Posted in Cats, Chocolate, Christmas, Family, Movies, Star Wars, Uncategorized

These Aren’t The Gifts You’re Looking For

1christmas191Twas the week before Christmas
(almost two till my birthday)…

When all through the blogosphere…
not a blogger was stirring…
ok, some are stirring, but mostly cocktails…

Yet posts were still flying out with hopes that readers might give them a shout!

Christmas isn’t the most wonderful time of the year for bloggers, readers and many bloggers are off prepping for the big day, partying, waiting in line for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and of course, searching for perfect gifts.

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Here are some, er, helpful last-minute gift ideas for those hard to buy for folks:

1. O Christmas tree! As a cautionary note, unlike in the movies, apparently it’s ‘frowned upon’, some might even say illegal, to just randomly cut trees down. Who knew?

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2. Draw happy faces on all their socks/nylons so they’ll feel happy as they start each day. Or sneak into their house or room and draw a happy face on their wall, or mirror in red lipstick or paint. Wait, is that creepy? Nah, it’ll be a fun surprise.

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3. Fix something for them: TV, car, fridge, cellphone, alarm system, computer, appliances, sewing machine, etc. Even if none were broken (but might be after), it’s the thought that counts.

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4. Donate to a cause in their name or better yet, start a foundation in their name, I’m sure it won’t affect their taxes…much.

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5. Sing them a song, but only if your voice doesn’t resemble fingernails on a chalkboard, mastodons dying in a tar pit, Bridget Jones singing, or my Mom singing (love you, please don’t sing).

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6. Indie books. Mass-produced can be good, but a steady diet can leave you feeling flat. Best thing about indie, less cookie cutter, same goes for everything. Like indie author/blogger, A.H. Browne who kindly beamed aliens into my email. As they scurried around my brain, I 1christmas177was laughingly sucked into space to cavort (hey, I can cavort with the best of them) through the Saloon at the Edge of Everywhere. That sounds familiar, did I spend time there in my youth, next to CBGB, right? Book One of The Otherwhere Chronicles made me reluctant to return to Earth, like when you’re at a party, it’s past time to go home, but you think, just a few minutes more. If you’re feeling brave and in need of some fun, visit Arthur at http://pouringmyartout.com/ – don’t say I didn’t warn you! Any indie authors reading this, please add links in the comment box below where your work can be found (heck, it’s Christmas, anyone add links).

And here’s more indie talent (and keep checking the comments for indie author links):
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/10/03/sweet-dreams-are-made-of-this/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/10/09/you-may-say-im-a-dreamer/

7. Taco ties, socks, and hats. Also available in: lasagna, kung pao, pizza, chocolate, wine, beer, hamburger, and curry flavours. Hungry? Bored? Clothes never tasted so good!

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8. Make a sculpture, coat, hat, scarf, or quilt out of your hair and nail clippings – natural, organic, and very, very personal.

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9. Lint kittens and puppies. Easy to keep – no walks, no food, soft and cuddly, and simple to house train. Do not expose to water.

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10. Honesty – they may not appreciate it at first, but it might be the best gift ever, someday.

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So, these aren’t the gifts you’re looking for (except the indie books), in the end, the best gift of all is still…you!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

All the best in 2016!

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Posted in Books, Doctor Who, Environment, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

What Happens In Space Stays In Space

How did your space mission go?
Quiet as space itself, oh, except for being impregnated by an alien life force. Other than that, a-ok.

When I first heard about the CBS TV series Extant it sounded like it had it all.
Oscar-winner Halle Berry, amazing in everything.

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Goran Visnjic who was the McDreamy of his day, in ER.

Grace Gummer, being the daughter of Meryl Streep, I see why she went into acting. Hiroyuki Sanada, guess he needed something to do while we wait forever for the next season of Helix. Camryn Manheim, why isn’t she in more?

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Pierce Gagnon, only 9, but we’ll see a lot more of him. Michael O’Neill, who’s been in so much you’ll feel like you know him. And more. The cast is out of this world.
Producer, Steven Spielberg.

Space is vast, sometimes bringing it to Earth, for TV viewing, can be hit or miss.

Our fascination with space is insatiable, from Star Trek in all its various forms to Doctor Who,

1ex16Battlestar Galactica, Lost In Space, V,
Jetsons, Space: 1999, Farscape, Firefly,

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Transformers, The 4400, Alien Nation,
Falling Skies, Star Wars, The X-Files,

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Roswell, Lexx, G-Force, Superfriends, Andromeda, Stargate SG-1, Family Guy, The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy, Torchwood, Red Dwarf, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Earth 2, Crusade, Starhunter, Lexx, The Starlost, Cowboy Bebop, Space: Above and Beyond, Babylon 5, and more.

As a space fan I’m loathe to admit, maybe we should focus a bit more on how we’re destroying the earth and less on how to get away from the mess we’ve made.

Extant explores more than space, it attempts to explore human emotions, reactions, thought processes, even delving into what makes us human.

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Is Extant full of new ideas? No.
Are the older ideas reprocessed and revisited in a way that makes them refreshing? So far, mostly.

This show isn’t really about aliens, androids, space, conspiracies, a futuristic Earth, it’s about people. It’s about how we act and interact. How we love, hate, fear, dream, hope, and dare to imagine. It’s about understanding that everything comes at a cost. Hopefully we learn that lesson before it’s too late.

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Posted in Televison, Uncategorized

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

cosmos11Hearing exciting episode titles: Some of the Things That Molecules Do, Big Bang, When  Knowledge Conquered Fear, Standing Up In The Milky Way…I can hardly contain myself.

Set your clocks (don’t forget to turn them ahead an hour for those affected by Daylight Savings Time), because Sunday March 9, 2014 marks the start of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, hosted by the funny and brilliant Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, produced by deeply disturbed and hilarious Seth MacFarlane, and of course with the help of  the exceptional Ann Druyan (co-creator of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage and widow of the late, uberbrilliant Carl Sagan).cosmos10

I just got a shiver thinking of the Spaceship of the Imagination from the original series and my mind is racing thinking about the possibilities for the new Spaceship of the Imagination. I know, how geeky am I?

I was a teenager when this was on TV, well, just barely a teenager, more a mature toddler, a middle-aged fetus really. I most likely wasn’t even born when this aired in 1980.

Cosmos wasn’t for everyone. Some people considered it dry or difficult. Some people were wrong. It was awesome. You could feel your mind swelling as you watched it, your jaw slack, just waiting to see what mysteries would be revealed to you. Cosmos was a way to get people excited about science, discoveries, the Universe itself, a way to bring people wary of science, to, it’s magic.

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My brother and I sat glued to the TV watching episodes with titles like: Who Speaks for Earth?, The Backbone of Night, One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue, The Persistence of Memory, Heaven and Hell, etc. And my brother would add all kinds of information because he’s all super geniusy, sort of like Mr. Peabody except not a canine, so not really like him at all, except smart. And my parents would wonder how they produced such nerds.

So you can see how when I heard Cosmos was back my exocrine glands were all like, what? and I was like, you guys stop drooling it’s just a TV show; and they were all like, who are you to tell us when we can salivate Ms. Pavlov and I was like, you got me there guys.cosmos8

I’m thrilled to see science rushing through TV and movies. Now we have to get off our duffs and further explore that final frontier. We can’t just live in virtual worlds, we have to save this one and find others.

Whether you’re a slobbery nerd who may or may not have tried to snog Capt Kirk on the TV set, or dreamed of marrying The Doctor, of Doctor Who (of course the Tom Baker one), or thought Carl Sagan was dreamy in a metaphysical way, or you just want to see a fascinating and informative show, tune in March 9, 2014 on Fox or FX or National Geographic, etc. and observe the odyssey unfold.cosmos1