Friday Potpourri Vol. 9
Welcome back!
First , an update on last week’s story about Celebrity House Hunting.
Our crack research team did a follow up which involved actually watching an episode of the show. The lengths we (well, actually @debihen) go to for you people.
She watched the episode where Barry Williams goes house hunting. He settled on a little shack worth $8.5 Million. Branson, Mo is a freaking gold mine.
In other news, I heard the best reason ever for not having a blog. @sonjablair said she doesn’t have one because of what it sounds like when she says the word “blog”. Sonja has a deep Southern accent, according to her, and when she says the word it sounds like “blawg”. How great is that?!
Back to terrible tv for a moment, my wife watches Dancing With The Stars. Now, you know a show like that is interesting if there is someone next to you so that the snark can fly. Which is where I come in.
This year there is a kid who is in Disney shows, Urkel from Family Matters, Gladys Knight and until a couple of days ago, Martina N. the retired tennis player. I would look up the spelling but she is gone so the hell with it.
Looks like it is Urkel’s to lose. But the part of the show that is most annoying, and this is a hard choice to make, is the part where the judges speak.
One guy can only speak when he is standing, one guy is British,(because every judging show must have one. might be a union rule) and there is a woman who doesn’t do much that is objectionable.
Maybe I should go with Tom Bergeron as the worst part of the show. His mouth moves like a Sesame Street Muppet. There is another person who does interviews but my wife fast-forwards through those, so from what I can tell, I don’t know. Let’s stick with Tom as the worst part.
One last thing:
I have been following the Trayvon Martin killing story with some interest. There was a tweet of mine that got a lot (well, a lot for me) of attention.
It went like this
A man kills an unarmed kid and everybody is to blame but the shooter. This is the ultimate WTF? moment.
I know being out at night can be scary, especially if you are a young kid, walking alone. When all of a sudden, someone challenges your right to walk in the area. What is the proper thing to do, if you are that young kid? Who is the guy coming at you? He has no badge. Does he want to rob you?
Well, the result of that encounter is just horrific. The young man is shot and killed. The shooter goes free, for now. And just like a moth to a flame, all the usual “experts” show up on every news channel. Even Marcia Clark, for goodness sakes, the prosecutor who lost the O.J. Simpson case .
This story will fill a lot of cable news time and meanwhile the young man is still dead. I am pretty sure if the situation was reversed. Meaning if the kid had shot and killed the other person, he would have been in custody that night. And awaiting trial.
It maybe that the law in Florida makes it possible for the shooter to walk. If that is the case, as reprehensible as it would be, that is that. Justice has a lot of moving parts and they don’t always mesh as we would like. That is just how it works.
One other thing, on a lighter note:
I am writing a series of stories called Finding Love. It is a little different type of thing for me. I hope you like it as it unfolds.
Peace.
Bellbottom Blog 
I really enjoyed the story you began the other day of you and the Mrs. If that’s the Finding Love thing, then I approve. I want to hear more.
I suppose I could comment there (and I still might), but thought I’d include it here in this comment.
Just like when you commented on the guy who was shot and killed outside one of your local bars, I’m impressed with your take on the boy who was killed in Florida. It’s not easy for me to assess the whole thing from such a distance, and the media spotlight isn’t helping anything, but you put it in very understandable terms.
It’s clearly one of your strengths. I feel like your blog is the best part of what a conversation with you must be. Truly a pleasure John.
Thanks for the kind words. I started paying more attention to the Florida story when someone pointed out the Stand Your Ground law could be applied for the victim. In other words, he was allowed the same right to the spot he was standing in as was the other man.
As far as the other story goes I am enjoying writing that one and I hope it comes together.
I’m with Ken. I loved the first installment of Finding Love. More, please.
My dad is SO MAD at Dancing with the Stars this season. I don’t even dare bring it up, because he gets very angry. “THESE ARE NOT STARS!” he says. “THE SHOW TITLE IS A LIE!”
He takes things a little seriously, my dad.
I like writing that story. I am the worst at deciding whether what I am writing is any good. I think it is because the story has been rolling around in my head for so long it doesn’t seem fresh.
Your Dad has that show figured out. But I bet he still watches and that makes the story even funnier.
Thanks for the comment and encouragement.
It’s fresh to US, though! So it’s excellent! (And yes, tell me about it. I very seldom know if what I’ve written is going to go over well or not.)
Nope, Dad is BOYCOTTING Dancing with the Stars this season. He watched one episode and was SO MAD they weren’t stars he refuses to watch until they put stars back on. I indicated maybe there aren’t any more stars that want to be on the show and he wasn’t pleased with that at all.
The Friday posts I just sit at the computer until it comes together. The other ones I try to work out in my head until it seems like a post.
I know when I read one of yours how much it must take to pull it together.