You’d think that these three foods would be easy to serve for a meal. Not so fast in these times. You can get all three in the frozen food section, but outside of toaster waffles, I don’t care for any of them. Pancakes should be easy, but there are different recipes for these and some the girls like, and others they don’t. You have your Bisquick pancakes, blueberry pancakes, Buckwheat pancakes, corn fritters, apple fritters, and so on. We generally stick to our tried and true recipe. I guess I should copy that out of the cookbook before in falls completely apart.

Waffles, well you have to have a special device (the waffle iron) to make them, or just buy the frozen toaster waffles. I said I like the toaster waffles, but I do like the home made better. Then you could always get a Belgian waffle iron if you want waffles with deeper pockets/holes. Do you want round or square waffles? Hmmm, seems like you can have as many choices as the pancakes.

But french toast, I grew up with one and only one type of French toast. Mom would either cook it on the griddle or she could bake it in the oven. Both ways, the french toast tasted exactly the same. Then I got married, my lovely wife’s family had a different version of french toast. It was a heavy batter dip, compared to the Egg and milk dip used by my family. It was tasty, but very, very filling. I found it was cheap to make too. So my little family grew up with my wife’s family recipe for french toast. Now they don’t care for the kind I grew up with (tastes too much like egg!!). Oh well, they are getting older now, and soon I’ll be able to make it the way I want. Or better yet, go to IHOP and order the stuffed french toast. Good eating, and now I’m hungry.

No toaster waffles, so I guess I can wait till morning…

Some of the most fascinating parts of a Bond film are the opening credits. All but the original movie opens with an action packed opening scene follow by what could be considered a pre-cursor to the music video. Most of them feature tantalizing, scantily-clad (or less) beauties often in silhouette. Accompanying these scenes are 21 songs by artists of today or others who have gone by the wayside. While some of the songs have been more popular than others, only one has topped the US singles charts and two have been Academy Award nominees. In the opening to For Your Eyes Only, singer Sheena Easton became the first performer to actually appear in the video. This marked the first time the performer appeared in the credits video. One singer has performed two memorable themes. In one of the latest films, a singer/actress had a brief (THANK YOU) cameo.

After troubled performer Amy Winehouse was deemed incapable to record and Paul McCartney could not create a rhyme for the word “solace,” Alicia Keys and Jack White (?… is he the twin brother of Jack BLACK who was accidentally switched at birth?) are recording the first duet to be used as a Bond theme.

By clicking on the link, you can test your knowledge (whatever it may be) of just 10 of the 21 themes. I had to brilliantly guess on a few of them; however, I did slightly better than Dr. “Oh” No ranking. Or you can reminisce by posting your favorite Bond theme, for those who like such things. Mine is the instrumental theme to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which is very underrated as is the movie (unfortunately… as I find it one of the best and different from most).

Ok, all you Dark Knight fans, I want to know who would dress up as one of the Batman bad guys and then try to rob a movie theater of its Batman posters? Maybe he thought there would be many other dressed the same way, but this wasn’t the first weekend of the show. Most of the movie goers that dress in costume will go on the first day, or at the very latest the first weekend. Well, it happened in Detroit. What was he thinking?

Now most who know me, know that I love to talk about ways to commit crimes. Someday, when I grow up, I would like to write a decent mystery/murder story. I just have some problems with developing characters, that is a story for another day. I can come up with good plots, and even a way to write about the crime and throw out a few false clues. But never in my wildest dreams would I come up with this sort of crime. I mean at the very least this guy should have been robbing a bank, but no, he wants Batman stuff. And how does he try to get it? Dress up as the Joker, and steal it during the Sunday Morning show…. Hmm…. There are a lot less people at the movie theaters for those early Sunday shows, but guess what guy, you’re going to stand out like a sore thumb in that Joker getup. He would have had a much better chance putting on a pair of Dockers and a dark shirt. That would have given him a chance of looking like one of the theater workers.

Oh well, it takes all kinds. I think he could make it in a Dumb crooks list somewhere.

The other day, I ate something that disagreed with me just a little bit. Sparing you any of the details, let’s just say I was awake most of the night. I tried going to work the next day, but between stomach problems and the lack of sleep, I just couldn’t finish the day. This morning I thought I should stay home for a bit just to make sure I was in better health. So what did I do? Well, I slept… I guess I needed a bit of sleep because I did go to bed early last night and then slept a good portion of this morning away. I normally don’t do that unless I’ve been out with friend ’till the wee hours of the morning.

Anyway, I guess I shouldn’t have done that this morning. Now I’m wide awake and ready to go. No late night ballgames to listen to, I really not into watching movies late at night, so what do I do, I check my blog. Not really a lot going on here either. Web surfing, not much going on at the places I frequent, but I haven’t checked them all. I just put down a book at a convenient stopping place, I don’t want to keep reading only to leave something hanging when the urge to sleep does hit me.

I did see a news report earlier that I thought would make an interesting blog… If I could only find it before I get tired…. Until I find it, I will subject my readers to mindless rambling. I don’t call this blog “Random Thoughts” for no reason. Every once in a while I need to clear my head of all the things in it. This bit a trivia, or that bit, or even things I’m just thinking about. Tonight it is sleep and/or the lack of it.

I’m off to search for the news story I sort of remember, I just wish I could remember where I saw it….

A friend at work loaned me a book that she thought I would like. The authors of the book were Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The story was one of a series and the title was “Brimstone”. A very good book revolving around a New Jersey Cop and an FBI agent. I’ve learned that this book was part of a continuing series of D’Agosta and Pendergast stories. Each one dealing with some strange crime. They could be weird science disguised as occult, or even ‘real’ monsters. The story telling was gripping, and these books are very hard for me to put down. Some were a little tense for late night reading, but all of them kept my attention.

I’ve read the following and am working on the others. I would recommend them for any who likes good mysteries.

Relic — First book in the series
Brimstone — not sure where this is in the series, but I think there is more than one book before this one
Dance of Death — Follows right after Brimstone

For those of you who live in my area, forget the local library for a month or so, I just checked out the following

Reliquary — 2nd book I think
The Wheel of Darkness
The Book of the Dead
and Mount Dragon — Not part of the above series.

Good reading..

I meant to post this a few days ago in response to the conviction of Ralph Lewis in the fatal accident that killed 16-year-old Corey Diamond (CLICK HERE FOR STORY).  Apparently the jury didn’t take much time, under three hours in fact, in deciding that yes, he is guilty of first-degree murder.  This story made me wonder just what constitutes first-degree murder.  I had always thought that first-degree murder was a premeditated killing.  The killer planned to kill someone and then carried it out.  Maybe the plan wasn’t always long and drawn out, but could have been mere seconds ago, “Okay, I’ve drawn my gun and I’m going to shoot you now.”  That would cover killing police and vicims in armed robbery.

So what happened in the case of Ralph Lewis killing Corey Diamond?  Well, apparently Lewis was trying to get away from police after a botched attempt to make a purchase from a store using false ID.  He wove in and out of traffic and through red lights until finally smashing into the car where Diamond was a passenger.  Now, in my mind, first-degree murder in this death would have meant Lewis thought to himself while trying to get away from the police, “Hey, here’s a car with some people in it- I think I’ll just crash my truck into it and see if I can kill anyone.”  This of course is not what happened and even the article discussing his conviction doesn’t say it happened this way.  So it would seem that I am wrong in what constitutes first-degree murder.  Here’s what Wikipedia says about the subject:

After the Supreme Court placed new requirements on the imposition of the death penalty, most states adopted one of two schemes. In both, third degree murder became the catch-all, while first degree murder was split. The difference was whether some or all first degree murders should be eligible for the most serious penalty (generally death, but sometimes life in prison without the possibility of parole.).

• The first scheme, used by Pennsylvania among other states:

1. First Degree Murder: A premeditated murder, and (in some states) murders involving certain especially dangerous felonies, such as arson or rape, or committed by an inmate serving a life sentence.
2. Second Degree Murder: Non pre-meditated killing.
3. Third Degree Murder: Any other murder.

• The second scheme, used by New York among other states, as well as the Model Penal Code:

1. First Degree Murder: Murder involving special circumstances, such as murder of a police officer, judge, fireman or witness to a crime; multiple murders; and torture or especially heinous murders. Note that a “regular” premeditated murder, absent such special circumstances, is not a first-degree murder; murders by poison or “lying in wait” are not per se first-degree murders. First degree murder is pre-meditated. ^[55] However, the New York Court of Appeals struck down the death penalty as unconstitutional in the case of People v. Taylor.^[56]
2. Second Degree Murder: Any premeditated murder or felony murder that does not involve special circumstances.^[57]

The death of Corey Diamond doesn’t seem to fit the definition of any of these.  But then Wikipedia just has a generalized definition for the entire US.  As this happened in Illinois, a look at IL law is necessary.  From the Illinois Criminal Code of 1961:

(a) A person who kills an individual without lawful justification commits first degree murder if, in performing the acts which cause the death:

(1) he either intends to kill or do great bodily harm

to that individual or another, or knows that such acts will cause death to that individual or another; or

(2) he knows that such acts create a strong

probability of death or great bodily harm to that individual or another; or

(3) he is attempting or committing a forcible felony

other than second degree murder.

The rest of this section of code is about the death penalty.  As far as this case goes, apparently they got Lewis on the second one listed.  My own thought on first-degree murder seems to be contained in the first part and so was clearly limited, at least in Illinois law.  So it sounds like any time someone does something that they know could lead to “a strong probability of death or great bodily harm” to someone they could be found guilty of first-degree murder.  Is it just me or does this seem kind of broad?  Say in the classic example of moving a very heavy object like a piano or safe either to or from a second (or higher) story room using a rope and going through the window.  Now suppose, also from the classic example, that the rope breaks just as someone is passing under so that the piano/safe kills the person.  By Illinois law, the people moving the piano/safe are guilty of first-degree murder since they knew there was a possibility that the rope could break, causing the death of anyone who happens to be passing below at the time!

Am I just being pedantic about all of this, or does this case make you wonder too?  I’m not saying that Lewis was completely innocent of everything and should walk away scott-free.  Crimes were clearly committed, but should one of them have been counted first-degree murder?  Please discuss.

DISCLAIMER – Do not read this if you don’t want to know about what happened on the ABC reality show, The Mole, yada, yada, yada…

WOW – mole-y behavior abound last night…  but not too much from Paul, who was shockingly executed.  So, my friends who’ve been going with Paul for weeks now, it seems you have to pick a new guess…  But fear not, at least not yet, because if Nicole isn’t the mole, then I am right there with you with 0 points because I dont’ think I’ve ever guessed Craig or Mark.  But what am I saying, Nicole is SO the mole – let’s take a look at last night’s episode to find out why…

First, it seemed odd to me that Paul was making excuses about the camera in the very beginning of the camera-block game, though it’s not like it was mole-y behavior since Paul is obviously NOT the mole.  Then, during the same game, Nicole states that she is a lapriscopic surgeon, which caught me by surprise because during the entire run of the show, she’s been labeled (and said she was) an OB-GYN.  Suspicious yes, but even if she is the mole, I cannot figure out why they would change her profession.  And if they were going to change her profession for some reason, why would they keep her as a doctor and just change the type of practice?  I am convinced she is the mole, but this I do not get…  hopefully it will be explained.
Next up, players used the same camera contraption (one player holds the camera and the other player wears glasses that display what the camera is recording) to play soccer, and Paul did act a little suspicious because he didn’t seem to be giving his entire effort.  He didn’t seem to be trying to kick the ball hard or straight enough to get it in the net…  but again, it doesn’t matter how he was acting since we know he is not the mole.  Nicole on the other hand, would not stop shaking the camera.  The camera was extra jiggly during the chalkboard portion of the game, and it’s not like she even needed to mess with poor Craig all that much anyway given his problem with vertigo.  But why would a lapriscopic surgeon (or anyone for that matter, really) feel the need to shake the camera so much?  Very mole-y indeed.  When she and Craig lost the chalkboard challenge, she broke into a big grin and then quickly bit her lip to keep from smiling!  Did anyone else see that?  Nicole hopes not, but I sure did!  And lastly, a few things on the cell-paintball challenge.  She made sure she choose her cell first – if she is the mole then the producers could have told her what cell to pick so she didn’t get the exemption to let a legitimate player win it (much to Paul’s dismay – nice little tantrum there).  Also, a player noted (think it was Mark) how small and fast she is, yet she still got shot with a paintball…  that seems mole-y also.  I really enjoyed this episode; I liked the camera games a lot.  But when it’s all said and done, Nicole is still my top guess for the mole! 

Chris has changed his guess to Nicole.  I haven’t yet received an official guess from Jamiahsh yet…  either he’s lost since he can’t guess Paul or he doesn’t want to submit his guess yet until he’s sure we’ve seen the episode to avoid the teasing for spoiling the execution quizzes outcome 🙂
Either way, let me know as soon as you have one!

For a period of no less than four years, a production team has been attempting to create a musical version of one of the best-loved book and television series of all time: Little House on the Prairie . Before the series ran in the mid-1970s to ’80s, it was a collection of successful novels that dramatized the life and times of its author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, who grew up with her family in the wide plains of the South Dakotan frontier during the 1800s.

The musical, which opened at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, appears to have several differences from the tv show. Gone is the fictional town of Walnut Grove and replaced with the original Wilder setting of North Dakota. The role of Harriet Olsen seems to have been altered. She is not the typical, nosy busy body, who always seemed to have a knack for causing trouble (not unlike her daughter, Nellie) portrayed to hilarious delight on screen. However, the stage show does have at least one connection to its television predecessor that you can discover by reading the article here.

Personally, I’m not entirely sure that audiences will be as receptive to the stage show with such a drastic change to one of the television series’ supporting characters. Although the books were written in the 1930s-40s, I often found the role of Mrs. Olsen to be lacking when compared to her on-screen portrayal.

Sunday morning while in the car with my brothers children (aged 12, 9, and 3), the song “Live and Let Die” came on the radio. I asked the three where the song by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his group Wings originated. The THREE-YEAR OLD quickly answered “Shrek the 3rd.” I was utterly amazed and had totally forgotten. I informed them that I am as old as the song itself to which my precocious 12 year old nephew chimed, “How do you know? Are you sure?” Roger Moore made his debut as 007, James Bond in the film Live and Let Die in 1973. I could not state the exact date of the movie’s release (I was either in diapers or still waiting to be introduced to the world myself).

The Bond film is interesting for various reasons. Like so many others in the series, LALD reflected the world around it at the time of its release. Images of the occult are used throughout much of this James Bond feature. Tarot reading, virginal sacrifices, and supernatural characters (like Baron Samedi) are on display as 007 tracks a mysterious heroin-dealer from the Caribbean to New Orleans. Jane Seymour made her major film debut as Solitaire who (as one may guess) is the fortune-telling mystic that reads tarot cards to see into the future until the suave, debonair secret agent uses a bit of his own magic.

So… like many items of popular culture, a song that was around thirty odd years ago has had a re-emergence of sorts. Funny how a three-year-old can make that clear. Once again, I am humbled… the movie Live and Let Die was released a mere 13 days prior to my birth. I wonder if my parents saw it in the theatre.

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I’m writing this blog specifically for a friend of mine. He will know I’m writing about him shortly. 😉

I decided to write a little about the NASA Apollo missions and those few people who don’t believe they really happened. Why I’m writing this is simple. While doing some reading on other things I ran across the ‘theories’ of the Lunar hoax.

Now just because this would be the biggest hoax ever played on mankind is no reason not to believe those who say we didn’t land on the moon. I’m sure there could be instances when vast sums of money could used to convince people to think something happened, when in fact nothing happened at all.

That of course would be in a perfect world when there is no reason not to believe the agency in question. The late 1960’s and early 1970’s were not that perfect world. Even at that time people were saying we didn’t land on the moon, there were not that many, but always a few.

The biggest problems I have with any hoax on the lunar landings are these. During the height of the Cold War, when the USSR was just as intent on the space race as the USA, how did we fool them. They landed an unmanned probe in 1959, 10 years before Apollo 11. They must have been able to track space ships to and from the moon. If they didn’t track one, and could not track the radio communications between the earth and the moon, why haven’t they said so yet. I’m sure at the time they would have loved any excuse to throw this in the face of the USA. And the other thing, why fake so many missions. Faking it once is hard enough. Faking it 9 times is a bit of overkill, and then why fake the failed Apollo 13 mission?

There are many other Web sites that will take on this lunar landing hoax, I just brought it up for a good friend with one wacky idea. Of course, he thinks that my belief in the lunar landings is a wacky idea, so I guess that makes us even. 😉