Friday Shuffle: The Eventually Edition

Okay, so it's Sunday, not Friday. But I'm not complainin' Friday (at work) was hectic and Friday night (after work) was a blast. There was no time for the Shuffle. "What about Saturday?", you ask. Two separate trips to the park, the latter one including a picnic lunch. Errands here and there...again, no time for the shuffle. No complaints here. But I am glad to have found some time to have blogged and given Fred a chance to shuffle his thang!

1. "Sisters of The Moon", by Fleetwood Mac - Is it horrible that I actually don't know this song, what with me being a big Fleetwood Mac fan and all?
2. "What a Fool Believes", by The Doobie Brothers - Really, why isn't this group called Michael McDonald and the other guys?
3. "Born To Jive", by Sha-Na-Na - okay, nooo, I don't own any albums by Sha-Na-Na, if such a thing is even possible, this off of the Grease Soundtrack. What does hand jive mean, anyway?
4. "Save Me a Saturday Night", by Neil Diamond - Yep, don't know this song either.
5. "Jimmy Gets High", by Daniel Powter
6. "A Horse With No Name", by America
7. "Open Road", by Ryan Adams
8. "Octopus' Garden", by The Beattles - What a care-free acid laden song for the whole family!
9. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by They Might Be Giants
10. "Run-Around" by Blues Traveler

Okay, well Fred gave us a bit of an obscure shuffle this time around. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Just 'Cuz

Here is an email thread interchange that occured yesterday morning between Mama Phez and me [with the From & To fields modified slightly] :

------------------------------------------------

From: Troy Boy
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 9:53 AM
To: Mama Phez
Subject: RE: I love you too!

What can I say? Loving you is one of the easiest things for me to do. Right there next to breathing, and just as important.

------------------------------------------------

From: Mama Phez
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 9:48 AM
To: Troy Boy
Subject: I love you too!

Thank you sweety. We’ve been married 15 years! I’m not supposed to find love notes in my lunch anymore!! - Not that I’m complaining; it put a big smile on my face. In fact, I was grinning like an idiot in the kitchen. Everybody must have been wondering what was up with me.

------------------------------------------------

Wacky Wednesday - Picture This!

Here is the 4th edition of a new installment to my blog: Wacky Wednesday. In an effort to continue to bring you the finest of Wacky Wednesday submissions, I will scour the Internet, and any other source for that matter, looking for an odd tidbit to share with you all. And I will always cite my source, unless they swear me to anonymity. This week's entry is dedicated to Purple Passion over at Gimme Patience.

Here we go!

Making artistic, themed scrapbooks is a $2.6 billion industry in the U.S. (nearly one-fifth as large as the adult-video industry) and has a "Hall of Fame" as protective of its morals as baseball's, which has shunned gamblers and steroid-users.

According to a January Wall Street Journal report, one "superstar" scrapbooker, Kristina Contes, was recently kicked out of the hall for violating etiquette by displaying another's photo inside her scrapbook in a competition.

Contes said the oversight was inadvertent but that she is now shunned within the community for her grave offense and called "labelwhore." [Los Angeles Times, 1-12-08]

Until next time, enjoy your Wacky Wednesday!

Okay, Seriously

I am working from home today and I have the t.v. on in the background. On comes an episode of Miami Vice. While I didn't officially move here until 1991, I did try living with my dad and step-mom for a year in 86. I was here folks! For the record. No one dressed like that! No one looked that!

I mean, okay, some people tried it after the show aired.

But that, like, totally isn't a picture of me with my face lopped off!

Would you like some Kibble with that?

Several days ago, I was helping Lil Phez with his nightly chore: feeding the fish when something peculiar happened. But before I go into the incident let me, to quote Desi Arnaz, ecksplang.

When feeding the fish, Lil Phez needs my help, at age 3 & 11/12, because it is large tank and it requires that he climb up on a dining room chair - something he knows not to do without permission/supervision. At his tender age, I must say that Lil Phez is very good at knowing what his boundaries are, i.e. what he should & shouldn't do, and he doesn't test those boundaries.

Which is why I was shocked several days ago when he reached into the fish food, grabbed one sole morsel of fish food and with what seemed like an executed decision, slowly opened his mouth and brought this new snack to his lips.


This is when with all of my parental skills, grabbed the wrist of the offending hand and, with love and concern in my voice that would make Dr. Spock proud, I asked ,"What in the world are you doing!" My startled toddler blinked, regained his composure, and replied, "I was going to eat it, Daddy" very matter-of-factly.

So began the lecture. I explained why he shouldn't eat the fish food. I told him that fish food is for fish. I explained that he would grow a fin if he ate it (okay, not really). And I said all of the things one should say to their child when trying to keep them from eating pet food. He said he understood and we agreed that it would never happen again. Then came last night.

I was helping him feed the fish when he repeated the slow purposeful act of trying to partake of, what is apparently the nectar of the Gods, also known as fish food. At first I went into lecture mode but quickly caught myself. "Self", I said to myself, "This didn't work last time. Try a new approach." And so this is how I handled it:

Me: Son, didn't we agree you shouldn't eat fish food?
Lil Phez: Yes.
Me: Would you like to try one piece?
(This is when Mama Phez's right eyebrow shot up so far it practically joined her bangs.)
Lil Phez: It would be okay?
Me: I wouldn't eat the stuff but you want to try it, so go ahead...one piece, just this once.
(Lil Phez takes a piece, puts it in his mouth, and begins to chew)
Me: It's pretty gross, huh?
Lil Phez: Yeah.
Me: Yucky!
Lil Phez: Yucky!
Me: Let's go brush your teeth again and get that nasty taste out of your mouth, okay?
Lil Phez: Okay, daddy.

Next week, we try the dog food.

Misspent Youth

As a father of two, Lil' Phez & Baby Phez, I think about what they will be into as they grow up. Oh, and thanks Matt for the recent post creating appropriate Blogger names for my little ones. So as I ponder their paths to be taken, I hearken back to the path I took to get where I am today; some of which I am willing to share and some...not so much. Let's just suffice to say, that Misspent Youth is an appropriate nomenclature for my adolescence. Let's review the highlights low lights:


Favorite TV Show:

Benson








I had a crush on Katie, played by Missy Gold.


Favorite Pastime:

Commodore 64








And one my favorite games on the C64 is shown below, check out the cool graphics!

Okay, so now it's your turn! What are the deep dark secrets of your youth that you hope you can keep your lil' ones from repeating?

Friday Shuffle: The 'Look of Horror' Edition

Our littlest; fond of baths he is not.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, take 'er away Fred!

1. "Shooting Star", by Bad Company
2. "Do I Have To Say The Words?", by Bryan Adams - I think we danced to this song at our wedding.
3. "Angel", by The Iguanas - A good song. A great band. Check them out if you haven't already.
4. "I Am The Walrus", covered by Bono & Secret Machines from the Across The Universe soundtrack
5. "Sandman", by America
6. "She Moves Me", by Muddy Waters
7. "Imagine", covered by Joan Baez - Just when you thought this song couldn't be any more hippy-ish; Joanie takes it there.
8. "Everybody's Got a Cousin in Miami", by Jimmy Buffett - This is a fun song about Cuban immigration into Miami & its culture...funny and endearing.
9. "Every Minute, Every Hour, Every Day", by James House, from the Tin Cup soundtrack - I know that Sari knows this song!
10. "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again", by England Dan & John Ford Coley - okay, who? It's from a Singers & Songwriters complitation CD. These are the same guys that did "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight".

Okay, goodbye.

A Meme, A Dinner & A Movie

This is a homemade meme that I put together because I was inspired by a recent episode of Top Chef. Here's the deal:

List the items of a meal you'd prepare and use a movie as your theme. Then fellow bloggers will leave comments guessing what the movie is. Okay so here's mine - and yes, if I was on Top Chef, I'd use this for the competition.

Baby Lamp Chops smothered in caramelized Vidalia onions served along with Fava beans and a glass of Chianti.

Well, which movie was the theme for this dinner?

If you want to give it a try on your blog, please leave me a comment and let me know!

Wacky Wednesday - Grody!

Here is the 3rd edition of a new installment to my blog: Wacky Wednesday. In an effort to continue to bring you the finest of Wacky Wednesday submissions, I will scour the Internet, and any other source for that matter, looking for an odd tidbit to share with you all. And I will always cite my source, unless they swear me to anonymity.

Before we start, you know how many people have to tinkle when they hear running water? Let me know if this next entry has the same effect on you. Here we go!


Irish director-playwright Paul Walker's production of "Ladies & Gents" opened for a March run in New York City 29 blocks north of Broadway in a public restroom. According to an Associated Press report, the entire play takes place among the porcelain in a bathroom in Central Park, portraying "the seedy underside of 1950s Dublin," with the audience of 25 standing beside rows of stalls, near "spiders, foul odors and puddles of questionable origin."

Walker proudly admits that he wanted to take the audience "out of their comfort zone" to create "a different energy." Actor John O'Callaghan recalled that rehearsals were especially difficult: "One man actually came in and had a pee right in front of us." [KYW-TV (Philadelphia)-AP, 3-19-08]

Until next time, enjoy your Wacky Wednesday!

Tuesday's Tip for the Day! - Part Two

So while I was out getting the replacement phone, Mrs. Pheasantly spoke to our friend Matt. He told her that he had heard (here is the tip of the day, folks) if you get your phone wet, then take the back off, take out the battery, and then put the phone and battery in a container of rice and seal it. For how long, you ask? Well, we found out that the phone was working 24 hours later! Cool, huh?

Tuesday's Tip for the Day! - Part One

Is that a wet cell phone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Last Friday I was giving son # 1 a bath when my cell phone went *kaplunk* into the bath tub. As you might guess, the phone was no longer operable. So, I gave the soggy phone and the soggy kid to the wifey, after taking the SIM card out, and hurried off to the cell phone store. I got there 2 minutes before they closed and told them I needed a new phone. They looked at my account and announced that since it had been less than the magical 2 years that I had this phone, I would have to pay the regular price, which was - drum roll please...$279! For once, I was speechless. After I recovered, I stammered out that I couldn't afford that. So the sales rep leaned in (pssst - this is where the Tuesday's Tip for Day comes in), and he told me to just go across the street to Walgreen's and buy a phone for 20 bucks. He said that most of them were compatible with my cell service and all I had to do was put in my SIM card from my old phone and I'd have the same number. So that's what I did. That's one smart guy because when I do need a new phone and need to renew a plan you better believe I will be going there!

Friday Shuffle: The Roadtrip Edition!

It's about 12:30 am Friday morning and I will be leaving with Matt and another friend in 3 and a half hours to head up to Orlando to participate as judges in the Odyssey of the Mind state competition. So let's make this a quick Shuffle Fred!

1. "I don't Want To Miss A Thing", by Aerosmith
2. "One Night Love Affair", by Bryan Adams
3. "For What It's Worth", by Buffalo Springfield
4. "Son of a Son of a Sailer", by Jimmy Buffett
5. "I Try", by Macy Gray - Man, she can sing! Oh, and she's not bad to look at, either!
6. "Emaline", by Ben Folds Five - I much prefer, "All You Can Eat".
7. "Don't I Hold You", by Wheat - okay, by who? It's from the Elizabethtown soundtrack
8. "Poetry Man", by Phoebe Snow
9. "The Last Time", by the Stones
10. "Say Goodbye to Little Joe", by Steve Forbert - you might be asking 'By who?' again, but if you don't know this guy, give him a listen. I think the only track off of this album, Jackrabbit Slim, to get decent radio play was "Romeo's Tune". My favorite track is "Complications".

Well, you were a bit all over with these picks, Fred, but still a good list,

Have a great weekend everyone!

And Like a Wildfire It Did Spread

So it's been a while since there has been a meme on this blog and this next one, I believe, will have been worth the wait. This meme was first brought about into "my circle" of bloggers by Seven. Holy crap, I have a circle of blogger buds! Okay, it's more like a lopsided oval, but its mine! (Oh, and while Seven isn't officially in MY circle, she is in Sari's so she's the dot in the two overlapping circles that you saw in Statistics 101.) But I undress, I mean digress! I digress. Anyway, so Hilda picked up on it over at The Geek Inside, and then Matt picked up on it over at The Mind Wobbles. And now it's my turn! Here's the deal:

Instructions:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod, whatever)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question below, type the song that’s playing
5. New question — press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

Here we go:

• opening credits: “Big Stick” by Bruce Hornsby - I do like the occasional well placed innuendo, even if it is based solely on fiction
• waking up: "Come Pick Me Up" by Ryan Adams - I imagine I'd might need a ride.
• first day at school: "When The Stars Go Blue" by Ryan Adams - Pardon me, I am reminding Fred, my Ipod, that by the very definition of shuffle, we shouldn't have back-to-back tracks by the same artist
• falling in love: “Shut Up” by - Direct and straight to the point, I suppose
• breaking up: “Joking” by Indigo Girls - Okay, so like, what, I don't really hate your guts?
• prom: “Girl From The North Country” by Johnny Cash - well I guess she'd be a better date than the boy from the south depot.
• life’s okay: “Gamblers Blues" by Lightnin' Hopkins - or maybe life's not okay?
• mental breakdown: “Live With Lonesome” by Little Big Town - yep, that qualifies as a reason
• driving: “Science Fiction Double Feature” by Original Broadway Cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show
• flashback: “Crazy Love” by Poco - Flashing back to Buffalo Springfield
• getting back together: “30,000 Pounds of Bananas” by Harry Chapin - There is no getting back together for the main character of this 10 minute story-song...just lots of separation and pasty fruit!
• wedding: “Fantasy Girl” by .38 Special - I married my fantasy girl!
• birth of child: "Endless Love” by Lionel Richie - Amen! Okay, in a different context, but an endless love, nonetheless
• final battle: “Middle of the Night” by Jimmy Buffett
• death scene: “Ventura Highway” by America - metaphorically speaking, I guess it could work. If I saw "Alligator lizards in the air", I would certainly hope I was dead
• end credits: “Walk Away Renee" by Vonda Shepard - damn, if only my name was Renee

Cool, huh?! Now it's your turn, if ya wanna and you know you wanna! Leave a comment for please once you've done the deed over at your blog.

Truer Words Have Never Been Spoken

So, the results are in and Ramiele is gone. But the true highlight of tonight's results show, for us, was Dolly singin' her song "Jesus and Gravity".

When she sang the part, "Something's lifting me up!", Mrs. Pheasantly retorted, "Well, yeah! Just look at her body." Yes fellow bloggers, something is definitely holding her up. It's called... plastic surgery."

Funny lines to be in Dolly song.

Ouch!

It's a good thing that one does not have to speak in order to blog; otherwise, I'd be S.O.L.! I am sitting here at the computer with a wad of gauze in my mouth. I am sitting here at the computer occasionally tasting the slightest hint of blood. I am sitting here at the computer wondering what I will be able eat for dinner. I am sitting here at the computer less of a person than I was an hour and a half ago. I am sitting here at the computer with one less Wisdom tooth, or as it is technically called, one less mandibular third molar - isn't Wikipedia wonderful?

It came out surprisingly easy. I had the 2 lower wisdom teeth removed a few years ago and it sucked more than a little bit. During that earlier procedure, one of them broke while the dentist was removing it. This time I was more fortunate. Sneaky Dr. Krugman began, after injecting the local anesthetic by saying "Okay, Troy. I am going to start out by just testing the tooth." Then he put what looked like a screw driver in my mouth and started pushing on the unwanted bastard of a tooth. Then he pushed a little harder - still "testing", mind you. Then he said, "Okay, Troy...it's almost out." He switched to what looked like a pair of pliers, and he pulled once, twice, and *pop* - out came the tooth!

In 19 minutes, I get to take out the gauze. I am debating whether or not to update this post with a photo. Do y'all think I should?

Image from Wikipedia

Wacky Wednesday - Sell It!

Here is the 2nd edition of a new installment to my blog: Wacky Wednesday. In an effort to continue to bring you the finest of Wacky Wendesday submissions, I will scour the Internet, and any other source for that matter, looking for an odd tidbit to share with you all. And I will always cite my source, unless they swear me to anonymity. This weeks installment is actually comprised of two submissions. Wacky, huh?!


Dance Bear Bare Naked

When Johnny Diablo's year-old vegan restaurant failed to catch on in Portland, Ore., last year, he converted the space into Casa Diablo's Gentlemen's Club, which is what he believes is the world's only vegan strip club. He has no rule against meat-eating dancers, he told Willamette Week newspaper in February, but won't permit leather, fur, silk or wool outfits on stage (no "murder victims" in the club, he said). [Willamette Week, 2-6-08]


Like Puttin' Lipstick on a Pig Cat Butt

Cosmetics from the American company Blue Q, under the "Lookin' Good for Jesus" brand urging users to "Get Tight with Christ," were pulled from stores in Singapore in February due to complaints, but Blue Q said it's not abandoning that line of hand and body creams, lip balm, breath spray and bubble bath. (Of course, Blue Q also markets similar cosmetics under such brands as "Dirty Girl," "Cute as Hell," "Total Bitch" and "Virgin/Slut," as well as a car air-freshener by its brand "Cat Butt.") [Reuters, 2-12-08; http://www.blueq.com/]


Until next time, enjoy your Wacky Wednesday!

My Own Favorite Post

I wouldn't have thought of this post today but it showed up as the Google search results for someone in Warsaw who was searching for "son big feet".

To take a queue from Dave Barry, it sounds like a good name for a rock band. But it also happens to be a very fond memory for me that brought a smile to me as I reread it, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Daddy, What's That?

Last night I served Corned Beef & Cabbage, which by the way isn't authentic Irish fare. I served it with Mookie Mookie, otherwise known as potatoes. I cooked it all in a pressure cooker and the potatoes, which had been quartered, took on the the liquid in the cooker (amber beer & chicken stock) so they became a bit darker, and very yummy.

Our three year old is not a fan of potatoes. It's odd because he'll eat almost anything. So, knowing his disdain for the potato, I didn't serve any on his plate. He saw it on my plate and didn't recognize it, so he asked me, "Daddy, what's that?". Not wanting to lose the opportunity to get him to eat potato, I said, "This baby? It's called Mookie Mookie." "Mookie, Mookie?!" he replied with a giggle. "Yep, would you like some?" "Yes, please." he said with excitement of an adventurer setting sails to chart new lands. He took a bite. "Do you like it?", I asked with some trepidation. "Yes! It tastes like potato."

He took one more bite, went back to his corned beef, which he polished off, and then announced that he was done, discarding the last bite of lonely Mookie Mookie.