Blogger BBQ Thanksgiving!

Here's what the 2006 Christmas Blogger Meetup Planning committee looks like! Right purty like a Christmas card too. We do have a location scouted out (stay tuned) - We're just trying to figure out the logistics of having the ten newest bloggers sing in the Christmas Talent Show. Putting a band together should be easy.

From L to R : (F) Hutchmo, Brilliant | Girl | Jag, (R) Busy Mom, CeeElCee, Linda and Sarcasto.

It was an honor to finally meet Jag - I've been a big fan of her writing and jabs at life on her blog. She holds it together pretty good even if she's no longer on TV. East Nashville girls are a tough breed and fun to read as well.

I met Jag's friend Linda also; we both have lab/retreiver dogs so that was cool to make a connection there. I think the next Blogger Meetup should include dogs (no cats). CeeElCee told me about a little park across from the downtown library where 10,000 dogs (and winos) poop. Perhaps Centennial Park is where we should meet in the spring. They do have WiFi for those purists who insist on live blogging.

Jag and Linda have been added to the Mothership sidebar - 29 down, 71 more bloggers to break a BBQ rib with. I'll have to see what my Doctor says about my pork consumption... In 2007, I'm migrating over to chicken, with Mac 'n' cheese and green beans.

I found out today that Sarcasto lives nearby in the 'hood and about his online conflict resolutions; Busy Mom could use a new laptop from MacAuthority; CeeElCee is over his flu like funk and (small world) Huthmo's son is best friends with my son!

Blogger worlds collide indeed.

Only at the Mothership.

Me too (picture of the day)

Oh Yoko! What were you thinking!

I'm Just Saying You'll Go Blind!

Our local newspaper here in Nashville - The Tennessean - has an article today about jet trails in the sky but some disagree thinking that the GOVERNMENT is spraying chemicals. "When the air is moist and it's colder, the trails can spread in a chain reaction as water vapor turns into ice particles. Feathery clouds result."



Check out one of the comments posted:

The Government is spraying Barium and Aluminum particles into the air in unmarked planes in a criss cross pattern. They cover every major metropolitan area in a grid like pattern usually on beautiful breezy crystal clear days. Within several hours after they have blanketed an area a wihite cloud cover will overtake the entire region. THIS IS FACTUAL AND NOT SOME LAME CONSPIRACY THEORY. What they are spraying is NOT harmless and in fact very bad for your health and that of your children. This is one of the BIG reasons that Asthma rates have skyrocketed amongst young children in America. This is happening in other G8 countries not just America. The most intelligent answer that I could get as to WHY the US Govt is doing this is an attempt to combat Global Warming. The idea behind it is to reflect the Suns rays back into space. The less sunlight that reaches the Earth the less daytime heating that will occur. Though I am of the belief that this retains heat in the nighttime though no one has ever verified this to me in the scientific community.

If the above is true, than the GOVERNMENT is targeting Bellevue... particularly the Mall at Bellevue (nobody shops there anymore) and I'm in a heap of troubles when in my latter years I could very well point back to all those times whenever I see vapor trails that I run inside the house, grab my camera and photograph them. WHEW... I must catch my breath.

I like to propose that there is a GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY to prevent regular folks from growing tomatoes and corn. I just may have to stop by Al Gore's house in the next neighborhood over and see what he has to say. Better yet, I'll wait until April 1, 2007 to see if Al Gore casts a shadow when he steps out of his house to fetch his morning newspaper. If I see a shadow, then I'll know that we'll be in for another year of Global Warming. And more trails in the sky.

Sigh.

technorati tag Global Warming, Goverment Conspiracy

Holidays Gotcha Down?

Put on a happy face with an Antidepressant Perfume called Smiley.

No kidding... buy it here



Wonder if our lovable blogger CeeElCee aka "Smiley" has anything to do with this?

"Elmo-mania"

I continue to amuse myself with these collectible Gift Cards from Target -



Press the button to the right and Elmo chortles with a contagious laugh. The dogs sometimes come running like my cat Roddy (RIP) did whenever the electric can opener was used.

Elmo in action:



I may have to ask for an Elmo for Christmas!

Elmo on the WIKI

Vince Young - UDAMAN !

The Tennessee Titans never say die - with 24 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the New York Giants, the Titans have found their identity as a team that just won't quit. Catching heat all year for the team's performance, Coach Jeff Fisher has stayed the course coaching his team to overcome setbacks, blowouts and heartbreaking losses. Today was QB Vince Young's finest moment in his NFL 8 game career and even PacMan Jones can deliver the goods if he stays focused on football.

I think this game is right up there with the Titans Music City Miracle. It wasn't the playoffs, but the Titans can play the role of spoiler affecting other team's playoff hopes. I know that Dallas Cowboys fans are happy with the Titans delivering the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history. With the Titans' win over the Giants, the Cowboys has sole possession of first place over the Giants in the NFC East Division setting up next week's important game between the Cowboys and Giants.

Last, the New York media will be all over the Giants with attention drawn to the Titans.

How's this for starters -"...the Giants. They are the Collapse Champions, the Cardiac Arresters, the We Can Lose Any Game We Want G-Men, the Big Blew It.

Up 21-0 early in the fourth quarter and then down 24-21 at the end of the fourth quarter is a script even the Jets wouldn't greenlight. But these are the Giants, with a defense that can blow any sized lead in any amount of time if they set their minds to it.

And if there's a quarterback in the NFL right now who you think could pull off the comeback, well, after the 2006 Rose Bowl, you have to at least consider putting Vince Young on that list."



Hey Vince, gimme another autograph!

Yawnnn...

Our little granddog Diggy yelps and kicks her feet in her sleep...



While Ally snores... Here, she's not pleased be awakened with Diggy's yelping -



It's been a great laid back Thanksgiving weekend!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Time

Photo Hunt 33: Time

Theme: Time | Join the Photo Hunt | View Blogroll | Visit participants.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

When I'm strolling the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and I see see these tall massive granite markers marking significant points in Tennessee's history, I think of Pink Floyd's song "Time" from the album Dark Side of the Moon.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

The Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park is located in the shadow of the State Capitol in downtown Nashville. The 19-acre park is designed to complement the Tennessee Capitol Building, give visitors a taste of Tennessee's history and natural wonders, and to serve as a lasting monument to Tennessee's Bicentennial celebration.

xxx

I joined the Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt hosted by TN Chick. You too can play: Join the Photo Hunt There's a different theme every Saturday, and it's a lot of fun visiting the community of participants.

Wierd to the sixth power

That wee wascally wabbit from Hendersonville Sista Smiff tagged me out of the crowd to fess up about six wierd things about me.



I went to the source - Mrs. WonderDawg - and I knows that she loves me so much as to overlook my wierdness. She is good about stuff like that; plus she never confesses other people's sins (or wierdness) either. However, she still is working on me after 27 years to clean up after myself.

#1) Some people say I snore. I say I'll book a hotel room by myself please with two double beds. When I travel, I like to spread my stuff out and occupy every possible flat surface. I got my gadgets plugged into every available wall socket, and the second bed serves as my extra large nightstand with newspapers, magazines and additional gadgets that don't need a plug. Cleaning up drives the housemaids crazy, but all they have to do is make the bed and leave some fresh towels. They do appreciate that I leave all of my trash in one can.

#2) I can't swim. I've tried, even taking swimming lessons with the kids when they were very young. I just can't coordinate moving my arms and kicking my feet simultaneously. Zero rhythm. Jumping off the diving board at the Sportsplex to pass my test didn't motivate me to re up for the next round of lessons. I'm just not into swallowing water, unless I am assured that I'm in a NO PEE pool.

#3) I have three brothers and three sisters. I'm Kerry, there's a Jerry, Terry and Harry. (I named my son Gary). My sisters names are Lilly, Sally and Emily. (My daughter is Megan - in fact, Terry has a daughter Megan 2, born on the same day, 4 years apart). My little brother Harry is 7'2"; I'm 6'3"... everybody in our family is tall - we owe it to our diet of long grain rice.

#4) When I cough, I sneeze three times as a follow-up. Must be something to do with my head size. I wore the largest football helmet in high school. To this day, I can't wear a cap (as if I wanted to). Mrs. WonderDawg breaks out in belly laughter when I try on a cap at the local sporting goods.

#5) Public restrooms are taboo. I've talked about this before, but I will never sit my booty on a public toilet, especially a gas station. Within reason, I rather take my chances on getting a self inflicted hernia driving thirty miles home than use a public restroom where I have to sit. If I'm desperate, I rather buy a newspaper and find a field behind the Mapco to TCB. But I'm smart; I don't eat Mexican food, especially fajitas with the onions, green peppers and old refried beans. No sir, pass me by.

#6) I collect way too much stuff. Even when I can't afford it, I usually will get the item I'm after in a barter or as a gift. I use to think I would be a car collector, buying the $1500 deal at some backroads car lot. I've owned two 1996 Mustangs, a Pontiac Bonneville convertible, an Oldmobile Cutlass with a hemi and a 1963 Ford Thunderbird for 2 hours. Mrs. WonderDawg made me take it back. After 30,000 LPS, hundreds of CDs, books, newspaper articles, trinkets, schwag, tools, scraps of wood, Legos, gadgets... I keep trying to downsize. I have to! I'm out of room, so I keep trying to downsize and miniaturize at the same time. Right now, I'm fixated on Target Gift Cards to go with my collection of plastic hotel room keys and little bars of soap. Ann Landers would say I'm insecure. The Bible says I'm laying up an inheritance for my children's children. Mrs. WonderDawg says I'm just being Chinese.

Was it wierd enough for you?

Ok, I'm suppose to rat out, I mean tag 6 people. This is like picking six people to join your tribe on Survivor. So in no particular order, I'm picking 3 gals and 3 guys:

Kat Coble
The Brilliant Jag
Amy at Lavendar *Sparkles*
Short & Fat
Michael Ashby aka Mashby
Big Orange Michael

Essence of Sweet Lullaby

Mrs. WonderDawg turned me on the CD "Deep Forest" after hearing it back in 1992 at The Nature Store. It's one of those muzak soundtracks that just fits the environmental/science/nature/discover the world storefront environment.

Today the CD "Essence Of the Forest - Deep Forest" arrived in the mail and once again, I'm enjoying this compilation by French artists Eric Mouquet and Michael Sanchez.



The song "Sweet Lullaby" is very memerizing with a language I've never heard before (vocals by Afunakwa (Northern Malaita, Solomon Islands) masterfully arranged over lush electronics and a tone down dance beat.

Thanks to the Internet, I'm able to locate the "Sweet Lullaby" video (up for Best Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards):



and understand the lyrics:

(Solomon Dialect Based on English)
Sasi sasi o to aro aro
Young brother, young brother you be quiet

O angi si nau boroi amu
Although you are crying to me

Ni ma oe e fasi korona
Your father has left us

Dolali dasa na, lao dai afuimae
He has gone to the place of the dead

Afuta guau mauri, Afuta wela inomae
Protect the head of the living, Protect the orphan child

Sasi sasi ae o angisi nau
Young brother, young brother hey? although you are crying to me

Boroi nima oe e fasi koro na
Your father has left us

Dolali dasa na, lao dai afuimae
He has gone to the place of the dead

Afuta guau mauri, Afuta wela inomae
Protect the head of the living, protect the orphan child

Interpreting the Song:

This interpretation and lyrics come from one very old lady, living in Fataleka (one of the Solomon Islands), as translated by her grandchildren. The song is said to be very old and hence the new generation does not understand every word.

The song is about a young child crying because he does not see his father with the family. In response his elder sister sung this song to comfort as well as tell him the reality, with an appeal for their deceased father to protect this child in the land of the living (local ancient belief is that the dead care for loved ones they left behind).

The old woman also said that the sample, if listened to carefully, used some words and sounds that were added to make it sound more melo. Expression of some words twice, as well pronounciation of most of the words are different from that of normal conversation. Eg. 'O' should be OE', Angiangi should be angisi. This is very common with local traditional songs.

Source: Deep Forest Music

Check out the web site for history of Deep Forest as this band explores world music at its finest; and especially the Multimedia section for downloadable wallpaper.

Buy the CD and sample the music Essence of the Forest - Deep Forest at Amazon.

Good stuff.

Black Friday?

There is no way that I'm going out in public today to face the mass crowds on the busiest shopping day of the year.

Unless Mrs. WonderDawg makes me drive her around. I have this special talent to always drive up to any mall anytime, anywhere and snag the prime non-handicapped open parking spot.

But if I had a boatload of money, on this Day After Thanksgiving I might be in New York eating at The Jive Turkey where I can "Grab - Gobble - Go" while checking out the The Jive Turkey Of the Month Club.

Or maybe in Las Vegas watching the The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil

Or relaxing in the Carribbean on a NCL Cruise.

But as is, I'll eat some leftover turkey, overdosing with lunch lethargy to pass out later on the couch dreaming of my Dallas Cowboys going to the Super Bowl. Later, when I come out of my tryptophan & carbohydrate coma, I'll be climbing the attic steps to retrieve the fifty boxes of Christmas ornaments.

My traditional Black Friday.

Late night Thanksgiving dilemna

Kathy T. a super nice mom and a remarkable writer of Where's The Mute Button? while guest blogging over at Nashville Is Talking writes a PSA for all Thanksgiving hosts/hostesses...



The Tribe Has Spoken

It's time for them to leave. Try these ideas:

Sit on the couch, close your eyes and pretend to be asleep. Within 15 minutes the guests will quietly leave.

Get out the four-hour DVD of vacation photos and start the show.

Start vacuuming.

Pile the bags of garbage next to the door and thank them for helping to carry those bags to the curb.

Get out the Tupperware and let the games begin. No one wants to learn about how to burp plastic lids at 2 a.m.

Ask the remaining guests to help you rummage through the garbage, looking for containers or bottles that should be in the recycling bin.

And finally, Dear Abby says it's perfectly acceptable to ask guests to leave. Practice saying, "Oh, dear, just look at the time! I didn't realize it was so late. I'm going to let you nice people go home, so you can retire."

xxx

My favorite and kind Christian way is to say - "Would you like to have a word of prayer before you leave?"

Miss Manners gently reminds us - "Don't give up entertaining. So few people do it now, which may explain why your guests are confused about the difference between a hospitable home and a boarding house."

Five My-Kind-of-Web-Sites That I'm Thankful For

This Thanksgiving, I'm paying online homage to those wonderful souls that have either the time, technical skills, demented sense of humor, an artful way of looking at life and/or advertising dollars to make the internet a better place to surf for guys like me.

Five My-Kind-of-Web-Sites That I'm Thankful For:



(1) men who look like kenny rogers.com



(2) Men of the Square Table: Man Laws



(3) Comics On The Web (especially Herman)



(4) Sacred Sandwich



(5) Photo Essays by Herman Krieger

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Giving Thanks with a Grateful Heart

I'm giving thanks with a grateful heart A to Z this thanksgiving season - this is a repost from last year, so I'm glad things are stable.

A - Ally my lab dog and faithful companion for over 9 years - she has a vocabulary of 20 sign language words and just sweet as she can be!

B - For my wife Becky of 27 years - I love her so much for her friendship, insight and faithfulness to truth and for loving me always.

C - Christmas, when Christ was born in a manger.

D - Diggy, my grand dog... smart and loves to play.

E - Ears to hear and eyes to see.

F - Frank, my next door neighbor who been like a father to me for 21 years. Frank taught me to garden, fix cars and generally is always there as a good neighbor.

G - Gary - my son - I am so proud of him and seeing him grow up and embrace his destiny into Christlikeness. He's in the Air Force now and engaged to Nora!

H - Home. Great to be home after commuting for 14 months. Its been 14 months now that I've been back. Never again will I be separated from my family for work.

I - Insight and inventive thoughts.

J - Jesus Christ, my rock and salvation who models excellence and agape love.

K - Kerry, grateful that I have a name and was not aborted.

L - Love covers a multitude of sins.

M - Megan, my precious daughter. She is sweet with a big heart.

N - Nashville. I love this city so much - the people, community and wealth of treasures around every corner.

O - Opportunity in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

P - My parents who sacrifice greatly to raise a big family, always making sure we had food and education.

Q - Quiet moments alone with God and away from the rush of the world.

R - Relationships... we were not meant to be alone.

S - Stability; worth pursuing, nice to have.

T - Time to do all the things I want to do.

U - Understanding; how sad to hear and not understand.

V - Volunteering; what a joy it is to serve others.

W - The extended Woo family; 3 brothers and 3 sisters scattered around the country.

X - X marks the spot; to be in center of God's will for my life.

Y - Today's youth, who are passionate for life.

Z - Zest and Z's

Beatles "Love" Unwrapped

Love is... the Beatles.

I am so overwhelmed with the beauty and craftsmanship of this new release. Rather than just another run of the mill greatest hits repackaged for extra mileage and additional sales, this Beatles album is in my mind a new release, like one has never heard the Beatles before.

I can still hear the passion contained in the original recordings, now remixed and produced by Sir George Martin (the Beatles producer) and his son Giles Martin. The sonic textures of this recording is so clear, like a musical tapestry with remixes and snippets from other Beatles songs. I sat memorized on the couch listening to the DVD version in 5.1 mix Dolby surround... just like being the studio with all the right echoes.

I was blown away on the first track, an awesome acappella take on "Because." The lead vocals on the quiet songs like Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", John Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever", Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" and even Ringo Starr's "Octopus's Garden" are stellar. The guys sound like they are right there in your living room with just their guitars.

These are mixes from the original master tapes for collaboration with Cirque Du Soleil:



This "special edition" of 'LOVE' includes the standard stereo CD and a separate Audio DVD in 5.1 surround (in both High resolution DVD-A and DVD-V resolution (Dolby Digital and DTS)).



Packaged in a slipcase, and digi-pack with two clear trays, included is a 28-page booklet printed on coated quality paper.









I picked up my copy at Target for $15.58 (CD is 9.98). You can order the Special Edition at Amazon, which I did at 19.98, but I'm told it won't arrive until November 30.

This is my hands down choice for those on my Christmas list.

Listen to it The Beatles.com or here at AOL

Love Screensavers and eCards here

Track listing:
1. Because
2. Get Back
3. Glass Onion
4. Eleanor Rigby/Julia (Transition)
5. I Am The Walrus
6. I Want To Hold Your Hand
7. Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing
8. Gnik Nus
9. Something/Blue Jay Way (Transition)
10. Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!/I Want You (She's So Heavy)/Helter Skelter
11. Help!
12. Blackbird/Yesterday
13. Strawberry Fields Forever
14. Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows
15. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
16. Octopus's Garden
17. Lady Madonna
18. Here Comes The Sun/The Inner Light (Transition)
19. Come Together/Dear Prudence/Cry Baby Cry (Transition)
20. Revolution
21. Back In The U.S.S.R.
22. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
23. A Day In The Life
24. Hey Jude
25. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
26. All You Need Is Love

technorati tag Beatles

More Target goodness... Wii giftcard

Here's the last Target giftcard I'll post about since my bedtime is in seven minutes....



The Target Nitendo Wii giftcard.



Pess the button on the left and it lights up!



This giftcard has four leds inside that illuminate all four sides and the Wii logo on the front for about 5 seconds.



The light glows blue; however her are some instructions on how to hack a Wii gift card with different color lights.



The card measures 2 1/8" x 3 3/8" x 1/4"

All three cards:



Later, about that Beatles "LOVE" cd - which is why I went to Target in the first place!

technorati tag Target, Wii

More Target goodness... XBox 360 giftcard

Here are some additional gift cards I picked up as well at Target...

First up - the Microsoft XBox 360 giftcard:



This card has a raised Nexus; press the button and it emits a digital roar of some animal... maybe Bigfoot?
The green "X" lights up as well.
The size is 2" x 4" x 1/4"



Produced by Americhip



Notice the three batteries inside, speaker and led light.

technorati tag Target, XBox 360

Playstation 3 - in da house!

Here in Nashville, it's a bone chilling 40 degrees at 9:00 pm. I went to Target to pick up the Beatles Love album (on another post later) where just last week, I had a great experience photoblogging the fantastic group of college students who camped out for 36 hours to be the first to buy the much-hyped Sony Playstation 3.

Well as good fortune would have it, I strolled straight back to the electronics section, got my Beatles CD, watched in amazement at the Nintendo Wii display and the Microsoft Zune display to the left. Target was pitching me to drop an easy $250.00 each!

Instead, I waited in line three minutes to score a Playstation 3.....

GIFTCARD.

Check it out:



Here's the postcard promoting the giftcard - Buy 3 PlayStation 3 Games and get a $20.00 exclusive PlayStation 3 Target GiftCard:



... which I didn't do; I just picked five cards off the rack, and loaded them up at $1.00 each.



The card measures 2 1/8" wide by 3 3/8" in length and 3/16" in thickness. There is a reflective grid that catches light for a simulated hologram encased in the acrylic casing with the lettering silkscreened in white. Made in China. Patent Pending.



Got to love those marketing brains at Target and Sony !

technorati tag Target, Playstation 3

Beatles set to go digital?

Now that the Apple Corp. Apple Computer suit claiming that the computer maker violated a 1991 agreement to not sell music was settled earler this year, the timesonline.co.uk writes: "EMI, which has made a fortune from the Beatles since the band burst onto the music scene with Love Me Do in 1962, is coy about the details. But the music group has dropped the first hint that the catalogue of songs will be made available on the internet.

David Munns, head of EMI's North American division, told a web-industry conference in San Francisco that the Beatles' music would be available for download "soon".

Munns declined to be more specific on timing. Fellow EMI officials refused to comment further or to provide details of how the music would be available.

Any deal would have to be agreed with Apple Corps, the company that looks after the band's commercial interests. Until now, the Beatles have been one of the last remaining mega music acts whose work has not been sold online."

I always thought the Beatles brand could very well stand alone without the benefit of online sales with its long standing sales history. Since the iTunes store is primarily a single song based delivery vehicle, my theory is that the Beatles catalog would sell well in album form and most of all in a special Beatles-only music service. I can't see that Apple Corps. would want to give up any revenue share to a third party reseller.

Wired Blogs thinks the Beatles catalog of 33 albums will be available exclusively on Microsoft's Zune Marketplace.

I'm placing my bets that the Beatles music will be at The Beatles.com If you surf the site, all of the cover art and placeholders are there for an digital online store. They already have a UK and USA store selling merchandising, collectables and preorders for the Love album.

Read the Court filing here


technorati tag Beatles, Zune

Harry who?

Besides mashed up music, I've not even seen a Harry Potter movie.

I didn't even know who this was when I was at the Lego Store at the Mall of America:



"Rin" aka Kat Coble is the source for all things Harry Potter

Working at home is awesome, but it's apparent I have to get out more often.

All Mashed Up

I'm so jazzed about getting the new Beatles "Love" album having listened to it online several times - My Amazon version won't arrive until November 30 - December 2, so I just may jump over to Target and pick one up today while I'm out and about picking up Thanksgiving goodies.

I like mashed potatoes and Bobby "Borris" Pickett's "The Monster Mash", but I'm very late to the art form of mashed up music, most likely being that (1) I'm too old to go clubbing and (2) I'm stuck in the sixties and seventies with my musical tastes.

From May 2004 - Wired Magazine: "For some time, DJs -- at first in England and later in the United States and other countries -- have been developing a new style of remix, known as mashups, in which two songs are melded together. Often, the resulting track features the melody of one song and the vocals of another.

Until recently, mashups had been the province of underground DJs, in part because those doing the remixing hardly ever had permission from the original artists to do so. Instead, DJs would produce their mashups, play them at clubs and distribute them freely over the Internet."



Mark Vidler aka Go Home Productions is from my understanding the standard in mashed up music ... "producing Bootleg Mash-Ups and Remixes that have achieved a fair degree of worldwide notoriety."

I like Annie Lenox's music, but this mashed up version is pretty cool:
Annie Lennox / The Beatles
All My Birds Click link to play

The Beatles / The Monkees
PaperBack Beliver Click link to play

Glenn Peoples over at Coolfer - a awesome music industry blog has 4 tracks and more info as well.

From what I've been able to sample in the vast universe of mashed up music, a lot of the stuff is very disco for my tastes; there's a lot of junk to wade through and some good stuff as well.

Great! - something else to grab my attention span. Exactly what I don't need...

Any excellent mashups that I need to be aware of ?

I can build that...

One of the things that drives Mrs. WonderDawg a little crazy is whenever we go out and about in the mall, I'll see a display table or a fixture with shirts and pants neatly stacked on top that is unique or different.



I'll say to myself, "I wonder if that will work in my garage..." At which point, I'll stop and look at the fixture for construction details and see how everything is pieced together.

Some of my favorite stores with practical fixtures include Old Navy with their modular display shelves on big casters, Pottery Barn with their shelves and other department stores with their custom mill work.

I did build a replica of the Pottery Barn shelves to place my tools on with mixed results. The finished project ended up being too top heavy with much weight and small caster wheels. The Pottery Barn store fixture is permantly anchored for greater stability. At the time, the manager was skittish on letting me take photos or measurements, so I had to rely on pencil sketches or peering through the windows when the store was closed.

I have to build something less ambitious - like this Titans mailbox that I saw in Berry Hill. This I can do, but I already have a wooden mailbox...



Perhaps an outdoor plant stand?

Anybody score a Wii?

Just curious if anybody got a Nintendo Wii over the weekend - I just may have to go down to Toys 'R' Us or Target, ignore the Legos and see the game device is in stock.

Speaking of Target, I did score a illuminated Wii gift card - (in the mail)

Here's what one looks like...



Update soon...

The Soundtrack of My Life as told by iTunes

iTunes peeks into my life - Way too spooky, yet fun to play... Hat tip to A Voice of Hope

Here's how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool and no disclaimers allowed.

Opening Credits: Nothing But The Blood - Charlie Hall

Waking Up: When My Ship Comes In - North Atlantic Explorers

First Day At School: I Got To See You Again - Norah Jones

Falling In Love: Theme From A Summer Place - Percy Faith

Fight Song: There She Goes - The Corrs

Breaking Up: You're Gonna Make Lonesome When You Go - Bob Dylan

Prom: My Ding A Ling - Chuck Berry

Mental Breakdown: Ob La Di, Ob La Da - The Beatles

Driving: Chevy Van - Sammy Johns

Flashback: Let's Dance - Chris Montez

Getting Back Together: Why You'd Want To Live Here - Death Cab for Cutie

Wedding: Faithful - Kim Hill

Birth of Child: The Long Ships - Enya

Final Battle: Mandolin Wind - Rod Stewart

Death Scene: The Healer - Carlos Santana featuring John Lee Hooker

Funeral Song: Cold As Ice - Foreigner

End Credits: You've Got A Friend - James Taylor

No NFL Hat Trick today

It's cold and damp outside - a perfect time to be inside rooting for our three favorite NFL teams here at the WonderDawg abode: The Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos. Thanks to CBS and NBC, we're able to see all three teams nonstop from noon to eleven p.m.

First up: Titans stunned the Eagles, 31-13

Wire service: With Donovan McNabb forced out of the game by a knee injury, the Philadelphia Eagles were no match for the lowly Tennessee Titans.
Travis Henry had a 70-yard touchdown run, Adam "Pacman" Jones returned a punt 90 yards for a score and Vince Young was efficient in the Titans' 31-13 victory over the Eagles on Sunday.

Perfect followup: Cowboys over the Colts - ruining perfect season for Indy, 21-14

Wire service: Dallas (6-4) is two games over .500 for the first time all season. With four of the remaining six games at home and with the rest of the division ailing, the Cowboys are in prime position to make a run at the division title.
It's a stunning turnaround considering how badly they looked in their last home game, a lopsided loss to the New York Giants. But a halftime quarterback change that game, from Drew Bledsoe to Romo, has transformed the club. The Cowboys have won two in a row and three of four.
He was at his best on the final three drives, taking Dallas on drives of 68 yards to tie it, 80 yards to go ahead, and making enough first downs to burn the final 2:59 without letting Indianapolis get another snap.

No Hat Trick: Chargers Stage Fourth-Quarter Comeback

DenverBroncos.com: The Broncos tried to neutralize the Chargers Sunday night.
But an opportunistic defense and a well-oiled running game weren't enough to down the team's division foes on national television.
Undrafted rookie Mike Bell returned to the lineup, rushed for 90 yards and notched two first-half touchdown runs and the defense got a score, but San Diego (8-2) pulled together a late touchdown drive to take a 35-27 victory and take sole possesion of the AFC West.
Denver was outscored by San Diego 28-3 in the game's final 20 minutes and 10 seconds.

Smack-talk comment of the day:

"Redskin fans are like slinkies.... not much good for anything but they still put a smile on your face when you push them down a flight of stairs."

Hurtin'

Share the LOVE - Beatles style

You can join the global listening event online now - the album is quite good! After listening to LOVE online, I've preordered the Special Edition CD and Audio DVD at Amazon for $19.99.

On Nov. 21, EMI Group's Capitol Records subsidiary will release Love, an album officially sanctioned by the Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. It's essentially a soundtrack disc for a show that Canadian circus troupe Cirque du Soleil debuted in June at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Love was created by Cirque founder Guy Laliberte, with the blessing of his friend, the late George Harrison. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono also green-lighted the project.

The idea was to develop a show around the Beatles' music, using the original recordings, not orchestrations or limp stage-band reproductions. But rather than building Cirque routines around individual songs, the surviving Beatles and Ono opened the Beatles' vaults to their longtime producer George Martin and his son Giles and allowed them to mess with the tapes to come up with something new.

Forbes Meet The Beatles article about the project

Cirque du Soleil celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles

technorati tag Beatles, Beatles Love

Mighty fine pie indeed!

I'm leaving O'Charley's restaurant and I see the kitchen help hustle back from the grocery store across the street with a clear plastic bag of Mrs. Smith's pies.



I can vouch that O'Charley's serves mighty fine pie indeed.

I'll let you figure out the markup math.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Plush

Photo Hunt 32: Plush

Theme: Plush | Join the Photo Hunt | View Blogroll | Visit participants.

From the Free Dictionary:

Adj. 1. plush - characterized by extravagance and profusion; "a lavish buffet"; "a lucullan feast"
lucullan, plushy, lavish, lush

rich - suggestive of or characterized by great expense; "a rich display"



I saw these works of art last year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I wish now that I stopped and spent more time at this booth, as I don't even know the context of the exhibit other than TAKASHI YAMAGUCHI in the second photograph.

I know that art is in the eye of the beholder; and it's early in the morning as I write this, but seeing cellular phones framed as currency could be seen as extravagant. I know that there are great expections to expand (and monetize) the everyday use of the cell phone. Example: If 100 billion people in China use cell phones and each purchase $100 USD worth of ringtones and cellular content, extravangent lifestyles can be funded according to the forecasting models using Excel spreadsheets. Plush or extravagant thinking indeed!



xxx

I joined the Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt hosted by TN Chick. You too can play: Join the Photo Hunt There's a different theme every Saturday, and it's a lot of fun visiting the community of participants.