Jump the Shark

Everyone has a favorite TV show that has Jump the Shark: (Has Your Favorite TV Show Reached Its Peak?).

The term jumping the shark alludes to a specific scene in a 1977 episode of the TV series Happy Days when the popular character Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli literally jumps over a shark while water skiing. The scene was so preposterous that many believed it to be an ill-conceived attempt at reviving the declining ratings of the flagging show. The phrase has become a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point at which the characters or plot of a TV series veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Such a show is typically deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has “jumped the shark” fans sense a noticeable decline in quality or feel the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original appeal.

I have been thinking of some of the TV shows that I have watched and tried to figure out when they Jump the Shark.

• Charmed - New Kid in Town (Billie) or when Chris became the Charmed Ones whitelighter
• Little House on the Prairie - When Pa and Ma Ingalls decide to move from Walnut Grove
• 7th Heaven - Lucy starts dating Kevin
• The Fact of Life - When the girls move from Eastland to Edna’s Edibles

I know… I have no life and I spend to much time watching TV and surfing on the Internet. But hey, someone has to do it… Why not me!

Optical Illusions

I love these Optical Illusions, but some of them make my eyes go cross-sided.

These are from Brainden.com.

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Who do you like more - women or saxophone players?

An old couple - see profiles of faces - is remembering the times when they were young and full of life - see the sitting characters (”Forever Always” by Octavio Ocampo©)

This one is funny…

See the face of a soldier and a man that is bending over on the below eye illusion.

And these one freaks me out every time I see it.

Stare at the four black dots in the center of the image for 30 - 60 seconds. Then quickly close your eyes and look at something bright (like a lamp or a window with sunlight coming through it). You should see a white circle with an image inside it.

Brian’s Song - The Movie

If you need a good cry, you need to watch the movie Brian’s Song. There are two versions of this movie made, one in 1971 and a remake in 2001. I have seen both of them and I cried watching both of them.

I recently saw the 2001 version of the movies. This one stared Sean Maher as Brian Piccolo and Mekhi Phifer as Gale Sayers. It wasn’t as good as the original, but I was glued to the TV watching it. And I was crying by the end of the movie.

Brian’s Song is a 1971 made-for-TV movie, recalling the details of the life of Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), a football player stricken with terminal cancer, and his friendship with Chicago Bears running back teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams), who helps him through the difficult struggle.

I would love to find anyone who has seen this movie and not cried. I loved Bob Costas comment about the movie.

Brian’s life a Song of friendship, courage
By Mike Puma
Special to ESPN.com

“There’s no question that Brian Piccolo’s story was amplified by the movie. And now generations later, you don’t know how many guys who ordinarily would be loath to admit that they shed a tear, will tell you at the drop of a hat, I still cry every time I see Brian’s Song,” says Bob Costas on ESPN Classic’s SportsCentury series.

Garfield — You’ve Got to Love Him

I signed up to get daily e-mail Garfield comics about 5 or 6 years ago. The site that I got it from is: ArcaMax.com.

ArcaMax Publishing is your free source for family friendly newsletters, classic books, comic strips and fun stuff like games and quizzes.

I love reading them everyday. Here is a good one.

25 SIGNS YOU HAVE GROWN UP

Boy, I post a few e-mails that my brother, Joe, sent me and now he sending my stuff to post. This one he sent me is pretty funny. So this one is for all of the “grown ups” out there!

25 SIGNS YOU HAVE GROWN UP

1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can’t smoke any of them.

2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.

3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.

4. 6:00 a.m. is when you get up, not when you go to bed.

5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.

6. You watch the Weather Channel.

7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of “hook up” and “break up.”

8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.

9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as “dressed up.”

10. You’re the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won’t turn down the stereo.

11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.

12. You don’t know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.

13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald’s leftovers.

15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

16. You take naps.

17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.

18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.

19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.

20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer “pretty good shit.”

21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.

22. “I just can’t drink the way I used to” replaces “I’m never going to drink that much again.”

23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.

25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking “Oh shit what the hell happened?”

Bonus: 26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn’t apply to you and can’t find one to save your sorry old ass. Then you forward it to a bunch of old friends ’cause you know they’ll enjoy it & do the same.

Favorite song of the week: Summer by War

There is a radio station in San Antonio, Texas metro area, KONO - 101.1 FM that plays good time oldies. I have this playing while I get ready in the mornings. I love the music that they play on there. The other day I heard this song and was trying to figure out the title and who sang it. I looked on the KONO website and they have a LAST SONG PLAYED tab. One option is to enter the time that the song came on and they show a list of songs during that time frame. Well, I had the time frame of when the song was played and I entered it. And there it was.

My new favorite song of the week is Summer by War. This song reached #4 on the R&B chart in 1976. Not sure why I like it so much? The song has a little bit of everything in it;

… elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin music, R&B, and even reggae

I have already played it 10 times in my iTunes library. More and more, I am listening to the music the 70’s and 80’s; when I was young. The music from then was just fun to listen and I enjoy listening to them now. Probably more them when I first heard them.

The American Film Institute - Top Ten Films in 10 Classic Genres

I love lists. Here is a list from The American Film Institute - top ten films in 10 classic genres.

The American Film Institute has selected the top ten films in 10 classic genres, featuring them Tuesday night in a three-hour special that aired on CBS. (AFI launched a website today at www.afi.com that features over 400 video clips from all of the 100 movies.)

The top two in each category:

Animation: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio

Fantasy: The Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Gangster: The Godfather, Goodfellas

Science Fiction: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars: Episode IV (the original)

Western: The Searchers, High Noon

Sports: Raging Bull, Rocky

Mystery: Vertigo, Chinatown

Romantic Comedy: City Lights, Annie Hall

Courtroom Drama: To Kill a Mockingbird, 12 Angry Men

Epic: Lawrence of Arabia, Ben-Hur

In this partial list of movies, I would have to say my favorites are. What are your favorites?

The Wizard of Oz and Ben-Hur

Check this Site Out: Sporcle.com

My brother, Joe, sent me this link to this site called Sporcle. It’s a pretty cool site.

About Sporcle

Originally begun as a sports pick’em site, Sporcle changed directions with the response to the first quiz, U.S. Presidents. As avid crossword, Jeopardy! and trivia fans, we created that original quiz not only to test knowledge, but also as a way to learn a piece of information that seemed to come up again and again.

Since then, Sporcle has continued to create quizzes for entertainment, memory and diversion (don’t worry, we won’t tell your boss).

Sporcle is still evolving and has lots more to come.

I have already played a couple of the games. The only one that I did good at was the Pixar Movies. All I had to do was: Can you the all the Pixar Movies? I got 8 out of 8!! But there were some that I didn’t do too well at.

Here are the one’s that I have done so far:

• The Simpsons - after 19 seasons, you would think I would know more than I did
  
• Movie Quotes
• Tom Hanks Movies - I didn’t know he had that many movies!
• Television Theme Songs

If you have some time on your hands and you should visit this site and challenge yourself.

I throw out a challenge to my niece, Pam — see how many you get right on this one: Can you name these Common Chat Acronyms?

And thanks Joe for sending me this link, I have already spent an hour on the site!

Something Cool to Drink: Berry Watermelon Slushies

Got this recipe in an e-mail and thought it sounded pretty good. Now if I only had the ingredients to make them. Let me know how they taste if you make them.

BERRY WATERMELON SLUSHIES

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup cubed seeded watermelon
• 1 cup ginger ale or lemon-lime carbonated beverage
• 2 Tbsp frozen (thawed) limeade concentrate
• 1 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

In blender or food processor, process watermelon, carbonated beverage and limeade concentrate until liquefied. Gradually add frozen strawberries blending just until slushy. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Enjoy and keep cool in the summer heat.

Ten Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Went Out into the Real World

I Googled Maria Shriver and I found this from the book she wrote in 2000. As I was reading it, I thought this are some of the things that I should live by. So I thought I would share it.

Ten Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Went Out into the Real World is a book by Maria Shriver, published in 2000. It evolved from her initially reluctant commencement address at College of the Holy Cross, during which she said “Ten Things I Wish Someone had told me at Graduation Before I Went Out in the World”. They are, elaborated in her book (listed as the titles of its chapters):

1. First and Foremost: Pinpoint Your Passion
2. No Job Is Beneath You
3. Who You Work for and with Is as Important as What You Do
4. Your Behavior Has Consequences
5. Be Willing to Fail
6. Superwoman is Dead (and Superman may be taking Viagra)
7. Children Do Change Your Career (Not to Mention Your Entire Life)
8. Marriage is a Hell of a Lot of Hard Work
9. Don’t Expect Anyone Else to Support You Financially
10. Laughter

Now it’s been a several years since I graduated from high school and college, but I think I can use them in my life today. It’s funny how your life doesn’t go as you planned or dreamed sometimes. But it is during those time you find out what type of person you are and want to be and what path you are going to take next.