George Carlin

It was a shocker when George Carling died last month. I expected that old codger to be around for years, hobbling around on a gnarled up walking stick and waving his arms around while he grumped and fussed. He has been a comedy fixture my whole life. I listened to some of his comedy routines when I was a kid and watched most of his HBO specials.

He came to town a few years ago and did a standup routine for about an hour. I got great seats because of connections at the radio station. But to be honest, he came off as a bitter, twisted old man who wasn’t funny anymore. I was terribly disappointed in the entire show and wondered if it was me not being in the right frame of mind that night? Or has he lost his funny touch?

I read the other day that he had just done another show with new material and that his children are releasing it on DVD to try to milk a few more dollars out of their old man’s estate. I sure hope the show was funny this time. I really did like the guy and am sorry that he’s gone.

Internationally Yours

When you work for an international company you must develop an increased awareness for the holidays and celebrations in other countries. As American’s we are used to the banking-type holidays, when the banks, the post office, government buildings and sometimes school will all be closed for the day. Then there are the cultural holidays, like Mother’s Day, Flag Day, even Thanksgiving, that are celebrated in America on certain dates but perhaps not observed in other countries on the same dates, if at all.

A good example is Father’s Day. In America, Canada, and the U.K. we all honor our fathers by celebrating Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June, every year. However, in Australia, Fathers Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September.

With Father’s Day just a little over a month away, our friends in Australia are already shopping for gifts and planning their celebrations. A great site to shop for Fathers Day Gifts is DadShop.com.au and it’s not bad for ideas for Christmas gifts, either. Check it out. I can be Australian for the day if the urge to buy me something overcomes you!

Mixed Nuts

I love nuts. Good thing, considering where I work. Ha!

Nuts were always a Thanksgiving and Christmas treat. Something you put out in a big crystal bowl with a couple pairs of hinged nutcrackers. You would site out on the front porch or in the kitchen and crack the nuts and chit chat. It was a great way to keep your hands busy while your tongues wagged.

Now I buy them already out of their shells and vacuum sealed in a can with the Planter’s Peanut guy winking at you. I like the mixed assortment with less peanuts, but I do like peanuts, so it doesn’t really matter. I don’t think I can pick a favorite, it’s a 3 way tie for first place between cashews, almonds and pistachios.

New CD

My family has a long tradition of being musicians and I have a deep appreciation for music. Everyone in my family has, at the very least, a piano in the house. With my uncles and cousins bringing their musical instruments, we could have a full fledged orchestra.

I still love to listen to piano instrumentals and am a Jim Brickman fan. I like Yanni, too, but a lot of his music is over produced and too complicated. I recently discovered another pianist that I like, David Lanz. I bought a two CD set from Amazon, The Ultimate David Lanz Narada Collection, that just came and I’ve been listening to it. There are only two songs on it that I skip over - the rest is really good and easy on the ears.

Clever Brews

For a while the buzz on the street was all about microbreweries and the thousands of local beers that were popping up all over the country. I never really thought much about how beers are a regional thing until I moved out of state the first time. Suddenly, several of the beer brands that I was used to seeing on the grocery shelves were no longer available. I especially noticed and missed the little green bottles that had Rolling Rock beer in them.

I just read an interesting story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a local brewery that is breaking all the rules and putting their beers into cans instead of bottles. They say that the cans offer several advantages that bottles don’t, such as cans being allowed in a lot of public places where glass containers are not allowed. Cans are better for the environment. Also, cans keep out the light, the number one enemy of beer flavor.

I also like the names of the beers they make and think they are really clever brewers: “Hell or High Watermelon Wheat” and “Brew Free! or Die IPA.” I just hope the beer tastes as good as I’m coming to expect.