It’s almost here

As my buddy Daryl there says, just ONE MORE DAY!

I am so psyched to have my absolute favorite show back tomorrow evening that I can hardly stand it!

We’ll be heading down to my Mom’s tomorrow afternoon for a visit and to wish her a happy birthday (which is coming up on Tuesday). She says she’ll stop and get a pizza on her way home from church, so YUM!

Then we’ll head back here to take care of a few housey things, and the countdown will begin.

I’ve got a couple of things planned. Last year’s season premiere zombie finger cookies didn’t turn out too well (I wish I’d taken a picture...they still tasted good, but they just flattened out and looked like looked like long flat slabs of cookie with an almond stuck on the end. Talk about a Pinterest Fail!) so this year I decided to do a tried and true treat: Slimeballs!

I haven’t made them for years, and I don’t think I’ve ever made them for Ken.

Slimeballs

2 packages Lime Jell-o (or one large package...heh...large package)
2 cups boiling water
1 cup Midori melon liqueur
1 cup vodka

Dissolve the Jell-o in the boiling water, and let it cool for a few minutes, but not so much that it starts to set. Add the booze and let it set. Serve with whipped cream.

I can tell you that it’s some tasty stuff, but really packs a punch! There’s always room for boozy Jell-o!  I got some red gel stuff to drip on it, too. Slimeballs don’t really look like zombie guts or anything, but they’re almost fluorescent green, and the red stuff on the whipped cream will look cool and bloody. Fun!

I also plan on wearing my I ♥ Daryl t-shirt that I got in Senoia at The Woodbury Shoppe.

Finally, I bought some new nail polish today, with several different colors (one is a kind of bright yellow) and a black “crackle” glaze. That’s that thing where you put it on top of another color, and it dries and looks cracked. I was showing Ken, and it resulted in this conversation:

Me: So you put this on top of another color, and it looks crackly.
Him: [nodding] Okay.
Me: I was thinking maybe green underneath? [Then I show him the yellow polish.]
Him: That yellow would look cool underneath the black, too.
Me: Yeah! It would look like pus!

So we’ve got green slimy stuff with bloody whipped cream and fingernails oozing pus. [clapping hands] All right! We’re good to go! I thought about making a couple of these, but I think we’re good with just the slimeballs.

BOOM!

Beth’s Music Moment: The Godfather of Soul

Today I finished up this week’s lectures in History of Rock, and the week ended on a GREAT note, with a discussion of the one and only James Brown!

I won’t pretend to be any sort of expert on JB. I didn’t grow up listening to him, other than the usual hits, and only got turned on to him in the ‘90s, when a boyfriend introduced me to him. The boyfriend turned out to be a real dick, but my love for JB stuck with me, and that was one good thing that came out of that relationship. Hmph.

Anyway, I really enjoyed that particular lecture in the course, and it really put JB’s place in music history into perspective for me. This was a time when the Brits were invading the American music charts; American pop was trying to promote its own versions of teen idol groups; Stax was releasing what some see as more “authentic” black soul music, but still using studio musicians; and Motown was trying to have black artists cross over to the white pop charts—and having great success with it, but seen by some as “selling out” the authenticity of black music. (I’M not saying that, so don’t come after me on it. That is a criticism that has been levied at Motown and Berry Gordy, Jr. Personally, I don’t think it’s accurate. It was just a more polished version of this music, and it was some great stuff.)

James Brown comes along and kind of sets all this stuff on its head. A total showman, probably the best frontman EVER—discuss amongst yourselves—and this is from me, a huge fan of Mick Jagger, the current best frontman, in my opinion! An American artist, James is seen as not “selling out” in any way, shape, or form, not changing his Southern soul sound or his black identity in order to cross over to the pop charts...but having HUGE success there, anyway. The professor speculates that this could have been because he was essentially non-threatening. His songs, at least early on, weren’t overtly sexual. The lyrics weren’t, anyway.

In fact, the lyrics of a lot of his early songs didn’t really say a whole lot. The focus here was not on the songs or the lyrics, but on the grooooove, man. In fact, that should be capitalized. The Groove. James and his band made the whole thing about laying down the beat and gettin’ your funk on. The prof said that even some of James’s vocals became a part of a meshing of sounds...a sound that resulted in this glorious mix that makes you want to shake your moneymaker.

I can personally testify (Testify, sister!) that when out and about, and a band plays some James Brown, and The Groove grabs you...well, you just gotta go with it and work it on out. I find The Groove almost hypnotic, and it just kind of takes you over. It’s a powerful thing. It transcends race and time. Can I hit it and quit it?

Take it to the bridge!

Asskicking redux

I had my last appointment of my October Healthcare Tour today, and what a relief to be done with all of those! This one was just a cleaning at the dentist, so it was an easy one, too. I got a good check-up from the wonderful Dr. Herbster. He told me I didn’t have a lot of plaque build-up and said, “Good job!” Yay! I can’t help it...I like getting praise from my healthcare professionals. It means I’m doing something right!

As he scraped away, he chatted with me. (We went to high school together, so we have that little bond.) He said, “Hey, I got my flu shot!” He changed instruments then, so I was able to say, “Me too!” He went on to say that he went twenty years without getting a flu shot, but last year, he got nailed with the flu, and so did his wife—at the same time. He said he’s never been so miserable in his life, and he understands now why people are hospitalized with influenza and even die from it. He changed instruments again, and I said, “Exactly! That’s what I keep trying to tell people...it really can be a killer!” He agreed and said that he wasn’t taking that chance again, so he got his shot as soon as he could this year. He also said that when him and his wife were sick, his folks wanted to come over and help them, but he told them that the best thing they could do was stay away. He didn’t want them to get it. He’s exactly right. Some people are more susceptible to complications from it, and that includes the elderly.

PLEASE don’t ignore the flu shot. Influenza might not kill you if you’re very healthy, but it will definitely make you feel like shit for a good couple of weeks. And who wants to feel like shit for that long? Not me!

Speaking of healthcare, some of you may recall that I wrote a blog entry back in April titled “This needs an asskicking.” It was a response to one of those things that makes its way around the Interwebz via email and social media posts. It was about some creepy guy confronting a group of young people in a restaurant about the Affordable Care Act and schooling them about what it means to be free. The email being passed around was one of the dumbest of its type that I’ve ever read, and I had a little fun skewering it. (It really was a fun one to write!)

Well, I’ve been noticing that that entry was getting a lot of hits. Not up in the thousands or anything like that, but I’ve been getting multiple hits per day from all over the country, mainly on that entry. I was wondering what was going on, and I was finally able to track down the source, at least somewhat. Some of the visits seem to be just from people doing a search for that particular email letter. Since I copy the whole thing in my entry, it’s understandable that a search for it would give that entry as one of the results. Although I honestly do not know how anyone other than my small group of readers came across it, I found a couple of places where someone had posted it. Both were discussions of that email thing, and someone posted the link to my entry in both forums.

One was an IMDb forum. I have no idea why that was being discussed on an IMDb forum. I use IMDb occasionally to look up stuff about movies, but I don’t participate in any discussion forums, so that was weird.

Even weirder was that one of the discussions was on a Florida Sportsman forum.


I know, right? I was like, “How the heck did my blog entry end up on Florida Sportsman??” There was some back and forth discussion on the Affordable Care Act, from both supporters and haters. Someone there posted the original email letter thing, and one of the guys on the forum responded, “And an equally amusing response” and provided the link to my entry. I don’t know how he came across it, but it apparently amused him enough to post the link in a discussion forum! I'm glad you enjoyed it, Gary!

You know how we always say, “Of course, the people who need to read this never will”? Perhaps this time that didn’t hold true. At least one person said that they couldn’t get past the first paragraph or so because it was a typical liberal response, blah blah blah. But maybe one or two read it and it planted a little kernel of doubt in their minds about their hysterical response to a law designed to insure more people. Truthfully, I kind of doubt it. It still makes me happy that they saw it, though, and maybe got an eyeful of just how ridiculous those circulated things appear to some of us.

Galaxy Quest

No, not the movie, although I love that one and I’m probably due for another viewing soon!

My two-year contract with Verizon was expiring in November, and Ken got a message that we could come in and upgrade my phone. Wheeeee! I’d been having increasing problems with my phone, where it would freeze or lock up, so I was more than ready for one.

I’d been hearing some good things about the Samsung Galaxy, and a couple of friends love theirs, so I had already made up my mind that that was what I wanted. I don’t have to have the newest and best the moment it comes out, so I was fine with getting the S3, and we saved $100 by getting that model rather than the newest one. They had one in stock, so the salesperson was able to move my contacts over and get me all set up. (Thanks, Rachel!)

I’ve been occupied with getting it figured out, but since I’ve had a smartphone for a couple of years, the learning curve isn’t nearly as steep this time around. I’ve been getting my apps installed and updated, and great day in the mornin’, this thing is BLAZIN’ fast! I absolutely love it! I even figured out how to make “Sympathy for the Devil” my ringtone, and I was quite pleased with myself for doing that this morning. Haha! It’s thinner and lighter than my previous phone, and the display is crisp and clear. Well done, Samsung. This baby is sweet.

I had to laugh at the store, because Rachel mentioned that you can get a trade-in on your old phone. She checked her tablet to see what my trade-in value was, and said, “Seven dollars.” I burst into laughter and she kind of laughed, too. That phone is only two years old, and it was like a $300 phone at the time. It just shows you how quickly these things become obsolete. Amazing.

We sprang for an extended battery cover, because Ken has one for his iPhone and loves it for traveling. It will be great to have that for New Orleans later this month. (He gets an iPhone through his company. I’m happy with my Androids, but his company is generous enough to give us a discount on my phone.) I have a couple of everyday covers on order, including a super cool skull cover. I’m very pleased with my new phone and look forward to messing around with it. Oh, one thing I got right away was Vine. My previous phone wasn’t compatible with it, so I’m happy to have it now. A fun new toy!

After that, we headed to BW3 for a bite to eat, some beers to drink, and some football. Then in the evening, it was the Notre Dame-Arizona State game, which was a nail-biter, but the Irish prevailed! Today it’s more football (my Colts won!), and I’ve got a pot roast cooking in the crockpot. We’ll watch “The Good Wife” followed by an episode of “The Walking Dead.” We have two more episodes to go on Season 3, and the premiere of Season 4 is in ONE WEEK! Fangirl approves! I think it’s safe to say that you can expect some Walking Dead stuff coming up this week. You have been warned.

I hope you are having a pleasant weekend and that your week starts off well tomorrow!