Here is an excerpt from a post I wrote over five years ago: A couple of years ago I happened to walk outside my house and I noticed one of the neighborhood cats chasing something down our street. When I went to get a closer look, I noticed it was a baby rabbit that appeared … Continue reading Could This Be My Ticket to a Life of Fame and Fortune?
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to be the initial focus of promotional efforts and radio airplay and hopefully become a hit record. The B-side (or "flip-side") is a … Continue reading Music Monday: When the B-Side > A-Side
When I think of celebrities who are also known for being musicians, the first names that come to mind are Stephen King and Kevin Bacon. So I was curious who some others might be, and fortunately, Newsweek published such a piece back in 2021, featuring 25 celebrities. Here is the full list, in alphabetical order: … Continue reading Music Monday: Celebrity Musicians
Are you a perfectionist when it comes to trying to craft the perfect thank you note? If so, Dan Ariely has some solid advice for you in the email exchange below. Dear Dan, I know I should probably write thank-you notes for the holiday gifts I received, but I’m bad at composing them. I end … Continue reading Thank You Notes: Just Do It
As a follow-up to my post from yesterday which was a not-so-subtle attempt to try and get someone from the Republic of the Congo to visit my blog (no success at this point), I thought I would share a couple of songs from two different Congolese musicians, Bisso na Bisso and Sam Talanis. I came … Continue reading Music Monday: Music from the Republic of the Congo
The house shown above is owned by Jeff Franklin, creator of the 1980s television sitcom “Full House”. Franklin is putting his Beverly Hills estate on the market for $85 million. The roughly 21,000-square-foot, Andalusian-style estate, recognizable for its distinctive blue dome, sits on about 3.6 acres near Benedict Canyon and has nine bedrooms and 18 … Continue reading Could You Live Here, Knowing Its History?
The Mummers are a Philadelphia institution, perhaps most well-known for their annual New Year's Day parade. I've mentioned them before in a few posts I've written about our neighborhood's 4th of July parade, which often included a guest appearance from a small subset of one of the Mummers' string bands. But I've never written a … Continue reading Music Monday: Philadelphia’s Mummer Parade
We've all got our fears. Public speaking. Walking down a dark street. Swimming in deep water. Me? Reptiles. Snakes, alligators, crocodiles. I don't want to be within 100 miles of them. Retiring to Florida could be a problem. But there is one fear I was not aware of. According to the Wall Street Journal, "one … Continue reading Do You Suffer from Nose Blindness?
Advertising jingles have been part of American culture for nearly 100 years. According to the Smithsonian, the first jingle broadcast on the radio debuted on Christmas Day 1926 to praise the virtues of Wheaties cereal. A former neighbor had his own advertising firm that specialized in creating jingles for commercials. His license plate was JINGLES. … Continue reading Music Monday: Most Likeable and Most Memorable Jingles of All Time
Since this is my last Music Monday of the year, I thought I'd share a traditional year-end song. Today, many people associate the great song, Auld Lang Syne, with New Year's Eve. It is a Scottish song written by Robert Burns in the late 1700s. But did you know that there is another traditional Irish/Scottish … Continue reading Music Monday: Before There Was Auld Lang Syne
Borden's Blather 