I'm Just Saying

I Wonder, Wonder, Wonder

I did an informal survey today and almost everyone remembers Wonder Bread from their childhood. Well, everyone over 30. Wonder: the enriched white bread that 'helps bodies grow 12 ways.' My brother and I used to eat Wonder Bread and we loved it's wonderful squishy quality. We used it for sandwiches, toasted it, slathered it with butter and sugar, and even rolled it up into little balls which we would then pretend were "pills". Every year we'd go on a school field trip to the Wonder Bread factory and come home with mini loaves of Wonder Bread our mother would slice and make into mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to pack in our Lone Ranger* and Barbie lunch boxes.

As the years have passed, more and more people have turned away from soft white processed bread to embrace hearty whole wheat bread and Wonder is having financial difficulties. You can listen to the NPR broadcast. I joined the ranks of the deserters years ago when I switched to Orowheat Stonegound bread. When Deb was little and wouldn't eat stoneground, I bought Weber's for her. Now I eat Trader Joe's multi grain loaves. I do eat white bread when I make freedom toast but use something more substantial than Wonder Bread.

* To be perfectly honest, I don't remember if John had a Lone Ranger lunch box or not. I'm sure he had some lunch box with an icon from our youth on it but just don't know which one. Could have been Zorro or Roy Rogers.

Happy Whatever

[insert diety of choice] Bless Us Everyone

Melt My Heart

No matter how many times I hear it, the song Woman by John Lennon makes me all sentimental.

And on that note, a song that brings me a joyous smile every time I hear it is Starting Over.

And there is always (here's to Andrew Pascoe) Beautiful Boy.

Man I love John Lennon.

UPDATE: edited to include little Andrew's pic. Talk about melting hearts.

Just For Jen

Hey Jen maybe this will make you feel better. What could be better than a shark stick? A whole wall of shark tools! Okay, they call them hammerheads. Just one of the photos at the Visual Puns contest.

I Have The Answer

It is time to stop the religious right from thinking they can have control over what legally prescribed medication is going to be dispensed. My solution: pharmacists should stop dispensing viagra unless the patient can prove he is having sex solely for the purpose of procreation. Any truly religious bible thumper will tell you procreation is God's only intended purpose for sex. Let a few men experience the same judgment these women are getting and the law will change quickly.

I Coulda Had Class

Last night I watched On The Waterfront, a movie I've viewed clips of and heard quotes from. It is one of those classic movies you know about if you pay any attention to movies at all. I had never seen this one until yesterday. What a great cast and great acting. If you haven't seen it, put it in your queue today.

I Swear I Wasn't Drinking

As I was driving home the other day, I did a double take when I saw a car covered in orange carpet. At first I thought it was an Art Car but as I passed it I realized it was a cab. I wondered if the cab company was just trying some new way to prevent dings and then I saw the giant Q on the door. Yep, just another add for Avenue Q. So if you see an orange fuzzy car don't panic, you're probably still under the limit.

New Mondegreen

Added today.

More Changes

I recently reported I was assigned new duties at work. As of yesterday I have more new duties and a new title. I am Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor. I like to call it Special Agent In Charge. I get to oversee the administration of some of the areas that cross departments; searches, staff development, facilities and clerical support. It is a new role for me and a reporting change. I have reported to the same person since I was hired over 14 years ago. Now I report to the BIG BOSS. He is not a pointy headed boss. He is new to our organization and I'm looking forward to new responsibilities and a new management style. I'll let you know how it goes. Technically I'm the interim until we get a new #2 person and then we'll see where I shake out in the organization.

Classic - Not

I'm showing my age with this post. When I read the Alka-Seltzer To Redo Classic Spot headline I thought, 'Cool, Speedy is coming back'. I was wrong. Speedy is not coming back. Alka-Seltzer is reviving the commercial with an old guy who eats his weight in greasy, fattening food and then keeps whining that he can't believe he ate the whole thing. You can view it here. I didn't like that commercial originally and I don't like it now. To add insult to injury, it stars the old guy who can't get a job now that no one loves Raymond anymore. And it is not classic. It is from the 70s, for goodness sake. Just a few short years ago.

Speedy is so much cooler than the old gluttony guy. For those of you born too recently to know, Speedy Alka-Seltzer is an icon of my youth. He represented Alka-Seltzer for many years. Then the corporate world abandoned him for slick new advertising. Speedy became depressed and one night he quietly slipped into the bathtub and effervesced to death*. Poor Speedy.

*blatantly stolen from an old SNL bit

Soup And A Movie

Now that it is winter, I crave homemade soups. Yesterday I made split pea soup:

He's Back

And he has established dominion over a whole new domain. Watch out, The Overlord is going to take over the internet site by site.

I Shot An Elephant In My Pajamas

I realize there is a strategically placed comma in the sentence but it still amused me.

Shout Out

BFD's daughter, Melissa recently graduated from college and now works for Teen People. She just got her first full byline on this article. Congratulations Melissa!

Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh What a Boy

Today my brother turned 51. He is 2 years, 5 months and 3 days younger than I am - we figured that out when I was 9 years old and he was 6 years, 6 months and 27 days old.

In my life there are two brothers.

There is Johnny, my little brother. He and I have a shared childhood. We grew up togther, explored Disneyland for the first time together and gave our stuffed animals life together. We took swimming lessons, walked to school and went trick-or-treating together. He bit me on the back and I kicked him in the stomach. We rode our bikes around the block, played cowboys and indians - er, native americans - and came home when the street lights came on. Only we remember dancing and singing to Mr. Tippity Tap Toes and How Much Is That Doggy In The Window. We sang the same car songs and rode in airplanes sharing the same comic books. We personalized the Bosco song. We ate Weber's bread slathered with butter and sugar and we hid our liver in the mashed potatoes so we could eat it and earn the strawberry shortcake. Mrs. Quick babysat us together. The same mother made us mince pie, read to us, and tucked us in at night. The same father introduced us to garlic toast, let us shift the gears in his car and took us sailing. We spent 16 happy, sad, turbulent, funny and punny years in the same home, from the day he was born until the day I left for college.

There is also John, the person I know now who is a friend, a member of his own wonderful family, who I relate to as an adult. He's kind and thoughtful, funny and intelligent. I enjoy his company greatly and even if he wasn't my brother I'd like him.

Greetings (in)Mate

Terrence recently blogged about the greeting card business. This guy has found a small niche in that booming business. Now, if only I had some friends or family in jail.