HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

SURPRISE. Drum roll please. Despite the fact that I am on vacation, I STILL managed to put this here post together!!!  I am not certain that is as stellar as past posts, but it is ON TIME!!!


This is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays.  The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:


This one is for Alex at Alex J. Cavanaugh:


This one is for RocknRobyn at Life by Chocolate: Robyn Alana Engel's Blog:


This one is for Liza at Middle Passages:


This one is for Jasmine at A Yellow Rose of Texas:


This one is for Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out:


This one is for JJ The Disconnected Writer:

Reporting Again from Las Vegas

I have taken so many pictures that I cannot even begin to post them all.  Our time at The Excalibur was fun.  We went to all of the casinos surrounding it... including Mandalay Bay, New York New York, and The Luxor.  My mom is tired of walking.  I am feeling a wee bit achy, too.  Who am I kidding?  My feet are killing me.  These casinos are HUGE.  What appears to be a small distance on the map is a long darn way in real life.  Just sayin.'

Here are some highlights (you can click on any picture to make it larger):

The Excalibur

New York, New York

MGM Grand (We didn't make it to this one)
However, we did go to The Tropicana!

The Luxor

The Luxor (from a distance)

Me Inside The Luxor

Next post I will put up some pictures of Paris (what a beautiful casino!), The Rio, and more.... We are further along the Strip and there is always more to see!

HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY AND BOTB RESULTS

SURPRISE. Drum roll please.  I warned you that it was coming and here it is.  HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY my friends!

I am also posting the Battle of the Bands results one day early.  Elvis won it with 14 votes.  Lick The Tins only got three, and that was including mine.  Hail to The King!

This is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays.  The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:


This one is for Alex at Alex J. Cavanaugh:


This one is for Red Shoes at Red Shoe's Chronicles:


This one is for JJ The Disconnected Writer:


This one is for klahanie:


This one is for Manzanita at Wanna Buy A Duck:


This one is for Stephen T. McCarthy at FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS:

The View From Sin City

We have arrived in Sin City.

It was a bit shocking to get up at 3am in order to make it the airport and then arrive in Las Vegas at 9:15am.  Of course, it felt like 12:15 to us and we were HUNGRY.  By the time we made it to the hotel I was downright pissy.  I have slightly low blood sugar and when I don't eat for prolonged periods my migraine kicks up and I become less than pleasant.  Ah well.  After a sandwich it all was better.

Here is The Plaza (taken from Fremont Street):

The Plaza

After checking out the machines here we took a walk down Fremont Street.  I had pretty good luck here:

Golden Gate Casino

I had a lot of fun here, but didn't even come close to trying all the games I wanted:

The Four Queens

Serious hunger attacked (again) while we were playing at The Four Queens, so we quit for dinner.  We sat looking out on the casino.  Man, it was pretty, but it got to be a bit noisy after a while.  Here is the view from the table:

Inside The Four Queens

I know you can't see any of the games (to know what they are), but it makes for a pretty picture.  I had pretty good luck on the game with the round red sign over it, second from the left, in the next to the back row.  That entire row of games is a max bet of $.75 a spin.  I love being able to afford to play at Max.  I hit the tiny jackpot. It was only $25, but it was still pretty fun when the whistle blew.

I took a bunch more photos of the casinos waking back down Fremont Street.  I had to go to Walgreens to try and buy some distilled water for mom.  They were out:(  So, while she was checking in, I snapped all of the pics.

Fremont Street Cowboy

Obviously not the traditional Thursday post today and I am sooo behind in my reading it may not be up as full as usual tomorrow, but it's Vegas Baby!

Approaching Lift-off

Remember when I told you that my mom and I were going to Vegas?  Well, my friends, we are rapidly approaching lift-off.

I am so excited.  I withdrew some money from the bank today and couldn't resist sharing my impending vacation destination with the teller.  It's funny how everyone responds to the words "going to Las Vegas."  Everyone I have told lights up like I tell them Santa is actually real.  (You didn't know that he wasn't?... sorry!)  The teller says to me, "I hope you win big.  Take that little bit of money and turn it into a lot."  That is the plan!  Of course, the reality is that if you come home with ANYTHING you've won.

This is my second trip to Vegas, but not my second rodeo in terms of casinos.  My mom and I love them and will try to stop at one whenever we go on vacation.  When we visit family in Ohio, we now have SEVERAL to choose from to play for a few hours.

The key to this here gambling thang is to not take any more money than you can afford to lose.  Consider it entertainment.  Do not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES take your debit card so that you can get more money if you are losing.  Allot a specific amount of money to play with each day.  In other words, take your total funds, divide by the number of days you are playing, and don't spend more than that each day.

Here is where we will be staying during our "tour."  Yeah, we are getting comped rooms, so we will be jumping around.

The Plaza Downtown:

 

The Excalibur:

The Rio:

I am making a point of taking my IPod specifically for picture taking.  We plan on hitting a bunch of casinos on the strip.  For instance, The Stratosphere, Circus Circus, Paris, Treasure Island... well, I think you get the idea.  This vacation I plan to have PICTURES.

So, you may not see regular posts from me for until the end of the month, but I will try to post photos so that you know I am alive and kicking.  Plus, don't expect the Thursday post to land on Thursday.  Maybe Friday... I have some footage already, but these things often don't come together until crunch time.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS, TAKE IV

If you haven't heard of the Battle of Bands, you aren't following the blogs hosting this fabulous event.  It began with The Far Away Series and then my friend Stephen decided to partner up with her, followed by Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out.  They are in cahoots and hosting a giveaway for people who vote on their sites.  The Battle takes place on the 1st and 15th of every month. This is the fourth installment, and other blogs can participate... you just need to post in the comments that you are doing so.  I am aware of DiscConnected posting a BOTB on his blog, so you should stop over there if you want to hit them all.


If you are hosting a BOTB on your site, and I didn't mention you, please indicate that you are playing along in the comments.

You have until the 21st to get your votes in.  On that day,  I will post the results of how this whole thing turned out.

Can't Help Falling In Love is the song for this week's battle.  It was originally recorded by Elvis Presley and featured in his film Blue Hawaii (1961).  Since then it has been covered by many bands!

Here is the King, Elvis Presley, singing Can't Help Falling In Love.




In the film Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), directed by John Hughes, the song was covered by a band called Lick The Tins.  As someone who wore the tape out on this soundtrack (back in the day), I think it is one of the best remakes of this song around.  However, does it beat the original?  Listen and decide for yourself!




Okay, now that you have heard both of them, cast your vote in the comments, along with your reasoning for WHY you preferred one over the other.

HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY

SURPRISE. Drum roll please.  I warned you that it was coming and here it is.  Today is the second installment of the HERE'S TO YOU postings.  I had so many dedications that they simply wouldn't all fit into Thursday.  (Yes, I did post an entirely different set of dedications yesterday, so if you missed it, just go back one blog posting.) I want to give a shout out to my friend, and fellow blogger, Jasmine over at A Yellow Rose Of Texas.  I stole the video for everyone from her page.  It was simply too funny not to share.  HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY my friends!

This is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays.  The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:


This one is for RawknRobyn at Life By Chocolate: Robyn Alana Engel's Blog:


This one is for DiscConnected at BACK IN THE USSR:


This one is for Jasmine at A Yellow Rose Of  Texas:


This one is for Brandon Ax at Writer's Storm: Brandon Ax:


This one is for Susan at I Think; Therefore, I Yam:


This one is for farawayeyes at The Far Away Series:

HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

SURPRISE. Drum roll please. It is once again HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY.  Every week it seems like I am changing things up somewhat here.  This week you guys were so amazing (and YouTube was so cooperative) that I have enough dedications to make TWO posts, rather than the normal one.  I could have made it a very long post, but I know some of you already have difficulty with the post loading due to the embedded videos.  So, I decided to extend the fun to tomorrow.  Make sure you come back (tomorrow) for HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY.

This is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays.  The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:


This one is for Empty Nester at Empty Nest:


This one is for Jay Noel and Susan Gourley/Kelley at Susan Says:


This one is for Al Diaz at Father Dragon Writes:


This one is for Mail4Rosey:


This one is for Stephen T. McCarthy at FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS:


This one is for DiscConnected at BACK IN THE USSR:

This one is for Liza at Middle Passages and JJ The Disconnected Writer:

Syria and the Petrodollar

The cable guy was out today and restored all of our services.  That means we are back in business in terms of the internet, phone, and the TV.  The whole business has been stressful.  I had a dream last night that the tech came out only to tell me that there was a scheduling conflict.  In my dream, I got so angry/annoyed that I was threatening to change service providers.  The guy didn't say anything but got up and left.  I took that to mean that the service call was over.  Ugghhh.  Nightmare.  Turns out the actual tech was very nice and even suggested some changes that would save us money.  So that dream was in no way "psychic," but more like anxiety coming through while I slept.  Egads.

A few days ago my friend Stephen posted a blog about the mess in Syria and provided links to another blog, Monkey Throw Dart.  On that blog there were several links and YouTube video that I found to be very insightful.  I will post links to both blog bits so that you can do as much reading as you like.  I am going to post the YouTube footage because I found it to be very insightful on an issue that has most people confused.  It was extremely eye-opening for me.  I have shared it with a few friends and they all are like, "Okay, this makes sense.  I get it now."  It is 14 minutes long, but it will be 14 of the best minutes you have ever spent in terms of understanding what is going on in the world right now.



I encourage you to check out both of the sites I mentioned.  The mainstream media simply isn't reporting the Whys of what is going on.  And the Whys are the story.  Let me know what you thought about the video, any of the links you read, and I encourage you to follow/post on the other blogs.  If we want to change things in our government, we need to first understand the story behind the decisions being made.  Without that information, nothing will change and everyone will be left wondering where it all fell apart (because so few know and understand the actual story). 

Lightning and the Battle of the Bands Results

How many of you have ever had lightning strike close to your house to travel through your electrical box and fry most of your electrical devices?  Or maybe just close enough to take out some of your electronics?  When I was a teenager a lightning strike hit close enough to fry a brand new TV.  Then, when living on my own, lightning hit a tree right beside my house, traveled to the electrical box and zapped everything.  I called the Fire Department because I thought the house was on fire.  Turns out it was just every electrical device in my house still smoldering.  A few years later, after I moved in with my mom and stepdad, lightning hit again... this time taking out the garage door.  Since we moved back to Florida - yeah, I am talking about since November of last year - lightning has hit close enough to our house that 1st time) disabled the HTML input on my DVR, 2nd time) disabled every input on the DVR so that it had to be replaced, 3rd time) killed the power source on the TV in the living room, requiring replacement, 4th time and most recent time) traveled the cable line taking out the cable, internet, and phone service.  It also fries all of my mother's night lights each time we get hit.  She is really tired of replacing bulbs.


I am thinking of investing in lightning rods.  No, I don't live in a barn, but I think five would be appropriate, given my lightning attraction, much like this barn...

And that explains why you haven't seen much of me on your blogs, posting comments, etc.  I got attacked by the lightning.  Right now I am gratefully utilizing my neighbor's internet connection.  It isn't great, but it sure beats none.  It will be a few more days before the cable company sends someone.  Six days from lightning strike to being able to get someone out here.  When I got the confirmation call a little while ago, I stressed that the lost service better be discounted from my bill.  The customer service lady assured me that it would be...

I will believe it when I see it.  I had to fight with these people to get them to send me one technician to repair all three services.  Yep.  They wanted to send me three separate techs on three separate service calls to get me back up and running.  Insanity.  I think I might be waiting six days because I got my way... Perhaps, it's another case of being careful what you wish for, because you might get it!

It's been a week, so it's time for the posting of the results from The Battle of the Bands.

Madison Rising won it by a landslide.  Jose Feliciano received one vote, so it wasn't a shut-out.

The next installment of The Battle of the Bands will happen on 9/15.  I hope that you come back and join in the fun... again... or for the first time, if you missed this one.  I am predicting that it will be another song all of you know, but that the votes will be more split.  We shall see...

And if you missed the HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY post, just click on Older Posts.  It will take you directly there.  Lots of funny stuff on that one:)

HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

SURPRISE. Drum roll please. It is once again HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY.  Once again, I tagged someone twice in this post.  It is beginning to be the Norm rather than the Exception.  Ha!

This is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays.  The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:


This one is for Steven at Steven Symes, Writer:


This one is for Al Diaz at Father Dragon Writes:


This one is for JJ The Disconnected Writer and Steven at Steven Symes, Writer:


This one is for farawayeyes at Far Away Series:


This one is for Linda Pressman at BarMitzvahzilla:


This one is for Stephen T. McCarthy at FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS:


This one is for Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out:

People are fascinating.

Today marks the two year anniversary of the Insecure WritersSupport Group.  This date also delivers my second posting.  Wow.  (Two "seconds" happening at the same time.  It is serendipity.)  This group is the brain child of Alex J.Cavanaugh and I am thrilled to have finally joined.  If this is something you would like to be a part of, this group posts the first Wednesday of every month.  You can join the Linky List by clicking on the first link. 

Last month I asked what you do when you get stuck.  I want to take a moment and thank everyone who responded to that post.  You have brilliant ideas!

A few weeks ago we needed to have our roof repaired.  After the problem was assessed and fixed, the owner/roofer of this small business enterprise sat down at our dining room table for a chat before delivering the bill.  (The bill was pleasantly low, but this isn't really about that.)   This fellow was quite a talker and spent nearly an hour regaling us with stories about himself.  Several things about this were fascinating, aside from the crazy doings in his story.  This guy was a Character.  My mom got tired of him about 45 minutes in, if not sooner,  but I sat through the whole thing.  Why? 

People are fascinating. 

Even though I found aspects of his personality annoying, those intrigued me.  He was mostly likable, but he had some very strange notions about the way the world works.  Even before I started writing again, I would have sat through the whole thing simply because I find people to be extremely entertaining.  Now that I am writing again, they are not only interesting as all get-out, but I find myself considering how I can use some of the more bizarre character traits in my WIP.  Do I intend to fully insert this guy as I met him?  No.  Do I intend to use his story?  Absolutely no.  But, is the essence of the person, and some of his decidedly odd habits, translatable to my writing?  YES.

Do you ever people watch?  Use some personality quirks of people you interact with for your writing?  If so, I would like to hear about it.  If not, why not?

BATTLE OF THE BANDS III

If you haven't heard of the Battle of Bands, you aren't following the blogs hosting this fabulous event.  It began with The Far Away Series and then my friend Stephen decided to partner up with her.  They are in cahoots and hosting a giveaway for people who vote on their sites.  The Battle takes place on the 1st and 15th of every month.  As you can see this is the third installment and it has been so popular that other folks, like yours truly, have decided to jump in on the fun.  However, I am not the only one.  Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out, Alex at Alex J. Cavanaugh, and Diane at Spunk on a Stick's Tips are also playing along and hosting their own Battle of the Bands on their sites.  I encourage you to visit each of them and cast your vote.  (Links provided so that you can easily check them all out:)


If you know of any other blogs participating that I didn't include, please mention them in the comments.  (Thanks!)

The whole thing is pretty darn easy.  You just listen to the selections and cast your vote.  I am not going to tell you what I think about either version of the song posted.  Stephen made the point very clearly in his first installment of the BOTB that the way a song is arranged can completely change it.   Some arrangements are more fundamentally different than others (as you will note in each of these pairings on all blogs).  Have fun listening and cast your vote below.

I decided to go with a song that we all know to kick off my participation in the Battle of the Bands.  Enjoy!



VERSUS




Cast your vote below. Which version did YOU like best?