R.I.P. Bip

Bip, the white faced sad eyed clown wearing a stovepipe hat and carrying a red flower is the first image most of us see when thinking of Marcel Marceau. Bip was only one of the many characters that Marceau developed during his 50+ year career. Michael Jackson's moonwalk was "borrowed" from Marceau's walking against the wind routine, but the routine that always sticks in my mind was The Mask. No, not the Jim Carey movie, a simple routine where the mime finds 2 masks similiar to the comedy and tragedy masks used to represent acting. He tries them on, one at a time, switching quickly from the comedic grin to the tragic frown. The switching gets faster and funnier until suddenly the comic mask is stuck and he can't pry it from his face. At first the mime is amused, then annoyed, soon he gets frustrated, The frustration gives way to anger and the anger to despair. Somehow, Marceau was able to convey all of these emotions without a single word, while his face continued to wear the absurd comic grin. His mouth smiled, while every other muscle in his body cried. It was incredible to watch. Seeing him perform on stage was miles beyond seeing him on television. Even the televised performances were lightyears away from the obnoxious street mimes who have made the art of mime the object of ridicule. He was truly the master of his craft.

In his memory, mimes everywhere will be observing a 60 second moment of conversation . ....... Sorry I just couldn't resist.

Cambridge Sound Works

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'Tis the Season

Well, I made my weekly pilgrimage to Wal-Mart on Saturday. While standing in line I couldn't help but notice that the older lady behind me had an entire shopping cart filled with nothing except vegetable oil. 48 oz. bottles, front to back, side to side , two layers deep. Never being one to let common courtesy get in the way of curiosity, I looked at her cart then at her and said, "Looks like you're going to be doing a lot of frying". "Yep." was her curt reply. Rather than shut me up, her one word answer piqued my interest even more. "Fish fry at the family reunion?" I asked. Granny shot me a toothless grin and said, "Giggin' season starts tonight. Gotta be ready."

I assumed she meant frog gigging, but was quickly informed that frog gigging season had been open since June 30th and would close on Oct 30th. She meant the non-game fish gigging season that runs from Sept 15th - Jan 31st. So whats a non-game fish? Non game fish include bluegill, green sunfish, drumfish, buffalo fish and gar, but primarily we're talking about suckers and carp. Mmm, glad I asked. Brings a whole new meaning to Carpe Diem !

Remembering Sept. 11, 2001

I could tell you that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing as each moment of that horrific day unfolded, but I won't. You could do the same. We all remember it like it was yesterday, We will remember it for the rest of our lives, and we should. In the six short years that have passed there have been articles written, books published and movies made. For me the most powerful and moving memorial is simply a portion of CNN's website that has been dedicated to those who were killed on that terrible day, September 11, 2001.

Take a moment, visit the memorial and remember not just what you saw that day, but remember what you felt. Here's the link.
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/

Canvas on Demand

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Steamroller Blues

The street department was out fixing potholes today. Now the Old Peddler lives in a very rural area. The town is roughly 3 square miles, population 644. I thought our street department consisted of 1 man and a pickup truck, but there were two guys out there today. Like most road crews, one was working and one was watching. The little thin fellow was shoveling hot asphalt out of the back of the pickup, and the 6'4", 350 pound guy just leaned on his rake and watched. After filling each hole Slim would trade his shovel for Tiny's rake and smooth out the asphalt leaving it about 2" above grade. When Slim threw the shovel and rake in the back of the truck, I figured the job was done, but no, now it was Tiny's turn. He waddled over to that fresh asphalt and suddenly came to life. Bam! Bam! Bam! He started jumping up and down, stamping his feet, running in place and anything else he could think of to compact every last bit of the asphalt into that pothole. Bam! Bam! Bam! The leaves were shakin' the ground was quakin' and when the asphalt was level with the grade, the old road was good as new, .... well close enough for government work.

Got Ink?

Printer Ink and Toner, one if the computer age's real frustrations. It always runs out at the most inconvenent time, and the price to replace your cartridges is almost as much as your printer itself. In fact, I have seen my printer on sale for less than the price of the cartridges. aargh! Well the Old Peddler has found a solution. On my sidebars you'll find an ad for Shop 4 Tech. Their ink prices are incredible. Here are some examples:

My printer uses the 2 Lexmark cartridges. The savings are huge. How much can you save? Click the Shop 4 Tech ad to find out. BTW there is no shipping and handling charge on ink or toner. All you have to do is plan ahead just a little and save a lot.