The earth is full of wonderful and interesting places that continue to fascinate humans. Being a native of Southern California, I am well acquainted with asphalt lakes which are also known commonly as “tar pits”. One of the most famous asphalt lakes is the La Brea Tar Pits in Rancho La Brea.

The La Brea tar pits are a wealth of information with regard to the fossil record and extinct species from the area. Several fossils of mammoths, sabre toothed cats, dire wolves, short-faced bears, ground sloths, and even a Native American woman have been found in the tar pits. Fossils of plants, insects, and pollen grains have also been found.

You may think such a site is unique. Well, it certainly is rare, but there are other asphalt lakes around the world. There are five that are well known. They are:

• Pitch Lake at La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago
• McKittrick, California (near Bakersfield)
• Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, California
• Lake Bermudez, Venezuela

Many of these asphalt lakes have at one time or another been sources of asphalt used in making the roads that we drive on. Nearly all of them are good sources of fossils, as animals come to drink the water that sits on the surface of the lakes and end up falling into the tar from which they cannot escape.

If you get the chance, take time to visit one of these fascinating places.

For the whole 3 people who read this blog, I thought I’d throw out a blog challenge. List the last 5 songs you’ve listened to. I’m currently listening via iTunes. But if you were listening to the radio or a CD or whatever, what were the last 5 songs you listened to?

For me:

1. C’est La Vie – Robbie Nevil
2. The Captain of Her Heart – Double
3. Sunshine Superman – Donovan
4. I Love L.A. – Randy Newman (I was feeling a little homesick.)
5. Call Me – Blondie

And in case any of you are interested, next up in the queue is “Brazil” by Django Reinhardt. I know, I know. “Who?” you might ask. Expand your musical horizons!! There’s always some great stuff out there you’ve never ever heard of.

So, I hear I have been challenged by a cousin o’ mine at a round of skee-ball, since I soundly beat her at pool last time we met. She says she clearly has the advantage. Little does she know, however, that I spent hours upon hours of my youth either bowling or playing skee-ball. I had barely enough room on my bed to sleep from all the stuffed animals I’d won playing carnival games, skee-ball being my favorite.

Did I mention my bowling average was 150? Did I also mention I could routinely hit nothin’ but net from 3-point range and my free throw percentage was 85%? I may have forgotten to mention my years playing softball and throwing runners out at home from deep left field. Yeah, when it comes to spherical objects, I have a habit of having pretty good aim with ‘em… If ya didn’t notice that from our little game of pool, cousin o’ mine.

Your only hope to beat me may be miniature golf.

As I was waiting in line at an ATM yesterday, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation of the people in front of me (and their friend that ran into them a few minutes after I got in line). Maybe I’m just old fashioned, but there are some things you just don’t share in public. For example, I now know:

- The daughter’s court date is August 17th.

- The friend is trying to get her father back into rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. Her parents are in the midst of a divorce due to these issues.

- The mother admits they all drank way too much “back in the day”, but she doesn’t drink now. She is, however, taking painkillers every day.

There was plenty more I overheard, but nothing as juicy as the above, just future plans of college age kids (though the one with a court date isn’t going to college…. No surprise.)

I felt like I was listening to a soap opera. That’s just way too much info to learn about a total stranger. They should save it for the car or a visit at their respective houses.

Just from the title of this post, I’m sure I’ll be getting lots of people actually looking for tips on how to be a millionaire. Well, unfortunately, that’s not what this post is about. If I knew how to be a millionaire, I would be too busy enjoying it to be posting about it, now wouldn’t I?

No, this post is about the SONG “How To Be A Millionaire” by ABC. I’ve always loved this song and several lyrics come to mind lately considering the state of the economy.

For example:

I’ve seen the future
I can’t afford it
To tell you the truth, sir
Someone just bought it

…

Larger than life
And twice as ugly
If we have to live there
You’ll have to drug me

…

Hardly surprising
If you might consider
Loyalties go to
The highest of bidders

Seems these lyrics haven’t really gone out of date, have they? LOL. I think they’re all pretty much applicable to our current economic predicament.

Out of curiosity, I checked YouTube and YES, they have ABC’s How To Be A Millionaire video. That was a neat blast from the past. And yes, I checked out iTunes and found the song available there. Woo hoo!

I was reading this morning about the resurgent popularity of gold prospecting in California. Given the current state of the economy, it’s not surprising. The article I read mentioned that during the California Gold Rush of 1849, it is estimated that only 20% of the available gold was ever mined. That means there’s 80% left. That’s a whole lotta gold!

Now, speaking from personal experience, there is plenty of gold in the rivers of California to make a pretty decent living if you’re willing to put in the work. I have panned rivers between Modesto and Sacramento and amazingly, I found gold each trip. I didn’t hit the mother lode, but it was fun. I really wish I lived in the area, because panning for gold would be my weekend activity. Spending time in the fresh air, by the river, making money, what could be better?

Panning and mining for gold does take a small investment for the proper equipment, but to get started, all you really need is a basic gold panning kit which consists of a gold pan, a snuffer bottle, and a glass vial to store the gold you find. You can usually pick up one of these kits for $15 to $25. If you’re looking for more information about panning for gold, there are plenty of books about gold prospecting to help you get started.

Now, I know some of you are probably thinking, “Well, that’s all well and good if you LIVE in California, but I can’t afford to take a trip out there just to pan for gold. And even if I could, I don’t think I could find enough gold to pay for the trip AND make a profit.” Who said you need to go to California to pan for gold? You can actually order gold panning concentrates online and pan for gold in the comfort of your own home! Each of these 1.5 pound bags of gold panning concentrates is guaranteed to have gold in it.

There’s gold in them thar hills! Go get it.

“Brandy! Throw more brandy!”

The Great Race simply has the best pie fight on film EVAR. It starts with Professor Fate (played by Jack Lemmon) falling into a hugemongous cake. He then chucks a cake at his co-conspirator (I won’t go into plot detail here), who then fires back. It slowly escalates until pies are a-flyin’ every where. The white-clad hero of the story, the Great Leslie (played by Tony Curtis), manages to wander through the entire fight without getting so much as a speck of pie on him until… well, I won’t give it away. Watch the clip below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0BOOgW7rHE

This movie has a star studded cast and many familiar character actors: Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, Larry Storch, Dorothy Provine, Denver Pyle, Vivian Vance, and more.

The Great Race is available on DVD at Amazon. It’s worth the purchase price. Blake Edwards movies usually are.

Well, one of my buddies responded to my little game of blog tag about five places she’d like to go. I found myself having to comment on them, so here I go.

1) I’d like to check out Atlanta too. In fact, I’d like to check out the entire state of Georgia. Back in the fourth or fifth grade, we had to do a class project on another state and I chose Georgia. Hmmm, I wonder if any of my buddies can figure out why. LOL.

2) Hawaii. Good taste, girl! Btw, I will have you know that the last time I stayed on the island of Oahu, we stayed at that hotel you see in the beginning of Hawaii Five-0. They screwed up our reservations. I mean, really, did you think when we booked the room that we REALLY wanted one bed for four grown women? I don’t think so.  Someone screwed up. We were lucky though because they gave us a penthouse suite at no extra charge. It was one door down from the end where Jack Lord stood! And yes, I went over and stood exactly where he did and hummed the Hawaii Five-o theme. Khee!

3) New York City. No desire whatsoever to go there. Nevah evah. You’d have to drag me there kicking and screaming. LOL.

4) Scotland/UK. Let’s go. Now! I’ll pay…

5) I would love to go to Germany. I’m sure my husband would too. We both have German roots and he’s a huge WWII buff, so a trip to Germany, and perhaps France and the aforementioned UK would be a great history lesson!

Perhaps I should retire now so I can make sure to get all this travelin’ in.

Here’s a little blog tag challenge for my friends (and any of you out there reading who’d like to participate). Name five places you’d like to go. It doesn’t have to be a place you’ve never been before, just a place you’d like to go again.

1) Hawaii – Hawaii is always at the top of my list. It’s just a beautiful place and a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle.

2) Las Vegas – I luvs me some slot machines. I have to get to Vegas every few years to drop some dough and do my part for their local economy.

3) Southern California – My home… I miss it sometimes.

4) Alaska – I’ve heard the cruises there are spectacular and we’re not too far away here in Washington.

5) Ireland/Scotland/UK – I’m really into genealogy and a lot of my roots are in the UK. I’d love to visit the lands of my ancestors.

So, what are five places YOU’D like to go?

I ran across this video the other day, quite by accident. I was once again lost on YouTube looking for scenes from Blazing Saddles. I found the fart scene from that movie, which led to a farting Star Trek video (which is fodder for another post), which in turn led to this video, the Farting Preacher. The hubby and I were rolling. Tears were literally streaming down our eyes from laughter. I sent it to a friend and she couldn’t even finish it, she was laughing so hard. There is nothing as funny as a well-timed fart and whoever made this video is a comedy genius! Enjoy… The Farting Preacher.