A Cause for Independence...

What did you do for Independence Day??

I totally love the idea of hugely ginormous firework displays. They're Most Impressive.
However... what I don't love are the crowds, the noise and all the terrible smelling smoke involved.

So, what we choose to do instead: spend a quiet evening at home assembling care packages for our Military Men and Women who are stationed overseas. We've been doing it for years now and is something of a tradition at our house. It really helps to bring special meaning to this holiday for our family. And is just a small way for us to thank those folks who are ultimately responsible for our way of life. The sacrifices they make are great, the recognition they receive is little.

I encourage you to visit the AnySoldier.Com website and think about sending a card, a letter or a package to someone special serving in our military. Help to let them know how much they are appreciated, supported and loved.

It's a truly awesome thing to do... anytime of year.

Let's Hug it Out!

Believe it or not, I actually Don't live under a rock. Sure, I'd heard of Entourage before, but am only just now getting around to seeing it. I don't watch much/if any TV... and most of what I do watch I catch on DVD. Now this is a series I hadn't seriously given much thought. I was only familiar with two of the actors - the first being Jeremy Piven, who on his own would have been compelling enough BUT the other was Kevin Dillion. Which I'm sad to say, is the reason I avoided this series for so terribly long... honestly, I just didn't think I could take Dillion for any extended period without wanting to break out the hand drill and lobotomize myself.

Then, last weekend a friend suggested it. I told him of my misgivings and he blatantly informed me that I was completely off the mark on this one. So... always being one up to a challenge - off I went to reorder my Netflix Queue.

Wow... What a Completely pleasant surprise! And shocker to end all shockers - Kevin Dillion is absolutely Brilliant! I couldn't believe it, he's so damn good that it makes me want take back all the horrendous things I said about him 20 years ago. He's really come a very long way indeed. He's a pure joy to watch here, and I'm happy to stand corrected.

It's also important to note that realistically, there simply wouldn't be a show without Jeremy Piven's masterful portrayal of Ari Gold. Who enters every scene as though he's just been shot out of a cannon. He's amazing and magically caustic.

In my humble opinion - Dillon's Drama and Piven's Ari completely steal the show and shine beyond any expectations I may have had. The writing is sharp and witty, off-color and hysterical. Think Sex and the City for Men. Noting, that in the same vein as SATC, it's not the main story but the sub-plots that make the show work and carry you along. It's an absolute must see with really terrific writing focusing on characters that make you laugh out loud and who often cry out to be bitch slapped. Always a stellar combination in my book and goes a long way to prove that television written for cable (Entourage is on HBO) is so much more enjoyable for me.

Here's one of my favorite Ari scenes to date:
(obscene language ahead... proceed with caution)

I'm just wrapping up season three and think it's my favorite thus far. So many little details to enjoy. Seriously... check it out, in the mind numbing doldrums of current TV offerings - this one is definitely worth the watch, especially when you pay attention to the dialogue.

Hysterical Drama Moments to Relish:

Love... Love... Love...

I am without a doubt Insanely, Madly, Deeply and Absolutely In Love with this....

It makes my heart go Pitter Pat. Not only does it happen to be one of my most Favorite Films of all time. But it's also a priceless find on this Oscar weekend...
Where my Main Squeeze of a Manly Man - Clint Eastwood - was ROBBED of any nominations.

WTF??
Obviously all is not right with the world and I can smell a Major Conspiracy at play here!

Clint I love ya! You Rock My Man.

Oh Yeah... I think I'm totally ordering myself one of these Ultra Hip posters...
Our theater room just won't be complete without one now.... Ahhhh....
If you're dying to add it to your very own collection Here's the Place to snatch one up for yourself.

Singing Dogs...

This so totally made my day. Not because I'm a Y&R fan but because growing up we had an awesome dog - Chapoo - that would sing along to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Talk about a show stopper. She was such a sweetie and this terrific clip made me think of her. We all sure miss you dearly Poo!

Marvin Gaye Sings the National Anthem

Hands down the Very BEST rendition of the National Anthem (for the US) that I've EVER heard. Stunning.

Oh good heavens! Marvin Gaye truly was a Sensation. Gifted beyond words. Taken too soon.
(I nabbed this awesome clip from my pal Tam)

Click for Free... Help a Friend

Now read this ... and then please click and donate!

Hey! All you animal lovers out there.

This is pretty simple... Please tell ten friends to tell ten today!

The Animal Rescue Site is such a terrific foundation! They have such a wonderful program to help support shelter animals. Although, lately they've been having trouble getting enough people to click daily in order to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes all of a mere 15 seconds! to click on their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free. It doesn't matter where you live... there are no global boundaries... everyone is invited to click daily to help.

This doesn't cost you a thing. Not One Single Cent. Nada. As in, you guessed it - FREE.
Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising.

So click on the link above for today. Then use the one I've got on my side bar tomorrow, and the day after that... and the day after that one. Grab a Button from their site & smack it up on your own side bar... They've also got a Ultra Hip Reminder link on their site you can sign up for - where you receive a little email each day to help you remember to click.
It's a cool thing to do and it's quick, simple and Free.
Go - Be Cool. The Fonz would so totally approve.

Please feel free to copy this post for yourself... Help spread the word ;)

Share Your Love with an Animal...

Most of you might have already seen this...
But just in case you haven't I wanted to be sure you did.
It's amazing and makes me cry every single time I watch it.
Nothing compares to the bond and love shared with an animal.
It's non-conditional, pure and absolutely fulfilling.

Personally, I sure would have preferred the music to be something other than the cheeseball Whitney Houston singing too loudly... that aside, it's a beautiful thing.

Burning to Watch...

I don't watch much TV. Actually, one might say I pretty much Hate what TV has become in recent years. Reality TV makes me want to induce projectile vomiting. I can't imagine why on earth folks watch crap like Survivor, Dog the Bounty Hunter, American Idol, The Bachelor.... hold that thought - I've got to take a heavy hit of Kaopectate. Just the thought of having to sit through the visual torture is causing strange occurrences in my bowels. Ugh. Really?? Folks. Watch. This. Crap??

Dancing with the Stars??? Intervention?????!!! OMG. I'd rather stab myself in the thigh with a pair of chop sticks. Repeatedly. Or partake in a little trepanation - anyone, anyone?

Now... before you start foaming at the mouth and urinating on the rug - just stop right there. Calm down, breathe. Note: nasty comments will be deleted. No insult is intended - afterall, I Honestly wouldn't think YOU could ever Willingly watch Reality TV. If you do so, well, there's not a whole lot more I can say to that. I can't, don't, won't ever understand how people can devote their valuable time on such tripe. If I wanted to watch people make utter asses of themselves for money I'd simply give up my full time Mom gig and go back to work. But before we witness a scene from Scanners let me tell you a little secret. I like really bad retro TV. You know... the stuff you can see on Nick at Nite [is that even still on?] and the Hallmark Channel. Shit like The Rockford Files, Simon & Simon, Barretta, Columbo, The Equalizer, MacGyver and my All Time Favorite Murder She Wrote [honestly]. And just to prove there are no hard feelings - I actually OWN every season of Murder She Wrote that's been released thus far [we're up to 8 now]. Pathetic I know. Still wanting to feel rectified? Does the fact that I basically have every episode memorized help? I suppose in the end, we all have our weaknesses.

I miss the fun and entertaining lame-ass TV shows of yester year. So you can just imagine my delight when I discovered Burn Notice on USA. It's got all the terrific elements of TV I like - for example: It's a real show - ya know with writing and actors and TV stuff. It's got Bruce Campbell [as Sam] to boot!! One of the best side kicks around if you ask me... well, except for The Closer's Tony Denison (Det. Flynn) and his pal G.W. Bailey (Provenza) - they're completely awesome and the only other current TV I watch.

Sure there were issues with the Pilot and the first season... Gabrielle Anwar's [Fiona] horrifying attempt at an Irish accent was gut wrenchingly bad - down right painful in fact. And what was up with Sharon Gless's wig?? I dunno... but thankfully they're both Long Gone now. Whew! It's like a modernized, cooler, hipper, quirkier, more cynical version of classic TV - and Jeffrey Donovan is wonderfully diverting as Michael Westen. The writing is really shaping up with the new season... like everyone is getting their groove on and the characters are seriously clicking together. Take a peek if you haven't already - there are Surely much Worse ways to spend an hour of your time ;) And despite what the following ad says - it can be seen on USA at 10pm on Thursdays.

What does your Car Say.... About You?

This week's "This is" theme: What makes me happy...
better late than never.

Odd tidbits about me...

I'm so very lucky. I own a car that IS the sum of all my parts = Retro, funky, foreign, adorable, Rad, sporty, original, quirky and entirely Too Much Fun to Drive. Yeah, if I were a car this is The car I would be. Lots of things make me blissfully happy. This car is at the tippy top of my list. Which BTW is a terribly long, loooong list... What can I say... I'm easy to please and I live a pretty charmed life.
It hasn't always been so, but it's So now ;)

I still remember The Day darling husband and I rounded the corner and I saw her for the first time. When folks speak of love at first sight - this is what they're talking about! My breath caught in my chest! OMG - Is it?? Could it be?? For sale??

It was!! And very quickly she was all mine!

This car is The Epitome of Me. It's my Classic 1973 Saab 96. It's Red and magnificent and makes me smile every Single time I look at it. Even now, after 17 years of ownership. We're talking He-Uge Dorky ear to ear goofy assed kind of grinning. It's fairly safe to speculate that you probably wouldn't ever want to see the absurd look of blissful joy that's plastered all over my face when I drive it.
Did I mention she's a 3 speed column shifter?? Once again - OMG.


I can't seem to find any digital shots of my sweet little ride and don't feel like scanning and uploading... so thank the photo gods for Flickr. This shot looks just my baby... except is missing the Totally Stellar Factory Original Driving Lights [on the front bumper] that Mine has. Such a lovely shot... wouldn't you agree? And believe me... if you've ever wondered what I'm like - this car completely says all you'd ever need to know about me.

Those who already know me --need only say Amen!

Maybe you can't possess the car that IS your metal construction counterpart.
But -- If you could though... what would that car be??

Want to view more "This Is..." participants?
Stop over at Three Buttons blog and take a look.

Just Say NO to Plastic Bags -- ReDuce, ReUse & ReCycle

Do You SAY ‘NO’ TO PLASTIC BAGS??

Dr. Marcus Eriksen and researcher Joel Paschal aboard JUNK set sail on a
2,100 mile voyage from Southern California to Hawaii June 1st, 2008

Here’s a very sobering and heart wrenching excerpt from an article by Summer Bowen in the July CONSCIOUS CHOICE magazine.

The amount of plastic debris currently clogging the world’s oceans - 3.5 million tons and (exponentially) growing - is certainly frightening’. AMRF has already made several trips to the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch,’ a swirling vortex of plastic twice the size of the continental United States

AMRF stands for Algalita Marine Research Foundation, whose mission statement is…

to let the world know about the giant plastic soup we have found in the Central Pacific Gyre and other marine locations so that something can be done to halt this increasing problem before it becomes worse than it already is. We do this with K-12 education programs, making presentations locally, at the state, federal and international levels, by the distribution of our signature video Our Synthetic Sea, and through every facet of the media.

The brief article outlined an amazing adventure that began June 1st, 2008, when Dr. Marcus Eriksen, Director of Research and Education for AMRF (chief sponsor of the voyage), and researcher and filmmaker Joel Paschal set sail on a 2,100 mile voyage from Huntington Beach, California to Hawaii, on a vessel named JUNK, made from 15,000 used plastic bottles with a Cessna 310 airplane body for the cabin. Anna Cummins is the land based third member of the team, and will post updates on the two-man crew’s adventures via the JUNK blog.

Do You ReDuce... ReUse... ReCycle the Trash You create!!!!?????

Be Apart of The Solution. Be Aware...Help Rid Our Planet of the Problem.

The Passing of a Master

I was about 10 when I first heard this album. It was completely earth shattering. Over the course of one summer (1982) it completely altered my life.

Wow! I often stole away into my room and played it over and over again on my own hi-fi with my mega watt head phones attached to my noggin... but not for the reasons you may think.

Lots of kids might have very well gone nuts over the language... but Shhheeeiiiit, I'd heard my Dad string together a slew of much more impressive and shudder worthy expletives :)

Nope, for me it was George's masterful Sarcasm... I think it was really the first time I had actually heard someone talking about life in the same manner that I thought about it. It was Amazing, a revelation! It kicked the door open for me and rocked my world. Sarcasm is such a wonderful display of dry wit and humor and I really thank the GC for clearing the road for me. Showing me that it was perfectly okay to say what I was thinking, and that I wasn't alone. Actually helping liberate me from my shyness (I was painfully shy as a kid) and allowing the person I was inside to bloom.

I gotta tell ya - when I entered the 6th grade I was unrecognizable to most of my friends. I wore my internal confidence on the outside, I walked taller, prouder and was a whole lot mouthier!

I had always had a voice, but this was the year I learned to let it out. Hallelujah!

George Carlin - a Master Swearintologist and Sarcastic Guru has left the building.

Adios Big G... you'll be sorely missed Dear Sir!

Wish Fulfillment... Dad's Day

My Mom always gives me a hard time about my Dad. I always take his side. I always defend him. I'm always there to steady his pedestal.

I simply Adore my Dad... what can I say. And although my Mom doesn't think I'm aware of any - I do know that he's got a few faults, but shoot, who the heck doesn't. No matter what - I still think he's pretty damn near perfection. It's delightfully easy to sing his praises...

So to keep things short -
I'll just give you the abridged version:
The Top 10 Reasons My Dad is Grand!


1) He's the Biggest Teaser on this planet.
2) He's kind and very sweet.
3) He's just like MacGyver... he can fix and build anything out of whatever's handy.
4) Being annoying is an art and a science for him.
5) He's a Swearintologist Master!
6) He's a total Softie, we're talkin' Mr. Fluff.
7) He's terribly funny - in a very subtle, sarcastic, get your goat kind of manner.
8) He'll watch any of Clint Eastwood's movies with me... even if we've both seen it 315 times.
9) He worships my Mom (for 39 years) even when she's naughty!
10) He cherishes being a Grandpop.

All the while I was growing up I used to notoriously say...
If I ever get married I wanna marry someone just like Dad.

And wouldn't you know it... 17 years ago when my Mom first met The P she pulled me aside in her kitchen and whispered "You've found him".
That's probably one of the sweetest and most unexpected things my Mom has ever said to me...
What an awesome feeling!

I can't believe I live such a charmed life. Father's Day is such a wonderful celebration. It's a time to reflect on how much my own father means to me, and to take pride in the love my son has for his own Papa. Having a wonderful Dad is incredible, being married to a wonderful Dad is inspiring!

So for My Two favorite Dads out there - I love ya!
Thanks for everything you do. Thank You for making life hold such meaning!

Major Kudos for The Clintmeister

I have a crush. Actually I've got two... but in this entry we'll just discuss my life long crush. A crush being something unexplained you've got about someone. Not on someone, cuz that's kind of gross and might require some police intervention. A crush is kind of a sweet thing and you're not quite sure how to describe what it is. If it's a feeling you might be ashamed of or feel you can't discuss in a public forum - well, my friend I think what you may be experiencing might have a closer resemblance to stalking rather than a boring ol' crush and suggest you seek some medical attention, before you need a lawyer. And if that's the case please note that the term "friend" is used loosely and holds no context for the imagined relationship you think we might have.

I've had a "thing" for Clint Eastwood since I was 4 years old. I still remember playing on the yellow shag carpet with my brother's Hot Wheels and watching mesmerized as Clint holstered his pistola. I couldn't tell you what was going on but this dude was wearing a poncho and he looked good. I've been smitten ever since, and although this honey of man is now on the brink of boarding on actual old age (he's 78) - I still think he's one fine piece of machinery (I'd like to rev his engine). Sure you may look at him now and think 'geezer'... but I look and still see 'Blondie'... cigar, beady eyes and sarcasm galore. It's safe to say I've got it bad.

So here's to My Kickass Clintmeister... who although didn't win the big enchilada at Cannes was at least recognised for his major contribution to film with the Lifetime Achievement Award. If he'd come see me I'd give him a different kind of award, if you get my meaning. Come on now, just a kiss.