Have you heard about Oprah's party on Michigan Avenue Tuesday?. If not, check out Partying With Oprah? Here's What To Expect - Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune.
10. I'm not much of an Oprah fan. Not that I ever really was. No I'm not bitter about not having my bigger fatter pregnant ass on her show telling some cutesy mad about you-like story on air. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out Oprah's Touch - I Shook Hands With Oprah. Seriously, I'm not bitter.
9. I'm so over her a-ha moments. Seriously, how old is she and shit still surprises her? Really?
8. Her 'best friend Gayle'. We all really know what you mean. How much does your bff get paid for appearing on your show on Fridays or whenever you get the itch to have her on the show?
7. Oprah's Favorite Things. Why does this sound like another television diva's "good things"? She can't even be original?
6. Whenever Oprah takes on a highly sensitive topic where a therapist really should be offering advice, and Oprah steps in and comments and offers advise like she's a professional. That's just wrong. It's not only wrong, it's dangerous.
5. The party - No camping out is allowed, yet the city is closing off streets at 12:01 p.m Monday through 5 a.m. Wednesday. Why? Do you seriously think people aren't going to camp out? Come on now. I bet people are loitering all over Michigan Avenue right now as I typed this.
4. The taping is due to start at 5pm Tuesday, what are all of those people waiting supposed to do until then? There is not much worse than a bored, sweaty crowd. And what about facilities? Are they going to be littering Michigan Avenue with Port-a-Johns? That's going to look attractive.
3. Did I mention it's standing room only? No seats. Yeah, that right there, seals the deal for me. I have a bad back, if I have to stand for more than 5 minutes it's a big problem. I'm really old and cranky, aren't I?
2. Did I mention there is no food? It's totally byo.
1. I'm not really a big fan of the Black Eyed Peas. And really, I'm not that big a fan of anyone or anything to camp out overnight or endure a standing room only event. Those days are over. Did I mention I'm old and cranky?
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
President Obama wants your children...
to watch his speech on Tuesday.
I don't understand the controversy about President Obama's speech to our children in schools on Tuesday. Here is the text of that speech from White House.Gov - President Obama's Prepared Remarks - Back To School Event:
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.
And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
My take on his speech is that he is trying to be a role model for our children. He's saying, 'look where I started out, my father left us when I was 2 and my mother taught me lessons at 4:30am every day because she couldn't afford school', 'look where I am now!', 'look at Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell and the challenges they faced and how they are rising above them'.
How dare he try to be a role model!
He's asking children to set goals for themselves. Even small goals, like do their homework, read every day.
How dare he ask our children to set goals for themselves!
He asked our children to wash their hands a lot and stay home from school if they are sick "so that we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter."
How dare he ask our children to wash their hands!
"Don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox."
How dare he tell our children they can't watch a lot of TV or play a lot of video games!
Former President Reagan and Former President George W. Bush made addresses to students. There was never this much discussion and acrimony over their speeches to our children.
I've asked our kids if their school will be airing the speech and both of them knew nothing about it, which leads me to believe that both schools are avoiding the issue by not talking about it and not airing it. It doesn't matter, I'm sure the speech will be available online and I will view it with them. I looked at the classroom activities (Pre K - 6 Menu of Classroom Activities, Grades 7-12 Menu of Classroom Activities) and found nothing even close to being objectionable.
I just don't understand the hoopla. If someone can enlighten me, please do.
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
I don't understand the controversy about President Obama's speech to our children in schools on Tuesday. Here is the text of that speech from White House.Gov - President Obama's Prepared Remarks - Back To School Event:
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.
And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
My take on his speech is that he is trying to be a role model for our children. He's saying, 'look where I started out, my father left us when I was 2 and my mother taught me lessons at 4:30am every day because she couldn't afford school', 'look where I am now!', 'look at Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell and the challenges they faced and how they are rising above them'.
How dare he try to be a role model!
He's asking children to set goals for themselves. Even small goals, like do their homework, read every day.
How dare he ask our children to set goals for themselves!
He asked our children to wash their hands a lot and stay home from school if they are sick "so that we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter."
How dare he ask our children to wash their hands!
"Don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox."
How dare he tell our children they can't watch a lot of TV or play a lot of video games!
Former President Reagan and Former President George W. Bush made addresses to students. There was never this much discussion and acrimony over their speeches to our children.
I've asked our kids if their school will be airing the speech and both of them knew nothing about it, which leads me to believe that both schools are avoiding the issue by not talking about it and not airing it. It doesn't matter, I'm sure the speech will be available online and I will view it with them. I looked at the classroom activities (Pre K - 6 Menu of Classroom Activities, Grades 7-12 Menu of Classroom Activities) and found nothing even close to being objectionable.
I just don't understand the hoopla. If someone can enlighten me, please do.
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Happy International Bacon Day!
So today is International Bacon Day. Click on that link for baconlicious bacon recipes. Everything from Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms with Cheddar, to Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Pops to Bacon Relish.
If you're looking for the perfect gift for the bacon lover in your family, how about the Bacon Freak Bacon Of The Month Club regularly $575.40, only $375.95 (not sure how long the sale is in effect, check website for current pricing). Each month you receive not 1, but 2 packages of bacony goodness. And if you like, you can pay extra for bacon gift wrap. (Not to worry, it's actually gift wrap with photographs of bacon on it, your gift is not actually wrapped in bacon, but I'm sure if you wanted that, they would do it for an extra fee, cause the Bacon Freaks, just love bacon.)
How are you planning to celebrate International Bacon Day?
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
If you're looking for the perfect gift for the bacon lover in your family, how about the Bacon Freak Bacon Of The Month Club regularly $575.40, only $375.95 (not sure how long the sale is in effect, check website for current pricing). Each month you receive not 1, but 2 packages of bacony goodness. And if you like, you can pay extra for bacon gift wrap. (Not to worry, it's actually gift wrap with photographs of bacon on it, your gift is not actually wrapped in bacon, but I'm sure if you wanted that, they would do it for an extra fee, cause the Bacon Freaks, just love bacon.)
How are you planning to celebrate International Bacon Day?
How about some Bacon Sueyts? (Bacon Covered in your choice of Premium Swiss Milk or Dark Chocolate.)I'm torn between a BLT or a burger with Baconnaise. Yes! I have Baconnaise in my fridge! Jewel Foods has it right next to the mayonaise. It's great on a burger.
Or Maple Bacon Lollipos?
Or Bacon Cheese Straws?
They even pair bacon with wines in gift baskets.
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays - First Computer
Come join me for this week's edition. Post yours Thursday and comeback and sign up with MckLinky. This Thursday's topic is: First Computer -
What was your First Computer like? How much did you spend?
What extras did you get? What did you use it for?
For details on how you can submit a topic, and if used, earn 100 Entrecard Credits, click here.
Some of us are really going to show our age on this one. My first computer was really a glorified Video Game System. It was a Commodore 64. One of these set you back a cool $595 when they first came out in January 1982. And for that, it didn't even come with a tape drive (yes, I said tape drive. Cassette tape drive or using their vernacular, Datasette) or 5 1/4 disc drive (remember those huge things?). The Operating System was KERNAL/Comodore BASIC. I wasn't one of the first to buy it, I waited until the price came down. It was still considerably more expensive than today's video game systems and since that is mostly what I used it for, hence the comparison.
I bought:1. The Commodore 64 unit, which looked kind of like a keyboard on steroids.The lure of Centipede, Frogger, Galaxian, and Pole Position kept me from really writing any programs.
2. Monitor.
3. 5 1/4 inch Floppy Drive.
4. Datasette (never used.)
5. Joystick.
6. Games - Centipede, Dig Dug, Frogger, Galaga, Galaxian, Pole Position, Pong.
7. A book about KERNAL/Comodore BASIC.
I sold my Commodore 64 and all that I bought for it at my Dad's estate sale in 1991. I think I got five bucks for the whole lot and the geeky teenager who bought it was ecstatic.
So what's your First Computer story? Did you have a Tandy TRS-80, or a Tandy 1000, or an Apple I or Apple II? Or was your first computer one of the first PC's? Or maybe you're much younger, and you got your first computer in the last 10 years. Share your story. Please post your "First Computer" post on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.
There hasn't been much participation in this meme lately and I wonder if I should discontinue it. I have created a poll at the top of this page.
PLEASE BE SURE TO VOTE IN THE POLL.
If you have any ideas on how I could get greater participation, please let me know in the comments or email me.
FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT ABOUT THE POLL.
If you have any ideas on how I could get greater participation, please let me know in the comments or email me.
FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT ABOUT THE POLL.
Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!
IF YOU SEE THAT MckLinky APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING, PLEASE POST A LINK TO YOUR "FIRST COMPUTER POST" IN THE COMMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU!
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'IF I COULD BLOG BACK TIME THURSDAYS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.
ANY OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT PREJUDICE!
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'IF I COULD BLOG BACK TIME THURSDAYS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.
ANY OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT PREJUDICE!
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
©2008-2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Please Vote
Remember back when Lin @ Duck And Wheel With String had that crazy First Official Dork Off Contest and I sent all my loyal visitors to vote for me? Wasn't that fun stuffing the ballot box (I mean voting for me)? Well, this is similar, except that I'm sending you to stuff the ballot box (I mean vote) for Suzy from HOLLYWOOD: Where Hot Comes To Die at Blogger's Choice Awards - Best Humor Blog and leave a comment telling her Lola's Diner sent you. You can also click on the image to go to the site and vote.
If you're not familiar with Suzy, she's a standup comedian and the woman who got the last chocolate babka on Seinfeld, The Dinner Party Episode (1994). She's also the person that Larry David called a very bad name on Curb Your Enthusiasm. So please go vote for her and leave a comment telling her Lola's Diner sent you. Don't forget to leave a comment here, because it counts for I Am Harriet's September Comment Challenge.
©2008-2009
If you're not familiar with Suzy, she's a standup comedian and the woman who got the last chocolate babka on Seinfeld, The Dinner Party Episode (1994). She's also the person that Larry David called a very bad name on Curb Your Enthusiasm. So please go vote for her and leave a comment telling her Lola's Diner sent you. Don't forget to leave a comment here, because it counts for I Am Harriet's September Comment Challenge.You know what they say in Chicago...vote early and vote often! Thank you!
Lola's Diner©2008-2009
Random Tuesday Thoughts Part 2
I had so many Random Thoughts these spilled over to Wednesday:Our gas range is acting funky. The oven pilot isn't staying lit. I love to cook! There is no way I can confine my cooking to my outdoor grill. In the words of our daughter...this suuuuuuuucks!
When are these unexpected expenses going to stop? Ok, stop for awhile so we can catch our breathe? I don't want to be forced into canceling our trip to Milwaukee for my high school reunion. Is this some kind of conspiracy? It's bad enough that each day I am waffling on whether we should go or not. (There's a post brewing on that one.)
To my sister who had the nerve to email me to complain about her husband's $4,500 ER visit...bite me! Anastasia doesn't have insurance either and had 2 ER visits and 2 hospitals stays of 4 days each. That's 8 days total. Also, you don't get to complain when the reason for his ER visits were totally avoidable bullshit. Caffeine overdose from drinking 3 or more Monster drinks plus numerous cups of coffee and several colas per day. Duh! (Caffeine Content: Diet Coke 3.75 mg per ounce, Monster 10 mg per ounce, Drip coffee 18.12 mg per ounce.) So lets be conservative and say you had 3 Monster drinks at 16 ounces each, 3 cups of coffee at 8 ounces each and 4 Diet Cokes at 20 ounces each (= 1214.88 mg caffeine. Recommended daily allowance of caffeine is 400 mg per day for men, 300 mg per day for women.) I'm sure I'm erring on the low side, since it was hot and he was using these beverages assuming they were hydrating, which in fact they are the opposite due to the caffeine levels, he likely consumed even more than that.
Can someone tell my why a new Oster 2 slice toaster that was purchased less than 4 months ago, that wasn't hardly used has already bit the dust? I sent an email of complaint to Oster...nice customer service, they never replied. That toaster took a dive in the kitchen trash after waiting 3 weeks for a reply and has since been replaced with a Proctor Silex.
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Vacancy At the Duggar Inn To Be Filled
Duggar Brood Keeps Growing with No. 19 On The Way. Mrs. Duggar? Excuse me? You're 42 and you already have 18 children. Cross your legs dear, do something...something other than...that! OMG! Can you even imagine having 18 children? And then expecting your 19th?
I mean I know they have them all trained like they are in boot camp, doing laundry, making meals, cleaning, etc. So Josh got married, now you have a vacancy at the Dugger Inn? But still, 18, now 19 kids? Do you have some other mother's little helpers of the pharmaceutical variety? Because I don't think I could stand dealing with what amounts to a classroom of children in my own house every day.
And you figured it out because you joined Weight Watchers and couldn't figure out why you were gaining weight when you weren't cheating? Hello? Didn't you notice your monthly visitor stopped visiting? How does anyone seriously not know they are pregnant? I once worked with a woman who did not know she was pregnant until she was 7 months along. She thought she had a tumor (pretend I'm impersonating Ahhhnold, tuuuuuumor, it's not a tuuuuuumor, it's funnier that way). Seriously, she honest to goodness thought she had a cancerous mass in her abdomen. What is wrong with these people?
I told Anastasia and she said her uterus hurts just thinking about it and that her !@#$%^ must be the size of Wyoming by now.
The Duggars are soliciting names for the new baby. All of their children's names begin with the letter "J" and considering they named one of their children "Jinger", I think they definitely could use a little help. Their children's names are: "Josh and Jordyn-Grace, the family includes: Jana and John-David, 19; Jill, 18; Jessa, 16; Jinger, 15; Joseph, 14; Josiah, 13; Joy-Anna, 11; Jeremiah and Jedidiah, 10; Jason, 9; James, 8; Justin, 6; Jackson, 5; Johannah, 3; and Jennifer, 2.
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
I mean I know they have them all trained like they are in boot camp, doing laundry, making meals, cleaning, etc. So Josh got married, now you have a vacancy at the Dugger Inn? But still, 18, now 19 kids? Do you have some other mother's little helpers of the pharmaceutical variety? Because I don't think I could stand dealing with what amounts to a classroom of children in my own house every day.
And you figured it out because you joined Weight Watchers and couldn't figure out why you were gaining weight when you weren't cheating? Hello? Didn't you notice your monthly visitor stopped visiting? How does anyone seriously not know they are pregnant? I once worked with a woman who did not know she was pregnant until she was 7 months along. She thought she had a tumor (pretend I'm impersonating Ahhhnold, tuuuuuumor, it's not a tuuuuuumor, it's funnier that way). Seriously, she honest to goodness thought she had a cancerous mass in her abdomen. What is wrong with these people?
I told Anastasia and she said her uterus hurts just thinking about it and that her !@#$%^ must be the size of Wyoming by now.
The Duggars are soliciting names for the new baby. All of their children's names begin with the letter "J" and considering they named one of their children "Jinger", I think they definitely could use a little help. Their children's names are: "Josh and Jordyn-Grace, the family includes: Jana and John-David, 19; Jill, 18; Jessa, 16; Jinger, 15; Joseph, 14; Josiah, 13; Joy-Anna, 11; Jeremiah and Jedidiah, 10; Jason, 9; James, 8; Justin, 6; Jackson, 5; Johannah, 3; and Jennifer, 2.
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
Random Tuesday Thoughts
Our daughter had a Girl's Golf match yesterday and they won 190 to 201. Our daughter scored a 55. Way to go! Still better than last year's consistent 57 and very awesome!I've been counting the days until my monthly money comes so I can get my brakes fixed for my car. I've been looking forward to Wednesday like you wouldn't believe. I feel like a trapped rat. I had been driving Anastasia's car while she was hospitalized and at home recovering, but she was back to a partial schedule last week, so no car for me. She was absolutely hating having me drive her around (says I drive like a granny - hey, who get's the speeding tickets? Nuf said!) Monday on the way home from her nursing home gig she calls me in a panic, the Monte Carlo is blowing up. Ok, not blowing up, but overheating, smoke everywhere, etc. I told her to pull over and turn it off and let it cool and I'd drive out and check the radiator and the oil and follow her (cause I'm all DIY dykey like that). Noooo, she's got to get to her Mom's house without stopping. I don't even want to think about what's wrong with her car, or what kind of damage she could have done by continuing to drive it. No, stop! I'm not thinking about it. (Diagnosis: Water pump, thermostat, serpentine belt, coolant, oil change - $500. Yow!)
So if you live in Illinois, did you run out and stock up on Beer, Wine, Spirits, Candy and toothpaste? Umm, yeah, no, I ran out of cash last week. If you did, did you snag some JD, Tequila, Gin and Bud Light Lime for me? Sigh. Damn! I could really go for an O'Henry now.
Can someone tell me why the "l" and "." keys on my new laptop are sticking?
Do you have any idea how quiet it was on Monday? It was pure bliss! The kids are back to school, partner is back on her regular schedule and I do believe the planet is back in alignment.
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
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