"The production company behind 'Jersey Shore' confirmed today that it's producing a South Boston-based reality series for TLC. The show, titled Southie Pride, will offer 'an insider's look at the faith, hard work, and family that make this blue-collar enclave Beantown's beating heart,' according to 495 Productions. It'll focus on five South Boston women and their families. That said, 495 Productions is best known for the MTV series 'Jersey Shore,' so prepare yourselves for anything. 495, which is run by SallyAnn Salsano, says the show will premiere this fall.
Focusing only on South Boston women only? Does this mean I miss my shot at being America's next reality TV sweetheart?
Check out these really great public service announcements from The Shelter Pet Project. The project’s goal is to spread the word that pets in shelters are wonderful and lovable, and encouraging potential adopters to consider the shelter as the first place to find a new best friend.
I love TV game shows…always have, always will. And the best
of the breed are the old classics: “Joker’s Wild”, “Concentration”, “To Tell
the Truth”, “Liar’s Club”, “What’s My Line?”, “Password”, “Truth or
Consequences”, and “High Rollers”. Before we switched cable providers, we used
to have access to The Game Show Network, but sadly, it was filled with modern
remakes, not the old chestnuts. If GSN ran wall-to-wall classic game shows, I’d
be all over it.
One of the best game shows I remember was “Hollywood
Squares”, in which contestants battled for prizes and cash, aided by the nine
celebrities stacked up, Brady Bunch style, in a big Tic-Tac-Toe board. Peter
Marshall headed up the show, and although it’s common knowledge that the
celebrities were provided the funny answers by the show’s team of comedy
writers, it was still great entertainment.
My friends Dave and Michelle recently forwarded me an e-mail that contained
some of the best bits from Hollywood Squares. Brought me right back to sitting
cross-legged in front of the big console TV in our living room, my dog at my
side, waiting for me to share a handful of buttered popcorn, and laughing out loud with my family.
Q. Paul, what is a good reason for pounding meat?
Paul Lynde: Loneliness! (The audience laughed so long and
so hard it took up almost 15 minutes of the show!)
Q. Do female frogs croak? Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough.
Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least
how high should you be ?
Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it.
Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000
years. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.
Q. You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you
probably a man or a woman?
Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake.
Q. According to Cosmopolitan, if you meet a stranger at
a party and you think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and
ask him if he's married? Rose Marie: No. Wait until morning.
Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you
get older?
Charley Weaver: My sense of decency.
Q. In Hawaiian, does it take more than three
words to say 'I Love You'? Vincent Price: No, you can say it with a pineapple and a twenty.
Q. What are 'Do It,' 'I Can Help,' and 'I Can't Get
Enough'?
George Gobel: I don't know, but it's coming from the next apartment.
Q. As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or le
ss with your hands while talking?
Rose Marie: You ask me one more growing old question
Peter, and I'll give you a gesture you'll never forget.
Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather?
Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.
Q. Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries.
Are you going to get any during the first year?
Charley Weaver: Of course not, I'm too busy growing
strawberries.
Q. In bowling, what's a perfect score?
Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy.
Q:. It is considered in bad taste to discuss two
subjects at nudist camps. One is
politics, what is the other?
Paul Lynde: Tape measures.
Q. During a tornado, are you safer in the bedroom or in
the closet?
Rose Marie: Unfortunately Peter, I'm always safe in the bedroom.
Q. Can boys join the Camp Fire Girls
Marty Allen: Only after lights out.
Q. When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail. What
will a goose do
Paul Lynde: Make him bark?
Q. If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give
birth to?
Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of
the dark.
Q. According to Ann Landers, is there anything wrong
with getting into the habit of kissing a lot of people?
Charley Weaver: It got me out of the army.
Q. It is the most abused and neglected part of your body,
what is it?
Paul Lynde: Mine may be abused, but it certainly isn't
neglected.
Q: Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put
horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do?
George Gobel: Get it in his mouth.
Q. Who stays pregnant for a longer period of time, your
wife or your elephant?
Paul Lynde: Who told you about my elephant?
Q. When a have a baby, who is responsible for its sex?
Charley Weaver: I'll lend him the car, the rest is up to
him
Q. Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly
believes in them and has actually seen them on at least two occasions. What are
they?
Charley Weaver: His feet.
Q. According to Ann Landers, what are two things you should
never do in bed?
I heard there’s an important football game taking place
today. Hope it’s not on the same time as the Madonna concert…
So I went into work early this morning, trying to wrap up
loose ends before our trip to New Zealand (five days and counting until we
leave). And because I needed to treat myself for getting up early on a Sunday
and going into the office, I stopped at the local Dunkin’ Donuts for a large
cup of joe and a bagel with peanut butter. If I were REALLY treating myself, I would
have gotten a Patriots-themed donut (red, white and blue frosting, doncha
know?).
As I was waiting for my bagel to be toasted, a young guy
stepped up to the counter next to me. “What can I get you?” asked the nice lady
in the pink and orange smock. “I’ll have an extra large iced coffee with two
Splenda, one sugar, and a turbo shot. And I’ll have two chocolate glazed
donuts.”
Sounds like a chemistry experiment. And the way he ordered it - so robotic, so practiced - led me to believe that this was his "regular" order, every morning. As Jackie Gleason would say, “How sweet it is!”
Our new blogger friend, Gwan, who we were introduced to by our friend
Mary Kay, who blogs from Paris, has come up with some great recommendations of
things to do and see while we’re in New Zealand. Gwan, who lived in Wellington
for a year, got into an email exchange with Peter about music to
help get us into the Kiwi spirit.
One of those songs, called Poi E, is now stuck in my head (thanks, Gwan!). It’s performed by The Patea Maori Club, and Gwan says that although it’s not a traditional Maori song, it was a hugely successful one-hit wonder in the mid-80s. In fact, it was on the charts for 22 weeks in New Zealand, including four weeks as the #1 song in the country. “It was written to encourage Maori pride... you should watch the video - very 80s!” said Gwan. And very 80s it is!
With no further ado, may I present Poi E. (Check out the kid at about 1:07 - a proud face, or what?)
And on YouTube, because one thing always leads to another, Peter and I found this video of JGeek and The Geeks performing Maori Boy, a little more contemporary slice of the Maori culture.
Anybody else out there have any recommendations on music to listen to (or books to read or movies to watch) to get ready for our big trip?
I think I've said it before, but love her or hate her, that Martha Stewart knows how to write a recipe. Case in point: a delicious batch of roasted applesauce that I made tonight. It's probably the 5th or 6th time I've made this recipe. It's perfect when you've got lots of apples hanging around the house and you feel too lazy to peel and core them.
Note: I have no idea what "3 lbs. of apples" looks like. I just filled the 9x13 baking dish. To compensate, I doubled the rest of the ingredients. The applesauce came out great.
Roasted Applesauce
1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of coarse salt
2 tablespoons butter
3 lbs small assorted apples
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of grated nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine water, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in 9x13 baking dish.
2. Add butter (chopped into small pieces) in dish and top with apples.
3. Roast until apples are very soft, about 30-40 minutes.
4. Working in batches, pass apples through a food mill*. Stir in spices. Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled.
* Martha says if you don't have a food mill, you should core the apples before roasting, and after the're cooked, puree the apples in a food processor, and strain before adding the spices.
** I'm hoping that my friend Blobby has recovered from "The Great Sausage Debacle of 2012" and will once again try one of my recipes.
