Ok, I'm back...again.

I'm am not having a great week. First my ISP screwed up my account and ended up cancelling my service! This after all the crap I went through to get it working. They originally didn't log my move request when we moved so I had to figure all that out. Then they didn't switch over our service from VDSL to DSL. I finally got that all sorted and was surfin' for a couple of weeks and then BAM! I couldn't get through. The system said I had a invalid ID number! I reset the modem, reset the connection and I tried everything I could to see if I could fix the problem myself.

I dread calling Bell because, well, there are a lot of tech/CSR's there that are not very proficient at English and it makes it VERY difficult to deal with them.

Finally I call and find out about how they've cancelled my service AND they've done it because they still have my address listed as my OLD address!! I thought this was all sorted out, but alas it was not meant to be and we had to wait 2 days for them to set up the "move request" and re-install the service! ARRRRGGGH!

THEN, yesterday morning I discovered my DEAD desktop. The one we only bought back less than a year ago. The computer that had ALREADY lost a HD. The cheap POS that the SOB didn't even install a DVD player into. The same computer that this guy shoved all his OLD crap off the shelf into!

What a joke.

Anyway, back and happy as we are using our new HP laptop, fully loaded and (so far) very good. Although I really don't like the Vista. I see how it does get on your nerves. It isn't very intuitive or helpful.

Gonna have to buy a new HD for the desktop, AND a new XP as the A-hole that made the computer wouldn't give us a copy of the OS.

*SIGH*

RIP
ALLAN MELVIN
February, 18, 1923 ~ January, 17, 2008

Thanks for all the great laughs!

"You Dog you!"

Just a quick hello and to let y'all know I'm not dead (yet)! We moved over the holidays, which alone is hellish and one of the most stressful things in life, but to do so over Christmas/New Years and frigid temps is a death wish! Now we got tons of unpacking to do! At least we're in and the worst is over.

Why, you may ask, would we be so insane as to move in the middle of the most "festive" time of the year? Well, this place came up suddenly and we're saving $250 a month in rent and it's a great little 2 bedroom on the ground floor of a triplex. We're in the corner back right by the parking and back door, which makes shopping etc. a breeze. Not only that, but for small stuff we can simply pass it through the dining room window!

The cats, which surprisingly took to the new digs immediately, will be in for a treat in the spring/summer, as we'll put harnesses and leashes on them so they can romp about just outside of the windows. They will love it!

This blog is just a quick hello, and a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my TVDC pals and letting you know I wasn't ignoring you either! Another reason for my tardiness was that Bell Canada kind of dropped the ball on the switch over with the Internet; they didn't have the work order even though I had included it with moving the phone. To be fair, once they discovered the missed move, they jumped all over it and I was up and running in less than 24 hours!

Anyway, I'll be out here sporadically as we still have a ton to unpack. Funny how no matter how careful you are about labelling boxes, you still can't find stuff! Like a can opener for example!

Tah-tah for now, and to quote the great philosopher Schwarzenegger "I'll be back"!

Well, I am no longer a high school drop out! I have received my GED results and passed with flying colours! Yay me!

I had an odd sensation as I opened up the large envelope and saw my diploma; I suddenly thought of my mother, who died back in 1986, and felt a bit choked up. My mother was always sad that I left school so close to graduating. She was always one of my biggest boosters, as mothers tend to be!

I only wished she could have been around to see this moment.


Ah, a day at the beach with Mum! What could be better?


The scoring has 2 elements; the standard score and the percentile rank. The standard score is what makes or breaks you, and the percentile shows you were you stand compared to graduating high school seniors. For example, my score in Science was an 800/800 (pass is 450), and my percentile was a 99%, which means my score was better than 99% of graduating seniors! I'm such a geek!



I was a bit shocked as I scored that perfect in Science, and near perfect in both Math and Social Science, and my lowest grades were in subjects I considered my strengths! I scored a 600 with an 81% in Language Arts-Writing and a 620/67% in Language Arts-Reading. While more than respectable, I would have thought that the score would be the opposite. I guess watching Nova, The Discovery Channel and other "educational" programming paid off! I also would have thought, being a voracious reader and somewhat competent with the written word, I would have given me a higher score.

I was especially surprised by the Math and Science results because I had to do them the Saturday morning after doing the first tests on Friday night; not getting home till almost 11pm. In order to make it back for the 9am, part 2 of the tests I had to wake up at 4:30am and take the GO bus and subway to the test site. My brain was mush, but still managed to fire off some synapses!

The "Total Battery" score says that I ranked in the upper 2% of graduating seniors!
Cool!

Who knew I was such a smarty-pants? I certainly didn't.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

NAME THAT THEME: GAME 3

PLAY GAME 3 HERE!


Ok, last game was close, and there were only 2 correct answers. The theme last time was from the show, "Land of the Giants" an Irwin Alan production. He was the guy in the 60's for over the top action and excitement. He was the producer of such big blockbusters as "The Towering Inferno", "The Poseidon Adventure". For these things he was given the moniker, "The Master of Disaster"!

Along with Giants, he also created and produced:
"Lost In Space", "The Time Tunnel" and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"!
Irwin Allen died in 1991 of a heart attack.

Here is the "Land of the Giant's" Opening Video!

The other cast members from LotG have not really done much after the show:




1.Gary Conway
-Last work in Movie called "Womans Story" in 2000 and before that in another movie "Liberty & Bash" in 1990. Owns and operates a winery in California with his wife of +40 years.
2. Don Matheson
-Last role in 1999 in 7th Heaven
3. Stefan Arngrim
-Still acting in bit parts; last seen in
"The Fog" 2006 remake
and a bit part in
"Battlestar Galactica: Razor"
4. Deanna Lund
-Not in anything since 1993
5. Heather Young
-Last seen in "Galactica 1980", she is 62 and has 5 kids,
so she must have been busy raising them.
6. Kurt Kasznar
-Was last in a TV movie in 78, but died of Cancer in 79.
7. Don Marshall
-Hasn't been seen since 1992.

(An interesting note: They are planing a remake of "The Time Tunnel"
for television release sometime in 2008. I'm not sure if it's just a single
stand-alone movie or a new series.)

INTERESTING STOPS ON THE INFO HIGHWAY

Since the theme of the game last week was "Land of the Giants" these 2 stops are kind of funny.

This one is done by this man who creates miniature scenes in our normal world. At first it sounds weird, but when you look at the pictures it actually is quite humourous and oddly realistic.

Little People Street Art

This next stop takes you even smaller. It is the contest site for microscopic photography sponsored by Nikon and has some very interesting and surprisingly beautiful pictures!

Nikon Small World

BUSKIEBOY KNOWS IF YOU'VE BEEN BAD or GOOD!



Hahaha! So you better be damned good!

Buskieboy Santa at the Motorola children's party back in 1996!
(I brought my own padding!)
There were about 250 kids in attendance.It was so much fun.
Some kids were completely in awe and speechless; others cried;
some older kids looked at me suspiciously. I got hugs from the
toddlers and some asked for presents for either their parents or
siblings! One little girl asked me to send food to the starving
children! That REALLY touched me! I had to tell her parents!
They were so proud of her!

Santa's One Tough &%$#*@! Boss

I'm not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, but this past November 19th saw the passing of none other than Mr. Whipple himself, one Dick Wilson.
He played his most famous role for an amazing 24 years, from 1965 to 1989! He is listed in the Guiness World Book as the longest continuous role in a commercial!
Of course all of us at TVDOTCOM also remember him as "The Drunk" he reprised 16 times on "Bewitched"! He actually appeared more times than recurring stars, Maurice Evans, Paul Lynde, and Alice Ghostley!

In a 1979 poll, he was the third most recognised American behind Richard Nixon and Billy Graham!

Dick "Mister Whipple" Wilson was 91.

I'm going to write my G.E.D. this Friday and Saturday. I'm getting
nervous, but I'm pretty sure I should be able to ace the tests.
On Friday, the test begins at 5:30pm and goes till 9:30pm and
then I go back and write the other 2/3 rds on Saturday from 8:45am
till 3:00pm! I even have to write an essay for part of the language
arts portion. I did a pre-test when I did my computer upgrades this
past September and they were amazed because not only did I ace
those tests, I kept finishing them WAY ahead of the scheduled times!
That's a good omen.
I need to get my Grade 12, because even the most lowest entry jobs
or even some warehouse or factory jobs are demanding a High School
or equivilent. I quit back in 1979 due to problems at home and later I
did attempt night school; doing a grade 12 advanced English course
and I was top in my clazz with an 89 average!! Circumstance once
again made it hard to complete any courses to get my last 2 credits.
I've decided to do the GED as it is the fastest route.
Wish me luck!

NAME THAT TUNE! Game #2

The last NAME THAT TUNE theme was...Night Gallery !

To find out the winner, play game #2, RIGHT NOW...!

GAME NO. 2

I was making up a traditional Halloween Blog last week and I just didn't have the strength to finish it in time, suffering as I was from that bout of flu. So, I'll save it all for next year. Instead, I thought I'd honour Rememberance Day.

If it's natural to kill, how come men
have to go into training to learn how?
~Joan Baez

Rememberance Day is observed primarily by Commonwealth countries, but our cousins in the US will have Veteran's Day to commemorate the war dead. While November 11th is less of an observance for the US, they do it up bigger in the springtime with Memorial Day.

"I don't know what weapons World War III will be fought with,
but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
~Albert Einstien

The Poppy is regarded as the international symbol of rememberance. I discovered that a big part in making it so was an American. A YMCA canteen worker in New York, Miss Moina Michael, was so taken by John McCrea's WW1 poem, "In Flander's Field's" that she made it her mission to make sure that we never forget our war dead.



Good Old Snoopy: WW1 Flying Ace!



(Click for Larger)
I love how they even give the day a tribute on our $10 bill.
(Geesh, we got pretty moolah!)

I count myself lucky and am thankful that I've never had to serve in a war of any kind, and that my parents never had to fight, although they did have front row seats during WW2.

There was never a good war, or a bad peace.
~Benjamin Franklin

After watching all the war specials this past couple of weeks, I can honestly say that I am also very thankful to those that have served and are serving, to protect us from evil and fanatic enemies past and present. Being of a generation that has not experienced those horrors of war, I can only imagine what it may have been like to have gone through such terrors. What I might think it was like certainly pales in comparison to the real thing.

If we have no peace, it is because we
have forgotten that we belong to each other.
~Mother Teresa

You can see it in the faces of the veterans who relate their stories on the war documentaries and programs this week. How sad they become while remembering a pal who was killed or a horrific moment of terror in battle. I see any of these soldiers, many of whom are tough as nails, break down in some way; eyes tearing up; voices cracking, as they are again re-living that moment in time that sadly they will never, ever forget. I feel so sad for them, and can't help but get a bit teary eyed myself, although I have no right to do so.

To all those brave souls, both living and dead I give a sincere Thank-You!

One of the most beautifully written letters in history came out of the American Civil War. Here is the YouTube snippet from Ken Burns' epic masterpiece. If you don't get misty by the end of it, well... The Sullivan Ballou Love Letter

"I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask,
"Mother, what was war?""
~Eve Merriam

Not that I'm a war movie buff or fan, but I do like quality. My ALL TIME favorite is:
Saving Private Ryan. This movie has one of the most realistic opening battle scenes ever filmed. If you've never seen it, as it did me and many others, it will simply blow you away.I am also not ashamed to admit to grabbing a tissue at the end; no matter how many times I watch it.Along with a epic opening, the ending chokes me up and I can't help but tear up.

As a matter of fact, a Veterian's group awarded Steven Spielberg with an award, honouring the movie's dedication to showing the harshness of Normandy and how it really was there. One of the vet's honouring him at the time was none other than the late James "Scotty" Doohan from StarTrek. Mr. Doohan was on Juno beach during the invasion with the Canadian contingent. He lost his ring finger on his left hand from a machine gun hit. If you watch him on StarTrek, he is always clenching his hand, as he was always self-conscious about it.

A couple of other movies that are really great because they show what might happen if we have another WORLD WAR are "Failsafe"and the documentary "Trinity & Beyond". The fomer deals with a communications/computer failure and a nuclear crisis between the USSR and America. Glen Fonda stars among others. Very gripping and tension filled. I understand a remake was make in 2000 starring George Clooney, but I missed it. They should make an updated movie again.

With "Trinity & Beyond" it shows the progression of nuclear bombs from the first "tiny" bombs to some of the most devastating weapons, using never before seen footage of the test expolosions. They are at once chillingly horrifying and captivatitingly beautiful. Amazing footage, but makes you realize that if we use these inanother war, it's over. We won't survive.

Here is this installment of Buskieboy's "Name That Tune!" . Have Fun!
(An additional clue is that I made this for the Halloween blog!)

What is this theme from?

An Early Happy ThanksGiving to my American Friends!

A Quiet Exit

So it seems the famous, if not the only famous mime, Marcel Marceau passed away last Saturday, the 22nd. He was 84 and died of a heart attack.

When I heard about it, I was speechless.
~
Should you have a minute of noise for a mime?
~
Do they have to put silencers on the guns for a 21 gun salute?

performer and I remember seeing him on Ed Sullivan and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson as a kid.
He had a interesting life. As a member of the French Resistance he saved many Jewish children smuggling them to Switzerland. Sadly, his father died at Auschwitz.

SELF-CONGRATULATORY BOASTING DEPARTMENT

Shalom! Today I am an Editor.
I got the nod for the DanMod guide....


Sorry,I meant the Ted Knight guide.
:D
It's perfect for me to start with as it's obviously not a busy guide, as he's been gone for 21 years now (RIP), so I shouldn't be too swamped. I have to give a huge shout-out to my pal Indianamom who, not only being my first ever TV.COM friend, has been a big help giving me tips as to how to submit etc. Thank-you Mom!

SEPARATED AT BIRTH?

I was amazed at how much Alyssa Milano has grown up, when you watch her commercial for Neet! But she'll always be that cute tomboy with the missing tooth from Who's the Boss?
Ialso noticed how much she resembles Roxann Dawson (B'Lana Torres from Voyager).

Here are a few more thatI think MUST be genetically linked:



Laura San Giacomo (Just Shoot Me! ) and Karen Valentine (Room 222)

This one we all know about. Still the resemblance is eerie.
Some more next blog.

MAYBE THEY'RE WEAK FROM HUNGER?

My wife bought these candy bars the other day.I thought it was some kind of joke, but I'm not so sure. Did they get a lot of complaints?

Is it REALLY so complicated that someone would need instructions? :P

SOME INTERESTING STOPS ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY

Silly Quiz:
(Highlite the Answer line)

Which of the 7 dwarves do not have beards?
Answer:--> Only 1. Dopey.
Name the capital city located the heart of Czechoslovakia.
Answer:--> Oslo (czechOSLOvakia)
What do Weebles do?
Answer:--> Wobble.
What don't Weebles do?
Answer-->: Fall down.
What was the first toy commercial for? (1952)
Answer:--> Mr. Potato Head
What is Det. Columbo's first name?
Answer:--> Frank (as seen in close up of his badge on DVD)

Silly Management Quizette

COLOR TV? Now that's not such a Silly idea!

NBC who was owned by RCA enjoyed an early lead in color broadcasting.
Mainly because CBS and ABC didn't want to use NBC's technology and
also give folks more reason to buy RCA's color televisions and add to
NBC's profits. It took CBS and ABC about 10 years to catch up.

Funny but I found that these early logos triggered many a memory.
Strange how a simple thing like a sound bite can transport you back.

Here are a couple of clips of the progression of the logo:

Very early version circa 1950's
The version I'm more familiar with from the 60's

Here is the CBS version from the 60's.
Here is the ABC version from the 60's.

The Definintion of Determination:

I was recently shocked to discover some startling OLD news.
When watching the Discovery Channel recently about Megabuilders
and the HUGE tools they use to make an AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, to my
astonishment I learned that:

They are building a state-of-the-art Aircraft Carrier and it will be
named the U.S.S. George H. W. Bush. Not that I have an issue with
the name, I mean as a Canadian, who am I to say what you Americans
want to name your $4, 500,000,000 warship?

(Yes, that was $4.5 Billion, WOW!)

With all due respect to Mr. Bush Sr., are there not other more
deserving American's of historical significance? Arguably, he
wasn't a particularly effective single term president.

Also, I am not up on American law or procedure, but isn't it a
no-no to name such things after living presidents, and only
after a deceased commander-in-chief, or is that just currency?

I'd love to hear from my American friends here. What do you
think of the name choice? Would you have named this amazing
state-of-the-art boat after someone else?

SHEA STADIUM


The House thatRuth Built: Yankee Stadium

While discussing the MLB All-Star game with tvfanatic91,
I discovered to my utter surprise that:

In 2009 New York City will say farewell to both Yankee Stadium
AND Shea Stadium! Not only is this stunning news, but I really
can't believe Yankee Stadium will be torn down! After the new
stadium is built, they will demolish Yankee Stadium and turn it
into parkland.
I am shocked. Yankee Stadium has 84 years of historic memories,
and Shea, while half the age, was where the Beatles started the
British invasion and changed the future of music history!


I'm beginning to think aliens abducted me over the last few years,
because I never heard of these MAJOR news items! Not on
Letterman, Leno or The Daily Show! I read nothing about this in
any paper. Seriously, I don't know how I missed these things.

Here are the answers for the SOUND BITE QUIZ:

1. "Let's be careful out there"
Sgt. Phil Esterhaus, Hill Street Blues
2. "What you see is what you get!"
Flip Wilson, The Flip Wilson Show
3. "Make it so!"
Captain Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation
4. "God'll get you for that Walter!"
Maude Findlay, Maude
5. "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"
Gomer Pyle, The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, USMC
6. "You eeediott!"
Ren, The Ren and Stimpy Show
7. "Elizabeth, I'm coming!"
Fred Sanford, Sanford and Son
8. "I know nothing, NOTH--ing!"
Sgt. Schultz, Hogan's Heroes
9. "I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl ..."
Larry, Newhart
10. "Who loves you, baby?"
Theo Kojak, Kojak

IndianaMom pricked up her ears and ACED the test again, 10/10!

Mac-Ale had the volume up to do 9/10

AprilFox was listening and scored 7/10


Today's Quiz: Sitcom Cities

What city did the following sitcoms call home:

(PM to give everyone a chance)

1.Fraiser
2.Full House
3.Boy Meets World
4.That 70's Show
5.One Day at a Time
6.Who's the Boss?
7.Perfect Strangers
8. The Bob Newhart Show
9. Home Improvement
10.Sanford & Son

Question of the Day:

How did you come up with your nickname?

Me:
Buskie is a term of endearment in Denmark, my wife's mother's
country, and I have been called "Buskieboy" by the missus a
few times.(When not in the doghouse!:roll: )

(I sometimes go by Oblio, but that's another story)