Today We Mark Our 8th Year of Blogging

It was a very dark and stormy night (apologies to the late Charles Schultz, the creator of "Peanuts"), on that fateful day on Sept. 21, 2005.

Hmmm.....this reminds me.........one of my favorite comic strips is "Sherman's Lagoon" which has underwater creatures, such as sharks, sea turtles and crabs as its main characters; I'm not sure if I've seen an octopus yet (?!)

When we began blogging, there was no Facebook, there was no Twitter, no Miley Cyrus, no Sarah Palin, no "Breaking Bad," no "Mad Men" and no "Parks and Recreation." The oxy-moronic good Samaritan serial killer series "Dexter," which concludes tomorrow night, was on the air but it was a very new show at the time. 

One of our earliest entries on "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time," which is our sister (please visit it, we need the hits!) was a mere shopping list!

I'm sure like all shopping lists I've ever written it included bananas.


Here's to the next eight years............

(We used an octopus for our image because it has eight tentacles; one can see live octopuses at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, or the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta).

http://www.peanuts.com

http://www.aqua.org

georgiaaquarium.org

Chuck vs. Cuneyt (4 of 6)_ The Octagon

Today, we continue our quiz series with trivia questions regarding American action movie star of yesteryear Chuck Norris, 72 and his Turkish counterpart matinee idol Cuneyt Arkin, 75. For obvious reasons, neither men are kicking butt on screen these days.

For this week's question, we ask which actor won the Best Oscar in 1980 when the Norris vehicle "The Octagon," which I remember was being shown at the Towers Theatre in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., which is alas a shoe store today.

Was the winner?"

A) Robert Deniro

B) Dustin Hoffman

C) John Hurt

D) Jack Nicholson

E) Donald Sutherland


The answer to last week's question was C) George C. Scott

And, good morning to those of you in Dubai where we believe it's now 10:00 a.m., Monday morning.

SIDEBAR: Here are the correct answers to our "Dexter" series:

1) D

2) A

3) C

4) B

http://www.chucknorris.com

http://www.cuneytarkin.com.tr

Dexter Trivia (4 of 4)_ How Far Is Omaha from Miami?

For the first time in a long while, we are posting an entry at a peak time (between 9:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.), but we are going with trending topics, such as Katie Holmes and Big Bird, though we hope arbitrarily mentioning both of them inflates our numbers. Of course, we are amazed how Mitt Romney who acted as obnoxious as Bill O'Reilly is the perceived winner of last night's debate in Denver.

Alas, we were unable to find a cool Dexter lunchbox image, but this one will do just as well, we hope.

In episode 67 from the 6th season, Dexter embarks on a road trip to Nebraska. So, we are asking how far is Omaha, Neb., from Miami, where the show is set. Obviously Miami, Okl., a small town near Kansas, would be a quicker driver than one to Miami, Fla., from the Cornhusker State.

So, is the answer?:

A) 1,641 miles

B) 1,651 miles

C) 1,661 miles

D) 1, 671 miles

Dexter Trivia (3 of 4)_ Which Movie Star Loves Dexter?

We continue our look at the 'slightly demented' Showtime series about a serial killer; "Dexter" has just started its seventh season as of Sunday. Note: the pictured image is of a person dressed Jack the Ripper for Halloween.

According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), at least one major Hollywood star watches the show on a regular basis, but this one in particular is an Academy-Award winner (we are not just including actors who have won Oscars for acting); is the answer?

A) Matt Damon

B) George Clooney

C) Sylvester Stallone

D) Warren Beatty

Dexter Trivia (2 of 4)_ How Many People Has Dexter Killed?*

Yeah, we couldn't resist: This is an image of a cereal killer. We can't tell if Trix Cereal is one of the cereals or not.

At any rate, we are NOT including any people who may or may not have been whacked in the season premiere of "Dexter," the reason for the star* in the header, which Javier the Intern (a running gag) says is re-airing tonight on Showtime, but today's question is "How many people has Dexter killed?"

A) 117

B) 119

C) 121

D) 123

The answer for the last question was A) Raleigh, NC, is the city where Michael C. Hall was born in 1971.

PS_ Yeah, this entry was supposed to be posted like six days ago....

Dexter Trivia (1 of 4)- Where Was Michael C. Hall Born?

Today is our first of a proposed four-in-a-row entry series dedicated to the Showtime serial killer drama "Dexter," which also has elements of dark comedy. In fact, in one episode Dexter, played by Michael C. Hall, makes a reference to the cartoon "Dexter's Laboratory."

"Dexter," which premiered on Oct. 1, 2006, is going to have its seventh season premiere on Sunday, Sept. 30. The show will be followed by a season premiere of "Homeland," another Showtime show. It begins its second season. "Homeland" won the Emmy for Best Drama. And, that program male lead actor Damian Lewis beat out Hall, who has been nominated four times for "Dexter" (five times overall), for Best Actor.

Interestingly enough, Lewis was born on Feb. 11, 1971, so the two actors were born a mere ten days apart.

But, Hall, who is the subject of our first question, did win a Golden Globe for Dexter in 2010.

Today, we ask: "Which state capital was Hall born in on Feb. 1, 1971?"

Is the answer:

A) Harrisburg, Penn.

B) Richmond, Va.

C) Atlanta, Ga.

D) Raleigh, NC


http://www.sho.com

http://www.dexterwiki.wetpaint.com

http://www.dexter-tv.com

http://www.geniuneginsu.com

Highlights From My Things to Improve My Life List

Relationships. Career Networking. Proper Diet and Exercise. How to get along with your Spacely Sprockets boss*. Let's face it, self-help books are very trendy even if more and more people are reading "War and Peace" via Kindle now.

And, since I've already wasted some precious time on this Saturday night by watching a Jewish satire of "Dexter," a 'Star Trek' opera sequence and a cello/orchestra take on the kitschy '80s hard rock anthem "The Final Countdown" as performed in Kipsala, Latvia, on Youtube, posting portions of a list seems like a simpler way to post today's blog entry.

There are actually 24 things on the whole list; I've decided to divide them up into 12 items for my two blogs.

Here is the first part of the list:

1. Get a girlfriend

2. Write second draft of novel you've been kinda/sorta working on since March.

3. Exercise/join a gym/anything but power yoga

4. Move out of current zip code of residence (yes, that's why the U-Haul truck is pictured above)

5. Take more photographs, especially of old things

6. Write some more poems; Nikki Giovanni had to start somewhere

7. Write second draft of memoir that was typed up last year, after all it might not get published for 24 years when mom will be 95.

8. Put photographs up on Facebook

9. Be more organised (we're using the British spelling to get more hits from the UK).

10. Listen to more vinyl; we should find a copy of "Some Girls" by The Rolling Stones.

11. Write a full-length play; anything has to be better than the failed soap opera satire I wrote three years ago.

12. Learn how to socially network via the Internet.

*-Demanding boss in the 1960s cartoon "The Jetsons"