Wherever You Are Tonight...

"There cannot be a crisis today, my schedule is already full."

-Henry Kissinger

God I love retro! Well, almost everything retro... I will never think highly of bell-bottom jeans. LOL. But almost everything else goes. One of the reasons I think Alan and I get along so well, is that we both enjoy old movies, and the wonderful old shows from our childhood. We will play a challenge game with each other on long car rides, sometimes quizzing each other on the theme song of a particular show, or maybe even asking a trivia question about a character. He and I both always enjoyed the secondary characters as much as the stars of the show. Here we are in our 40's, and we still enjoy popping popcorn, and watching the old Kolchak: The Night Stalker, on DVD on a Saturday night. Is that boring? :) I hated the new version that ABC came up with a couple years back, it lacked the truly spooky feel that the original one had. I loved Darren McGavin in the title role. He could both make me believe in the fantastic and fear it as well. As scared as Karl got, he stuck it out to the very end, he solved the mystery, even if no one around him accepted his conclusions.

I guess I am feeling in a nostalgic mood, because yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the release of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. What a magnificent album that was. God I miss John Lennon. Sigh. In just a few weeks it will officially be summer, and that will bring another anniversary to the Bay Area, see, 1967 was the Summer of Love. If you were a hippie, then Haight/Ashbury was the place to be. If you were in the East Bay, you were up here in Berkeley, probably in People's Park. A lot of social changes were taking place all over America, not just here in the heart of the hippie movement. I was a little girl, I was 5 years old, so I was for the most part, unaware of what was going on, but I knew about the war, and I was missing my brother who was in Vietnam. I didn't understand his leaving then, and even now I struggle to come to terms with why he had to go. War sucked then, just as it does now. Sigh. I took a lot of comfort in the old black and white TV we had, and all those sitcoms that didn't talk too much about war, or fear. Bewitched was one of them. Did you watch it too?

My brother came home for a visit in 1970, and we sat together on the couch and watched, among other things, Bewitched. It was a night I won't really forget. The guest stars were Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. I remember very clearly watching this episode with him, and singing and dancing. My sister had painted a flower on my cheek, as she often did, and the three of us watched the show together. This episode dealt with Samantha's cousin Serena, and her kidnapping of Boyce and Hart, so they could play at the very groovy Cosmos Cotillion. LOL. I found this clip on YouTube, and thought it would be the perfect accompaniment to this memory of mine. If you were a Bewitched fan I am sure you have seen it. It's a true gem of a TV moment. One I never forgot. A lot has happened between my brother and myself. I haven't seen him in years, and it is better if I don't, we are very different people. But there are moments, I will always be glad we had. Sigh. Yeah... war definitely sucks.

Still, in the middle of all the crap that was happening that I didn't understand, I had little moments here and there that made perfect sense. I am still a huge fan of Boyce and Hart, and was heartbroken when Tommy Boyce committed suicide a number of years back.They made beautiful music, but sometimes wars wage within ourselves as well. Again... war sucks. It's the little moments that saves us I think. The ones that always makes us laugh, or smile, or just feel good inside. I have a lot of those little moments in my brain, I call them up when I need to take a step back from whatever makes me sad. Sometimes though, Alan and I throw in a DVD of some great old show or movie and get totally caught up in it. I think later tonight we are going to watch an old Godzilla movie... LOL. Isn't Raymond Burr great? Lord I'm old! LOL.

Do you have a favorite old TV show? How about a favorite song from the late 60's or 70's? Share if you like, I would enjoy hearing what you watched on TV as a child. Any decade is fine. It always surprises me to learn how many people were watching the same episodes of TV I was all those years ago. :) It never occurred to me I wasn't the only one watching. LOL.

Enjoy!
Bewitched
episode 190
"Serena Stops The Show"
February 19, 1970

" I'll Blow You A Kiss In The Wind"
By Boyce and Hart

-OndineMonet

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #168: Historical Excisions

"History is fables agreed upon."

-Voltaire

Weekend Assignment#168: For reasons best left unexplained, you have been allowed to excise one and only one person from the course of history. Which would you choose to remove from history and why? That's right: Any one person you think history would be better without. You can now expunge, so who would it be - and how do you think history would be changed with their absence? See. Told you it was one that would make you think.

This assignment comes with two rules. First, the person expunged has to be a human being; deities (and human iterations thereof) should be left out of this particular exercise, mostly because I'd like to avoid all the ranting such an excision would add. Second, try not to choose Adolf Hitler (because he's too easy) or either the current president or his predecessor ( to avoid ranty political rantiness). Incidentally, picking either parent or any of these three folks just to get around this admonition is dirty pool. Other than that, pick whom you would like. This still leaves lots of potentially expungible historical figures.

Extra Credit: Favorite historical-themed movie. Because why not?

-John Scalzi (By The Way)

My goodness John, this is a deep subject indeed! And it is one which I gave some thought to, but one historical name which did come to mind almost immediately was, Dr. Alfred P Southwick. As you all know, I can go on a political rant with the best of them. I have no problem sharing how I feel about things, it is after all part of who I am, and while I do share most of my political and social beliefs and ethics with you here on Ellipsis, one subject I don't tend to share too easily, is my complete and utter aversion to Capitol Punishment. In particular, the electric chair. As a means of executing a human being, "humanely" it has bothered me since I was old enough to understand what justice meant.

Dr. Alfred P. Southwick was inspired to invent the electric chair, in 1881, after witnessing an intoxicated man accidentally touch a live electric generator. After the man died, the doctor concluded that the man's death came swift, and with very little pain. Soon, Southwick proposed the idea to then governor of New York, David B. Hill, as a more "humane" form of execution as opposed to hanging, which had been seen as "cruel and unusual punishment" after a number of gruesomely botched executions had taken place.

The death penalty is as old as time. And folks feel the way they feel. This entry is not a social or political rant, although I might, at some point in the future, delve deeper into why I have formed the opinions I have on the subject. For now I am keeping with John's rules. I chose Dr. Southwick, not because he supposedly built a better mousetrap, I chose him to be expunged because I think the world would have gone on just fine without someone having discovered one more way to end a human life. It's just that simple. Particularly when you take into account, all the gruesome,and disgusting events which took place as a result of his idea. I have provided some links below if you would like to read the historical details for yourself. By the way, Dr. Southwick was a dentist... isn't that just the creepiest thought?

Extra Credit: Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. Yeah, I know it was a somewhat fictionalized account of their life, but I still enjoyed the movie for what it was. Someone told me once, it is considered one of the best first date movies. I can see that. :) I know I have seen it well over 50 times.

Electric Chair - Wikipedia

Inventions - About.com

-OndineMonet

Ziggy Logic

"You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses."

-Ziggy

Wednesday's are the busiest days. I have my regular therapy appointment with Sarah, then I go from there I fit in all the appointments I can, so I can get things done while out and about. I having been doing much driving on my own, since the first of the year, but with the warmer weather coming, I will more then likely bounce back from this extended state of hibernation I have experienced this year. Yesterday, was Wednesday, and instead of filling the afternoon with errands, I decided to see if I could see those wayward humpback whales, that had recently become stranded in the Sacramento delta. See, as of Tuesday night,they were well on their way back out to sea, and to do so, they would have to go directly under the Golden Gate. Well, the sneaky mom and baby skedaddled out of town, some time in the middle of the night... they were already gone back to the Pacific with the first light of Wednesday! Sigh. I was so hoping to photograph them, from the viewing area at Fort Point, under the Golden Gate Bridge... but it was not to be. Oh well, the important thing is that they are now safe and sound, blissfully swimming in the ocean. :) That makes me happy.

But with the whales safely back out to sea, what was I to do with the afternoon? It was an easy choice, Alan and I went to Golden Gate Park to photograph the magnificent roses in the Rose Garden, near Stowe Lake. Magnificent was indeed the right word. I was stunned by how beautiful the varieties of roses were. Among some of the roses on display were, Rainbow Sorbet, Hot Cocoa, About Face, and Kaleidoscope. It was a feast for the eyes, and the beauty of the flowers was soothing to my soul, after having had a particularly stressful session with Sarah. The scent of the roses ranged from a deep spicy scent, to a soft honey aroma. It was enchanting. :) I will be visiting there again this summer, probably once the Dahlias are up and blooming.

Here is some of what I saw today, including some busy, buzzy things, and furry nose-twitching critters...

Furry, nose-twitching creature

French Lace

Rainbow Sorbet

California Poppy and a busy buzzy thing

French Lace

I love Ziggy's logic... Ziggy rocks... I would have dated Ziggy. :)

-OndineMonet
"Honey Perfume"
Rose Garden
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
May 30th, 2007
Afternoon

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Mailbox

Click on the above image to view it in a larger size.

"Did you ever feel like the whole world was going to a party, and your invitation got lost in the mail?"

-Unknown

I was kind of surprised to find out, that over the last 3 years or so, I have photographed a number of lovely mailboxes in my travels. I am not sure why they have been catching my eye. Maybe they have because I knew some creative, talented and innovative person might just suggest "Mailbox" as a subject for a Round Robin Challenge! Well guess what? They did! Gattina, author of the blog, "Keyhole Pictures" did just that thing, and now I get to share with you, some of the interesting mailboxes my camera and I have found, such as this mailbox...

I took that photo, in October of 2005, somewhere in the Sierra, just south of the Truckee river. I was sitting in the car, waiting for Alan to return from this quaint little general store, when I heard the familiar sound of leaves rustling. The wind had really kicked up, and they were blowing across the street, which was just covered in red and gold color. There was a slight chill in the late afternoon air, and a fire in a fireplace not far away brought the whole thing together. Across the lot, I saw this mailbox, with the leaves surrounding it, and I just knew... I needed that photo! The bright colors next to the silver box, was amazing. The photo really doesn't do the scene that was in front of me that day justice.

This second mailbox, was taken in January, 2005 just north of the Bixby Creek Bridge, in Monterey County, California. I love the tribute on the side to the lovely old bridge! And aren't the calla lilies inside, behind the glass top unusual and fun? Someone was quite innovative indeed! I adore it. Someday, should I have a house that sits back from the road, I might do something similar. :)

Lastly, we come to my personal mailboxes. I have three in all. My P.O. Box, my home address mailbox, and my AOL E-Mail box. I hardly ever get mail at my home address, unless you consider letters and ads addressed to "occupant" mail. LOL. Most of my personal mail comes to my P.O. Box. Actually, the P. O. Box had belonged to my father when he was alive, and I inherited it after his passing. Silly, sentimental, old me didn't have the heart to close it out. So now I drive a couple times a week from Berkeley, to Castro Valley to pick up my mail. It's ok, I enjoy visiting there, and it gives me a chance to visit with some friends I still have there.

"I turn on my computer. I wait patiently as it connects. I go online. My breath catches in my chest until I hear 3 little words. "You've got mail." I hear nothing, not a sound on the streets of New York. Just the beat of my own heart. I have mail... from you."

- Kathleen Kelly ( Meg Ryan) - From the movie "You've Got Mail."


The majority of my correspondence comes in and out of my E-Mail address now. I love hearing, "You've Got Mail!" The most emails I have ever had in it at one time, topped out at 194, the least amout of email was three days, when I didn't receive a singlepiece email. That was well before my blogging days. :) Since then, you guys keep me company, with comments and emails from my dear friends... at least the ones who aren't completely tired of me. :) I wish sometimes we could decorate our AOL E-Mail boxes. You know, with banners or signs, like the ones you see in people's yards. I save all my emails... as you can see. Can you imagine how big the mailbox would have to be to store 13,092 pieces of individual snail mail? LOL.

Thank you Gattina, for suggesting such an interesting challenge. :) Be sure to pay her, and all the participating Robins a visit, by simply following the links below. Also, be sure to drop by the official Round Robin blog on Thursday of this week, to find out what our next challenge will be. :)

-OndineMonet



Linking List

1. Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
POSTED!

2. Steven... (sometimes) photoblog
POSTED!

3. Karen... Outpost Mavarin
POSTED!

4. Marie... Photographs And Memories Too


5. Janet... Fond of Photography
POSTED!

6. Cosette... Birds of Venus
POSTED!

7. Suzanne R... New Suzanne R's Life
POSTED!

8. boliyou... Percolation
POSTED!

9. Carly... Ellipsis... Suddenly Carly
POSTED!

10. Teena... It's all about me!
POSTED!

Tell Barbara Walters I Am On My Way...

"New York: the only city where people make radio requests like, "This is for Tine - Sorry I stabbed you."

-Carol Leifer

Hey, good news, it seems all of you, my wacky fans, voted for me to replace the outgoing Rosie O' Donnell, as co-host, and moderator of The View! And not just by a little margin, nope, 38%! LOL. You can view all the details by visiting my poll results blog right here. Jeepers, I have a lot of packing to do, if I am going to make my flight. What to take? What to take?

Actually, as nifty as I think it would be to join The View, I don't think Elvis would look to keenly on me being a bi-coastal mommy. Also, I would probably miss the hunky hubby a bit, so regretfully, I must send my letter of nonacceptance, or is it a letter of denial? Hmmm... anyway... my letter of NOPE, to Barbara Walters. The show will simply have to go on without me. But wouldn't it have been strange? I mean seeing me every day, sitting there at the head of the table? Moderating and stuff? Weird. Wouldn't you just have to pinch yourself and say, "Hey look... that's Carly! She's on The View! She looks taller in person!" LOL. Yeah, that would be nice, in that my feet don't usually reach the floor when I sit in most chairs, can you imagine me sitting on the set of The View, with my feet dangling below my chair? Yep... that's a nice mental picture all right.

Whoever they choose in the following weeks, they will certainly have their hands full. Do you suppose they will talk about what The View has gone through since Meredith Vieira and Star Jones exited? I mean they discuss HOT TOPICS, and right now that little/large disagreement that Rosie and Elizabeth engaged in, does seem to be alive and well and living in the media. Sigh. Still, it all seems so sad to me. Rosie continues to share her feelings by way of her blog, but it seems Elizabeth Hasselbeck has chosen to keep mum. It's probably just as well to say nothing, maybe that way they can all move on. Let's hope so.

It was strange and uncomfortable watching The View Monday morning. It was a previously taped episode, and everyone looked like friends. Yesterday was Elizabeth's birthday, and Rosie, as a present, gave her the use of her Miami home for two weeks. It's too bad things couldn't have been different. As for who might be a good candidate to replace Rosie, I think it will come down to either Sherri Shepherd, or Kathy Griffin. Both are strong, opinionated ladies, who fear very little. Shepard was co-hosting when some of the most controversial shows happened to air, and she seemed to handle them well. Griffin has already had a slight run-in with Walters, and managed to resolve it amicably. I am sure that is probably an attractive prospect at the moment. I guess we will all have to stay tuned!

Well, with the old poll "Who Should Replace Rosie O' Donnell On The View" now closed, it's time to move on to a new poll on Ellipsis. "Which Fast Food Restaurant Makes The Best Hamburgers?" Be sure to visit my sidebar to cast your vote. The month of May is National Hamburger month, did you celebrate the occasion? :)

-OndineMonet

Hey Steven... It's National Hamburger Day (Observed)

"I'm not telling you, 'Never eat a hamburger.' Just eat the good ones with real beef, you know, like the ones from that mom-and-pop diner down the street. And it's so good, that when you take a bite out of that burger, you just know somewhere in the world a vegan is crying."

-Homer Simpson

Ahhhhh... National Hamburger Day is finally here! I start getting excited about this day as early as January 1st, just ask my good friend Steven, who has been sharing this holiday, and challenging me to come up with the perfect burger for the last 3 years! :)It's our tradition. :) Actually, it isn't just National Hamburger Day, the month of May is National Hamburger month. How cool is that? I love a good burger, always have. When I was a little girl, that was my favorite treat to get when we went out to eat. I still mourn the loss of the Big Barn restaurants. LOL.

This year, I thought it would be fun to do something a little different with my entry, so I decided to include a classic burger retromercial from YouTube. Was there a better commercial than "Where's The Beef?" Clara Peller was perfect as the slightly grumpy granny, in search of, "the beef." Is there a classic fast food commercial you enjoy? If so, feel free to share in the comment thread for this entry.

And now... here is my offering for National Hamburger Day...

Be sure to go over to Steven's blog,(sometimes)photoblog, to see his best burger for National Hamburger Day 2007. His hamburgers always looks so delicious. Sometimes Steven has been very good at reading my mind, and coming up with the same side dishes as me. Tee Hee. Hey Steven, did you guess my side dishes this year???? WINK!

The Burger That Ate Berkeley

2 1/2 lb hamburger patties
2 slices Swiss Cheese
2 slices center cut bacon... crispy
Red onion slices
Sauteed mushrooms
condiments of choice: Mayonnaise, Lea and Perrin's Steak Sauce

-ooooppps... almost forgot the crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. :)

-OndineMonet

Hamburger Day 2007

Memorial Day 2007

Their silent wounds have speech
More eloquent than men;
Their tones can deeper reach
Than human voice or pen.

-William Woodman

U. S. Military Casualties of War

World War II - 300,000

Korean War - 23, 3000

Vietnam - 58, 226

Iraq - 3, 455... To date

"There never was a good war or a bad peace."

-Benjamin Franklin

"Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war."

-Donald Rumsfeld

"You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace, and on the other hand, dedicated to violence. Those two things are irreconcilable."

-Condoleeza Rice

"Of all the tyrannies, a tyranny exercised "for the good of it's victims" may be the most oppressive."

-C.S. Lewis

If you haven't had the chance to visit the Iraq War Memorial, in Lafayette, California, you really should. It is a very moving tribute to the fine men and women we have lost to this terrible war. The sign indicating the lost is updated each Sunday. While the memorial has been made into a subject of controversy, what I see is the truth, and a reminder of what the human cost of war really is.

Inside Bay Area: Lafayette War Memorial Reminds Us Of War's Cost

-OndineMonet
Lafayette War Memorial
Lafayette, California
May, 2007
Afternoon

Art About Town... San Francisco

"Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with it's own loveliness."

-George Jean Nathan

It's it wonderful? It's called "The Dreamer" and it is by local artist Pepe Ozan. This sculpture was originally created for the 2005 Burning Man festival, the theme for the festival that year was "psyche." In keeping with the theme, the artist decided to create and interactive piece in order to experiment with the world of dreams. The half head sculpture, which seems to be coming out of the ground, can hold 40 - 50 people, and played dream inducing music as part of the exhibit at Burning Man. Isn't it fabulous? It will be on display in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, on JFK drive, near the Rose Garden, now through November. I really enjoyed photographing it last Wednesday, so I know I will be going back to do more shots of it from different angles and with better light. :)

Pepe Ozan Biography

Invocation - Pepe Ozan

-OndineMonet
"The Dreamer"
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
May 24, 2007
Afternoon