Ok, story time for all good girls and boys...
(and all frog lovers everywhere!)

The Little Blue Frog

Once upon a time in a country far away there once was a company that created a little animated short to display their amazing creativity and ability to help companies advertise. It's inventor, Erik Wernquist, also known as the amazing frog tamer decided to use a little blue frog. The essence of the short digital story was the ability of the bored little blue frog to use his imagination and create a 2 cylinder motorcycle on which to play. He is so successful that the imaginary motorcycle takes off with him on it!

What a wonderful little frog. So cute but so...naked. The little short (made in 1997) was called 'The Annoying Thing'. This short was seen by lots of people who so enjoyed it that they told their friends, who told their friends, who mentioned it to a few million people. The result? This little blue frog became known as 'Crazy Frog'. A company contacted Erik and suggested he market the little ugly thing, to which he promptly replied..."Really? Seriously? hmm, well, ok, but I don't know who would buy it."

In the meantime, realizing that so many people were beginning to ask for more of the little blue guy, he created a music video based on the song from Beverly Hills Cop. And so was born the 'Crazy Frog' epidemic. From little videos to dolls that ding ding, to posters, cd's and a hundred other marketing ideas (which include ring tones) an empire was born. About which a much richer Erik Wernquist smiles, while scratching his head still trying to figure out what it was that made people really like his cute little animation.

Here it is... the original. I might want to remind you that he is wearing a vest and nothing else... something I didn't notice at first viewing...which was more than 10 years ago. However, the debate when the marketing reached America raged on, and many of his American appearances have the small appendage simply air-brushed out. Please don't be offended, remember that the culture in other countries is a lot more liberal where advertising is concerned and for the Netherlands-it is considered extremely tame and children are allowed to view it unsupervised.

http://hem.bredband.net/turbo2/the_annoying_thing_320x256.mpg

And here is the first music video Erik created:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k85mRPqvMbE

Long live Crazy Frog! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Gazing into the Square

Why are we so fascinated by animal shows? We will watch hour after hour as crazy people go delving into woods, crevices, holes and waters looking to show us things we never want to come face to face with! We hover eagerly waiting to see creatures chase and catch prey as large or larger than we are... and wanna see more!

I admit I'm one of those fascinated by their habits. I love to see these crazy people put themselves in harms way. Humans are the most insane, most dangerous, most moronic, most intense creature out there. And we love to watch people get into the strangest situations. We laugh, gasp, cry and get frustrated right along with them as they struggle and survive the worst we can throw their way.
We invent fanciful methods of trouble and put them in it and when logic won't save them, we invent new ways of dealing with the trouble we created. And we love it!

"Oh look! Its a deadly flesh eating bacteria infected spider! Lets see if I can get this little fellow to crawl over my hand. If we're lucky, he may even bite me!" Moments later we're eagerly waiting to see if the hospital has the anti-venom. Have we as a species reached an insane madness, or are we just testing ourselves to find our own limits? I'm not sure. I find myself drawn to several conclusions however, one of them being I'm missing my show by writing this (turning to watch as crocodiles try to drag down a gazelle).

It's little wonder that we're willing to surrender to those things we consider safe. Home, TV, food, family, traditions and spending time by sharing stories. Maybe we're just wishing we could be as brave as they are...but aren't we really? I think it takes more bravery to stay the course and believe in yourself, trust in love and care about others around you. But... I'm missing my show...(turns to see a crocodile lung at a man holding a baby)...oh, It's ok, I've seen this episode.

Slanguage

The English language is loosening up. I found out not long ago that there are some slang words that are now listed as real words in the dictionary. My fascination with this began when I found out that 'Ginormous' became an official word last year. Apparently they were able to trace it's usage back to WWII. Ergo now it is part of the English language. So I started thinking about all the slang words I've heard recently that one day might become 'real boys'. There are different types of slang. Like the abbreviations you find in instant messaging or e-mails. There is also the dialect slang which is localized and is really an attempt to rewrite the language. Then there is common slang. That's the one where words you use seem appropriate but they're not considered dictionary worthy yet. I've made up a list of three types of common slang. Words that actually made it into the dictionary as permanent, words that are listed in the slang dictionary and not the official dictionary base, and words that aren't even listed in the slang dictionary yet. I've listed the year they were traced back to when available...I hope they make you smile like they did me!

Words that haven't made it yet:

Chillax (chill + relax)
Ba dink a dink (small human rear)
Ba donk a donk (ample human rear)
Etact (tactfulness in using electronic communications such as instant messaging)
Gestimation (guess + Estimation)
Jingo Jango (ridiculous)
Sitch (situation)

Words that have made it to the slang dictionary:

Wussy (wimp + pussy)
Homie (local pal)
Janky (old and broken)
Krunk (wild and exhilarating)
Bazillion (billion + gazillion)

Words that have officially made it to English language:

Phat (terrific, great) trace back to 1960
Dude and Dudette (buddy, surfer slang) trace back to 1991
Slanguage (slang vocabulary) trace back to 1900
Spim (instant messaging ads) trace back to 1999
Grody (disgusting) trace back to 1960
Groovy (really cool) trace back to 1815
Zilch (zero) trace back to 1966
Ginormous (giant + enormous) trace back to 1948
Babe (small child) trace back to 1150
Babe (girl) trace back to 1915
Psycho (abbreviated Psychopathic) trace back to 1935
Cop (police officer) trace back to 1695
Funky (odd and smelly) trace back to 1784
Edgy (highly irritating) trace back to 1837
Scram (to run away quickly) trace back to 1925
Spud (potato) trace back to 1400
Cash (paper money) trace back to 1590
Freebie (free item) trace back to 1940
Grungy (filthy) trace back to 1965
Bonkers (insane) trace back to 1945
Spork (spoon + fork) trace back to 1909
Boo Boo (injury or mistake) trace back to 1954
Caboodle (lot or group of things, as in kit and caboodle) trace back to 1840

Fingers in the Dirt

The joy of gardening. Is that really what it is? I admit from time to time I like to putter in the dirt. Planting an herb garden or tomatoes for summer. But I often grow tired of it and move on to something else. It could be several years before I plant again after growing a bountiful crop of items on the porch. I had a house once where I toiled over the yard endlessly. It was funny. I started off enthralled by the yard, and then year after year the mowing, planting, pruning and weeding became such a heavy burden, that I rented the house out and moved to an apartment!

There is nothing more wonderful than picking something you grew and then eating it, cooking it or giving it to an appreciative friend. To bad you can't bottle that kind of feeling. It would be a better pick me up than the mood elevating herb St. John's Wart. I dare say it would last longer.

Maybe what I'm really talking about is just playing. Kids play in the dirt; kick it, sculpt it, throw it, build with it and chase things in it. Maybe I'm reliving a part of my childhood when I 'let' myself play in the dirt for awhile. I can put things where I want, be creative and artistic with trinkets, use tools to construct and destroy and if I'm lucky it adds beauty to my environment for awhile. I'm lucky to live in a green part of the country. Where trees, grass, flowers and critters abound. I don't have to do much to enjoy nature. I think if I lived in the desert that would be a different matter. I'd probably have to have one of those inside gardens. Something with trees and walkways. Here I just have to sit on my porch and enjoy. I feel pretty lucky. In the summer I can hear the birds chirping and the rustling of small animals moving through the trees and grass hunting for food. I can hear the trickle of a small nearby stream and somehow, everything is alright. So maybe the puttering in the dirt is just my bodies way of making sure I stay close to nature. Either way...there's nothing like having your fingers in the dirt.




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In The Good Ol' Summer Time

It's here again. That dreaded time of year. Adults work hard to rid themselves of a few extra pounds gained over the winter months, and children start daydreaming of school being out for the summer. I look despairingly at the spare pillow I have acquired over the winter months and I too promise to lose a few pounds before swimsuit season arrives.


Life seemed so much simpler when I was a child, water was fun and sunshine felt great. Now all I do is sit by the pool, and burn. Who messed up the childlike system for summer? I blame it all on the clothing industry. Shame on you for designing swimsuits that shrink in water! And what were you thinking with the thong bikini? I don't mean to sound old fashioned. But when did it become a necessity to show everything I have, outlined with dental floss? Let's face it, not everyone has the body of Christy Brinkly. I know I don't have any chance of ever fitting into a suit that reveals a midriff not unless Goodyear goes into designing.

Pardon my outrage at such atrocities, but where are the women with imperfect bodies who love water as much as I do? - Hiding in their backyards with a water hose, that's where. And just where do you think those men with jolly old Saint Nicholas style bellies are? - I'd really like to know, I can't find their hiding place anywhere, and I'm jealous.

Children really do get away with simple summer pleasures. No worries about flabby guts, or thunder thighs. They just laugh and play. Even early teenage years seem to be preoccupied with how they compare to their peers, but at least if they don't think well of themselves, they don't let it spoil their fun.

Perhaps the time has come to start a new trend. Throw out those thong bikini's and burn those designer nightmares, and come put on a T-shirt and shorts like me. We'll play the way we did when we were kids. Grab those inner tubes, bring out those flip flops and silly straw hats, and pack up the kids in the ol' mini van and head for the water. Get wet, and remember what it felt like to splash around like an idiot in the sunshine.