Dog Gone South

Do you remember the Colonel on the Bugs Bunny cartoons? The old Southern gent, all dressed up in a white suit, with a white handlebar mustache? He would proudly saunter out onto the large porch of his plantation, & bellow out: "Oh, Belvedere, come HEEEEEREEE boy!"

From some distant point on the plantation, along would come bolting his enthusiastic pup-- Belvedere. Every time, the dog would knock the old man over, licking his face violently. It was very cute. Click on the mp3 link......
http://www.nonstick.com/sounds/Colonel_and_Belvedere/ltco_003.wav

Al Gore Wins the Nobel Prize

Fellow Americans, We could have had this man as our president, a great thinker and American hero. Instead, we chose a person who's barely read three books in his life. So much for looking down on "elitist intellectuals." I'll take an intelligent, well spoken but 'stiff' candidate over an inarticulate 'back-slapping good old boy' any day. American will pay for this error for years to come..... Red states, you were duped.....

The Three Stooges

I hated the 3 Stooges in 5th grade. That's all the boys would talk about each day. The girls all rolled their eyes, even me. It was, "Sooooo stupid." There's definitely some brain and/or developmental gap between girls and boys at this age. I can attest to this fact, after some years of experience being around 5th, 6th graders.

I didn't get to appreciate the 3 Stooges until much later in life. Now I find a place where, for 10 minutes or so, the world can be a very silly place where pies are thrown and proper ladies lose face (literally). How many times did one of the 3 Stooges get to say, "Why you........."

Here below is a classic slap-stick comedy scene--- the pie fight. It proves there IS a perfect moment to throw a pie.

Hail to the 3 Stooges-- American icons. Their comedy provided solace to Depression Era and World War II America, and then, in re-runs, generations of younger Americans.

Teen Talk

I remember writing coded messages to friends in junior high. We would make symbols stand for words. Of course only a chosen few knew the code.
We didn't have cell phones back then. Just paper folded up into neat shapes. But the motivation was just the same. Keep those nasty adults and everyone else that's not cool away from OUR business-- our business that's so INCREDIBLY dramatic & deathly important.
Can you read the following message, in teen speak text messaging? (perhaps there's a few 20 somethings that can decipher the note too)

WU TOY W/E WYGOWM? ZZZ CU

*****Translation for the middle-aged, parents/ teachers, old farts, others
"What's up? Thinking of you. Whatever. Will you go out with me? I'm bored. See you."

Nora, The Cat That Plays the Piano

We featured Toonces, the driving cat, earlier. Now it's time for Nora-- the cat that takes piano lessons.. I was doing a search for scenes from my favorite movie, "The Piano," on YouTube, when I came across this video of Nora. She's an older gray and white fluffy feline, with that matronly paunch. Her huntress days are over, so she's taken up a new hobby. Watch! Long, but amazing.....

What are words for?

Ever since I've moved, I feel like a missing person. Thought about this song. It's SO eighties. For example, why is the lead singer wearing a giant computer chip around her waist? Why is her hair white and blue? Why does she sing and talk like she's locked in the fifth dimension?
"Before I'll pullllllllllllalllll the plug......"

Repose

Settling in after a long day of scratching, napping, sniffing, eating, pooping, looking out the window, trotting around, exploring, and plopping....

Doggy Tricks

Click on the website below and command this adorable puppy to do a few tricks. If he doesn't understand you, he tells you so in so many barks and yips.
http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

DogTown

My friend LT recently hiked in Dogtown, Gloucester, MA. She offers a brief history below, and several photographs. Especially interesting in Dogtown are the boulders carved with sayings of the Puritan bend. So New England.... Undoubtedly if you follow these principles you can't go wrong leading a decent life....

"Dogtown is a "ghost town" up in Gloucester Massachusetts. It offers a nice 2 hour easy hike in the woods... According to Wikipedia, Dogtown was "settled, beginning in 1693, because its inland location afforded protection from pirates and from enemy navies... after the conclusion of the War of 1812 and its attendant risk of coastal bombardment, most farmers moved away from Dogtown... Many of the widows of sea-goers and soldiers who never returned kept dogs for protection and company. As these last inhabitants died their pets became feral and wild, roaming the moors and howling, thus the name "DOGTOWN" was born.

The Babson Boulders at Dogtown are a "must see" - the legacy of Roger Babson who commissioned unemployed stonecutters during the Great Depression." LT

Little Rock Nine

Fifty years ago this month Elizabeth Eckford made a long and lonely walk in front of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was part of the "Little Rock Nine," a group of African-American high school students designated to integrate the all-white Central High. On that first day of school in 1957 there was miscommunication, and Elizabeth was separated from the group of other black students. She had to walk alone, surrounded by a mob of white people who screamed racial epithets at her.
Elizabeth was surrounded by a maelstrom when she was just a young girl wanting to attend school. That day, Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas had defied court order, by calling in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the black students from entering the school. The Governor said desegregation would cause violence and unrest. Some days later, President Eisenhower ordered the 101 U.S. Airborne Division to escort the African-American students to school, and for several weeks the students had to be protected daily by armed soldiers.
I remember first seeing Elizabeth's story in the documentary "Eyes on the Prize." It was quite riveting. Elizabeth still lives in Little Rock today. She says she realizes now that she suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome for many years after this incident.
1957 and 1997. The Little Rock Nine were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Clinton in 1997.

Photographers Part 2

Naked Man
A couple of years ago I went to an exhibit and lecture at the De Cordova museum in Waltham, of Arno Rafael Minkkinen's work. He is a photographer born in Finland & now a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. The bulk of his photography consists of the most unusual portraits of himself in varied natural settings. He blends parts or all of his tall, slim, angular body into the scene. At first, you may not see the naked man. But then you see that a shape is part of his leg, back, face, or arms...... Arno captures himself in seemingly impossible poses like a master yoga guru. As for technique, it was difficult, at least for me, to see how he executed some of his photographs. He is floating above scenes or objects, or holding his body amazingly still. If you ever get the chance, check out the book that accompanied the show: "Saga: The Journey of Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Photographs 1970-2005."

DreamMaker, You Heartbreaker.....

Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," sweetly singing "Moon River." 1961

Salt-N- Pepa vs. En Vogue

Two hot gal groups from the 90's. (Check out Salt-n-Pepa's goofy necklaces) I like them both, but guess I prefer En Vogue. You?

There Their

Take this evil grammar quiz. I got 100%. Wicked Smaaaart, again......

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

To JD & MK

Perhaps one of the worst songs ever recorded. Two friends & I were laughing about it last night. There isn't a woman alive that doesn't cringe & feel like puking when hearing this sappy tune. Yuck!

The Baron in Her New Neighborhood

Here's 60 heart pumping seconds of the Baron in her new condo, in her new neighborhood. Already she's found some local babe to hobnob with. (Needless to say, the Baron is the one in the swashbuckler's outfit). The Baron's new digs are rather bare, as the bank has taken all her money. But still the Baron has time for socializing and joking. At the end of this clip, the Baron tries to flirt with her new friend, but she's rejected. Alas. (p.s. if you've never played the Sims, try it)

Happy Birthday!

Today is my sister's birthday. I know a few other people born on this date, as well. Happy Birthday all! Here we are in my beloved grandmother's kitchen, circa 1968.