Hey,wait a minnit..I heard this before..a few minutes ago.
Hey, here's an aside..in the middle of a Pandemic with closures and inconveniences...not to mention bars closed... I am pleading to LET me get a haircut!
Please!
It just keeps growing. I can't curtail or control what my feisty follicles are gonna do!
Oh, sure, my "alleged bald spot" is still uncovered way on the back of my head, where I can't see it, but the rest of my hairy head is..well, heavily hirsute and unkempt.
My several years-old beard is fairly easy to maintain in a trimmed and neat appearance but the rest...outta control ..especially after 90+ days of quiet compliance!
But, I digress.
This started out with a realization I have just heard on tv a memorable slogan by Liberty Mutual that has been highly visible on tv ads for some time now..."Only Pay For What You Need."
An insurance man with an unagreeable critter (LiMu the Emu) as his "associate," accepts a key to the city that is taller than he is and, in another tv ad, he waves down a speeding passing car with a plea
"I Can Save You...and extends his rescuer's hand ..holding an insurance agent's business card..and adding he can save her "
money... on insurance premiums!"
OK, it's cute in an odd sort of way and continues the stereotype of the aggressive insurance agent.
This is quite an old company. Has been around the block a lot.
I saw an ad for it in a November 23,1936 LIFE Magazine!
Lately, we have seen the "Struggling Actor looking for a break"...fumbling the simple lines in the tv ad.
"It's OK, we can dub it" says an off-screen voice and it runs with his lips out of sync with the spoken words.
Nowadays, the slogan is
"Only Pay For What You Need!"
In fact, it is on tv enough times that when the slogan starts, we almost can say it aloud, along with the ad running.
BUT, I was faked out the last time I heard the catchy phrase.
It was advertising Verizon .
The Phone Company announcer clearly said:
"Only Pay For What You Need!"
Can't think of any other time two entirely different national companies had the exact same slogan!
I just assumed I had heard it wrong but I started to jot it down, each time I heard it for either company.
Nope, I heard what I heard.
My particular phone carrier company happens to be T-Mobil and it's in the final stages of a massive merger with another phone industry giant NOT Verizon.,
Now I can't remember who's tagline line was "Can You Hear Me Now?"
This is a posting quite a bit off my beaten path but I hope someone can explain to me how an identical sales slogan can be shared by a phone carrier and a longtime Insurance Company.
"Maybe they can cover a lot of things because they've SEEN a lot of things."
OK, you know how this works here, click on the pictures - and any links - for more details
Thanks for stopping by. Stay home or wear a mask when among others. You are protecting THEM..hope they know and appreciate that!Labels: Can Cover a lot of things because they've seen a lot of things, hirsuite happening, Liberty Mutual, Pay Only For What You Need, VERISON, WHAT bald spot?
Virus? Get some really BIG Plastic Baggies...
So, keeping on top of the Covid-19 virus by staying at home, I am watching a LOT of television.
Usually, the NEWS is very depressing but I find myself taking a look at Deborah Norville, the comeback kid of television.
Originally she was to be the on-air replacement for Jane Pauley on NBC's TODAY show but that didn't work for the viewers and she was dumped.
In 1995 she took the helm of
Inside Edition, now TV's longest-running, top-rated, and most-honored syndicated Newmagazine on CBS....25 years so far!
In a weekday as usual, I was watching the 4pm local news segment on TV5 WCSC.
Her half-hour show slips in at 4:30 and usually is very entertaining...and informative.
This day she caught my attention - and my camera - when she featured an innovative gym owner who figured a way to reopen during the physical-distancing Pandemic.
He fashioned 12 individual plastic "cubes" so an exerciser was isolated from the others health-seekers.
It apparently cost about $400 in plastic sheets and framing for each of the cubes.
Some were furnished with a treadmill or an exer-cycle or barbells in others. A well-deserved sweaty hats off to an interesting workaround!
BUT...it wasn't the first time the plastic "bag" idea had been employed and seen on tv!
A few nights ago I had seen a music combo band working TOGETHER on stage, side-by-side, using the same isolation concept.
It was late and I usually watch
A LATE SHOW with STEPHEN at home, so this was the live music segment at the end of his show...also on CBS.
It was
The Flaming Lips band with a bubble-encased audience as well! They called it "A socially distant concert."
I did not count the actual number of band members performing as a group - as opposed to individuals musicians in multi-screen attempts we have been seeing recently - but I snapped a few shots as soon as I realized here was something different on the music scene!
I wrote recently about taking Freeze Frame photos of scenes from movies and tv series when I have had a role as an Extra.
I was NOT onscreen here but knew it would be hard to describe how a live band could safely gather together and perform in front of the camera.
I did notice that one of the bubbles had TWO drummers inside but most of the others played solo
Of course, there was no bubble-wrapped live audience in the studio... uh, I think.
BUT, when I looked it up online there
WAS!
Be sure to check it out! It was the BEST odd concert I have ever seen!!
You know how this works...just click on the photos and the links to see more details.
I really like innovation and here are two fine examples! Enjoy...
Labels: socially distant concert, Stephen Colbert's A Late Show at home. Deborah Norville, The Flaming Lips band, TODAY SHOW with Jane Pauley.
"Here's Lookin' at You, Kid.."
Now that we ALL are staying at home and being in isolation, there is a need to reach out to others!
More so than before the pandemic suggested we keep to ourselves.
That we would be wise to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Work on staying healthy and avoiding contact with the virus.
Amy, my talented daughter in Oakland, California, suggested we "bridge the gap" and do some face-to-face contact via online visual meetings!
Hey,. I like being on tv and in movies so I readily agreed and set up my end of the process.
She and Kathleen did a fine job at their home and we spent almost an hour "together" online.
(It may have been SKYPE or some other program we used. I'll check on that.)
I am no stranger to catching a Freeze-Frame online.
Here are views of both sides of the conversation.
I am sharing the ones they sent me and the ones I captured of them.
You can see the easy exchange we were able to have.
I went through a stage when I really liked
Boddingtons, a light British creamy ale, and that became a prop for both sides of the conversation.
Yes, of course, I had touted that beer so they searched for some out there in California.
Kathleen said the fancy beer store did not have it but had suggested she check the beer section at a grocery store. Yep, found a 4-pack there.
While she agreed it was smooth and tasty, she admitted she preferred an IPA with more bite.
I often freeze an image onscreen and take a photo.
I captured views of a
full band performing onstage during the pandemic...each member isolated in a plastic bubble! I'll show them in my next posting.
It was the unusual closing entertainment on a recent
A Late Show With Stephen Colbert From Home on CBS.
My frequent roles as an Extra on tv shows filming here has honed my skills at catching me in a scene and saving it.
This is a close up of a "Beak Mask" worn by doctors while treating the plague in Europe. It is a scene from THE GREAT about Alexander and Catherine. (That is NOT me wearing the mask).
Here is another Freeze frame showing Seth Meyers in his A CLOSER LOOK.
He shared he too is lacking a recent haircut, due to fears of close contact during precautions to slow the spread of Covid-19.
In the corner behind him is one of his kids who like to wander into the "set" in the attic while Seth is performing.
I have posted an image of me showing the look after almost 4 months since MY last haircut.
Not exactly a screen-save but I did not want this posted and get widespread views.
Sure, it's vanity. And I have fingers crossed that new case numbers go down so Great Clips can accommodate me again.
Hmm, so much for keeping THIS secret.
Speaking of hair - and lack of barbershops being open for trimming us - my favorite comic strip is called
Pearls Before Swine by Stephen Pastis.
Stephen addressed this "hair-raising" situation recently and I snapped a photo of the strip to share.
My barber usually is a lady but hugging probably would still be discouraged.
OK, this wandered far afield to include late night tv hosts, the plague and my current hair photo that looks like a bad police mug shot.
As usual, click on the photos and links for more detail.
Please share my blog with your friends and feel free to make comments or ask questions.
Labels: Amy & Kathleen, Boddingtons creamy pale ale, Full band playing onstage during the Virus, haircuts and tonsures, Seth and Stephen of Late Night tv, the other PBS, The Plaque, Video Chats
What a pain in the GRASS!
My yard had some low spots - not really flooding, but areas of standing water after a rain.
My neighbor mentioned he was ordering four truckloads of dirt for his uneven yard.
Hmm, so I had him order two loads for me.
The trucks arrived and my neighbor Marty helped me spread around my two truckloads of dirt to try to even my terrain.
Marty spent a LOT of time riding back and forth on his riding mower, dragging a weighted piece of steel mesh to move dirt around and try to make it even.
That effort worked fine, puddles were indeed moved around... BUT NO GRASS has reappeared where the dirt was placed.
Marty also continued working on his yard - front and back - but, unlike me, he addressed it by having several truckloads of mulch delivered.
This he spread around over his similar hard-packed dirt.
Then he rented a HUGE roto-tiller to mix the mulch..along with many bags of grass seed..and then began to water his entire yard.
I had several idle rotating sprinklers and loaned them to him and, for about 20 days, he watered the whole area ....and grass has begun to show. I was envious!
Now, as I wander the affected part of my back yard (I was happy with my front yard and left it to Nature) I have my fingers crossed that the active grass tendrils slowly creeping out over the dirt will EVENTUALLY become the grassy area I used to have.
It is Hurricane Season again here now (June thru November) so LOTS of rain probably will fall.
Please wish me and my "garden" well and the return of a new "grassy lawn" in my back yard!
Progress has been slow..but I can see some activity of spreading.
Hey, it COULD turn out OK.
(I also believe in the Tooth Fairy!)
Click on the photos for more details.
Labels: Grass you don't smoke, lookin' for more green, shuffle through the sand, tendrils of hope, The mower is not working
Money Laundering during Pandemic
Well, "money laundering" might not be the proper term of killing a suspected virus spread.
But spraying my paper money with disinfectant seems like a good idea.
Shelter in place, social distancing, and avoiding meeting new people all are good tactics but getting tested is at the top of MY list.
Right after cleaning my cash.
I DID go to MUSC* and got tested a few days ago and it is a GREAT feeling to know you do NOT have coronavirus.
Testing my drawn blood sample for virus antibodies confirmed I have NOT had it and do not have it right now. Whew.
Being one of those elderly people, I do take certain meds to keep me fit and strong.
The good news is having them ordered online and delivered directly to my mailbox.
One more trip away from home is avoided.
Walgreens for OTC (Over The Counter) supplies like vitamins and maybe more masks can be done via the drive-up window. More and more places accept credit cards instead of potentially dangerous dough.
*Go online to check out free testing for Covid-19 antibodies with a simple blood test.
MUSCvirtualzipnosis.com would be a good place to start.
You fill out a survey form, stating any symptoms you may have/or have had.
That screening tells MUSC what steps you need to do next ..a nasal swab or having blood drawn to check for antibodies.
Before and after I was checked, I try to make sure I eat properly.
I wanted to stay healthy while "locked down" at home.
Dining out is slowing coming back as an option but for the last several months, I ventured into FROZEN PIZZA.
I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of preparation (Oven at 400 degrees for about 17 minutes).
The taste and texture of DIY pies also was a pleasant surprise.
My routine MAY be different from most others, but, dining alone I tend to eat about half at the first sitting.
Then I place the rest in the fridge for a cold pizza treat the next day. Hey, it's not how most people eat their pizza but it works for me.
I WAS told how to re-heat slices...in a skillet ...and it comes out like fresh from the square box!
I still like mine cold the next day.
Who knew we would be isolated at home several months ago when I ordered a Screened Porch kit.
My plan was to enclose part of the deck along the back of my house to make sitting outside bug-free. It turned out fine and the "extra space" feels good to sit outside and read a novel.
So, I am coping at home and thus avoiding the protestors and angry mobs of looters attacking newly-reopened stores, restaurants, and venues.
A senseless murder of a black man in Minneapolis and the resulting angry protest reaction nationwide - and overseas - adds even more sadness during a stressful time.
Take care of yourself and others. Be safe out there.
Labels: anti-body virus testing for free, DIY Pies, froaen pizza, Minneapolis murder, money laundering...sorta ., scrambled with bacon and jelly toast, screen porch sanctuary
