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Beauty In Nature

The air in H-Town has been full of pollen.  The Cal Mobile had a yellow tint to its gray color.  A storm blew through town the other day and washed the pollen off of everything and some of the neighborhood pollen collected in front of The Calvinator's Crib.

We were finishing our walk and with the Instagram app, I snapped this photo.  I posted it on Facebook and received several compliments.

Saturday Something To Do

You know...some Saturday nights I really prefer to stay home and sit on the couch, watch the telly and rub The Calvinator's tummy.  Tomorrow night (3/23) will be a different story which means it really must be something worthy of me not sitting on the couch.

Outreach United is having a fundraiser titled Outreach Goes Vegas.  A $40 donation gets you some gambling chips, open bar, lite bites, eye candy and fun.  AND it's all for a good cause.  For more information, click here.

I hope to see you there!

"I Wanted To Be A Boy Scout.."

Congratulations Anderson Cooper on being presented with the annual Vito Russo Award at the 24th Annual Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Awards.  Anderson was recognized for his stature and accomplishment as an openly gay journalist.

Madonna, dressed as a Boy Scout presented Anderson with his award after her comments on injustice and bullying. 

"[The bullying epidemic] is no different from a white supremacist hanging a black man from a tree before the Civil Rights movement. It's no different than a member of the Taliban shooting a young girl in the head for writing a blog about the importance of female education. It's no crazier than an Iranian gay man being hanged for falling in love with a man. I don't know about you, but I can't take this sh*t anymore. That is why I want to start a revolution. Are you with me? It's 2013, people. We live in America -- land of the free, home of the brave -- that's a question, not a statement."

To read more about the event, visit Huffington Post here and here.

Source: AP

Source: Getty Images

Valerie Harper - Today Show Interviews

Last week I posted some comments about Valerie Harper's recent diagnosis of a rare type of brain cancer.  Yesterday on Today Show, Savannah Guthrie interviewed Valerie.  The interview made me cry.  Crying on a Monday morning before going to work isn't a good way to start the week.  Here is Part I

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And today Part II was aired.

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Valerie's attitude is remarkable and admirable. And miracles do happen. Hang in there Valerie!

Saturday Snickers

Things I saw this week that made me smile.

And there is this story about a beaver in Oregon City who was escorted back to the creek.  It must have been a slow crime night in Oregon City.

I Heard The News Today

When I go to the gym in the morning, I always try to get there in time to watch Today Show while I do cardio.  This morning I was flipping channels so it could have been on one of the other morning shows that I heard that Valerie Harper has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

I remember Valerie's character as Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern lived in a big Victorian house in Minneapolis.  The house had been split into apartments and their landlord also lived in the house.  Her name was Phyllis Lindstrom.

The show was groundbreaking because it portrayed Mary as an independent women living on her own with a professional job.  Rhoda was the artsy upstairs neighbor who portrayed another aspect of the independent woman in the '70s.  Everybody loved Mary but I always liked Rhoda the best.

Rhoda and Phyllis both had spinoffs of the show and I watched both.  In addition to the opening for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the openings for Rhoda and Phyllis are still some of my favorites.

After Rhoda, Valerie Harper went on to at least one other television show and also starred onstage. 

I'm very sad to learn that she is dealing with this illness and the outlook doesn't look good.  I did find Ed Asner's comments in Daily News uplifting and it reminded me of what his character Lou Grant told Mary Richards one day, "You've got spunk!"

Valerie Harper has spunk and I hope it helps her with this fight. 

How Are Things Down UNDERwear?

The other day on KRBE, I came in on the tail end of a conversation that they were having about buying underwear for men.  From what I could figure out, I think some of them were surprised at what someone would pay for a pair.

It also got me to thinking about the fact that during the Super Bowl, Calvin Klein did a commercial.  Who were they targeting?  Men or women?  Judge for yourself.

And recently, Ellen launched an underwear line and had a contest to find her model.  Mike was the winner.

And a discussion about underwear wouldn't be complete without an aussieBum video.  They recently launched they're  'BILLY' Range line.  According to a comment on their Facebook page, this new line is selling really well.

Locally, Bayou Beau Underwear has been making great strides in penetrating the men's underwear market.  In addition to make great underwear, they are also big supporters of local non-profits.  They're always willing to get their models to be at events.

And while we're on the subject of underwear, don't forget to mark your calendar for National Underwear Day which is August 5, 2013.  Here's a video from the 2007 event.

The Harlem Shake - Part II

I had a feeling that it was just a matter of time before someone stood up and said, "This is the real Harlem Shake."  And Melissa Harris-Perry did it today.  Of course she had to give a commentary, because she's that way, before the viewers actually get to see it happen.

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It sort of reminds me of Voguing.  Madonna didn't invent it, she just brought it to the spotlight.  In fact, it was while I was watching Paris Is Burning that I was introduced to the New York City ball culture and the houses.  Voguing is something that had been happening for years and was brought to the general public via the movie and Madonna.

I wonder what the next craze will be that we'll buy into but that already exists? Any ideas?

Saturday Snickers

These are few things that I saw during the past week that made me snicker.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

If only I could get The Calvinator to fetch vodka, a shaker, glass, lemon twist and vermouth.  This is a cute story that was posted on Pets Lady.

 

And here is another dog video that made me snicker

And then there is the new edition of March Madness - Sweet Sistine.  I originally saw it as a Facebook posting and when I Googled for the image it took me to Religion News.