-like Journey tune, you simply have to opt for “When The Lights Go Down In The City.” Foreigner? Please. Early Foreigner is pure classic rock–"Double Vision” and “Women” and “Dirty White Boy” and “Feels Like The First Time” are legendary, and even into the 80s Foreigner still knew how to rock with tunes like “That Was Yesterday.” And then…then…"I’ve Been Waiting For A Girl Like You” comes along, and the end is near. Follow that up with an “irresistible” ballad like “I Want To Know What Love Is,” and any street-cred that Foreigner had earned throughout the years is instantly gone. Poof. Disappeared. Thankfully, Lou Gramm soldiered on with a passable Top 40 hit shortly after that called “Midnight Blue,” but Foreigner as we knew it was gone. REO Speedwagon presents an interesting dilemma. With Kevin Cronin doing lead vocals, it’s hard to take anything released by REO seriously. None of their songs can be considered truly classic rock tunes…and their ballads were simply awful. Again, it comes back to Cronin’s voice – it just don’t rock. In defense of REO Speedwagon, however, the title of this album is whimsical enough to make me not hate the band completely. Now to the Scorpions. I don’t think the Scorpions fall into the same category as any of the other bands on the list above; they were very much more intense and way less pop-like than the others. Not quite heavy-metal, but certainly hard rock tinged with metal overtones. But Scorpions ballads were positively awful…drawn-out, whining, wailing disasters. The Scorpions should have stuck to precisely what made them so good: stuff like “Can’t Live Without You” and “Blackout.” Don’t waste your time on the Scorpions website, though – you’ll likely suffer a bout of vertigo and/or motion sickness and/or simple confusion. Poison, Motley Crue, Warrant, and Cinderella – nope, they don’t ring a bell. I’ve heard of Motley Crue, and I think that I know one or two of their songs ("Looks That Kill” I think?), but I couldn’t name any other songs by these bands. I think that they came on the scene after I had completely dropped out of the “rock” mode and slipped into Big Band, Swing, Jazz, and American Standards. And as for Kansas…wait a minute, KANSAS? How did Kansas get lumped into this group? Oh – and noticeably absent from the original list is Loverboy. They started strong – “The Kid Is Hot Tonight” and “Turn Me Loose,” for instance, and even somehow making “Hot Girls In Love” sound almost rocking. And then, inexplicably, Loverboy turned into ballad-wimps with “This Could Be The Night,” followed by the dreadful duet “Almost Paradise,” which although not quite a Loverboy single, can still be blamed on Loverboy. Whew. So there you go. The bottom line here is to avoid the “power ballads” of 80s bands – go straight for the good stuff, people.
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And Loverboy . . what about “Working For The Weekend"?
The KISS pandas are my favorite.
Comment by Penda February 8, 2005 @ 8:03 am
I like the first two better (Kiss cows the best actually) but since I “submitted” the third, I feel obliged to vote for that one
Comment by sis February 8, 2005 @ 8:24 am
Kiss Pandas kind of steal the show!
Comment by Babs February 8, 2005 @ 2:27 pm
You know, that third one has all the makings of a great carving on a pumpkin…I bet you could make a stencil from that pic…
VZ
Comment by vikingzen February 8, 2005 @ 2:58 pm