When I was a kid, I spent every weekend at my Grandmother’s house, and every Saturday night, we would watch The Golden Girls.  It was my favorite, and remains one of my favorites today, as I bask in reruns on Lifetime.  For years, my friends would make fun of me for this dedication to what they called, “an old lady show”, to which I would reply, “do you know how many Emmys this won?”  I just knew that one day, they would come to their senses, and just look who’s laughing now!

Who would have thought that the latest Hollywood “It” girl would be the 88 year-old, comedy powerhouse, Betty White?  With a career that spans over 70 years, I would think it’s about time!  After winning the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, and appearing in a hilarious Superbowl commercial for Snickers, a relentless Facebook campaign was launched to get her to host Saturday Night Live.  And on May 8^th, 2010, they were successful.  Betty hosted the Mother’s Day episode of SNL, garnering higher ratings than any other episode this season.

I have always been a fan of Betty White, and respected her work on The Golden Girls, Mary Tyler Moore, Mama’s Family, Password, as well as her efforts as a tireless animal advocate.  But, what I admire most about Betty is what she represents – that it’s never too late, you’re never too old, and always have a sense of humor.

It does seem to be a little strange to be talking about post caps around the Christmas Holiday season but you would be amazed at how many decide to beautify their outdoor spaces and decks this time of year. Most do it for parties and entertainment purposes while others do it because they are going to have company and want to make a great impression. Since installing assorted post caps are very easy and quick compared to other things people could do, it does make since. You can also choose to get the solar caps or other lighted post caps that can really lend  a whole other element to the space as well as safety.

Another advantage to improving your décor with wooden fence post caps is the price. You would much rather spend your hard earned money on gifts and great holiday food items than a bunch of décor that will only be used once a year. These are great twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and fifty-two weeks out of the year. They will add beauty and fun to your outdoor areas that you can enjoy during the holidays and every season thereafter.

My deck is my escape; it faces west overlooking a woods and pond. The pond is surrounded by wild raspberry, goldenrod, honeysuckle and poison sumac. The trees are home to birds and squirrels, the brush to rabbits and the pond to frogs, ducks and the occasional crane.

In spring the trees wear a dusting of green and red buds; spring beauties and tufts of grass appear in the woods and the peepers sing at night!

In summer the trees wear assorted greens, ducklings dart around the pond bumping into each other with scolding parents trailing behind. Birds are busy endlessly collecting and delivering food to babies. Rabbits make occasional appearances and quickly disappear again. The pond is the hub of activity; ruffled by ducks splashy arrivals and departures, ducklings bumping their way through the day and frogs hiccupping and belching round the clock.

In autumn the trees wear yellow, gold, orange, and red, the sky vibrant blue, and the pond is full of reflected color. Squirrel activity is more frenetic than playful.

In winter the deck requires bundling up and sometimes a little shoveling. The trees are black and pewter, the brush mottled browns, the pond is brushed nickel unable to reflect the white sky and owls talk during the night. Everybody should have one!

I went and saw All About Steve over the weekend even though I read a lot of negative reviews for this film. I did the same thing when The Proposal came out and was surprised that I enjoyed it. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that I like both Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds; but back to the movie at hand. I certainly didn’t feel like I wasted my money but I would not go out of my way to see it again.

It might be because I know a cruciverbalist, otherwise known as a crossword puzzle constructor, and she is extremely smart and well versed in many things as well as socially well versed. She is my cousin’s wife and is one of two people I would love to have on my team for a championship game of Trivial Pursuit. The socially inept character Mary, played by Sandra Bullock, was a caricature of sorts and she pulled it off well. On the other hand, Thomas Haden Church and Bradley Cooper just played dumb guys with no since of grace, friendship or intelligence. The smart guy in the film was also socially inept, which gives the wrong impression of who can be and should be intelligent.

Give me a movie with great banter, a great story and some redeeming qualities in even the most despicable of characters and you will have me back watching time and time again. Unfortunately, All About Steve doesn’t do it.

I don’t know about you but I find that I look for the easy way to do most things these days. Maybe it’s the internet that has brought me to this kind of thinking since almost everything can be found, bought, reserved, read, watched and listened to from my computer. All I have to do is find my way (about 20 feet) to my office and it opens up the world of easy. It far exceeds the “Easy Button” from that TV commercial you’ve seen.

However, there is a price to be paid for using the computer and internet for everything. The price I pay is socialization. There are days that I never leave the house because I can do everything from home via my computer. I don’t meet new people or talk about current events with anyone other than a few friends on-line and my wife says, and she is correct, I don’t need any new clothes because I sit in my shorts all day. You should know that I work out of my house via the computer as well so I find that my life is in the box that sits on my desk. Though I sound pathetic, I don’t feel that way. In fact, I find I like taking the easy way out.

I have never been a reality TV fan but I have been sucked into the Wednesday night duo of Wipeout & I Survived a Japanese Game Show just don’t ask me why! They are both incredibly stupid but they are also funny. Watching people wipeout on the contraptions in their pursuit of $50,000 simply reminds me in a crazy kind of way of watching The Three Stooges as a kid. There is something intrinsically funny watching people fall and get knocked off their feet.

As far as game shows go the Japanese have a way with creating the most idiotic scenarios and circumstances and I’d like to know who is behind these whacked out games. Add the personal relationships behind the scenes and the Japanese judges and you have the making of a train wreck. Do you remember I Love Lucy? Well this is Ethel and Lucy on steroids but these are not actors and it is clear they have one take to do these funny feats. Again, don’t ask me why some train wrecks are funny; they just are. So sign me up as one of the crazy Reality TV watchers.