I'm baaaack!


NAME THAT TUNE GAME # 4

Game #3 didn't fool anyone.....again. It was "Benson" the spin-off from"Soap".

BENSON CAST: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

1. Robert Guillaume (Benson Dubois): In episode of "CSI" last year and has a couple of movies out in 2010
2. Inga Swenson (Gretchen Kraus) : As of 2000 is enjoying retirement with her husband of 56 years!
3. Didi Conn (Denise Downey): Having just celebrated her 25th Wedding Anniversary, she was in an Episode xxof "Law & Order: SVU" and a movie last year. Since her son has Autism, she has been mostly active with x"Autism Speaks" and other Autism groups.
4. Missy Gold (Katie Gatling): Younger sister of Tracey Gold (Growing Pains), Dr. Melissa Gold is now a xxpsychologist in Portland Maine.
5. Ethan Phillips (Pete Downey): Even more famous as "Nelix" from the Star Trek "Voyager" series, he's all xxover the place. Very busy man!
6. James Noble (Gov. Eugene Gatling): At 87 he's basically semi-retired, with only a movie coming in 2010
7. Rene Auberjonois (Clayton Endicott III): Like his Star Trek alumnus above, Odo is everywhere!


WHAT'S ON AT OUR HOUSE

My better half and I have been really enjoying House, Bones, Lie to Me, The Mentalist and CSI. I think I like how Lawrence Fishburn is begining to fit in and his character seems to have a bit of a back story as well. Something about his dad etc. I noticed he got really nasty when talking with Wendy about genetics and violence.

I was wondering how they would resolve House and his demon's and if it would take away from his whole persona. So far he's still the cranky obnoxious House we all know and love to hate! (at least be annoyed with)

They still are playing cat and mouse with Bones and Booth's underlying attraction. I can imagine why, as most shows that have a sexual tension component don't usually survive it's exposure to light.
(See "Who's the Boss","Moonlighting", "X-Files" etc. )

Most programs will imploy the ol' on again, off again ploy to keep the sexual tension going. It worked for "Cheers", "Sex and the City", "Friends", and "Fraiser". The couple get together and stay together in the final season or even final episode! Even "House" is using the ploy with House and Cuddy.

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO 'ROUND & 'ROUND...

I find it so hard to get out here and do my blog since I spend 12+ hours in my school bus all day, I'm pretty zonked out at night. I have to get up at 5am and be at my bus about 6ish to do my circle check etc. I'm not looking forward to this coming soon:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(click for larger image)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Although, I am looking forward to the next crop of FROSTED MINI-WHEATS from the mini-wheat plantation
in Bolton, Ont. They can get about 75,000 to 100,000 mini-wheats from each pod:

Frosted Mini-Wheat Plantation
Bolton, Ontario Canada
(click for larger image)

INTERESTING STOPS ON THE VIRTUAL HIGHWAY

The above was done by this amazing artist in England. Read and see more HERE .
(Click on "The Art of Willard Wigan" tab) Absolutely mind blowing!


For those that find it hard to HOLD IT IN AT THE MOVIES , this site gives you an idea of
when it's an ok time to go! (Who says the Internet isn't useful?)

SPEAKING OF THE ABOVE...WOULD YOU?
(BETCHA COULDN'T)

SOMETHING TO READ WHILE YOUR IN THERE?

I've wanted to do this blog since January, but it's been so busy driving the school bus.
I have to be up and at 'em at 5am, so by evening I'm pretty zonked! I've been going to bed
at 9pm some nights!! I haven't done that since I was 8 years old!

While on the surface the subject matter seems a rather grim and gloomy item for a blog,
the reason I wanted to write about it because I find it strange how we feel so sad about
someone who we don't even know. When I think of some of the stars that have passed
away over the years I am surprised at my sense of grief. I think it's a combination of true
sadness, a kind of sense of loss and, if we're honest here, a tinge of greed!

TCM made an beautiful tribute to the passing stars and it is simply beautiful. WATCH IT HERE
and be sure to hit "High Quality". It was wonderfully done with care. Someone there really cared enough. May cause a lump in the throat. Have a tissue handy as well!

BTW, the song is called "God Only Knows" by Joe Henry and it is very moving.
Watch him perform it HERE.
HERE are the lyrics.

HERE is another one done by a fan of movies.
Music: "The Famous Final Scene" by Bob Seger

We'll never again enjoy a laugh with, Bernie Mac, George Carlin, Harvey Korman or Dick Martin.
We'll never again be able to sit stunned by acting performances by the likes of Charlton Heston,
Paul Newman, Mel Ferrer, Roy Scheider, Suzanne Pleshette, Van Johnson, Nina Foch, Eartha Kitt or Richard Widmark or Lois Nettleton. Never again will we read any stories or screenplays from the pens of authors Michael Chrichton or Arthur C. Clarke.

Some of the departed are of less known fame, but more icons of the news events of the time. Some, like famous stars are more a marker of our own mortality, as we remember where we were etc. when that person became famous. They are the watershed moments of our own lives. When they go we're reminded that we're that much closer to shaking hands with the grim reaper! Brrrr!

While some of them had long since left the public eye and had a great career and it simply was their time to go, and we give them a heartfelt and warm thank-you's: Paul Newman, Charlton Heston, Harvey Korman, Richard Widmark, etc. But some others still had more to give and went far, far too soon; Heath Ledger, Bernie Mac, Brad Renfro, Anthony Minghella, Michael Chrichton and many others. You can't help but think, "What more would they have done?"

Of course every year I am shocked to hear of someone's death. The worst was Roddy McDowel back in 1998. I didn't know he died for almost 2 years! I simply thought he was doing plays or directing etc. Or even this year, as I only just heard that James Whitmore died Feb. 6th 2009!

SURPRISED ME:

Majell Barett - Actress: Star Trek (Mrs. Roddenberry)
Michael Chrichton - Author/Director/Doctor: Jurrasic Park, Terminal Man, Andromedia Strain, Congo, Sphere, Disclosure, Rising Sun. TV: ER

UNDER THE RADAR:

Allan Melvin - Beloved character actor: Dick Van Dyke Show, Sam the Butcher (Brady Bunch), Magillia Gorillia, countless other cartoon voices.
Don LaFontaine - Voice actor: Movie Trailer king...."In a World...."
Earle Hagen-composer: themes for Dick Van Dyke Show, Mod Squad, 8isenough, That Girl, I Spy, Make Room for Daddy
Neal Hefti- composer: themes for Batman, The Odd Couple (movie/TV),
Sir Edmond Hillary-Explorer and Mt. Everest conqueror
Bobby Fischer-Former World Chess Grandmaster (legendary battles with Soviet Champion Boris Spassky
Richard Knerr - co-founder of the Wham-O toy company that introduced hula hoops, the Frisbee, slip'n slide and Silly String to North American children
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - Guru and the man who brought transcendental mediation from India to the West through the Beatles.
William F. Buckley - conservative commentator and journalist in the United States, founded the magazine National Review in 1955 and hosted the political talk show "Firing Line" from 1966 to 1999.
Gary Gygax - the co-inventor of Dungeon's and Dragons.
Herb Peterson - a McDonald's franchise owner who invented the Egg McMuffin in 1972
Jim McKay -American sportscaster. Voice of "Agony of Defeat" on Wide World of Sports. He covered the 1972 Munich Olympic games and the terrible Israeli athlete kidnapping/massacre.
Randy Pausch- Carnegie Mellon University professor. Made famous by his inspirational "last lecture" on obtaining your childhood dreams. (WATCH IT HERE)
Bettie Page- The original pin-up girl of the 50's and 60's. Famous posing as Miss January in the 1955 Playboy calendar
W. Mark Felt - The FBI bureaucrat who was revealed in 2005 to be "Deep Throat"; reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein source of Watergate information and helped bring down the Nixon presidency.
Martha "Sunny" von Bulow - American socialite. After 28 years in a insulin induced coma in a nursing home at 76 in New York City. Her husband Claus von Bulow was aquitted of trying to kill her.
Estelle Reiner - singer and mother of director/actor Rob Reiner and wife of Carl Reiner. Most famous for her hilarious line in her son's movie, "When Harry Met Sally": "I'll have what she's having."

Canadian Content:
Cy Leonard-ventriloquist. Most of us kids from Ontario/Western NY remember him from "The Uncle Bobby Show" (right AprilFox?)
Jack Duffy - singer, actor but we all loved him from his years on "The Party Game"
Barry Morse - Canadian/British actor, most notably "Space 1999" and his Lt. Gerard from "The Fugitive".
Milt Dunnel & George Gross - Toronto sports writers extrodinare
Jeff Healy- blind jazz and rock guitarist (only 42!)

NAME THAT THEME: GAME 3!

NTT game 2 didn't fool anyone! Of course it was the theme from "Room 222".
EVERYONE got it! Can't fool tvdot members! No-siree!


Ok, Challenge extended: NAME THAT THEME GAME 3

Do you know it? Hmmm?

SOME BURIED YOUTUBE GEMS.....

A very elegant and cool explaination of how the Internet came to be:

History of the Internet

A funny look at how musical notes come alive inside a cello.

Concerto Grosso Modo

GREAT PIC & A FUNNY.....

St. Paul's Cathedral in Minneapolis on a foggy day

I want to extend a very, very heartfelt
Merry Christmas
to all my pals out here.

Since in the virtual world I can be a virtual billionaire, I have wrapped up these gifts for my friends:

IndianaMom- A brand new shiny LAPTOP ! (or would you like THIS one instead?)

AprilFox- Since she has a love of ANIMALS!

Mac-Ale- A tour of the worlds largest Databases!
(and come back and show TVDOT how it's done in the real world)

Les_Nessman- Some friends to play with and a nice Vegas get-a-way to play in!
(what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas)

FlyingHellFish- Other than an amazingly healthy and happy baby to come, perhaps
since he love everything Simpsons, maybe he could become A Springfieldian?

EmiliaRomagna- Perhaps she would prefer to be under House Arrest over the holiday's?


Here are some wonderful Christmas gifts for all to enjoy:

. Good luck to all, and either PM me or answer in the comments if you wish. I hope I've fooled some of you, but somehow I doubt it. You guys are all too savvy!

Here are some cool pix I found in my travels on the information highway:



AMAZING PAINTED HANDS!!


AMAZING CREATIVITY......


THINGS ARE GETTING TOUGH FOR SANTA IN THESE DANGEROUS TIMES!

Here's to all my American TVDOT friends out there.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! Gobble Gobble!

Of course my all time favourite Thanksgiving movie is "Planes, Trains and Automobiles". Hilarious, and such a lovely ending. It always brings a tear to my eye. Great moments too like the burning car bit; Steve Martin's rant at Marathon Car Rentals; etc.



Personally, I believe it is one of the best roles by the late, great John Candy. I miss that guy. I think he had SO many more laughs to give us.

The missus and I are really enjoying Dragon's Den.
For those of you not familiar, it is a pretty basic show where people bring their business or product ideas to a panel of 5 Canadian business entrepreneurs (known as Dragon's) and try to convince them to invest in what they have to offer.

BACK BY POPULAR (?) DEMAND
NAME THAT THEME GAME!

NAME THAT THEME--GAME 1

I'm not going to be a stickler here, either PM me or answer here.....
mmmm, where did that tune come from?

I wanted to remember the hero's both past and present that made us safe or are making us safe still. And words cannot even begin to thank those who have given their lives for us.

They risk their lives every minute in Iraq and Afganistan, on the seas and oceans and in the air and on the ground.....

To all of the wonderful service men and women, hero's all......

Thank-You With All Our Hearts.

Hopefully with a new President in the White House something can now happen and the goals and be refocused. Maybe they'll finally get around to catching Osama Bin-Ladin!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A very happy anniversary to Cherokeelady42 and her special half
who celebrated their 12th anniversary this weekend!

Congradutlations Cherokee!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enjoy these funny and clever adverts and cute and or funny pics....

Now that's clever!




I don't want to see the EXIT on the other side! hehehe

Soooo tempting to at least give it a wack or two....

Just make sure your next stop in the mall ISN'T the BANK

HEY!!! Get back here!



Interesting Site of the Day:

This site called Expert Village is an amazing "how-to" video site.
It's what the Internet was made for!

EXPERTVILLAGE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WATCH THIS SPACE!

Coming Soon:
The return of "Name that Tune".......

I meant to post this blog at least yesterday, if not a couple of days ago but I find I have so much less time
now that I'm a workin' man. Who'da thought?

I just finished my 3rd week of driving my school bus and it's a gas! The kids I drive are pretty much
well behaved and not really a problem. I'm really liking this job.

I thought I would have a bigger problem with the High School kids; giving me attitude, leaving garbage
behind in the bus etc. but they are no problem at all. They get on in the morning and are sleepy, quiet and
generally kind of grumpy (not sassy though). In the afternoon the trip home is more animated and louder but
still they are respectful and nice kids.

The elementry school across the street that I do (both inbound and homebound) are another story! While they too are not sassy or give me attitude in anyway, they are much harder to control! They are so excited and busy having fun that they forget the rules en masse!

They especially forget the rules about sitting: No standing, no turning around in your seat, no leaning out into the aisle etc. Even more so, they LOVE to get up and change seats CONSTANTLY! I've actually had to read them the riot act more than once and even had the vice-principle and another teacher come onto the bus and give them a "refresher" on bus safety!

I am, sadly, going to have to give someone a "PINK SLIP" to make it real. It's for their safety. The bus is not recess or gym, it's a ride home. The problem is that many of them are on the bus for 40 mins. or more, so they get antzy. They're not sassy or anything, they're just being kids. That's why I'm not looking forward to having to get stricter.

Yesterday was fun. They all came dressed up for a school Halloween Party.
There were: Clowns, a Hippie, a 50's gangster, a kind of Frank Sinatra, a "Hockey player after a fight" (it is Canada after all EH?)and assorted hero's and princess's.

I'm NOT looking forward to the mess all next week as they "sneek" their spoils onto the bus, even though they're not to eat on the bus. (It's not just a mess thing, but a potential food allergy thing: kids share treats)
But, yeah, try and stop a kid from eatting candy after school.

A Few Special Pumpkins:

One for IndianaMom:
(She loves the Pirate thing....Arrrr!)



(click for larger)

A Couple for AprilFox (A major BSG fan!)





(click for larger)


REALLY COOL Pumpkin Carvings and Ideas:



(click for larger)



Click This Link for some REALLY AMAZING Pumpkin Carvings!!

(Warning: Some are a tad disturbing!)


Just a coincedence that these all deal with teeth....
(or is it a Halloween Dentist plot?)



A Funny:

I'm baaaack!

I am happy to be back after an unavoidably self-imposed hiatus. I simply had to apply all my thoughts and energies to my health, employment and cutting back on the finances a bit. Unfortunately that meant cutting off my Internet connection to save some money which also removed a very real distraction of my time.

As for my health, I am happy to say is much better! I finally have my Diabetes under control; my blood sugar readings have gone below 7.0! My endocrinologist started me on some new medication and tweaked my others. The improvement showed up immediately with my blood sugar going down from very dangerous levels of 16's to 22's to mid 9's and then finally, a couple of days later going under 7 for the 1st time in about a year. For those that aren't aware, normal should be at least under 7, and preferably be in the middle 5's. My high teens and low twenties is very dangerous. It would eventually lead to blindness, kidney failure or stroke among other nasty things.

I immediately felt the effects; less visits to the washroom; a clearer head with a more restful sleep (no nightly pee breaks!) and a lifting of the general malaise and lack of energy that has plagued me for months! Not to mention the relief of knowing I am less likely to suffer any of the horrible complications.
I did have my eyes checked and the optometrist gave my eyes a clean bill of health Diabetes wise. No bleeding eyes and all clear! So I have no evidence of any eye damage from the Diabetes which is a BIG relief. I've had that particular worry on my head for ages. It's one of my deepest fears to go blind. For sure everyone would be petrified to lose their sight, but I'm an extremely visual person and it gives me chills to even contemplate the idea.

I was actually planning to do my return blog a couple of weeks ago, but due to my intense training for SCHOOL BUS DRIVER, I had to kind of postpone it. I was simply to tired and had so much running around to do on top of the 6 hours each day of training. Being off work for 3 years really makes your body and mind lazy and I found it amazingly difficult the first few days doing the simplest things. I found I actually had a headache from using my eyeballs for more than watching TV or playing on my PS2 or GameCube! And BELIEVE me you REALLY need to use your eyes to drive a school bus!

My Training Bus
(click for larger)

To their credit, my new employer, First Student (previously known as Laidlaw Transit) are really, really committed to safety! It isn't simply learning how to drive a large vehicle, but doing it EXTREMELY safely. I don't wonder why; we carry very precious cargo!

The other reason for my tardy return (sorry IndianaMom), was that I didn't expect to be so darn tired. I have to get up about 5am and finish the morning run about 9am and either can go home for a bit or fuel up and take care of some things at the yard. My route is up north in Caledon and I don't finish up the afternoon run till approx. 5pm! By the time I park and secure the bus I don't get home much before 6pm. I now can't stay awake much longer than 11pm so it doesn't leave much room to do everything.

I have to get into a new routine and get out here more often. One of the things I missed very much was chatting with the very nice people out here at TV.COM and talking television and life. I guess I missed a lot of stuff, and IndianaMom says I missed all the nastiness about the format changeover! Some things are good!
I missed all of you folks; Indy of course, but AprilFox, MacAle, FlyingHellfish (and the NFL), CubTracker, EmiliaRomagna, ceosmom, KFCGravy, KCMask Sassy_Eggs among many. Anyway, I already have some interesting stories about training and being a school bus driver, but I'll blog them later to save anyone reading this long novel some eyesight.

Funny store around the corner (I love the name):

(Click for larger)


Just A Cool Picture....

(click for larger)

I've only been able to write this blog today. Everytime I started I just got too emotional and angry.

On Valentine's Day, my better half was involved in a very serious accident while she was driving her bus (Dodge Caravan). First, to set your mind at ease, there weren't any kids on board, thank God, but it was a REAL CLOSE CALL.

My wife was waiting for the light to change and as she proceeded through on the green, all Hell broke loose. Suddenly she was violently smashed in the side and glass was exploding everywhere. Her bus was spun around in the intersection twice and when it came to a stop it was shaped like a letter V.

The idiot that hit her ran the red and was travelling at approx. 30 mph and didn't even hit the brakes! Of course without skid marks this is an estimate from the cops. My wife's driver side door was jammed shut and she was assisted out of the passenger side door by a couple of wonderful ladies. One lived on the corner and came running out as soon as she heard the crash. The other was actually the eye witness in another car. She was actually waiting at the light in the same direction as the dummy was and saw the whole thing as he wizzed by her into the intersection and smashed into my wife! She immediately told the cops she saw the whole thing.

My wife was shaken up but was not hurt, or so she thought at the time. Silly as she was she turned down the cops when they suggested to go to hospital in an ambulance. She regrets that now as about 20 mins after she started to feel the horrible pain! She had nasty bruises on her left side ribs, a bruised left hand and sore neck, legs, hips and back. She felt at the time she was ok and would have felt foolish taking an ambulance. I told her that was crazy because sometimes injuries don't surface until later, or worse things could happen.

As it was she did go to a walk-in clinic later that day and he sent her for a battery of x-rays, 25 in all! We have since gotten the results back and miraculously she has no broken bones. We were sure she had cracked ribs. Considering that the force of the impact has made both her van and the other car were both write-offs and she basically walked away is nothing short of a mircle.

She did lose her glasses (she's using her old ones for now) and a boombox she used for music/news. As a matter of fact the boombox, which was on the floor wedged in between the console and the front seats actually FLEW across the van and shattered into a zillion pieces against the opposite door.

What makes us angry is that the idiot that hit her was driving under suspension and shouldn't have been in his car! Some friends and family say we should sue him, but we don't know if we should or how to do so, as we've never sued anyone before. We might consult a lawyer just to be on the safe side.

The reason for that is that while my wife will survive intact and without any serious injury, i.e. lacerations, broken bones etc. she is in severe pain and is very sore and stiff. She is going to have to go and do a bit of rehab and work out the stiffness. She is in tears with the pain from her brusied ribs and can hardly breathe. It breaks my heart to see her cry in pain and I can't do a damned thing about it.
To make matters worse it that our doctor is being a real A-hole about giving her anything stronger than Tylenol 3's! He ridiculosly says she has to get over the pain and find her tolerance level!!!! What an A$$. Aren't doctor's supposed to alleiviate pain and suffering? Needless to say we will be looking for another doctor shortly. This is not the only problem we've had with him. He overbooks, and is not engaged when dealing with patients; he rarely looks up from the file while with us!

Anyway, as much as I have been commenting in blogs, it was my way of doing something normal and trying not to think too much about it. I have tried to write this blog 3 times but had to stop as it was getting to me too much. I think hearing that she is going to be OK and has no broken bones has lowered my worry level.

Above is an image of her bruises!

He actually hit her van just slightly behind her, more on the side door. The scary thing is that if he had hit her a mere 6 inches further up it could have been a very different story. She very well could have been killed or very, very seriously hurt. I shudder to think. I do feel much better now. She is my life. I can't imagine her not in it. I got my Valentine's gift.

Life turns on a dime.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, the news is good, so onto some more amusing things.

I was surfin' on the old big screen the other day and was stunned to see these images from the TV guide/menu.

It is one of my worst fears come true, sort of...

Ok, yep, we have lost yet another actor today. Roy Scheider at the age of 75. Unsure of the cause, but he was being treated for a blood cancer since 2005.
I am getting depressed doing these tributes, so I'm going to just say that I liked the man; his acting and his films. Being a sci-fi freak one of my fav's was 2010: The Year We Make Contact. My wife's favorite movie is "Jaws". We got it on VHS and she's watched it so much she knows the dialog!

So Long Chief Brody!

......................

Roy Scheider
November 10th, 1932 ~ February 10th, 2008

z z z ```` z z z

We've lost another wonderful actor again.
Barry Morse, passed away yesterday at 89.

Barry Morse
June 10th, 1918 ~ February 2nd, 2008

Most famous for his unrelenting pursuit of David Janssen in "The Fugitive" as the incorruptible Lt. Philip Gerard. For sci-fi fans he was also known as Prof. Victor Bergman in the series, "Space: 1999" He was an accomplished stage, screen and television actor. He became a Canadian citizen in 1953, holding a dual British/Canadian citizenship.

Ok, I'm back...again.

I'm am not having a great week. First my ISP screwed up my account and ended up cancelling my service! This after all the crap I went through to get it working. They originally didn't log my move request when we moved so I had to figure all that out. Then they didn't switch over our service from VDSL to DSL. I finally got that all sorted and was surfin' for a couple of weeks and then BAM! I couldn't get through. The system said I had a invalid ID number! I reset the modem, reset the connection and I tried everything I could to see if I could fix the problem myself.

I dread calling Bell because, well, there are a lot of tech/CSR's there that are not very proficient at English and it makes it VERY difficult to deal with them.

Finally I call and find out about how they've cancelled my service AND they've done it because they still have my address listed as my OLD address!! I thought this was all sorted out, but alas it was not meant to be and we had to wait 2 days for them to set up the "move request" and re-install the service! ARRRRGGGH!

THEN, yesterday morning I discovered my DEAD desktop. The one we only bought back less than a year ago. The computer that had ALREADY lost a HD. The cheap POS that the SOB didn't even install a DVD player into. The same computer that this guy shoved all his OLD crap off the shelf into!

What a joke.

Anyway, back and happy as we are using our new HP laptop, fully loaded and (so far) very good. Although I really don't like the Vista. I see how it does get on your nerves. It isn't very intuitive or helpful.

Gonna have to buy a new HD for the desktop, AND a new XP as the A-hole that made the computer wouldn't give us a copy of the OS.

*SIGH*

RIP
ALLAN MELVIN
February, 18, 1923 ~ January, 17, 2008

Thanks for all the great laughs!

"You Dog you!"

Just a quick hello and to let y'all know I'm not dead (yet)! We moved over the holidays, which alone is hellish and one of the most stressful things in life, but to do so over Christmas/New Years and frigid temps is a death wish! Now we got tons of unpacking to do! At least we're in and the worst is over.

Why, you may ask, would we be so insane as to move in the middle of the most "festive" time of the year? Well, this place came up suddenly and we're saving $250 a month in rent and it's a great little 2 bedroom on the ground floor of a triplex. We're in the corner back right by the parking and back door, which makes shopping etc. a breeze. Not only that, but for small stuff we can simply pass it through the dining room window!

The cats, which surprisingly took to the new digs immediately, will be in for a treat in the spring/summer, as we'll put harnesses and leashes on them so they can romp about just outside of the windows. They will love it!

This blog is just a quick hello, and a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my TVDC pals and letting you know I wasn't ignoring you either! Another reason for my tardiness was that Bell Canada kind of dropped the ball on the switch over with the Internet; they didn't have the work order even though I had included it with moving the phone. To be fair, once they discovered the missed move, they jumped all over it and I was up and running in less than 24 hours!

Anyway, I'll be out here sporadically as we still have a ton to unpack. Funny how no matter how careful you are about labelling boxes, you still can't find stuff! Like a can opener for example!

Tah-tah for now, and to quote the great philosopher Schwarzenegger "I'll be back"!

Well, I am no longer a high school drop out! I have received my GED results and passed with flying colours! Yay me!

I had an odd sensation as I opened up the large envelope and saw my diploma; I suddenly thought of my mother, who died back in 1986, and felt a bit choked up. My mother was always sad that I left school so close to graduating. She was always one of my biggest boosters, as mothers tend to be!

I only wished she could have been around to see this moment.


Ah, a day at the beach with Mum! What could be better?


The scoring has 2 elements; the standard score and the percentile rank. The standard score is what makes or breaks you, and the percentile shows you were you stand compared to graduating high school seniors. For example, my score in Science was an 800/800 (pass is 450), and my percentile was a 99%, which means my score was better than 99% of graduating seniors! I'm such a geek!



I was a bit shocked as I scored that perfect in Science, and near perfect in both Math and Social Science, and my lowest grades were in subjects I considered my strengths! I scored a 600 with an 81% in Language Arts-Writing and a 620/67% in Language Arts-Reading. While more than respectable, I would have thought that the score would be the opposite. I guess watching Nova, The Discovery Channel and other "educational" programming paid off! I also would have thought, being a voracious reader and somewhat competent with the written word, I would have given me a higher score.

I was especially surprised by the Math and Science results because I had to do them the Saturday morning after doing the first tests on Friday night; not getting home till almost 11pm. In order to make it back for the 9am, part 2 of the tests I had to wake up at 4:30am and take the GO bus and subway to the test site. My brain was mush, but still managed to fire off some synapses!

The "Total Battery" score says that I ranked in the upper 2% of graduating seniors!
Cool!

Who knew I was such a smarty-pants? I certainly didn't.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

NAME THAT THEME: GAME 3

PLAY GAME 3 HERE!


Ok, last game was close, and there were only 2 correct answers. The theme last time was from the show, "Land of the Giants" an Irwin Alan production. He was the guy in the 60's for over the top action and excitement. He was the producer of such big blockbusters as "The Towering Inferno", "The Poseidon Adventure". For these things he was given the moniker, "The Master of Disaster"!

Along with Giants, he also created and produced:
"Lost In Space", "The Time Tunnel" and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"!
Irwin Allen died in 1991 of a heart attack.

Here is the "Land of the Giant's" Opening Video!

The other cast members from LotG have not really done much after the show:




1.Gary Conway
-Last work in Movie called "Womans Story" in 2000 and before that in another movie "Liberty & Bash" in 1990. Owns and operates a winery in California with his wife of +40 years.
2. Don Matheson
-Last role in 1999 in 7th Heaven
3. Stefan Arngrim
-Still acting in bit parts; last seen in
"The Fog" 2006 remake
and a bit part in
"Battlestar Galactica: Razor"
4. Deanna Lund
-Not in anything since 1993
5. Heather Young
-Last seen in "Galactica 1980", she is 62 and has 5 kids,
so she must have been busy raising them.
6. Kurt Kasznar
-Was last in a TV movie in 78, but died of Cancer in 79.
7. Don Marshall
-Hasn't been seen since 1992.

(An interesting note: They are planing a remake of "The Time Tunnel"
for television release sometime in 2008. I'm not sure if it's just a single
stand-alone movie or a new series.)

INTERESTING STOPS ON THE INFO HIGHWAY

Since the theme of the game last week was "Land of the Giants" these 2 stops are kind of funny.

This one is done by this man who creates miniature scenes in our normal world. At first it sounds weird, but when you look at the pictures it actually is quite humourous and oddly realistic.

Little People Street Art

This next stop takes you even smaller. It is the contest site for microscopic photography sponsored by Nikon and has some very interesting and surprisingly beautiful pictures!

Nikon Small World

BUSKIEBOY KNOWS IF YOU'VE BEEN BAD or GOOD!



Hahaha! So you better be damned good!

Buskieboy Santa at the Motorola children's party back in 1996!
(I brought my own padding!)
There were about 250 kids in attendance.It was so much fun.
Some kids were completely in awe and speechless; others cried;
some older kids looked at me suspiciously. I got hugs from the
toddlers and some asked for presents for either their parents or
siblings! One little girl asked me to send food to the starving
children! That REALLY touched me! I had to tell her parents!
They were so proud of her!

Santa's One Tough &%$#*@! Boss

I'm not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, but this past November 19th saw the passing of none other than Mr. Whipple himself, one Dick Wilson.
He played his most famous role for an amazing 24 years, from 1965 to 1989! He is listed in the Guiness World Book as the longest continuous role in a commercial!
Of course all of us at TVDOTCOM also remember him as "The Drunk" he reprised 16 times on "Bewitched"! He actually appeared more times than recurring stars, Maurice Evans, Paul Lynde, and Alice Ghostley!

In a 1979 poll, he was the third most recognised American behind Richard Nixon and Billy Graham!

Dick "Mister Whipple" Wilson was 91.

I'm going to write my G.E.D. this Friday and Saturday. I'm getting
nervous, but I'm pretty sure I should be able to ace the tests.
On Friday, the test begins at 5:30pm and goes till 9:30pm and
then I go back and write the other 2/3 rds on Saturday from 8:45am
till 3:00pm! I even have to write an essay for part of the language
arts portion. I did a pre-test when I did my computer upgrades this
past September and they were amazed because not only did I ace
those tests, I kept finishing them WAY ahead of the scheduled times!
That's a good omen.
I need to get my Grade 12, because even the most lowest entry jobs
or even some warehouse or factory jobs are demanding a High School
or equivilent. I quit back in 1979 due to problems at home and later I
did attempt night school; doing a grade 12 advanced English course
and I was top in my clazz with an 89 average!! Circumstance once
again made it hard to complete any courses to get my last 2 credits.
I've decided to do the GED as it is the fastest route.
Wish me luck!

NAME THAT TUNE! Game #2

The last NAME THAT TUNE theme was...Night Gallery !

To find out the winner, play game #2, RIGHT NOW...!

GAME NO. 2

I was making up a traditional Halloween Blog last week and I just didn't have the strength to finish it in time, suffering as I was from that bout of flu. So, I'll save it all for next year. Instead, I thought I'd honour Rememberance Day.

If it's natural to kill, how come men
have to go into training to learn how?
~Joan Baez

Rememberance Day is observed primarily by Commonwealth countries, but our cousins in the US will have Veteran's Day to commemorate the war dead. While November 11th is less of an observance for the US, they do it up bigger in the springtime with Memorial Day.

"I don't know what weapons World War III will be fought with,
but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
~Albert Einstien

The Poppy is regarded as the international symbol of rememberance. I discovered that a big part in making it so was an American. A YMCA canteen worker in New York, Miss Moina Michael, was so taken by John McCrea's WW1 poem, "In Flander's Field's" that she made it her mission to make sure that we never forget our war dead.



Good Old Snoopy: WW1 Flying Ace!



(Click for Larger)
I love how they even give the day a tribute on our $10 bill.
(Geesh, we got pretty moolah!)

I count myself lucky and am thankful that I've never had to serve in a war of any kind, and that my parents never had to fight, although they did have front row seats during WW2.

There was never a good war, or a bad peace.
~Benjamin Franklin

After watching all the war specials this past couple of weeks, I can honestly say that I am also very thankful to those that have served and are serving, to protect us from evil and fanatic enemies past and present. Being of a generation that has not experienced those horrors of war, I can only imagine what it may have been like to have gone through such terrors. What I might think it was like certainly pales in comparison to the real thing.

If we have no peace, it is because we
have forgotten that we belong to each other.
~Mother Teresa

You can see it in the faces of the veterans who relate their stories on the war documentaries and programs this week. How sad they become while remembering a pal who was killed or a horrific moment of terror in battle. I see any of these soldiers, many of whom are tough as nails, break down in some way; eyes tearing up; voices cracking, as they are again re-living that moment in time that sadly they will never, ever forget. I feel so sad for them, and can't help but get a bit teary eyed myself, although I have no right to do so.

To all those brave souls, both living and dead I give a sincere Thank-You!

One of the most beautifully written letters in history came out of the American Civil War. Here is the YouTube snippet from Ken Burns' epic masterpiece. If you don't get misty by the end of it, well... The Sullivan Ballou Love Letter

"I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask,
"Mother, what was war?""
~Eve Merriam

Not that I'm a war movie buff or fan, but I do like quality. My ALL TIME favorite is:
Saving Private Ryan. This movie has one of the most realistic opening battle scenes ever filmed. If you've never seen it, as it did me and many others, it will simply blow you away.I am also not ashamed to admit to grabbing a tissue at the end; no matter how many times I watch it.Along with a epic opening, the ending chokes me up and I can't help but tear up.

As a matter of fact, a Veterian's group awarded Steven Spielberg with an award, honouring the movie's dedication to showing the harshness of Normandy and how it really was there. One of the vet's honouring him at the time was none other than the late James "Scotty" Doohan from StarTrek. Mr. Doohan was on Juno beach during the invasion with the Canadian contingent. He lost his ring finger on his left hand from a machine gun hit. If you watch him on StarTrek, he is always clenching his hand, as he was always self-conscious about it.

A couple of other movies that are really great because they show what might happen if we have another WORLD WAR are "Failsafe"and the documentary "Trinity & Beyond". The fomer deals with a communications/computer failure and a nuclear crisis between the USSR and America. Glen Fonda stars among others. Very gripping and tension filled. I understand a remake was make in 2000 starring George Clooney, but I missed it. They should make an updated movie again.

With "Trinity & Beyond" it shows the progression of nuclear bombs from the first "tiny" bombs to some of the most devastating weapons, using never before seen footage of the test expolosions. They are at once chillingly horrifying and captivatitingly beautiful. Amazing footage, but makes you realize that if we use these inanother war, it's over. We won't survive.

Here is this installment of Buskieboy's "Name That Tune!" . Have Fun!
(An additional clue is that I made this for the Halloween blog!)

What is this theme from?

An Early Happy ThanksGiving to my American Friends!

A Quiet Exit

So it seems the famous, if not the only famous mime, Marcel Marceau passed away last Saturday, the 22nd. He was 84 and died of a heart attack.

When I heard about it, I was speechless.
~
Should you have a minute of noise for a mime?
~
Do they have to put silencers on the guns for a 21 gun salute?

performer and I remember seeing him on Ed Sullivan and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson as a kid.
He had a interesting life. As a member of the French Resistance he saved many Jewish children smuggling them to Switzerland. Sadly, his father died at Auschwitz.

SELF-CONGRATULATORY BOASTING DEPARTMENT

Shalom! Today I am an Editor.
I got the nod for the DanMod guide....


Sorry,I meant the Ted Knight guide.

It's perfect for me to start with as it's obviously not a busy guide, as he's been gone for 21 years now (RIP), so I shouldn't be too swamped. I have to give a huge shout-out to my pal Indianamom who, not only being my first ever TV.COM friend, has been a big help giving me tips as to how to submit etc. Thank-you Mom!

SEPARATED AT BIRTH?

I was amazed at how much Alyssa Milano has grown up, when you watch her commercial for Neet! But she'll always be that cute tomboy with the missing tooth from Who's the Boss?
Ialso noticed how much she resembles Roxann Dawson (B'Lana Torres from Voyager).

Here are a few more thatI think MUST be genetically linked:



Laura San Giacomo (Just Shoot Me! ) and Karen Valentine (Room 222)

This one we all know about. Still the resemblance is eerie.
Some more next blog.

MAYBE THEY'RE WEAK FROM HUNGER?

My wife bought these candy bars the other day.I thought it was some kind of joke, but I'm not so sure. Did they get a lot of complaints?

Is it REALLY so complicated that someone would need instructions?

SOME INTERESTING STOPS ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY

Silly Quiz:
(Highlite the Answer line)

Which of the 7 dwarves do not have beards?
Answer:--> Only 1. Dopey.
Name the capital city located the heart of Czechoslovakia.
Answer:--> Oslo (czechOSLOvakia)
What do Weebles do?
Answer:--> Wobble.
What don't Weebles do?
Answer-->: Fall down.
What was the first toy commercial for? (1952)
Answer:--> Mr. Potato Head
What is Det. Columbo's first name?
Answer:--> Frank (as seen in close up of his badge on DVD)

Silly Management Quizette

Correct Answer:
Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door.
This question tests whether you tend to do simple things
in an overly complicated way.


2. How do you put an elephant into the refrigerator?

Did you say:
Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?
Wrong Answer!

Correct Answer:
Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and
then close the door. This tests your ability to think through the
repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals
xxattend... except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer:
The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there.
This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three
questions correctly, you still have a chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but crocodiles live in the river.
xxYou do not have a boat. How do you manage it?







Correct Answer:
You jump in and swim across. Have you not been paying attention?
All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting.
This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

COLOR TV? Now that's not such a Silly idea!

NBC who was owned by RCA enjoyed an early lead in color broadcasting.
Mainly because CBS and ABC didn't want to use NBC's technology and
also give folks more reason to buy RCA's color televisions and add to
NBC's profits. It took CBS and ABC about 10 years to catch up.

Funny but I found that these early logos triggered many a memory.
Strange how a simple thing like a sound bite can transport you back.

Here are a couple of clips of the progression of the logo:

Very early version circa 1950's
The version I'm more familiar with from the 60's

Here is the CBS version from the 60's.
Here is the ABC version from the 60's.

The Definintion of Determination: