Thursday, January 26, 2023
"Did you play any of these?" Bizarre games from back in the day
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Have Gun, Will Travel: Paladin's Seduction
Monday, January 23, 2023
COME BACK, DYLAN THOMAS! All is forgiven.
Poem on his Birthday
In the mustardseed sun,
By full tilt river and switchback sea
Where the cormorants scud,
In his house on stilts high among beaks
And palavers of birds
This sandgrain day in the bent bay's grave
He celebrates and spurns
His driftwood thirty-fifth wind turned age;
Herons spire and spear.
Under and round him go
Flounders, gulls, on their cold, dying trails,
Doing what they are told,
Curlews aloud in the congered waves
Work at their ways to death,
And the rhymer in the long tongued room,
Who tolls his birthday bell,
Toils towards the ambush of his wounds;
Herons, steeple stemmed, bless.
In the thistledown fall,
He sings towards anguish; finches fly
In the claw tracks of hawks
On a seizing sky; small fishes glide
Through wynds and shells of drowned
Ship towns to pastures of otters. He
In his slant, racking house
And the hewn coils of his trade perceives
Herons walk in their shroud,
The livelong river's robe
Of minnows wreathing around their prayer;
And far at sea he knows,
Who slaves to his crouched, eternal end
Under a serpent cloud,
Dolphins dive in their turnturtle dust,
The rippled seals streak down
To kill and their own tide daubing blood
Slides good in the sleek mouth.
In a cavernous, swung
Wave's silence, wept white angelus knells.
Thirty-five bells sing struck
On skull and scar where his loves lie wrecked,
Steered by the falling stars.
And to-morrow weeps in a blind cage
Terror will rage apart
Before chains break to a hammer flame
And love unbolts the dark
And freely he goes lost
In the unknown, famous light of great
And fabulous, dear God.
Dark is a way and light is a place,
Heaven that never was
Nor will be ever is always true,
And, in that brambled void,
Plenty as blackberries in the woods
The dead grow for His joy.
There he might wander bare
With the spirits of the horseshoe bay
Or the stars' seashore dead,
Marrow of eagles, the roots of whales
And wishbones of wild geese,
With blessed, unborn God and His Ghost,
And every soul His priest,
Gulled and chanter in young Heaven's fold
Be at cloud quaking peace,
But dark is a long way.
He, on the earth of the night, alone
With all the living, prays,
Who knows the rocketing wind will blow
The bones out of the hills,
And the scythed boulders bleed, and the last
Rage shattered waters kick
Masts and fishes to the still quick stars,
Faithlessly unto Him
Who is the light of old
And air shaped Heaven where souls grow wild
As horses in the foam:
Oh, let me midlife mourn by the shrined
And druid herons' vows
The voyage to ruin I must run,
Dawn ships clouted aground,
Yet, though I cry with tumbledown tongue,
Count my blessings aloud:
Four elements and five
Senses, and man a spirit in love
Tangling through this spun slime
To his nimbus bell cool kingdom come
And the lost, moonshine domes,
And the sea that hides his secret selves
Deep in its black, base bones,
Lulling of spheres in the seashell flesh,
And this last blessing most,
That the closer I move
To death, one man through his sundered hulks,
The louder the sun blooms
And the tusked, ramshackling sea exults;
And every wave of the way
And gale I tackle, the whole world then,
With more triumphant faith
Than ever was since the world was said,
Spins its morning of praise,
I hear the bouncing hills
Grow larked and greener at berry brown
Fall and the dew larks sing
Taller this thunderclap spring, and how
More spanned with angels ride
The mansouled fiery islands! Oh,
Holier then their eyes,
And my shining men no more alone
As I sail out to die
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Don't stop smoking! SMOKE SPUDS!
Have you ever heard of SPUD cigarettes? Why is their mascot a SNOWMAN? Why is that guy smoking Spuds in the shower? Why is that weirdo trying to hypnotize us? And what the futz is "mouth happy"? The answer to these and many other questions cannot be found in this bizarre ad compilation. And friends - DON'T STOP SMOKING! Switch to New Spuds!
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
CLASSIC! Perry Mason opening theme
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
POP goes the COMMENTS SECTION!
Is BLOGGER dying? Who knows, at this point. For some reason, when I was having problems with Google, the page suddenly changed and many features were dropped, and I have not been able to get them back. My son the techie said Google probably isn't supporting Blogger any more BECAUSE IT'S SO OLD! I resented that, mainly because I too am "so old" and not technically proficient at all.
At the moment, I can only use workarounds. The comments will no longer be visible under the posts, which INFURIATES me because I used to love the long threads of comments which were easy to see. Now you have to click on "comments" and a box comes up. Oh yes, you CAN see the comments, kind of, sort of, but it looks like shit. I don't know yet if I will get an email copy, so I may not even be able to monitor them. Worst of all, I can't edit or delete comments that may be dangerous to leave up.
It takes something away from the blog that you can't just view the conversations, which sometimes have gone on for years and years. The rare posts that got over 100 comments now don't display them at all. It is all supposed to be there somewhere, but it won't show. A big chunk of Blogger has been cut off and thrown away. If Google does in fact bail on this, it will be the end of a 12-year experience - nay, an ODYSSEY taking me from the callow optimist of 2011 to the cynical, world-weary, but far more realistic person you see today.
SO, if you want to leave a comment and see all the pre-existing comments, click "comments" at the bottom of the post and a box will come up. I hope. I think you have to fill in some idiotic thing like "I am not a robot" (OH REALLY?? I was certain you were!). But for now, that's the best I can do, and the other features missing will have to be worked-around as well. So, beloved readers, hang in with me and I will try not to have a nervous breakdown over all this. Phoooey!
Monday, January 16, 2023
Why is Harry obsessed with SAUSAGES? (And I don't mean his wee-wee).
Could SAUSAGES be behind the royal rift? Diana's former butler Paul Burrell claims 'Harry felt less important than William as a child because he got fewer bangers with his breakfast' - and the rift between Fab Four widened over 'house envy'
- Princess Diana's butler says Harry would get upset as a child at breakfast times
- Paul Burrell says the Duke of Sussex wondered why William got more sausages
- He said the nanny would tell Harry that William needed more as he would be king
By Matthew Lodge For Mailonline
Published: | Updated:
Princess Diana's former butler has pondered whether William being given more sausages for breakfast when he was a child played a part in their played a part in their fractious relationship as adults.
Paul Burrell claims the Duke of Sussex would become confused and complain when he was young that his older brother got bigger breakfasts.
The 64-year-old claims after the young prince asked why that once, a nanny for the pair told him the now-Prince of Wales needed 'filling up more' as he would be 'King one day'.
Mr Burrell, who acted as butler for the Princess of Wales for 10 years, said it could have been an early display of the dynamic between the two feuding siblings that dominates today.
Mr. Burrell, who was present during William and Harry's childhood, said there were signs of an early rivalry between the princes.
'When I look back now, I think maybe I was glimpsing the dynamic at play,' he told the Sun.
'One time I saw the nanny give William three sausages at breakfast and Harry had two.
'And Harry would look at his plate and say, how come he gets three? And I only get two.'
Mr Burrell added that when the nanny responded about the pecking order between the two brothers the now-Duke of Sussex would 'fall quiet and suck it up'.
The former member of the Royal Household said despite Diana seeing the boys as 'absolutely equal', he believes the hierarchy within the Firm that puts William first has caused resentment from Harry.
He said that the Duke 'found it tough living up to the standard set by William' and that this became more stark when he attended Eton against his mother's wishes.
Mr Burrell said Diana had felt Harry would be unjustly compared to his older brother if he went to the independent school, and that this turned out to be the case.
The father-of-two said that William was 'brighter' than his younger brother, and that while the future King was 'measured and stoic', Harry took to playing the clown to get noticed.
He added that he no longer recognises the Harry who is in the public eye today to the young boy he saw grow up in the Royal Household, saying: 'He's clearly hurt and angry at being "the spare" and so he's lashing out from that place.'
Meanwhile, Mr Burrell claimed that the relationship between the Fab Four - the Sussexes and the Cambridges - worsened over 'house envy'
He claimed that Meghan, who was then living in Nottingham Cottage while the Cambridges were in Kensington Palace, 'got a sight of everything Kate and William enjoyed... she realised she wasn't in the top tier'.
It comes after the Duke of Sussex lashed out at Mr Burrell in his recently released memoir, Spare, which also saw him launch vicious attacks on his brother and the monarchy.
In the book, which was released in the UK on Tuesday, Harry accused Diana's former butler of 'milking' her death for money by publishing his 2001 book A Royal Duty.
The novel contained a raft of private revelations, although in his memoir Harry called it 'one man's self-justifying, self-centring version of events'.
Harry said he learned of the book while working as an unpaid farmhand in Australia at the age of 19, adding that it 'made my blood boil'.
He wrote that he wanted to fly home to 'confront' Mr Burrell for his 'cold and overt betrayal', but his father and brother talked him out of it.
Speaking last week after the publication of Harry's memoir, Mr Burrell said Diana would be 'appalled' by her youngest son's behaviour, and accused Harry of making 'personal, vindictive revelations'.He added that he saw Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, as the driving force behind the Duke's behaviour.
He told Australian television: 'She [Meghan] is beside him steering him on his path. You can't just blame Harry. You have to blame the both of them.
'I don't like to see the rug being pulled beneath the feet of our King and Harry's brother, who is on his way to being King. And the snipes that have gone forward about Kate [the Princess of Wales]...
'Kate has never put a foot wrong. But the other side of the story will never be heard because the royals believe there's great dignity in silence.'
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
SURREAL: Fred and Eleanor in extreme slow-mo
Oh how I love making animations! This is a small excerpt from Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell's classic tap number, Begin the Beguine. Even at this slowed-down speed, their grace is incredible. The music syncs up better than I had hoped!
Still working on blog problems. . . I hope someone can see this, at least. I can't be sure.
Wednesday, January 4, 2023
HIDE THE TV! Why people hid their TV sets in the '50s
I have always puzzled over why all the old advertisments for television sets showed people closing cabinet doors on them to hide the screen. It seemed unthinkable to allow that ever-open eye to sit there nakedly in your living room. But this reluctance to reveal that you even HAD a TV has another explanation. Just as you could see into the TV, as if all the actors and news people and kids' programs were taking place right inside the set, people back then believed that THE TV COULD SEE THEM. No, I'm not kidding! There was a widespread panic about this insidious development that would have made George Orwell order another pint of Guinness. You even saw newspaper editorials about this horrifying violation of privacy. But when the thing wasn't turned on, it had to be shuttered in, pushed down, HIDDEN. Some years later, TV consoles became more elaborate, and eventually the TV set was seen as just another highly-functional but not terribly decorative piece of furniture.
P.S To my unending annoyance, I have not yet found out what's wrong with the disabled features on my blog. The comments section has been weirdly blanked out by Google, which is weird because I've never seen another reference to Google on this blog. My son the techie just claimed Google has given up on Blogger and no longer supports them, but why then am I still able to post? I have even done some copy-and-paste to republish old posts. Some things work, some don't. And I am not even sure how it started. DAMN, this is just like Real Life!
P. P. S.: Since I can no longer upload videos directly from YouTube, they now look pretty shitty, but I would recommend you click on "Watch on YouTube" at the bottom. No black bars there.
Monday, January 2, 2023
Let it steep a while! Edward G. Robinson for Maxwell House coffee
Thursday, December 29, 2022
We're all in Crimbo Limbo. . .
It's that time of year again - or rather, that weird non-time between Christmas and New Years. Myself, I am glued to my chair, when not eating macadamia nuts and Purdy's chocolates and feeling sick.
TOP DEFINITION
Crimbo Limbo
The period after Christmas Day and before New Year's Eve, mainly spent sitting down and eating leftovers. Many find it extremely dull.
I'm so bored. It feels like crimbo limbo's been going on forever...
ALTERNATE DEFINITION
Crimbo Limbo
Crimbo Limbo is the time in-between Christmas Day and New Years Day, where you feel fulfilled, eat lots, and give yourself alcohol poisoning.
Ryan: Dude, I haven't done anything productive in three whole days, yet I still feel great!
Lewis: Well, that's Crimbo Limbo for ya!
RELATED TERMS (in alphabetical order)
crimbot
Crimbus
Crimcheck
Crim Cram
Crimdalf
crim de la crim
crim della crim
Crimder
Crime
crimea
Crime-A-Dozen
Crime against Humanities
Crime against nature
crime-a-lator
Crime-Alert
Crime and Punishment
crimeaversary
Crime Bluff
Crimebo
Crimeboss
crimebridge
crimecation
Crime Community
crimed
Crimedale
Crime Dawg
Crime Deturent
Crimedicts
crime dog
Crimedotte
Crime-dotte County
Crimee
crime essam
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
Isaac Asimov falls asleep during interview
Saturday, December 24, 2022
Thursday, December 22, 2022
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Monday, December 19, 2022
🌹BRIDAL TRANSFORMATIONS: The Magic of Camay!🌹
Friday, December 16, 2022
Harry and Meghan: get me the sick bag!
MEGHAN MCCAIN: Kiss America goodbye, Harry and Meghan, you've finally lost us: We're covering our eyes, plugging our ears and screaming -please God, make it stop
By Meghan Mccain For Dailymail.Com
Published: | Updated:
Harry and Meghan have lost America.
That's the spectacularly clear conclusion after two volumes and six hours of a mind-numbingly deep dive into the Netflix saga of the world's most miserable (ex)royals.
Again, I watched, so you didn't have to.
Strikingly, the criticism is not just coming from loyalists or the old-school, conservative, anti-woke crusaders – it's the left that is unleashing.
Congrats H&M, you've done something Biden and Trump couldn't. You've brought America together.
The New York Times reheated the 'second serving of reviews' of the Megflix opus. 'Some critics have had their fill of the couple's account,' they write, detailing a laundry list of critics who found it to be a 'grudge-rehashing,' a 'gussied-up reality show' and 'out-of-touch, self-absorbed and cornier than a Hallmark movie.'
Left-leaning The Atlantic ran the headline, 'The Cringeworthy End of 'Harry & Meghan' on Netflix'… 'The ex-royals insist they're moving on. Viewers should be so lucky'. Far-left Salon ran the hilarious headline, 'It's okay to admit Harry and Meghan are annoying.' Yes, we know it's 'okay'.
The royally aggrieved couple's bestie, CBS News anchor Gayle King, who attended Meghan's baby shower, called the finale, 'very dicey'. Whoopi Goldberg said she had better things to do than watch it at all. Liberal shock jock Howard Stern was calling them 'whiny bitches… like the Kardashians but boring,' even before the series ended.
Harry and Meghan have lost America. That's the spectacularly clear conclusion after two volumes and six hours of a mind-numbingly deep dive into the Netflix saga of the world's most miserable (ex)royals.
I could go on and on. But what do ordinary Americans think?
The current 'audience score' on the crowdsourced rating site Rotten Tomatoes is 14%. Honestly, it's hard to find something lower, so I gave up scrolling.
What happened? Not too long ago, it was completely taboo and could get you kicked off US and UK television - see Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan – for even questioning Harry and Meghan.
Well, that has clearly come to an end. And I'll tell you why:
First, no one likes clickbait.
After the infamous Oprah interview and Volume I, everyone was expecting some bombshells. But it was all duds. The most explosive headline from Volume II was that Harry's brother screamed at him when H&M decided to ditch the family and pursue fame and fortune abroad.
That's their style - all tease and no payoff.
We still don't know the identity of the 'royal racist' who allegedly questioned 'how dark' their son Archie's skin would be. We don't know the details of how Princess Kate allegedly made Meghan Markle cry before the wedding. We have no tangible proof that the royal family is institutionally racist.
This is what I spent six hours of my life waiting for? Instead, we are shown them crying during emotional hypnotherapy sessions – whatever that is.
Not to mention what they put their family through. How trashy to shame your own flesh and blood and for what? It was all smoke and no fire.
Second, and most importantly, Americans want to root for the underdog, but you've got to give us something – anything – to root for.
Never once in the entire series did Harry and Meghan show a scintilla of introspection. Never did they ask to be forgiven, or show personal accountability and growth.
According to them, there's nothing they could have done differently. They're perfect angels, blameless. In their telling, it was the Queen and the rampantly racist royal family who felt threatened by Meghan's incandescent star power. She's a super-mega-ultra-star. No one could possibly compete with her and she was punished for it.
Instead of anything resembling reality, we get a front row view into their home in one of the wealthiest areas in America, Montecito, California. It looks like a Nancy Meyers set, impeccably decorated, including one scene where Meghan is sitting on a chair with an Hermes blanket behind her that costs a cool $1,650.
Not to mention what they put their family through. How trashy to shame your own flesh and blood and for what? It was all smoke and no fire.
They have horses, chickens, idyllic views of the coast. They ride in black SUV's with full security escorts. They take refuge in Tyler Perry's house and on private islands off of Canada, they stay in enormous penthouses in New York City, their dogs fly on private beds in their private planes with their team of assistants and nannies. But there's nothing redeeming about being ex-royals?
It's painfully obvious to everyone that they wouldn't be living this life and Netflix wouldn't be paying them $100 million dollars if they were not related to Queen Elizabeth. But again, there is no acknowledgement of this at all.
Maybe the greatest mistake that Harry and Meghan made was taking Americans for fools. Millions gave them the benefit of the doubt. They watched their watched interviews and shows with open minds and at the end – nothing. It remains to be seen whether Americans will buy their book and whatever other grievance porn they create next. But judging from what we're reading and hearing today – America has moved on, even if they haven't.
Please note! To my loyal fans (all 37 of them): I'm still working on my problems with Blogger and so far haven't come up with a way to bring my comments section back, along with posting videos from YouTube and other things. I am TRYING not to freak out about it! I hope this is the very last thing I post about H & M, who are coming across as self-absorbed, petty, angry, and overall sickening. Meantime, I'll have to try to get some help from Blogger, as my son the tech genius claims that Google isn't the problem - though I have had unending problems with Google lately with both the blog and my YouTube channel, Stay tuned for the solution!