Wednesday Hodgepodge 10/26/11

This is my first entry in the Wednesday Hodgepodge, hosted by Joyce From This Side of the Pond. Joyce provides the questions, and I provide the answers. Let's see how it goes, and when you leave this post, please check out the Wednesday Hodgepodge posts from other bloggers and consider joining in the fun.

1. What gives you goosebumps?

It's rare, but sometimes I hear a beautiful song performed in a way that gives me chills or goosebumps.

2. Halloween-are you a lover or a hater? Okay, that sounds harsh...Halloween-yay or nay?

I've always liked Halloween. It comes around at the perfect time of year, when the air is crisp and cool. There are also plenty of fun things associated with it, such as bats, spooky music, scary movies, costumes, and candy.

3. Can you respect someone you do not trust, and can you trust someone you do not respect?

Probably not.

4. Apples or oranges? Yes, you have to choose.

Apples are much more versatile, but oranges win the prize for taste and smell. I hate to peel them, and they have to be juicy and seedless, but if I have to choose, oranges win.

5. What is something you wish was in your town? (shop, restaurant, attraction, etc)

Ooh, that's a great question. Our Don Pablo's restaurant closed down a few years ago, and I really wish we could get it back.

6. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer?

There's a bottle of fish oil supplements in the refrigerator. They probably expired long ago; I should check on that.

7. Are you at all superstitious?

Not really. I might eventually think of something I'm superstitious about, but I'm definitely not so superstitious that it affects me very much.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I think One Life to Live's Victor should have changed his name when he found out who he really was. Yes, I know he did what the writers had him do, so the writers should have had him change his name. Just about anything would have been better than being named after Victor Lord. I'm just saying.

Zombies!

Zombies are popular now, and they even have a few special days devoted to them. In fact, this past Saturday was World Zombie Day.

If you're into AMC's The Walking Dead, you probably already know this, but just in case you don't, this is important. The show returns this Sunday, October 16, at 9pm Eastern. The season premiere will be a 90-minute episode.

Speaking of zombie shows, the CW really should have picked up Awakening. I simply don't believe it would have had worse ratings than H8R, which has already been canned. I really wanted to see Awakening, despite the fact that I have plenty of other shows to watch.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.

Youtube

I don't watch TV online and rarely even watch videos on the computer, but there are a few exceptions. There's just something about animal videos, and these are some of the cutest I've seen.

I started to search for yawning puppies, especially Frenchies, and found this photo. Now I'm off to look for some Youtube videos of French bulldogs, which are so incredibly adorable. With any luck, I'll even find some videos of yawning Frenchie puppies.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.

X-Rite's Online Color Test

Have you taken X-Rite's online color test yet? It's actually called the FM100 Hue Test. I took it a year or so ago, and it was very challenging. I don't remember exactly how it turned out, so I might give it another try.

To take this test, you have to move little squares of color around and try to put them in the correct order. It's not as easy as it sounds.

X-Rite is the industry leader in color science and technology. The company is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has locations in Mexico, Spain, and France, to name just a few.

If you're interested in taking the test, make sure you give yourself plenty of time. Let me know how you do!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.

Waah!

Yesterday morning, I managed to bang the heck out of my toe. Actually, I think two toes are involved, but since I'm afraid to touch them, I can't be certain. In any case, the front of my foot hit the piece of exercise equipment I had recently begun using faithfully every day. Do you think I've been able to use it since then?

No.

I can barely get around on my lame toe(s). I'm not going to try to put on my shoes, and I really don't want to exercise in my sock feet--not that I think my toe(s) would appreciate it even if I did want to. I don't know how long it will be until I can get back to my exercise plan. And here I was building up my stamina, gradually increasing the length of each exercise session.

Waaah!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.

Vampires on TV

If there's a TV show about vampires, chances are very good that I've seen it. In fact, many of my all-time favorite shows were about vampires.

Here are my favorite TV vamps:

Caleb Morley (played by Michael Easton on Port Charles)

Damon Salvatore (played by Ian Somerhalder on The Vampire Diaries)

Spike (played by James Marsters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel)

Recently, I started wondering which actors had portrayed Count Dracula, the most famous (or infamous) vampire of all time, on television. We all know that he's often been depicted in movies, but he's also been on TV plenty of times. Since I was curious about it, I decided to do a little research. Satisfying my curiosity was so time consuming that I figured I'd go ahead and write an article about my findings. I get paid for page views, so please feel free to check it out if you're also curious about TV Draculas.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.

Urgent! Dogs in Danger!

Are you interested in adopting a dog? If so, please check Dogs in Danger. The dogs on this website have been placed on urgent status; they don't have much time left unless someone adopts them. Not all death-row dogs are listed; the listings depend on shelter participation.

There's more than one way to search the site. One option is to select a breed, type in your ZIP code, and choose a radius.

I always conduct my search by pulling up my state in the dropdown menu. That gives me all the listings from participating shelters in my state.

If you look on Petfinder, you'll see some pets designated as urgent. This usually means they've been there a long time and the shelter needs to make room for newcomers. Unfortunately, Petfinder doesn't have an "urgent" filter, but there are several ways to search, and if your search yields any urgent pets, they'll say "urgent," "emergency," or something similar.

While I'm on the subject of pets in dire straits, here is a page from some people looking for their dog. Ursula is a missing great dane/bullmastiff mix from Mayville, Michigan. Mayville is located in the Thumb, but Ursula could be anywhere by now. She disappeared in May, and her owners are desperate to find her. The page is public, so you don't need a Facebook account to be able to see it. If you think you've seen Ursula, please contact her owners with the information.

If you decide to adopt a pet, please don't forget to check for those with an urgent status. It could make all the difference in the world.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.

Turkey

I like turkey and eat it pretty much all year. I like roast turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy, and cornbread dressing, but I also like to get turkey from the deli counter.

Even though I like deli turkey, I'm picky about it. It can't look all chopped and formed, and it should be smoked or flavored with honey or maple. I've cut back on it somewhat because of the nitrites and sodium but haven't given it up completely.

Deli turkey is the basis for some great sandwiches. There are many different combinations, but grilled smoked turkey and cheddar is one of my favorites.

If I roast a turkey, I might make a sandwich or two out of it, but mostly, I prefer to have it on my plate with all the trimmings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.