Monday, July 14, 2014

Come Monday...The Return of the King

“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of (or commentary about) websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time.  Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.”  This is subject to change, however.  In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while.  For rants promote change, and change can be good—right?  Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).


It was while watching an early 60 Minutes(?) feature on him that I fell madly in love with [LeBron James].  No, not in THAT way, but it was still fairly intense.  For aside from being blessed with an incredible amount of athletic talents, his character was the kind that Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart made movies about.

A good example of that is him hiring of a few of his old high school basketball teammates to manage his career and finances not that long after they had graduated from high school.  You see, he went straight into the NBA after Leading [St. Vincent-St. Mary High School] to state championships in three out of the four years he was there.

Maybe Capra had a hand in writing the script for LeBron’s life, as well.  For in 2003, the practically hometown boy from Akron was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the #1 overall pick.

Yeah, it is enough to give one goosebumps, and for the next six seasons, he gave basketball fans all over goosebumps while watching him fly through the air with the greatest of ease.  Hence, being crowned with the nickname of “King James.”

Oh, but the king was becoming more and more unhappy.  For he desperately wanted at least one NBA championship ring to wear, and it was not looking very promising in Cleveland.

So, LeBron made a decision that shattered the persona of his perfection.  For he signed on to play for the Miami Heat, which left me quite dismayed—despite not really being all that much of a Cavaliers fan.  After being adopted by The Gables Bar and Grill in Southington, Ohio during a lake effect blizzard in 1997, I do feel for the people around Cleveland, though.

Speaking of feeling for the people around Cleveland, the owner of the Cavaliers sure seems to be a piece of work.  In all fairness, I may be guilty of focusing too much on his very public mistakes, but he has had some doozies.


Did you catch that he had a Lincoln (NOT A CADILLAC) chasing Lincoln?  WHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT WOULD DO THAT?  [Dan Gilbert], the owner of Quicken Loans and the Cleveland Cavaliers, is who!  Oh, and that was him driving the Chevy van.

LeBron’s downward spiral continued, with winning two NBA championships with the Heat notwithstanding, I suppose.  For he became notorious as a flopper on the court, which was to act like he just had the snot knocked out of him in order to get a foul called after he had been barely touched (if at all).

The final straw for me came when he said in a locker room interview immediately after losing another game to the San Antonio Spurs in the last NBA finals that he did not care what others thought of him.  I immediately jumped off of his bandwagon and started cheering for the Spurs to win the championship, which they did.

From what I am hearing from LeBron [now], I am ready to jump right back on his bandwagon.  For the king has decided to return home, and I hope he finds the very special young man he used to be there.

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Sunday, July 13, 2014

Thinking of Christmas Gifts in July 2014

I would think that it would be needless to say, but considering the level of sophistication to many of my readers, it would probably be better to just go ahead and spell it out. Therefore, please be advised that this is one of a number of special edition Sites To See, and all included in it may have something that just might fit quite nicely under your Christmas tree (or stuffed in a stocking) a few very short months from now. As in a regular Sites To See, the link provided below is to a main site (with my preference being to actual blogs).  The images are linked to their particular page when applicable. Now, the images serve as an example of what they have to offer, and they are not necessarily meant as a recommendation. Although, they do represent something that I liked to at least a certain extent, but since my wife does not like me all that much most of the time (no, I have no idea why, either) I do not expect to see any of them with my name on it. Hopefully, it is better in your family, and I am quite sure that the artisans here would greatly appreciate your business. Besides, spending your money on things that are made and marketed by people not so unlike yourself strikes a blow against corporate greed and all of that other stuff, which is supposed to be a good thing—right?  Oh, and a new idea for this year is to think of things like e-books as being virtual stocking stuffers, which just might make you the coolest ever in the eyes of those you give them to!





 Link: [Gillyflower]






 













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Saturday, July 12, 2014

Saturday Morning Cartoons (+)

No, it is not that I am in the midst of experiencing a second or third childhood.  For it is arguable that I have never really grown up because of my march toward maturity being interrupted along the way by some episodes of arrested development.  So, instead of thinking that this series is meant as a wistful look back upon a simpler time, think of it as being a rather simplistic mind remaining in a moment for an extended period of time.  In any event, I hope you find it enjoyable.


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Friday, July 11, 2014

Thinking of Christmas Gifts in July 2014

I would think that it would be needless to say, but considering the level of sophistication to many of my readers, it would probably be better to just go ahead and spell it out. Therefore, please be advised that this is one of a number of special edition Sites To See, and all included in it may have something that just might fit quite nicely under your Christmas tree (or stuffed in a stocking) a few very short months from now. As in a regular Sites To See, the link provided below is to a main site (with my preference being to actual blogs).  The images are linked to their particular page when applicable. Now, the images serve as an example of what they have to offer, and they are not necessarily meant as a recommendation. Although, they do represent something that I liked to at least a certain extent, but since my wife does not like me all that much most of the time (no, I have no idea why, either) I do not expect to see any of them with my name on it. Hopefully, it is better in your family, and I am quite sure that the artisans here would greatly appreciate your business. Besides, spending your money on things that are made and marketed by people not so unlike yourself strikes a blow against corporate greed and all of that other stuff, which is supposed to be a good thing—right?  Oh, and a new idea for this year is to think of things like e-books as being virtual stocking stuffers, which just might make you the coolest ever in the eyes of those you give them to!

 Link: [Donna Hosie]






 








 


 Link: [FoakleyArts]

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Thursday, July 10, 2014

ATF: Arrivals and Departures

This weekly series will include as many of my all-time favorite (ATF) tunes as I can get my grubby little hands on (so to speak).  Now, each one included in each edition will have some connection with the other—albeit only as a figment of my imagination, but they will not be numbered.  For I just cannot bring myself to rate some higher than others.  So, this will not be a countdown, but if you are enjoying them as much as I do, it won’t matter.  Besides, with no countdown, this could go on forever and ever!  Oh, and despite the fact that there is absolutely no way that your musical tastes can be as exquisite as mine, I welcome any suggestions you might dare to make.  For I am, after all, quite magnanimous by nature.



The City of New Orleans
Arlo Guthrie
Ridin’ on
The City of New Orleans
Illinois Central
Monday mornin’ rail
Fifteen cars
And fifteen restless riders
Three conductors
And twenty-five sacks of mail
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out of Kankakee
And rolls along past houses
Farms and fields
Passin’ trains that have no name
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobile

Good mornin’
America
How are ya
Say
Don’t you know me
I’m your native son
I’m the train
They call
The City of New Orleans
I’ll be gone five hundred miles
When the day is done

Dealin’ card games
With the old men
In the club car
Penny a point
Ain’t no one keepin’ score
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels
Rumblin’ ‘neath the floor
And the sons of Pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their fathers’ magic carpets
Made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep
Rockin’ to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails
Is all they feel

Good mornin’
America
How are ya
Say
Don’t you know me
I’m your native son
I’m the train
They call
The City of New Orleans
I’ll be gone five hundred miles
When the day is done

Night time
On the City of New Orleans
Changin’ cars
In Memphis Tennessee
Halfway home
We’ll be there by mornin’
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rollin’ down to the sea
But all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rail
Still ain’t heard the news
The conductor sings his songs again
The passengers will please refrain
This train’s got the disappearin’
Railroad blues

Good night
America
How are ya
Say
Don’t you know me
I’m your native son
I’m the train
They call
The City of New Orleans
I’ll be gone five hundred miles
When the day is done



The House of the Rising Sun
The Animals
There is
A house
In New Orleans
They call
The Risin’
Sun
And it's been
The ruin
Of many a poor boy
And God
I know
I'm one

My mother
Was a tailor
Sewed
My new blue jeans
My father was
A gamblin' man
Down
In
New Orleans

Now
The only thing
A gambler needs
Is a suitcase
And a trunk
And the only time
He'll be satisfied
Is when
He's on
A drunk

Oh Mother
Tell your children
Not to do
What I
Have done
Spend your lives
In sin
And misery
In the House
Of the Risin’
Sun

Well
I’ve got one foot
On the platform
The other foot
On the train
I'm goin’ back
To New Orleans
To wear
That ball and chain

Well
There is
A house
In New Orleans
They call
The Risin’
Sun
And it’s been
The ruin
Of many a poor boy
And God
I know
I'm one

Lyrics From: [eLyrics.net]

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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

HoF Ads: Bridgestone Scream

This weekly series will feature ads that I consider to be the very best (in one way or another).  Please do not hesitate to tell me about your favorite ads, and if you have some (good) taste, I just might add yours to the list.


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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Thinking of Christmas Gifts in July 2014

I would think that it would be needless to say, but considering the level of sophistication to many of my readers, it would probably be better to just go ahead and spell it out. Therefore, please be advised that this is one of a number of special edition Sites To See, and all included in it may have something that just might fit quite nicely under your Christmas tree (or stuffed in a stocking) a few very short months from now. As in a regular Sites To See, the link provided below is to a main site (with my preference being to actual blogs).  The images are linked to their particular page when applicable. Now, the images serve as an example of what they have to offer, and they are not necessarily meant as a recommendation. Although, they do represent something that I liked to at least a certain extent, but since my wife does not like me all that much most of the time (no, I have no idea why, either) I do not expect to see any of them with my name on it. Hopefully, it is better in your family, and I am quite sure that the artisans here would greatly appreciate your business. Besides, spending your money on things that are made and marketed by people not so unlike yourself strikes a blow against corporate greed and all of that other stuff, which is supposed to be a good thing—right?  Oh, and a new idea for this year is to think of things like e-books as being virtual stocking stuffers, which just might make you the coolest ever in the eyes of those you give them to!

 Link: [Arena Shaw]










 Link: [Desideratum]




 Link: [Diana Evans]




 Link: [Diane Ferri]





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