All Alone, Not Really

all alone
not really
trials and
tribulations
we all go
through

life will test
first and then
give the answers

seems unfair
what we go through
sometimes
the pains the hurt
only me only you

put up walls
to protect
don't keep out
only keep in

love hate
different degrees
can't tell one
from another
no scorecard
to show sides

what doesn't kill
makes stronger
but a thousand
cuts will do
the same

people around
the world
goes through
the same
not alone
different stories
same endings
omg me too

love car house
family interest
angst rejection
find someone
lose someone

all alone
not really

The Cincinnati Kid Final Hand

Awhile ago I wrote a post about my favorite movies. I commented that I seem to favor older movies. The writing, the acting and direction seemed to be done better back in the day. This may be a result of getting older, but I am not sure. I like movies that I can go back again and again and get lost in the story. This is a scene from the movie, the final hand.

It is 6 minutes and 48 seconds long.

The Before Picture!

As I embark on my quest for weight loss and being fit, someone suggested I post a picture for comparison to an after picture down the road!

I couldn't decide which would be more flattering, you can be the judge!

Night Time Skies

early morning rise
stepping outside
gather up the paper
glancing up
at the sky

not a cloud
to cover
the star studded
night
someone had mixed
a bucket of
sparkles and tossed
upward picturesque
against the black
ink of nothingness

like twinkling
christmas lights
some bright
others not
quite beautiful
thousands to see

what did the ancient ones
wonder as they sought
to reach and touch
beyond their grasp

always there
always changing
with the seasons
after all these
years still amazes
the beauty of nature

Winter is Coming

days getting shorter
nights getting longer
a bit of coolness
starts to drift
in from the night

kids back in school
sports scene
turns over
winter thoughts
come upon us

holidays rush to
meet us
swiftly changing
with the seasons

does age make
it faster
as time marches on

people stop grilling
beaches close
pools shut down
list of to do
things to be done
getting ready

coldness brings aches
months will be many
before it is sunny
darkness changes
moods
happiness is fleeting

somwhere it is warm
fun in the sun
life is a joy
but now the wind howls
cold fingers searching
looking for openings

places have snow
flakes are special
but not all at once
trudging through
upward and onward
getting through it all

but as the world turns
and changes
so do the seasons
and soon the warmth
will return again

but as one gets older
time crawls for the
good times to get here
and speeds up the bad

one day at a time
may be all we have left

Mad Dogs and Englishman and Joe Cocker!

I get on a kick every once in awhile and right now it is Joe Cocker.
This is from a great album back in 1970, and man did I wear that album out!

The background singers are having so much fun, you wish you could join them. I think I am personally responsible for raising the viewership of youtube.
Ihope you enjoy, it makes me happy!

Choir (Perpetuum Jazzile) create a rainstorm with hands

I had seen the first part of this video in an email. It is amazing. Then stopping by Lulu Haiku, she admitted getting the whole video from someone else. So continuing in this fine tradition, I will do the same.
Enjoy!

Favorites? What was I thinking?

new computer
browser pages clean
what will I find
that interests me
favorites I open
empty and pristine
time to go searching
what will I find
eagerly start


so many pages
viewed everyday
some rate a glance
never seen again

one catches the eye
interesting it seems
might be useful
I'll go back
again and again

save it it asks
oh yes I think
in a folder
not now
I'll get back
to it I'm sure

time passes now
what is this stuff
why oh why
wonders of it all

did I need
the history of
this and that
50 ways to use
bottle caps

oppurtunities
freebies
useful aps
favorites
so many now
falls off
the screen

click on
each one
delete?
are you sure?
quit asking
of course
I mean it this time

next time
don't save
you can find it
only trillions
of pages out there

oh no, what did
I do
I really needed that
favorites
cried the raven

nevermore!

It's Just A Habit

do you ever
wonder
why we do
what we do

somethings taught
somethings learned

button up
your shirt
by buttoning
down

what pant leg
first
right than left

right sock
left sock
always
then shoes

cutting grass
turn right

turn TV on
favorite channel

radio on
push that button

order a drink
what will it be

favorite group
listen forever

makes you happy
makes you sad

do you ever
wonder
why you do
what you do

Don't Wait, Say It Now

someone dies
people gather
some cry
some talk
some wonder
too soon
too late

much done
much to do
full of promise
promise unfullfilled
what happened
what went wrong

he she
never looked better
never liked
never loved
don't care
no longer

people talk
say nice things
very nice
wonderful
touching

to the point
say good things
now
don't wait
getting older
send a card
make a visit
let them know
you care

love
will miss
touched your life
don't let them miss
out on thoughts
you could
go first

Post 200, a small milestone for this blogger!

what have I learned in the short time I have done this? Making money at this would be a fluke. Interesting stories can be found somewhere else. The Internet is insatiable, a powerful mistress that wants more all the time, but isn't sure what it wants.

I wanted to save the world, I wanted to be a voice in politics, the environment, and whatever else popped up into my mind. My opinion counted in a very small way and not enough to make an impact. I saw people making money blogging by selling to other bloggers trying to find the holy grail, $$$$, and coming up short. But I knew I could write. But how, and on what?

Then one day, I took a chance and wrote a poem. Not in the classic style, but the words were good, the feelings came across, and I was told it was good.

That gave me confidence and a new found direction. People started showing up and some left comments, some, poets themselves, and made me feel good. Imagine me, a poet! So much for my macho image!

Once I decide on a subject, the words seem to flow out on their own. But how or why, I haven't a clue, but it works. Some days, I have an endless list to pick from. Other days, what will I write about today?

I have been blessed with nice people stopping by to say hi, some peek in and go on, some stay awhile. I used to have ads , I pulled them. I decided to keep it as clean as possible with a tidbit of information added to the mix.

Some people use this time to pick out a few posts that they liked, but I won't do that, you have done that for me.

I have made new friends, and that has been enough reward for me.

I look forward to post 300 and to look back once again.

Thanks for stopping by. Sniffles....

Oh The Joy of Grass Cutting in The Florida Sun!

a trade off
from Chicago
never a snowflake
snow shovel
never to be seen
push out of snow

can't start
click click
dead battery
stranded again
frozen lock
key won't turn

move away
what could go wrong
land of sun
year round I'm told
no problem

sunny days
lots of rain
one can hear
the grass growing
miss a week
can't see your feet
grass gets tall
never stops
no problem

no problem said I
front yard the show piece
everyone sees
fun to do
no problem

each little section
cut away
lots of sections
sweat a little
edge and trim
maybe some bushes
looking good
sweating some more
no problem

front looking good
almost done
not quite
long side of the house
both to be done
wanted lots of land
no problem

sweating hard
getting hotter
big back yard
slopes down to the water
one huge big monster
yard to be done
no problem

pushing my mower
dreaming now
a riding mower
what a treat
wake up
keep cutting
shirt soaked
sweat in eyes
no problem

need water
looking at pool
can't stop yet
it calls me
getting closer
who can I get to finish
no one
no problem

finally done
it looks good
cut up some melon
honeydo this time
reward one's self
jump in pool
ahhh
never stop cutting
no problem

and time for a nap!

Movies That Make Me Laugh

Much of the time, I am not serious and want to watch something that makes me laugh. Everyone has different ideas of funny stuff and I am no different. You need to have your go to stuff to change the mood. Lots of lists have only current movies, I have my own ideas.
So here we go, in no particular order.....with synopsis provided when possible. By the way, most lists that I found are very current, with no mention of past trail blazers in comedy, very sad.

This will be it for lists and back to my poetry, got that vacation writing out of my mind.

THE THIN MAN (1934) William Powell and Myrna Loy play Dashiell Hammett's married sleuths, Nick and Nora Charles. Notorious wisecrackers and party-goers (the film was shot during Prohibition), the Charleses solve mysteries between drinks: Nora: "What hit me?" Nick: "The last martini." The pair had such on-screen chemistry they went on to play in 13 other movies, including five more Nick and Noras, but none equals this one. Directed with panache by W. S. Van Dyke, and augmented by Asta, a dog with almost as much appeal as his owners.

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) A cynical newspaperman (Clark Gable) and a pampered heiress (Claudette Colbert) collide on an overcrowded bus headed from Miami to New York. It's hate at first sight as they share the last remaining seat. "Remember me?" Gable demands the next morning. "I'm the fellow you slept on last night." Predictably they fall in love, but not before a series of tight situations and colorful arguments. Director Frank Capra's screwball comedy remains fresh after six decades.

THE ROAD TO MOROCCO (1942) "Like Webster's Dictionary, we're Morocco bound," croon Bing Crosby and Bob Hope as they board a camel and head for adventure. Along the way, as always, they encounter Dorothy Lamour, triggering, as always, a battle of one-upmanship to see who gets the girl. In this, the best of the seven "Road" movies, the comedian and singer knock down the "fourth wall" to talk to the audience, kid Paramount studios, and ad lib relentlessly with the movie's splendid heavy, Anthony Quinn.

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) Universal Studios had the ingenious idea of mixing its comedy duo with its horror stars. Result: unsubtle but explosive humor, with Bud and Lou as baggage clerks delivering packages to a haunted house. The occupants are Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr., Vincent Price and other ghouls who want to replace Frankenstein's malfunctioning brain with Costello's minuscule one.

HARVEY (1950) Jimmy Stewart plays a slightly addled gentleman, fond of the bottle and of a six-foot rabbit only he can see. Josephine Hull is his concerned sister; Cecil Kellaway is a shrink who comes to realize that the patient is saner than his critics.


THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955) Tom Ewell's wife goes on vacation, leaving him alone in Manhattan. Marilyn Monroe lives in a neighboring apartment. The rest is history, particularly when she walks over a subway grating in her diaphanous white dress. Sophisticated laughter, the Billy Wilder way.

SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) Director/co-writer Billy Wilder sends up gangster movies in this ribald adventure of two musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.) They witness a mob rubout and join an all-girl band to escape from their pursuers. On the way, the cross-dressers encounter a fabulous cast of caricatures including Marilyn Monroe, the band's lead singer, and smitten zillionaire Joe E. Brown, who plans to wed Lemmon, even when he learns the truth. "Nobody's perfect," claims Brown. This film is.

IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963) Stanley Kramer's over-the-top chase movie, with top bananas of comedy, including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Jimmy Durante, and Jonathan Winters, all outpaced by Mr. Cool himself, Spencer Tracy.

THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963) Jerry Lewis usually went overboard when he directed Jerry Lewis, but here he uses a laid-back approach to tell the story of a simpleton who becomes a sophisticate when he partakes of a magic potion. In a dual role, Jerry is laughable and/or loveable, without employing his customary frantic appeal to the audience. Stella Stevens is diverting; Kathleen Freeman is droll.

THE PRODUCERS (1968) The basis for Broadway's biggest hit musical. Two grotesques (Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) produce a ghastly show, Springtime for Hitler, hoping it'll bomb. In the resultant confusion, they plan to steal the backers' money and get out of town. Behold! The thing turns out to be a smash, and the con men are hoist by their own petard. Mel Brooks's directorial debut.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) Another coming-of-age movie--with a big difference. George Lucas (Star Wars) directed, and chose a cast of newcomers with real talent, among them Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and Harrison Ford.

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) The inventive British sketch comedians (John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Eric Idle) do battle with the Arthurian legend, complete with a Trojan Rabbit and a Holy Hand Grenade. Tradition loses. We win.

THE BUGS BUNNY/ROADRUNNER MOVIE (1979) Disney films got applause and Oscars, but Warner Bros. cartoons engendered nonstop laughter. Some of the very best shorts were created by Chuck Jones, as this compilation demonstrates in overplus.

AIRPLANE! (1980) The ultimate send-up of the disaster genre. The directors/writers Jim Abrahams, and the brothers Jerry and David Zucker provide an avalanche of visual gags, parodies and puns. ("Surely you can't be serious." "I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.") Don't like a joke? Wait 10 seconds and there'll be a new one. With Robert Hays as a failed pilot, Julie Hagerty as a flighty flight attendant, and a grand cast of poker-faced stiffs, including Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stack.

TRADING PLACES (1983) The title represents the truth in labeling. Eddie Murphy, a streetwise African American hustler, exchanges jobs with Dan Aykroyd, a very proper Philadelphia stockbroker. The results are everything you'd expect from these two--and more. John Landis directed.

GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) House haunted? Hire Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, who know how to dispel ghosts and dispense jokes. So do Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis and director Ivan Reitman.

GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM (1987) The story, much exaggerated, of Adrian Cronauer. This one-time disc jockey was the voice of Armed Forces Radio until he was forced out in 1965. Robin Williams takes the bio and runs with it. Uneven but inventive humor with a moral. Forest Whitaker offers strong backup; Barry Levinson directed with heart as well as funnybone.

BIG (1988) An unhappy kid wishes he were a grownup. And voilà! He magically becomes one--except that he retains a 12-year-old mind in an adult's body. Tom Hanks is just as magical as the premise. Penny Marshall directs a glowing cast.

BEETLEJUICE (1988) A young couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) are killed in an automobile accent, and return as ghosts, ready to inhabit their dream house. Alas, the place is occupied by live interlopers. The pair isn't skilled enough to scare a mouse, so they hire the evil Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). Fine ensemble work, and director Tim Burton supplies so many sight gags and special effects that you might want to view it twice.

CITY SLICKERS (1991) Afflicted by various midlife crises, three urbanites (Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby, Daniel Stern) try to sort things out on a cattle drive. The complications are unfailingly merry, and Jack Palance--as the rough-hewn, straight-faced head drover--makes John Wayne look like Shirley Temple.

GROUNDHOG DAY (1993) Egomaniacal weatherman Bill Murray spends a night in Punxsutawney, Pa., where the local groundhog is supposed to see his shadow and predict how long winter will last. Trouble is, Murray gets caught in a time trap, and keeps repeating the day, minute by minute, day after day. Scrooge becomes saint, but not before some funny and wise interludes, supervised by director Harold Ramis.

National Lampoon's Animal House 1978
Never was failure so celebrated as in John Landis' iconoclastic college comedy Animal House, launching the careers of John Belushi, Karen Black and Tim Matheson. Bonding through failure, a fraternity of social misfits wreck havoc on the institution of college after being dismantled by the evil Dean Wormer. Dead horses, drunken toga parties, and a performance by The O'Jays made Animal House a course study in funny.
Famous Quote: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Young Frankenstein 1974
Dubbed "the scariest comedy of all time," Mel Brooks' version of the classic Mary Shelley tale takes liberties... to say the least. Upon inheriting his famous, late grandfather's castle, a brilliant young neurosurgeon discovers a book containing information about a "reanimation experiment," as well as some freakishly funny characters living within the castle grounds.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 1988
There was no better cop than Frank Drebin - if by "better" you mean relentlessly bumbling and funny. Leslie Nielson's straight-faced portrayal of the outrageously outrageous police detective spawned two sequels and an indelible mark on the slapstick comedy genre. Honorable mentions go to great supporting comedic performances by Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, and... Robert Goulet?

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 1994
Ace Ventura is a one-man wrecking crew for pets, and in it, Jim Carrey is a one-man wrecking crew for laughs. Carrey's Ventura became so popular after its release, it quickly spawned a sequel that - at the very least, deserves an honorable mention.

Blazing Saddles 1974
Gene Wilder's version of the wild, wild west is wilder and funnier than anything the Duke could've ever imagined. When a black sheriff is sent in to clean up a corrupted town, he crosses paths with a myriad of outrageous characters, situations, and even a horse who needs some tough love. Infamous for its outrageous "campfire dinner" scene, Blazing Saddles also blazed the first trail for an openly satiric western-comedy.

The Pink Panther 1963
Peter Sellers stars as the original, bumbling Inspector Clouseau, who's comic ineptitude leads him on an all-out investigation to track down a jewel-thief who's actually right under his nose. Throw in a kung-fu fighting assistant assigned to attack his employer and tons of dry wit and The Pink Panther became an instant comedy classic inspiring a sequel and a re-make.

No synopsis

A Night At The Opera - (1935) (Marx Brothers)

A Day At The Races - (1937) (Marx Brothers)

Caddyshack - (1980) (Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight)

Wayne's World - (1992) (Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe)

The Three Stooges made 190 "short subject" episodes for Columbia pictures, but no "Great" full length movies. However their comedy on film deserves recognition

Of Course, Favorite TV Shows

Since I am in a list mood, how about TV shows? Same guidelines as the movie list, but with TV, it was something that drew you in weekly and looking back, still holds up today. Some shows were trendy, some had a great intro, and some, you wonder why I watched it. Some, I barely remember, so I didn't pick them.
Here we go....

ABC's Wide World of Sports

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

All in the Family

The Avengers

Batman

The Bob Newhart Show

The Carol Burnett Show

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Cheers

Dallas

Dark Shadows

The Dean Martin Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Dragnet

The Ed Sullivan Show

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

Gilligan's Island

Hill Street Blues

I Spy

Late Night with David Letterman (NBC)

Married... With Children

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

M*A*S*H

The Monkees

Monty Python's Flying Circus

Moonlighting

The Odd Couple

The Outer Limits

The Prisoner

Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

Rowan and Martins Laugh In

Sanford and Son

Saturday Night Live (early years)

Sesame Street

The Simpsons

Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

60 Minutes

Soap

SportsCenter (up until 4 or 5 years ago)

Star Trek

St. Elsewhere

Taxi

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Twilight Zone

What's My Line?

WKRP in Cincinnati

Local Shows when I was young

Romper Room

The Ray Raynor Show

Bozo's Circus ( local Chicago Version)

Garfield Goose and Friends

Johnny Quest

No, I didn't like Captain Kangaroo..

Again, I have noticed, that as I grew older I watched less TV. Life, work, family, and so on took up more time. and so it goes...

more when I think of them..

Some of my Favorite Movies

This list is purely subjective. I may add to it in the near future. The movie had to touch me in some way. A movie that I watch over and over again. I looked at some lists. I did not like Citizen Kane, for example, so I did not include it. I found it interesting how much I liked the older movies then the ones of today. Some movies listed below don't have the year because it wasn't listed and this blog is not supposed to be work. I don't get much oppurtunity to see foreign films so they are not listed. This is not a fake list. Hope you like it, if not(shrugging), so be it.




Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Casablanca (1942)

Chinatown (1974)

Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982

The Godfather, Parts I and II (1972, 1974)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)


A Hard Day's Night (1964)

It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

King Kong (1933)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Pinocchio (1940)

Psycho (1960)

Raging Bull (1980)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Star Wars (1977)

Taxi Driver (1976)

West Side Story (1961)

Amadeus (1984)

Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Ben-Hur (1959)

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

It Happened One Night (1934)

M*A*S*H (1970)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Rocky (1976)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

North By Northwest (1959)

Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Network (1976)

Fantasia (1940)

Shane (1953)

The French Connection (1971)

Dances With Wolves (1990)

American Graffiti (1973)

Duck Soup (1933)

Patton (1970)

Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Braveheart

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

Day the Earth Stood Still (original)

Doctor Zhivago

Hustler

Night at the Opera

Outlaw Josey Wales

Pinocchio

The Producers

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Rear Window

The Cinncinatti Kid

Goldfinger

Road to Morocco

Rocky

The Sting

To Kill a Mockingbird

Vertigo

The Magnificent Seven

The Hunt for Red October

9 1/2 Weeks

more when I think of them........