Downton Abbey Musical Parody Camps it Up on YouTube

If you, like me, are a devoted Downtonista  waiting with baited breath for Season 4 to begin airing on this side of the Atlantic, take heart.  A wonderful  Musical Parody and Season 4 sneak peek  surfaced a couple of weeks ago on YouTube and is here to save the day.

Not only is it absolutely hilarious, it makes a true Downton Abby addict like me go into DT's (that's Downton Tremens to  you social Downton Abby watchers).  I'm still laughing and the laughing makes the waiting till January for season 4 just a bit easier to bear ( pass the kleenex please)

 Colin Andrew Mochrie, of Whose LIne Is It Anyway? fame, is brilliant as Downton writer and  creator, Julian Fellowes. He serves as a sort of narrator, holding the musical numbers together.  My fave is a duet about tea and teabags sung by Carson and Mrs Hughes.  I won't spoil your fun.  Check out Vanity Fair's fabulous review and then watch the video.

 You are going to laugh yourself silly. I promise.

Quote For Today from Henry Ford

There is lots I don't like about Henry Ford, but there is no denying he was a fascinating and complex character.  This quote of his is one of my favorites and while Henry Ford and I don't agree on much ( he was a violent anit-Semite who hated labor unions and was happy to make a profit from war as well as peace) we do agree on this definition of getting old.

On the other hand, he was definitely a visionary.  It's just that his visions were sometimes a little warped.

Ode to My Morning Coffee

 

 Coffee

by Arthur Gray

O, boiling, bubbling berry, bean!
Thou consort of the kitchen queen-
Browned and ground of every feature,
The only aromatic creature,
For which we long, for which we feel,
The breath of morn, the perfumed meal. 

For what is tea! It can but mean,
Merely the mildest go-between.
Insipid sobriety of thought and mind
It “cuts no figure”—we can find-
Save peaceful essays, gentle walks,
Purring cats, old ladies’ talks”— 

But coffee I can other tales unfold.
It’s history’s written round and bold-
Brave buccaneers upon the “Spanish main,”
The army’s march across the length’ng plain.
The lone prospector wandering o’er the hill,
The hunter’s camp, thy fragrance all distill.

So here’s a health to coffee! coffee hot!
A morning toast! Bring on another pot. 

original artwork by lisacongdon. Buy it on Etsy

The Downside of Downton Abbey

The downside of Downton Abbey is only that season three is over. There is no other downside, unless you count the deaths of Lady Sybil and Matthew, both of whom are leaving the show for bigger and better and had to be written out of it. I don't know about you, but I was chomping at the bit for four months, furious that season three was airing in Britain last fall, while on this side of the Atlantic, Downton-addicts  were having severe withdrawal symptoms waiting for the January broadcast date.

Yes, I resisted all the spoilers, didn't go near the blogs and facebook pages, and watched every episode-- sometimes more than once.  I rejoiced over Mary and Matthew, cried for Tom and Sibyl  and totally went into soap opera mode over Anna and Bates. I loved that Maggie Smith took her portrayal of " The Dowager"  right over the top.   It was a breathtaking ride and perhaps, because I had to wait so long for it, like the chocolate ice cream at my fourth birthday party, it was gone all too soon. Now I have a Downton Abbey hangover, and I do not like it one little bit.

So, now, on to season four.  I think the wait will kill me this time.  I am not the only one begging the powers that be at the BBC and PBS to NOT make us wait.  Puhleeeeze.

There is a good case to be made for almost concurrent British and American broadcasts, but it seems there are potent financial reasons ( like ratings and increased post production costs) for keeping things as they are, so I am braced to accept the inevitable.  But I'm going on record right now as one UN-happy camper about having to wait.

In fact, I am so annoyed by the prospect of having to wait four months after the UK for season four, that I just may forget all about Lady Mary, and Anna, and Bates and the whole bunch of them.  It's not like I don't have other demands on my time. 

 Take that, PBS and BBC!  Downton where?.....  never heard of it.  Don't keep me waiting too long. OK?

Cartoon source

Fat Cats and New Years Resolutions

Source: via Roberta, aka Pinkpackrat on Pinterest

I don't do New Years Resolutions anymore-- too damned depressing.  But I do do what I call New Years reflections. I look back briefly on the year just past and then think about, and write down,  two or three goals for the coming year.  I keep a diary-- have for years-- and always write down my New Years reflections in my diary. The writing down part is key-- at least for me, not least because it forms a record and a concrete reminder of where you have been and where you are going.

This year, after performing my annual reflective exercise, I looked back over more than a decade's worth of diary entries to see if there was a pattern in my New Years ruminations and there was.  I noticed two important things-- to wit:

•  The first big surprise was that most of the goals I have set for myself over the years, I have achieved-- more than I thought before going back over my diaries. I really do worry less, spend more time with family and friends, procrastinate less, keep my house cleaner and my finances more organized and a whole bunch of other things too boring to mention here.

• On virtually every goal list, every year, no matter what my weight or the state of my health, I included as a goal " losing weight, and getting more exercise" which is a goal I never seem to achieve-- at least not to my satisfaction.

So, now, just in time for my annual New Years review, I read that being a little overweight might not be a bad thing.  It seems that a major study, involving more than 3 million people, has found that being moderately overweight ( I believe I definitely qualify for inclusion here) not only is not bad, but might actually statistically lower your chances of premature death.  Hooray.  Of course, the bad news is that the same study found that being significantly obese  increased chances of premature death in a big way-- but then we already knew that, didn't we?

MY takeaway from this is to pat myself on the back for having managed to achieve so many of my life goals over the past decade and to give myself a break in terms of diet and exercise.  Time to stop being so critical of myself.  It is, after all, not how long you live, but how that counts.  So Happy 2013 everybody and pass the popcorn.  It's going to be an interesting show, for sure. 

A Christmas Wish from Pinkpackrat

My friend, Mary Fairchild, (who, you might not be surprised to discover, lives in the little town of Rosendale) designs her own, original, electronic Christmas cards every year. She's done it for the past five years or so and they are always witty and fun, just like Mary herself. This year, with her permission, Pinkpackrat is co-opting Mary's card and re-blogging it to wish everyone, everywhere a joyous holiday season.  Merry whatever and Happy 2013.

Let the feasting begin.