Friday, August 31, 2012

Fun and Photos by LK

(I gotta tell ya, it is so great to have John's World back!  For awhile there, I thought that all of my posts for at least the past two years were lost for good...now I'd better get to backing them up just in case...)



Yesterday was the first day back at school.  They say time flies when you're having fun and boy I must've had a fun summer.  On Wednesday I spent the last few moments of freedom the way I began them, with my pal Laura Kim.


She and I hit Grana's in Jamesport for some delicious, brick oven pizza and then we had a fun-filled afternoon photo shoot, one like we always seem to do.  Most, if not all of the shots here are from LK's eye.  Pretty cool, I think...at least they were fun to do!


Anybody wanna buy a chicken coop?

Wouldn't you like to know what's behind the door?

One of my favorites


Kewl new shirt!

Too much shade!

Ahhhh!


Should I finish this in one huge bite or lotsa little ones?




I am NOT sucking in my gut, lol


So summer is over and school is back.  Well, Labor Day Weekend is still ahead and there are the last two trips to Cherry Grove to look forward to, but at this time next week I will be back into full school mode.  I cannot complain.  In fact, in a way I'm actually looking forward to it...I miss my students!




Deal of the Week! Sunflower Garden Bouquet + Free Premium Vase Only $34.99! (Reg. $49.99). Order Now at 1800flowers.com! (While Supplies Last) 


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Jock Jams...Lets Get Ready To Rumble!


Ladies and gentlemen, 

                                Let's get ready to RUMBLEEEEEEE!

I am back!  About five minutes ago I received an email from Google/Blogger that John's World has been restored!  It was a week and a day ago that I received another, shocking and disappointing email telling me that this blog had been deleted for spam.  I really had no idea what I had done wrong and appealed their decision.  As it turns out, it was apparently a case of mistaken spamdentity, lol, and now John's World is back online.

Of course, after almost five years of blogging here and with a lot of my own heart and soul put into it, I was understandably upset.  In the time since they had deleted the blog, I started another John's World on WordPress, which you can check out here.  From here on in, I will be posting all of my posts to both blogs (except Song of the Day, which I will only keep up here), just in case.

So we return to our I Love the 90's Song of the Day with a very celebratory mash-up of fun and rousing tunes from 1995 called Jock Jams.  Enjoy and Happy Hump Day!

   

 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Termites: Little Buggers Eating Away at My Wallet


The word for today is "termites."  Yes, those infamous, disgusting, ant-like, flying buggy things that eat wood, especially the wood in our houses.  Well my house isn't being eaten by these creatures, but my two-car, detached garage is. I was cleaning out a lot of plant overgrowth on the side of it the other day and I had to pull out a couple of viney things that had grown into the shingles of the structure.  As I pulled the vines out from in between the shingles, I saw them.  Light brown, gross-looking things that looked like they were trying to have wings, but not quite.  As they popped out from within the shingles, a couple of them flew towards me and I screamed like a white lady in church.


Anyway, I've kinda known that my garage has had termites for awhile now, longer than I'd like to admit.  They've been munching on my garage doors for probably a year now and all I've ever done about it when I've seen them was spray the shit out of em with Raid.  Then I wouldn't see them for awhile and I'd think to myself, "it's okay, they're gone."  Really, I was ignoring the problem, but for the same reason a lot of people probably would  I don't just have money lying around to pay someone to exterminate them.

But when I saw them the other day, I knew I had to make a call for help.  I've been joking with my pal the past few months that one of these days I'm gonna be at my kitchen sink, doing dishes, and the garage is just going to implode before my eyes.  I always said it to be funny, but hell, it could really happen.

I got on the horn this morning and called Arrow Exterminators.  The guy came...he wasn't too friendly at first, but eventually got down to business, finding where in my garage the little buggers had struck.  He started explaining to me how they were going to get rid of them, which came as a surprise.  I had thought they were going to spray something, but no.

To get rid of termites, they actually plant these hollow stakes in the ground and put a piece of wood inside of them.  About twenty or so of these are planted around the structures (my house, too!) and monitored monthly to see where the mites' are by checking the wood in the stakes.  Once it is discovered which wood in the stakes are being eaten, the bait n switch happens.  The wood is replaced with a "patented" chemical and voila!  The bait is taken back to the colony, leaving all of them to perish.  Arrow's gonna come for 12 months.

The man started asking questions about the house, which I was secretly worried about, too.  I brought him down to my unfinished basement, where he inspected the upper reaches of the ceiling down there.  I knew what he was looking for, some sort of trails the termites leave whilst they travel through their dinner, and my eyes followed his flashlight all around.  Nothing.  Whew!

Once he'd finished the inspection, we started talking about getting it done.  

"Just lemme get my tool out of my car and we'll measure.  You know, this is gonna be cheap, I can already tell."

"Oh I like that word!  It's the end of summer and I'm sucking air here."  I had told him earlier that I was a teacher.

"Cheap," as the gentleman told me, turned out to be a whopping $1600!  I had been thinking maybe seven or eight hundred, but this was twice that.  

"What am I going to do?" I said as a manner of saying "Where do I sign?"

So now my credit card is $1600, or should I say $1742, more in debt, thanks to New York State getting it's sizable piece of my purchase. I should be exasperated, but I'm not.  Well maybe just a little, but at least I know that my garage will no longer be in danger of imploding, and having the service only enhances the value of the house. It's only money, right?  Well, make-believe money that I haven't even made yet, but I know I'm not the only one with that problem.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - The Boy Bands, Part 2: All for Love - Color Me Badd


Now here's a boy band many of you probably forgot about.  Color Me Badd was really a quick blip on the screen of pop music in the early 90's, scoring a few notable hits before disappearing into the sunset.  Here's one of their most popular:


All For Love - New Jack Swing - R&B Hip Hop Hits


Monday, August 20, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - The Boy Bands, Part 1 - Step by Step - NKOTB

The 1990's could very well have been known as the decade of the boy band. Just a few short months ago I spoke of the boy band phenomenon, and how it has returned recently with the British Invasion of The Wanted and One Direction.  Well, boy bands can really be traced back to the 80's, with the assemblage of New Edition, New Kids on the Block, and several others, but it was really the 90's when the genre of sugary sweet pop music performed by prefabricated pretty boys who could sing and dance came to be a major force in the music industry.


I had originally planned to do a mega-Song of the Day post featuring some of the best of 90's boy bands, but since there are so many to choose from, we'll be featuring a whole week's worth of boy band Songs of the Day, starting with one of NKOTB's last true hits from the year 1990.  At the time, Jordan, Jonathan, Donnie, Joey and Danny were the pop idols of music, riding the crest of a wave that still flows even today.  Enjoy Step by Step and have a wonderful Monday!


 


Step By Step - New Kids On the Block: Super Hits

Sunday, August 19, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Supermodel - RuPaul

Once upon a time, there was a little black girl
In the Brewster Projects of Detroit, Michigan
At fifteen, she was spotted by an Ebony Fashion Fair talent scout
And her modeling career took off

You better work!


DarianDarling


Simply put, RuPaul is one fierce diva!  Nowadays, she's the star if her own program, RuPaul's Drag Race, but back in the 90's, she was just starting to come into her own with television spots, club appearances and a burgeoning career in music.  In 1993, this record became an international smash, and it still gets everyone sashaying and posing whenever it's played.  There are plenty of great one-liners in this, and many other Ru tunes. Oh, ,and pretty much all of her music is fun, too..enjoy!  




Supermodel (There, U Just Got Rocked Mix) - RuPaul Supermodel (You Better Work) Rumixes


Saturday, August 18, 2012

Wasted time and a need to focus

This started out being a post about how my forgetfulness turned into a wasted day yesterday, but as I was writing, I was also thinking, and realizing more and more that forgetfulness is not only due to aging, as I posit in the next section, but maybe to my inherent lack of focus.  Please read on...


Friday: Wasting Time 

Do you ever have one of those days?  (Of course you do.  We all do.).  I'm talking about one of those days where nothing ever seems to go beyond where you want it to, a day where you feel like you're walking in quicksand, never quite accomplishing what you set out to do.  Well I had one of those days today, and yeah, it stinks!

I don't know what's happening to me.  Well, I think I do know, but I hope I'm wrong.  Age.  Yeah, it's got to be age!  At least that's part of it.  I find that I'm getting more and more forgetful with each passing day, and in the end it causes me nothing but problems!

Today was all my own fault, really.  I offered a favor to one of my students for today, a favor of which I was reminded of late last night, one that I had forgotten about.  You see, my school did not offer summer sessions this year, nor summer make-up testing for the state exams, and the closest school where my students could go to take such exams was in my hometown, an hour from where I work.  One of my students needed a ride home after the test, and I had offered to give it to her a little over a week ago.

It wouldn't have been a big deal if I had remembered, but in my post-Atlantic City euphoria I had made plans to do a little writing, get to the beach, and then hang out with a friend out at a bar in Bridgehampton...three things I really wanted to do.  None of it ever happened.

To make matters worse, I forgot that the exam was in the afternoon, and so I wasn't going to be making said trip until around 3 p.m.  I realized this only after I didn't get her expected call when I thought the exam had ended at 11 a.m.  My morning tasks had been rushed for nothing, and I could have done so much more had I realized.  Wasting time..  

I needed to do laundry, but hadn't done it in the morning because of the time, and then again I didn't do it in the afternoon for the same reason.  In the end I could've done three loads during the time I actually had! All I did all day was waste time waiting, undecided as to what to do, and nothing got done.  Grrrrr!!!!!

So why do I share this?  Well, for one thing I know I'm not the only person who forgets things, or wastes time frustratingly.  Time is precious, and although we all need our lazy days, we also need to make the most of our time, too.  If anything, a day like this should serve to remind anyone to find a way to mark their appointments and responsibilities.  Write them down and check them often.  Otherwise there's nothing but unnecessary problems!

keepandshare

Discipline and Focus

I mentioned several months ago that I had been reading, albeit for a short time, Dan Millman's The Life You Were Born to Lead. The book, for those of you who don't remember, looks at a life's meaning through numbers based on a person's date of birth, sort of like astrology, but more precise.  The book is very interesting and very insightful, only regrettably I let myself get away from it, always intending to get back to it, but never doing so.

If you'd like to know more about The Life You Were Born to Lead, check out I'm definitely a 5 and a 7.  Perhaps you'll be intrigued enough to go out and check out the book.  As for the book itself and how it relates to this post, I am realizing that perhaps this forgetfulness has to do with some of the things I read about myself in the book.  

In that post I refer you to in the preceding paragraph, I explain that in Millman's system I am a 25/7, and the '5' says that I am undisciplined, that I lack the focus to concentrate on one activity at a time, which is totally true!  I am literally all over the place when it comes to pretty much everything in my life.  Whether it be writing,daily activities, school work, house work, shopping, you name it, I'm always trying to do ten-plus things at a time.  Maybe that's why I keep forgetting things!  Duh!

You can either be good at a lot of things or be really great in just one.

That's a saying I heard somewhere.  I can't say whether or not I got it exactly right, but the meaning is clear.  Like with many things in life, knowing something to be true and acting on that knowledge are two separate things.  Bringing them together is a key to getting it right.  I know I have the potential to be a master teacher, a great writer, and so much more if I only learn to find that "just one" thing to be great at.  I am a '5,' though, and so I know it will be a challenge.    

I need to get myself focused, find some discipline.  A rigid schedule, perhaps.  I don't know how just yet, but thinking about it is a good start. This is a task I find myself facing today, tomorrow, the next day... I'll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, check out Millman's book:

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Jump Around - House of Pain

Enjoy, and Happy Saturday!

 

Jump Around - House of Pain



Friday, August 17, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Power of Love/Love Power - Luther Vandross

You've got to believe in love
It's a feeling that's next to none
Can't stop until we are one

With the power of love



Luther Vandross. Silky smooth voice. R&B soul music at its best! Poor Luther passed away a little more than seven years ago, and much too young. He was only 54, and at the time of his death there was little fanfare in the music world, or at least that's the way I see it.


 Luther Vandross compiled a formidable music catalog with some great, great songs, like Never Too Much, Stop to Love, Any Love, and so many more. This one is one of my all time favorites, and it was a bug hit for Luther back in 1990, hitting #1 on the Hot R&B Chart and #4 on the Hot 100. Like all of his other stuff, this one is just pure ear candy, plain and simple. Enjoy ad Happy Friday!

 

Power of Love / Love Power - Luther Vandross: Greatest Hits


August 16, 2012: Atlantic City and the "Summer of Weezie"

Well yeah, I've been quite absent this summer, haven't I?  Other than the daily Song of the Day and a couple of 90's pieces, there hasn't been much going on in John's World lately, at least not the online John's World.  Actually I've been keeping pretty busy and time is so little and so precious that I've had little of it, nor the motivation to write.  It's funny but this seems to happen to me mostly during vacation time, when you'd think I'd be writing more.


Atlantic City

I just returned from a three-day trip to Atlantic City.  It was by far the best trip I've ever had down there, as I met some really nice people, bought some nice new clothes, and came home with a couple of bucks in my pocket.  I usually go there two or three times a year, sometimes with my mom, my sis and her friend, and sometimes I go alone, like this time.

Atlantic City is not always fun.  There are plenty of bad times I remember having there, including one very forgettable visit with my (very) cranky grandfather a few years ago.  Losing money quickly and mostly is no fun either.  You see, I never go down there thinking I'm going to win money, and I'm happy if I can play for an hour or two on $20, but sometimes $20 is gone in five minutes and that just makes for not a fun time.

Of course, there are good things about going to Atlantic City, too.  For one thing, the hotel rooms are pretty nice, much of the time, and I always get them for free.  (In fact the last time I went, I was given a suite!)  I usually like to stay at Harrah's, but they didn't have rooms available, so I stayed at the Tropicana.

Winning is fun, too, and so is the shopping!  There's a Tanger Outlet there with all the big brand names and in New Jersey there is no sales tax to boot!  Big bonus!  I love to go into the casino early in the morning with a cup of java and late at night with a white Russian.  Those are the times when the casino is quieter and it's easier to just delve in, relax and play.  Whether you go to Atlantic City to gamble, shop, eat, do the Boardwalk or whatever, being in there, especially in the summer, is pretty cool!

gusto

The Trop

This trip I went by myself.  I've always been the kind of person who doesn't mind traveling alone.  I've done it many times before, and I'm used to it.  Sometimes it's tough to get a traveling partner when you're single, so I always make my own good time whether or not I have people with me.

Now, click the play button:  (WARNING: Explicit Language)


Does anybody remember this?  This is a clip from Eddie Murphy's Delirious back in 1983.  That was such a hilarious movie, and there are a lot of one-liners I still use from time to time.  Anyway, whenever I stay at the Tropicana, which is an old favorite of mine, the song Murphy sings as Ricky Ricardo plays in my head the whole time I'm there, clucks and all.  The theme of the casino, of course, is Cuba, and the mall leading from the garage to the casino is beautifully decorated like an old Cuban village, blue skies, clouds and all.  It's pretty cool!

Besides the decor, I have a special affinity for the Trop because a few years ago, I won five grand there on a slot machine.  Five flaming 7's in a row!  Ever since, I seem to get to play those couple of hours on 20 bucks there often, more-so than at other places, besides maybe Harrah's.  They've got nice restaurants and shops, and the atmosphere is decidedly cool and a trendy compared to some of the older casinos.   



Summer of Weezie

I think that this year I may finally be experiencing the long-awaited "Summer of Weezie," as it is known to my pals.  Every year since I've been single, I've always gone into summer saying that this was going to be my summer, one for the ages, with great times and great memories, and it never turns out quite like I expect it to.  But this year I'm having a lot of fun, and I'm savoring every moment.  These past three days were typical of how my summer's going.

I had a great time in Atlantic City.  I had a few drinks, met a few guys, shopped, played Keno (my game!), and won back most of what I'd gambled with from the beginning on my last night.  The whole city was buzzing with summer activity, and it was fun to be there.  The beach was teeming with sunbathers and swimmers, except during a brief afternoon thunderstorm on Wednesday.  The eateries were crowded with hungry diners, and the Boardwalk was abuzz with all sorts of activity.

There's nothing like walking the Boardwalk in AC on a warm summer's day, and there's plenty of entertainment in watching the people coming at you from all directions, the peddlers, the families, freaks, hot dudes (and beautiful babes, too!), foreign tourists, and of course the rickshaw pushers, either hanging around the casino entrances trying to sell rides or amassing together in big groups, chatting away in Russian, of which there is a lot of here.        

On Wednesday morning, I saw this dude win $11K at a slot machine.  I first heard the screams as I approached the area in Caesar's where the machine was and at first I thought it was one of those screams that those dramatic idiots yell out when they win a hundred bucks.  I hate those people!  Any-who, as I walked up to the machine, I saw that he had indeed won some kind of jackpot on a Yahtzee machine and he and his happy wife looked like they deserved it.  It was nice!

On Tuesday, I started off at Harrah's and did really well there playing slots, too!  It was around 1 p.m. when I got there and the first thing I did was get a drink to help me relax and have a good time.  My Margarita and I soon hit the Sex and the City slot machine and we promptly played there for a little over two hours, which was a good thing!

I tried out the new Revel casino all the way uptown.  The place is huge and cool, a massive and architecturally aesthetic building located along the Boardwalk just north of Showboat, and it looks like they're still expanding into what looks like something massive.  The only strange thing about Revel is that the whole property is non-smoking, which for me is weird and annoying.  I'm not sure if I'll be back there.
  
The rest of the time was much the same.  I just tried to live in the moment, and it worked.  I've been trying to do that a lot this summer, and it's been a really good one I think as a result.  I've always known that life is all about attitude and how you approach things.  There are two more weeks of freedom left before school starts again, and I'm going to try and enjoy each and every day until then.  Now if I could just learn to do that all the time...  




Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Song of the Day - Birthday Song - Madonna, feat. MIA


Well, I just got back from a short, but wonderful, trip to Atlantic City, which explains why there was no Song of the Day yesterday.  I'm also taking pause with I Love the 90's summer because today is a very special day...and the beat goes on...


 


B-Day Song (feat. M.I.A.) - MDNA (Deluxe Version)




B-Day Song
(feat. M.I.A)

And the beat goes on
I'm a happy girl
It's my birthday song
In my happy world

I know its gonna be a good day
oh yeah, today is my birthday
Huh!

And the beat goes on (And the beat goes on)
I'm a happy girl (I'm a happy girl)
It's my birthday song (Oh yeah, it's my birthday)
In my happy world (in my happy world)

Light my candles, gotta make a wish
Wrap up the present and seal it with a kiss
Gimme a spanking, start the day off right
Cause its my day, you're gonna sing my song tonight

And the beat goes on (And the beat goes on)
I'm a happy girl (I'm a happy girl)
It's my birthday song (Oh yeah, it's my birthday)
In my happy world (in my happy world)

I know it's gonna be a good day
Oh yeah, today is my birthday
I'm a happy girl (I'm a happy girl)

My type of party there's no hangover
So grab your things you better come over
We get high and we are still stay sober
We throw it down and then we gonna start over
My type of party there's no hangover

And the beat goes on (And the beat goes on)
I'm a happy girl (I'm a happy girl)
It's my birthday song (Oh yeah, it's my birthday)
In my happy world (in my happy world)

I want a diamond, don't give me a fake (That's what i said)
I'll let you lick the frosting of my cake
Gimme a spanking, start today off right
Cause its my birthday, You’ll be singing my song tonight

And the beat goes on (Na na na na, na na na na na)
I'm a happy girl (Na na na na, na na na na na)
It's my birthday song (Na na na na, na na na na na)
In my happy world (Na na na na, na na na na na)

I know it's gonna be a good day
Oh yeah, today is my birthday
I'm a happy girl
In my happy world

I know it's gonna be a good day
Oh yeah, today is my birthday
I'm a happy girl
It's my birthday everyday

Na na na na, na na na na na na
Na na na na, na na na na na na
(Gonna sing my song tonight)
Na na na na, na na na na na na
Na na na na, na na na na na na
(Gonna sing my song tonight)

Na na na na, na na na na na na
Na na na na, na na na na na na
(Gonna sing my song tonight)
Na na na na, na na na na na na
Na na na na na, na na na na na na
(Gonna sing my song tonight)

Happy Birthday!


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - What's Up - 4 Non Blondes



Today's song is from 1992, and it's a tune that you either loved or hated. I, obviously, loved it! To me it's a nice piece of songwriting with a nice, catchy melody.  It was written and performed by someone who had more success writing for others rather than herself and her group, 4 Non Blondes. I'm speaking of the talented Linda Perry, the lead singer of the group. In addition to writing hit songs for P!nk (Let's Get the Party Started) and Christina Aguilera (Beautiful), Linda has worked with the likes of Gwen Stefani, Courtney Love, James Blunt and Kelly Osbourne. Check out What's Up and have a great Tuesday!


 
4 Non Blondes - What's Up (What's Going by sayit

What's Up? - Bigger, Better, Faster, More!



Monday, August 13, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Come to My Window - Melissa Etheridge


last.fm

I would dial the numbers 
Just to listen to your breath 
I would stand inside my hall 
And hold the hand of death 


You don't know how far I'd go 
To ease this precious ache 
You don't know how much I'd give 
Or how much I can take 

Just to reach you 
Just to reach you 
Oh, to reach you... 

Before this 1994 song of the 1993 album, Yes I Am, Melissa Etheridge was already popular.  Appealing to college kids who were devoted to her unique brand of folksy rock and wonderful songwriting, Melissa was about as popular as one could get outside the mainstream pop music world.  Then this one came along, and sent her star into the stratosphere.

Come to My Window is an absolutely beautifully written and performed tune, and the desperation of the lyrics and the depth of her love is just, well, intense!  Enjoy and Happy Monday!


Come to My Window - Yes I Am


Sunday, August 12, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - How Bizarre - OMC


Today's song is a one hit wonder by New Zealand group OMC. The very catchy song was a big hit throughout late 1996 and early 1997, and I still can't help singing it in my head whenever I see something bizarre, lol.

 
How Bizarre (Mix) - How Bizarre


Saturday, August 11, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - I Alone - Live



Here's a great 1994 song from an alternative group called Live. I just love songs like this that have softer verses and rise into a crescendo at the chorus.  Awesome!

 
Live - I Alone by Tokunaga_Shouin

I Alone - Throwing Copper



Friday, August 10, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Fantasy - Mariah Carey


TGIF all! We're back with today's I Love the 90's Song of the Day, Mariah Carey's 1995 smash, Fantasy.  This was a great song, which masterfully samples the music track of another classic song from earlier years, Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love.  The video was shot in an amusement park located in Rye, NY, just north of the Bronx, and the coaster Mariah rides, the Dragon Coaster, was my very first roller coaster ever... Yeah! :-)  Enjoy!


 

Fantasy - Mariah Carey: Greatest Hits


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Justify My Love - Madonna


Since today is hump day I wanted to post something with the theme of, well, you know...  I figured, what better 90's song for a hump day than Madonna's Justify My Love.  The song is from her 1990 Immaculate Collection album, and the controversy that surrounded this song and video brought it straight to number one.  Clearly an introduction to her distinct "sex" years, the song is not her greatest, though the thumping, and decidedly sexual, back beat playing behind Madge's suggestive, almost spoken pangs, works well on a late night dance floor.  Enjoy, and Happy Hump Day!

 

Justify My Love - Celebration (Deluxe Version)


To read more on Madonna in the 90's, check out Part I and Part II.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Whatta Man - Salt N Pepa and En Vogue


mp3.rhapsody


Back in 1993, the seven ladies who made up hip hop trio Salt N Pepa and R&B divas En Vogue got together to make this little ditty that's a little hip hop, a little R&B, and a whole lotta good!

 

Whatta Man - Very Necessary


Monday, August 6, 2012

I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Buddy Holly - Weezer


Here's a 'retro' song from 1994 that reminisced about a previous decade, complete with a performance at Arnold's.

 


Buddy Holly - Weezer