Bits & Pieces

Hey everyone. Seems that my "twice-a-week" postings have been cut in half lately. I could give you a long drawn out explanation for this. But I hope you'll appreciate my brevity when I simple say, life happens and sometimes gets in the way. 

This has been yet another busy week for me; a combination of everyday tasks and, believe it or not, yet more health related issues. I won't bore you with the details. Instead, I'll try to write for you something, that hopefully you'll find somewhat entertaining.   

I'm going to share some random thoughts or stories that individually wouldn't warrant an entire post by themselves. 

Valentine's Day weekend, Paula and I watched the first season of The Mandalorian on Disney+. I didn't realize that "The Child" (referred by most as "Baby Yoda") was such an integral part throughout the entire season. I thought it came in near the end; but not so. 

While we are not what you would call big Star Wars fans, over all, we enjoyed it. 

As many before me have said, it is a return to the universe of the STAR WARS we remember seeing for the first time when we were teenagers. We will be sure to watch season 2, when it comes out this fall. 

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We also watched a couple of movies on Disney+:  "Togo" & "Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made". 

"Togo" was very good and shared a little known aspect of a compelling historic event. 

"Timmy Failure" was both funny and unsettling at the same time. Seeing things from the perspective of children (especially Timmy) was at times hilarious. However, the way the mother, teachers, and other adults dealt with the boy detective's behavior and obvious mental (paranoia, hallucinations for example) and emotional issues was unsettling. 

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What happened to the world I knew? While I was a kid, parents, teachers, and all other adults with any authority warned us. Do not to get into a vehicle with a stranger; even if they offered you candy. Nowadays we actually call strangers to come and get us. It's called "taking an Uber."

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I don't know about you but you couldn't pay me enough to get on an airplane or a cruise ship right now. 

I sure hope things improve enough to make air travel a little less risky by summer. We'd like to be able to fly to Vegas. 

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Back in early January, while I was stuck in the house staying off of my broken foot, I spent a lot of time putting together Lego sets. Among them was the Brick Headz version of Mickey & Minnie Mouse. 

I really liked them and put them up on my display shelf in my office for everyone to see. But by themselves, this version of Disney's most iconic couple seemed incomplete.

At the beginning of February, Lego released a couple more Disney Brick Headz that resolved this issue.  

Presenting the Lego Brick Headz Disney Fab Five. 

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The final thing I want to share with you is some pictures from Paula's first Color Street vendor event for 2020. It was a bridal expo held yesterday at a local convention center. 

Looking to connect with some of the future brides who attended and joined her VIP group, Paula created something special.  

The rings and bow were my idea but with the help of her "crafty" friend, Jenny, my wife worked hard to make this very impressive coupon. a reality.  

Also new for this event was a display board with the expo exclusive specials. 

This is what her booth looked like. 

The main focus for this event was not sales (although she did sell some sets). It was getting the nail strips on the engaged young ladies looking for ways to make themselves look beautiful on their upcoming special day.

Once again, Paula did what she does best at these events; demonstrating how easy having beautiful Color Street nails can be. 

 I so enjoy sitting back and watching the faces of those gathered around my wife as their expressions go from "doubter" to "believer". It's awesome. 

So that does it for this "bits & pieces" post. Hope you enjoyed reading it. I will do my best to be back again on Friday. See you then. 

  









  





Finally, I want honor the memory of actress Kellye Nakahara, who passed away on February 16 at the age of 70. . 

She played a nurse on my all-time favorite TV comedy series, M*A*S*H. 
Over the 11 years the show was on the air she was Nurse Kellye. She started as a background character. But over the seasons that role expanded to a supporting role. Nurse Kellye was even the focus of an entire episode in the series final season. She may be gone but will live on in reruns for many years to come.  









where in the world am I? What's going on? Where did the world I grew up in go?

Buying Tickets Online

Hockey Night In Nashville

Hey everyone. Happy Presidents' Day.
I hope y'all had an decent week. Valentine's Day and the weekend, was spent as "us time" with my wife. That's why there was no post last Friday.

But this post is about a day I had been looking forward to for a couple of months.This past Thursday I went to a hockey game in Nashville.

Early that morning, I bought a ticket to that evening's Predators hockey game against the Islanders.

While I have been a Predators fan since 2016, I have also been a fan of the New York Islanders since the late 70s.

Over the last couple of years, whenever they come to Nashville, I try my best to go to the game.

Its the one game in the hockey season that I can enjoy no matter which team wins.

I left Kentucky around 12:30 and headed down I-65. I wanted to avoid the afternoon rush hour traffic so left early. I also wanted to make sure I was close to Bridgestone Arena within a certain time frame. If I got to the parking garage early enough to get an open handicapped spot it would be free; otherwise it would cost me $25 to park.

When I got to exit 90B on 65, which to me means I'm "officially" in Music City, it was 1:45. I had some time to fill so I figured I'd go to one of my favorite Nashville places, the Opry Mills Mall.

Most of my recent visit to this mall have been solo. Typically I make a stop at the Lego store, get some pizza at the food court, then walk around to see what other interesting things I can find.

But my reason for this stop was to catch a movie at the Regal theater.

Because of construction delays, I didn't get to the box office in time to see the feature I wanted to. I had to decide on another one. I chose "The Gentlemen", Guy Ritchie's lates film starring Matthew McConaughey with Collin Farrell, and Hugh Grant.

My son, Michael, had recommended it to me a few weeks ago so I thought I'd take a chance. Turns out, I really enjoyed it.

I guess I went into the theater already in a good mood because this afternoon at the movies was that it didn't cost me a dime.

I used a Regal gift card I'd gotten for Christmas and redeemed some of my Regal Club points. This took care of my ticket, soda, and popcorn.

I hadn't seen any of McConaughey's on screen performances in a theater since The Lincoln Lawyer back in 2011. (This doesn't count his voice acting role as the theater owning kola bear Buster Moon in one of my animated favorites,"Sing", back in 2016)

His latest as, Mickey Pearson, the head of a marijuana empire in London, reminded me of a more corrupt, version of the character he played in Lincoln Lawyer.

One day in the near future, I will make an effort to watch both of these films as a rainy day double feature.

After the movie it was time to head to the hockey game. I drove down Briley Parkway exiting onto Lebanon Pike which took me toward center city.

In about 25 minutes I made the left turn onto Broadway. This was my view, with the Bridgestone Arena tower a couple blocks up on the left.

My plan to get a free parking spot worked. By 5:45 I was parked on the garage's 3rd level just steps from the arena door.

Once through the safety check I was given a special premium: a Ryan Johansen bobblehead doll.

It will make a great addition to my Predators collectibles including the autographed Johansen puck Paula bought for me when we went to a Preds game on the same date (Feb 13) 2 years ago.

Over the last 4 hockey seasons I have developed a personal "routine" when going to hockey games solo. This my first game of the 19-20 season was no exception.

I always like getting to the game early because it gives me time to walk around the concourse, which included a stop by to the team store. I like just watching all the other fans make their way through their pre-game as well.

I stopped an took a picture for a father and son who were at their first game together. I was just taking in the experience of being there.

Since when I decided to go, I thought this might be the only game I'll go to this season, the seat I got was a little closer to the ice and cost more than I what I usually buy.

Once I found it, I was surprised at just how good it was. The view was almost perfect.

As always, when I first sit down at a Preds game, there was a spark of excitement about being there. This arena is has become a very comfortable place for me. I just sat there for a few taking it all in.

I asked the usher in my section to take a picture of me to mark occasion.

Next, was another element in my personal game routine. I went and got a hot dog and a "bottomless" cup of soda. I would refill it during each of the 2 intermissions. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the concessions now offered diet Dr. Pepper. Yes, filler up please! I went back to my seat and enjoyed my snack.  

There were several technology additions to the arena this season. The first one was a giant drone floating around the arena. It's sponsor is the company my son, James works for. 

It has a camera on it and was taking still shots and video as it traveled around the arena throughout the night. Some of them showed up on social media.

Above the ice was a much larger video display board.

Another addition was video projections onto the ice surface. This is done as part of the pregame elements.

I didn't get any video of the introductions that night but here's a link to the start of a game against the San Jose Sharks earlier in the season. It's a pretty good show. Predators Pregame Intro

Country singer and American Idol, Luke Bryan, sang the national anthem. 

At this point, the only thing left was for the ref to drop the puck at center ice and it would be "game on". 

Now, let me push the "pause" button for just a minute to explain my mindset about attending this game.

As someone who has gone to between 2 and 4 Preds game a season over the last few years, there was a reason this was my first for 2019-20. 

The team was not playing well at all. They were terribly inconsistent over the first 2 months of the season, especially at home. So much so that the coach was fired at the start of January. (A move I predicted in December by the way).

While I really like going to their home games, I wasn't going to pay money to see them play unless they got better and had a chance to win. 

But as I always do I circled the Islanders visit to Bridgestone on my calendar for reasons I've already explained. 

Of course, the atmosphere in the arena would be better if the Preds played well, so that's what I was hoping for. But what happened in the game was beyond my expectations. 

The Predators played what a lot are calling their "best game of the year". 

35 seconds into the game, Craig Smith, scored the first goal. A little over 16 minutes later he scored the 2nd. By the end of the 1st period, it was 3-0. 

In the middle period the Preds extended their lead. With 11:43 gone in the 2nd Craig Smith scored again, completing his first ever NHL hat trick. (that's when a player scores 3 goals in one game). 

Seeing a Predator accomplish this in person was a first for me. What followed the goal was an NHL tradition; fans covering the ice with hats. 

The shower of headgear came from everywhere in the arena. Fans sitting in the upper level behind me threw their hats but came up way short of the ice.

Fans in the lower sections where those hats had landed, picked them up and relayed them to their destination. It was a fun thing to see. 

Smith's goal was the Predators' 5th and closed out the scoring for the game. 

Preds goalie, Juuse Saros, was as perfect as he could be; stopping 31 Islander shots and getting his 2nd shutout of the season. 

It was one of the best Predators games I've seen and I enjoyed it all. 

When the game was over and after the 3 stars of the game were announced, it was time to head home. 

I stopped once more at the team store to get a hat because they were on sale in honor of Smith's hat trick. I got one for just $15. Along with the bobblehead, it will be a reminder of the best hockey games I've ever seen in person. 

By the time I got back to my car the traffic had cleared out of the garage and I easily found my way down Broadway and onto I-24, heading home. 

This was such a fun time that if the team keeps playing the way they did in this game, I may consider going to another before the season is over. 

As a fan, I am hoping this game will be a turning point in the Preds' season. It just might be. Since this game they have swept a home and home two game series with the defending Stanley cup champion, St. Louis Blues.

  

But even if they don't turn things around and miss the playoffs, I will always have the memories of the Predators win over the Islanders on my one hockey night in Nashville in February 2020. 

   

A Different Kind Of Success Story

Welcome to the 2nd full week of February. Sorry about not posting last week but I was dealing with a physical 
1-2 punch. 
On Saturday, I pulled the muscles on the left side of my back. Then about the same time a kidney stone decided it wanted to "follow the yellow brick road" through me and out into to the world, causing me a lot of extreme pain. 

It took a visit to an urgent care on Monday (over a 2 hour wait) and a Wednesday morning trip to the ER to get the correct diagnosis and meds I needed. 

By Friday night, all had passed and I was feeling fine. Enough of my medical history now on to today's post. Its going to be slightly different than most. 

I'm going to be sharing a story that's not mine. Its going to be a retelling of an American success story I heard told by a guest on "The Diner", an XM radio program. I mentioned the show in part 3 of my "Listener List" series. 
This is my first attempt at writing in this style so I hope it something you find interesting. 

The grapes didn't sell. The raisins didn't either. The only thing left that might put food on the table for his family was a song he'd written. So after selling the vineyard inherited from his father, in 1949, Ross left Fresno,CA and headed west. Along with his wife and two children he made his way to Los Angeles. Soon he was knocking on record companies' doors to try and spark some interest in his composition. 

After many rejections the song, "Come Ona My House" was finally recorded by Rosemary Clooney and released on Columbia records. It was a hit and proved profitable enough to sustain Ross' family and get him signed to a record contract. 

Several years later that record label found itself in trouble; close to going under. By then, once again, so was Ross' family. 

His wife, Armen, and family were depending on Ross to come up with something that would keep a roof over their heads. 

In a desperate move, with Armen's encouragement, Ross withdrew the last $250 from their savings and purchased a tape recorder. Using the variable recording speeds on the machine, he gave his latest song a second voice and a unique sound.   

It was released as a single in April 1958 using Ross' stage name. The record buying public loved the nonsense lyrics, and catchy tune of this little ditty. The record skyrocketed to the top of the charts. It became a #1 single and sold a million and a half copies. Rescuing both the record company and providing for the family.  

Over the next few months, supported by both his label's president and chairman, Ross was back in the studio. With the help of a very talented chief engineer, he came up with a song that focused on the hook that turned his last single to gold. 

This time it wasn't Ross singing but that "second voice." He turned it into a trio singing in harmony. To help the public connect with these new voices, Ross connected them to anthropomorphic characters with individual personalities. He used the names of that pair of record company executives and the chief engineer to give names to the voices making them very marketable. 

During the Christmas season of 1958, their first single, on which one of the characters misbehaved and lamented over wanting a popular toy, was a holiday sensation. It went to #1 for 4 weeks and gave birth to a multimedia franchise. 
A franchise that over the last 6 decades has included albums, an animated TV show, feature films, comic books, toys, merchandise and more.

Some of you might have guessed by now just exactly who those 3 singing characters might be. But you might not be familiar with their creator, Ross Bagdasarian. A man who, when it comes down to it, was just doing the only thing he knew to do and it led to success. 

His stage name was David Seville.  Those singing rodents, named after 3 of his Liberty records colleagues, Al Bennet, Simon Waronker and Theodore Keep are to this day known as Alvin and The Chipmunks. 

As a life long fan, I found the idea that something as continuously popular as the Chipmunks, who have been around for over 60 years, started because of a problem, common throughout the history. A man seeking to provide for his family. 

By the way, the guest on the "The Diner" show I referred to at the start of this post, was Ross Bagdasarian Jr. He and his wife have been overseeing everything to do with the Chipmunks ever since his father's death in 1972. 
I know this was a different kind of blog but the story was so compelling I had to share it with you. Thanks for taking the time to read this post I'll see you next time. 
    

Bricks & Nails Update

Hello again everyone. This has been quite a week for me. As of today, I have made the transition from my walking boot back into my sneaker and leg brace. 
I've almost gotten back to my routine with a few residual physical issues but overall I'm back to everyday life the way I like it. 

In this post I'm going to share with you why January has been a good month for my wife, a special day spent with my granddaughter, and the "Latest In Lego" for me. 

It's been a while since I've updated you on how Paula's "side gig" with Color Street is going. 

January has been a very busy but successful one for her. She has had 5 members of her online group host parties aka nail bars. 

In the middle of the month she hosted a live online event where her group got to play "BINGO". I helped out by calling the numbers, something I've always enjoyed doing since I was a kid. 

On the 28th, she went to a charity event in Scottsville. It was the first time she'd set up at a vendor event without my help. She had a long day (8AM to 6PM) but also a great time and lots of sales.

During the month one of Paula's group members also became a stylist. Paula then took on the responsibility of mentoring this new team member in effort to help her get off to a great start. 
In addition, about the same time, Paula's Color Street mentor, added another stylist to "Team Paula". 

On the morning of Friday, the 31st, Paula looked at her Color Street stats online and discovered that both of her team members had reached their initial levels of success. This qualified Paula to advance to the title of Senior Stylist. 

This means Paula has gone from being a stylist with an introductory kit to a Senior Stylist in just 9 months. 

The "cherry on the sundae" of this very successful January came the night of the 31st. During Paula's online sale the members of her group purchased over 25 sets. 
As a "thank you" they got to choose a nail swag gift with each set they bought. Paula also gave away four free sets to randomly chosen winners.  

I am so proud of my wife and all the hard work she does everyday. I will continue to keep you updated as she strives to reach the top of her potential with Color Street. 
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Almost a month after they became available, I finally was able to buy some of the new DC Comics Lego mini-figure blind bags. 

I was a little off my game when opening them, at first. But in the end it took opening only 19 of them to find a complete set. 

But the best Lego thing this week happened last Saturday afternoon. 

Around noon both of my grandkids came to visit me. I spent a couple of hours with them. It was the first I'd ever had them by myself. We had lots of fun. 

Then later in the day, I took my granddaughter to our local library for a special Lego event. 

Members of the Nashville branch of the Tennessee Valley Lego Club were there with some really awesome Lego displays. 

One of the meeting rooms off the main floor had about half a dozen tables that had Lego bricks scattered all over them. 

There were a lot of kids around them having fun building whatever they could think of. 

Aria was drawn to the table that was covered in blue bricks. The kids were elbow to elbow, so I made my way to a chair in the corner of the room to let her spontaneously build. 

 She started making a big blue sculpture; turning around to show me her progress from time to time. 

After about 20 minutes she was finished and very proud of her creation. 

Before we left the library we went on a UniKitty scavenger hunt. We had to find 18 different depictions of the Lego Movie character among the models on display.

A couple of them were on the arm of a Lego statue assembled locally by the civil engineering program at Western Kentucky University.  

He's the college mascot known as "Big Red". It took 500 man hours and more than 30,000 bricks to build. It is rather impressive. 

Aria and I had our picture taken with the big guy just before we went out for ice cream. 

 It was a fun and memorable "Aria & Papa" afternoon. 

Aria was so enthralled with the large Lego models. Based on her excitement, I am convinced that I have to take her to one of the bigger Lego shows, one day. I'm sure she will love it. 

So there you have a couple of updates on what's been going on in my world lately. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I'll be back again soon with more from this Yankee Near Nashville.