KT1 Writes

The top Ten Best 1980's Bands

2009-11-29T18:19:00.004-05:00

The top ten best bands from the 1980's are without a doubt also the most important bands of the 80's. They rode the new wave into the eighties, crested with the wave, changed their music with the times and kept the heart of rock and roll beating. Realizing that Madonna was one of the best and most important musical artists of the '80's, i did not inlcude her because this is my blog, and I despise Madonna.
U2

U2 was one of the most influential bands in the 1980's that are still going strong today. Bono and the boys fought for freedom with their songs written with "WAR" in mind. U2 combined a danceable beat with punk, to display a strong workable mix of strong songs that captured your heart. U2 gave energy to punk music and were a very important music artist of the 80's

MICHAEL JACKSON

Mentioning the best 80's artists without including Michael Jackson would be like mentioning a wedding without a bride. Michael was one of the strongest leaders of music in the 80's. "Thriller", sold over 40 million copies in its inception, (According to All Music), and is still breaking sales records today. Thriller alone set new world records with seven chart busting hits

PRINCE

Prince was also one of the most important music artists of the 80's. He performed unlike any other, and cradled us with his songs of romance and lust. Prince was funky and had us at 1999.

JANET JACKSON

Janet Jackson, a backup singer for the Jackson Five, came into her own in the 80's, as one of the most important music artist of the 80's. She proved she was a strong performer, and she made an entire generation feel in control of our lives.

WHITNEY HOUSTON

Whitney Houston became a singing diva, but her strength was her emotional ties to her songs. She made us dance the night away with her song, "I want to dance with somebody." Without her musical influence on the 80's, many awesome artists today, l;ike Mariah Carey, would not have a musical leg to stand on.

DURAN DURAN

Duran Duran was pure pop genius. They were edgy, cute, funky, and Britain's answer to a new generation of the best 80's artists. They sold hundreds of millions of albums, set new concert attendance recorders, and set the musical world afire. They were Hungry Like The Wolf and proved it with their poppy, funky, punkish songs

GO GO'S

The Go Go's were one of the first girl bands to break free from the mold of girl singing groups from the 60's. They were eye candy for the guys and shockingly they could play their instruments. Without them other girl bands would not have become important music artist from the 80's.

THE BANGLES

The Bangles could do what many bands couldn't do, and they did it well. They looked great, wrote hit 80's tunes, and made us all "Walk like an Egyptian." They could also play their instruments, and were a top ten music artist from the 80's.

INXS

Australian band, INXS sold millions of records in the 1980's and was an important music artist that helped usher in new wave music. INXS kicked the MTV generation into gear with their sexy song and video, "One Thing."

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Bruce, also one of the important music artists from the 80's, kept on rocking and added some danceable tracks to his record, "Born in the USA." Bruce has a regular guy appeal about him and according to Rolling Stone Magazine, "Speaks for the working class hero."

There you have it, the BEST TEN bands from the 1980's. Of course, there were more like The Alarm, Cindy Lauper, and many more. But, hey, I said Ten, not 100.

2009-10-14T13:07:00.003-04:00

I have I.F.B.S. What does that mean? It's called Irritable Face Book Syndrome. You see, I went on the exciting world of Facebook in September. I was happy and excited to be on Facebook. It was great to reconnect with old friends, relatives I hadn't heard from in years, and be in on this oh so secret world. I loved seeing pictures of people I went to college with. It was wonderful to see and hear from people I knew. I couldn't have joined Facebook at a better time with my son starting college, and my daughter going through her drama-princess phase, (it never ends).

Soon the excitement waned, and the newness evaporated into the air---the new car scent was gone. Going on facebook became a chore much like cleaning the bathroom for the thousandth time. The thrill was gone! Boredom set in. Then I became irritated, because Facebook only seemed like a place for people to promote their jobs, their careers, themselves. I found myself scanning anxiously to see if anyone said anything resembling a real word. I thought even a How are you, would be nice.

I stopped sending personal messages to friends because they didn't answer back, were dis-interested, or too busy to bother. In short, I felt short-changed, socially ripped-off and pissed off. Going on facebook became irritating and dull.

I felt like a person who couldn't run away from a tragic traffic accident---I had to look, but I felt disgusted at the same time for going on and reading other people's self- promotion. I had I.F.B.S.

I was grossed out to the max!! People were not talking to each other, or even trying to read each other's whats' on your mind comments. People were facebooking without reading each other's comments. In other words, people were talking AT each other, and not listening.I felt like the only living soul, who was reading responsibly.

I realized that Facebook was better off as a social site for college kids to talk to each other!! I came to the conclusion that we adults had all but made a mess of Facebook. Young adults were communicating better than we adults. I pondered this question--- Have we lost our ability to communicate? Have we only become a society where people don't talk to each other anymore?

Personally, I'd rather have the old Facebook back where college kids tell each other what they are doing, and helping each other with homework. Even though young adults were sending short messages, they were communicating better than we adults.

Manufactured pop star---Miley Cyrus

2009-09-18T20:34:00.004-04:00

Rising from the pack of characters that Disney brings to television every day, Miley Cyrus is a manufactured pop star. Watching any amount of the popular television shows on the Disney Channel will cause major stomach upset, and make your heart yearn for real rock and roll and pop songs from a long ago era when the artists wrote songs that came from their hearts.

*Unheard of just a few short years ago, Miley Cyrus has become a household name.

*At the age of just 12 she received her own Disney TV show where she plays Hannah Montana who is a star and Miley Stewart who has a regular life.

* She had her first television show debut several years earlier when she played a girl named Kylie on her adopted father's (Billy Ray Cyrus), show, called Doc.

* Appearing on her show and singing on Disney Radio, Miley Cyrus has become a household name for adoring pre-teen girls, who flock to her concerts to see Miley's lively performances.

* Cyrus is a teen singing sensation enabling tweens to dream a little dream of becoming a super popular teen singing sensation.

*Miley's songs were all written for her, until recently with Cyrus writing her own material.

Miley's face is plastered on every thing imaginable from t-shirts, to lunch boxes, to fuzzy slippers. What's next? Fuzzy dice, hanging off of the rearview mirror with Miley's face on those too!!

Miley Cyrus is getting older, surpassing sweet 16, and someday she too will be a shadow of her former sweet self.

*Cyrus dated a male model six years her senior. (She was 15, he was 20). I think that's called statutory rape!

* Cyrus also pole danced at the Teen Choice Awards, leaving her younger audience wondering if they too can pole dance at an impressionably young age.

*Miley's star won't shine brightly forever though- every young pop star grows out of her cuteness factor.

*Britney Spears, a former child star, grew older, had children and her left sexy kittenish role behind as a pop princess.

It can't last forever. But Miley will be a billionaire before her time in the spotlight is up. By the way ---the Jonas Brothers are also manufactured pop stars as are Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez---who has a super weak singing voice.

2009-09-18T15:03:00.003-04:00

The song "Iris", written by John Rzeznik, from the band the Goo Goo Dolls, is a true masterpiece of artistry. The GooGoo Dolls, Buffalo, NewYork-born and bred John Rzeznik wrote this song of a tortured existence in a mere sixty minutes.

*When approached by the makers of the film, "City of Angels", to contribute a song to the soundtrack, Rzeznik was more than up for the task.

*Enduring a lifetime of pain, Rzeznik grew up with his four older sisters in Buffalo, New York. His parents were relatively poor, hardworking Polish immigrants.

*Rzeznik's father unknowingly provided a lifetime supply of song writing topics with his alcoholic abuse of the family.

*By the age of 16, Rzeznik was an orphan when his Dad died at the age of 55 and his Mom passed a year later. His older sisters stepped in to raise him.

Listening to the songs, Rzeznik has written over the years such as "Iris," "Name", and "Slide", you are invited into a hellish existence. You can tell that Rzeznik was emotionally as well as physically beaten by his father,
*You learn just how tough his life really was and how he felt like an outcast.This could be the source of Iris' incredible and enduring popularity a decade after its initial release on the soundtrack.
*Teenagers as well as adults identify with the song "Iris."

*The song has a soulful, melodic, catchy quality, but you get caught up in the words that seem to reach out and grab your very inner being.

*Any person that has had a hard life or has any feelings for that matter, gets wrapped up in Iris and feels a major connection to this song.

*In fact Goo Goo Dolls fans are still downloading Iris off the Web many years after its initial release.

2009-09-16T16:48:00.003-04:00

Hi out there in blog Land,

I enjoyed this summer so much, I did not write. Sorry! Seems I am always apologizing about not writing.
Poor Taylor Swift---first time she goes to the MTV Awards, and Kayne West grabs her mike and her award and tells her she doesn't deserve it. How about putting West in rehab for drinking and behavioral problems. His mother died and he used that as an excuse for his bad behavior. Where was security at the MTV awards? Why didn't they yank his sorry butt off the stage? Why didn't they defend Taylor Swift? If I were her, I would never go back to MTV anything and totally dis MTV. But she has too much class to do that. Poor girl---Didn't she know that the MTV Music Video Awards was just a freak show on parade??!!! They taught girls how to be HO's, now they are teaching people how to be freaks. Anybody get a look at Pink's act? How bad is that , when noone even noticed one breast was not covered!! Speaking of MTV---anybody see Shakira's new video---She Wolf?All I'm saying is that girl is really limber.

2009-05-13T14:27:00.002-04:00

I had a stroke in the very beginning of February. That's why I haven't written in my blog for months. I became super busy with Christmas, and I was writing for several different media outlets with a fiery passion. I was writing so much so, that I had no time for my blog, my husband or my kids. Then on February 9, 2009 I had a stroke. It seems my cartoroid artery decided it was going to part ways with my body.

Then I spent ten days in the hospital, and one week in rehab. Never in my life did I think I would need to go to REHAB!!! Where's Amy Winehouse when you need her? In the meantime, I have gone through in- home therapy. I can function once again, but I still feel like a drunk person some of the time.

That's the reason I have not written any new blogs. I started writing again after I was home for about three weeks out of total and complete boredom. I sold a few articles on Helium.com. I started writing for another outlet that pays absolute garbage pay of $5 to $15. The unnamed media outlet demands absolute perfection for hardly any money. They want sources and a writer to cite every idea she has. I enjoy writing, but not when you can't include any personality, ideas, or creativity.

Now I have several book ideas ruminating around my head, and I am currently making a decision of what to write and for whom.
So, God willing, and the hard work of everyday living, and with continued workouts, I just might get to write a book or two.

Thanks for reading my BLOG!!!

More about going green

2008-04-30T20:35:00.003-04:00

With going green literally everywhere today, you can't go anywhere without seeing, hearing watching, reading something about going green, saving the planet, global warming, saving the environment, and recycling. What can we do that we aren't already doing to save the planet?

We can take on the attitude of not doing anything. And yes, I mean not doing anything. Just stay home with all the lights off, the heat turned way down, or the air-conditioing turned off. We can not buy anything, or go anywhere. We can all just stay home. It could be for just one day or two or a week, or two or three.

Wouldn't this be a great way to save the planet? We wouldn't be driving our vehcinles thus we would be saving energy, and the atmosphere would be safe from our carbon emissions. We wouldn't be using gas or diesel fuel, so there you go, it would save the environment. We wouldn't be using those nasty plastic bags when we buy new items and throwing them in a landfill to take up space for a thousand years, now would we?

We wouldn't be cutting down trees for paper bags to place items in when we buy things. We wouldn't needlesly waste water taking showers or baths to go to work, or to school, or even to shopping malls. By staying home we would be doing the environment a great service. Mother Nature would be so proud of us.

Of course, we wouldn't be making money by staying home unless we all worked from home. And we wouldn't be able to get necessary items such as food, household and personal items. We would all be bored beyond belief, and the global economy would collapse, ending in major economic woes that would extend beyond the scope of just America.

We can however take on the attitude that we can do more to save the planet, and do at least one thing everyday to join in the cause. It's just hearing about it everyday that has many people annoyed. Use less water in the shower, walk instead of driving, recycle plastic and paper bags, turn down the heat, turn up the air-conditioner, pick after yourself in public places, and don;t throw your garbage out on the sand at the beach or in the water. By all of using common sense we can save our planet Earth.

How to Survive Raising Teenagers

2008-11-19T13:17:00.001-05:00

Raising a teenager is very much like being a scared rabbit and having a trapper catch you, and put you into a cage with several really hungry foxes. You are completely thrown into the situation, you are not ready for it, and you really feel you are not going to come out of the ordeal alive. I feel like a scared rabbit everyday when my two children come home from school. This is when I realize my quiet time of getting all my work is done. I am now faced with two hungry foxes, that are waiting to pounce on me and tear me limb from limb in their quest for being eternally non-grateful for me having given birth to them.

Read more of this article on helium.com by clicking this URL---http://www.helium.com/items/1232703-how-to-deal-with-teenagers-how-to-deal-with-preteen-raising-children-keep-sanity-raising-kids

Give the Gift of LOVE For Christmas

2008-11-26T17:55:00.004-05:00

How about doing something different this year and completely forgo buying expensive gifts for everyone on your Christmas shopping list? Why not wrap your arms around the ones you love and give them the gift of love and time? Forget booking an expensive holiday vacation to a warm, sunny place. Visit your friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, neighbors, the homeless, hospital patients, and even older folks in nursing homes.

The holidays are really supposed to be about giving the gift of love, not some meaningless gift bought at a store to increase the retailer's bottom line. With the commercial aspect of the holiday season getting way out of line, just doing something simple for everyone on your holiday gift- giving list can be the best thing you c an do. And guess what, you won't come across as Scrooge, or a cheapskate for not buying people super expensive holiday presents, or purchasing the biggest, greenest Christmas tree in the lot.

You will become the happiest person alive by spreading holiday cheer to one and to all. Throughout the holiday season, smile everywhere you go. Throw holiday parties and invite people and extend the warmth of the season by giving everyone a big hug. Make certain that you engage each person who wanders in through your front door, in earnest, heartfelt conversation. Put your arm around a longtime friend. Give hugs and kisses, to everyone, even your grumpy boss. Extend your invitations to your children and have them give hugs and kisses to relatives, and friends.

Take your kids to an elderly neighbor's home and bring them cookies freshly baked from your oven. Bring the kids along and give your neighbor the gift of time. Sit with her and talk about the neighborhood and life in general. She will appreciate it very much and won't feel left out this holiday season. Have your children shovel elderly neighbor's driveways and sidewalks, so that they can get out of the house without the hassle or the worry. This way, your children will learn the gift of giving, and you will be helping someone else at the same time.

Instead of just donating items to your local animal shelter or your local food pantry, volunteer at one instead. Bring the kids along, a friend or a neighbor and have a good time volunteering together. Walk stray dogs, and give them the gift of a loving hand by petting them. Volunteer at a local food pantry and get the inside view of how they feed all those people. Smile and talk to everyone you see that day. This will brighten their life a little and yours as well!

By serving other people and extending yourself you are giving the best gift of all LOVE. Giving the gift of a warmth and cheer, you will feel the real reason behind the holiday season. Now, isn't that better than getting caught up in all that commercialism and spending a lot of money on meaningless gifts that people will only return to the stores the day after Christmas?
Learn more about this author, Kate Johns.

Career Opportunities in Cosmetology

2008-11-20T18:00:00.001-05:00

Career opportunities in cosmetology by Kate Johns

The field of cosmetology is growing by leaps and bounds and is creating new careers every day. Cosmetology is expanding so fast that area schools are starting up just as fast to supply each city and town with new enthusiastic members of the work force to work in this very creative field. Where else can you go to work everyday and make good money, utilizing your inner creativity to become the next biggest hair designer or the next stellar makeup artist that creates your own line of best selling line of makeup products?

The cosmetology field is growing so fast that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2006, there were 600,000 career cosmetologists, and by 2016 there will be 700,000. With over 100,000 jobs being created in ten years that means the cosmetology field is growing by so fast because millions of people have the desire to look and feel great. Even in a stagnant economy people need to look good for work and for their own personal health. People will cut back in other areas of their lives, but nearly everyone has that desire to be pampered by getting their hair professionally cut, their bodies massaged and their skin taken care of.

This area of careers, the cosmetology field, is so fast growing that you can literally sign up for new courses at accredited institutions overnight and get your degree within a few short months. This area is developing and growing so much so that you always have to take new courses to further develop and enhance your skills so that you stay ahead of the proverbial curve. Cosmetology is a field that people always are learning new aspects of, that is why it is a very interesting, creative field to go into.

With new careers opening up every day this field is wide open for potential growth in nearly every sector of the job market. You can go to school to become a hairstylist and within several years open your own salon. There are three basic specialty areas of cosmetology that include, hairstylist, manicurist and esthetic's. The plethora of careers available is a stunning example of how fast this industry is growing. Just some of the careers available are: Massage Therapist, Reflexologist, Dermatologist, Therapeutic Massage, Color Consultant, Beauty Consultant, Aromatherapist, Makeup Artist, Barber, Hairstylist, Owner of Salon, Corporate Manager in Cosmetics Company, Stylist for Rich and Famous, Cosmetic School Instructor, and Film and Theater Hair Specialist.

The field of cosmetology is a growing sector of the job market that is seeing exponential growth. Go to school for a short time and have a creative, growth oriented career in matter of a few short months. And once you have obtained your job, there is virtually no holding you back from reaching your career desires.

HELIUM.COM
Learn more about this author, Kate Johns.Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Cheap cell phone Alternatives

2008-11-19T13:10:00.002-05:00

Cell phones and cell plans can become a very expensive proposition, especially when you have kids and you are the one paying for their cell phones. There are so many cell phones and cell phone plans that walking into a cell phone store is a dizzying prospect. You almost have to be a teenager, and have just consumed major amounts of caffeine to understand what exactly the sales person is talking about. But, there are many alternatives to owing a cell phone, and there are several cell phone ways to go that are cheaper than those super expensive plans.
Read more of this interesting article on helium.com. the article is called "Cheap cellphone alternatives." Just in case the URL decides not to lead you the way.
http://www.helium.com/items/1235303-how-to-get-cheap-cell-phone-inexpenisve-cell-phone-plans-pre-owned-cell-phonescell-phone-giveaway

Catching up With You

2008-09-24T21:21:00.003-04:00

Hello, Everyone,

Just writing to say I had a super busy summer, trying to fit in writing and taking care of two kids--one of which is 17 and thinks I'm his personal driver. But now, that the kdis are back in school, I have time to do what I love---sit around and do nothing. No, not really, I'm busier than ever writing, writing, and writing. And getting all the housework done I didn't have time to do all summer with writing, and arranging play dates, and being a personal chef, and taxi driver, and with my hair falling out, and having major stomach problems---getting old sucks! I'm not even fifty yet and for some odd reason, my body has decided to ramp it up and make me look and feel 60.

But, yes I will be writing some major topics to come. Just didn't have any time during the summer to get back to my blog.

I can't believe the major problems the banks are having, and that gas is finally coming down in price. With the government bailing them out---that makes things really scary! We just averted diving into a depression. That would mean that many Americans like my Mom would have lived through two depressions.

It's really scary---we are having a hard time making ends meet with my husband having lost his job last spring. He got another job, but it doesn't pay as well. So we are doing without already. I'm at the point where I'm seriously thinking about stocking up on food and supplies just in case. And winter will be coming soon and we may be going into a depression---that means long food lines, long gas lines, no jobs and major scariness. People are already losing their homes and their jobs. Just the other day I saw statistics that over 60percent of American families ---parents are moving in with their kids. Many of these people are immigrants---but still, times are so bad that entire families are living together again.

And that is both good and bad. Grandparents are there for their grandchildren and families can help each other out and not be spread out all over the country. But still, there's no real privacy, either. But, then again Mom and Dad can get jobs and have Grandma and Grandpa watch the kids, and make dinner, and do the laundry while they aren't home. Okay, maybe that wouldn't be so awful.

I will be back writing more articles for your peruse soon, I promise. It's just something I have to do. Some people have to sing, I just have to write.

DEEP Thoughts on menopause.

2008-07-21T10:56:00.005-04:00

Currently I am going through reverse adolescence, that is menopause. Usually this is not something that women run around screaming at the top of their lungs. It's more likely that we all go through it rather quietly. Everyone around us knows before we do, because they see all the changes that are going on with us before we see it ourselves.

And you know what? I don't feel like being quiet about going through menopause. For one thing it's not a disease. It is the most difficult time in a woman's life, and it's a time of major change and even stress.

Even social diseases have become more of a mainstream topic nowadays with pharmaceutical companies mass marketing pills for people to take. You know the advertisements where the young good looking frisky couple are walking down a beach hand in hand, saying that his social disease doesn't bother their relationship because he takes some drug to alleviate the symptoms.

How does this all tie in with menopause ? Because social diseases do not carry the shame and horror they used to carry. Years ago when people contracted a social disease they had to call all their sexual partners and then re-think their actions and not have sex for awhile until the symptoms cleared up.

Becoming a menopausal woman carries a certain shame in today's society.
Essentially with social diseases becoming an okay thing in society then why can't older women become a welcome part of life. When a woman ages and loses her beauty, and she gains weight, and her hair turns gray, why is it that society as a whole doesn't notice that woman anymore? When a woman reaches that menopausal age she should be celebrated for all she has accomplished. Men should lust after her, because she has lived life and knows how to do things that younger women don't know how to do. Hint Hint!

A menopausal woman should be celebrated in our society and lifted up to feel like she is million bucks! She gave birth to children that are becoming or have become terrific people. She has contributed to society by working , making money and creating a life. And people should be informed of this life change that happens to every woman. You mean to tell me that someone out there has not figured out a way to make millions of dollars from some pill or health aid for women to help them with menopause?

More recently older women have been more in the spotlight, and are getting more roles in movies. But that is because women such as Demi Moore and even Helena Christensen have done something about it. You could say they are aging gracefully, but wouldn't all of us age gracefully with millions of dollars to spend on every surgery, diet guru, and health aid available for an aging woman? I wouldn't mind running around with someone half my age if I could afford to buy myself a great face lift, major hair extensions, and have a ton of people yell accolades at me like , "We love you." "Your last movie was great!"

When I went to my family doctor years ago with symptoms of menopause, that I found out later were symptoms of peri menopause, he did nothing to help me. Even my gynecologist really has not helped, all she did was prescribe pills. Other women know something about menopause, but they just warn you about terrible things that could happen if you take that pill and how they felt during the entire thing.

I don't want other women warning me about how I could die from not taking a slew of vitamins and working out every day. The Internet has provided a slew of information about menopause. But, most of that information is just a re-working of information from other websites. And some of the information is not correct. It just seems like everybody has decided to get a website today and many of those websites are very poorly done.

So what does a hot flashing, hair thinning, stomach bulging woman do about menopause?

Me personally, I'm not going quietly. I'm not going to start going to bars and picking up men half my age either. No, I'm going to what society won't do for us women. I am going to take care of myself, by eating healthy foods, and working out, and all of that. But, I am going to respect myself. I am going to hold my head high with the knowledge that I am a smart, wonderful person. And I will not let this menopuase thing get the best of me. And that's what all women should do. Feel respect for themselves because they have reached a milestone not a death.

This can be the best time of our lives!

Possible celebrity website in the works

2008-05-15T21:13:00.003-04:00

I'm thinking of starting several different blogs or websites in the future. I was seriously thinking of making one about celebrities, maybe about stars that have babies and the baby picture if I could get it. But then I thought why bother because there are so many celebrity blogs and websites out there already that it would be a total waste of time. Do we really need yet another blog about Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan? Do we really need yet another major waste of Internet space on those nasty girls from that really airhead waste of time show, Beverly Hills something or other? I think NOT!

But then I thought, that's where the money is. The reason the money is there, is even regualr news stations are doing celebrity news now. They are devoting valuable news time talking about stars. Celebrities are everywhere, and we have to hear about them every day. Whatever a major celebrity does means BIG business for so many media outlets. Major magazines, photographers, advertisers, newspapers, and all kinds of cable TV shows ae making large amounts of money by talking about celebrities and showing their pictures.

Sounds like a super easy way to make major mooolllaaa to me!

That's because stars are the people we fantasize about becoming. Everybody, except my husband wants to become a star. We all want our 15 minutes of fame. And so many regular people are becoming stars by appearing on really bad reality TV shows like Rock of Love, Flava Flav, the Bachelor, and the Bachelorette. And those are only some of the really awful TV shows out there.

People are becoming stars and making major dollars by being on these shows. We are appearing on You tube and other Internet social networking sites in hopes of gaining fame. That's why we watch all these shows with regular people running do irregular things. Because we want to have a great time, and make tons of money doing it! Who wouldn't want to be a star?

We are fascinated by what stars do and how great they look and if somebody got a boob job, or a face lift. It's because they live charmed lives and believe it or not, most of us don't. We work hard for what we get in life, and stars hardly work at all and make millions for not working real jobs.

They live in FANTASY land, while we slave away. That's why we actually like watching them from afar and wish we were like them.

Considering that I am writing about stars, I have to mention a major good looking Australian actor. Eric Bana has been in several movies inlcuding, Munich, Lucky and Troy. He is tall, handsome and oh so cute! He has that puppy dog look down pat. Maybe I'll start a wesite all about him. I made my husband rent Eric Bana movies on Mother's Day for me to watch. I for one can't wait until he stars in another movie.

Going Green For Mother's Day

2008-05-08T10:51:00.002-04:00

What gifts can you buy for Mother’s Day that are environmentally friendly? With everyone going green these days why not buy Mom some environmentally friendly gifts?

What can you get Mom for Mother’s Day and save the earth at the same time?

Here are the top ten going green gift ideas:

1. How about getting Mom a goat? Or would this idea be more suited for a Dad? Get Mom a goat this year for Mother’s Day so she doesn’t have to mow the lawn . A goat can do all the work munching on the lawn, and you’ll be saving the planet at the same time.

2. Get Mom potted--- plants, that is. The kids can plant a garden from seeds, so Mom can sit back and watch the plants grow. Just make sure you put a fence around the flowers so the goat doesn’t eat them.

3. Buy gifts on the Internet from the comfort of your home. This way you won’t be emitting pollution into the air, thus keeping the air safe for everyone. And with gas so expensive, you’ll be saving money in the long run. Hey, if you get free shipping with your online purchase, you are that much further ahead.

4. Let's get this compost started! Start a compost area right in your very own kitchen by purchasing an inexpensive home composting kit with a plastic bin. They come with a supply of red worms and instructions on how to get the composting started. Hey, the kids will love seeing the worms wriggling around, in the house!

5. Buy Mom an environmentally friendly windmill of her very own. She’ll be thrilled with this expensive but super green machine. She will be so happy when she realizes all the energy you will be saving.

6. Plant a tree near the house. A tree that produces pretty flowers during the spring will be an added bonus. This way the house gets some shade during warmer months and serves as a windbreak during colder windier months.

7. Buy Mom some sweet smelling natural products that are environmentally friendly. Buying Mom natural products that can be purchased at a food co-op and even some of the big-box stores such as hand cream, body lotion, and even lip balms can be a GREEN way to go.

8. Don't be a tightwad! Buy some of those canvas bags and put a nice gift in one of them. She’ll be so happy at the sight of those incredibly versatile, yet incredibly ugly bags, she’ll have hugs and kisses for everyone. And of course, she’ll love the gift too!

9. Buy Mom some vintage clothing or thrift shop garb. This way you are saving money, but reusing clothing in a very good way. Consignment shops and thrift stores in very pricey neighborhoods carry some designer clothing, purses and shoes for super savings!

10. Here’s a great way for Mom to work out and get some close to home errands completed. Get Mom a bike. This way she can ride to nearby stores to get quick errands done, and save gas money and the environment at the same time.

Going green for Mother’s Day gift ideas. A great way to save the planet and make Mom happy for her special day.

How to go green while having sex

2008-04-30T19:52:00.002-04:00

This is one I haven't heard yet, and I'm wondering if anybody else wrote on this subject yet, how to go green, and save the environment while doing the nasty. Going green is all the rage lately, and it's gotten to the point where it literally is everywhere. So, I have come, (nice pun huh?) up with a ridiculous theme for this blog entry: How to have sex while going green!

How can you have sex, yet save the environment at the same time? Let me count the ways. Well, don't have sex outside and then throw the condom on the sand or in the water at the beach. How gross! That means someone else has to pick that up somewhere down the line. Can you imagine surfing huge waves and have a condom wash up to shore while you paddle your way in?

Take a bag with you and throw it the plastic bag. That way you are recylcing those hideous plastic bags, while saving the environment. Don't throw condoms outside after using. It could land in the bushes of someone's home, or fall on the road, and get washed down the drain. EW! GROSS! Can you say environmental disaster?

Why not use that condom again by washing it out, turning it inside out and using it again. What a huge savings to the environment that would be, and a huge savings to your wallet. When the baby arrives, what a huge savings that will be to the environment, you won't need those condoms or any birth control at all. When the baby arrives, use cotton diapers, so that those stinky disposable diapers won't be smelling up any landfills.

Back to the topic at hand, how to have sex while saving our planet. Turn down the heat in your house while having sex. Why? This can save on some energy usage, thus helping to cut down on electricity or gas usage, and saving on coal production, thus helping to save our planet. Besides, you'll be getting all hot and sweaty anyways, so why not?

Don't use any kleenex during, or after doing the nasty. And I'm not explaining why you need kleenex in the first place. Kleenex is made from paper, and paper comes from trees. Imagine all those trees you'll be saving by not using kleenex or paper towels.

Finally, don't have sex at all. Abstinence is the best answer. That way you won't have to take birth control pills, or use condoms. Because when a woman goes to the bathroom, things come out in the urine such as vitamins and birth control pills. Her urine will show trace amounts of the substances in the pills and vitamins. But, by not having sex, and not using birth control, you are actually saving the environment. Fish in streams, lakes and oceans aren't getting free birth control and can still create babies.

Ways of having sex, while still saving the world. Didn't know that having a fight with your partner, you were saving the environment, did you?

2008-04-26T20:06:00.003-04:00

My husband watches every kind of sports imaginable except basketball. He grew up in a family where everyone had a great love for at least one sport. The living room TV always had some kind of sport on, even ice- skating, golf, and tennis. So, he took it all in and loves every kind of sports.

It's great that he is a well- rounded guy that loves life and has so many interests, but he becomes so completely at one with the television screen that outside life ceases to exist. I am a sports widow 12 months a year. Okay, make that ten months a year, he doesn't watch basketball.

What can you do about your husband's obsession with sports?

Besides jumping up and down in front of the screen or yelling fire and running out of the house, try getting in there with him. Watch sports with him. I became so interested in hockey by watching the games with him that I enjoy watching hockey now, except when he yells at the TV and pounds on the floor. Once in awhile I have been caught watching a hockey game on TV by myself.

What else can you do when your man's love for sports takes over his life? Do something on your own. Go out with friends and have a good time. Take the kids to a movie, or a park or for an outing for a couple of hours so your husband can do what he wants. Take up a hobby that interests you such as reading, writing for various websites, painting, or dancing. There are so many things to do that can be of interest to you. Join a workout class when he is watching sports.
Once you become immersed in something that interests you, then he will probably become more interested in you. You won't be nagging him anymore or giving him a hard time for doing what he wants. But, once he realizes that you have gotten your own life, he will miss you not being around. At least, I hope it works it that way. You become more interesting to your husband because you are more interesting. You will be more positive and it is just natural for people to want to be around other people that are happy.

To drive the point home bring your friends home to work on a craft together. Join a book club and have several meetings at your home. Drink some wine, have some fun. If this fails then, ask him out on a date when he isn't watching sports and bring the romance back. That way, you'll both be happy. If all this fails, then try marriage counseling. Last but not least, there's always the very selective electrical failure at your house during sports viewing time.

Fighting Rising Gas Prices

2008-04-24T17:59:00.001-04:00

The only way to fight rising gas prices is to not buy gas anymore. I'm not advocating pulling up to the pump, filling up our tanks and taking off without paying, because that would be stealing and my Momma didn't raise me that way.

Besides not paying for gas anymore, how about we all have a national stay at home day all across America. Why don't we just make it all across the world. Every truck, recreational vehicle, SUV, minivan, bus, recreational boat, classic car, older car, brand spanking new car, and motorcycle could stay home for one entire day.

Of course this would take some major planning and possibly some national policy that Congress and the Senate and the President of the United States would have to vote on and decree that we all stay home for one entire day. It could be a day when we all join hands and sing songs, and have Bob Dylan himself sing some poetic song that we couldn't understand.

Then it would take leaders of every nation having to meet to talk about this proposal. And they would waste even more gas and time flying to have a national summit while gas prices soared even further. By the time they would be finished talking and meeting and flying and bickering about this proposal, nobody would care anymore. Sounded like a good idea, at first, didn't it?

By staying home more often and using less gas, we could possibly drive gas prices down. That way the big oil companies who are laughing while they throw their billions in the air, and run under them, yelling, " Yea, more money", can't get away with it any longer. With more people using less gas, and therefore consuming less, demand for gas will go down. Then with some magic stardust thrown in, gas prices will come down and stay that way.

Gas prices are being driven, (like the pun?), by you and me. We can't let the big corporate machine of oil companies take us to the cleaners anymore. With gas prices steadily rising, and everything else we consume everyday such as milk, bread, and corn, rising due to gas and diesel prices going up, we have to do something to stop it.

Stop using your vehicle as much as you do now. Stay home more often. Plan your trips and errand running for one time instead of several. Trade in that large vehicle for a smaller vehicle. Walk more often, carpool with co-workers, take the bus, and ride a bike for short distances. Go outside to the backyard instead of going to the beach, or a public park. Plan a stay at home vacation, and only go to places in your hometown. With people driving less, maybe, just maybe, because we are consuming less the big wigs will get a big message from us, saying, "We aren't going to take it anymore."

If that doesn't work, we can organize all over America, to get gas prices down. We'll work in pairs, you get the big ladder, put it up against one of those signs at a gas station, and change the sign to reflect a much lower price. I'll wait in the truck.

GO GREEN OR GO HOME

2008-04-20T20:46:00.002-04:00

By the way I have to say this ----I've had it with hearing Go Green , Recycle, Save the Planet and Global Warming. These phrases are literally everywhere. I don't know about you, but it's gotten to the point where everyone on the planet got it already. People have been recyclying for years. In fact, my Dad was recycling everything way before it was cool.

Enough already! It's boring, passe, old, and downright makes me feel like tossing my cookies!
If people aren't going to recycle, they aren't going to do it, no matter how much advertising is being done. Every magazine has an article about going green. Practially every TV show on the planet we live on has had a story concerning going green, except maybe Saturday Night Live, and "Rock of Love 2".

I totally understand the need to save the earth, but why the big push all of a sudden? And why did it suddenly become the hip thing to do? Even celebrities are in on the act, such as Cheryl Crow with her whole stupid thing of only using one or two squares of toilet paper depending on the toilet duty. No wonder Lance left her.

If you didn't get the entire thing about recycling then you are living under a rock. And no matter how much media bombardment of going green will never change people who don't give a doo-doo. But don't get me wrong, because I do care about saving the planet, and recylcing and going green. I've been recyling for years and years. I go outside and to parks and to beaches and pick up our litter and other people's litter. I gather tires, and wood into piles to make the beach a nicer, sandier place.

But why oh why do we have to read, listen and hear about "Go Green" at every turn? It's too much. And you know it's beyond the saturation point when your kids come home from school with papers filled with what we should do to go green. Our area has several schools that went totally green, and has recycled water, solar panels, and a natural garden out back.

I realize that if we don't do something we won't have a world left, but I think if I hear or read, "carbon footprint" one more time, I will vomit.

Not everyone will do their part in the effort to save the planet anyways, so why keep telling us to Go Green? Maybe what we should do it stop talking about it , and do something about it. Pick up your own garbage at public parks, beaches and don't throw garbage out of the car, or when you walk somewhere, or into a stream, pond, lake or ocean. Just do your part and stop telling us to do our part.

With gas getting ridiculously high, it's to the point where we only use the car when it is absolutley necessary. It's too expensive to go for a ride on a really nice day anymore. Without even knowing it people will be going green anyways. We'll all be staying home more often because gas is too expensive to put into our vehicles.

2008-04-20T20:20:00.002-04:00

I already wrote about this on Helium.com, but I had to write about it here. Oh by the way HELLO! I haven't been to my own blog in months. I've been so busy literally writing my butt off, I didn't have time

I am so grossed out about The Hulk and his wife's 24 year old marriage ending in divorce. They had two kids together, they were all on the reality TV show together called, "Hogan Knows Best." On the show the parents preached morals and vlaues to their kids. In fact it was the only reality TV show that didn't have young girls running around topless, twirling around stripper's poles', getting drunk and sleeping with any guy that moved.

The Hulkster and his wife, Linda followed the kids around so much it became annoying. But at least they cared enough to teach the kids morals. So what happens, The Hulk has an affair with one of his daughter's friends---she's a child compared to him, he's 54.

HOW GROSS!!! He had a wonderful, loving supportive woman, and he throws it away for some BIMBO. So being a great wife doesn't count anymore. How long do you think that will last?

So does that mean their TV show was a complete sham? The two parents did everything they could to have their kids keep their virginity, and Hulk Hogan is doing that nasty with a 21 year old. When the Hulk found out that Brooke was taking "The Pill" he lost it and confronted her on worldwide television.

Why did they have the show, so that they could make tons of money, and revive the old man's career? Were they on TV to help kickstart Brooke's singing career? I loved that show. I thought it was great that two wealthy parents actually gave a poop what happened to their kids. It was so AWESOME to see a reality TV show where people weren't total morons. This was one of the only reality shows I ever watched. So, what happens Linda and Terry's marriage unravels right on TV. They go to counseling where they are told to do more for each other.

Okay, so what happened? It makes you think the show was not reality TV it was staged to make more money TV. WHY, OH WHY! Did he have to completely insult his wife and his two kids and us---the viewers by shagging a girl that wasn't even born when he got married? GROSS!

Oh yea, they have so much in common. She's in her 20's, he 54. She's blonde, okay and so is he.
He can talk and so can she. WOW! What a great basis for a relationship. He needs to use viagra, and she can go all night. She can call him her Sugar Daddy, or maybe Grandpa!

Maybe they'll have kids and they can start a reality TV show about their life together. Then they can make money, lots of money. This is a perfect example of why I have started my campaign once again at home to cancel cable tv.

Just Say No to Kids

2008-01-14T17:12:00.000-05:00

My two children are wonderful, terrific, incredibly smart, creative, individuals. With that said, but at times,(okay every day), they drive me crazy. They ask the same question over and over until they get the answer they want to hear, they don't say, please, thank you, or Okay, Mom.

I'm really beginning to think I'm the only Mom out there who says "No", to my kids. They are always telling me what their friends have, and that they get to stay up late. They tell me how their friend's parents and grandparents are always taking their kids places we can't afford to go to.

It sounds to me like all of these parents according to my precious darlings, only do what their kids want to do, hinge on their every word, and give them whatever they want. I am told on a daily basis that because I said the horrible word---No, that I am mean, cruel, rotten, I'm not fair, I'm not fun, a real meanie, and I'm a throwback, stuck in another era, old, I've been called by one of my sixteen year old's friend ----"the house of Ozzie and Harriet."

All because I'm still married after 20 years , I try to keep the house clean, and I do something I don't think any other parents do anymore---I just say No. Just like Nancy Reagan told America in the 80's, "Just say No to Drugs." I just say No to my kids. It's a word I say all the time. It's a great word this No, but I don't think any body but me is saying it.

Why? Well, according to my children everybody else can do what ever they want, whenever they want. I tell my kids to clean up their rooms, I give them chores to do, and I try my best to raise them so they will be self-sufficient adults. That's why I just say, No. No you can't go out and play with your friends in the dark alone in the middle of the street.

I want my kids to to be ready to work hard, and get a great job. I don't want them living with me unitl they're 30, and I'm still supporting them. There won't be enough room in my house in Australia. I'm not sorry, that I won't let them live on candy, pop-tarts, and soda-pop. I'm not apologizing for not letting them stay up all night, have boy-girls sleep overs, and that I won't let them watch TV 24-7.

Just remember Moms, just say No, and you won't have any problems.

read my stuff on helium

2008-01-19T20:44:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Just wanted you guys to know that I write on helium.com everyday and you can find me on my about me page. I write mainly in the marketplace section, to become a much better writer and to make some extra moola. When you find one of my stories under Kate Johns, just click my name and it will go to my about me page. Read one of my latest articles on saving energy.

I've written for all kinds of subject areas, including why men shouldn't wear skirts, what to wear to the office, working from home, Destin Florida, and how it's got it going on, and much more. Check it out.

Honey, I'm cancelling the cable!

2008-01-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

I am canceling our cable TV. Now I know why they call television the idiot box and most importantly the BOOB TUBE! When I sit down to watch TV at night, I find out in about 2 minutes that there isn't anything worth watching.

Maybe, there are three shows I actually want to watch. MTV doesn't play videos anymore at all. VH-1 shows the same, I think it's 20 videos for several hours every morning. Who cares if some wacko is taking the police for a ride on the expressway in California? Is a car chase something we have to watch for three dull hours? The only reason I know this is because I broke my wrist and had to stay home for three weeks after we had one blizzard after another.

I feel like I'm at a bar every night right in my own home. With reality TV shows like the one with Bret Michaels with the 'girls' running around ripping their clothes off for him, I sort of feel like I'm 20 again, at a dark bar, watching some lousy bar band.

By the way, when did it become acceptable to show completely naked women on TV? The three 'girls' that live with Hugh Hefner on the Girls Next Door got their picture taken for probably Playboy completely naked on E Television. They showed it all with three areas digitilized. I quickly changed the channel at this hour because we have kids in our home. Then I went back and there they still were on cable TV completely naked. Wasn't this stuff supposed to be shown only on the you have to pay still more money channels like HBO, Playboy, and Showtime?

Then I turned off the TV, and still in shock, sat there stunned as my face went totally red, and my husband sat there laughing. I told him I was cancelling the cable on Monday. Why pay for trash TV to be brought in to your home? I ran downstairs to see what my teenage son was doing in his bedroom. I actually felt better when I saw him sitting in his room playing some game on his computer.

Do you realize what I said? Even that isn't safe anymore, he has a computer in his room that was given to him by his Grandparents. WHAT? Do they know what's on the Internet and how easy it is to get it? I know I can't keep my kids innocent, and safe forever, but wouldn't it be nice to let them reach the age of 12 without seeing naked girls on TV? No wonder half of the U.S. does recreational drugs, because we're bombarded with supposed reality TV day 24-7.

There's so much more to do than watch TV--like staring at the ceiling, scrubbing the toilets.
Really there is a lot more to do than watch the shocking parade of stupidy every night. Read a book, jump on the Internet, talk to your family, play a boardgame, rent a movie, but don't watch TV, unless you want your arm to get sore from turning the channels for two hours straight.

Christmas

2007-12-18T21:21:00.000-05:00

Hello! I'm back from a month long orgy of writing. Not kidding ,that's all I've been doing on helium.com is writing, and I even sold some of my work. I'm writing under my name, Kate Johns. So check out my incredibly great writing. That means I'm getting much better at this writing thing. Christmas is almost here, I can't believe it. Seems like we just had January and in two short weeks it will be a new year again.

What happened to the old year? It flew by so incredibly fast. If only we could turn back the clock. Time just seems to be getting faster and faster, that I just wish for one day I could steal a couple of hours and just sit and do nothing for maybe two whole hours. Maybe I could make time stand still for a couple of hours and get some more writing done.

Christmas is almost here. And the snow has been flying like crazy so it will be a white x-mas this year. Too bad, I liked it last year when we had for the first time in tons of years---a green Christmas. Personally, I'd like to have a Floridian Christmas, or an Australian Christmas, or maybe even a Hawaiian Christmas, but not a freezing cold, snowy, blizzardy Christmas.

Someone actually wished me a merry christmas today. In all the stores I've been in they haven't been saying happy holidays, let alone merry christmas. They haven't even been smiling, or saying thank you. I've been saying, "thank you, merry christmas." Why do I have to say thank you, hello---I'm not the one working here, you're getting paid minimum wage or more which is over seven bucks an hour. How about training people to say thank you.

I will be writing more funny things as soon as possible, but like I said, I've been busy--baking cookies, writing, shopping, wrapping presents. Busy, busy, busy. How about we have a bloggers Christmas party and have some fun! That way we could meet each other and see who's writing behind the facade. Gotta go, eat some fattening cookies now.

5 Questions Women have for men

2007-11-14T15:59:00.000-05:00

If we women could ask ten men five questions, what would they be? Do you really think they would answer any of the questions without hedging or thinking about it for a really long time?

Here's your chance. What 5 questions would you ask ten men of different ages?

1. Why do you have to snore so loudly?

Stop snoring so loudly that we women can't hear planes flying overhead. Go to the doctor and get it taken care of.

2.Why do you always have to drive the car?

Why do men just go over to the driver seat , sometimes when it even isn't their car?
Do they think we women really can't drive? We can give birth to babies, but we can't drive, huh?
We'll switch, you give birth to the babies, and we'll drive the car from now on.

3.Why can't you pick up after yourself?

You say you pick up after yourself---NOT! I found your socks stuffed under your recliner. Yuck! Hang up your own coat next time, and pick up your own shoes. Your mother retired a long time ago.

4.What are you thinking about?

Yes, we'd really like to know. You guys are so complicated, yet so simple all at the same time, But yet, you don't share what you have on your mind. Even if a guy has a really bad day he won't tell us women about it. Maybe you'll live longer if you share.

And the most important question of all:

5.Do you think I'm pretty?

Yes, you need to tell us all the time. That's why we're in this relationship in the first place, so you can tell us how great we look. If you don't tell us, we'll have to go up to perfect strangers on the street, maybe in bars, and ask them how we look in this new dress. If you tell us without us asking, then---guys--- you'll be scoring big time in the bedroom.