[The Pilver] Comment:

I started this blog almost two years ago.  I wanted to write, because I enjoy writing and the blog I had over at MySpace didn’t feel real enough.   Now, when I post a blog, someone may comment on it, and then I get an email with the subject “[The Pilver] Comment:”. You can call it entirely selfish and vain, but comments are so dang much fun.   I’m going to post some of my favorite and/or some I thought were witty.

i will embrace them in my heart…but probably not in public.

Amy from Who’s Gonna Embrace NKOTB this time?

I think you just invented a new fetish.

DJD from Optimus Prime Vlog

The fact that 3 sisters from the outside world showed up in this tiny town didn’t go entirely unnoticed by the locals. I got a 0 out of 10 for the “class participation score” in that biology class, and I think it was because I spent most of the time during lecture twisting around in my chair so I could talk to the new girl. I never really thought about it from her perspective — we must have all come across as such wierdo hicks. That’s why it’s so funny to come across this blog entry 10 years later… so what are the other 250 things you did to stay amused?

Daven from Things I did in HS to amuse me #251

Your 4th of July story = Your dad is my new favorite person in the world.

The next time I have to lead a bunch of sweaty men into a bloody battle against overwhelming odds with our liberty at stake (a problem I’m faced with more often than you’d probably imagine), I want your dad there yelling for us.

Awesome.

tg from Top 7 Holidays

I’d rather Santa was drunk with a coat on than sober with that rediculous sweater.

keywork from Santa Lost his Coat

Kristiane #1.

Matt from 2008 (It’s not what he said…it’s that it was MATT)

If I ever get a dog, it’s sooooo going to have a MySpace page…or a blog.

essaytch from Pets

pronounced
doe like a deer
hoe like the garden tool
poe like the teletubby
key like the thing that goes in locks

now really fast and upbeat.

dohopoki from Peeps Ice Cream

Okay, That took forever.  I didn’t read about 75% of them.  My point?  Thanks to everyone who comments and shows me that people actually come here without searching for a picture of a hundred dollar bill or a centipede.  (Seriously, I get hundreds of hits daily based on those google searches.)

Independence Day Trivia

It was too-early o’clock this morning when The Max brought a bag of smoke balls to my bedside and requested that we fire them off. My son knows the rules about Saturdays:  You don’t wake up Mommy until nine am.  The cereal and milk and remote control are set out Friday night.  Saturday’s are great, as he is free to eat as many bowls of Berry Berry Kix and view as many episodes of cartoons that will fit into the two or three hours that separate what is considered enough sleep for each of us.

Those special Saturdays when there is a holiday, all rules are forgotten.  So, this morning I was standing in the driveway in an outfit that barely passed as not pajamas with a lighter and a dusty yellow orb with a fuse on the end of it.  I sleepily lit it, and in the process burned a patch of skin on my thumb.  But the result of my efforts; ten seconds of canary smoke filling the air, of course, made the effort and lack of Zzzs worth it.  (Was my sarcasm in the previous sentence apparent enough?)

It’s the 4th of July, Independence Day, Hot Dog and Apple Pie Day, Fireworks and Beer and Cut-off Jeans and Going to a Lake Day.  The mid summer holiday is one of my favorites.  Growing up in Minnesota it meant a family barbecue followed by fighting traffic on our way to a local park to see fireworks that appeared far too large to even fit in the sky above my sisters and I, while we’d lay on an old crocheted afghan listening to  Gun’s and Roses being blasted from the boom-box of some people nearby.

This morning, after earning the blister on my thumb, I did some homework and found some facts about the holiday.  I figured I could share these or tell the story about when my dad accidentally lit a few mortars on the ground.  While that story is fascinating, it would be better told with video evidence, which I can not provide.  You are stuck with trivia.

July 2nd, 1776 was the day the US colonies separated from England.   July 4th was the day the Declaration of Independence was presented.  John Adams wrote this:

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

He was right about everything, but the date.

The Star Spangled Banner’s lyrics were set to the tune of an English drinking song.

Over 150 million hot dogs will be eaten today

The population of the thirteen colonies in 1776 was 2.5 million.

Thomas Jefferson died on July 4th, 1826.

Depending on which website I trust, Independence Day was not a legal holiday until 1938 OR 1941.  (I think it’s 1941)

Time to get out and whoop it up.  Happy Independence Day internet people!

Let Yourself Go

It’s officially a holiday weekend, meaning nobody is perusing through blogs.  They are engaging in water sports and blowing things up.  If you are here, welcome. I will be here for a little while, until I head out to get wet and blow things up.

I came across a photo of Marilyn Manson today, it was scary.  One could argue that he is trying to look scary, but this was different.  It was a scary version of scary.  DING!  I came up with an easy idea for today’s post that could be written in ten minutes or less.  Let’s look at some photos of celebrities who let themselves go.   Sure, it’s shallow.  However, many celebs come to be famous as a direct result of the way they look.  When they get fat or funky, it’s pointed out.

Weird, sure….

He puffed up a bit.

Beyond the fake nose, she’s beautiful.

This is one of those unfair, let’s get a shot of her while she’s in her sweats pictures.  But still…

Robert Smith, sans make-up and long hair circa 1986.

Robert Smith with make-up and long hair and fifty extra pounds.  No bueno.

This post is lazy.

So is Kirstie Alley.

I don’t want to look for more people.  Have a great weekend!

July

July is National Post Every Day or something or other month for the blogging world.  I failed, already as I had nothing posted on July the first.  However, we can pretend yesterday did not exist.  But then I would not have eaten that really great burger.  So then, I will be honest and say if I finish the rest of the month, I get a 30 out of 31.    That’s still an A, right?

It’s also National Ice Cream Month.

And this counts, it is posted.  And hopefully it will be made up with the rest of the month, because I FINALLY have my dark room ready to rock.

Instant Gratification

The information age is an widely expressed term, and accurate.  IMDB is an app secured on the front page of my iPhone.  The logical reason is scanning the Trivia page after or during every movie I watch.  Sick, isn’t it?  If I have a question about anything I can Wiki it.  If the need comes that I must find out the whereabouts of an old friend I can often find them on facebook, if not, googleing still serves it’s purpose.  Nothing is long waited for in 2009.  Well, except I still cannot find James Madison, who I knew since pre-school and was a pen-pal of mine until I turned twenty.  There’s a lot of that name out there.  [NOTE:  James Madison of Mrs. Helmsteddar's morning Kindergarten...call me.]

Today I was driving to work.  I was humming Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill. It was one of those moments where the song was stuck, but I could not get past a certain point of the melody.  Usually if I get a song stick up in my brain I hate it.  This time, I needed to hear the rest of the lyrics…NOW!  Stalled in stupid traffic, I had plenty of time to fire up the iPhone, load the itunes store and pay 99 cents and listen to the whole song.  I love that song.  I love that I was instantly gratified.  I hope I don’t make a habit of morning commute song purchases,.  Ninety-nine cents is not a huge fee.  If I did it everytime I was thinking of a song, I could go broke.

And so you don’t go  buy it, have a listen:

“If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on.”

Max received his first bike when he was four.  He rode it until the tires wore thin. It had training wheels and I would raise them so that he might get the hang of it, but he never wanted them off.  When he was six he got a new bike…no training wheels.  He rode it less than ten times and each time was with me running behind him and holding onto the seat down Grand Ave in St. Paul.  I imagine we were a sight.

Today, I had some fun to attend, so I brought Max to the cousin’s.  Cousin had an old bike that has gone unused for years in their garage.  She told him to get on a ride it.  So he did. The boy did not fall one time and didn’t hesitate in his balance.  I (like a girly-girl) yelped and shed a  happy tear.  My little guy is now a bike rider.  Fine, fine day.

Trust Me.

You know Fark?  I have mentioned the website before.  It’s a good time killer.

I found something amusing there today.  I want to have you be amused by it as well.  But, you are going to have to click on something.  Whenever I post a link, people seem to read what’s around the link, but never actually bother to click the link.  Please…click on it. Then click on the Pringles ad.  Ready?

CLICK HERE

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

Insane. I have never bought one album or single of his.  I’ve heard his music probably just as much as anyone.You just cannot escape it.  And I think he was talented, very. Anyhow, hearing that he died without previous news of ill health is shocking.  It’s on every nightly news show right now.   The last time I rememer someone HUGE of musical fame dying was in 1994 when Kurt Cobain shot himself. (Or was shot by another, depending on if you believe the conspiracy theories)  I am not attempting to spawn a debate at who was more influential by bringing up the Nirvana frontman, nor am I denying that other great acts have passed since ‘94.  It’s just that none have made me stop and stare at the news and whisper, “Whoa.”

Love/Hate

Creed has reunited.

“I wouldn’t call it a reunion,” says singer Scott Stapp. “It’s a renewing and a rebirth. I missed my boys and wanted to create music with them again. We’re all thrilled to have a second chance to make a first impression.”

Creed are one of those bands that people love to hate.  I too enjoy hating them.   I’m wondering why people form this opinion of certain areas in pop culture.  Is it that a particular actor, band, movie, etc. becomes so popular so quick followed by the realization from many that they aren’t THAT talented?  At the same time other people will still find the  phenomenon wonderful.

In all truth, I don’t actually HATE Creed.  I don’t want to listen to them…ever.  I especially don’t want to hear that one song again.

I have compiled a list of things I love to hate.   This has nothing to do with popular opinion.

CSI: Miami

David Caruso, you are hilarious.  I am not sure that’s your goal.   I hate your show because of the level of ridiculousness in it.  I love to watch it, whenever I can find it on TV late at night. When you take off those sunglasses and recite the one line they allow you every five minutes it allows me to think of fabulous drinking games that could be associated with your show.

Bob Marley

Bob Marley is not a bad guy.  He made great music.  I hope I never hear any of that music again.   In my college years, every person I knew had plenty of Bob Marley playing at all times.  Someone at work keeps putting a Marley CD into the mix and I think I have heard I Shot the Sheriff 385 times this week.  Enough.

Celeb-Realty Shows

Honestly…HONESTLY, I have not watched any of these in a long long time.   I googled “Celebrity Reality Shows” and these two came people showed more than any others.  I know I have seen them plenty in my weekly visits to buy People  Magazine, but I don’t know what they are from. This makes me feel out of the loop.  I was addicted to the first season of  The Osbornes.  After that it was as though every person who was somewhat famous felt the world would like to watch them make coffee and read the paper.    I did watch part of an episode of Rock of Love a few months back.  It was strange multiplied by a million.  I love to hate these without any real knowledge of them.

Facebook

I sign on at least twice a day.  I love keeping in touch with people.  I actually love loving facebook.

I hate listening to people complain via their status updates.  But I have started to “hide” those people. Life sucks some times, but when that’s all you have to talk about you need to maybe find a better (possibly professional) outlet for your whining.  To me, social networking sites, such as this are for fun.

Diet Soda

I hate diet soda.  It does not taste good.  It is a result of a many lab experiments.  People who drink it at restaurants are obsessive.  No one who starts to drink it seems to lose weight because of this and this alone.  Also, REAL Coke tastes so good with my popcorn and Jr. Mints at the theater.

People with MASSIVE sport utility vehicles who do not fill them with people.

I won’t expand.

Will Ferrell

OK, I did like Stranger than Fiction. The person who did the set design in that film (Ford Wheeler who also did Kids) is a large part of  my admiration for the film, but Will was alright in it as well.  It ’s a good movie.  I just don’t think Will Ferrell is funny.  He has been the worst part of a lot of films.

I’m sure I missed one or more.  But now I am going to stop.  What do YOU love to hate?

Optimus Prime Vlog

It’s a bit tough to understand during parts of this.  For five bucks I’ll tell you what he said.