Chuck Baris & The Gong Show

The Gong Show was a 1970's variety show, but would now be known as a "reality" show. Chuck Baris was the host. The premise was that acts of dubious merit would perform before a panel of celebrity judges who were given 20 seconds before they could end an act's performance by hitting a large gong, known as "gonging". if an act survived without being gonged, the judges rated their performance on a scale of one to ten. the show sometimes got away with provocative acts, including the one in this video.

Chuck Baris later wrote an autobiography, which was made into a movie, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, in which he claimed to be a CIA spy while he was the host of The Gong Show. Sounds like he went a little crazy, no?

Shouldn't "What About Love" Have a Question Mark at the End of It?

I will admit, I love a good power ballad. "What About Love" is the quintessential power ballad. here it is, for your viewing pleasure.

It's the Wonder of Nature, Baby

after doing a crazy & lethal sweep over Haiti and Cuba, Hurricane Ike hit Texas early this morning and flooded most of Galveston. here are some photos of Ike's wrath.

Cool Word of the Day

Ignominious: deserving of shame or infamy. marked by disgrace or shame.

"he died an ignominious death."

Clap if you Believe in Fairies

The pixie cut... one of life's great marvels. some people look great with them, some people look not so great and some people look like men. I, for example, have somewhat poofy hair and cannot rock the pixie cut. it is because of this that I will be forever jealous of those who can wear a pixie cut and still look feminine, mostly because the pixie is wonderfully low maintenance.

Cool Word of the Day

Flummox. to confuse, perplex, puzzle or bewilder. this word isn't exactly uncommon and I'm sure that most know what it means, but it sure sounds great.

Katie "Jordan" Price

I'm not British and because of this, I had never heard of Katie Price until I began reading the Daily Mail online. Katie Price is a former "glamour model" which is apparently British for "underwear model" (they're so polite, aren't they?). Jordan is the name she modeled under. after having her breast implants removed to be taken seriously, she now writes books and appears in tabloids under headings like "Katie's breast fat was pumped into her lips". for some reason, the Brits love her, much like some Americans love Paris Hilton and she's on a crusade to revamp her image as a wife, mother and author.

this is Katie Price about a month ago at a signing for her new book. would you take this woman seriously?

You have died of dysentery.

Last month, a wildfire swept through Idaho and revealed a portion of the Oregon Trail that was previously covered by sagebrush & grasses. The Oregon Trail was the path that pioneers followed while travelling west during the 1800s. It is an historic find that will now likely be preserved by local historical societies. I'm pleased that some history can be restored here, but I also like this story for its reminder of the early computer game Oregon Trail.

R.I.P. Killer

I'm not a pro wrestling fan. it's like a soap opera with wrestling and since I don't like wrestling (no, not even the real, olympic kind) or soap operas, I don't watch it. I do however, enjoy the hilarious nicknames of the old-time wrestlers from the golden age of wrestling, namely the 1950s-1970s. Yukon Eric, Sky-Low-Low (a little person) & Walter "Killer" Kowalski were among my favourite names.
it is now my sad duty to inform you that Walter "Killer" Kowalski has died from a heart attack at the age of 81.
rest in peace, Killer, in that great big arena in the sky.

also, his name reminds me of Dave "Killer" Carlson from the movie classic Slapshot.