Monthly Archive for July, 2010

Page 5 of 7

Robin Meade is My New Best Friend

We go to sleep with Dave Letterman and wake up with Robin Meade.

She is my new best friend.

Waking up with Robin Meade was my idea. I don’t use an alarm clock, so I wake up anyplace from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. depending on the several trips I made during the night. (No, I don’t need Avodart, I just need to cut out eating watermelon at 8 o’clock!)

Robin Meade is anchor of HLN Morning Express with Robin Meade. HLN used to be called Headline News and is part of CNN. My fanhood goes back to when the program was  Robin and Company

What I love about Morning Express with Robin Meade, is that basically every 15 minutes they are repeating the news headlines. So I can get into that early morning half-asleep, half-awake, and hear Robin do one or two stories, I will fall back to sleep and wake up to maybe the same stories, or others.

Just one complaint, Robin doesn’t tell me what time it is. She comes out of the breaks with a “Mornin’ sunshine!” (that’s her tag line and name of her book.) If she would just mention that every fifteen minutes it would save me from having to roll over and look at the clock.

Having been a big fan for a long time, I was excited when she announced via Twitter @robinmeade that she would be taking a vacation to write songs, record songs, and perform songs in Nashvegas.

I could see her in person!!! Nirvana.

Friday night, I had my chance. Get this! At 8:30, we’re standing outside the Listening Room Cafe where she was going to perform at 9 p.m. (review and background at link) and she comes walking up the sidewalk ALONE.

She is just stone-cold beautiful.

I greeted her with the geezer equivalent of a squeal.

Rooooobinnnnnnnn          Meeeeeeeeade!!!!

She only hesitated a beat before she sized me up as harmless and came up to shake my hand.

Then – THEN – she stood there and made small talk with me. She was so impressed that we came “all the way from Kentucky” to see her “sing two songs.”

WTF? Sing two songs?

Yeah, seems the guy that owns the place, who I talked to about best seating, either…

  1. Didn’t know what the hell was going on… or (more likely)
  2. wanted my money and figured two songs wouldn’t get me to pay the cover charge.

Little did he know, I would have paid a cover charge to stand on the sidewalk and peep in the windows.

Since my daughter is about her age and used to be a news anchor, I tend to know more about the Tee Vee biz than most fanboys.

“Are you a news director or something?”

she asked.

We actually chit-chatted. Nancy ended her conversation and joined in the conversation.

“Take our picture, take our picture, take our picture,” I said in my OMG voice.

She decided she needed to go inside to make her contacts and we parted company. Wait! Wait! It get’s better. OMG! OMG! As I come out of the bathroom, her husband is standing there in line. (I remembered not to shake his hand.)

I made some small talk and come to find out, he knows where Smallburg, Kentucky is.

Yeah, it’s the only place he got a speeding ticket.

We found our table and settled in as I watched Robin Meade move around the room trying not to look to stalkerish. (It didn’t work, Nancy said I looked like a little puppy following her around.) I did NOT follow her around – except with my eyes.

Then – THEN – she came over to our table and said she wanted to tweet about us.

Here r ur fellow viewers who drove from kentucky to hear two songs! Now THAT’S dedication http://tweetphoto.com/31765424 7:20 PM Jul 9th via UberTwitter

Here’s the pic she tweeted: http://tweetphoto.com/31765424

Yeah, she was happy we were there.

Wait, it get’s better (he said breathlessly in his OMG, OMG, OMG!!! voice)

She did her two songs… then – THEN – came to our table and asked about our dogs  (she has Rocco and Reese) and Nancy’s hand surgery, introduced us to her college dorm-mate, and then – THEN – asked US about her performance:

She wanted to know if we could hear OK, and was she in tune?

Was she in tune? Look at that face! In tune? Who cares? She does, but I sure didn’t.

She was gazing at me with those big brown eyes. Despite that my tinnitus was roaring in my head still from the Adam Lambert concert Wednesday and I couldn’t hear much of anything, she asked me if she was in tune.

“Uh huh,” I nodded, “sounded great, you were wonderful” (or words to those effect.)

OK, I have a daughter that is the same age.

Robin Meade is my new best friend. That’s my way of saying I still have a crush.

And she did nothing but make it worse.

Classic Goodfellas Scene As Played By Peanuts Characters

One of the best scenes ever filmed… from Goodfellas… one of my all time favorite movies.

Funny how??? I’m funny how??? Like a clown???

Do I have to warn you about the language?

Via Bits and Pieces

Glad I Don’t Live In Eastern Kentucky

Mountaintop removal mining is a process whereby massive explosions destroy Appalachian mountaintops. Gigantic earth movers and the like  come in and mine dirty coal. Once the coal is extracted, the rocks and trees that were blown to smithereens  are shoved down the mountain to fill the natural valley.

It is ugly as hell.

But not as ugly as the coal mining industry who is fighting to keep the right to destroy one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth.

Ashley Judd is from Eastern Kentucky. She gave an eloquent, thoughtful, smart, well researched speech to the National Press Club about what mountaintop removal mining is doing to the area and its people.

“I grew up in Kentucky, and like so many Appalachians, just seeing our beautiful mountains and valleys tells me I am home,” Judd said in the recent video. “Our mountains are our heritage and our legacy to future generations. But big coal companies are using explosives to literally blow the tops off the mountains, extract the coal, and destroy Appalachia.”

Here’s how the coal mining industry is responding…

This sign appeared at a golf tournament held at a golf course built on one of the former mountaintops.  StoneCrest Golf Club is one of the reclamation projects the big coal mines point to as a “success.”

However, now that Google is mapping every square inch  of the globe – including areas that were not accessible by the public – the vastness of the mountains that have been destroyed in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia is being revealed.

These former mountains will be “reclaimed” as grasses and little trees are planted on the plateaus.

Bullshit. Mountaintop removal mining needs to stop entirely. Yesterday.

65% of American citizens are against mountaintop removal mining. Look at the contrast between the top picture and the one above. Who in their right mind can say that mountaintop removal mining should not be stopped?

The coal industry and those who barely scratch out a living mining coal, that’s who.

If I lived in Eastern Kentucky, I would be even more of an outcast. But I live in Western Kentucky above a cave system – mostly empty, except for the storm water the city dumps down there. If they ever discover a need for sinkholes to provide electricity, this part of Kentucky will be sooooo screwed.

No. Not While I’m Alive.

This is not our Smart Car, but in case you forgot what they look like, this is one. Ours is a red Cabriolet which is fancy for topless…

This is not our Smart either…

And as long as I am drawing a breath we will not own a Smart that has a crocheted cover. I can be fairly certain this will  not happen in the near future as Nancy will be having hand surgery to fix all the junk in her hand from years of golf, sewing, crocheting, knitting, bowling, spinning, typing, hooking rugs, mousing and notice I didn’t mention housework.

Sixty out.

Has Kellie Pickler Been Pickled?

Whenever Kellie Pickler is on the Tee Vee, my daughter lets me know by emailing me with the subject line: “Your Girl.”

Jessica Simpson used to be “my girl.” Meaning I liked her a lot and always thought she was genuine and likable. Still do, but American Idol brought me Kelli Pickler, and she is my new “my girl.” I was impressed the American Idol tour chose her to sit on the edge of the stage and engage the audience. She came across the same as Jessica. Just a sweet little country girl. Maybe she still is, and is taking advice from Dolly Parton on “preserve and protect.”

Even Nancy got in on the act last night. We went to the Adam Lambert concert in Nashvegas and between the opening acts and him, I was wandering around the Ryman Auditorium.

As I came back she motioned to me to come back to the pew (no seats in the Mother Church of Country Music) and showed me a picture of Kelli.

She was in da house! Just a few rows in front of us.

I quick grabbed the camera and joined the lineup of fans to grab this shot:

Yeah, she’s changed…

Ok, adding the boobs is almost a prerequisite for going on tour and making videos and Tee Vee appearances. But the woman has had major face work. She’s 24 years old for cripes sake.

Eyes, Nose, Mouth, Cheeks, and Chin. That pretty much means a full face do-over, right.

How silly.

Kellie Pickler pickled.