Beatles

So the other day I was humming a Beatles tune (Which one? I don't know!) and I decided to listen to it on YouTube, which led to a marathon session of listening to Beatles albums.

How is it that music that is almost 50 years old is still so incredibly fresh and relevant? 

Rubber Soul and Revolver were released in 1965 and 1966!

Also, they are still better than most of the music on the radio today.  I was in a mall the other day and some singer was singing "shine like a diamond" repeatedly to the point where I wanted to pull an Elvis Presley and shoot the radio.

I discovered a few things along the way.  

As I was listening to an album I knew like the back of my hand (do the rest of you have that thing where you can hear the next song in your head before it actually starts?) and I heard the "wrong" song.

Turns out, albums released in the US and the UK have different lineups and different songs, which I never knew. 

I also discovered something about Norwegian Wood a few years ago, which still staggers me.  First of all, apparently, it was a fad in England at the time to panel a room with wood, hence the reference to Norwegian wood. All my life, I swear to you, I thought they were discussing fire wood! I thought maybe Norwegian wood smelled better! (Don't judge me, I was 8!)

More importantly, at the end, after the girl leaves without sleeping with him, he says, "so I lit a fire, isn't it good, Norwegian wood," which, again, all my life, I thought he was lighting a fire in the fireplace, he meant that he set the house on fire!  Am I the only one that didn't know this?

However, the thing that staggered me the most was listening to Run for Your Life.

Okay, I have been listening to this song all my life and NOW I realize how incredibly misogynistic it is?

It's incredible how much life has changed in 50 years. I know I sang this utterly unthinkingly in 1965. I think we thought this was "romantic" in 1965. Unbelievable but true.

I looked it up and apparently this is Lennon's homage, although it irks me to call it that, to Elvis Presley's song, Baby, Let's Play House, that contains the line, "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man."

To his everlasting credit, according to Wikipedia, Lennon averred that this song was his "least favourite Beatles song" in a 1973 interview and later said it was the song he most regretted writing.

Let's give John credit for maturing and evolving, just like the rest of us.

Okay, back to Youtube....

Julia Farnese

So I'm watching the Borgias and I'm really confused about something.

Why does everyone refer to Julia Farnese by her full name?

Even the Pope (and he's sleeping with her) always calls her Julia Farnese.

Isn't this like dating Brad Pitt and always referring to him as Brad Pitt?

"Hello, Brad Pitt. How was your day, Brad Pitt?  Would you like to have sex with me now, Brad Pitt?"

(What?  Like you wouldn't be asking that if you were dating Brad Pitt?)

Soup!

I made some fantastic soup!

I took 2 cans of Great Northern beans (yes, I know, you make yours from scratch, showoff....), then I had bought one of those soup mix collection of vegetables from the market.  There were carrots, turnips, parsnips, an onion, and fresh parsley.

I diced everything and put it in the pot with the beans and added a huge can of chicken broth and some chopped kale.

I let it simmer for a couple of hours (didn't need that much time but I was busy) and then I took out about a quart, pureed it in the blender, and returned the puree to the pot.

It was truly awesome and so incredibly easy!

Who knew soup this good could be made this easily? (Okay, cooks know, but I'm not much of a cook...).

I just had a bowl for dinner and still can't believe how good it is.  Add a little bread or a toasted English muffin and you've got a great meal!

Jose Luis, the world's most articulate baby...

Cute video by seriously funny regular guy.

Check out other videos on his Youtube channel.

Big Brother/Little Brother

So cute you'll scream.

Don't miss the mini booty pop at the end!

Frankenstein Cat

Every time I see this, I laugh.

Whale likes to boogie!

I'm so loving on this video.

First of all, I'm freakin' loving that the mariachi band is playing "Downtown."

Second, the whale is dancing!

I understand that experts have weighed in and insist that the whale is not dancing.

Oh, what do they know!

Enjoy the cute dancing beluga whale!

Almost Frank Sinatra

Wow, this guy sounds just like Frank!

Makes me want to foxtrot (sigh).

Good things

http://abcnews.go.com/WN

Just had to share this.  Check out this link to ABC news.

A little boy shows a great generosity of spirit.

I was particularly touched by his reference to what he was taught at home.  Moms and Dads, I know what you do is so hard, but it is so worth it.

As Ian says, "If you do good things, good things happen to you."


So true, Ian, so true.

Ducklings vs. yoyo!

The latest in my attempt to bring you the cutest animal videos.  Enjoy!

Marines Doing Britney Proud

 Just saw this and had to share.

I don't know why I love these kind of videos so much.  I think its the juxtaposition of masculinity and the seriousness of war with the detritus that is popular culture.

Anyway, I think all the Marines did a fabulous job.

Enjoy!

Ever Hear a Penguin Squeal with Delight?

Seriously, the cutest thing ever!

Beautiful Person, Beautiful Story

Just came across this wonderful story on the Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/conor-grennan/the-reluctant-volunteer-s_b_819672.html

It's very appropriate for Valentine's Day.

The story illustrates what I've come to understand, you should never be moping or worrying about not having a lover.

You should be living your life as fully and as joyfully as possible and the lover always comes along.

Mama always said, "Men are like streetcars.  If you miss one, there will another one along in 15 minutes."

I would add that you can't be waiting impatiently on the platform, craning your neck, looking for what's coming.

Be fully and gracefully engaged in creating a fulfilling life and following your bliss.

The rest will come soon after in its own perfect time.

The world is a beautiful place if you get out of your own way.

Namaste, friends, namaste.

National Anthem

Christina Aguilera, pay attention, this is how you sing the National Anthem.

Warning! Cuteness Overload Ahead

This may be the cutest thing I've ever seen!

http://www.youtube.com/user/000manamoon000#p/u/12/GkMF1-RSKz0

Downton Abbey

Just caught all the episodes of Downton Abbey (swoon).

There is just nothing I like better than a costume drama.

I always watch them three times: one for the story, two for the clothes, three for the furnishings.

Downton Abbey takes place in the Edwardian era, a fabulous time for clothes, in my humble opinion.

It occurred to me in the car this morning that someone should create a Jane Austen theme park.

No rides, just punting on the river in beautiful clothes, surrounded by a squadron of Mr. Darcys.

Okay, maybe a few Willoughbys and a Colonel Brandon or two...

Sounds like a good time to me!

Conundrum

Why is that all penguins look like their names should be George or Herbert?

Come on, you know I'm right....

Drunken Owl Arrested

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/18/drunk-owl-taken-in-by-ger_n_810571.html

Seriously, this story just made my day.

A drunken owl was taken in by German police so he can sleep it off.

Wait, it gets better.  They found two small bottles of schnapps near the inebriated bird.

Let this be a lesson to you, people, don't leave those half-empty schnapps bottles just lying around!

I don't know why I find the idea of an owl drunk on schnapps so amusing, but I so do!

The article also talks about wallabies who get so high on opium poppies that they can't hop straight.

Honestly, I would pay money to see that!

See, everybody likes to tie one on occasionally!

Renovation

This week, the madman is in the midst of prepping and painting the living room, the dining room, and the upstairs hallway.

I have a love/hate relationship with renovation.

I hate the mess, the stress, the upset house, the confused cats, the endless parade of workmen entering and leaving the house.

Then, of course, there's the money.

Oh, the money that goes into creating a dream into a reality!

Ah, but regardless of the stress and money, I still love imagining something new in my mind.

Staring silently at a room for hours, slowly turning over in my mind, paint colors, new furniture, new art. 

The bliss of imagining the new is almost too much to experience, let alone convey.

But then you decide and all hell breaks loose.

Right now, the living room furniture is crowded into the dining room. The living room rug has to be stepped over to get to the sink in the kitchen.

Every piece of woodwork in the hallway and the living room is in some stage of scraping, priming, or painting.  The litter of workmen is everywhere. It's a nightmare.

Yet, when you see it, that first vision of the new...oh, the satisfaction!

I read somewhere that Barbara Streisand completely renovated and decorated every room in a house and then rarely lived there. 

I can completely understand that. 

I can fully grok the joy she must have taken in seeing her vision take shape around her, day by day. 

Honestly, I don't think life gets any better than that.

Asia on the Parkway

Mmmm, chicken satay from Asia on the Parkway for dinner.

Come on, how wonderful is city living that you can get delicious Thai food delivered right to your door!

Moist succulent chicken strips, diced bits of cucumber, and a hot spicy peanut sauce to die for!

The funniest part is lifting the lid and letting the aroma fill the house and suddenly you are surrounded by the cast of "Death by Satanic Housecat," all hovering in the doorway, noses twitching.

I'm eating mostly protein again to burn off the pounds from the Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's all-you-can-eat smorgasbord cookie-a-thon that my life has become.

Sigh.