"Constipated? Need a Good B.M."

"First Person: From $8.10 An Hour to $36,000 a Year"

When I graduated from college in 2004, I couldn't find a job in my degree field so I went back through my resume and looked at all the companies I had worked for during college. One of them was Walmart, so I applied at a Walmart store in my area. To my surprise and relief they called me back. They had an open position as an overnight stocker that paid $8.10 an hour. I accepted. I needed the money, and after sending out 50 resumes in 30 days, I was pretty sure this was going to be my only offer....

"Did Cheetah from 1930s Tarzan flicks die?"

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — A Florida animal sanctuary says Cheetah, the chimpanzee sidekick in the Tarzan movies of the early 1930s, has died at 80. But other accounts call that claim into question. Debbie Cobb, outreach director at the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, said Wednesday that her grandparents acquired Cheetah around 1960 from "Tarzan" star Johnny Weissmuller and that the chimp appeared in Tarzan films between 1932 and 1934. During that period, Weissmuller made "Tarzan the Ape Man" and "Tarzan and His Mate." But Cobb offered no documentation, saying it was destroyed in a 1995 fire.....

At the animal sanctuary, Cheetah was outgoing, loved finger painting and liked to see people laugh, Cobb said. But he could also be ill-tempered. Cobb said that when the chimp didn't like what was going on, he would fling feces and other objects.

 

"Sixty in Dixie"

I turned 60 yesterday, the day after Christmas. Frightening, eh?

Turning 30 bothered me, because it seemed like the carefree days of no responsibilities were over. 40 wasn't too bad, and fifty seemed like a normal progression.

But turning 60 is a whole 'nother ball game.

My mother is 86, and a good day for her is having a good b.m. Which stands for bowel movement. Ewwww. And her daily highlights consist of watching a good show on PBS with Hercule Poirot or Doc Martin, or another exciting courtroom drama with Perry Mason, circa late 50's and early sixties.

She's got her 3 prunes to take at bedtime. And something to put in her coffee in the morning to insure the colon gets its exercise. Another ewww.

When I take her to the doctor....s I see the infirmed gathered in the waiting room. Most of them move slowly even with the aid of a cane or walker. Blessed I am not to be in that predicament....yet.

My birthday was great, however, even if it meant turning the big 6 0. My friends called, and I heard from my sis and her daughter. And my mom wished me a good b.m. And many many more.

If every day was your birthday, the world would be a nicer place to live.

So I'm sixty in Dixie.

No longer lickety-splitsy at sixty.

Soon to be rickety at sixty.

Watching old shows of Bill Bixby after sixty.

What the hell. Nixty to 60.

Peace and out. And may all your b.m.'s be good ones!

Ewww!

"The 10 Best Classic Christmas Movies; New Poll Reveals Holiday Favorites "

 

Here are the 10 greatest Christmas movies according to Radio Times. (You can see the full list of 50 classic Christmas movies here.)

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 17.83%
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) 10.19%
Love Actually (2003) 7.57%
Elf (2003) 5.94%
Home Alone (1990) 5.73%
Miracle on 34th Street (1994) 4.92%
White Christmas (1954) 4.21%
Die Hard (1988) 4.1%
Scrooge (1951) 3.68%
Santa Claus (1985) 3.18%

"Merry Christmas"

"Silkwood"

 

"Unclaimed $77M Powerball ticket set to expire"

ATLANTA —Someone will be out $77 million if they do not claim their winning Powerball ticket purchased in Georgia.

According to the Georgia Lottery, the Powerball ticket was sold at the Pilot Travel Center on Georgia Highway 100 in Tallapoosa on June 29.

The winning ticket, bearing the numbers 24-30-45-57-59 and Powerball No. 26, must be claimed within 180 days, putting the deadline at Dec. 26.

The Georgia Lottery headquarters will be closed Friday through Monday, but the owner of the ticket can claim their prize at the Georgia Lottery kiosks at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The current Powerball jackpot is at $104 million. Mega millions has reached $173 million.

If the prize goes unclaimed, the Georgia Lottery said the funds will be returned proportionately to each participating state based on the state's sales for that drawing

"25 or 6 to 4"

This is from a Chicago concert in 1969 at the Fillmore West. Wow!


Listen to more Chicago Transit Authority at Wolfgang's Vault.

"The Hobbit"

One of my favorite books as a teenager. My sis turned me onto it. I never liked the fact that Bilbo was not part of the fellowship that followed.

P.S. The movie will be out next December.

"SNL: Jesus visits Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos"

Tim Tebow skit on SNL.

"FedEx Guy Throwing My Computer Monitor"

The video has gone viral.

When I worked at the airport, bar glasses shipped via FedX would be 20-30% broken.

I wonder how they stay in business.

This guy will undoubtedly be fired. And should be.

"Jingle Bell Rock"

Another Christmas classic-this one from 1957 just like Elvis' "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me."

We had this one on a 45 when I was just a youngster.

"Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me!"

For some reason I have had troubles posting this video. Maybe the King is trying to get in touch with me via the netherworld.

Anyway the song was recorded in 1957, and I remember the catfish clan had it on a 45. That's rpm's. Sure beat the brittle 78's.


P.S. How many more shopping days before Christmas?


P.S.S. Once again, trouble. Forgot to paste the song. Elvis? Are you there?

"Herman Cain?"

 

Now that Herman's outta the race, do I vote for Romney or Gingrich?

"Diamonds Are Forever"

 

"Gay Divorcee"

 

Parents Outraged Over Teacher Removing Word ‘Gay’ from ‘Deck the Halls’

Christmas carols help us get in the mood to celebrate the holidays. But would they have the same meaning if we changed a few words? Parents of students at an elementary school in Michigan say, "No." A music teacher at Cherry Knoll Elementary School in Traverse City decided to change the word "gay" to "bright" in "Deck the Halls" for the children's Christmas concert. Her reasoning for the switch? First- and second-graders would not stop giggling when they sang the word "gay." Several parents were so upset about the change they went to the school's Facebook page to express their opinions. One parent said, "By taking the word 'gay' out of 'Deck the Halls,' you are making it a big deal. One word can have different meanings." Another parent voiced, "Can one word in a 150-year-old classic Christmas carol really offend someone?" The negative comments have since been deleted from the school's Facebook page, and wall posts have been disabled. Cherry Knoll Principal Chris Parker is on the parents' side, saying, "This would have been a great opportunity to teach that 'gay' has more than one meaning and is not a bad word." In response to the controversy over the word change, the original lyrics have now been changed back....

Jobless in Iowa: a third of the state’s unemployed have been looking for work for six months or more

DES MOINES--Colette Noble's kids used to tell her, "You'll never lose your job--you work too hard."

Noble's voice choked up and her eyes welled with tears as she recounted the exchange. "I used to say, 'You know what--you never know,' " she said, during an interview last week at a Starbucks here. "There are lots of good people who worked hard that lost their jobs."

Noble was laid off in January as an account manager at CDS Global, an Iowa-based subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, where she worked for two decades. She was the was the sole breadwinner for her family of four. Her two sons are 15 and 17. Her husband, a lawyer, stopped working several years ago after becoming addicted to Oxycontin, a painkiller that a doctor prescribed him for back pain. He's now healthy and looking for work again.

Noble, who is 48, threw herself into the search for a new job. "If there's a resource to be found, I feel like I've found it, " she said. But nearly a year later, she's still looking. She's now unable to pay the mortgage on her house....

"Christmas Festival"

It's that time of the year....again. And my favorite Christmas tune.


P.S. Because I was frugal with the food at my old job of 30 years, some of the staff thought I was Jewish.

 

"Lucy What Happened?"

It looked like the Dawgs vs. the Tigers would be a good game, meaning we, the Dawgs, were gonna win. For a half it looked that way. Then the dam sprung a leak. 10-7 Dawgs at halftime, but 35 points later, it was LSU 42 and the Dawgs 10.

What a letdown. What a meltdown. Lucy? What happened?

Yes, Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston.

Yes, Joe Namath shocked the Colts in Super Bowl 3.

Yes, the U.S. Hockey team stunned the Russians circa 1980.

Yes, David slew the Philistine giant. Slingshot vs. brawn.

Yes, N.C. State squeaked out a win vs. Phi Jamma Slamma.

Yes, Buster Douglas ko'd Mike Tyson who was a 40-1 favorite.

Yes, the Kale vs. chicken saga is yet to be determined.

But the Dawgs didn't have a miracle in them. Damn!

"Go Dawgs"

It's Liston vs. Clay.

It's Tyson vs. Buster Douglas.

It's N.C. State vs. Houston. Jim Valvano comes to mind.

It's the New York Jets with Joe Namath vs. the Baltimore Colts with a young Don Shula as coach.

It's Eat More Kale vs. Eat More Chicken. ( Which makes me not want to eat at this establishment anymore )

It's the US Hockey team circa 1980 vs. the Russians. Unfortunately, it helped formulate the career of Al Michaels. Please get this guy off the air!

It's David vs. Goliath. Slingshot vs. brawn.

It's the Dawgs vs. LSU.

So everybody thinks the Dawgs don't have a chance. That's why they play the game. They play the game on the field not on paper. All the usual cliches.

I have eagerly awaited this game for over a week. May the best team win which is, of course, the Dawgs.

"Barbarella"