by jphilo | Jan 31, 2014 | Uncategorized
Just when a non-sports fan thinks the annual Super Bowl hype can’t get any hypier, it does. This week, advertisers who paid small fortunes to air ads during the big game, are maximizing their investments by releasing “sneak peeks” of their commercials.
In other words, they’re making commercials about commercials.
My non-sports fan inner cynic started scoffing the minute the news broke. It didn’t shut up until the beauteous implications of this hype-ocity penetrated my thick non-sports fan skull. Watching the sneak peeks commercials about commercials ahead of time will streamline Sunday’s Super Bowl watching experience for non-sports fans.
In other words, our game time conversations need not be interrupted by commercial breaks.
Other than a bathroom break and a brief check of the Bruno Mars halftime show, we non-sports fans can talk non-stop for hours. We can also stand guard at the food and drink table and chase people away from our favorite snacks.
In other words, my kind of party!
Those of you who are interested in streamlining your Super Bowl experience can watch the sneak peeks commercials about commercials at these websites:
Forbes.com: At Forbes you can not only watch, but vote for your fave.
2014 Super Bowl Commercials: While this site offers oodles of share buttons.
Mediaite: No voting here, but it loads faster than the other two.
Spinach Dip: No commercials here, just a hint about where I’ll be hanging during the game.
If you start now, you have plenty of time to watch all the commercials, share, vote, and make the spinach dip before Sunday’s pre-pre-pre-pre-game show starts on Saturday afternoon. Or does that begin on Friday this year?
In other words, what will they think of next?
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by jphilo | Jan 7, 2014 | Uncategorized
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This year, our annual holiday Lord of the Rings trilogy orgy extravaganza included the jotting down of favorite movie quotes. Here’s a very subjective list of the ten that rose like cream to the top.
10.
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9.
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8.
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7.
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6.
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5.
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4.
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2. “No parent should have to bury their own child.”
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1.
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Are you a Middle Earth junkie? Then leave your favorite Lord of the Rings trilogy quote in the comment box.
by jphilo | Jan 1, 2013 | Uncategorized
photo credit: stock.xchng
by jphilo | Sep 25, 2012 | Top Ten Tuesday, Uncategorized
I spent most of last week blowing my nose and wondering why God saw fit to allow the common cold into creation. I’m still waiting for an answer to that questions. In the meantime, I came up with the top ten positives and negatives associated with having a cold.
10. It’s a chance to finally sing bass. Then again, with a throat that feels like raw meat, who wants to sing?
9. Those with stock in a tissue company can feather their own nests. But who takes out stock in a tissue company?
8. Colds are easier to weather now that I’m not teaching school. Then again, I don’t get a lot of sympathy sitting around the house all day.
7. Plugged ears are a good excuse for not listening to people. But they make it hard to keep up with the latest gossip.
6. People are more respectful of personal space when someone has a cold. Either that or they’re too grossed out by hanging boogers to stand nearby.
5. Colds create the perfect excuse for taking a nap in the middle of the day. Which means there will be more work than normal to do upon recovery.
4. Colds provide a legitimate reason to say “no” when someone needs a volunteer. But colds turn potential volunteers into emotional weaklings who say “yes” when they should say “no.”
3. A cold gives sufferers an opportunity to rest and recover while watching daytime TV. Then again, does anyone define daytime TV as restful?
2. A cold makes a person appreciate good health. Except colds make most people are so miserable they think they’re gonna die and never be healthy again.
1. A cold is one of those gifts that keeps on giving, the kind to share with anyone and everyone. Unfortunately, people sometimes give it back.
by jphilo | Sep 12, 2012 | Uncategorized
Our CSA is providing a bountiful supply of tomatoes, onions, and peppers. So many, in fact, that finding ways to use them has been a weekly challenge. Thankfully, shortly before Mom gave up housekeeping, she gave me this recipe for fresh summer salsa which uses oodles of the veggies taking over the kitchen.
It is a winner, as was proved at our recent Labor Day Family Reunion. The crowd chowed down a double batch of salsa and two bags of chips in less than an hour, and people begged for the recipe.
To keep you from begging, it’s posted here, along with a few tips. First, you can change the amounts of vegetables to suit your taste. (For example, I find 1 jalapeno per double batch is plenty.) Second, I chop the tomatoes first and put them in a strainer to drain out excess liquid while chopping everything else. Otherwise the salsa can be pretty runny. With those tips in mind, have at it!
Fresh Summer Salsa
2 cups peeled, chopped tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup onion, chopped fine ¼ cup green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped 1 banana pepper, chopped
¼ cup cilantro, chopped 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Put 2/3 cup of the vegetable mixture in the blender until it reaches the consistency you like. Put the blended vegetables back into the bowl and stir well. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
by jphilo | Sep 3, 2012 | Uncategorized
Mom turns 84 today. This year, we didn’t think she had the stamina to make the trip to the Labor Day Reunion being held in northwest Iowa. So in honor of her birthday, the post written for the occasion last year has been reposted below. If you read to the very bottom, you’ll find out there is something new to give a woman who’s 84!
What Do You Give a Woman Who’s 83?
Mom’s birthday was Saturday, and as was mentioned in a previous post, we (meaning 20 people in her extended family, including her baby sister, Donna, pictured above) celebrated in style with the traditional family birthday cake. What wasn’t mentioned in the post was my personal quandary that has grown more perplexing as Mom grows older.
What do you give a woman who’s 83?
Mom doesn’t like to be given stuff because once it’s hers, she frets about it.
“What should I do with it?” she asks.
“Where should I put it?” she asks.
“Do you want it?” she asks.
Kinda defeats the purpose of giving a gift, when she wants the giver to take it back.
This year, I rationalized away the quandary this way.
“Baking the German chocolate cake is my present to her,” I thought.
“Sharing my bed with her for the reunion weekend is my present to her,” I thought.
“Hiram sleeping on the floor for the reunion weekend so she could sleep in our bed is our present to her,” I thought.
“Hosting 20 people at my house for the weekend is my present to her,” I thought.
But do you know what?
Throughout the weekend,
the more I watched her listen to the young adults describe their forays into grownupdom,
the more I saw her enjoy watching everyone play yard games,
the more engaged she became during several rousing games of Catch Phrase,
the more I realized my thoughts were not rationalization.
Instead, those thoughts were the answer to the quandary.
What do you give a woman who’s 83?
The gift of your time.
This year, the sibs and I came up with something to give Mom. We had the signed poster she received from Kairong Liu, the Chinese artist she tutored when he was college student, matted and framed. We’re taking her out to supper tomorrow evening and giving it then. So shhhh, don’t say a word!
