Month: January 2009

I think Yahoo! does a great job filtering out junk mail. Gmail gets all sorts of stuff. Let’s not even talk about Hotmail.

So, of the stuff that goes get through, let’s take a look at what people are sending me.

Credit Report USA wants me to know that my credit rating may have changed. Good thing for that alert, I’m sure they can help me repair it. Guess their service will let me be as crazy as I want with my debt. Whew!

Real Visa wants to give me a credit card. To think I’ve been using those Fake Visa cards all of these years, what was I thinking?!?

Unread Crush Mail says that I have a secret admirer out there. Apparently that person is using their service to connect me. If you’re thinking of trying to contact someone, let me tell you that isn’t the way to do it.

My unknown friend, Jasmine, is helping me get meds. She writes “We address this letter to you hoping that it will help you select among the variety of online pharmacy stores.” I love how my friends are so formal in their e-mails.

Top 5 Colleges are going to help me get my degree in under a year. That’s fantastic and to think I spent a ton of money and time somewhere else. Wish I would have gotten that spam a long time ago. Oh wait, there was spam back then!

Probably one of my favorite, Snuggy, wants to help me keep warm this winter. Have you seen the commercial for this crazy, half-blanket, half-robe that you wear? Google it! If you have one, I suggest you get a rope and tie it around your waist. They make you look like a monk. That was my nephew’s awesome observation.

What’s your favorite junk mail? I could use a good laugh!

When I was a kid, yes, that’s getting longer and longer ago, children’s television wasn’t so scary.

You could say what you want about “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” and the way he talked but he was just like your uncle. I have to admit I really never watched him as a kid. His show had a great impact on a generation of kids.

There was also “Sesame Street”. I really never watched that much either. Now I did watch “ZOOM” and “The Electric Company”. I can remember being shorted if I didn’t see the pinball counting segment or an episode of Spiderman. Brilliance! How did I learn the sounds of the alphabet? The Letter People, of course!

Oh, in my later formative years, there was “You Can’t Do That On Television” and “Mister Wizard’s World” on Nickelodeon. Both were must-see-TV for me.

But now, I have to say a little bit about children’s programming of the later generations. First, there was “Barney”. I don’t know how any little kid could sit through his shrieking. He still sends some shivers up my spine. I don’t understand how some kids didn’t go to sleep and have dreams that Barney turned evil and didn’t eat them.

There’s also one of the wackiest shows out there, “Yo Gabba Gabba!” It’s described as a fun live-action program for young children ages 1 and up. Host DJ Lance Rock makes friendly toy monsters come alive in a magical land full of music, dance, colorful cartoons, and simple life lessons. If you haven’t seen an episode, I urge you to watch it. Take a look at Muno, the red cyclops. See if he doesn’t remind you of something. The show’s webpage says he’s can be a bit clumsy and has been known to break things.

Apparently, pre-schoolers aren’t the only people who watch the show. ABC News did a story about how twenty-somethings are becoming fans. That’s probably due in part to some of the stars the show attracts. It gets celebrity guests like Elijah Wood, Tony Hawk and Laila Ali. Bands including “The Shins” and “Jimmy Eat World” have also appeared on the show.

Nickelodeon estimates since the show’s premiere in 2007, more than 21 million people have watched the show. It’s been streamed more than 25 million times online. My littlest nephew is starting to watch Noggin and it’s one of the shows he watches.

Of course, my older nephews watch “Hannah Montana”, “Fairly Odd Parents”, and the “Suite Life of Zack & Cody”. It’s all Disney Channel and Nickelodeon for them.

Watch “Yo Gabba Gabba!”, I dare ya!

I’ve already written about the fact the iPod Touch is a gadget everyone should have. Besides doing everthing else underneath the sun, it also plays music. Yep, a mini computer that even cranks out the tunes, what a concept.

At any rate, it’s got me back in the business of listening to music. I was going gonzo over songs when I was working out so much (a process I have to get back into very soon, if not today!)

You can listen to songs over speakers in your living room but there’s a whole other side to getting up close and personal to the singing and the music via headphones. Sure, there’s the concern of damage to your eardrums but do we really need to worry about that now?

I listened to the Mama’s & the Papa’s version of “Dedicated To The One I Love”. The Shirelles did the original hit version earlier in the 1960’s. The latter hit version contains the Mama’s & the Papa’s layered harmonies that make the song hard to pause.

You could listen to Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” at home and get one experience. There’s a whole different magic awaiting you through your iPod or mp3 player. Take a listen and see what I’m talking about.

I’ve always said music can control my emotions and even give me energy. I can pull the energy out of a song like nobody’s business. I played the Fugees’ “Killing Me Softly” to death back in the day (as they say). I milked Jack Johnson’s tunes for all they are worth. Music is magical for me. I couldn’t do without it. It make make you remember places, emotions, good times, bad times and even smells (at least for me in some occasions)

The summer when Fleetwood Mac was making their comeback, I couldn’t get enough of their music. I bought about everything there was that was Fleetwood Mac. The Barenaked Ladies are the same with me.

In many cases, it’s the emotions and the memories that music elicits from me and many other people. I can’t hear certain songs without thinking about past relationships. I can’t hear
“Celebration” by Kool & the Gang without thinking of going to Tony & Ann’s house and all of the get-togethers my parents went to in their basement. I can’t hear the “1988 Winter Olympics Theme” without thinking of Auction at Ashland University. God, we probably heard that theme 80,000 times during the big production.

Every time I hear that new song that I can’t get out of my head, I think I wonder what sort of memory or emotion it will bring several years later. I hope they’ll be the kind that bring me happiness. Listening to music is much easier when the song isn’t tied to a bad time in your life.

Happy listening!