There's some kind of award show coming up. I think I heard about somebody bringing us the up-to-the minute red carpet news. I think this show deals with television programs. There's the Tony Awards, the Oscar Awards and the Emmy Awards. I don't know which one of those is for television programs.
But you can be assured, once the big event starts, old (ancient) nasal voiced Joan Rivers and her otherwise unemployable daughter will pontificate on every outfit. Who ever said that the Rivers duo were fashionable themselves? I don't think they possess any special qualifications to make intelligent comments about multimillionaire fashion designers' gowns.
And who the heck even remembers last years gowns that caused such "oooh's and aaah's". As far as I'm concerned, if a gal looked good in it last year and still looks good in it then wear it again. That's what normal people do. Unless it's a wardrobe malfunction, most people couldn't tell you what even one drop dead gorgeous actress wore last year.
Now if the gal wore the dress last year and can't fit in it this year.....that's worth noticing. But I doubt many of the commentators will pick up on that because they probably can't fit into last year's outfit either.
By now you can probably tell that I'll be watching something else when those award shows come on. I think it's important to be recognized by your peers for a job well done. Newspapers give each other awards, radio and television stations have awards, local governments give each other awards, schools give awards and the list goes on and on. But none of those award presentations are televised in their entirety.
Gosh I wonder what suit and tie David Hartman wore when he got an award, or David Hampton, or Madison's "Queen Mary". Does it matter? Not hardly.
Awards within an industry are quite worthwhile. Some ought to be publicized and others should not.
Will an award make me change my viewing habits? Nope. There are lots of shows I don't like that other people think are wonderful. Good for the other people, if you like it watch it. And if the dress fits, get your money's worth.....wear it.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
If It Tastes Good, It Might Be Fine
In my profile, I mentioned that I enjoy good wine. In fact my wife and I both enjoy good wine. I would imagine we would enjoy great wine too, but most great wine is beyond my average everyday pocketbook.
Long ago, I realized that grapes were not cognizant of dollar signs. I've had some fine tasting Chilean wines. I've had some good Australian wines. Currently I have a bottle of Cabernet Pinotage from the western cape of South Africa. I'll give it a try.....after all it was less than $10. What raised my interest was a hand lettered sign in front of the stock which read "this is a very dry wine!" The store where I bought it was not a very sophisticated wine merchant. So....we'll see.
When growing up, alcohol was rarely consumed around our house. We didn't have anything against it, but just didn't have it around on a regular basis. Daddy used to have a drink or two during the holidays. And, once in a while, he and Momma would drink a beer in the summer. Before I graduated high school, we became rather sophisticated. Daddy brought home a bottle of Mogan David and declared it to be fine wine (meaning he liked the taste).
I think the situation around my wife's home was about the same except they probably consumed more beer than my family. When we married, they had some awful tasting Champagne at the reception. At least I thought it was awful, but it was the first time my lips had ever tasted that bubbly concoction.
As the years went by, we moved around the country a little bit and slowly learned that there were actually some pretty good tasting wines out there. We learned that we are not too fond of sweet wines or lite wines. We enjoy the robust flavor of good dry wine.....Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, full bodied red Zifandel, Bordeaux, Gamay Beaujolais, Syrah, and occasionally Merlot. In white wines we like Chardonnay, and Chablis.
When we first started purchasing wine, we primarily bought French wines. They were good, mighty good. For the last ten or fifteen years, we have mostly purchased west coast wines from the USA. We have found excellent wines from Washington and Oregon as well as California. And recently, we discovered a small winery in the hill country of Texas that makes some good products.
For the most part, the wines we purchase are in the $10 to $20 range. An expensive wine for us would be in the $35 a bottle range. A good wine is one that tastes good to you. It is not determined solely by region, price or grape. My mother loves a sugary sweet wine. We have friends that like the real "soft" white wines like Pinot Grigio or the white Zifendels. Hey if you like it and it tastes good to you, have at it.
The other day, I got sentimental and realized I had not had a bottle of Rose' in a long time. I thought it would be a good idea to reach back to my younger years and purchased two bottles by Lancer and Mateus. Both are Portugese wines. We used to really enjoy sitting around, conversing and sipping on a glass of Rose'.
There's an old saying that "When you become an adult, a $4 bottle of wine is no longer 'pretty good stuff'." That's reasonably true. Taste buds change over time. And we found that the Rose' wines we formerly enjoyed are best left to savor in our memories. So for now, for us, Rose' is passe'.
Long ago, I realized that grapes were not cognizant of dollar signs. I've had some fine tasting Chilean wines. I've had some good Australian wines. Currently I have a bottle of Cabernet Pinotage from the western cape of South Africa. I'll give it a try.....after all it was less than $10. What raised my interest was a hand lettered sign in front of the stock which read "this is a very dry wine!" The store where I bought it was not a very sophisticated wine merchant. So....we'll see.
When growing up, alcohol was rarely consumed around our house. We didn't have anything against it, but just didn't have it around on a regular basis. Daddy used to have a drink or two during the holidays. And, once in a while, he and Momma would drink a beer in the summer. Before I graduated high school, we became rather sophisticated. Daddy brought home a bottle of Mogan David and declared it to be fine wine (meaning he liked the taste).
I think the situation around my wife's home was about the same except they probably consumed more beer than my family. When we married, they had some awful tasting Champagne at the reception. At least I thought it was awful, but it was the first time my lips had ever tasted that bubbly concoction.
As the years went by, we moved around the country a little bit and slowly learned that there were actually some pretty good tasting wines out there. We learned that we are not too fond of sweet wines or lite wines. We enjoy the robust flavor of good dry wine.....Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, full bodied red Zifandel, Bordeaux, Gamay Beaujolais, Syrah, and occasionally Merlot. In white wines we like Chardonnay, and Chablis.
When we first started purchasing wine, we primarily bought French wines. They were good, mighty good. For the last ten or fifteen years, we have mostly purchased west coast wines from the USA. We have found excellent wines from Washington and Oregon as well as California. And recently, we discovered a small winery in the hill country of Texas that makes some good products.
For the most part, the wines we purchase are in the $10 to $20 range. An expensive wine for us would be in the $35 a bottle range. A good wine is one that tastes good to you. It is not determined solely by region, price or grape. My mother loves a sugary sweet wine. We have friends that like the real "soft" white wines like Pinot Grigio or the white Zifendels. Hey if you like it and it tastes good to you, have at it.
The other day, I got sentimental and realized I had not had a bottle of Rose' in a long time. I thought it would be a good idea to reach back to my younger years and purchased two bottles by Lancer and Mateus. Both are Portugese wines. We used to really enjoy sitting around, conversing and sipping on a glass of Rose'.
There's an old saying that "When you become an adult, a $4 bottle of wine is no longer 'pretty good stuff'." That's reasonably true. Taste buds change over time. And we found that the Rose' wines we formerly enjoyed are best left to savor in our memories. So for now, for us, Rose' is passe'.
Friday, September 7, 2007
"Piss Ant" Games
I call them "Piss Ant" games. That's when a Division I-A college team plays a "Piss Ant" team....a team in a lower division who is expected to be a pushover for the big boys. I hate "Piss Ant" games and always root for the underdog regardless of who is playing them.
There's been a lot of press lately about the Appalachian State/Michigan game where a ranked team got beat by the little underdog team. The other night I watched the Middle Tennessee State team match mighty ranked Louisville point for point for three quarters. Louisville was lucky to get out with a win in a game that scored 100 points, 58-42.
Michigan fell completely out of the rankings after their loss and I expect Louisville to fall from the top ten after their win. The victories whether they be real or just moral victories provide memorable events for the little guys.....the underdogs. Those games are usually considered warm-up or breather games for the big boys.
Personally, I don't think "Piss Ant" game wins should count toward bowl eligibility. Who cares if Ole Miss beats Louisiana at Monroe? It has absolutely no meaning unless Ole Miss loses. I'm just using Ole Miss as an example. Quite honestly, I don't know if they play that team at all this year.
I can understand scheduling non-conference foes, but I would like to see Division 1-A have to play Division 1-A opponents throughout the season. Maybe the SEC could play ACC teams for non-conference, while the PAC 10 plays Big 12 teams and so forth. Then the games would carry some inter conference rivalry and might just mean something in the national rankings. If travel is a problem, maybe SEC teams could play Conference USA teams which could pit Ole Miss and Mississippi State against USM. Or perhaps that's too horrible for some athletic directors to consider.
Regardless, I think playing a team below your level is cowardly at best and disgraceful at worst. Fans should boycott those games and force the big boys to pick on someone their size.
I'm probably one of the few that feel that way, but as I said earlier......I hate "Piss Ant" games.
There's been a lot of press lately about the Appalachian State/Michigan game where a ranked team got beat by the little underdog team. The other night I watched the Middle Tennessee State team match mighty ranked Louisville point for point for three quarters. Louisville was lucky to get out with a win in a game that scored 100 points, 58-42.
Michigan fell completely out of the rankings after their loss and I expect Louisville to fall from the top ten after their win. The victories whether they be real or just moral victories provide memorable events for the little guys.....the underdogs. Those games are usually considered warm-up or breather games for the big boys.
Personally, I don't think "Piss Ant" game wins should count toward bowl eligibility. Who cares if Ole Miss beats Louisiana at Monroe? It has absolutely no meaning unless Ole Miss loses. I'm just using Ole Miss as an example. Quite honestly, I don't know if they play that team at all this year.
I can understand scheduling non-conference foes, but I would like to see Division 1-A have to play Division 1-A opponents throughout the season. Maybe the SEC could play ACC teams for non-conference, while the PAC 10 plays Big 12 teams and so forth. Then the games would carry some inter conference rivalry and might just mean something in the national rankings. If travel is a problem, maybe SEC teams could play Conference USA teams which could pit Ole Miss and Mississippi State against USM. Or perhaps that's too horrible for some athletic directors to consider.
Regardless, I think playing a team below your level is cowardly at best and disgraceful at worst. Fans should boycott those games and force the big boys to pick on someone their size.
I'm probably one of the few that feel that way, but as I said earlier......I hate "Piss Ant" games.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Ice Cream
When I was a child, we had a man who used to push a buggy through the neighborhoods and sell ice cream treats to the kids. Later it was an ice cream truck. In the small town where I grew up, we had at least four dairies that made their own ice cream and each one had it's own soda fountain. All of them were good.
You could get ice cream sodas, milk shakes, malteds, sundaes, banana splits, and cones. In those days, when you got a malt or a shake, they would fill up your glass and give you the metal mixing container so you could pour in the rest when you had enough room in your glass.
Banana splits were the real thing. A whole banana, three scoops of ice cream....vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry with toppings of pineapple, strawberries, chocolate syrup, real whipping cream, and a cherry or two. It was always a real treat to go to the dairy for ice cream.
Then over the years we seemed to nationalize ice cream brands and the locals sold out to the big guys. And ice cream had more air than cream.
For a while we lived up north where there were Friendly Ice Cream shops. Oh, they were wonderful. It was like re-living my childhood. Then along came Baskin Robbins. Yep good stuff.
And Marble Slab....oh yeah, I like that place.
For the house we learned of Yarnell's ice cream made in Arkansas. It too is good ice cream.
Then the Texas company Blue Bell started selling ice cream in Mississippi. I have become a devoted Blue Bell fan. In my opinion, it's the best mass produced ice cream in America.
My wife and I have a dish of ice cream almost every night. I try to keep five or six flavors on hand at any given time. Locally, they put it on sale....three half gallons for $10. I usually go and buy six at least once a month.
A favorite flavor of mine is Tin Roof. My wife likes Delta Blues (blueberry). But, quite honestly, I think most of the Blue Bell flavors are great. Their butter pecan is about the best of that variety I have ever tasted.
Ice cream is good for the soul. Nobody can eat ice cream and be angry. Just doesn't happen.
You could get ice cream sodas, milk shakes, malteds, sundaes, banana splits, and cones. In those days, when you got a malt or a shake, they would fill up your glass and give you the metal mixing container so you could pour in the rest when you had enough room in your glass.
Banana splits were the real thing. A whole banana, three scoops of ice cream....vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry with toppings of pineapple, strawberries, chocolate syrup, real whipping cream, and a cherry or two. It was always a real treat to go to the dairy for ice cream.
Then over the years we seemed to nationalize ice cream brands and the locals sold out to the big guys. And ice cream had more air than cream.
For a while we lived up north where there were Friendly Ice Cream shops. Oh, they were wonderful. It was like re-living my childhood. Then along came Baskin Robbins. Yep good stuff.
And Marble Slab....oh yeah, I like that place.
For the house we learned of Yarnell's ice cream made in Arkansas. It too is good ice cream.
Then the Texas company Blue Bell started selling ice cream in Mississippi. I have become a devoted Blue Bell fan. In my opinion, it's the best mass produced ice cream in America.
My wife and I have a dish of ice cream almost every night. I try to keep five or six flavors on hand at any given time. Locally, they put it on sale....three half gallons for $10. I usually go and buy six at least once a month.
A favorite flavor of mine is Tin Roof. My wife likes Delta Blues (blueberry). But, quite honestly, I think most of the Blue Bell flavors are great. Their butter pecan is about the best of that variety I have ever tasted.
Ice cream is good for the soul. Nobody can eat ice cream and be angry. Just doesn't happen.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
The First Weekend
The first weekend of college football has been extended. A few years ago, all games were played on Saturday. This year it started on Thursday and ended on the following Monday. TV is responsible for that. Football is relatively inexpensive to produce and rakes in a ton of money. The colleges like the income, the networks like the income, and the fans enjoy the extra games.....especially when there's not much else to watch on television.
Still there's nothing like it. The marching bands, the cheerleaders, the 50 and 60 year old alums pretending to be 18, 19, or 20 again. The tailgating, the pep rallies, the bon fires, and the hidden spirits. At Ole Miss they're found in "Grove Cups". Elsewhere they're just covered up with insulated can holders. All the young college boys have to try a flask at least once in their lives. A little nip added to the coke raises the enthusiasm a tad.
Then there's always the group of boys nekked to the waist, painted like clowns in the school colors and making their Mommas proud of them when the TV cameras make them instant celebrities. "Look, there's my son. Doesn't he look like a scholar?"
Suddenly, the camera pans the student section and Daddy sees his darling daughter hugging a pierced SOB that gave him the finger last week as he passed in his black Corvette. Daddy loses interest in the game for a few minutes and vows to be on campus for the next game.
Then there's the kickoff, each team beats up the other in a virtual standoff until some poor freshman linebacker gets the slip and a senior end makes a huge score. The beauty of college football is that the game is so emotional. A blocked punt, a recovered fumble, a big kick return, and intercepted pass can change the tempo of the game almost immediately. Teams that looked sluggish and whipped can suddenly get an emotional high and whup the snot out of you.
They may not win, but by golly you'll remember you played them when the soreness sets in on Sunday and the bruises actually turn dark. Then again, they may just take your breath away and stomp you in the dirt during the last five minutes of the game.
Coaches coach, trainers train, and most players play. Some do it better than others. I think one of the most frustrating jobs in America has to be that of a college football coach. If he wins, he's a hero. If he loses, he's a scumbag. He may be the greatest coach in the land, but a pimple faced teenager can make him look like a dog. College coaches have to know how to motivate more than anything else. They can design the best plays, provide the best facilities, have the alums eating out of their hand, and some zit faced teenie bopper with shoulder pads can bring it all down and turn lives upside down in a matter of seconds.
Damn! That's college football! I love it!
Still there's nothing like it. The marching bands, the cheerleaders, the 50 and 60 year old alums pretending to be 18, 19, or 20 again. The tailgating, the pep rallies, the bon fires, and the hidden spirits. At Ole Miss they're found in "Grove Cups". Elsewhere they're just covered up with insulated can holders. All the young college boys have to try a flask at least once in their lives. A little nip added to the coke raises the enthusiasm a tad.
Then there's always the group of boys nekked to the waist, painted like clowns in the school colors and making their Mommas proud of them when the TV cameras make them instant celebrities. "Look, there's my son. Doesn't he look like a scholar?"
Suddenly, the camera pans the student section and Daddy sees his darling daughter hugging a pierced SOB that gave him the finger last week as he passed in his black Corvette. Daddy loses interest in the game for a few minutes and vows to be on campus for the next game.
Then there's the kickoff, each team beats up the other in a virtual standoff until some poor freshman linebacker gets the slip and a senior end makes a huge score. The beauty of college football is that the game is so emotional. A blocked punt, a recovered fumble, a big kick return, and intercepted pass can change the tempo of the game almost immediately. Teams that looked sluggish and whipped can suddenly get an emotional high and whup the snot out of you.
They may not win, but by golly you'll remember you played them when the soreness sets in on Sunday and the bruises actually turn dark. Then again, they may just take your breath away and stomp you in the dirt during the last five minutes of the game.
Coaches coach, trainers train, and most players play. Some do it better than others. I think one of the most frustrating jobs in America has to be that of a college football coach. If he wins, he's a hero. If he loses, he's a scumbag. He may be the greatest coach in the land, but a pimple faced teenager can make him look like a dog. College coaches have to know how to motivate more than anything else. They can design the best plays, provide the best facilities, have the alums eating out of their hand, and some zit faced teenie bopper with shoulder pads can bring it all down and turn lives upside down in a matter of seconds.
Damn! That's college football! I love it!
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