Who knew that Raisins could take a good song and make it seem horribly cheesy. The California Raisins was a rhythm and blues band of claymation raisins. The concept was created in 1987 for the California Raisin Advisory Board. The writers used the song “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye and the commercial was a big hit. Eventually The California Raisins would star in more commercials, two television specials, a Saturday morning cartoon and produce four records.
The clay puppets were going to be thrown out, but instead were shipped to Animateclay.com. You can see pictures of the original clay raisins on the site.
Gastric bypass surgery is becoming increasing popular among celebrities. Most claim that they have tried all kinds of diets and weight loss supplements such as leptovox. They feel that this kind of surgery is their last result. Celebrities that have undergone the surgery include Randy Jackson (American Idol), Carnie Wilson, Sharon Osbourne, Al Roker, Roseanne Barr, and Starr Jones.
Is this making the surgery more popular among the general population as well? It seems to be. More people are requesting the surgery, but surgeons do not like to perform the surgery unless all else has failed and the patient is morbidly obese. In society today, we are always looking for the quick fix but this may not be the answer.
The procedure reduces the size of the stomach and basically re-routes food to the intestines causing patients to eat less and full fuller faster. If you eat too much, you will feel extremely sick. This is high-risk surgery and there have been reported deaths. A study by the University of Washington found that 1 in 50 patients die within a month of the surgery. That, I would say, is pretty risky.
I was saddened to hear of the death of Charlton Heston. He has starred in a few of my favorite movies. I thought I would pay tribute to him, by reviewing a few of my favorites.
I was too young to remember seeing this movie when it first came out, but I enjoyed watching in on television numerous times. The other movies in the series were pretty bad, but this one has stood up to the test of time.
Plot
Taylor (Heston) and his two astronaut buddies wake up from deep space sleep to find that their ship as crashed. They quickly realize that they have landed on a planet where man is mute and apes rule the world. Due to a throat injury, Taylor can not speak right away (all the humans are “dumb”), but after his vocal cords are repaired he causes a big stir among the apes when they find out that he is an intelligent being.
Taylor realizes that one of his buddies has been killed and the other has been given a lobotomy to keep him silent. Many of the apes want Taylor killed or silenced so as not to cause an uproar. There are a few apes that fight to save Taylor. I won’t spoil the ending of the movie, but it is a shocker.
There was a television series that I enjoyed as well that ran in 1974 for 14 episodes. The movie was remade in 2001 with Heston playing a brief role as an ape.
I also enjoyed reading the book by Pierre Boulle. The plot is slightly different, but it is a well written book and very interesting!
If you don’t want to know the ending, don’t watch the following clip – my favorite part!
Evel Knievel never did jump over the Grand Canyon. He was hoping that the United States Government would grant him the right to build an access road and a ramp to do the jump, but they were just not going to allow that. Knievel decided instead to jump over the Snake River. This jump was unsuccessful. During his career, Knievel was said to have broken every bone in his body at least once. I sure hope he had great medical insurance!
Evel’s son Robbie, did jump the Grand Canyon and broke his leg on the landing. This jump was 228 feet across the canyon and doesn’t come near the 1 mile jump that Evel attempted across the Snake River using a “rocket motorcycle.”
Who doesn’t love these red, multi-function knifes? The Swiss Army knife originated in Switzerland in 1897 by Wenger and Victorinox who were suppliers of knife to the Swiss Army. The original name of the knife was “Offiziersmesser”, however, American soldiers during World War II could not pronounce the name and instead called it the Swiss Army Knife.
The knife handle was originally made out of wood and included a cutting blade, screwdriver, can opener and a punch. In 1896, blades were added on both sides of the knife using a spring mechanism. Also added was a corkscrew. Today, you can buy a Swiss Army Knife with a laser pointer and a USB flash drive.
The character MacGyver (on the show by the same name) was always able to get out of difficult situations using just his Swiss Army Knife and a few items on hand!
I was in Philadelphia today, so I thought I would give a little history of the Liberty Bell. The bell was ordered in 1751 to celebrate the William Penn’s Charter of Privileges (Pennsylvania’s first Constitution). Shortly after it arrived from England, a crack appeared. John Stow and John Pass recast the bell in 1753 from the metal of the original. Their names appear on the bell.
The bell was rung most notably on July 8, 1776 to call people to the square for a reading of the Declaration of Independence. It was first called the Liberty Bell by a group that was trying to outlaw slavery in the 1830s. They remembered the words written on the bell “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof” and adopted it as their symbol. After the Civil War, the bell traveled to state and county fairs reminded people that we once fought together for liberty and to help heal the division caused by the Civil War.
In 1846, a thin crack began to appear on the bell. It was repaired and rang for George Washington’s birthday, but it cracked again. The bell has not been rung since.
The bell weighs 2000 pounds and is made of 70% copper, 25% tin, and small amounts of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold, and silver. It is housed in its own building in Philadelphia.
I didn’t realize it, but Bill Medley (the other half of The Righteous Brothers) is still performing in Branson, MO with Paul Revere and the Raiders.
Bill Medley was born September 19, 1940 in Los Angeles, California. He met Bobby Hatfield while attending Cal State Long Beach and they started singing together in 1962. Their first single was “Little Latin Lupe Lu,” but their first hit was “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” which is probably one of their most popular songs along with “Unchained Melody.” They broke up in 1968 but started performing together in 1974. They appeared together numerous times until Hatfield’s death in 2003 of a heart attack right before a performance.
Medley had a successful solo career as well. In 1987, his hit duet (with Jennifer Warnes), “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” was included on the “Dirty Dancing” Soundtrack.
There are plenty of Branson rentals to book if you want to see him perform. He also performs in other venues as well.
Did you just recently get your stereo set up and every speaker mount in place for a true surround sound? Now all you need is some classic music to play!
The Princeton Record Exchange has been in business since 1980 and buys and sells old music and new releases. Unfortunately, you must live close by to access their inventory. Since it changes daily, Princeton Record Exchange does not handle mail orders or list inventory or sell online.
They do offer information pages to help you sell your old records, CDs and DVDs online!
Barky Puppy was a toy made by Fisher Price in 1931. This was one of the first toys that Fisher Price ever made. The puppy was on wheels and when you pulled it, the puppy crouches down on its front legs and then it tilts its head upward. The puppy actually barks.
Renuzit TriScents is having a contest! One that I would love to win! My kitchen is very small. I would love to win the $20,000 to transform my small kitchen into a larger one. It actually wouldn’t be that hard because we have a room that is attached to the kitchen where we could expand. Right now, the refrigerator is in that room. Talk about inconvenient!
The kitchen is the most important room in my house, a gathering place for the whole family. If it doesn’t have a fresh, clean smell no one wants to be there! My whole house can tend toward a musty smell, but using Renuzit products has helped solve that annoying problem. It is easy to download a Renuzit TriScents Started Kit coupon and be on your way to a fresher smelling home.
To enter to win the contest visit Renuzit TriScents and read the official rules. All you need to do to enter is take a picture of the home you would like to remodel and write a short essay about why this room needs a makeover. Make sure you mention why Renuzit TriScents can help!
