John Lithgow is one of my favorite actors, and I’m currently enjoying listening to the audiobook version of his autobiography, Drama: An Actor’s Education. Whether he was playing a serious Shakespearian role or a hilarious goof, Lithgow’s versatility as an actor garnered him numerous awards and fans over the years.
Below are two videos: One is a fan-made compilation of some of Lithgow’s best work on 3rd Rock from the Sun, and the other is an interview about the aforementioned autobiography.
This past weekend I rang up one of the strangest customers I’ve encountered during my time at the supermarket. For the purpose of this post, let’s call him “Rubber Band Man.”
Sunday is typically the worst day to work at the supermarket because it’s when most people take care of chores such as cleaning, cooking and shopping. Considering shopping and cooking go hand in hand, the odds are against me every Sunday.
After working for several hours and ringing up what felt like hundreds of customers, I was hoping the end of my shift would be relaxing and free of crazy customers. To my dismay, Rubber Band Man foiled my plans.
The first thing I noticed about this curious individual was that he was sweating profusely. Beads of sweat the size of raindrops were all over his face. This was startling because it wasn’t hot outside or inside the store, and what made it more disturbing was they just hung there, not moving.
Once his items were rung up, I told him the total and he pulled out a money clip secured with at least 10 rubber bands. Then, he reached into his pocket full of dirty, wrinkled plastic bags and pulled out a blue one wrapped in – what else – rubber bands. After purposefully removing each rubber band from the bag, he pulled out four dollars. Considering his bill was $3.75, this was his lucky day.
While this plastic bag and rubber band show was going on, a woman that works in the meat department got into my line and gave me a frightened look after observing this poor, rubber-banded soul. The good news is, other than shocking me with his copious amounts of sweat, rubber bands and plastic bags, Rubber Band Man was harmless. I’ve never seen him before, and I have a feeling that I’ll never see him again.
One of my favorite Christmas standards is the beautiful song “The Bells of Christmas” by Kenny Loggins. It’s from his terrific Christmas album, December.
For your listening and reading pleasure, below you’ll find a Spotify Play Button for the song as well as the lyrics. Enjoy!
“The Bells of Christmas”
Imagine a boy Kneeling by the window Lookin out across the driveway at the rain Will it always rain
I remember the bells Comin’ from the churchyard And I thought they played their music just for me And day by day The rain turned to snow I don’t hear them anymore
The bells of Christmas Will ring for us again When we truly do believe What Christmas really means So light a candle That every man may see The world of hope and promise Like the one we knew back when and We’ll ring the bells of Christmas Once again
There was a girl Lived around the corner With eyes as black as Mary’s must have been I wonder Does she miss her friend I remember the day All the bells were ringing As I watched her cross the churchyard in the snow And all my searching For all I lack Is just trying to get that feeling back
The bells of Christmas Will ring for us again When we truly do believe What Christmas really means So light a candle That every man may see A world of hope and promise Like the one we knew back when and We’ll ring the bells of Christmas once again
The future of the world, they say Is in the children’s hands Perhaps if we could let them lead We’d come to understand
The bells of Christmas Will ring for us again When we truly do believe What Christmas really means So light a candle that every man may see The world of hope and promise Like the one we knew back when and We’ll ring the bells of Christmas once again We’ll ring the bells of Christmas once again
Tonight was my last class of the semester, and I’m going to enjoy my break to the fullest. Speaking of which, let’s kick things off with a little Alice Cooper. It may be the wrong season, but the meaning’s still the same: “School’s Out.”
Louis CK is one of the best comedians around, so it’s no surprise that he was heavily influenced by the late, great George Carlin. Below is Louis CK’s touching thoughts on Carlin, which he shared during a tribute to the comedic legend in March 2010.
Michael Des Barres, the raspy rocker known for the amazing Carnaby Street, just released a fun, infectious Christmas song: “Rock N’ Roll Santa.” Unlike the countless covers of traditional Christmas songs that will, no doubt, put you to sleep, this is an original tune about Santa losing weight. Yes, you read that right; Santa’s sporting a svelte figure in this song. If you’re looking for a short, sweet, catchy rock song to kick off the holiday season, I suggest you check out “Rock N’ Roll Santa.” And since this is the season of giving, a portion of the proceeds from this song go to support Little Kids Rock, a wonderful foundation dedicated to restoring and revitalizing music education programs in U.S. public schools.
If you’re not sold on downloading the song, check it out for yourself below.
As evidenced by the image above, I jumped at the opportunity to get a photo with these two legendary thespians, and it turned out great. After having our photo taken, Scott Bakula turned to me, shook my hand and thanked me. This caught me off guard because I was about to thank him. He was as nice as could be, and Shatner was his usual charming self. Once the hard copy of the photo was printed, Bakula and Shatner autographed it for me.
Meeting a celebrity is an unpredictable experience. You never know if the person you’re going to meet will live up to your expectations or let you down. Thankfully, I left this event with greater respect for these two men.
Have you ever met a celebrity? If so, who did you meet and how did it go?
At age 40 Lee Child wrote his first book: Killing Floor. It went on to win an Anthony Award for “Best First Novel” and kicked off the best-selling Jack Reacher series.
Below are two short-and-sweet interviews with Child. One is about writing and the other is about Reacher. Enjoy!
Five years ago Amazon introduced the first Kindle, and the world hasn’t been the same since. While the first iteration cost $399 and wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, it set out to become the iPod of books by allowing readers to carry their entire library of content on one device. As the years went by, newer models were thinner, lighter, sexier, and cheaper.
While other e-readers existed prior to Kindle, the public hadn’t embraced them. Amazon’s device allowed readers to tap into the company’s vast content ecosystem of newspapers, magazines and books – all without the need to plug into a computer. This was revolutionary, and the first batch of Kindles sold out it in less than six hours.
In 2008, Oprah announced that Kindle was her new favorite thing and provided viewers with a $50 discount. With the daytime diva’s stamp of approval and the launch of second generation hardware, Kindle continued its dominance as the e-reader to beat.
Over time, millions of Kindle devices and e-books were sold. Kindle’s ubiquity was most evident when Amazon reported that Kindle e-books were regularly outselling all print books.
This year also brought a new Kindle e-reader: Kindle Paperwhite. This device has also been well received by critics and the public, and rightfully so. It’s taken the device to a whole new level by incorporating a beautiful front-lit display.
My first Kindle was the second generation device, and my reading habits haven’t been the same since. I read more than ever, and consider my Kindle to be an essential part of my life. If you’ve never tried reading on one, you should; it’s a delightful experience. I can’t wait to see what the next five years bring.
If you have any fond Kindle memories you’d like to share, please feel free to leave a comment.
Below you’ll find a couple of my favorite Kindle commercials and an informational video about the first device.
While we should always be thankful for what we have and those that love us, now is the perfect time to reflect on this. With this in mind, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite songs: “Count Your Blessings.” Below are the lyrics and a video of Barry Manilow’s beautiful rendition of the song. Happy Thanksgiving!
Count Your Blessings
When I’m worried and I can’t sleep I count my blessings instead of sheep And I fall asleep counting my blessings When my bankroll is getting small I think of when I had none at all And I fall asleep counting my blessings
I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads Then one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds So if you’re worried and you can’t sleep Just count your blessings instead of sheep And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads Then one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds So if you’re worried and you can’t sleep Just count your blessings instead of sheep And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings
