Now that everybody has a camera on their phone, and now that Facebook is a greedy beast that must be fed, it seems parents take WAY more pictures of their kids than was the case back in the 1960s and 1970s. It seems we only brought out the cameras for birthdays or Christmas.
That got me to thinking about which of my childhood memories I wish came with photographic evidence. Here's the list I've come up with so far.
1. The play the kids in our neighborhood did called "Curse of the Two Twins." This original play, the brainchild of my friend Gale and me, involved cops who turned into monsters, a letter carrier/vampire, and Baby Tenderlove dolls that were transformed into hideous melted antique dolls. You'd think somebody's parents would have brought a camera!
2. The neighborhood playground we spent so much time hanging out at. All the dangerous playground equipment has been removed from the playground at St. Joe's School...I would love to be able to see it one more time.
3. Any of my first days of school. Apparently this was not a big deal in my family.
4. My first bike ride..or any of my early bikes. The purple Schwinn with the flowery banana seat was amazing.
5. Our backyard carnivals. Inspired by the Carnivals for Muscular Dystrophy, we had our own for-profit carnivals, complete with bean bag toss and other games, and prizes we'd saved up from cereal boxes.
Sigh. The pictures in my mind's eye are probably in better focus than the ones my family would have taken anyway.
Happy birthday to the Cute Beatle, SIr Paul McCartney! He turns 71 today.
One of the rules for Beatles fans is that you must memorize tidbits of Beatle trivia to try and impress other Beatle fans. This is not that easy to do....as things like "he's left-handed" are widely known.
Are any of these facts new to you?
1. Paul's real first name is James.
2. He was the tallest Beatle. At 5'11" he was half an inche taller than George.
3. Paul makes whooping noises in the background on "Mellow Yellow" by Donovan, and sang backup on Elvis Costello's "Veronica."
4. He was named an honorary detective by the New York Police Department, after performing at a post 9/11 benefit concert.
5. He has a minor planet named after him. Planet 4418 was named "McCartney" in 1983.
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really taste like cand corn, but were just non-specifically overpoweringly sweet.
And I'm thinking that will also be the description of the new Watermelon Oreos, with pink and green filling. One reviewer compared the flavor to Bubblicious bubble gum. Yecch.
It's obvious that the Nabisco folks were not going for any sort of accuracy at all. If they had been they would have included seeds! That could have added a whole new dimension to the annual Watermelon Seed Spitting competition that happens every year out in Pardeeville.
As for me, I think I'll pass on this new summertime limited edition flavor. I'm holding out for corn on the cob Oreos.
By the way, have you heard the new Oreo song, performed by Owl City?
Still haven't found a great gift for Dad? If he likes music, I've got some suggestions that just might help you out.
1. John Fogerty's new album "Wrote a Song for Everyone" is absolutely amazing! It features two new songs, and duets with some of his favorite artists, from the Foo Fighters to Bob Seger. Country artists get their licks in too. I couldn't get enough of Brad Paisley's guitar solos in "Hot Rod Heart." They took my breath away!
2. If Dad really likes to rock hard, you might pick up "13" by Black Sabbath, in stores this week. It's their first album with Ozzy Osbourne in 35 years!
3. If Dad's a Neil Young fan and likes to read, get him Waging Peace, Neil Young's memoir that came out last year. It might just be the best rock memoir I've ever read. As John Stewart on the Daily Show said, it makes you feel like you're with Neil while he's out puttering in the garage, sharing his musings with you. This is a great book.
4. If your dad already has tickets to see Rush at Summerfest, why not get him a book about the Canadian trio? Rush: The Illustrated History(Martin Popoff) was just released a couple weeks ago. It includes hundreds of photographs and the story of the band going back to 1968.
5. For something really different, how about this? A necktie made out of recycled cassette tape. Get this, if you run a tape head over the tie, you can actually hear music. It's a truly unique gift--but it will set you back 90 bucks. More info here.
There's a new Mecca for guitar players in Wisconsin. An exhibit in honor of the Wizard of Waukesha, Les Paul, opened Sunday on what would have been his 98th birthday.
Les Paul was one of the most curious people to ever occupy the planet, and that curiosity led him to create the first solid body electric guitar, and to develop multi-track recording. The exhibit features rare guitars and artifacts that belonged to Les Paul, and tells the story of his amazing life.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-4pm, with admission $7 for adults.
I can hear it already: "The Flying Monkeys come right at you!"
Warner Brothers has announced that it's re-releasing the original 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz" on the really big screen this fall. The film has been re-mastered (again) and will be shown on iMax screens and in 3D.
I love that movie. It's been my favorite film since I was a toddler. I practically know it by heart, and have been known to impress people with my spot-on imitation of the Wicked Witch of the West, as well as Glinda.
But do I really need to see it again on a screen that's 52 feet high? That's something I'll have to ponder for a moment.
A few years ago I forked out $35 for the Blu-Ray, and was disappointed. It really didn't look a whole lot better than my original DVD copy. So will this disappoint too?
Back in the 1990's I saw The Wizard of Oz on the big screen at the Majestic Theatre, and thought that was pretty amazing. Most interesting to me was that I noticed that in some scenes the scarecrow is packing heat! What? Why does he have a handgun? Do they even have right to carry laws in Oz? I was pretty surprised because I had never noticed that in countless viewings on my TV at home.
So what will I notice in the super-gigantic 3D version? The Cowardly Lion with a hand grenade? Land mines planted on the yellow brick road? I'm a little muddled.
The movie opens Sept. 20th to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the film. If you go, it will probably be me in line right behind you.
It must have been a surreal experience for the 23 year old country singer. Taylor Swift, who was born around the time they were on their Steel Wheels tour, was the special guest of the Rolling Stones Monday night, joining Mick and the band for "As Tears Go By."
The song was one of the first songs that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote, and was a hit for Marianne Faithfull in 1964.
It looks like Taylor Swift was trying to become Marianne Faithfull with her hair long and straight and bangs. Let's just hope she wasn't trying to seduce Mick (who dated Marianne Faithfull when she was about Swift's age.)
She looked good, but how was her singing? I guess I'll leave that up to your interpretation.
Here's Marianne Faithfull back in the day, for comparison purposes. There's one thing that Taylor got right: the eye makeup.
Every week I'm making an attempt to try a new superfood..and the latest one is broccoli rabe, also known as rapini. It's a leafy green vegetable that's packed with potassium, iron and calcium, dietary fiber and as well as Vitamins A, C and K. Broccoli rabe also contains lutein, which is an antioxidant that protects the retinas of your eyes from damage caused by free radicals.
It came in a fairly big bunch, and cost a little over 3 bucks..so not too expensive at all.
I read a bunch of recipes online and of course followed none of them, preferring to make up my own as I went along.
One thing I did follow from most of my online resources--I blanched the broccoli rabe by immersing it in boiling water, but only for a few seconds. Then I rinsed it in cold water.
I cut off the big hollow stems, and then chopped up the rest of it in bite size pieces (maybe an inch or two square), and then sauteed them with olive oil and fresh garlic until they got wilty. Then I put in some pepper and red wine vinegar.
Meanwhile, I was boiling some whole wheat elbow macaroni in another pan. Before I drained the pasta, I put a few tablespoons of the starchy cooking water in with the broccoli rabe, then when the pasta was done, drained it, and threw it in with the broccoli rabe, mixed in a few tablespoons of shredded parmesan, a little more olive oil, and wa-la! It was done, and DELICIOUS.
It was funny, because my boyfriend Mike kept asking, "what is this?" and when I said "broccoli rabe" he kept asking why I was calling him Rob. Adorable, huh?
I'm not sure what my next superfood will be...any suggestions?
About this time every year, I see lots of articles on line and in magazines about great "beach reads."
What exactly makes a book a "beach read"? Is it just a book with a summertime feel? One that takes you all summer to read? One that you don't care if it gets splashed on or squirted with Coppertone?
I read books year-round, and I don't think there's one kind of book that I like to read more in the summer than the winter. If it's a book with interesting well-developed characters and a good story, I'll read it any time of the year.
Here's a book some might conisder a great beach read: Beaches, by Iris Rainer Dart. It's a great book, but it's really sad. I guess I would not want to read that one on a beach because I might use my towel to dry my tears, and would then get sand in my eyes.
If you have a good "beach read" you'd like to recommend, I'm open to suggestions. But I probably won't read it on the beach. I might just be outside on a plastic lawn chair.
It's not that I have anything against bacon. Really, I don't. If I happen to be at a greasy spoon and the server offers me a choice between bacon and sausage, I will take bacon.
And without bacon, a B-L-T would just be an L-T.
But what is with the world's fascination with bacon? Do we really love it so much that it has to be included in every other kind of food? Why can't bacon just be bacon?
What pushed me to the edge on this issue? I found a news story online about a place in New York called Baconry. It's where bacon meets bakery, and they're now offering 23 carat gold chocolate bacon.
As if chocolate bacon weren't superfluous enough, does it have to be sprinkled with gold dust? By the way, this store offers "birthday bacon" which is sprinkled with candy confetti, chocolate chip bacon cookies, and gluten-free bacaroons...macaroon with bacon, I presume?
Several breweries offer bacon flavored beer. The best name? "Aporkalypse Now Oatmeal Bacon Stout," and it comes from a Canadian brewery with an appropriate name--Hogsback Brewing Company.
There's even bacon flavored lip gloss.
Enough already. Let's put bacon on the plate next to a couple of eggs, where it belongs!
If you believe the hashtag, #johnmayerisback!
His first tour since his vocal cord troubles cleared up kicks off on the 4th of July, and includes a stop at Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 6th.
In addition to preparing for a tour, he's been...
Are kids today over-photographed?
Now that everybody has a camera on their phone, and now that Facebook is a greedy beast that must be fed, it seems parents take WAY more pictures of their kids than was the case back in the 1960s and 1970s. It...
People have been wondering why Billie Joe jumped off the bridge since this song came out and made it to number 1 in 1967. Singer Bobby Gentry says people always asked what was thrown over the bridge and why did Billie Joe jump. She never would give a...
Happy birthday to the Cute Beatle, SIr Paul McCartney! He turns 71 today.
One of the rules for Beatles fans is that you must memorize tidbits of Beatle trivia to try and impress other Beatle fans. This is not that easy to do....as things like...
In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley topped both the pop and country charts with "Harper Valley PTA". She was the first female singer to accomplish that feat and it wasn't repeated until Dolly Parton did it in 1981 with the song "9 to 5". The song was...
This week we're doing story songs on the World's Worst iPod. We start with the story of Billy who really wanted to be a hero. He was a hero, but didn't live to see it and his girlfriend was pretty angry. The song was originally done by...
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
If you believe the hashtag, #johnmayerisback!
His first tour since his vocal cord troubles cleared up kicks off on the 4th of July, and includes a stop at Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 6th.
In addition to preparing for a tour, he's been...
Are kids today over-photographed?
Now that everybody has a camera on their phone, and now that Facebook is a greedy beast that must be fed, it seems parents take WAY more pictures of their kids than was the case back in the 1960s and 1970s. It...
People have been wondering why Billie Joe jumped off the bridge since this song came out and made it to number 1 in 1967. Singer Bobby Gentry says people always asked what was thrown over the bridge and why did Billie Joe jump. She never would give a...
Happy birthday to the Cute Beatle, SIr Paul McCartney! He turns 71 today.
One of the rules for Beatles fans is that you must memorize tidbits of Beatle trivia to try and impress other Beatle fans. This is not that easy to do....as things like...
In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley topped both the pop and country charts with "Harper Valley PTA". She was the first female singer to accomplish that feat and it wasn't repeated until Dolly Parton did it in 1981 with the song "9 to 5". The song was...
This week we're doing story songs on the World's Worst iPod. We start with the story of Billy who really wanted to be a hero. He was a hero, but didn't live to see it and his girlfriend was pretty angry. The song was originally done by...
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
