Rise and Shine -- Singing

Good Morning and, to that person who invented the snooze, a pox on you!

I don't even remember hearing the alarm this morning, let along hitting the snooze button about a dozen times.
Anyway, that's neither here or there or in bed. Made it to work only 30 minutes late.
So, I was moving some things off an old computer at home when I stumbled on a couple of videos that had been sitting on the hard drive for more than a few years.
In the videos, my son, then 6-years old, is singing and dancing. We watched the videos and had a good laugh. I also promised I wouldn't let anybody see the videos until he is about 16 and only when it will cause the most embarrassment.
Anyway, after we eat dinner, the usual request is "what's for dessert?" Most of the time, I say something like "you don't need dessert after every meal," which is another way of saying "I don't have anything."
This one day, though, I said they had to sing for their dessert. Just a short, maybe 10 second snippet of song, you know, to have a little fun.
All of a sudden, everybody was quiet.
"What song?"
I don't care.
"I don't know any songs."
Sure you do. Just 10 seconds.
"Why?"
Why not?
"I don't know the words."
This went on for about 15 minutes before I got too frustrated and left the table.
Come on, 10 seconds isn't that bad, is it?

Rise and Shine --- Oscars? Yawn!

Good Morning and what's the cure for today's Oscar hangover?

Yes, I watched the whole show last night. Yes, my alarm goes off at 3:36 a.m., so it probably wasn't the greatest idea I ever had.
Why did I stay up so late? Mostly, I was hoping the show would get a little better.
I usually like the Oscars. There are usually some funny little bits. I like seeing the scenes from the best movies. There sometimes are actually some surprises.
This year? Boring with a capital 'B.'
There were no real surprises. Everybody predicted 'The Artist' would win and it did. With the exception of J.Lo's dress and the Will Ferrell/Zach Galifianakis bit, none of the presenters did anything outlandish.
Sasha Baron Cohen dumped some ash on Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet, but they didn't even show him sitting in the audience.
Host Billy Crystal looked old, sounded old and his jokes fell flat.
Still, it's one of those nights you just stay up. Now, I need a nap.

Rise and Shine --- Funny Thursday

Good Morning and is there a better comedy show right now than those GOP debates?

Speaking of comedy, I found these to be pretty funny:

See more at CollegeHumor

Then, there's this:

See more at CollegeHumor

Rise and Shine --- Saving things?

Good Morning and welcome back to the Internet!?!

So, I read this interesting story this morning.
Really, somebody's uncle kept these old comic books around and the collection might get $2 million at auction? Is it really that easy.
Well, no. I remember for years my Dad talking about all the old baseball cards he collected. He talked about having Mickey Mantle cards, Joe DiMaggio cards, Robin Robers cards. He talked about saving them in boxes.
Then, he always adds: "My mom threw them out. She never threw anything out, but she did throw them out."
I collected cards in my youth. I read comic books. I had Star Wars figures.
All of them, though, were opened, tortured and disappeared.
The comic books had ripped pages. The Star Wars figures sometimes took flight off the roof. The baseball cards ended up in the spokes of my bike.
What I always wonder when I read these stories of collectables is, who the heck saves this stuff?
Obviously, some people had the forethought of keeping old stuff in fine condition. I guess that's why a bunch of comic books can $2 million.
I also guess the way I played with mine added to the value of theirs.
So, there, I am part of the process.

Rise and Shine --- I want Spring!!!

Good Morning and welcome to whatever this is called!

So, I went into the Home Depot the other day and, suddenly, I was hit with Spring. There were flowers all over the place. Outdoor furniture had replaced the Christmas lights and new grills were lining up the aisle.
I got to thinking, man, we really need spring.
Sure, it's been a mild winter, but it's still winter. I want to get outside and dig. I want to clean up the trees and bushes. I want to, yes it seems odd, cut the grass.
Most of all, though, is I want to build a garden. I did it last year, but got a little too over-zealous and planted too much.
By little 3x3 box had like eight tomato plants, a few peppers, cucumbers and, I think, squash.
Nothing grew. I had a few tomatoes, but the majority stayed green all summer.
This year, I'm going to do it right. I'm going to give space. I'm going to keep the rabbits away. I'm going to make it work.
Now, I just need time to speed up.

Rise and Shine -- Cereal disappointment

Good Morning and I think we should move morning back a few hours!
I remember back in the day when I would eat bowl after bowl of raisin bran so I could get to the race car in the bottom.
Sometimes, truth be told, I would dig down into the box for the latest plastic Donky Kong.
I remember my brother dumping the whole box into a big bowl, taking the prize, then trying to get the cereal back into the box.
There was always a series of cereal toys. We always seemed to get the worst one, but it was the joy of the hunt, the mystery involved.
So, when shopping the other day, I saw a box advertising a Star Wars pen.
Yeah, I thought, I can give the children a little taste if that chase. Plus, since two are Star Wars crazy, it seemed perfect.
So, we opened the box and .... there was the prize, nicely wrapped on top, outside of the cereal.
Oh well, at least they got the other part when we opened a Jar Jar Binks pen.

Rise and Shine --- Hardly

Good Morning and what is that around the corner?

It never ceases to amaze me the way we treat celebrities. This time last week, nobody cared about Whitney Houston. Now, people are holding candlelight vigils, buying CDs and crying.
I don't remember this kind of craziness when Peter Falk died. Well, I guess, it is what it is.
Oh yeah, it is Valentine's Day. So, how about this:

Valentine's Day Writer's Room - watch more funny videos

Rise and Shine --- Music to my ears

Good Morning and welcome to the second week of February???

So, I tuned into the Grammy's last night. Usually, it's a show that makes me feel a little old when performers hit the stage I've never heard of and then find out they are the hottest ones around.
This year, though, it was different. I have the Adele album. I have most of the Foo Fighters release. Tony Bennett? Glen Campbell? Bruce Springsteen? Paul McCartney? All older than dirt, yet still putting on a good show.
I'm actually going to call this my music weekend. If you've ever been out to hear live music, you know the difference. There are no mixing machines (at least for some). There fanciest equipment is a guitar.
It started Friday night when I drove to Allentown to see a friend's band. Now, I've known the guitarist/vocalist for about 20 years, but, aside from maybe on a couch, had never seen him perform live.
It was a no-brainer for me when I found out the band was going to perform. I wanted to be there and it was a lot of fun. Sure, the songs were old rockers, but so were the members of the band, so it kind of fit.
Last night, I got late word local blues/jazz singer Lisa Chavous was performing in Glenolden. I've heard buzz about her vocals from other blogs and she shows up on the radio once in a while.
Another worthwhile time. If you've never seen her sing, do yourself a favor and find a show. It's a little like heaven dropped down on stage for a little bit.
Really, there's nothing like a live show. Like Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters said last night, "Music is not about fanciest equipment, it's about heart."

Rise and Shine --- not the 'S' word again

Good morning and I liked the winter better when the heat didn't go on every 10 minutes!
So, while vegging out last night in front of the TV, they kept teasing the weather.
"SNOW is on the way!" the bubble headed bleach blond said. "SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!"
Oh no, I thought. Maybe it's going to be a messy day. Better find out.
"Snow is coming," the reader read the report."It probably won't stick on the roads."
Wonderful. Next you'll be telling me Rick Santorum is back in the presidential race.
Ahhhh!

Rise and Shine - The finger?

Good Morning and who called out after the Super Bowl?
Speaking of which, are people really 'outraged' over somebody shooting the finger during Madonna's halftime show?
Admit it, about 90 percent of Delco drivers have done the same this morning.