Wednesday, February 29, 2012

"Alternate Jaws Posters"

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My favorite movie....ever. Here are 4 of the alternate movie posters. To see more click here!
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"Susan Backlinie"

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It's always interesting to see what people are interested in. This one from "Jaws" has resulted in many hits to the Pond. Little did I know, she once posed for Penthouse.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

"Friday Night"

I went to my local pub tonight to play Texas Hold-Em. The 10:30 late game. 


"Cat, every fourth Friday we have just the one game, the 10,000 chip tournament. And it started at 7:30," Dale, the venerable pit boss told me. "Sorry, Cat."


Dale always calls me Tom ( cos I look like one he says ) but tonight he remembered Cat. I was miffed cos I like the 10,000 starting point. More chips.


I bid adieu and farewell and was hungry. So me and old Betsy headed for Wendys where Dave or a remnant thereof says "have it your way and freshly cooked."


Ok.


I ordered a number 2 and coke, my drink of choice. As we pulled around, I could see the manager in a panic. She was the order taker and distributor. And there were three cars in line. 


Ok.


My order was $7.20 ( ok ) and was promptly handed to me at the window.


"Can I get some ketchup?"


"Sure here you go."


She gave me one ( yep, just one ) of those new ketchup packs, brilliantly devised by some genius in the modern technology field.


Me and old Betsy parked in the lot to eat. Good thing we did, because the order was wrong. Instead of a number 2, I had a spicy chicken sandwich with white cheese. The cheese was stiff, as if it had rigor mortis. Shouldn't cheese on a sandwich be melted? Or maybe just a tad-is that asking too much?


I ate some of the fries and opened my ketchup pack. Let me go on record as saying the fries suck, even tho freshly cooked. Sea salt smee salt and potato skins on the ends of each fry-they still suck. It's the taste.

I returned to the drive thru. Told 'em the problem and was soon devouring a number 2. By the way, after the screwup I received my hamburger in less than a minute. Cooked to order, eh?


Ok.

As we left, old Betsy reminded me we needed petrol. We saw a filling station across the street. $3.69 a gallon. Yesterday the AJC's headline was "Petrol to cost $4.50 a gallon by the summer."News travels fast. Most gas station owners must read the paper.

Ok.

We made it home, and I read the Hootzster's newshoggers column. I read his bio. He's been a liberal for 50 years, and it all started when the Commies wanted to put fluoride in his town's water. And Hootz sympathized with them.


Ok.


So I didn't get to play Texas Hold 'Em. With the pit boss who calls me Tom. But I got to eat at Daves ( sort of )  and got to read about the Hootzster's indoctrination into liberalism.


Ok.



Friday, February 24, 2012

"Casablanca and Bogart-A Mediocre Actor"

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From Wikipedia:  

Paul Henreid as Victor Laszlo. Henreid, an Austrian actor who emigrated in 1935, was reluctant to take the role (it "set [him] as a stiff forever", according to Pauline Kael, until he was promised top billing along with Bogart and Bergman. Henreid did not get on well with his fellow actors; he considered Bogart "a mediocre actor", while Bergman called Henreid a "prima donna".

P.S. So Bogie was a mediocre actor, eh? Yeah right! Here's looking at you kid. You might as well play it again Sam!

"Winston Churchill vs. Mary Astor"

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"Collage"

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

"Best Beatles Song-#13 Revolution-From Rolling Stone Magazine"

I bought this 45 in 68. I didn't know an A side from a B side. This is the song they were playing on the radio. Revolution was the B side. Hey Jude the A side.


************************************************************************************
Main Writer: Lennon
Recorded:
July 10 and 11, 1968
Released:
August 26, 1968
11 weeks; no. 12 (B side)

 
In the spring of 1968, the Vietnam War raged on, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and strikes and student protests in Paris brought the French government to its knees. When the Beatles — who had long been outspoken critics of the Vietnam War — hit Abbey Road Studios to make the White Album at the end of May, the first thing they recorded was "Revolution," which was also the first explicitly political song the band ever released. "I wanted to put out what I felt about revolution," Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1970. "I thought it was time we fuckin' spoke about it. The same as we stopped not answering about the Vietnamese War [when we were] on tour with Brian [Epstein]. We had to tell him, 'We're going to talk about the war this time, and we're not going to just waffle.'"

The first version of "Revolution" the Beatles recorded was a slow, bluesy shuffle that eventually became "Revolution 1." (The last six minutes of the master take were a menacing jam that was sheared off and eventually became "Revolution 9.") On July 10th, they returned to "Revolution" for a charged-up electric take — the best-known version of the song, which ended up as the B side of "Hey Jude." It was the hardest-rocking performance the Beatles ever caught on tape, from Lennon's scalding guitar introduction (a reference to Pee Wee Crayton's 1954 blues single "Do Unto Others") to the final howl. "John wanted a really distorted sound," engineer Phil McDonald said. "The guitars were put through the recording console, which was technically not the thing to do. It completely overloaded the channel. Fortunately the technical people didn't find out. They didn't approve of 'abuse of equipment.'"

The crucial lyric difference between the two versions was a single word. "Revolution 1" included the line "When you talk about destruction/Don't you know that you can count me out . . . in." (As McCartney noted, "John was just hedging his bets, covering all eventualities.") But by the time the Beatles cut the single version, it was an unambiguous "count me out." While the mainstream media praised Lennon's stance — Time approved of the song's criticism of "radical activists the world over" — the hard left was unimpressed. Ramparts magazine called its ambivalence a "betrayal."

"The lyrics stand today," Lennon said in 1980. "They're still my feeling about politics: I want to see the plan. . . . I want to know what you're going to do after you've knocked it all down. I mean, can't we use some of it? What's the point of bombing Wall Street? If you want to change the system, change the system. It's no good shooting people."


Woman Tasered at McDonald's Got More Than She Ordered

 You have to love this new wave world in which we live. Get tasered at your local Mickey D's, and you're on youtube the same day! 


I love ( or should it be I loathe-fine line, eh? ) these food biz themes. I worked in the biz for over 30 years. And saw some crazy things.


P.S. Spellcheck has informed me that tasered is not a word. Give it a few more months, and it will soon be added to Websters. 


***********************************************************************************

What in the Mac is this world coming to? Can't we all just behave ourselves at the drive-through? According to witnesses, Evangeline Marrero Lucca of North Carolina cut into the line at her local McDonald's drive-through. She bypassed the order window and the pay window, pulling up right at the pick-up window. LIKE YOU CAN JUST DO THAT. And then she refused to budge until someone took and delivered her order. Which means she stayed there for 20 minutes.

 What happened next is what always seems to happen when you have people behaving badly in public these days: Police stunned her with a taser. Did the police go too far? Well, shucks, maybe? But I don't think you're going to find much outrage on Evangeline's behalf.

 The McDonald's employees could have made their lives -- and their customers' lives -- a lot easier if they'd just let Evangeline cut this once. But this wasn't the first time. She's a repeat offender. One employee told customer Anthony Rich that Evangeline cuts in the drive-through line all the time. "'We're not having it anymore, so we called the cops,'" Rich says the employee said. 

Well, good for them. Obviously giving Evangeline a pass the first time was a mistake. What would this world look like if we all cut in line like that? So the police arrived, they tried to get her to leave, she refused, there was some back and forth, and they ended up stunning her twice before she -- oh, here's how Rich put it: "She just flopped out of the car like a fish." Rich, you were definitely the right witness to interview for this story. 

 Anyway, the police justified their actions claiming that Evangeline was behaving in a threatening manner. Sounds fishy to me, actually. But like I said, when you act like a jerk at the McDonald's you're not going to attract much sympathy. What is it about fast food and crazy-ass behavior, anyway? Is it the food? Why doesn't it inspire more people to sing happy songs in the drive-through instead?


 

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

 
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"7th Voyage of Sinbad"

 


Because I'm on my Beatles kick, let's include another one from the vault, the best sci-fi movie ever.
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Monday, February 20, 2012

"Day Tripper"

Thanks Rolling Stone. Beatles album-by-album. special edition, has got me in the mood to stroll down memory lane.


Saturday night I put the headphones on and listened to many tunes. Early days; mid days; and the latter days.


The following video is included because of the dancing girls at the beginning of the song. Wearing their white go-go boots which were quite fashionable at the time, most  teenage girls at my alma mater, Rowdy High, had to have a pair. Even tho' the prissy elite girls still wore their penny loafers


All the go-go girls on "Hullaballoo" and "Shindig" wore 'em. The go-go boots became the rage along with the miniskirt and the bikini.


White go-go's indicated you were hip and ready to break on through to the other side. Or perhaps take a walk on the wild side.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Top Ten Beatles Songs of All Time

I am enjoying the Rolling Stone Beatles album-by-album. What a treat!! ( Is there an echo? )

The R.S. has also rated their top 100 songs. I am listing the top ten.

10) "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." A george Harrison tune and one of my all time favorites. Eric Clapton was asked to play lead guitar by George ( pun unintentional ), when Lennon/McCartney weren't overly interested in its recording. Take that, eh?


9) "Come Together." Not sure I would have it this high on my personal list. Covered by Aerosmith and Michael Jackson. The song always reminds me of trekking to Snelling Hall to eat as a newly-scrubbed freshman at Truck U.


8) "Let It Be." From the R.S. article: "McCartney channeled Aretha Franklin's soul in "Let It Be," recorded during the peak of the Beatles' troubled times. A month after its 1970 release, McCartney announced the band had broken up"

7) "Hey Jude." My one or two favorite. I recall plopping the 45 onto the old record player we had as a teenager-had never heard the song. It was the "A" side single; the "B" side was "Revolution." I was mesmerized. It was flower power incarnate.

6) "Something." Frank Sinatra, old blue eyes himself, said this was his favorite Lennon/McCartney song. Unbeknownst to the Ratpack leader, the song was penned by George.

5) "In My Life." From R.S.: "In My Life," featuring Lennon's most personal lyrics up until that time, is one of only a handful of Lennon-McCartney songs where the two strongly disagreed over who wrote what."

4) "Yesterday." As everyone knows by now, the tune began as "Scrambled Eggs." 

3) "Strawberry Fields Forever."  The video of this and "Penny Lane" featured each Beatle with a  mustache. Life as we knew it would never be the same. I love the Anthology version which is void of overdubs and tape looping. 




2) "I Want to Hold Your Hand." When I saw the moptops from Liverpool circa 1964 on my old 17 inch b/w tv, I, along with 70 or so million viewers to "The Ed Sullivan Show," couldn't believe what we were witnessing. I was in awe with them and the music.Life as I knew it would never be the same.

1) "A Day in the Life." Who can argue that this shouldn't be number one. Not me. My pal, Steve, loaned me the record in 1966. When I heard this track which ends the "Sgt. Peppers Album," Kansas had been long forgotten.

P.S. The top ten has to include my number one or two. "I Am the Walrus!"  

Saturday, February 18, 2012

"I Am the Walrus"

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Now I know why I like "Walrus!"

 From Wikipedia: 

 Musical structure:

 All the chords are major chords or seventh chords, and all the musical letters of the alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F and G) are used. The song ends with a chord progression built on ascending and descending lines in the bass and strings, repeated over and over as the song fades. Musicologist Alan W. Pollack analyses: "The chord progression of the outro itself is a harmonic Moebius strip with scales in bassline and top voice that move in contrary motion."[8] The bassline descends stepwise A, G, F, E, D, C, and B, while the strings' part rises A, B, C, D, E, F#, G: this sequence repeats as the song fades, with the strings rising higher on each iteration. Pollack also notes that the repeated cell is seven bars long, which means that a different chord begins each four-bar phrase.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42luHhrsNhg  

P.S. I remember at a high school reunion a few years ago some friends were discussing their favorite Fab 4 tunes. When I told 'em "I Am the Walrus" they couldn't believe it.

Friday, February 17, 2012

"Bayer Between the Legs"

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"No. You Make Me a Sandwich"

 
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Make your own sandwich! It all started with burning the bra and going sans girdle. When will makeup become a dinosaur as well? A guy takes 10 minutes max to get ready-to anyone who knows a female nuff said.

 I saw this link via Hootz, my longtime friend, on Facebook. He is becoming the "King of the Social Network." From cute squirrel videos to women issues to war here there and everywhere, the Hootzster is becoming engaged via Facebook.

P.S. World Gone Mad Part 2: From Foster Friess

"Back in my day, they used Bayer Aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly," he said.
 
Now, someone who uses the term "the gals" probably meant this all as an allegedly funny way of saying "keep your legs together and you won't get pregnant," but maybe not.

P.S. This sounds familiar but I have no personal experience with this method! I am Cat aka vc and I have approved this message!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Monday, February 13, 2012

"Barbara Feldon"

 
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I loved "Get Smart" back in the day. Created by Buck Henry and Mel Brooks. 

Popular catch phrases: 1) Missed it by that much!"

 2) Would you believe....three hula dancers, two pygmies, and a partridge in a pear tree?

 3) Don't remember any more.

"Ginger"

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One of the dumbest shows on the boob tube. Vast wasteland reiterated. I watched but did not inhale.

Eddie Haskell"

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One of my favorite shows as a kid. Unfortunately, Raven my ultalib sis, had control of the tv ( the only tv cos this was late 50's, early 60's ) long before the advent of the clicker.

"I want to watch "Leave it to Beaver," I whined.

"We're watching 'American Bandstand.'" Because she could sit on me and was physically superior, I had to acquiesce.

"Beatles Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide"

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What a treat. As one of the ultimate Fab 4 fans, this is right up my alley. I have always loved the songs, and the stories behind them!

I took a shbath today ( combination shower/bath ) and read the "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" entries! Through foggy specs, unfortunately. 


 

Saturday, February 11, 2012

"Jerry Lee Lewis' Pumpin' Piano"

1) Jerry Lee Lewis and his pumpin' piano.  I loved him as a kid and lip-synched his vocals and used our old green couch as the pumpin' piano. He was as big as the King at one time. But after his marriage to his his second cousin, twice removed ( whatever that is ), the Killer was thrust immediately into a downward spiral.
 ***********************************************************************************

We were cuttin’ the song, workin’ pretty hard at it for a while, and I felt like we oughta get off of it, try somethin’ else for a spell. I left the control room, walked into the studio. Van Eaton, one of ‘em, piped up and said, “Hey, Jerry, why don’t you do that thing you did the other night?”

That song, which Lewis often performed to great audience response, was “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Clement says the track was recorded in one take.

So all I did was walk back into the control room and turn on the machine. We didn’t run it down or nothin’. The mike balance, our four or five mikes, was the same. I just simply turned on the machine, mixed it on the fly. We didn’t even play it back at that point. We played it back later. Once we got to playin’ it back, we played it again and again. Loved it. 


Ben Manilla writes that Lewis said he knew that one take was enough.
I remember it very distinctly. I cut the song, “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.” Was cut the first time. I knew it was a hit when I cut it. Sam Phillips thought it was gonna be too risqué, it couldn't make it. If that's risqué, well, I'm sorry.  


In 1970, John Lennon told Jann Wenner, “There is nothing conceptually better than rock and roll. No group, be it Beatles, Dylan or Stones have ever improved on 'Whole Lot of Shaking' for my money.” Bruce Eder writes that Roy Hall’s version, recorded in September 1955, had its own appeal.





"Almost ( or Shoulda ) Cut My Hair" apologies to CSN/Y

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Friday, February 10, 2012

"6 Music Legends Who Filed for Bankruptcy"

Yep. Some of my favorite musicians:

1) Jerry Lee Lewis and his pumpin' piano.  I loved him as a kid and lip-synched his vocals and used our old green couch as the pumpin' piano. He was as big as the King at one time. But after his marriage to his his second cousin, twice removed ( whatever that is ), the Killer was thrust immediately into a downward spiral.

2) David Crosby: Famous for his work with the Byrds and CSN/Young. My favorite tune of his was "Almost Cut My Hair," an anthem for all of us hippie types in the 70's. Because I was in the food biz, I changed the lyrics to almost cut my pear, the avocado one. I felt like I owed it to someone.

3) Tom Petty might have been running down a dream, but he is on the list. 

4) Wayne Newton. How did he mismanage his money. From the "Lucy Show" to "Vacation-Las Vegas." Lucy, er, Wayne, what happened?

5) Marvin Gaye: Known for sexual healing and every man's anthem "Let's Get It On," Marvin met an untimely death at the hands of his father.

6) Mick Fleetwood: Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer you want me to! Remember hearing that song on the fm dial circa late 60's and 70's, long before Stevie Nicks, Lindsey, et al. 

7) Billy Joel: You may be right I may be crazy. But it might just be a lunatic your looking for. Nuff said. And in the immortal words of who knows whom, if you live in glass houses don't throw stones. Amen!

P.S. Not that it matters, but when I read and saved this article, Billy Joel was mentioned. He is no longer there. Conspiracy theories will abound, no less?

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

"M.I.A. Shoots Super Bowl Audience the Middle Finger"

I remember as a kid of twelve being with friends and shooting birds in the front yard. We were running around displaying the middle finger.Laughing and snickering.  I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I did not know its significance. Until much later in life. I must have been a bit naive, eh? Or maybe it was because I was like a virgin, who had not been touched for the very first time. Or a material boy living in a material world.

And because I've been m.i.a. in since the early 90's when it comes to pop culture, I couldn't tell you who M.I.A. is from Janet Jackson's mammary gland. Because of her performance I now know of her. A great publicity ploy, and it's commendable.

Yep, I can tell you "Scrambled Eggs" was the first title for "Yesterday." That Ringo yelled "I've got blisters on my fingers" at the end of the track"Helter Skelter," and that  Yoko Ono had a hand in breaking up the Fab 4. But M.I.A. Never heard of her until Super Bowl Sunday.


I predicted the Pats would win, but, alas, Eli and Company pulled it off. Kudos to the G Men and Tom Coughlin, who year after year seems to be on the verge of losing his job.



Sunday, February 05, 2012

Player cut on day before Super Bowl



Tiquan Underwood, the guy who loved being a Patriot so much that he did that to his hair, was released by the team on Saturday, just hours before the Super Bowl.
It's callous and it's cold-blooded, but that's football, and that's Bill Belichick. I'm sure that Underwood is emotionally devastated, but that's a head coach's job. If he feels like another player might help a little more on Sunday, even if it's just for one play, then it's the coach's job to make that decision. Feelings aren't a part of it.

It's Super Bowl Sunday! I was gonna go with the Giants, but now I'm going with the Pats. A low scoring affair. My prediction: Pats 17 Giants 3. 



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Friday, February 03, 2012

"Kissin' Cousins"




My younger son ( when you say it this way, it sounds like he was part of the James Gang-not the one with Joe Walsh ) loved this album when he was a boy! He took after his dad in that regard. He also was infatuated with "I Love Lucy." He saw every episode! LOL!

Thursday, February 02, 2012

"World Gone Mad?"

Has the world gone mad? You decide!

1) McDonald's has announced that it will be discontinuing the use of the controversial meat product known as boneless lean beef trimmings in its burgers.
The product was recently brought to the attention of the public by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who derisively referred to it as "pink slime" on an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution,

These trimmings, which consist of what's left of the meat after all the choice cuts of beef are taken, are banned for human consumption in the U.K, where they are instead used for dog and chicken food. They are legal for consumption in the United States, however, where they are treated with ammonium hydroxide in order to kill off bacteria such as E. coli and make it safe for human consumption.

2)  This week 17-year-old Britishfactory worker Stacey Irvine was rushed to the hospital when she collapsed, struggling to breathe. During the exam, doctors were stunned to learn that Ms. Irvine had never in her life eaten fruit or vegetables; instead she had eaten almost nothing but fast-food chicken nuggets since she was two years old....

....One 2004 documentary describes McDonald's nuggets as chickens “stripped down to the bone, and then 'ground up’ into a chicken mash, then combined with a variety of stabilizers and preservatives, pressed into familiar shapes, breaded and deep fried, freeze dried, and then shipped to a McDonald’s near you.”

3) WOODLAND PARK, Colo. - GOP contender Rick Santorum had a heated exchange with a mother and her sick young son Wednesday, arguing that drug companies were entitled to charge whatever the market demanded for life-saving therapies....

...."People have no problem paying $900 for an iPad," Santorum said, "but paying $900 for a  drug they have a problem with - it keeps you alive. Why? Because you've been conditioned to think health care is something you can get without having to pay for it." 

4)" I’m not concerned about the very poor; we have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling, and I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.” From Mitt Romney.

5) CAIRO (AP)—At least 74 people have been killed and hundreds injured after soccer fans rushed the field in the seaside city of Port Said following an upset victory by the home team over Egypt’s top club, setting off clashes and a stampede as riot police largely failed to intervene....

I will cross McDonalds off my list....permanently. And I like Rick and the Repubs  healthcare package. What is it? "Don't get sick. But if you do, die quickly!"