Did Cavemen Play Video Games?

My vacuum cleaner is suicidal. I have tried to work with it, encourage it, I have lightened its workload by having carpeted floors replaced with hardwood. All to no avail. It will seek out the one lethal particle on the rug that is most likely to cause a smoking, buzzing, clattering disaster.

And yesterday, the drug of choice was a very thin wire. The thin wire was attached to the sensor bar of the Nintendo Wii game. The bar's job is to sit near the tv screen and pick up signals from the handheld Wii-Mote unit. When you point the Wii-mote at your tv screen, a little hand or pointer will appear on your screen and this is how you control the games.

Well, when I ran over the nearly invisible wire on the rug that is patterned with palm fronds, an effective camouflage, all hell broke loose. The familiar clattering, the whine, all of those sound effects - plus the added visuals of something flying through the air (the sensor bar) and the crash of the Wii system falling over in a dead faint.

By the time I got the vacuum cleaner shut off and the cord unplugged, the fine wire had wrapped itself around the vacuum's brush several times and wisps of smoke were emitted for several minutes for dramatic effect.

My main concern was for the loss of the sensor bar. Who needs a vacuum cleaner, especially one with serious instability?

When in a crisis, I turn to the internet and it was not five minutes later that I learned how to make my own sensor bar with materials I have right at home! In fact, I will bet you $10 right now, that even if you are very nontechnical YOU, YES YOU, can make your own sensor bar! And one that even works!

Here is how:

1) Find two candles, I like the idea of matching ones for esthetics, and also little short ones are best. Like the votive sized candles.

2) Place them about 6-8 inches apart, somewhere in front of your tv screen. They don't have to be actually blocking the screen, just either on top of your set or if you have a cool thin tv like mine that doesn't have a big clunky top, you can put them right down in front.

3) Light them.

4) Turn on your wii system and point your Wii-mote at the screen.

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I am NOT joking! This truly works. It is amazing. You now have a wireless Wii sensor that you made yourself. Impress all your friends!

You may still not believe me, here is a short video I found:



Enjoy your new sensor bar, so much more attractive than the old version.

Not so scary, just kind of weird

Back in the rather dull 80's, I heard a rumor which claimed if you started playing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album right at the 3rd roar of the MGM lion at the beginning of the Wizard of Oz movie, there were many incidents of weird appropriateness with the song and the movie.

If you want to define sychronicity as "meaningful coincidences" then, this would be the perfect definition.

Here's a list of some of the meaningful coincidences:

The lyric 'balanced on the biggest wave' coincides with Dorothy balancing on the fence at the farm. The words: "Fall into an early grave" as Dorothy falls off the fence.

Chimes and Bells start ringing as the Wicked Witch appears riding her bicycle.

During the 'Time' guitar solo, the fortune teller's sign is shown with the words "Past Present and Future"

The song, "Great Gig in the Sky" has many incidents:

The tornado is shown in the background when you hear the words 'I'm not frightened of dying'.

The drums start right as the wind picks up and trees are uprooted.

The singer slows down when Dorothy is knocked out by the window.

'Great Gig in the Sky' is the song heard as the house is flying through the sky.

Side 1 of the vinyl album (vinyl) is exactly as long as the black & white portion of the film.

The jingle of the cash register sounds in Money is heard exactly at the moment that color is introduced in the movie.

'Us and Them':

The ballerinas enter on 'Us, us, us, us' and one ballerina appears to sing: 'ordinary men'; then three munchkins enter on 'Me, me, me'.

'Forward he cried' is sung as Dorothy turns and faces forward.
The Wicked Witch appears on 'Black, black' and then on 'Blue, blue, blue,' the camera switches to Dorothy (in her blue dress).

'And who knows which is which and who is who' is heard at the moment that the Wicked Witch of the West turns to look at the recently deceased Wicked Witch of the East. (Play on words: "Which is Which" as in "Witch is Witch".

The Witch is high upon a platform on 'Up, up' and then descends on 'Down, down, down'.

As 'And in the End' is heard, the Wicked Witch of the East disappears.

On 'Out, out, out,' the Glinda, the Good Witch of the North departs.

'Brain Damage' plays as the Scarecrow sings 'If I Only Had a Brain'

Heartbeat sounds at the end of the album is heard as Dorothy thumps and then listens to the Tin Man's chest.

If you are now intrigued, you can find an even more comprehensive list at the website called Turn Me On Dead Man. Sorry, I am having a brain fart and cannot get the link to work so you'll have to google it. I promise you won't be sorry, it's fascinating.

Of course, there are many who say that if you put any movie with any album or cd, or whatever they're called these days, it will match up in some ways. Well, I suppose that could be true, but that's not much fun is it?

Now, back in the good old 80's, we had about three or four copies of the Dark Side of the Moon album and we also owned a vhs of Wizard of Oz which happened to be my then two year old daughter's very favorite and treasured video. I always wanted to do the experiment, but it sounded so complicated to line up the playing of the RECORD (yes, the vinyl record) with the third roar of the lion. Especially since the lion's roars kind of run into each other so it would be difficult to discern where one actually lets off and the next one begins.

So recently, for some reason, I thought about this rumor again and I just KNEW it would be on You Tube. Thank goodness for the internet. We don't have to do anything for ourselves anymore!

For your viewing pleasure, here are the first six tracks of the album. When you're watching these, keep in mind that although they are broken into six different cuts, they are actually continuous; in other words, the cd of Dark Side of the Moon was begun right at the third roar of the MGM lion in the Wizard of Oz movie. The song tracks begin just as they are seen in each cut, they weren't edited to begin at each point in the movie that fits them.

More Scary Stuff......

Am I missing something here, or is the Cash For Clunkers program similar to the mortgage catastrophe that was responsible for igniting the current economic problems in the U.S.?

People were lured to the thrill of new homes, big homes, more home than they could afford when they were able to be approved for a larger mortgage than they could realistically handle. The thought was, well if I can get the money I must be able to afford it. Then the payment book arrived and soon after the bank knocked on the door and took their house away. We are all now paying the price.

I'm not saying that the Cash For Clunkers program is going to ignite a new recession. But on a smaller scale, it seems to be doing the same thing....maybe there is a reason a person is driving a clunker. Maybe this person can't really afford a bigger, better, newer car.

But along comes this temptation....the thought that they could actually get $4500 on a trade in for a brand new shiny auto! The clunker will never be worth that much again.

So off they go to the dealership, sign their name for a brand new.....6 year auto loan. Something they really probably can't afford, another bill to pay, another loan.

Wait! This is great for the economy! It's helping the car dealers, the automobile manufacturers! So, who cares if the little guy ends up losing his new car because he can't make the payments? And who cares if now he has lost his clunker, too?!

At least Cash For Clunkers will have its 15 minutes of fame.

If that's not enough, take a look at what happens to your computer if you log in and register at the official Cash For Clunkers website:



No thanks, Obama. I'll keep my clunker.

Creepy Stuff

I was raised to appreciate creepy and weird things. I suspect there is also a genetic contribution so really, I can't help it. It's fun to speculate on who else in the family has acquired the creepy gene. It's pretty easy to determine by observing the reactions of everyone in the annual nighttime cemetery jaunt. Some are in their element, some are neutral, some are totally confused.

With this nature/nurture creepy background going on, I can't help being fascinated by the whole Michael Jackson thing. To begin with, the guy is a natural creep. I'm not saying I agree with his creepiness or even that I love it. There are parts of it I just don't even want to think about.

But the rest of it, well, it can be pretty interesting.

For instance, he has been dead for 23 days now and not buried yet. What?

And take a look at this video. I find this to be really very creepy. This was a press conference in London to announce his upcoming tour. The date of this press conference was in March 2009. The first time I watched it, I felt something was 'off'. I wondered if anyone else noticed. Now I'm not a huge fan of Jackson, I like some of his stuff but I sure don't idolize him. I feel it didn't take a lot of analysis to determine that the guy in this video is not Michael Jackson.

Look at how he walks, kind of slouched over. His voice is different, much lower, and it part of the video it sounds like he lapses into a fake British accent for a couple of sentences. This guy has the mannerisms of a much younger guy.

Anyway, look for yourself and let me know what you think:

I'm not saying this means anything or that Michael Jackson is not dead. (I didn't mean to plant that idea in your head, but I have heard that rumour.) But I am saying that this is weird. And if he was hiding out somewhere, alive, with a blanket over his head - I don't think that would actually surprise me. Not really.

The Rain, The Park, The Camping & Other Things

It started on the night before I was going camping. I was on Hulu and looking for something nostalgic to watch. I decided on the very first episode of The Partridge Family. About ten minutes into it (it was a little boring), I decided to look up some things about The Cowsills.

The Cowsills were a family rock (a loose definition) band in the late 1960's made up of a bunch of brothers and their little sister and (ugh) Mommy. Like most kids in this era, I loved the Cowsills and fought every day with my friend, Patty, about if I was going to claim Barry and she was going to be stuck with John and vice versa.

The connection between the Partridge Family and the Cowsills? The Partridge Family tv show was kind of based on the Cowsill family.

Some of the things I learned the other night -- the producers of the Partridge Family originally wanted the real Cowsills to portray themselves, but they didn't want the Mom. They wanted Shirley Jones (who ended up playing Shirley Partridge in the end). The Cowsills had a problem with their real Mom not being wanted so they decided not to do the show.

Now, seriously, I have to wonder about this. Who decided that they weren't going to do the show? Did the kids get together and say, 'we love Mom so much that we are going to refuse to further our career and become tv stars and even more teen idol-ish?' Really, do you think so?

Or did Mom step in and say, 'well, if you don't want me, then you don't get my kids either.'?

Either scenario is equally dumb if you ask me.

Another thing I learned is that Barry, my favorite Cowsill, is now dead. He was living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and went missing after the hurricane. Some three months later his body washed up along shore and was identified. The day of his memorial, the family learned that another brother, Billy Cowsill, had just died at the age of 58. How sad.

So, back to the camping thing.....the whole weekend that I was camping and even now that I'm home, I have this song stuck in my head. Its really one of the worst cases of Song Stick I've ever experienced. It just won't go away.

Misery loves company, enjoy the video clip:



In case that isn't enough, try this one:



I find the second version to be a little bit depressing. The kids are grown up and the song has lost its happy bounce. The singers are Susan, Paul in the middle and Bob.

So, anyway, I hope to soon find a new song to play in my head. Maybe writing this will kind of help to clear out my brain. Any suggestions?

I hate this game

Here's my little farm! This is from Farm Town on Facebook. Here's how it goes: You start out with just a little big of money and you plant some crops. You can wait from 4 hours to 3 days for the crop to be ready to harvest, depending on which crop it is.

I had to stop growing grapes because they were ready to harvest in four hours and I never was back on the computer to harvest them in time and they would all die.

Now when your crops are ready to harvest, you can harvest them yourself and (1) sell them immediately (2) put them in storage to sell later, and you'll get more money for them. Or else, you can go to the marketplace and hire someone else to harvest them for you and get even more money.

In your spare time, while you're waiting for your crops to ripen, you can hang out at the marketplace and beg people there to hire you to harvest their stuff. You get paid for this, of course.

There are many levels to the game. You figured that, right?

At the beginning, you are limited to the types of crops you can grow and animals you can buy, as well as cute little accessories for your farm. As you progress, there are more and more things to choose from. Also, at Level 15, you can buy more acreage by going to the realtor's office. At different levels, you can expand more and more.

I'm currently at Level 11, Talented Farmer.

I'm not sure how I came across this game. I'm not really sure why its so addictive. Its the kind of thing you don't spend a lot of time at because mostly you're waiting for crops to be ready. But you keep going back to check to see if they are. Whatever.

In case you haven't noticed.....

When I don't have anything special to write about, I like to go through my picture collection and choose a favorite one to post.

Today is one of those days.

Here's a picture I just love! This is Payton, my great nephew and buddy. He is celebrating his sixth birthday in this photo. Check out his little sports jacket.

He's obviously getting ready to blow out the candles on his cake and I believe this is the great inhale. Normally, the candle blowing out pictures I take capture the puffed out cheek, ready to blow expression. I think this is the first one I've seen that is pre-blow. Mouth open, taking in huge amounts of air for the best and most powerful exhale.

Payton and his sister, Jordan, recently spent a few days/nights at my house. I am so lucky to be able to have them over. They are a lot of fun, really nice and well-behaved kids. So we do a lot of things together. In a few days, I'll show you some pics of the things we did.

In the meantime, have a happy and safe holiday! We're going to see the village parade tonight and then fireworks. We always end up on my friend's front lawn since she lives across the street from the park where the fireworks originate. Of course, there is plenty of food, drink & fun.