Stephen Burckhardt's Blog: My Blog Ramblings, page 64

Friday Funnies: Christmas Edition

Hello Posse, As you are reading this, P.R. and I are heading out to celebrate our 6th anniversary. It's hard to believe we have only been married for six years. I feel like I have known P.R. forever and yet the six years have flown by so fast. We were just talking the other day about how people say the first seven years of marriage are the toughest and if that is true, our life together will be a breeze! One of the things that keeps up going is we both have the same warped sense of humor. A lot of the jokes I share here are ones P.R. has sent me for this blog. Today's jokes however are my own finds, so if they are groaners, it's all my fault but I hope they will make you chuckle at the very least. Enjoy, Stephen What do grumpy sheep say on Christmas Day?
Baaaa humbug! Where do snowmen keep their money?
In a snow bank. What do you call a shark that delivers toys at Christmas?
Santa Jaws. Did you know Santa only took out eight reindeer last Christmas?
Comet stayed home to clean the bathtub. What’s the difference between a knight and a reindeer?
One slays a dragon, and the other is draggin’ a sleigh. #jokes #Friday #FridayFunnies #Christmas #ChristmasJokes #blog #holidayblog #holidaythoughts

Whatever Wednesday: Christmas Movies!

Hello Posse, I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season. My husband and I have been getting into the Christmas spirit here. I have been making homemade eggnog and we have been watching a different Christmas movie every night. When I was younger, I did not enjoy Christmas time at all and would actually avoid watching Christmas movies. It was my tradition to wait until Christmas Eve to buy a tree and put it up ad it came down on New Years Day. I would eat Chinese food on Christmas Eve as I watch horror movies. Since meeting my husband, we have been slowly changing these traditions. We still eat Chinese food on Christmas Eve but the movies are decidedly different now. The closest thing we watch to a horror movie now is Die Hard. It is still, and always will be, a Christmas Eve tradition. Leading up to Christmas this year, we have watched everything from traditional holiday cartoons like How the Grinch Stole Christmas (I have had that Whoville Christmas song stuck in my head for a week now) and Rudolf's Shiny New Year to Netflix productions like The Christmas Prince trilogy. Recently we watched a new Netflix Christmas film starring Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis titled Holiday in the Wild. It was surprisingly good and I highly recommend it. It puts an emphasis on doing good for others (this includes animals) and not on spending money for things at Christmas. There are a few movies that are always a must this time of year. I have to watch White Christmas, Meet Me in St. Louis, It's a Wonderful Life and the old 1951 A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim. Besides these there is the occasional edition of Gremlins, The Holiday, Love Actually, The Santa Clause movies, The Holiday Inn, and oh so many more! If we watched movies all day long every weekend in December, we still would not watch everything we wanted to see before Christmas. Every year more and more holiday movies year being made, Lifetime could probably show at least one everyday of the year and still not go through their entire lineup. This does not even include the anti-holiday and horror movies like Bad Santa, Krumpus, Red Christmas, Santa's Slay, and Anna and the Apocolypse to name a few. Now, I would love to know what are your favorite holiday movies? Please be sure to share your favorite films in the comments. They just might end up in our watch list next year. Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Dianne #Chrstmasmovies #movies #movieblog #blog #blogger #movie #RobLowe #KristinDavis #HolidayInTheWild #amwriting

Monday Movie Madness: Holiday Edition

Hello Posse, I hope you are are well and enjoying this holiday season. P.R. and I have taken some time to relax and just enjoy having some time off together even if it is because P.R. is healing from a broken leg. Which, according to the doctor, is healing quite well. I wanted to find a western Christmas movie, if there is such a thing, as I could not think of one just off hand. I did a search online and found a movie from MGM in 1948 I have never heard of called the 3 Godfathers staring John Wayne and directed by John Ford. I was surprised I had never even seen this film as I tend to search out John Wayne flicks. This film is an adaptation of a novella by Peter B. Kyne titled The Three Godfathers. The 1948 film is actually the second time Ford had brought this story to the big screen. The first time was a silent film titled Marked Men staring Harry Carey, a long time friend of Ford's. The 3 Godfathers has an amazing all-star cast from this time period including Pedro Armendáriz (a Mexican actor who starred in films in Mexico and the US), Mildred Natwick, Ward Bond, Mae Marsh, Jane Darwell, Guy Kibbee, Hank Worden, Dorothy Ford, Ben Johnson, and Charles Halton, just to name a few. When Ford filmed this remake he also cast Harry Carey Jr. as one of the godfathers. The film opens with a stunt man riding into the scene on Harry Carey's favorite horse. Text appears on the screen dedicating the film to the memory of Harry Carey, "Bright Star of the early western sky . . . ". When Ford filmed this tribute scene, he sent Harry Carey Jr. home from the set early, fearing it might upset the actor. This story is considered to be a loose retelling of the story of the three wise men. The one outstanding difference is the three godfathers are far from upstanding citizens. They are cattle rustlers and bank robbers on the run from a posse when they encounter a woman in labor on the trail just before Christmas. One of the men helps deliver her baby and before she passes away she asks them all to promise her to be the baby's godfathers and look after him. Though the men are certified desperados, they take this pledge seriously and risk everything to keep their word. Throughout the film the men turn to the bible as they try to survive the harsh conditions on the run from the law and save the life of the child they have promised to look after. In the end, the child is saved and surviving godfather is redeemed by his love for the child and his pledge to care for him. The town that once wanted to see the rustler swinging from a rope instead gives him a hero's send off as he is taken to the train heading for Yuma to serve out his sentence for his crimes. I think this film would make a wonderful addition to any holiday movie lineup and I plan to watch it tonight before the second Star Wars Episode. P.R. and I are watching them all in order before the next Star Wars movie being released next week. Yes, we do watch current films in this home too, a lot of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Marvel movies. If you would like to check out this film for yourself you can stream the entire film here https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3y... with commercials. I could not find the full film on YouTube and it would not play the video in the blog like the YouTube videos but this version is a good stream and worth checking out. Be sure to check out Whatever Wednesday this week when Dianne will share her list of favorite Christmas movies from various years and genres. She has very eclectic taste! I hope your holiday season is filled with lots of love, kindness, and great westerns! Stephen #JohnWayne #movies #movieblog #blog #amwriting #western #Christmas #Godfather #JohnFord #HarryCareyJr #ChristmasMovie #movie #StarWars #Marvel

Friday Funnies: Triskaidekaphobia Edition

Image by the Frost King
https://www.cardmaker.net/forums/topi...

Whatever Wednesday: Zombie Edition

Hello Posse, It is my turn to do the blog and I have honestly no idea what to write about. With everything that is going on this holiday season I am so sleep deprived, sore from all the errands I have been running, and I'm honestly just brain dead at the moment. I feel like I could sleep for two days and probably still wake up needing a nap. I know I am not alone in this feeling. So many people get busy this time a year and we just don't take the time to take care of ourselves. So maybe I should make this blog about self-care. I am not going to give you recipes for making your own homemade bath bombs or facial scrubs, like you need one more thing to do right now, but just a few suggestions on how to recharge so you can keep trudging through the season. 1. Turn off your phone and turn on Netflix and binge an old favorite show. 2. Sing along with your favorite song and dance. 3. Listen to the sounds of a Tibetan singing bowl as you drift off to sleep. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW7TH... 4. Hug someone you love for two minutes. 5. Take a nap! 6. Eat clean for one day (cutting out all processed foods) and see how you feel. 7. Practice deep breathing several times throughout the day. 8. Make a "walking date" with a bestie you haven’t seen lately and catch up. 9. Learn to meditate. Spend 10 minutes each day practicing this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iGWd... 10. Write a gratitude journal. Write down four things you’re grateful for every day. 11. Watch fish swim and clear your mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_G6h... 12. Eat a banana. They are rich in potassium which helps regulate blood pressure. 13. Send a loved one a “thinking of you” message. 14. Take a nice hot bath and pair it with a glass of your favorite wine. 15. Say "no" with NO GUILT! I hope these suggestions help you slow down and relax this holiday season. Best wishes, Dianne #meditation #stress #destress #gratitude #holidaystress #holidays #wednesday #blog #amwriting #tibetansingingbowls #Christmas #family #guilt

Monday Movie Madness: Take Two!

Hello Posse, Mark Twain once said, “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations." With this in mind I wanted to talk a bit about movie remakes. Sometimes they are great and are a box office success while others miss the mark in such a horrible fashion that it almost physically painful to watch. One of the remakes that I was pleasantly surprised by was True Grit. The original is of course a John Wayne classic that still holds up today. So when the remake was announced, I was very worried how it would turn out. Give the stellar cast, it had good odds of being a decent film with stars like Jeff bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Barry Pepper, just to name a few. But sometimes even will time tested stars in place, a film can still be disappointing. However, this was not the case with True Grit. These actors did a phenomenal job of making these classic characters their own. Jeff Bridges did not just replay Waynes performance but instead found his own character for Deputy U.S. Marshal Reuben J. " Rooster" Cogburn. Playing opposite Bridges as Mattie Ross is actress Hailee Steinfeld. She had been acting since the age of 10 but was fairly unknown until her performance as Mattie. Her work earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress and was the breakout performance that led to more noticeable roles in subsequent films including her work in Pitch Perfect 2. This version of True Grit was released in 2010. The film written, produced, directed, and edited by the Coen brothers. Steven Spielberg served as an executive producer. This film had a budget of $38 million and earned $252.3 million at the box office. That is a significant financial success. This was the second adaptation of the 1968 novel True Grit written by Charles Portis 1968. The first adaptation starring John Wayne, Kim Darby and Glen Campbell was released in 1969. If you get tired of all the holiday movies on TV this time of year, why not take a break and check out True Grit this weekend. #JeffBridges #MattDamon #Movies #Blog #amwriting #books #mustsee #stevenspielberg

Friday Funnies: Mel Brooks Edition!

Hello Posse, I hope you had a great week and will have a relaxing weekend as we get deeper into the hectic holiday season. If you need a break from all the hustle of this time of year, I would like to suggest making some popcorn and M&Ms (trust me on this, I got this habit from my brother-in-law and it's amazing) and watch Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles! I have been wanting to share this film for some time now. It was released in 1974 and not only has an all-star cast performing in it but the list of writers for the script is pretty impressive too. The film is based on a story by Andrew Bergman. In 1985, New York magazine named him the unknown king of comedy. The script for Blazing Saddles was written by Brooks, Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg and Alan Uger. Mel Brooks directed this western satirical movie which stars Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder. The supporting cast is a typical cavalcade of stars who regularly appear in Brooks' films and were very well-known stars at the time including: Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Slim Pickens, Dom DeLuise, Liam Dunn, and Anne Bancroft, just to name a few. In addition, Mel Brooks makes his usual appearances in his own film. When watching this movie it is hard to imagine the problems that went on behind the scenes to get this film to the big screen. Bergman had originally started out intending to do this film on his own. The Movie was titled Tex-X at the time, Alan Arkin was hired to direct, and James Earl Jones was tagged to play the sheriff. However, the project fell apart and the rights were eventually bought by Brooks. The script was reworked, retitled, and recast. Rewriting the script proved to be a challenge with so many talented people on the team wanting their ideas in the script. The process was referred to as a riot by those involved. A few of the writers left before the final script drafts were complete. There were also casting issues. The team wanted Pryor to play the part of the sheriff but due to his well publicized issues with drugs and alcohol, the studio refused to insure him. John Wayne was originally wanted for the part that would eventually go to Wilder but Wayne thought the script was too "Blue" for his image. Even after the film was finally written and cast, the film had even more obstacles to overcome. Brooks had numerous disagreements with Warner Bros. over the language used in the film. One of the main disagreements was over the use of the "N-word". When asked about this, Brooks said that he received constant support from Pryor and Little when fighting for their script. After surviving all of these battles, the film was still almost not released. After a screening, studio execs wanted to scrap the film and just take the financial loss but the studio president at the time decided to release the film in test markets in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles would go on to be the studio's top-grossing film that summer. So get your popcorn ready and enjoy the show, Stephen #MelBrooks #BlazingSaddles #Comedy #western #Friday #FridayFunnies #Blog #MovieBlog #writer #author #readers #books

Whatever Wednesday: Good News and Bad News!

Hello Posse, I hope your plans for the holidays are going well. This time of year is always so busy for me with P.R. and my wedding anniversary the weekend before Christmas. This year has been especially crazy with P.R. finishing one project and being at home waiting until the next project starts in January. I developed horrible vertigo so bad that for a few months, I had to walk with a cane to keep from falling over and caused a need for numerous doctor visits. Just as I started getting better, P.R. fell and broke a leg. These unexpected health issues have really derailed my writing schedule. The Bad News I had planned to participate in my very first NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month in November) and use that time to write the fourth book in my serial and a short story to meet the word count for the NaNoWriMo challenge. I expected to send my entire book to my editor the last week of November and have it ready to go live, at least in ebook form (and hopefully print too) the week before Christmas. I have had to admit this week that will not happen. With taking care of P.R. and taking over all the things P.R. normally does around the home plus dealing with my own health issues, I just did not get the book finished in time. I was rushing through the writing to meet my deadline and I wrote a chapter that in fact, I was not happy with at all. I realized I had to make a choice. I could keep forcing the writing to get a book out by Christmas as I had planned or I had to let go of my plan and take more time to write a book I was proud to put out. I want to be proud of my work. So now I'm looking to have Into the West: Most Wanted out in early February at the latest. That will give me time for P.R. and I to heal, enjoy our anniversary and the holidays, and give me time to write I book I am proud to have you all read and not something that I just got out on time. I've been very happy with every book I have written in this series so far and I hope you will understand and support my decision to choose quality over speed. The Good News I love all the odd "holidays" that you can find online. recently it was Mutt Day, a day to share pictures of your dogs. My birthday lands on Talk Like a Pirate Day every year and today is Cookie Day! To celebrate this wonderful day, I want to share one of my favorite cookie recipes from Taste of Home, Pecan Sandies (<-- click for recipe link)! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these cookies. I usually make these at Christmas so I can make gift baskets for the neighbors and give the majority of them away or I would eat them all! If you want an easy, delicious cookie to share for the holidays I sincerely suggest you try this recipe. You will not regret it! Happy Cookie Day! Stephen

Monday Movie Madness: The Musical!

Hello Posse, I am running a little late today. Things are crazy right now with P.R. having a broken leg and being at home everyday when our norm is P.R. working 12 hour days and me here along with the dog. It's great to get so much time with P.R. but it would be nice if it were under better circumstances. At least P.R. is doing great and is on the mend. That is the important thing. Now, time for movie madness! Today's movie is a bit different as this one is a musical starring one of my favorite actresses, Doris Day. I have always loved her movies: Glass Bottom Boat, Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, The Thrill of It All, Send Me No Flowers, With Six You Get Eggroll, and so many, many more. But today I want to talk about one of her few westerns, Calamity Jane, starring Day and Howard Keel. This movie was put out by Warner Bros. in 1953. this movie differs from all of the others that I have covered so far in that this one is a musical. The movie is very loosely based on the life and legend of Calamity Jane and the rumoured romance between her and Wild Bill Hickok. Day plays lead character Calamity Jane with Keel playing Hickok. Both Day and Keel were well known at this time for their stellar work in musicals. Calamity Jane was nominated for several Academy Awards for the music including Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Sound Recording but it won for Best Original Song Secret Love by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster and sung by Day in the film. You can see the scene from the movie with this award winning song in the clip below. This movie centers around Calamity Jane and her ill-fated infatuation with US Cavalry Lt Danny Gilmartin (played by Philip Carey, known for his role as Asa on the daytime soap opera, One Live to Live). Gilmartin has his heart set on someone else, Calamity's new best friend and housemate, the new singer at the local saloon, Katie Brown (played by Allyn McLerie). When Calamity gets her heart broken she does not take it lightly and almost ends up ruining the lives of everyone close to her. But when a true friend talks some sense into her, things begin to fall into place for everyone to find their happy endings. This comedy is filled with great music and wonderful performances. It is well worth adding to your "to be watched" list. Enjoy, Stephen #dorisday #westerns #musical #musicalwestern #movies #moviemadness #Monday #MondayMovieMadness #blog #movieblog #cowboys #calamityjane

Monday Movie Madness

Hello Posse, I am running a little late today. Things are crazy right now with P.R. having a broken leg and being at home everyday when our norm is P.R. working 12 hour days and me here along with the dog. It's great to get so much time with P.R. but it would be nice if it were under better circumstances. At least P.R. is doing great and is on the mend. That is the important thing. Now, time for movie madness! Today's movie is a bit different as this one is a musical starring one of my favorite actresses, Doris Day. I have always loved her movies: Glass Bottom Boat, Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, The Thrill of It All, Send Me No Flowers, With Six You Get Eggroll, and so many, many more. But today I want to talk about one of her few westerns, Calamity Jane, starring Day and Howard Keel. This movie was put out by Warner Bros. in 1953. this movie differs from all of the others that I have covered so far in that this one is a musical. The movie is very loosely based on the life and legend of Calamity Jane and the rumoured romance between her and Wild Bill Hickok. Day plays lead character Calamity Jane with Keel playing Hickok. Both Day and Keel were well known at this time for their stellar work in musicals. Calamity Jane was nominated for several Academy Awards for the music including Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Sound Recording but it won for Best Original Song Secret Love by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster and sung by Day in the film. You can see the scene from the movie with this award winning song in the clip below. This movie centers around Calamity Jane and her ill-fated infatuation with US Cavalry Lt Danny Gilmartin (played by Philip Carey, known for his role as Asa on the daytime soap opera, One Live to Live). Gilmartin has his heart set on someone else, Calamity's new best friend and housemate, the new singer at the local saloon, Katie Brown (played by Allyn McLerie). When Calamity gets her heart broken she does not take it lightly and almost ends up ruining the lives of everyone close to her. But when a true friend talks some sense into her, things begin to fall into place for everyone to find their happy endings. This comedy is filled with great music and wonderful performances. It is well worth adding to your "to be watched" list. Enjoy, Stephen #dorisday #westerns #musical #musicalwestern #movies #moviemadness #Monday #MondayMovieMadness #blog #movieblog #cowboys #calamityjane