Do You Wanna Madonna?

    I wasn't a big fan of Madonna when she first became popular when I was in grade school. I only got to hear the radio about once a week or so until I was in high school. I didn't get a boom box until Christmas of 88. I got my first CD player as a graduation present in 90. The cable service didn't start including MTV in its main package until I was in college. (All I had was this weird video show on TBS Friday and Saturday nights that wouldn't always show the biggest hits.) When I finally got into her music, I didn't look back. I'm still a fan of sorts to this day. In honor of her newest album coming out this Friday, I am going over my history with her music, starting from the beginning.

    My first cassette single [remember those] of hers was probably "Keep It Together," the last major single from her Like a Prayer album. I probably got it at Walmart. I was getting singles practically every time I went on a shopping trip. Didn't really like it, but was better than "Oh Father," the single that preceded it, which may have been my actual first Madonna single. 

    "Vogue" was the first major song that I got. This was memorable because I got it after a school trip to Morehead State University. Finding out it would have been cheaper if I had gotten it at the Walmart in the same shopping center was slightly disappointing. It was the lead single from what would be my first Madonna album, I'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy. I got the cassette instead of the CD. It would have been my second ever disc, but I was put off by the music store, so I chose the easier option. I only went to that store one or two more times. It was hard to get to. (It soon turned into a medical supply store, and I think it is now part of Pikeville Medical Center in some fashion.) My favorite song from the album was not "Vogue," but the ballad "Something to Remember." For some reason, it just hit me based on the feelings I had after graduation. It is actually a very popular opinion, which I'll come back to.

    My actual first Madonna CD would be The Immaculate Collection, her first greatest hits album and her second compilation. (Her first compilation was of her biggest dance hits up to the late 80s. I'll come back to this idea at a later time.) The album would have two new songs, with my favorite being "Rescue Me." 

    After the movie song "This Used to Be My Playground," from A League of Their Own which she had a role in, I got my first actual studio album from her. Erotica. Still feels strange typing that, even though I was twenty by the time it came out. I can't remember if I got the album immediately or if I waited. I seem to recall getting two at the same time, after waiting on another. Anyway, my favorite song from that album is "Deeper and Deeper." It's a hard-hitting dance track with an unusual flamenco bridge in the middle.

    After yet another song from a movie, "I'll Remember," Madonna released Bedtime Stories. I remember the unusual program that she had before releasing the video for the title track on MTV. She actually tried to read a children's book, but kept getting interrupted. While the album features her biggest number one hit, "Take a Bow," I didn't care too much for the songs. Overall, either "Secret Garden" or "Human Nature" would be my favorite. 

    Next came another compilation Something to Remember, this time featuring her biggest ballads and the new song "You'll See," which was the spiritual sequel to "Take a Bow." At least the video was. (Yes, my favorite song from earlier was technically the title track.) The videos were a precursor to her title role in Evita. I did not get the soundtrack album. I am not that big of a musical theatre nerd. I did get the singles "You Must Love Me" and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." I think the second was a CD single with remixes.

    All of this was just the build up to what would be her biggest critical album to date, Ray of Light. For once, I feel that the title track was my favorite, although "Nothing Really Matters" was also pretty good. No number ones, though. That didn't bode well with me. This would be followed up by two more songs from movies, "Beautiful Stranger" and a cover of Don McLean's "American Pie." Neither were released as singles. Wisely for the latter. It was widely panned.

    For some reason, I missed on the information that Music, her album from 200, was coming out. I guess I was busy with opening my store. The album featured a lot of inspiration from country music, especially my favorite track, "Don't Tell Me." I didn't get to play this CD that much, as I was too busy with my new business. I barely even acknowledged her next compilation album GHV2 was coming out. This was her second biggest hits album, but it had no new material. I mostly remember it because of the liner notes were written by Sacha Baron Cohen in his "Ali G" persona. (The cab driver was a part of the video for "Music.")

    That's when the music took a break, but I'll continue this thought next week. See you then.

Extreme Makeover: Blogcast Edition 2026

    So, I've been thinking about a design upgrade to my blog. When I first started this many, many years ago, I was just fooling around. I didn't give too much thought about what I could be doing with this thing. As such, I skipped a few details involving the design. Really. Since I didn't have a computer, I was forced to fix up my blog in short increments whenever I could steal some extra time at a local library while using their computers. Recently, I've been noticing the look of my blog whenever I have to go and post it when it shows up in my Memories on Facebook. The blog looks so dull, especially when compared to other things I see online. It just makes me want to change the entire setup however I can. Yes, I have a computer and almost unlimited time just to make everything just right, but I just don't have that much impetus to actually make the changes. I just want to update things for a better look, you know?

    Okay, full disclosure.  I have a confession. I didn't have a good idea for the subject of today's post. None. See, I have a slight problem. Today's post was supposed to be the 2026 update to My Culinary Journey series from last year. However, I wanted to go on my annual summer shopping trip first, in case I ate at a new place. The trip got delayed for many issues that includes fixing my broken glasses and avoiding some bad weather. As such, I still haven't gone yet, but I am scheduled to go very soon still. Starting next week, I have at least two, probably three, posts planned that I couldn't change the dates for, as they are tied to an event in early July. After that, then I can go back to the many ideas I've got planned, including that update. 

    For today, I'm just goofing around, writing whatever I can so that I can keep to my weekly schedule. The teaser for the link I'll be posting on Facebook will include my taste test of Mug Vanilla Howler. Spoiler, I'm not sure I liked it.

    Random thought. I've been seeing a lot of vehicles with a matte grey finish lately. I really hate it, as something about them is unsettling. The flat dull sameness of these vehicles just feels off somehow. The fact that so many just seemed to pop up suddenly all but scares me. It is almost like the things aren't real or maybe not of this world. If the vehicles were all the same make and model, I think it would make more sense. However, these are coming from different companies and brands. Maybe I would feel different if they were shiny, reflecting the sun proving their reality. These are just a dull dark gray, otherworldly in a negative sense. They do not belong to this world, but another.

    As to next week's post, I hid a big clue in these ramblings. Do you wanna find it?

Are These Eyeglasses Half-Broken or Half-Repaired?

    So, I broke my eyeglasses again. It happened late Friday night. I was just taking my glasses off, when the left stem came off of the hinge. The two parts just separated, with nothing else falling off. This isn't anything like ten plus years ago when my old, old glasses had the left hinge break off. It looked like I could just insert the stem back on the tiny peg on the hinge to repair it. Unfortunately, the stem wouldn't stay attached. Also, for some reason, the left lens was extremely close to my eye. Even when I tried looking out of my glasses without the left stem in, the left lens still got very close to my eye. I couldn't figure out why it would tilt so.

    Since it was the weekend, my optometrist wasn't open, and I was stuck until Monday morning. Fortunately, I still had the replacement glasses that I got when the hinge broke off the previously mentioned pair. Unfortunately, the lens came from that old pair, and they were already about ten years old or more at the time. I had a totally different prescription now involving bifocals.  While I could 'see,' I had trouble reading and viewing screens. Worse, there were still traces of adhesive that I could never remove from when the lens got put in. I had to either try to use my current broken glasses and risk my eyeball or just go without whenever I tried to read or play games. I had a major Golf Clash tournament over the weekend that was already going to be hard, and playing without my glasses made it even harder.

    At least I had one saving grace. I still had my prescription sunglasses that I got last year. This meant I could drive without any difficulties. There was no way I could drive without wearing something, and my sunglasses are bifocal as well, allowing me a full range of vision. I couldn't wear them inside though. It made everything too dark. 

    I was able to go to my optometrist Monday morning. Some remodeling was going on in one of the back rooms, making it very loud. Some young kids who were waiting there would occasionally shout over the work going on in back. This was the second time I had to replace this brand of glasses due to a part failure. The previous time, one of the nose guards fell off. It was a minor issues, but my mom forced me to get the frames replaced. Not repaired, as there was apparently no way to re-attach the broken nose guard. I'm not certain, but I think these might be a replacement pair as well.  The hinges are noticeably tighter than my previous pair, and I think the style/color is off just slightly as well. 

    Anyway, I'm seeing again just fine without any worries. For now. I'm on my third pair of these glasses in just under four years. I had my previous pair over a decade before I had a problem with them. Their replacement still looks okay, even though the styling is dated. Even my previous pair of sunglasses are still good, even if I no longer wear them regularly, and they are at least fifteen years old. Maybe almost twenty. No real problems with them, but the newer, way more expensive ones?

    I'll come back to this topic in another year or two

Red, White, and Lots of Blueberries

    I can't remember when I had my first blueberry. It may have been in high school, or quite possibly college. I know that sounds fairly late in life to try something so common, but I am quite the picky eater. Blueberries just weren't that big a thing when I was a kid.  Sure, they were around, but it took some time before I tried them, probably on one of my new food kicks that I used to go on all the time when I just got bored with everything else.  However, once I tried the actual fruit, I was hooked. I began trying everything that was blueberry-flavored. To a point.

    My initial dislike of blueberries may come from something my mother once forced me to try, blueberry cream cheese danish. While I might have liked the fruit, the cream cheese was just not something I could tolerate. I guess I tried a few other things before I got to the actual berries.  I mean, blueberries aren't even blue on the inside. The flesh is whitish, generally speaking. Very ripe berries might be darker, but I am starting to lose my train of thought.

    The first blueberry product that really took my interest was Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. Blueberry wasn't one of the original flavors, I think. I tried strawberry, but I didn't really like the flavor of strawberries when heated. Blueberry, however, is superb. Even as new flavor came out, I would return to blueberry. The only other flavor that caught my attention was Wildberry, which was a mix of strawberry and blueberry, maybe a touch of another. That one was discontinued, although a Mixed Berry limited-edition came out for last year, with special strawberry icing. Alas, the promotion ended. The current one features a strawberry/cream cheese with blue blueberry icing, a first. Haven't seen this one in store yet, just the apple pie flavor, but I'm still on the lookout.

    I also tried dozens of blueberry cereal bars. I almost stopped after the first one I tried because it tasted horrible. Maybe it was a spice in the filling, but I couldn't stand it. I occasionally tried a different flavor in the beans, and while it wasn't the type of filling I liked, it didn't taste as bad. I kept trying new bars, but they were always discontinued after a time. There was even one with blueberries and cream cheese that I actually could tolerate. Almost all of them now gone. The few left that I alternate are just barely better than the previous one, which is still the industry leader. There is one that is quite similar to that flavor to an Archway blueberry cookie, which was my absolute favorite in the world, before the current owners pared down the varieties and eliminated it. That's just the story of my life.

    I've had blueberry danishes, scraping off some of the cream cheese when necessary. I've made my own blueberry muffins, and even coffee cakes, from mixes, but the best ones were discontinued. I'm a fiend for blueberry jelly doughnuts whenever I can get them, but they are hard to find lately. I try other bakery blueberry products, with mixed results. 

    One type of product that has just come out are ice creams with blueberries. Years and years ago, I remember trying a blueberry and blackberry ice cream from Pet. (This was before I started trying blackberries by the way. Also, a fairly strong favorite.) However, Pet is no longer carried anywhere anymore, if it even still exists. Even if it does, that flavor is long gone, but other brands have brought out something new. First Bluebell has brought back its Red, White, & Bluebell flavor, which is a mix of strawberry, vanilla, and blueberry flavors swirled together. Fortunately, I live on the eastern end of the range and can get this flavor, only in half-gallons. I don't know if I would like it enough to get that much. I mean, I loved the Dr Pepper float flavor, but the banana fudge was lacking a bit. Still, blueberry ice cream. Another store had a 'gourmet' store brand with a 'huckleberry' flavor in pints, but quite expensive. Technically, huckleberries are just larger, wild blueberries, so I might like them. Not so sure about it being a store brand, but the prospect is almost too tempting.

    One thing I don't get is cheesecake. Not even blueberries can change that. I also try to steer around anything with lemon. The flavors match well enough, but the combination is not a favorite. Personally, blood orange might be the better citrus choice, but that is so rare that I would skip it for the most part.

    Thank you 'berry' much for being here today. See you next week.

Paint the Town and Country Shopping Center Red, and More

    As I mentioned before, the shopping center where my store is located got sold to a hospital. Still kind of worried about why a NPO wants with a retail establishment, but whatever. In doing so, the new owners have decided to make some renovations to the center. A major one was been repainting the marquees and support pillars in the hospital's signature gray. However, the individual units are not being painted gray. No, they have been repainted in a bunch of different colors. Six in all.

    First, there is a terra cotta orangey red. Really in your face. It gives a strong Southwestern feel. Next is a light orange, close to apricot. Very pale, but still recognizable. After that is a creamy, yellow neutral. Very close to butter, yet darker than ecru. Fourth is a minty green with just a touch of blue. Fairly unnatural, but somewhat appealing. That is followed by a light, sky blue. Nothing remarkable about it. Finally, there is another blue, mixed with grey and a touch of purple. It's very close to the accent color of my store's interior. For the sake of explanation, let's call these six colors, in order, as follows:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. (I also forgot the Oxford comma. Very necessary.)

    Probably fortunately, these six colors cycle in a pattern among the eighteen units at the center.  In fact, I hadn't realized that the center had that many units, not counting the former supermarket that was the anchor at the east end. Going from east to west, the colors cycle yellow, green, red, blue, orange, violet. Units supposedly didn't get to choose which color they got; they just got whatever color was next in the cycle. I say 'supposedly' because one unit may have got to pick green for their unit. I find that strange, as the unit is a boutique with a pink color scheme inside. The two colors have a watermelon feel, which might work on some level. Maybe. My store got the yellow. This so happens to be just a tad brighter than the original ecru that was the original interior color for my store before we repainted a long time ago. At least the contrast makes the store a little brighter.

    Of particular note is the church. (Yes, one unit of the center is now being used for a church. It was previously a dialysis clinic.  Before that, it was a drugstore and the main display for a Sears franchise. [The two even switched out in the early 70s.] The Sears took up many of the units before they were divided a very long time ago.) They didn't seem to get any favors out of this.  While not a traditional white, they were able to get the lightest color of the six made available, the orange. Of the other five colors, only the yellow would've been even barely appropriate. The church has the largest wall space of any unit at the center, at least for the side facing the parking lot. The most western unit probably has the most wall space, if you include the side facing the road as well. 

    The weirdest thing is the unit directly controlled by the hospital, the one with the scrubs store, as well as the center manager's office, is blue. While not the official color of the hospital, it is the most notable. Now, while I admit I haven't been to that many places, I don't remember seeing any shopping center with such a wide range of different colors for each unit. I'm not sure it works, but that may be point. More opinions on this at a later date.

Goggling Gaggles of Geese

    I have been noticing that a once rare trend has slowly been taking off. Or rather putting on. See, I've noticed people dressing their ceramic geese, or perhaps ducks, in various costumes to celebrate various holidays and seasons.

    The first time I remember seeing this was almost twenty years ago. A house on my way to work had a goose on a pedestal by the steps to their porch. Then they got a second one, or maybe they had two all along. Anyway, the woman who lived there would sew up costumes for them, depending upon the season. I would eagerly await to see what she came up with as holidays rolled around. Then, one morning, the geese were gone. For some reason, someone stole the geese, costumes and all. Now, I couldn't sure if the geese were attached to the pedestal or not, but the birds were gone. This is when I found out about the background of the geese, through various means. After some time, the geese were recovered and the perpetrator was jailed. The first new costumes for the geese were a police officer uniform and a striped convict suit. Soon, a tiny gosling statue was added between the two, although it rarely got its own costume.

    The woman would later die, but the geese remained.  The new owners of the house weren't into decorating so much, and the geese would be naked. I believe that no one is currently living in the place, as giant weeds have slowly overtaken not just the yard, but even the dirt road to the trailer above the house. The weeds are so tall that I can't even tell if the geese are still there, or even the pedestal and steps. I can barely tell that the house is still there, if it wasn't on a small hill. That's how tall those weeds are.

    For many years, I barely saw any costumed geese anywhere. Then, last summer, I noticed that a house had places a pair of geese, one on each side at the top of the steps to the porch. Last summer, the geese were in swimsuits, one even had an inner tube. Over the next few months, the geese would be dressed in clothes representative of the various holidays, which many in actual costumes. For Christmas, one goose was Santa Claus, while the other was just in a red, white, and green dress. Or was it a reindeer. I think I remember a goose as Christmas tree? Anyway, one had bunny ears for Easter

    I'm finding it hard to remember, as so many other houses now are doing the exact same thing. While the original goose lady made many of her costumes, it now looks like an entire industry has popped up to make sure geese don't stay naked. Just this morning, I saw over a dozen places with at least of their geese in get-ups. That's right, some of these homes have so many geese that not all of them are dressed. The home from the last paragraph have their geese in old-timey swim ware complete with bathing caps. Another house has one goose graduating in a cap and gown; its partner is still in the farming gear she has had since after Easter. Multiple geese are in red, white, and blue, dressed like Uncle Sam. One even has attached wings, spread out and holding flags in each side. One house has their goose dressed as a giant ladybug, with translucent wings unfurled behind it. 

    In all fairness, this trend is a little easier to take in than having your giant Halloween skeleton up year round and dressing it up for different holidays, just so you don't have to take it down. I imagine it's less expensive too, as these ceramic birds are only a foot tall or so. Still, everyone deciding to clothe geese at the same time is somewhat freaky. Cute, but kind of weird.

Popping up out of Nowhere

    I'm back to my regular schedule, and it is time for a favorite of mine. Today I'll talk about the newest sodas out in the market. Each one of them is different for me, but in totally different ways.

    First is Cherry Sprite. No, not Cherry Limeade Sprite Chill, which is a different product available in many places. This is just Cherry Sprite which is an exclusive limited edition flavor found only at Food City brand stores. Normally, I don't drink Sprite, or any Coca Cola product. However, I felt that I needed to try this as I never knew a smaller regional market like Food City would get a major exclusive. At first, I thought that this would be like Cherry 7-Up, a cherry-flavored drink from a company mostly known for lemon-lime.  I was wrong, as this is just regular Sprite with cherry added. While some people like the flavor combination, I didn't. The mix of the two flavors didn't work well together, as the lemon-lime overpowered the cherry, whose notes barely registered. After the original bottle, I didn't try it again.

    Next comes something even more out of left field for me, Dirty Mountain Dew. I rarely ever have Mountain Dew. Usually, it is just a quick blast from a fountain added to my usual Dr Pepper/Pepsi mix, and very rarely at that since the flavors rarely work right. However, I have a slight partiality to cream soda/vanilla flavors, so I decided to try it. Mountain Dew has had multiple flavors for twenty-five years now. (See Code Red/cherry, Live Wire/orange, and Voltage/raspberry.) I have never tried one before, just because of the flavor. Not even the watermelon-flavored Major Melon that just got discontinued for Dirty Dew. Personally, I don't see why vanilla is getting added to everything, but why argue. The color is a pale greenish-yellow, which is somewhat off-putting. I opened the bottle and got a strong whiff of vanilla. I wasn't expecting that. The cream soda flavor was pronounced, but not overwhelming. The regular lemon-lime of the Mountain Dew blended seamlessly with that of the cream soda. It reminded me or lime sherbet, even though I rarely have had it, and I didn't really like it the few times I've had it. The flavor was just different enough from anything else I tasted that made me want it more. (Maybe it was the extra caffeine.) Anyway, I have wound up getting some more bottles for extra testing and tasting. I even got the zero-sugar one by accident to try later on today. I mean, my mind is blown that I like this so much. Not enough maybe to buy a carton or six-pact at once, but possibly a few more times.

    Finally, Dr Pepper has brought back the Coconut Cream flavor for the summer. Keep it away from me. I just hate coconut that much.

    I am looking forward to the battle of the root beer floats as Mug and A & W both bring out their root beer/cream soda combos soon. Which I find odd, as root beer already has some vanilla notes naturally. Oh well.