Bellbottom Blog

Friday Potpourri Vol. 15

Welcome to the rain that is falling as I type this.  We have been without rain for over a month now and the lawn is getting very crunchy.

The Olympic Opening Ceremonies are going on right now.  But I am not missing anything because they are being shown tonight on tape-delay.  It is 4 p.m. They could be shown now.  But as I predicted in a recent post, NBC doesn’t want us to see them live. I guess it makes it easier for them to slip in commercials. Of course, other countries are seeing them live and Tweeting about it so there will be no surprises when they are shown here.  And if they suck I imagine the viewer numbers would be affected.  Smooth move, NBC!

Has anyone noticed how difficult it is to comment on Blogger?  They require those hieroglyphic sign- ins to prove you aren’t a spam bot.  I was talking to someone this week that just avoids any blog that makes it so difficult to comment.  The spam filter here on WordPress has caught all of the spam before it makes it to the comment area.

In grandson news, we found something that he likes almost as much as Yo Gabba Gabba. We were channel surfing and my wife came across Xanadu.  Made in 1980, the musical stars Olivia Newton-John and , sadly, Gene Kelly.  It is a horrible mess of a picture with music by Electric Light Orchestra.  There is a big roller skating dance number in it.  The little one was fascinated by it.  He rarely watches anything on TV but he couldn’t get enough of this mess.  The combination of bright disco era clothes along with the music was all he needed.

I remember that time as a battle between Disco and Urban Cowboy music. Bars in my hometown had one or the other.

Disco balls.  Guys dressed like Travolta in Saturday Night Fever complete with open shirts filled with gold necklaces.

Or in the other bars. Mechanical bulls. Guys dressed like Travolta in tight jeans and new cowboy hats.

If they still want to dress like Travolta, they would need a fat suit and a toupee.

I made it onto a mechanical bull once.  It was in the afternoon and the owner, a wonderful slightly crazed Hungarian, decided to take the controls.  He thought it would be fun to learn how to run the bull by practicing on a few of the customers before the evening crowd came in.  I lasted about 3 seconds.

But the music for the western clubs was great.  Live bands from the area getting a chance to chase a musical dream.

(I should tell you that I am trying to write this and follow the BBC’s LIVE blog of the Opening Ceremonies.  That’s right!  Multi-tasking! Belgium just entered the arena. )

(Jamaica just came in)

Oops, sorry, you are still here.

Ahh, Dane Cook made an Aurora shooting victims joke and has apologized for it.  Which makes him an even more heinous person than I thought he was.  He was at the comedy club the night of the Daniel Tosh incident.  He knows how much publicity that received. So, he comes up with his own look-at-me moment.  Scumbag. Lowlife.

(Malta just entered.  This live blog is really great.)

Let’s wrap this up with a gentle reminder that Amy of LucysFootball fame has a book of poetry coming out on Aug. 1st.  Click on her name in my fancy new blogroll and find out all about it.  I can’t wait to get a copy.

Peace.