The Truth about Puppies and Red Birds

Well, I'm back, again. I had a busy weekend with Yale Street Market on Saturday. It was a good day, and I had a lot of fun visiting with everyone that came out for it. Leslie and I will have a booth at Art in the Park in Orange, TX on the 21st. So, if you are in the area come out and see us.

Saturday night after Yale Street Market, we went to El Tiempo Cantina with Leslie and Carmen. We had a really nice meal and headed home afterwards. When it was close to bedtime, I took Oscar out to potty. Immediately, I heard this loud crying noise coming from the street in front of our complex. I really thought it was a baby. I let Oscar in the apartment and headed back outside to investigate. Right away I saw something running around the street as car passed by. I ran to the gate and noticed that it looked like a tiny puppy that was about to be run over by a car. I started calling for the puppy as it was still crying out for help. The puppy stumbled over towards me and struggled to climb the curb and crawl through the gate. Finally, she landed right in my hands. She was adorable and probably about 2 pounds. I have no idea how old she was, but she couldn't have been more than a couple of weeks old. I ran in the apartment and called for Keith to come outside. I put the puppy down on the ground and she ran over to Keith and cuddled up next to his leg. Oscar was raising all kinds of hell in the house because he knew something good was going on outside. I noticed that it looked like the puppy had mange, so I knew that she couldn't stay in the house overnight. So, I decided to put her on the patio connected to our spare room. We have two patios...one connects to the spare room and one to the master. I was afraid to put her on the patio by the master, because I knew Oscar would go crazy all night if she cried at all. I set up Oscar's kennel on the spare room patio and set her up with food, water and blankets. I stayed out with her for a bit while she scarfed down some food and eventually curled up in the kennel. Then, about 15 minutes later we heard a loud crying noise coming from the patio outside our room. It seems puppy had found her way to our patio and was scratching and crying as loud as she could trying to get our attention. I finally got up and went out on the patio and carried her back to the kennel on the other side. It seems that she had gotten locked out of the kennel and wanted back in. I let her back in and propped open the door with a towel. She went right in and curled up for bed. The next morning I got out of bed to find her starring in the glass at Amos who was curiously examining her. She had made herself at home. Let me tell you, I really wanted to keep this dog. She was so cute, but she looked a lot like a lab mix (she had a beautiful golden color), and we definitely don't need a big dog in this apartment. So, I decided to take her to the SPCA, where it is my hope that she will find a good home. I put her on the counter at the SPCA and she kept running right back to me to hold her. I nearly caved and brought her back home with me. I can only imagine the look on Keith's face if I would have done that! They assured me, however, that she would find a good home. Of course, puppies are highly desired as adoptable pets. So, I hope that she has found a good home by now. She will definitely make someone a great pet. I was already attached to her in a matter of hours.

Ok...enough of that or I am gonna get sad. On a much happier note, I am proud to report that The St. Louis Cardinals beat San Diego in the NLDS by a tally of 3 games to 1. Starting tomorrow they play the NY Mets for the National League title. The Cardinals are definitely the underdog, which was also the case in the NLDS. I am very hopeful that they can continue to play excellent baseball, though. If their pitching stays strong and the rest of the offense (other than Pujols) contributes, they definitely have a chance. GO CARDS! GO CARDS! GO CARDS!
GO CARDS!

Until next time...

I'm all about lists...

I love lists. I make them all of the time. Lists for what I need to do during the day, grocery lists, gift lists, lists of menus. Trust me I am a list expert. I love the list shows on television. You know, the Top 10, 50, 100, 1000, etc. lists that are some channel just about any time of day or night. So, I thought I would try my hands on a Top 10 list of my own...just for fun. I have discussed my love of television, so I thought I would try MY list of the top 10 characters/actors on television. Just for clarity's sake, I am only including shows that are currently in production. If we were talking "all time", that would be a completely different list. Here it goes...

10) Lina Warbler on "The Class" (CBS)...played by Heather Goldenhersh. If you haven't seen this show, you should give it a try. Keith and I think it is hysterical. The character of Lina is my favorite...really fresh, funny and cute.

9) Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shephard on "Grey’s Anatomy" (ABC)...played by Kate Walsh. Kate is so awesome in this role. I just love her. I went from completely hating her character to actually feeling terribly sorry for her in the last couple of episodes. I think Grey's is one of the best shows on television in recent memory, and a big reason for that is actresses like Kate Walsh and characters like Dr. Montgomery-Shephard.

8) Old Christine on "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (CBS)...played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Totally laugh out loud funny. This character is almost as good as Elaine Benes...who knows, give it a few more years and she may top her Seinfeld character. I doubt it though. That one goes in the hall of fame!

7) Betty on "Ugly Betty" (ABC)...played by America Ferrara. I have fallen in love with this show, already! Mark my words...America Ferrara will get an Emmy nomination for her portrayl of Ugly Betty. She is just adorable.

6) Nora Holden on "Brothers & Sisters" (ABC)...played by Sally Field. Come on...it's Sally Field. The amazing Sally Field. Need I say more? Well, I will. I have only seen two episodes of this show, but I think it has great potential.

5) Alan Shore on "Boston Legal" (ABC)...played by James Spader. This eccentric, unpredictable character is one of the reasons that I can't miss Boston Legal every week. He is so terribly strange and a perfect yin for Denny Crane's yang.

4) Dr. Miranda Bailey on "Grey’s Anatomy" (ABC)...played by Chandra Wilson. She is the ever bitchy, but still loveable Resident of "Grey's Anatomy." Beginning late last season, I was happy to see that the character was allowed to show more sides of her personality...thus, making her seem more like a real person. Wilson is brilliant actress and has definitely not received the acclaim that she deserves.

3) Cartman on "South Park" (Comedy Central). I have been a South Park fan since its debut. They are still creating some of the best comedy available. Cartman in particular is perhaps the most ridicuously funny character ever on television...and he is just a cartoon (and a crappy one at that).

2) Shirley Schmidt on "Boston Legal" (ABC)...played by Candice Bergen. I hated Murphy Brown. Ask Keith. I just did not like that show or character at all. However, Candice Bergen on Boston Legal is pure heaven. I think I may like her more as an actress than I necessarily like her character, Shirley Schmidt. She is just spot on in her performance.

DRUM ROLL................

1) Nancy Botwin on "Weeds" (Showtime)...played by the incomparable, Mary-Louise Parker. She is the best actress on television. No doubt in my mind. She makes me believe that this woman, Nancy, is real. She plays one of the most complicated female characters on television and does it with ease. She is what all actors aspire to be. That's why she is numero uno in my book!

That's all for tonight. Hope you enjoyed my little attempt at making a top 10! I would love to hear your favorites...

"Phat" Albert

It's time for my weekly St. Louis Cardinal update. This week has been an exciting week. During the past three days, the Houston Astros had been in St. Louis for a three game series against the Cardinals. This was a very important series for both teams. Monday night was a fantastic game for the Cardinals. Fortunately for the Cardinals, Chris Carpenter was masterful. He pitched a complete game shut out. For those of you who don't know baseball, that means he pitched a complete nine inning game and didn't surrender a single run. The Cardinals won the game 7-0.

Tuesday night was a real nail biter. Andy Pettitte started for the Astros and only made it to the third inning because of an injury, but surrendered a two run homerun to former Astro, Preston Wilson, before leaving the game. Jeff Weaver, the Cardinal starter, struggled in the game and the scoring seemed to go back and forth between the two teams. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals were trailing by a run. The Astros brought in Brad Lidge to "close the deal." The Cards managed to get a couple of guys on base by way of a single (by John Rodriquez) and a batter, Scott Speizo, who was hit by a pitch. Then, the moment that made me go a little ape shit with anticipation...ALBERT PUJOLS comes to the plate to face Brad Lidge. Some of you may remember Albert's walk off home run against Lidge in the NLCS last year. It was an awesome moment. Well, Albert lives for these high stress moments...where the outcome of the game is riding on him. He almost always produces in these situations. With a one ball, two strike count, Albert's bat breaks as he shoots a pitch into the left field corner. Two runs come home on the double by Pujols and the CARDINALS WIN! The final score was 6-5. I was so excited I could hardly even sleep that night. I love those kind of games.

Yesterday's game was a bit of a downer. Oswalt was fantastic for the Astros and Jason Marquis was horrible for the Cardinals. He didn't even make it past the second inning. The Cardinal bullpen held the Astros with the exception of a Lance Berkman solo home run, but the Cardinals could never recover. The scored one run the bottom of the ninth to avoid a shut out. The final score was 5-1, Astros.

So, the Cardinals won the series 2 games to 1. I consider this one big hurdle down for the Cards. They come to Houston next week for a four game series. I do not expect this to be an easy series for the Cardinals. The Astros have some excellent starting pitchers and are always tough at home. The Cardinals need to focus on playing great baseball in the meantime and maybe add to their lead over Cincinnati and Houston in the next few days. That will help take some of the pressure off of the four game series with Houston next weekend.

Until tomorrow...GO CARDINALS! GO CARDINALS! GO CARDINALS! GO CARDINALS! (I have to say it four times because I am superstitious...and OCD!)

I leave you with a quote:

"Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many players on the field."
--Jim Boulton

Anastasia Beaverhausen

I just don't have the energy to post tonight. So, instead I leave you with a quote from the always ridiculous Karen Walker from Will & Grace:

“My name is Anastasia Beaverhausen. Anastasia like russian royalty and Beaverhausen like...where the beaver live.” ~Karen Walker

That pretty much sums it up for tonight!

The New Adventures of a Former Seinfeld Star

So, it's Television Tuesday! (cheers, screams and applause, please!) In my opinion the sitcom seems to be a fading art. It is rare that I find a sitcom that is well-written and well, just funny. I am a huge fan of the witty "Seinfeld" show and the hilarious "Will & Grace." To me, most of the new sitcoms don't hold a candle to them.

Lately, we have been watching a new show starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus called "The New Adventures of Old Christine." Interesting title, huh. The show is about Christine (Louis-Dreyfuss' character) who divorces her husband and father of her son. She is replaced in his life by a new girlfriend whose name is also Christine. Now, the title makes sense, right!?! I am a big fan of Julia, and I think she is a terrific actress. I don't know if she could ever find a character as fantastic as Elaine from Seinfeld, but she does a great job with the character of Christine.

Usually when an actor or actress is so identified with a particular role, it becomes difficult to see them as a different character. Frankly, I was just sure that when I saw this new program that it would just be a different version of Elaine. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. I think the character is really fresh and very funny.

The sitcom is definitely not perfect, but it is still very funny. Maybe over time it will improve. I think it has potential to be one of the next big sitcoms as long as the writers allow it to be quirkier. Quirky seems to work in sitcoms. Look at both Seinfeld and Will & Grace. They were extremely quirky shows. You either loved them or hated them, but it seemed that most people loved them. They were amazingly successful and had loyal fan bases. I, personally, want to see a sitcom that is over the top. I want something that is unlike anything that is going to happen in the real world. Keith calls it "suspension of reality."

Julia recently won the Emmy for her performance in the show, so at least a few people agree with me. We'll see if the sitcom stays around or if it fades away like so many have in the past few years.

Hampton Creations

I mentioned before that I recently started a small business called Hampton Creations. I sell framed crosses that I make. I am also starting to add other framed objects to my repertoire. Keith has been working painstakingly to get my website up and running. As of this afternoon, the site is up and running! Yea! A HUGE thanks is due to Keith for all of his help. He is incredibly talented. I also owe a big thank you to Robbie and Mikall for their help with this project.

Keith is still working on getting the virtual store up and running, however, he has placed several pictures of my products on the site already. I couldn't be more pleased with the look of the website. I think it is absolutely gorgeous! It sure pays to know talented people.

Please feel free to check out the site:

http://www.hamptoncreations.com

Anyway, let me know what you think of the website, and if you are interested in any of my pieces. Maybe I can even cut you a deal!

Brad Pitt Fan Club

Okay...most celebrities don't impress me. Most of them are just overpaid and lucky. I usually root for the underdog celebrity...the guy or girl who is really talented but doesn't get a ton of attention from the masses for their talent. I emphasize talent. One celebrity that I have always been a fan of, however, is Brad Pitt. Yes, he is a hunk...and that is probably what got my attention initially. Also, he is a fellow small town Missourian. I do think he is a talented actor and usually enjoy his movies. Most importantly, he realizes how ridiculous this celebrity thing is in this country, and he realizes he is very fortunate to have the life that he has.

Today, several quotes were released from an interview that Brad did with Esquire, which will appear in their October issue. One of the quotes really caught me eye:

"Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able." ---Brad Pitt

As a gay person who would very much like the right to marry, I am so appreciative of Brad's willingness to share his opinion on this subject. Yeah, Brad Pitt may not have a lot of political pull, but he is a person very much in the public eye. Also, he is a straight man who is idolized by many men and sought after by many women. For a straight, powerful celebrity to come out in support of gay people getting married, it definitely helps the cause. That doesn't mean that middle America is going to change their minds about the subject because of his statement, but it is still admirable for him to take a strong stance.

Maybe someday Keith and I can have a double ceremony with Brad and Angelina. LOL! I can see it now...Oscar and Amos will be pulled down the aisle in a wagon by Maddox and Sahara. HA! Oh...I better stop before I get carried away, or maybe it's too late for that!

Anyway, kudos to Brad Pitt for standing up for us.