Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Elvis tribute (favorite Elvis song clips)

It was 34 years ago today that Elvis Aaron Presley suddenly died. And to mark the 34th anniversary of his death, I wanted to share three of my favorite Elvis Presley video song clips.

First up, "Bossa Nova Baby," from Fun in Acapulco:



Dig those crazy moves!

Next, the classic "Viva Las Vegas," from Viva Las Vegas:



Showgirls!

And then there is this classic scene and eponymous song from Clambake, which I love not so much because of the song (which was typical Elvis movie drivel) but because of the awesome bikini dancers:



Did people really throw parties like this back in the 1960s?

Got a favorite Elvis song? Let me know via the comments.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Gone hog wild

I love pigs (even the male chauvinist kind). So you can imagine my delight when the spouse and I came across a family of adorable piglets in a nearby hamlet, on our way back from a recent bike trip. (The spouse's reaction to the petite porkers? "Mmm... bacon!")

This first picture I call "Pork Butts," though the spouse likes "Everybody in the Pool!"






















This next one I've titled "Hamming It Up," though "Snorf!" would also work.






















Next up, "Nom nom nom nom." (Wish I had taken a video of the piglets grunting and pushing each other out of the way to obtain prime position. So cute!)















And finally we have "Bacon at rest." (All that eating and shoving and grunting wears a piglet out. Though I can only imagine how tired the piglets' mother, a thousand-pound sow from the looks of her, felt nursing eight greedy little piggies!)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

World's scariest roller-coaster ride? The Stock Market

In July, Travel + Leisure magazine ranked the World's Scariest Roller Coasters. However, they left out what most Americans (at least in August) would likely agree was by far the world's scariest roller-coaster ride, the stock market.

Seriously, the Intimidator 305 (voted Best Coaster of 2010 by Amusement Today) has got nothing on the Standard & Poor's rating agency when it comes to intimidation.

Oh, and in case you're not an investor in the market and want to know what the past week has felt like to those of us who are, check out this short video clip a passenger riding the El Toro roller coaster took:



(I think Six Flags Great Adventure should consider changing the name from El Toro -- the Bull -- to El Oso, the Bear.)

Any guesses as to what the market will do tomorrow?

UPDATED: Well, we ended the week on the upside -- which probably means we're goin' down on Monday. Brace yourselves, people. And speaking of Standard & Poor's, I enjoyed this recent post over on Rumproast, which quotes an S&P senior director saying who is responsible for the downgrade.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

What kind of guy wears this t-shirt?

So the other day in Washington, D.C., at the National Museum of American History, I run into (not literally) a guy wearing the t-shirt at left, which (if you cannot read it) says: "I am the man from Nantucket."

And I am pretty sure the t-shirt was not referring to the version of the limerick that appeared in the Princeton Tiger in 1902.

Of course being well-versed in limericks, I did a bit of a double-take when I saw the t-shirt -- especially as the man wearing it looked NOTHING like the model above but was rather paunchy, with thinning hair, in his mid-50s, and was with his wife and kids. (At least they looked like they were together.)

Which leads me to the title of today's post: What kind of guy wears a t-shirt that says "I am the man from Nantucket"? Also, what woman would allow her husband to go to a family museum wearing a t-shirt that says "I am the man from Nantucket"?

[Note: Keep those comments clean, people. Especially you, JB.]

Sunday, August 7, 2011

He is... the most interesting cat in the world

They invented yarn... just to amuse him.

The Trevi Fountain is his water bowl.

He doesn't require catnip. Other cats gets high licking him.

He holds the world's record in the high jump.

When he sheds, people rush to collect his fur and make it into clothing.

He is... the most interesting cat in the world.

"I don't often get to eat human food, but when I do... I prefer tuna fish.

"Stay hungry my friends."

Friday, August 5, 2011

A sick idea (this post has humor in the bag)

Recently, our daughter has been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. (Ah the joys of being a teenager -- and the mother of a teenager!) However, instead of saying "I feel anxious" or "I'm panicking," our daughter uses the phrase "I might be sick" -- as in "I might throw up" -- to get out of doing things she feels uncomfortable doing. And it is amazingly affective, around other people. (We just tell her, okay, so if you need to throw up, throw up. You'll probably feel better. But she has yet to do so.)

So while at sleepaway camp this summer, our daughter went to see a doctor. And the doctor, who was incredibly nice, called us. During their conversation, our daughter told the doctor about her "might being sick." And the doctor, God bless her, calmly replied that if she felt like she needed to throw up, she should just find the nearest bathroom and go throw up -- or carry around a "sick" (aka barf) bag and discreetly excuse herself and go throw up in it. Not a big deal.

Upon hearing the story, which he loved, the spouse went online and Googled "sick bag" and "barf bag" -- and was (pleasantly?) surprised to find thousands of websites offering sick bags and barf bags, as well as a huge market for unused airline barf bags on eBay and a guy who collects barf bags from all the airlines. There are also barf bags for bachelor and bachelorette parties, for kids who get carsick, for pregnant women who get morning sickness, and for people who get sick at the thought of politics as usual. (Who knew barf bags were so popular?)

Among our favorite barf bags...

Lavendar Lulu Vomit Bags (So discreet! After all, why should barfing be ugly?)

The Margarita Party Barf Bags (For that special girls night out! Also comes in "Martini" for you guys!)

TravelJohn Disposable Vomit/Urine Bags
(I may seriously need to get me some.)

Toxic Waste Barf Bags

I also came across the Barf Boutique, the go-to website for "funky designer & novelty gift bags made of genuine barf bags and, of course, real barf bags made for barfing." AWESOME.

Whether or not we decide to buy some for our daughter, we have the perfect gag gift for this year's holiday party!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

H8 H8ERS (as seen in Washington, D.C.)

Technically, I saw this fabulous license plate -- H8 H8ERS ("HATE HATERS," for those of you who haven't had your morning coffee yet) -- in Northern Virginia. But I was on my way back from Washington, D.C., where I had passed by the Capitol as the Senate was voting on increasing the debt ceiling. And had to take a picture.

















Wonder if the owner of the SUV was a Democrat or a Republican.... Any theories?

(Am also wondering if H8 H8ERS is available in my state.)