humor

What’s Stuck In My Head – 8 January

Let’s see how many of you know this one.

Way back in the day (yeah, I’m old), I had this song on a 45 RPM single. Chances are I stole it from my brother gave it to me.

I was totally taken in with the backwards tracked guitar and other wild sounds that start the album.

The oscillating, reversed guitar which opens the song originated from the rehearsals at Russell’s house, where Williams recorded with a 1958 Gibson Les Paulguitar with a Bigsby vibrato unit. According to Lowe, “We were recording on a four-track, and just flipping the tape over and re-recording when we got to the end. Dave cued up a tape and didn’t hit ‘record,’ and the playback in the studio was way up: ear-shattering vibrating jet guitar. Ken had been shaking his Bigsby wiggle stick with some fuzztone and tremolo at the end of the tape. Forward it was cool. Backward it was amazing. I ran into the control room and said, ‘What was that?’ They didn’t have the monitors on so they hadn’t heard it. I made Dave cut it off and save it for later.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Had_Too_Much_to_Dream_(Last_Night)

I remember dancing, well what I would call dancing – I’m sure you’d disagree, around my tiny bedroom with this turned up full volume. Needless to say, my mother was not impressed. The video appears to be from Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, although I cannot find it listed on this page. Watching drummer Preston Ritter just pounding the kit, along with vocalist James Lowe (and his autoharp) make me laugh. As was usual for any show such as this one, everything was lip synced. You’ll notice that there are no amps for the guitars. I’ve often wondered how the audience perceived the “performance” by the artists. Could they tell it wasn’t live (nor Memorex)?

So, as Dick Clark says; “Ladies and gentlemen, The Electric Prunes“!

Thanks for reading and watching! Remember to leave your comments here and not on those social media pages (I won’t see them for days!).

Peace,
B

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Ginger’s Last Week – 2018

Our silly little elf, Ginger will return to her home at the North Pole this week. I wonder just what she has planned for us this week!

Elf with a construction paper countdown sitting on top of a cat tree.
Saturday, Ginger climbed the cat’s tree with a construction paper countdown.
Elf tangled in silver garland. ELf had strung the garland across the bedroom doors.
Oh my! On Sunday morning she trapped the girls in their rooms with garland she took off the tree! Is this an Elfie Crime Scene??
Elf made a Christmas tree and a heart with read & green M&M's
Christmas Eve and Ginger made a Christmas Tree and a heart with the green and red M&M’s.
Elf in a Christmas wreath with her suitcase.
Christmas day, and Ginger has to return home. She has her bag packed and off she goes.

Sadly, Ginger now has to return home to the North Pole. We will miss her, but expect even more silly things next year!

Ginger hopes you have enjoyed these two years of pictures and stories. And, we hope you come back to see next year’s posts. Don’t forget to search for “Ginger” to see last years stuff! And we admit that most of these ideas came from Pinterest. There are a few originals, but not many.

And I thank you for your time in reading this very random blog. I realize there are many blogs to choose from, some serious, some (most) more humorous than mine. I do appreciate every time you stop to read, like and even more so follows! Thanks to each and every one of you.

Peace,
B

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What’s Stuck In My Head – Christmas Eve 2018

First – this is not what’s stuck in MY head this morning. I have John Lennon’s Happy X-Mas (War Is Over) stuck in my head, as usual around the holiday. Wifey woke up with this stuck in her head, so I’m claiming “artistic license” and using her song.

She got out of the shower singing just one line from the song; “A lousy candle’s all I found”. Not even the entire verse, just one line. But I know that feeling.

So without further ado, here is John Kay and Steppenwolf – “Magic Carpet Ride”

We hope y’all enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Peace,
B

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As Close As I Can Get

In case you haven’t heard, I absolutely despise Christmas Music. It’s old, worn out, and just plain boring.  Having said that, this is a close as I can get to playing a Christmas tune..  Enjoy!

Peace,
B

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Ginger – Week 2 2018

Here’s what the crazy little elf, Ginger has been up to this week.

Elf climbing a rock wall made of Christmas bows
Saturday – I didn’t know she was into outdoor sports. She made a rock wall out of bows!
Elf replacing the creme in Oreos with toothpaste!
Sunday – What a naughty little elf!  She’s replacing the creme in the cookies with toothpaste!!!
Elf watching a little TV while the big TV is on behind her.
Monday – Watching her movie on the little screen, while Grinch is on t he big screen.
Elf sitting in a hand-made sleigh.
Tuesday – Just like back home!  Ginger is in a hand-made sleigh ornament!
Elf finding odd things in between the couch cushions.
Wednesday – Look at the stuff she found in the couch!
Elf wrapped up in Christmas lights.
Thursday – I think she was trying to help us decorate.
Elf with magic seeds for the girls to plant.
Friday and Ginger has a magic trick for the girls. She has some “magic seeds” for the girls to plant!

And that ends week two.  Next week we’ll see just what grows from these magic seeds!  What has your elf been up to?

Peace,
B

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The Return Of Ginger – 2018

Our sweet little, mischievous, elf has returned!  The jury is still out on whether on not this is a good thing.  Just as last year (here, here, and here), I will post weekly updates. We still have the girls weekends only, so I expect Ginger to do some silly stuff again this year.

Elf on the shelf in the christmas tree with a welcome letter.
Ginger returned Saturday, with a letter for the girls.

The girls think that Ginger put herself high upon the tree to keep away from our new dog. 

Elf on the shelf in a plastic tub with peppermint oil.
On Sunday, Ginger somehow got herself into a plastic tub, then farted. The note asks if you want to smell it.

Granddaughter-the-younger was first up that morning and was brave enough to open the tub and smell.  “She must have eaten too many candy canes!”.  Later the girls were practically shoving their dad’s face into the canister “Smell it!  Smell it!!” 

 

Elf on the shelf cutting out paper snowflakes and taping them to a french door.
Monday – Ginger used the computer chair to decorate the doors with hand made snowflakes.
Elf on the shelf in an igloo with other friends.
Tuesday Ginger was having a Igloo warming party. Kinda think that “igloo warming” sounds a bit counterproductive.
Elf on the shelf sitting in front of a Charlie Brown nativity scene, placing rhinestones on her outfit.
Wednesday – She’s all Bedazzled! 
  • Thursday was
  • a Fashion Show
  • with some friends!
Elf on the shelf with a finished Harry Potter Lego set.
On Friday, Ginger finished the Lego set for us!

Once again, Ginger The Elf has shown just what happens when a little elf gets bored. But she can also be helpful!

Elf on the shelf brought us a star for the top of our Christmas tree.
How sweet!

Got any silly elves at your place??  Check back next week to see what Ginger is up to!

Peace,
B

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What’s Stuck In My Head – 19 November

As I’ve mentioned before Turkey Day 2018 is just around the corner. And that also means my birthday is right there too.  But this isn’t a post about my birthday. It’s something very Thanksgiving related.

In a previous life, I was an on-air DJ. I didn’t do it very long, as the money just wasn’t there, and I had a wife and newborn to take care of. Back then I watched TV. There were several shows that I really enjoyed, Barney Miller, Taxi, and SNL were excellent shows (although I had trouble staying up for SNL). But my favorites were Cheers and WKRP In Cincinnati. Music and a bar? Even back then that was where my head was at.

WKRP and the cult movie FM were two of the reasons I wanted to be a DJ. I have not been able to find a source to watch FM again. Which is a major bummer because Martin Mull is so hilarious. But WKRP, well that’s a different story. I believe every episode is available on YouTube.

This episode has to be the craziest ever! According to the wiki page, it’s even based on a true story!  Check out the wiki page for some very interesting facts about the show.

 Many of the characters and even some of the stories (including season 1 episode 7, “Turkeys Away”) are based on people and events at WQXI.

As funny as this clip is, it leaves out station manager, Arthur Carlson, after the drop exclaiming “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!”

But my hero’s, intrepid newsman Les Nessman (winner of the Buckeye Award!), cry of “Oh! The humanity!” makes this so damn funny.

Peace,
B

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What’s Stuck In My Head – 9 November

This is one of those songs that has been with me since childhood. It reached #2 on Billboard’s Top 100 chart on 5 June 1965.  Which would mean I was all of about 6 years, and not quite 6 months old. But it’s a fun song so it would have appealed to me.  Of course, back in those days, it was AM radio only, and in the suburbs of Miami Florida, we had two great top 40 stations. Years (and I do mean many years) later, I was lucky enough to be an on-air DJ with one of those stations.) So I heard it often.

However, I never knew there was a video of the song until I stumbled upon it yesterday while playing around on Facebook waiting on an A/C guy to finally show.  Judging by the poor video quality this must be a screen capture of a TV show. But a quick search (at 5 AM – and only one cup of coffee) turns up no clues as to what show, or when this was recorded.

From the Wiki;

(It) was the band’s first and biggest hit. It became a worldwide success, selling three million copies and reaching No. 2 on the American Hot 100 chart on June 5–12, 1965, kept off the top by The Beach Boys’ “Help Me, Rhonda” and The Supremes’ “Back in My Arms Again”. It was the first American record to sell a million copies during the British Invasion and was influenced by the British rock sound which was mixed with traditional Mexican-American conjunto rhythms. It stayed in the Hot 100 for 18 weeks, the longest time for any song in 1965, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. It was named Billboard’s “Number One Record of the Year” despite never reaching No. 1 on a weekly Hot 100; this feat was achieved again by Faith Hill’s “Breathe” in 2000 and Lifehouse’s “Hanging by a Moment” in 2001 (all three hits peaked at #2). On August 5, 1965, the single was certified as gold by the RIAA.

Also of note from the band’s wiki page is that they, in an earlier incarnation, were the house band at a bar near Leesville, Louisiana. While that may not be of interest to you, dear reader (you are still reading this, right?), also just outside of Leesville is Ft. Polk. And I retired from the Army at Ft. Polk. Just a little piece of trivia for me to tuck away.

I can’t really apologize for the quality of the video. It’s not one of my productions (not that I could have done it any better).  I love the energy that most of the band has. Then when you add in the two girls standing stock still, it becomes a great piece of performance art. And it’s fun to watch, just don’t go full screen, then it really looks bad.

If you know of a better version of this video or know what show this is from, please leave a comment below!

Peace,
B

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What’s Stuck In My Head – 1 November

I was listening to SiriusXM’s Deep Tracks channel yesterday on the way to work, and this song got stuck in my head.

This, of course, is the late great (I’ve been using that term way too much. All my favorite musicians are dying off!), Frank Zappa.  Frank never was a big commercial artist. And while I did know some of his music, this was the first album of his I bought. Sheik Yerbouti was released in March of 1979.  And with the title track and Dancin’ Fool, they are probably his only commercial hits other than Valley Girl. I have since bought several of his earlier releases, with Weasels Ripped My Flesh (August 1970) and Waka/Jawaka (July 1972) as my favorites. But Baby Snakes (March 1983) is an excellent album as well.  Valley Girl is his only track to be nominated for a Grammy and remains his top-selling single.

One of the lyrics in the song below talks about one leg being shorter than the other. This is a reference to an event that took place in London.  From the wiki page;

On December 4, 1971, Zappa suffered his first of two serious setbacks. While performing at Casino de Montreux in Switzerland, the Mothers’ equipment was destroyed when a flare set off by an audience member started a fire that burned down the casino. Immortalized in Deep Purple‘s song “Smoke on the Water“, the event and immediate aftermath can be heard on the bootleg album Swiss Cheese/Fire, released legally as part of Zappa’s Beat the Boots II compilation. After losing $50,000 (equivalent to $302,000 in 2017) worth of equipment and a week’s break, the Mothers played at the Rainbow Theatre, London, with rented gear. During the encore, audience member Trevor Howell pushed Zappa off the stage and into the concrete-floored orchestra pit. The band thought Zappa had been killed—he had suffered serious fractures, head trauma and injuries to his back, leg, and neck, as well as a crushed larynx, which ultimately caused his voice to drop a third after healing.

This attack resulted in an extended period of wheelchair confinement, making touring impossible for over half a year. Upon return to the stage in September 1972, Zappa was still wearing a leg brace, had a noticeable limp and could not stand for very long while on stage. Zappa noted that one leg healed “shorter than the other” (a reference later found in the lyrics of songs “Zomby Woof” and “Dancin’ Fool“), resulting in chronic back pain.

Have a favorite song of Zappa? Can’t stand him? Leave a comment!

Peace,
B

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It’s Gone Too Far (A.K.A. Jumping The Shark)

For those that are Twitter or Facebook buds (no? – why not? links below), you know of my “love” of anything pumpkin spiced.  For those new to the game, this expresses my “love” perfectly.

ps_ass

Anything pumpkin flavored sucks. Yes, this includes the pie…

So yesterday Wifey® and I were doing the weekly shopping, and lo and behold what do we see in the cereal aisle? Pumpkin Spice everywhere!

Seems that life has jumped the pumpkin spice shark…  So sad.  I’ll just leave you with this tidbit.

Pumpkin-Spice-tacos

Pumpkin Spice no! Tequila yes!

 

Peace,
B

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