Quack, Quack, Quack, Donald Duck

This song, "Quack, Quack, Quack, Donald Duck", which is being sung by Jimmie Dodd, is memorable for me from my days working at The Disney Store. I remember this cast member, Adrienne, doing this little dance and singing along to this song every time it played. Those were good times! This song is from one of Disney's Sing-Along Songs- the one called "Supercalifragilistiexpialidocious".

Voyage Into Space- The Last 5 Minutes (Giant Robot)

When I was a kid I used to watch this movie all the time- it came on TV all the time- maybe I've seen it 30 times. I remember Johnny Sokko and Giant Robot, and Guillotine, and all the monsters in this movie. It was cool- they should re-release this in theaters sometimes just for fun, but maybe in 3D.

The Classic Underdog End Credits (Syndicated Version) Music

Out of all the music I have ever heard in my life, this music at the end of this video is perhaps the most pervasive in my mind, and the most disturbing. It was disturbing for me as a 4 year old kid, and it always takes me back to that point when I hear it. I don't know what it is, but the end credits of the classic Underdog cartoon has really creepy music, in my opinion. That "post no bills" sign in here is significant, too, because I had never really understood that in the cartoon until I later saw realy signs (as a late teenager) saying "Post No Bills" on construction sites.

The Classic Underdog Cartoon Intro

This was my favorite TV show when I was about 4 years old. The music and the images in this cartoon are forever emblazoned in my mind. Underdog was cool- I liked his power, and he could fly really fast.

I Can't Wait for Obama to Be President

I really can't wait for Barack and Michelle Obama to have the White House as their home. It will be nice to know that someone who is really for all people will be President, and not just somebody who looks out only for rich people. It will be a nice Christmas this year, despite the bad economy.

Carol Burnett Show: Cinderella Gets It On

This is a VHS video of the Carol Burnett Show Collector's Edition, number 25. I have searched far and wide to find something like this, and now, after some help from a cool guy on Ebay who listed all of the contents of all the episodes for this show, I have found what I was looking for.

This video contains a true classic on television: the Emmy-award winning skit on "The Carol Burnett Show" called "Cinderella Gets It On" produced in 1975, which was the show's version of Cinderella. It stars Carol Burnett as Cinderella, the Pointer Sisters as the Stepsisters, Vicki Lawrence as the Stepmother, Harvey Korman as Fairy Godmother Marcus, and Tim Conway as the King of Rock himself, Elfin John.

This skit was great on several fronts: the comedy is classic, the music is really good (won an Emmy), the costumes are great (also won an Emmy), and all of the performers are in rare form. This is by far my favorite skit ever on "The Carol Burnett Show", and I have not seen it since it aired on CBS back in 1975 (although I had an audio tape of it for years- my sister stole it from me and I've never seen it again).

My Favorite Disney Resort

I have stayed at most of the Disney Resort hotels at Walt Disney World in Florida. My absolute favorite one there is Disney's Villas at the Wildnerness Lodge. Why, you may ask? Well, because I love theme of a big, old lodge made out of logs- the kind of place that you might find at Yellowstone National Park. It's built right next to a lake, and there are pine trees out back between the resort and the lake. The pool area there is cool, too- there are several pools and a hot tub. There's even a geyser. The Resort is located near the Magic Kingdom theme park, which is accessible by Disney Transport bus or by boat, which heads over to the Magic Kingdom every 10 or 15 minutes.

What about the Wilderness Lodge? Does that have better accommodations that the Villas, you may ask? Well, no. The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge is actually the newest part of the Wildnerness Lodge, and is part of the Disney Vacation Club. The rooms at the Villas are all larger than the ones at the main Wilderness Lodge, and have the comforts of home- it is timeshare, after all. The interiors of the rooms are spectacular- simply will blow you away. The Resort also offers 24-hour room service, so you can dine any time you want!

The main inn at the Wilderness Lodge is great, with great dining places and shopping. At the general store inside the resort, you can buy food and souvenirs, and you can even rent movies! (I rented "High School Musical" when I was there 2 weeks ago!) Movie rentals are free for Disney Vacation Club members. There is also a gym at the Resort (called "Sturdy Branches", located on the Villas side. For recreation, boat and bike rentals are also available at the Resort.

I can't wait to go back to the Villas at the Wildnerness Lodge. It' my favorite Disney Resort (my next favorite is Disney's Grand Californian Resort at the Disneyland Resort in California, which looks like it could be its cousin!)

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin (with Amy Poehler as Katie Couric) from Saturday Night Live

This is a skit on the 4th interview of Sarah Palin by Katie Couric. Tina Fey comes back to Saturday Night Live to give an excellent parody of Sarah Palin. I would never vote for Sarah Palin, but I love Tina Fey's portrayal, and I actually like Sarah Palin as a person.

The Bailout Revisited

The problem with the "bailout for banks" which was just signed into law was that originally, the President did not explain to the public exactly what it was supposed to accomplish. Now that it's been spelled out ( in a good speech by the President yesterday), I understand it more, and I could definitely see the need. It's true- banks have not been lending very many people money. As a matter of facts, a lot of people took their money out of the banks, making it even tougher for the banks to lend. It will probably take a little while for people to relax and spend.

The Government Bailout of the Banks: To Do, Or Not To Do?

I've been considering whether or not the U.S. Government should bail out the banks with taxpayer money. That's 700 Billion Dollars, mind you. Who came up with that amount? I guess it's to help keep failing banks in business. But why?

After some careful consideration, I think that they should simply let the damn banks do what they have to do. Don't lend them a dime of taxpayer money. Let the market do what it will do. If it falls, maybe some of us with a little money left can get a good deal on some stocks. People are going to have to sacrifice anyway. So many people have lost their homes already- what happened to the loans that Congress talked about- the mandate that banks were going to renegotiate loan terms so that interest rates would have been lowered, so that payments would have been affordable? What happened to that plan? Why is there this big "giveaway" to the banks? If the banks take the "loans" and go out of business anyway, guess what? The government will be left with nothing to show for it. Already, the biggest bank, Washington Mutual, was already seized and given to another big company- the government couldn't help that bank in time. Frankly, I think that everybody is panicking now- overreacting really.

I've witnessed at least a couple of lousy bills passed under this current presidential administration, that have made Americans worse off: the bill concerning drugs for seniors; and the new bankruptcy laws for individuals (written by a bank that I will never do business with again, MBNA). Now, they want to loan money to the banks?


If they do loan the money to the banks, I hope that it will at least include forcing the banks to do a moratorium on foreclosures, and forcing them to re-write the existing loans to a lower interest rate, and an up to 6 month grace period before the first payments are due.

Whatever they do, who cares if some stocks have to be sold by some people and institutions in order to make payments? There's also something more afoot going on here, too, than just with the banks and the real estate bust. Robert Kiyosaki had a book about "Rich Dad's Prediction" a few years back, which spoke about how the biggest stock market crash in history was coming. It's unavoidable- and has a lot to do with the baby boomers retiring, drawing a pension, and taking their money out of the stock market. Hey, we're in for some interesting times.