mmbtv: Downton Abbey -- The Essential Collection

If it's good enough for Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan in Iron Man 3, it's good enough for me.

If you've watched Downton Abbey, you may not realize that just like there is a version of the Bonanza theme song with lyrics, there is a version of the "Downtown Abbey Suite" (the instrumental that plays at show's open) with lyrics, called, "Did I Make the Most of Loving You."

Give Downton Abbey -- The Essential Collection a listen right now!

pets: They Call Us the Divin' Dogs

Here's an amazing photo of the Black Labrador Retriever Duchess by Seth Casteel:

Source: Wired

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mmbtv: Peter Capaldi as the Next Doctor (Who)

Of course, 2013 is a big year for the Doctor (Who), with the 50th anniversary special due in late November, the introduction of John Hurt as a mysterious figure who did not do what he did in "The Name of the Doctor," and the upcoming departure of Matt Smith for Peter Capaldi:

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Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
~ Buddha ~


Source: WikiQuote

Tips for Gals: Regifting

Thing I Notice: Regifting

My Pet Peeves: My guy is a regifter, and he thinks I don't know, so I have to pretend he's put some mysterious deep thought into some random gift he pulled out of his reject pile!

Tips for Gals: As Ohio Farm Girl famously wrote:

If someone gives you a gift they obviously spent time and money. I think it is just bad manners to turn around and give it to someone else. I know there are exceptions to every rule...if you really don't have the money to buy or make someone a present then maybe you are the exception. But let's be honest, is that the case or is it because you "can get away with it?" I know that I spend time and energy on the gifts I choose and I would be really disappointed if it was re-gifted because that person thought it would be fun or funny to give it to another.

Let's start using some manners before we become a society that has no social rules. I am amazed at how little time it takes to be polite... please try it.

Let's discuss this further in the comments until we arrive at a consensus, shall we please?  Thank you!

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Tips for Guys: Regifting

Thing I Notice: It's time to give somebody a gift

My Pet Peeves: It's time to give somebody a gift...

Tips for Guys: I learned about regifting by Googling "regifting".  That may even be how you found this post.  Let me make it quick and dirty for you:

If you read "Tips for Guys: How To Tie Neckties" you should already have a box of ties that are too long for you, and a box of ties that are too short for you.  If you look around your place, you should also have quite a collection of movies, music, books and TV shows that you know you will never really look at again.  Think of all that media as your "mmbtv discard pile".

What you will do is simple.  If you're giving a gift to a gal, pick something AT RANDOM from the mmbtv discard pile.  If you're giving a gift to a guy, try to remember if he's taller than you or shorter than you.  If he's taller than you, pick out a tie AT RANDOM from the "too long box".  If he's shorter than you, pick out a tie AT RANDOM from the "too short box".

You may be tempted to look carefully at the stuff you have and to take the time to carefully consider each recipient. 

"Didn't she once say that this was her favorite film of all time?" 

"Wouldn't the blue in this particular tie really make his eyes pop?"

Trust me, all that is a complete waste of time.  Guys WILL NOT CARE.  AT ALL.  If a guy mentions that his tie is too long or too short, point him to "Tips for Guys: How To Tie Neckties", which will lead him back to this post, thus completing the Circle of Regifting...

Your gal will spend hours, days, and weeks trying to figure out what this gift means.  She might not remember what she once told you was her favorite movie of all time, but she will puzzle over the hidden meanings of the wrapping paper, the color scheme of the DVD case, how the tragic death of Iola Martin in the revamped Hardy Boys series "speaks to her".  Giving her a mystery like this to unravel will only raise your estimation in her eyes.

If she was indifferent to you before, she will start to like you.  If she liked you before, she will like you like you.  If she liked you liked you, she will love you!  If she loved you, she will propose by Valentine's Day.  If she is already your wife, she will give in next time you ask for a three-way.  If you're already having three-ways, why are you reading this post?!  You should have your OWN blog!  (Seriously, get in touch... could use your help as a guest poster to this blog.)

If your gal ever asks you what it "means" (which she NEVER will), just reply, "Sometimes it snows in April."  If she asks again, make a subtle reference  to any of the Mystery Quotes at WikiQuote.

"Sometimes it snows in April." What to say if your gal asks what your gift "means".

If you've read "Tips for Guys: Flow Charts" you'll agree that a "Regifting Flow Chart" will help to make this whole regifting process easier to visualize:

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Tips for Gals: Flow Charts

Thing I Notice: Flow Charts

My Pet Peeves: My guy is really into flow charts

Tips for Gals: Guys just don't listen!  I can barely begin to start talking about my problem before some guy whips out a flow chart or something!

As Rose Perez said in White Men Can't Jump:

See. if I'm thirsty. I don't want a glass of water, I want you to sympathize. I want you to say, "Gloria, I too know what it feels like to be thirsty. I too have had a dry mouth." I want you to connect with me through sharing and understanding the concept of dry mouthedness.

Let's discuss this further in the comments until we arrive at a consensus, shall we please?  Thank you!

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Tips for Guys: Flow Charts

Thing I Notice: Flow Charts

My Pet Peeves: All the evil people are using evil flow charts to further their evil schemes, but there aren't enough good people using good flow charts to make the world as good as it could really be!

Tips for Guys: I learned about flow charts by Googling "flow charts".  That may even be how you found this post.  Let me make it quick and dirty for you:

One of the keys to succeeding with a big job is to break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces.

A flow chart is a tool that can help you do just that.  With a flow chart, you break a job down into each decision you make along the way toward your goal.  You try to answer each question yes or no, and come up with a contingency for that scenario.  Before you attempt the task the first time, your flow chart should hopefully be fairly simple and straightforward.

As you gain real world experience, you can revise your flow chart to give it more nuance to deal with the real-world problems that arise, thus making it a better flow chart.

As you get better at using flow charts and use more and better flow charts, you should be able to perform your tasks much more efficiently, freeing up a lot of time... to make more flow charts!

One day you could have your own flow chart business and become super-rich as a flow chart entrepreneur.  If your name is Frederick, you could have Fred's Flow Charts.  Flo Rida could start Flo's Charts.  And so on.

Flow Chart flow chart

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mmbtv: Before Midnight.

In 1995, there was Before Sunrise.

Then in 2001 came a short in Waking Life.

Next up was Before Sunset in 2004.

The latest film in the decades-long collaboration among Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy is 2013's Before Midnight, just recently released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

James Berardinelli of Reelviews gave it an astonishing 4/4 rating, noting

Jean-Luc Godard famously stated that "The cinema is truth at 24 frames per second." Often, when faced with overproduced blockbusters and special effects laden mainstream fare, it's easy to forget that. It takes something like Before Midnight to remind us of what "truth" means. It's a delicate thing, easily missed either in whole or in part. There's nothing wrong with escapism; I love many escapist motion pictures. But it's a rare and powerful thing to confront something honest and real on the big screen. It stays with you in a way that nothing else can. Before Midnight is fiction but it might as well be a documentary.

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tech: Robocoin

In a recent Wired article, Robert McMillan offers a tour of Robocoin, "the world's first Bitcoin ATM."

According to Wikipedia, Bitcoin is an experimental virtual currency, "introduced in January 2009 by a pseudonymous developer known only as `Satoshi Nakamoto'."

Robocoin is a new way to access this currency:

The Robocoin isn’t like other ATMs. It doesn’t take debit or credit cards. It’s a cash-only machine. You put your money in, and it gives you numbers — addresses that link to bitcoins, the world’s most popular digital currency. Or, if you already own some bitcoins, the machine can scan a QR code on your mobile phone and dispense cash.

Bitcoin has fluctuated wildly, driven by 2 main factors: 1) uncertainty caused by political events and 2) concerns about the security of the coin in the face of threats by hackers and regulators.

At the start of 2013, the value of the Bitcoin was $13. It reached a high of $230 on April 9.  The seizure of Silk Road assets caused the currency to collapse.  Bitcoin is considered to be experimental, but the concept has tremendous potential and has attracted the notice of regulators.

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The Revolution was effected before the war commenced

The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.
~ John Adams ~

Source: WikiQuote

mmbtv: The Official Marvel Comics Try-Out Book

Originally published about 30 years ago, The Official Marvel Comics Try-Out Book was billed as an opportunity for interested folks to show Marvel Comics that they had the right stuff to become Marvel Comics creators...

Originally published in 1983

According to Wikipedia:

The book described the respective jobs and accompanying tools of a writer, penciller, inker, letterer, and colorist, and then provided pages ready for the hopeful cartoonist to work on. An unfinished Spider-Man story (titled "Personals") was the springboard for the try-out portion, which among other features contained blank, pre-ruled pages for pencilers, pre-penciled "non-photo blue" pages (by artist John Romita, Jr.) to be inked and lettered, and completed black-and-white pages to be colored. The entire book was printed on two-ply 11" x 17" paper, replicating the size that a typical comic book was drawn on.

Winners of the "contest" announced in 1986 who went on to have actual careers in comics included  Mark Bagley, Doug Hazlewood, and Robin Riggs.  Of the three, Mark Bagley has arguably achieved the greatest fame with his extended run on Ultimate Spider-Man with Brian Bendis.

There has been a second volume published, and copies of The Official Marvel Comics Try-Out Book are still available, so if you'd like to try your hand, you still have a shot.  The "contest" is over, however.

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Tips for Gals: How to Tie Neckties

Thing I Notice: Neckties

My Pet Peeves: Guys don't know how to tie neckties

Tips for Gals:  Have you ever considered how nasty neckties are?!  They are filthy carriers of bacteria and viruses!  And that's just the tip of the germberg!

According to an article published by the US National Library of Medicine in 2006, Doctors have been advised to ditch "disease spreading" neckties on their rounds:

Doctors should no longer wear ties on ward rounds, because they can spread disease, the BMA says in its new guidance on infections acquired in hospital.
[The report recommends] Discarding of functionless items of clothing such as ties, which the report notes are rarely cleaned and are often worn every day.

In my opinion, if you see a medical doctor wearing a necktie, you should consider him or her incompetent.

I say that if guys have to display over-sized phalluses (and they do, because of the little things), we should abolish the necktie and bring back the codpiece!

Are you with me, sister-womens?

Let's discuss this further in the comments until we arrive at a consensus, shall we please?  Thank you!

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I think a nerd is a person

I think a nerd is a person who uses the telephone to talk to other people about telephones. And a computer nerd therefore is somebody who uses a computer in order to use a computer.
~ Douglas Adams

Source: WikiQuote

mmbtv: Richard III (1995)

Shakespeare with bi-planes!

There have been two major film adaptations of William Shakespeare's Richard III.  The twist for the 1995 film starring Ian McKellan, Annette Benning, and Robert Downey, Jr., among others, is that it is set in the 1930s, at the dawn of WW II...

James Berardinelli of Reelviews Movie Reviews wrote:

In its own bloody way, Richard III is as enjoyable to watch as any recent screen production of Shakespeare, and the shift to the 1930's with its attendant Nazi imagery (parallels between Richard III and Hitler abound) gives the film a twist that conventional productions do not have. If there's a flaw to the movie, it's that this is one of Shakespeare's least ambitious and less thematically rich plays. Nevertheless, since the only memorable motion picture version is Lawrence Olivier's 1956 version, Richard III doesn't suffer from overexposure, and this new interpretation offers an unconventional -- and easily accessible -- perspective.

Read reviews of Richard III.

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amz spots blog posting calendar

The amz spots blog posting calendar is starting to take shape:

SUN

• quotes
• mmbtv
• threat or menace?!

MON

• quotes
• mmbtv
• tips for guys

TUES

• quotes
• mmbtv
• tips for gals

WED

• quotes
• mmbtv
• tech

THU

• quotes
• mmbtv
• pets

FRI

• quotes
• mmbtv
• tba: May be open to guest posts*

SAT

• quotes
• mmbtv
• tba: May be open to guest posts*

PLUS, whatever else we can think of.  We'll post auditions as they become available.  If you haven't already, please AUDITION TODAY!

*Please let me know if you're interested

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Our Words Must Be Judged By Our Deeds

Our words must be judged by our deeds; and in striving for a lofty ideal we must use practical methods; and if we cannot attain all at one leap, we must advance towards it step by step, reasonably content so long as we do actually make some progress in the right direction.
~ Theodore Roosevelt ~

Source: WikiQuote

Tips for Guys: How to Tie Neckties

Thing I Notice: Neckties

My Pet Peeves: Guys don't know how to tie neckties

Tips for Guys: I learned how to tie neckties by Googling "how to tie neckties".  That may even be how you found this post.  Let me make it quick and dirty for you:

Next time you're in a men's store, ask the salesperson to teach you how to tie a tie.  Boom!  Problem solved!

If you can't handle that, check out this image from MIT:

And here's a link to a pdf with a photo and color illustrations.

Back to the men's store: at some point, you're going to figure out what length tie is right for you.  The idea is that the thinner side of the tie should fit through the tie loop behind the fatter side, and the fatter side should reach to about your belt buckle or the waistband of the pants (and that's from GQ!).

The point is, a lot of the ties you will accumulate in your life will be either too long or too short.  Once you determine the proper length range for your neckties (it can vary a little bit depending on the material and the thickness of the tie), you should go through your collection and put the ties that are too short in one box and the ties that are too long in another box.  You're going to want to hold on to these ties until you see the "Tips for Guys: Regifting" post, which I know you're really going to like...

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mmbtv: Lone Wolf & Cub

Lone Wolf & Cub was a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.

Lone Wolf and Cub chronicles the story of Ogami Ittu, the Shogun's executioner who uses a dutanuki battle sword. Disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyu clan, he is forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigoru, they seek revenge on the Yagyu clan and are known as "Lone Wolf and Cub".

 Source: Wikipedia

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