Tag Archives: 4th of July

A Couple of Things…

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1. A few blogs ago I shared about how I detach my camera from my desktop computer and that I would cover the lens on my laptop to avoid any possible malware spying called camfecting or camhacking. I was checking my texts recently when I broke out in a cold sweat and realized my phone also has a camera, and after a quick search, yes, the commie rat bastards can also spy via your phone’s len.
And while Norton wants to sell you their anti-virus software, they do provide tips on what to look for on their blog (click here).
My tip, never leave the camera in “selfie” mode.

2. Sunday, June 28, one of the Big Bear eaglets, Sandy, accidentally fell from the nest. I saw a video showing the fall where the eaglet landed on a lower branch and then one of the parents quickly arrived to monitor the situation to make sure she is protected and fed. It was reported Sandy took flight to a nearby tree so she is fine.

The next day, the second eaglet, Luna, took flight to a nearby branch, where one of the parents kept tabs.

The eaglets return to the nest nightly for now. See story: https://youtu.be/6sKl7bQ_JNc?si=pvl3qw3yXW9UBq9N

Nature is brilliant!

3. As I’m sure with everyone who saw the report, I’m extremely sad to learn that actor Danny Glover was given an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. If you check out his resume of films and television, you can’t deny he had a full life and has been one of our most prolific actors with over 200 credited roles. Some of my favorites are Death at a Funeral, the Royal Tenenbaums, Angels in the Outfield, the Color Purple, and of course the Lethal Weapon series. IMDB.com has a career retrospective you can watch. I was surprised to see he was in the movie Saw. Too scary for me.

I wouldn’t wish this disease on anyone.

photo from City of Ventura FB page

4. The Fourth of July was a hoot. The City of Ventura held a fireworks show on Friday, July 3 atop the downtown parking garage. The actual holiday featured their annual Pushem/Pullen parade which I contend is the only parade with more people in it than watching it, followed by the Downtown Holiday Street Fair. Both days brought thousands of people downtown.

5. I went kayaking in the Channel Islands Harbor with Maggie. Saw a dozen or so sea lions lounging in the sun, tons of birds including a Blue Heron and a very large pelican whom I called you’re majesty as we paddled by.

6. I’ll admit I caught a bit of the World Cup fever until “He who won’t be named” intervened. I thought it would have been classy for the red tagged USA player, Balogun, to still not play even though FIFA overturned the penalty. But alas, he did. Some call it Karma, others say USA just didn’t play with heart; regardless, they lost to Belgium.

Side note: the FIFA World Cup trophy is made of solid gold and is kept at the FIFA World Football Museum in Zurich, Switzerland but leaves for special occasions. Wikipedia states, “Only a selected few are officially allowed to touch the trophy with bare hands, including players and managers who have won the competition, heads of state, and FIFA officials.”

7. I’m excited to see The Odyssey when it comes out which I’ll try to see on an IMAX screen. Meanwhile I guess I’ll take in Toy Story 5. #CravingPopcorn

8. I’ll be visiting my daughter in Portland soon. Stories to follow!

9. From my favorite quotes file: “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Couple of Things…

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1.  In honor of Independence Day, I’m posting this photo of Sydney Rose’s women who loved her to no end.  Left to right: Great Grandma Taylor (may she rest in peace), Grandma Baumgardner, Mom, and Grandma Susan (who yes, is younger than me, and a story for another day).
This photo was taken just after the Pushem Pullem Parade downtown Ventura, July 4, 1995. Sydney was just one year old.

2. Has Drano ever once cleared a clogged drain in the history of mankind?
I dare to say NAY!  At least not in my household.

3. I’d be okay if I never heard the word “pithy” again.

www.eatwisconsincheese.com

4. From my “I knew it!” files:  Cheese contains a substance called casomorphins which may play a role in why people just love their cheese. You see, casomorphins are known for having an opioid effect—meaning you get so addicted you go into withdrawal without it!  (source:  Story)

5. I’d like to believe Cheese Puffs actually have cheese in them and the above story would explain my love for the Puff, but I fear I’d be stretching it.

6. While in line at the grocery store the guy in front of me and the checker were talking about how old their photos were on their drivers license.  One quipped they only wished they weighed what they did back then.  I quickly looked at mine and I am pleased to say I’m actually 14 pounds less than what my drivers license was in the 90s.  So I grabbed a bag of Cheetos to celebrate.

7. By the way, I’m pretty sure the guy in front of me was the actor from Erin Brokovich, the one who was the whistle blower in the bar scene. I’m serious!

8. And yet another side note, several scenes in the movie Erin Brokovich were filmed here in Ventura including the diner scene where she ate the crackers while feeding her kids.  That was filmed at the Main Street Restaurant and Steakhouse at 3159 E. Main Street down the street from the Mall.

9. And yet another side note, to my side note: the waitress in that scene is played by the real life Erin Brokovich.

10. I can not say it enough, Ventura Rocks!  I took this photo last weekend at the harbor.

11.  Someone bothered to do the math and it turns out, the sum of all the numbers on a roulette wheel is 666.  Coincidence?

12.  Best come on line I heard recently, “Weren’t you one of the girls in Charlie Angels?”  I had to laugh. He made my day though!

13. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I absolutely hate shopping, especially for clothes. So forgive me for my ignorance when it came to BOGO.   For quite some time I was trying to figure out what BOGO was.  I figured it was a brand name or some product I wasn’t aware of.  It turns out it’s an acronym for Buy One Get One…free, half off, etc.
But then if you Google, BOGO, it turns out there is actually a BOGO Styles website, but if you care to investigate (like the nerd I am) it’s also an online store using that acronym.
Apparently most people are aware of this, now I am too.

14.  From my favorite quotes file, “The only reason I work out is to live longer so I can eat more cheese and drink more wine.” – Ricky Gervais

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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Jackie, me and Linda
Jackie, me and Linda

1.  One of the perks of writing a blog is that it’s a conversation starter.  I’ll run into a friend and they’ll say, “Oh! I know what you mean about….”  I like that.

2.  Some women have gone way overboard on Nazi-feminism.  I get it.  But I’m still proud to say that I am a feminist.  I publicly admit it; but I’m also guilty of keeping stereotypes of women being a lesser sex alive.  I’m working on it, but whenever I get a fellow female up on the court with me, I tell her not to shoot like a girl.  How demeaning is that?  I saw a short clip produced by “Always” (a feminine hygiene company) about how it’s derogatory to say, you run like a girl.  or you hit like a girl.  They ask the question, “what does it mean to do something like a girl?”  Furthermore, they ask, “When did doing something like a girl become an insult?”

bb-stephen

I shoot hoops like a girl, because I am a girl.  And you know what?  That’s pretty cool because I play hard and I love the game and I’ve beaten guys half my age – although not Stephen show in this photo with me.  But I have beat guys in their 20’s; you can put that in your pipe and smoke it.
The thing is though, it should never be men against women.  Boys against girls.  it should be, be the best you can.  PERIOD. Oh!  And have fun doing it!  #LikeAGirl

Here’s the video:
embed video:

3.  In a related subject:  I’ve never understood bands who glorify the demeaning or violence towards women.  Death metal, rap, whatever.  Do they think it’s funny?  Do their fans? Seriously, not cool.

mybeach

4.  I like living at the beach and the feel of being a member of this community, but I swear to God, a small number of those short-term vacation rentals really discredit that viewpoint. Some of these “vacationers” are guilty of one or all of the following infractions:  they park illegally, leave trash on the beach, leave trash in front of the house, stay up late partying loudly on weeknights, have screaming kids, have yapping dogs.  Fortunately most are really nice folks looking for a fun time, but don’t really realize they are in the midst of a family neighborhood, not a vacation resort.

5.  In a related subject, Sammy is going deaf.  She has high blood pressure.  Even with her poor hearing, the 4th of July fireworks drove her crazy and her heart was racing.  Fireworks at the beach are off the hook!!! But spending the evening at home with the doors and windows closed tight and the T.V. playing loud is worth the sacrifice of giving up a holiday party or two.

6.  I don’t follow politics as closely as some, and typically only pay attention to National elections and California and Ventura politics, but I saw Congressman John Lewis from Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District post on Twitter that he was released from Parchman Penitentiary 53 years ago after being arrested in Jackson for using “white” restroom.  What an inspiration seeing that this man fought for injustice and then become a champion and leader in the same “white” governmental process.  Our own mini version of Nelson Mandela.

teatime

7.  I read the following news story “‘Well-Behaved Kids’ restaurant discount sparks online debate” and I thought about it. I think it’s brilliant, mostly because we would have received the discount all the time!  You were a good kid Syd Rose; but then, we have to take some credit because we didn’t take you to a restaurant if you were feeling out of sorts.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/well-behaved-kids-restaurant-discount-sparks-online-debate-1.2644240

8.  Going out and taking in live music never gets old for me.

BerlinWall

9.  A little known fact about me:  I have a piece of the Berlin Wall.  When the wall came down in 1989, a listener of 96-ZTR had several pieces of it which he acquired while in Europe during that time. How thoughtful of him to give me one. It’s an ugly piece of aggregate material, but I can’t imagine tossing it out.

10.  You ever look at your Friends list and think, “Who the hell is that?”  Yeah, me neither.

11.  Tacit consent is a sticky matter.  You can argue all you want, but if you don’t stand up to evil or something YOU believe to be wrong, YOU are a part of the problem.  End of story.

12.  I would like to refute the following study:  “Wide-Hipped Women Have More Sex Partners, Controversial Study Shows”.  😉

From my favorite quotes file, “”Depression is merely anger, without the enthusiasm.” – Steven Wright

Thanks for listening!

 

A Couple of Things…

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Pam and Tina, 4th of July

Pam and Tina, 4th of July

(Originally posted on Facebook April 5, 2013)

1. No, I haven’t met Mr. Right yet, but I have met Mr. Married, Mr. Crazy, Mr. I’m-old-enough-to-be-your-father, and, Mr. I’m young-enough-to-be-your-son;  all, by the way, very nice men.

2. I’m a sucker for babies, puppies and Lemon Drop martinis.  Not necessarily in that order.

3. I have recently been invited to a friend’s home for an intimate dinner for eight where dinner will be served by firemen.  Have I mentioned that I love my friends?

4. Looking back and sharing some stories with Sydney from time to time, I know that I am one lucky son-of-a-bitch.  I survived my youth!  I did some really stupid
things…95% of which still makes me smile.

5. My email was hacked this week.  Bastards! Looks like they sent out an email from me to anyone and everyone I have ever emailed or replied to before.  So
they didn’t email to just my Contacts List.  I really tried to send out a warning email to not click on link.  Sorry about that!

6. On the up-side, it was nice to hear back from people I hadn’t corresponded with in years!

7. Okay, now it’s getting ridiculous; I’m not even allowed to speak during the Vampire Diaries.  Like they’re going to miss some trite dialogue that will alter the course of history or something.

8. Is there really such a thing as a GOOD cry?  I’d rather just be happy.

9. The only celebrity that I couldn’t look in the eye when I met him was Gavin Rossdale from Bush.  He was one good looking man!  Which leads  to my next item…

10. Matt Cooper, may he Rest in Peace, made it a quest to get me to say “I love Bush” on-the-air.   Of course he was referring to the band.  He was trying to record it and use it as a  “drop in” during his morning show to be taken completely out of context… Yeah, he was devious that way.  You had to love him!

11. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:   “It’s OK to disagree with me.  I can’t force you to be right.”

This photo is of myself and Tina Bettiol, my old roommate when I lived in Fullerton.  This is in my dad’s backyard in Whittier, CA, on the 4th of July.  I think we were around 23 years old.