Leave Paula Deen Alone!

I'm so sick of everyone picking on Paula Deen.

I saw a headline the other day that said, Paula Deen photographed eating a cheeseburger.

Yes, she has diabetes.

So does my mom. My mom also has heart disease.

She's still here.

Granted Paula's recipes are not health conscious. They aren't supposed to be. Down home cooking is never healthy. And Paula isn't telling you to eat her cooking every day of your life.

Even a diabetic can splurge every now and then.

I am so sick of everyone butting into our lives.  If I want to eat a meal full of butter, fat and calories, that's my business. And it's Paula's too.

Leave her alone!

Her health is not our business.

'Burgh Band Hits #1! Sort Of.

A little while ago, Pittsburgh's pop-punk darlings Punchline embarked on a quest to have the #1 album on iTunes with their new EP, So Nice to Meet You. Bassist Chris Fafalios threatened to quit if they didn't succeed, but I think most Punchline fans knew he wouldn't. We chose to indulge him anyway while naysayers sat back, called him a douche, and said the band only wanted money and the whole thing was a publicity stunt. I can see how it looked that way on the outside, but anyone who's ever been to a Punchline show knows the opposite.

The boys succeeded--almost. They hit I #7 overall and did take #1 in rock. Pretty impressive. All because their fans pushed to make it happen. People were banding together, buying copies for people who couldn't afford it, etc. It was pretty cool to watch it unfold on Facebook and Twitter, and it was great to see the band so happy about something they admitted they didn't think would happen.

And the songs are good--really good. Delicious and sweet pop rock, all about love. "Universe" and "Everything I Wanted" are the immediate standouts, with Punchline's distinguished sound, great lyrics, and infectious hooks. Check it out for yourself. And no pressure to get them high on the charts this time.

By the way, although the release did coincide with singer Steve Soboslai's appearance on the show "Mobbed," I'd hardly call his valiant and successful attempt to woo a lady by singing "I Want You to Want Me" a publicity stunt. I call that smart marketing and an adorable tie-in of sorts to the show. The cover is even featured on the EP, and Punchline's one of those bands that can really rock a solid cover.

Must See TV: The Finder

Fox has a new and awesome detective show going on. I try not to fall for shows on this network because they like to cancel them without giving them much of a shot, but this one is one I simply can't resist.

Geoff Stults as Walter Sherman is fabulous and he is so cute. His character reminds me a bit of Shawn Spencer from Psych but he's smarter and not as obnoxious. But the character I really love is Michael Clarke Duncan as Leo Knox.

Here's the show's summary via its official Fox website:
From the creator of the hit series BONES comes THE FINDER, a quirky, one-hour procedural centering on a different kind of detective: a remarkable man with the extraordinary ability to help people find the unfindable.
Iraq war veteran WALTER SHERMAN (Geoff Stults) gained a reputation in his army days as being the go-to guy for tracking down insurgents and deserters and finding improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Unfortunately one IED found Walter before he could find it, resulting in severe brain damage with a lasting and unexpected effect. Walter transformed from someone skilled at the standard recovery of people and things to someone much more extraordinary: a Finder.

If you are a fan of Bones you definitely want to check out the episode called Bullets, because Sweets is abused rather amusingly in that show. I really hope this show sticks around, it has a lot of potential, and I love that it isn't the typical cop/detective/lawyer show.

Falling Out Of Love With You

Oh Duran Duran, how I used to love thee.

Age has not been very kind to some of you and your music has lost its luster.

There are a lot of artists I love, but I don't usually find myself losing affection for them, however Duran Duran are different.

They have put out shitty album after shitty album since the early 90s, with one or two gems in between. Ok, one gem. If you listen to any Duran Duran album recorded after The Wedding Album, let it be Astronaut. That album won't disappoint you, especially if you love the sound of their earlier material such as Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger.

I found myself listening to the band again today and found myself loving the stuff pre-1992. Any time any of the newer material came on I wanted to change my playlist.

I don't think I've ever felt this way about a band. I get so disappointed by their music these days. I doubt I'll buy their next album without hearing the whole thing first.

Things I Suck At

I believe in being honest with myself and to do that I have to come to terms with my shortcomings, and boy do I have a lot of them.

Here are a few of the things I suck at.

1. Organization: I try and I try but chaos is all I'm good at.

2. Housecleaning: Somehow I think that goes hand in hand with organization.

3. Laundry: I procrastinate here. I hate laundry. It is a lonely chore. Before my grandmother passed away, I almost enjoyed it because we had time to catch up on things while we used her old ringer washer, but now..it is a lonely thankless chore and I hate doing it and probably suck at it too...cos I don't believe in ironing!

4. Multi-tasking: OK just can't do it...I try and try but I never succeed.

What are some of the things you suck at?

Arrrrr! Pirates Everywhere

SOPA/PIPA has me thinking.

All the big wig industries want to limit our freedoms because of piracy. Piracy is bad. I understand that.

If you are a recording artist/author/actress...you want people to pay for your product.

Makes sense

However it would be nice if the publishers/record companies/movie studios would stop gouging consumers for that product.

Oddly, I think that music piracy has helped the recording industry in knowing what is fair in pricing. (At least with digital media). A full album is seldom more than $9.99, which is actually what albums cost on vinyl many many moons ago. There are also many deals on new releases where you can get the album much cheaper than that. Physical CDs are priced too high...but I guess that explains why most people don't buy them anymore. Why buy a CD when you can get the download. Who needs the cases and liner notes? (I do..but I'm in a minority here)

The cost of movies etc...is just ridiculous all the way around. That's all I can say on that front. Tis a shame the films coming out these days are mostly crap..it is no wonder people don't want to pay for them, but hey at when you buy a DVD it is cheaper than taking your girlfriend/boyfriend/child to the theater.

With books however, digital copies are priced almost as high as the book. It really is amazing there isn't more piracy there. I guess it is because reading isn't as cool. But I have to gripe that a trade paperback copy of The Woman in Black was priced at $10.99 and the ebook $9.99.

WTF!

Oh and a further gripe...if I buy a print copy of a book, I can share that with a friend or as many friends as I'd like..that's not the case with ebooks.

It really is no wonder piracy abounds in the entertainment world.

Rant ended..I'll step off my soap box for awhile

Madonna VS Elton

Elton and his hubby David are seething because Madonna won the Golden Globe for Masterpiece from the film, W.E. Elton's song was Hello Hello with Lady Gaga. The scary thing about Hello Hello, is that Gaga sounds oddly like Stevie Nicks.

Here are both songs, I have to say both are great songs:


Hello Hello


Masterpiece


To be honest, I think Madonna's song is superior and feels right for the award. It really is one of Madge's better offerings in years.

What do you think?

Too Many Novellas Out There

I love a good book. I also love to discover new authors. Thanks to book blogging I've found quite a few great new writers in many genres that I absolutely adore.

What I can't stand about self publishing is that so many of the stories out there are novellas. W

Hmmm

I wonder how much that stupid Nanowrimo has to do with it? The word count of Nano is less than most Harlequin romances, m'kay and they are usually only about 180 pages.

Alot of the novellas out there have to be the results of Nanowrimo.

I despise Nanowrimo.

Ebooks are entirely too expensive when it comes to novellas.

$3.99 for 100 pages?

I don't fucking hardly think so.

Now I know many writers get on the discount train for Amazon and Barnes and Noble...so that the books cost is taken down to about a buck, but still, it leaves me feeling I didn't get my moneys worth.

How apt are you to buy a novella in print form or ebook form?

Something To Ponder

Each week as I enter payroll taxes at work, I marvel at our stupidity. You know that Payroll Tax issue between the democrats and the republicans?

Well here's the thing...that bit of savings that doesn't really amount to much in your paychecks is a decrease in the employees contribution to Social Security.

Social Security is something that's failing because the gov't keeps dipping their greedy hands into it.

Yet we want to decrease our contribution to it...so we can have more money here and now.

That's nice in theory but when you think hard about it, it is pretty stupid.

Now I'm not one to side with Republicans on anything.

I can't fathom a good thing about any of them, especially the ones running for President, but what I do know is that sometimes I find that most of the country is uninformed about all the goings on in Congress.

We're scared of what may happen to Social Security and Medicare down the road, but we want the tax savings that may kill Social Security.

Doesn't make much sense.

Seriously....I think everyone in Washington should be fired.

Beyonce and Baby Blue Ivy

Am I the only one that wants to scream that Blue Ivy (can you say stupid name) is just a freaking baby like all the other babies in the world.

I mean this kid is just another soon to be pampered and obnoxious child, like Suri, or any child spawned by Brangelina etc or rather bought by Brangelina.

It isn't as if this is the child of Prince William and Duchess Catherine who would at least grow up to be king or queen of England. Some wouldn't agree that that child would be special either, you know if Duchess Catherine were indeed pregnant...(is she? isn't she...is it twins...yada yada)

I'm just so sick of the media going on and on about this child, like it was royalty or Jesus Christ returning.

Uh no...you are just the child of some talented people. (And that is debatable too).

Take Me To The Movies

The next few weeks are filled with movies that I desperately want to see. Some of them cheesy...some not so cheesy.

I'm dying to see Joyful Noise with Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah. Those two alone could make the crappiest movie enjoyable, plus they will be singing...so it can't be all bad, right?


Next up is One For The Money. This one I'm 100% sure is going to be godawful, but I've been a fan of the Stephanie Plum novels forever and a day. I love them, even though they aren't nearly as good as they once were.  I want to see this one because sometimes watching a trainwreck can be really fun.

I mean, can you imagine  Katherine Heigl eating Krimpets? I think not? Stephanie Plum was a real woman...oh and Morelli was erm...Italian..and Jason O'Mara, while super hot...is not. I'm also having a hard time wrapping my mind around Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur.

Lastly, I really really really must see The Woman In Black, I also really must read the book.

I think I'll buy a print copy so I can drool on the cover for awhile.

Dear God, Daniel Radcliffe is hot.

Weekend Tunes

I discovered Schuyler Fisk this weekend and one of the songs I've totally fallen in love with is called Paperweight, which she recorded with Josh Radin. It appears on the soundtrack for Dear John and The Last Kiss.

Have a listen to a live version and fall in love with



Oh and lastly...Mika can sing anything...and he can sing it in French...

The Hardest Part Of The Christmas Season

I don't know about you, but I hate taking down the Christmas decorations. I can fully understand the people that leave their lights etc up all year long. There's something terribly depressing about it.

I started the process of dismantling one of the 3 trees we have up in our house, and it is a slow process. I love my Christmas trees. In fact, the tree is the thing I love the most about the holiday...ok aside from the cookies. I hate putting them away.

When the tree goes up there is a sense of anticipation....When it comes down it feels so sad...There's a whole bleak year ahead of us until next Christmas.

I'm not a fan of the hustle and bustle of the holiday, but I love the lights and the decorations. I always have. When it goes away...it makes me just a little bit sad. Maybe that's why the months of Jan-March are so miserable...its dark and dreary and cold and yucky and there are no pretty lights to brighten up the winter months.

Something I Don't Understand

Why do I always forget to load my gift cards when I'm making purchases at Barnes and Noble?

I don't do this for Amazon.

In fact, most of the time I have my gift cards preloaded to my account.

Sadly that's not the case with B & N.

I have a $25.00 gift card that I got for Christmas and it is sitting downstairs. I bought 2 ebooks for my Nook tonight and do you think I was intelligent enough to load that card to my account.

Hell no!

So I paid $6.00 for something I didn't have to.

Pardon me while I put my head on the desk.

I'm so stupid!

Please tell me that I'm not the only one that has ever done this.

A Childhood Favorite

I got an email from TCM annnouncing that Angela Landsbury was the featured actress of the month and it listed Bedknobs and Boomsticks as one of her films.

Believe it or not, I've never seen that film, but it did get me looking on Amazon for movies that I watched as a kid.

Some of my childhood favorites were Yellow Submarine and Willy Wonka (Even though the Oompah Loompahs scared the crap out of me). But the other film I absolutely loved as a kid was Pete's Dragon.

When I was little, I must have watched this film dozens of times, and that was before VHS and DVD.

I had a Little Golden Book copy of the story that I read all the time.


Like the Pixar films of today, the story is a bit depressing at times. But how can you not love Elliot the dragon?

I think I'm going to have to buy a copy of this one so I can revisit it now and again.

What movies did you love to watch as a kid?

Best Beatle Cover Ever!

I've found that Elvis Costello is one of the few artists that can cover a song by The Beatles and do it admirably. The first cover I heard was You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.

More recently he covered Penny Lane at the White House when Paul McCartney was honored.

Have a listen.



Bloody brilliant, isn't it?