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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Jul 19 2008, 01:10 PM
I’m holding a challenge.
I know there are many of you who would love to be a blogger on MyCommunityNow but are afraid to take the step. So now is your chance to get your little toe wet.
Write me your best summer vacation memory…past or present. Write it as a blog the way you would like to read it if one of the bloggers was writing it. It can be a funny experience, exciting, touching, whatever you want.
Write it in Arial font in 11 point. Attach one picture if you like (in a proper image size, please). Email it to me here . Please indicate if you would like your real name posted with your “blog” if it is chosen to be posted, or your comment name (please include that - your email information will remain private).
Start today if you like…deadline is Saturday, July 26th at midnight.
Here’s what will happen. From all entries submitted, I will choose my favorite five. One will be posted each day August 4th through the 8th. Based on reader comments combined with my favorite, one of you will be chosen by me to write a guest blog on a topic of your choice (blog must follow NOW guidelines and I reserve the right for final approval). My decision is final.
So what are you waiting for? I know at least five of you out there would like to write a blog.
Entertain us with your best summer vacation experience. Who knows, maybe you'll decide to be the next NOW blogger after this experience.
My challenge is open to readers from all Communities.
Good luck!
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By Janet Evans
Friday, Jul 18 2008, 11:42 AM
Holy tomatoes…the all clear has been given.
What was thought to be bad is now good!
"As of today, FDA officials believe that consumers may now enjoy all types of fresh tomatoes available without concern of becoming infected with salmonella Saintpaul," the outbreak strain.”
Read the story from My Way
So it is now safe to indulge in all types of tomato activity….
Dip your hot dog in homemade catsup.
Coat those ribs in homemade BBQ sauce.
Put a giant slice of beefsteak tomato on your burger.
Make your favorite pasta sauce out of Roma tomatoes.
Or…try this….
Two gangs fight by help of 10 tons of rotten tomatoes. 1st price is a keg of lager ... Note: Certain hot peppers are still on the Beware list
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By Janet Evans
Friday, Jul 11 2008, 11:45 AM
"Our favorite characters on "Grey's Anatomy" may be able to get away with outrageous behavior on the job, but in real life medical authorities are saying enough. The Joint Commission, an agency that evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 healthcare organizations nationwide, issued a bulletin Wednesday saying that rude, hostile and disruptive behavior among doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, support staff and administrators will no longer be tolerated."
Have you ever experienced "rude, hostile, or disruptive behavior from any in the medical profession? I have experienced "rude" behavior. Nothing more. It is a customer service job. Some people just aren't cut out for it. But obviously, people have had worse experiences or this bulletin wouldn't have been issued. I'd be curious to know what's really going on. Here's the full article from the LA Times ç here
In the meantime...medical shows like Grey's Anatomy have always been popular...Calling Dr. Kildare.
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Jun 29 2008, 07:05 PM
This was edited with captions as a birthday gift greeting for someone named April. So, it's a joke.
I always liked Joe Cocker; he's an original, alright.
I thought he was much harder to understand when he was younger, but it didn't matter so much to me when I used to listen to him a lot back in the early 70s.
But after seeing this video I just have to laugh.
I didn't realize it was that bad!
All I can say is, WoW!
Joe Cocker, "With a Little Help From My Friends." Woodstock
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Jun 23 2008, 07:41 PM
The latest “first” for Barack Obama comes off the Milan runway. Calling the U.S. presidential hopeful "the man of the moment," Donatella Versace dedicated her Spring-Summer 2009 collection presented Saturday evening to Obama, creating a style she said was designed for "a relaxed man who doesn't need to flex muscles to show he has power."
Chatting with reporters in the cool of the garden of her private palazzo in downtown Milan at an after-show dinner party, the designer also had some fashion tips for the campaign trail. "I would get rid of the tie and jazz up the shirt," she said.
 AP Photo Model wearing one of Versace men's
spring/summer 2009 fashion collection, at Milan fashion week
Well, I am trying to think back a few years as to which leader has been “flexing muscles to show he has power.” Reagan? No. Bush 41? No. Clinton? No.
Bush 43? Let me think….Uh, huh. No.
No….None of those leaders really had any six pack abs to flaunt that I recall. No great biceps either. Nope.
Still, it could be a comment about Bush 43. It could be a comment about mental muscle. If that comment is directed at Bush….it should be taken as a compliment. And it will make me feel that much more secure to know if Barack Obama ends up in the White House, at least he will be dressing well when he can’t make tough decisions.
from the Associated Press Ü here
Barack Obama inspires Milan men's runway styles
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Jun 22 2008, 11:30 PM
Stay up 20 minutes longer and watch this....
The Colbert Report from 6/19/08.
It was pretty entertaining; especially the Sean Hannity spoof.
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Jun 8 2008, 01:00 AM
The Beatles – Rain 1966
When Ringo was asked which song featured his best drumming, he said “Rain."
Rain (Lennon/McCartney)
If the rain comes they run and hide their heads
They might as well be dead
If the rain comes, if the rain comes
When the sun shines they slip into the shade
(When the sun shines down)
And drink their lemonade
(When the sun shines down)
When the sun shines, when the sun shines
Rain, I don't mind
Shine, the weather's fine
I can show you that when it starts to rain
(When the rain comes down)
Everything's the same
(When the rain comes down)
I can show you, I can show you
Rain, I don't mind
Shine, the weather's fine
Can you hear me, that when it rains and shines
(When it rains and shines)
It's just a state of mind?
(When it rains and shines)
Can you hear me, can you hear me?
Sdaeh rieht edih dna nur yeht semoc niar eht fI
(Rain)
naiR
(Rain)
enihsnuS. Gene Kelly in “Singing In The Rain." 1952
Neil Sedaka sings “Laughter In The Rain. 1975
The Everly Brothers – Cryin’ In The Rain 1962
Tina Turner - I Can't Stand The Rain 1973
Early Morning Rain – Peter, Paul & Mary 1965
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Jun 5 2008, 11:50 AM
I blog….
Sometimes I feel like one of those monkeys because of the antics we have to go through, and watch other people do, too.
It's a regular circus out there....monkey business....
Anyway, the monkey picture is a good one.
This one is good, too...
Hey, I'm hungry...forget the pasta! It's salad days, but hold the dressing...I'm not used to wearing a suit and it might get on my tie....
And those bloggers?
I'll make them an offer they can't refuse....They paid property taxes before, and they're gonna pay them again..and everyone knows it, because it's on these spreadsheets in front of me, which you, too, can get for a modest fee; which is odd, since I'm using them during this official gathering with an official agenda, so why should I have to pay? Do I pay for all of the materials I present at these gatherings? Anyway, Guid-O...I'm as hungry as a horse.
Tax Pledges? We don't need no stinking Tax Pledges! (Oh, wait, that's a different movie).
Yeah, Marlon Brando was a good actor. That picture was from a long time ago so my memory is a little fuzzy.
So many meetings…not enough time.
Do you realize it still feels like winter outside (most of the time) and in 16 days it will already be Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year? That means the days will start getting shorter already!
What happened to enjoying those long evenings outside?
Well, it doesn’t matter…I’d be sitting here at this computer anyway; or in a meeting.
Do any of you readers make business cards? Feel free to throw one together for me with the monkey picture on it!
Next time...Star Wars!
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By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Jun 4 2008, 11:45 AM
"Bo Diddley, a singer and guitarist who invented his own name, his own guitars, his own beat and, with a handful of other musical pioneers, rock ’n’ roll itself, died Monday at his home in Archer, Fla. He was 79."
Bo Diddley was well known for the "Bo Diddley beat," a rumba-like beat, similar to "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes. Referred to as a "shave and a haircut" beat, Diddley came across it while trying to play Gene Autry's "(I've Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle". Three years before Bo's "Bo Diddley", a song that closely resembles it, "Hambone," was cut by Red Saunders' Orchestra with The Hambone Kids.
In its simplest form, the Bo Diddley beat can be counted out as a two-bar phrase:
" One and two and three and four and one and two and three and four and..." The bolded counts are the clave rhythm. Bo Diddley, Who Gave Rock His Beat Dies at 79 ç here
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Jun 1 2008, 10:04 PM
Rolling Stone did a fantastic piece on rock 'n roll guitar sound and what has made it great through the years. You just have to check this out. Below I have samples of three of their selections…Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, who's featured twice (how could he not be...could anyone play the guitar like Hendrix?) and The Rolling Stones.
Rolling Stone says, “This is what makes a great rock & roll guitar sound: an irresistible riff; a solo or jam that takes you higher every time you hear it; the final power chord that pins you to the wall and makes you hit "play" again and again."
I remember seeing Chuck Berry in concert, in Florida, in 1972 singing Johnny Be Good. He was much older than in the video below, but he sounded just the same. Check out the videos on this page (and the Go-Go dancers in Berry's video) and then go to Rolling Stone and enjoy the 40 pages of great sound and memories.
Great Rock & Roll Guitar Sound
Rolling Stone ç here
Chuck Berry Photo: Getty
1 "Johnny B. Goode"
Chuck Berry (1958)
"If you want to play rock & roll," Joe Perry told Rolling Stone in 2004, "you have to start here." Recorded 50 years ago, on January 6th, 1958, at the Chess Records studio in Chicago, Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" was the first great record about the joys and rewards of playing rock & roll guitar. It also has the single greatest rock & roll intro: a thrilling blast of high twang driven by Berry's spearing notes, followed by a rhythm part that translates a boogie-woogie piano riff for the guitar. "He could play the guitar just like a-ringing a bell," Berry sings in the first verse — a perfect description of his sound and the reverberations still running through every style of rock guitar, from the Beatles and the Stones on down. "It was beautiful, effortless, and his timing was perfection," Keith Richards has said of Berry's playing. "He is rhythm man supreme." Berry wrote often about rock & roll and why it's good for you — "Roll Over Beethoven" in 1956, "Rock and Roll Music" in '57 — but never better than in "Johnny B. Goode," a true story about how playing music on a guitar can change your life forever.
2 "Purple Haze"
The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)
The riff is pure blues — the same kind of guitar figure Hendrix played nightly back on the R&B-club grind, as a sideman for Little Richard and the Isley Brothers. But in "Purple Haze," Hendrix's second British single and the first track on the U.S. version of his debut album, he declared himself a free man — "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky" — and unveiled a new guitar language charged with spiritual hunger and the poetry possible in electricity and studio technology. "Guitar — you can play it or transcend it," said Neil Young when he inducted Hendrix into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. "Jimi showed me that. I heard it, felt it and wanted to do it." Hendrix wrote "Purple Haze" backstage at a London nightclub in December 1966 and recorded basic tracks with his band, the Experience, two weeks later. But the galactic travel came in overdubs recorded on February 3rd, 1967: Hendrix's solos, swimming in echo and sparkling with harmonics, were put through an octave-boosting effect and played back at twice the speed. In less than three minutes, Hendrix opened a new age of expression on his instrument.
5 "Brown Sugar"
The Rolling Stones (1971)
"Satisfaction" may be the Rolling Stones' most recognizable riff, but this Sticky Fingers hit — based on a gutbucket guitar part devised by Mick Jagger — is the band's raunchy guitar pinnacle. Keith Richards' secret weapon: He's playing a guitar that's missing its lowest string.
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, May 31 2008, 02:00 PM
By Janet Evans
Sunday, May 25 2008, 12:05 PM
- Hulu is an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at Hulu.com and other online destination sites — all for free, anytime in the U.S.
Hulu brings together a large selection of videos from more than 50 content providers, including FOX, NBC Universal, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. and more. Users can watch current primetime TV such as The Simpsons and The Office the morning after they air, classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Married...with Children, movies like The Usual Suspects and The Big Lebowski, and clips from Saturday Night Live and other popular TV shows and movies.
Hulu does not require a download of any software. Users only need a Flash 9.0 enabled computer and an Internet connection to enjoy. Hulu is free and legal through an advertising supported model.
- Videos are available for unlimited streaming; watch favorite shows and clips over and over, for free
- Videos contain fewer ads than on TV. Advertisements appear during normal commercial breaks
- Hulu acquires the rights to distribute its videos, making them available to users legally
Visit HULU anytime to view a movie, a T.V. show, a political clip, a movie trailer, and a whole lot more
Õ here
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, May 10 2008, 08:24 AM
By Janet Evans
Saturday, May 3 2008, 12:25 PM
Well, maybe you are.
And maybe not.
Because if you "are," Playboy’s YouTube Channel is looking for just that….
their interpretation of the "girl next door."
Someone sexy…perhaps blonde and busty….
Is that you and if so, would you like your shot at becoming famous?
“Just post a short video on YouTube that highlights your best assets — your figure, your face, your sense of humor, and especially your fantastic personality,” she [Holly Madison, one of the Girl's Next Door] purrs in the release. We’re secretly wondering if Holly herself could even figure out how to boot up a computer, let alone upload video to YouTube."
“The women with the most impressive videos will get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the Playboy Mansion and participate in a Playmate test-shoot with me!” Surely aspiring playmates can’t wait to meet and then replace you, Holly."
"Oh, and one last thing, gals: Keep your clothes on for this clip. (This isn’t Hustler, omg!) Per the release: “Interested women can visit Playboy’s YouTube Channel (www.YouTube.com/PlayboyCasting) to post a two-minute, non-nude video response to Holly’s digital invitation by answering a question or telling a story.”
"Who would want to hear a (we’re sure they will be just riveting!) “story” from a hot 20-year-old blond from Tulsa? We'll find out soon ...”
Read about it from the Entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times
Playboy Meets YouTube ÷ here
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, May 1 2008, 08:35 PM
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Ã
| A.
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- www.lostwonders.com - (414) 328-4651 - 1 review
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| B.
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- maps.google.com - (414) 541-5110 - 1 review
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| C.
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- www.collectorsedgecomics.com - (414) 481-5055 - 5 reviews
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| D.
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- www.collectorsedgecomics.com - (414) 541-5055 - more
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| E.
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- maps.google.com - (414) 774-2778 - more
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| F.
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- milwaukee.citysearch.com - (414) 276-5330 - 8 reviews
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| G.
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- www.neptunecomics.com - (262) 544-2008 - 12 reviews
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| H.
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- www.collectorsedgecomics.com - (414) 445-5055 - 1 review
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| I.
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- www.collectorsedgecomics.com - (414) 272-5055 - more
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| J.
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- maps.google.com - (262) 635-0444 - more |
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Apr 28 2008, 09:00 PM
 Prince and Sheila E
They say Prince gave one of the most potent show closers of the three-day event the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has ever, and will ever know.
And I believe it.
I'm a big fan of Prince.
Although, not like this....
"He thinks he's Jesus!" uttered a stunned young observer as Prince -- who did look rather divine in a gold-sequined white tunic and pants -- offered up a particularly rapturous guitar solo early on in his headlining appearance Saturday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. This fan was obviously a new member of the Minneapolis master's flock."
No, I don’t think Prince is “devine.”
But I think he’s a pure talent.
Read about the show from the Lost Angeles Times
Prince Reigns at Coachella í here Full Set List Prince at Coachella
The Bird (sung by Morris Day)
Jungle Love (sung by Day)
The Glamorous Life (sung by Sheila E.)
Soul Sacrifice (Santana cover)
1999
I Feel For U
Controversy
Housequake (brief excerpt)
Little Red Corvette
Musicology
Cream
U Got the Look
Shh (from The Gold Experience)
Anotherloverholenyohead
Creep (Radiohead cover)
Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover, sung by Ledisi)
7
Come Together (Beatles cover)
Purple Rain
Let's Go Crazy
Prince performs during his headlining
set on the second day of the Coachella
Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio,
Calif., Saturday, April 26, 2008.
(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Apr 26 2008, 10:45 PM
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989)
April 26th was the 19th anniversary of Lucille Ball's death.
She still remains one of the funniest comedians of all time.
Lucille Ball was an iconic American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, glamour girl and star of the landmark sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy. Lucille Ball was one of America's favorite stars and had one of Hollywood's longest careers. She was a movie star from the 1930s to the 1970s, and appeared on television for more than thirty years.
She received thirteen Emmy Award nominations and four wins. She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986 and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Governors Award in 1989.
In 1929, Ball landed work as a model and later began her performing career on Broadway using the stage name "Diane Belmont". She appeared in many small movie roles in the 1930s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures. Ball was labeled as the "Queen of the B's" (referring to her many roles in B-films). In 1948, Ball was pivotal in the creation of the television series, I Love Lucy. The show co-starred her then husband, Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo and Vivian Vance and William Frawley as Ethel and Fred Mertz, the Ricardos' lovable landlords. After the show ended in 1960, Ball went on to star in two more successful television series: The Lucy Show, which ran on CBS from 1962 to 1968, and Here's Lucy from 1968 to 1974. Her last attempt at a television series was a 1986 show called Life With Lucy. The show proved to be a critical and commercial flop which was canceled less than two months into its run by ABC. Ball met and eloped with Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in 1940. On July 17, 1951, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Desiree Arnaz. A year and a half later, Ball gave birth to their second child, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, known as Desi Arnaz, Jr. Ball and Arnaz divorced on May 4, 1960. On April 26, 1989, Ball died of a dissecting aortic aneurysm. She was seventy-seven. At the time of her death, she had been married to her second husband of twenty-eight years, standup comedian and business partner Gary Morton.
Wikipedia
Lucy & Ethel in the candy factory
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Apr 26 2008, 07:15 AM
With the collaboration of composer Dave Soldier, Komar & Melamid's Most Wanted Painting project was extended into the realm of music. A poll, written by Dave Soldier, was conducted on Dia's web site in Spring 1996. Approximately 500 visitor's took the survey. Dave Solder and Nina Mankin used the survey results to write music and lyrics for the Most Wanted and Most Unwanted songs.
The most unwanted music is over 25 minutes long, veers wildly between loud and quiet sections, between fast and slow tempos, and features timbres of extremely high and low pitch, with each dichotomy presented in abrupt transition.
The most unwanted orchestra was determined to be large, and features the accordion and bagpipe (which tie at 13% as the most unwanted instrument), banjo, flute, tuba, harp, organ, synthesizer (the only instrument that appears in both the most wanted and most unwanted ensembles). An operatic soprano raps and sings atonal music, advertising jingles, political slogans, and “elevator” music, and a children's choir sings jingles and holiday songs.
The most unwanted subjects for lyrics are cowboys and holidays, and the most unwanted listening circumstances are involuntary exposure to commericals and elevator music. Therefore, it can be shown that if there is no covariance—someone who dislikes bagpipes is as likely to hate elevator music as someone who despises the organ, for example—fewer than 200 individuals of the world's total population would enjoy this piece.
You can listen to the most unwanted song (the stream is mid-way down the page):
A Scientific Attempt to Create the Most Annoying Song Ever í here
The opera rap section begins at 1:40.
This "song" is worth listening through to the end just one time, even though it's painful, just to see what comes up next. But it's difficult.
This is one song that you will not be playing through your head all day and I tink you could keep this playing in the background of an area that you wanted to keep people from loitering.
I'll admit, I laughed at one of the "Wal-Mart" sections...I just couldn't help it.
I won't be buying the CD to see what the Most Wanted song is.
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By Janet Evans
Friday, Apr 11 2008, 10:05 AM
If you could have only one book….what would it be?
America’s favorite book is the Bible.
No surprise there.
Let’s take a look at the next nine. Have you read them?
I love The Stand…but I’m surprised it is in the top ten when you consider the Bible is number one. But since good triumphs over evil in the story, maybe that’s why. It’s a great book and movie too.
As far as the others, none of them surprise me. But I could probably swap out four of them.
It's ju
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