Daily One Inch Button - Vampire Bear Cow

A cow says "moo" and our dear friend Vampire Bear appreciates that. It's that "ooo" sound that he is focused on in this week's lesson of Learn To Read Hebrew with Vampire Bear. You don't see too many animals on the farm that naturally make that sound so Vampire Bear was pleased as punch that this milk giving animal inspired him to be able to teach the vowel that makes the ooo sound. If only he could inspire Shrimpy to stop running away every time he hears the cows - they scare him, apparently.

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - Jessie Spanno

I don't know about you, but for some reason there's a certain Rick Springfield song that always makes me think of Jessie here instead of some random dude. I think you know which one I meant. Oh, Jessie. You thought that men were pigs and so chauvinistic and then somehow your portrayer got pretty top billing on the bomb of a movie called Showgirls. Let's not think about that for the moment.

Let us instead focus on Jessie, who rallied for the inclusion of a girl on the wrestling team and then went against the same girl when she seemingly was going after AC Slater. Let us remember the Jessie who sang "I'm so scared" to the tune of "I'm so excited" when Zack Morris came to save her from herself. Let us also remember that Jessie was one of Kelly Kapowski's best friends and was also close with Lisa Turtle; and can we forget what almost happened between Jessie and Screech?

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - It's Just Coffee

Horror! A coffee shop chain is closing 600 of its stores in the United States and over 60 of its stores in Australia. What is the world to do with itself? Shall it get people to sign protest petitions which will then be taken directly to the office of the person in charge of the corporation? Should people stage sit-in demonstrations and hold hands, maybe setting themselves on fire and having starvation protests? Perhaps we should try a more sensible approach and realize that there are still thousands of the stores in existence and that there are tens of thousands of other places where coffee products can be obtained for the price of a few dollars. After all, it's just coffee.

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - Raw Pink Shrimp Sushi

Let's take a trip to a sushi restaurant, shall we? You're sitting in front of the conveyor belt, plate ready to receive your delicious sushi. You're not quite sure what you want to eat today but that's okay, because the conveyor belt has a plethora of goodies from which you can make your decision. All of a sudden, you see it: the raw pink shrimp sushi. It's almost as if it's just beaming up at you, wanting you to just snatch it up. All of a sudden, you see someone a little further down from you who looks like he may take it. You sneak a marble out of your pocket and throw it down on the floor where it makes a loud clatter, and by the time your competitor is done realizing what made the sound you already have the raw pink shrimp sushi on your plate. Good going, sneaky sushi loving warrior.

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - Raul Julia

I'm going to be quite honest with you. Prior to his unfortunate passing, the only way that I had any knowledge of Mr. Julia was through his work in being in the Addams Family films and more amusingly as General M. Bison in the Street Fighter film. I wonder if he was given a different name in the Japanese release of the film, given the discrepancy of names in the video game.

Here's a curious fact: he was a regular cast member of Sesame Street during its entire third year but not afterwards at all. He was a lover of theater and performed in Broadway and film version of The Threepenny Opera as Mack the Knife - are you familiar with the Louis Armstrong or Ella Fitzgerald recording of the song Mack the Knife? Both are excellent. Raul Julia passed away at a tragically young age and surely could have given us much more theater and film to adore.

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - Vampire Bear Grapes

Grapes are one of the seven species of fruit that are special to the Land of Israel - did you know that? I think that our darling little dear Vampire Bear knew that, which is why he chose it to help him teach all about the letter Gimmel in his ongoing series, Learn To Read Hebrew with Vampire Bear. Check it out - if you look at the printable download, all three of the bears are eating the grapes at the same time. I wonder how many grapes Shrimpy will be able to eat before he is just about full? I think three at most. Any takers? Goobie Bear is a grape lover.

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - Andrew Keaton

It's really a sad story. For one, a lot of people hated him right from the start. They didn't appreciate that Andrew Keaton was born and was nearly immediately hit with what is frequently referred to as SORAS, or Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome - he went from being born to being able to talk in about a year. This blog makes the claim that Andrew was the reason that Family Ties "jumped the shark," so to speak.

Then you have problems with dear actor Brian Bonsall. For one, he has never found lastinc success since Family Ties ended. Then there are the law problems: he has had at least three encounters with the long arm of the law since 2001. Can things get better for Mr. Bonsall? I'm not interested in writing him off and personally think that he can do great things for himself; it's not impossible, and other actors have pulled themselves out of deeper slumps to achieve greatness. (Remember where John Travolta's career was before Pulp Fiction? Was anyone looking for another Look Who's Talking sequel?)

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - Kiss Me; My Level 70 Character Won't

What? We need love in Azeroth, too.

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - Soy Sauce

Would it be naive of me to assume that everyone is familiar with the world famous Kikkoman soy sauce commercial? It wasn't until years later that Matsubara sensei told me that there was a pun in the song - "show me / show you" is funny because "show you" is a good homonym for "shoyu" which is what soy sauce is known as in Japan - and has been since the seventh century, when it was introduced by Buddhist monks.

Fun fact: Japan is the leading nation in producing tamari. Fun fact two: the word "umami" is a word used to describe soy sauce's distinct taste.

$1.00

Daily One Inch Button - Karen Carpenter

She has influenced a world of female drummers in the twenty five years since she tragically passed away from complications related to her anorexic condition; a condition that people didn't quite understand at the time. Despite being a brilliant musician, the band that she and her brother formed was frequently criticized on the basis of the clothing that they wore without even mentioning her spectacular vocal style and flawless drumming that went along with the complicated musical arrangements that were written for the band.

The accolades that she won didn't stop her from going on numerous drugs or going on diets that eventually would spell the end for her in early February of 1983, when she was trying to get her life back in order.

$1.00