ON MOVIES ~ Leave It To The Locals...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Bad Accents...

Did you know that many of this year's Oscar nominated movies were filmed right here in Boston? Boston has become a hot bed for Hollywood and Indie films alike. Part of that is because the state has made an effort to entice the filmmakers with tax breaks and other financial motivating factors. But another part of it is that there are a lot of good stories set in New England being filmed these days. The only downfall with this is that it results in some pretty horrific attempts by actors at the New England accents - particularly Boston's. This is nothing new to the movie scene. Share on your blog movies that feature regional accents so bad, they might as well have not bothered at all. We've shared a few from our neck of the woods - link back here at The Bumbles with your choices from around the globe. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

• Diane Lane in The Perfect Storm (2000)
• Rob Morrow in Quiz Show (1994)
• Jeff Bridges in Blown Away (1994)
• Alec Baldwin in The Departed (2006)
  (**However, the BEST Boston accent attempt goes to Leo DiCaprio in this same movie**)

 Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Or would you like to guest host? Let us know in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.

ON BLOGGING ~ Green With Envy...

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Welcome to our weekly BlogAnon meeting where we confess a particular blogging sin and turn to you for support, suggestions and that blogging bond so we know we're not all alone. Don't be shy. Read along and let us know if you identify with us this week.

I am jealous of you. I can't help it. I just am. It must be my competitive streak that permeates many facets of my life (join our Survivor game and see what I mean - I dare you). I like to come out on top. To be the best. So I can't help it when I see you have more followers than we do. More profile visits than we do. More comments than we do. More participation than we do. More inspiring posts than we do. More creative results than I can think to do. I love what you do. But I want to do it better than you.

Is that wrong? Was it bad of me to be truly happy for my friends who got married, bought homes and had families while at the same time being jealous of them for having all that I wanted and did not yet have? It is such a conflicting feeling - to want to share in the joy of others when the reminder of not having what you want bums you out. That's how I feel when I visit you. Yes - you. All of you.

Every blog has something that I wish I had. I can't get rid of that jealous streak. But I can turn it into motivation. Evaluation. Education. I want you to keep up the good work. I'll catch up to you some day. So thank you for the inspiration, as I bumble along in my own way.

What things are you jealous of in the blogosphere? What do you do about it? Can jealousy be a good thing?

ON FAMILY ~ How A Cat Taught Me To Prioritize...

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Your job won't take care of you when you are sick, but your friends will. Stay in touch with them."

~ LESSON #32

When I was just out of college, I learned the important lesson of priorities. I had my first full-time job as a temp at an insurance company. I did everything that a salaried full-time employee did, except I didn't get any of their benefits. I worked my tail off - because that is the only way I was ever taught. My thought was that I should do all that I could to improve things in my little part of the machine and perhaps someone would notice.

I showed up on time, offered to learn new things, tried to suggest and implement improvements and got to know as many of the folks in the company as possible. I also found that more and more tasks were finding their way to my desk. Because I hate to be overwhelmed, I put in longer hours. Eventually I started coming in on Saturdays, hours that I did not get paid to work. Before I even realized it, I was factoring in that Saturday time into my daily work process.

One Saturday, while working away at my cubical, my roommate called frantically to tell me that my beloved kitty, Petey Cat, had escaped and was on the roof of the condo and wouldn't come down. He told me that I needed to come home ASAP and get Petey because the cat wasn't responding to his efforts. I told him to just figure it out and I'd be home once I'd finished up the report I was working on.

Well. My roommate was somehow able to corral Petey and get him back safely inside. But it was certainly by some miracle that he did - especially since Petey did not like him one bit. Petey did not go outside and we lived near a very busy route filled with constant traffic. None of this even occurred to me until I got home and saw my unhappy kitty - and an even more irritated roommate.

I was so blinded by my job that didn't even pay me for all of the time that I put into it that I had forgotten that anything else in my life could possibly be as important. Don't get me wrong. I needed that job. Badly. So that my cat and I could live in that condo instead of at home with my parents. But when Petey needed me, I wasn't there for him. He escaped because he hated that condo. He got no love from my roommates and I was never there.

Lesson learned. I stopped working weekends. For free. I stopped volunteering to do anything that needed to be done. I focused on what I needed to do and did the best I could with the time I was paid to put in. And then I went home at the end of the day. To my cat. And my roommates. I even found time to touch base with my parents every now and then. I went out after work with those co-workers I'd made such an effort to get to know. And remembered that you can't always love your job, but you should always be able to enjoy your life beyond it.

When I moved away from that temp job and started working for my next employer, I had no idea that I would still be working for him 17 years later. But I am. And I do not work weekends. I do not accept work related calls at home. When I leave the office, I leave it all behind. Nights & weekends are for staying in touch with friends and family. But when I am in the office, I still work my ass of to get the best job done with the time that I have. I have been lucky in that my employer actually would take care of me if I became ill. I've taken care of him when he battled through cancer. But that isn't because of work. That is because of the loyalty of friendship developed over 17 years.

Work is necessary to have the life that I want, but work should not be my life. My cat taught me that lesson a long time ago. Thanks Petey - another reason why you will always be The Best Cat Ever.

ON FUN ~ Can You Survive Our Survivor Fantasy..?

I am a Fantasy League junkie. I have played in them for Baseball and Football. I have done bracket pools for NCAA Basketball. But my first ever experience with Fantasy Leagues was Survivor. Yes. That's right. CBS has a Survivor Fantasy League to go in conjunction with their reality TV show. Two of my guiltiest pleasures combined like that are too much for this Bumble to resist!

The first time I played, it was with my co-worker and her family. Small, personal and tons of fun. For several years now I have been meaning to set one up for any of you out there in the blogosphere who want to play with us but I always forget. Well. Since the Patriots got knocked out of the playoffs I had some extra time on my hands to plan ahead. The result is a Bumble Town Tribe on the CBS website!

If you would like to have a team in our Tribal Fantasy League either let me know in the comments or send me an e-mail and I will send you an invite to join the league. It is a private league. You simply set up a free login for CBS and then pick 4 contestants from the upcoming season of Survivor to be on your team. You can change your team around from week to week. CBS has created a set of events that might occur in any given episode that are worth points for your team to earn. And the more points, the better your standing in the Tribe to win it all.

The season starts February 16th at 8PM ET and CBS has photos and bio lists along with brief video clips on each contestant that you can look through to get a feel for who these people are. Oh. And two former players are returning this season too. Lets just say, they are both men and they hated each other on the recent "Heroes vs. Villains" season. One roots for the Red Sox and one roots only for himself. This season also has a new Redemption Island twist allowing voted off contestants to fight their way back into the game. Not sure if I'll like that set-up but you've gotta love Survivor's moxie in always trying something new.

Andy promises to play in the league. He always complains that I force him to watch Survivor, but then he gets pulled right in with likes of a Coach character that he just can't resist. I know I'll never have the ability to win the game of Survivor - I require too much sleep. But I know I have the ability to win the Survivor Fantasy game. After all, I won the one my co-worker ran. How do you think I got so hooked on fantasy leagues to begin with?

ON MOVIES ~ Sickos...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Illness...

January in New England breeds lots of icky germs that turn into colds that make everyone miserable. Even if you don't have a cold, you know someone who does and you spend all your time avoiding them so you won't get it. No wonder Northerners get a rap for being rude sometimes. #1 - it is too cold to stop and chat for half of the year. #2 - we don't want to catch whatever you've got. The movies seem to have more sympathy for illness than we do. Here are a few examples we came up with. Share on your blog movies that contain a form of illness as its theme or feature a character who is sick or diseased, linking back here at The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

• Awakenings (1990)
- A personal favorite film based on a memoir of the same name. Robin Williams portrays the doctor who uses a new drug to awaken patient Robert De Niro who has spent his adult life comatose due to an encephalitis epidemic in his teens.
• A Beautiful Mind (2001)
- Wow. Russell Crowe really CAN act. He portrays real life mathematician John Nash who battled his schizophrenia on and off medication.
• Knute Rockne: All American (1940)
- The movie was all about the famous Notre Dame football coach, but the coach's star player, George Gipp, had the most memorable line as he suffered from a strep infection gone bad. "Win one for the Gipper" said a dying Gipp to urge his coach to motivate the team to victory. The same line worked to propel Gipp actor Ronald Regan to the presidency too.
• Terms of Endearment (1983)
- Cancer is the culprit in this heartbreaking tale with an all-star cast that makes it so effective. Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, John Lithgow. This is a story of relationships - and the key that love plays in all of them. Based on the book by Larry McMurtry.
• Steel Magnolias (1989)
- Shirley MacLaine in another all-star cast (Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, Sam Shepard, Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott) with the illness of diabetes at the center of what makes this circle of female friends across the generations so solid. Based on the play by Robert Harling who lost his sister to the disease. Who knew men could write women so well?!?! We both love this film - regardless of the "chick flick" label it wrongfully holds.

 Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Or would you like to guest host? Let us know in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.

ON BLOGGING ~ Get Out Your Toolbox...

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons @ WikiHow

Well, a few of you voted on the sidebar poll regarding what our monthly chat topic for next week should be and as much as I would prefer to gab about Reality TV, it seems that the majority want to have a Blog Maintenance Workshop.

To be honest - I made that choice in the poll so vague I hoped no one would actually vote for it ;0) But there it is. And it serves to motivate me - and anyone wishing to join along - in discussing and learning about blog upkeep.

I know that this weekend marks the 4th annual Bloggiesta which is hosted by Natasha at Maw Books Blog. I have never participated but am sure that some of you have or are perhaps doing so as we speak. I enjoy following along on the various posts and tips that are shared regarding how to fine tune your blog or to get inspired by all of the housecleaning going on in the blogosphere. But I don't know how anyone actually gets anything done when they are writing status posts and visiting other blogs during Bloggiesta. That would just be a big happy excuse for me to procrastinate all the boring blog upkeep I was supposed to be accomplishing.

So - come back here in a week, after your Bloggiesta hangover has healed, and we can chat about what you did or didn't accomplish, what you'd like to learn or get some help on what types of things you could be doing to make blogging easier for yourself. Setting aside one day a month or a few times a year just for behind the scenes blog work is a terrific idea - and one that Bloggiesta serves to promote quite well. Having a chat about it with other bloggers can help get your plan together. So that is what we will do next week.

Stop by anytime between 8:30PM - 10:00PM ET right HERE on 01/28 and we'll talk behind the scenes blog work and how to approach it. And who knows, maybe each monthly chat will serve to focus on a specific task or aspect to motivate you in completing your goals. So that by the end of this year, your blog will be in such tip top shape, you could run your own workshop on Bloggiesta!

ON FUN ~ Why It Is Healthier To Love Yankee Fans...

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Life is too short to waste time hating anyone."

~ LESSON #3

I truly only have hatred for two things in life: mushrooms and the New York Yankees. Since mushrooms are not human, I feel no guilt in this regard. As for the Yankee organization? I feel no guilt in that regard either. Sorry. I just don't. I see that logo and hateful thoughts spring into my head. I feel disgruntled and annoyed. I want to pick a fight and get the better of whomever is wearing the garb. Be it a player or a fan. I can't help it. Too many years of repressed jealousy as a Red Sox fan I suppose. Even now, that we have reached the pinnacle of success and continue to compete each season, I still have that knee jerk reaction to the team and their fans.

To be fair, one of my dearest friends is a huge Yankee fan. As is my brother-in-law. I am able to separate the person from the affliction. There is more to a person than the logo on their baseball hat. There is always more than meets the eye. Even the most despicable of humans must have some redeeming quality - or at least a very sad reason beyond their doing as to why they come across so horribly.

That's why it isn't worth the effort, energy and stress involved in developing and acting upon feelings of hatred for others. In general I tend to give folks the benefit of the doubt. If the occasion presents itself, I even try to get to know them beyond the surface they present. See what's underneath that rock they appear to have crawled out from under. And then, if I still get angry at the thought of their presence, I just let it go and move on to better things.

As I alluded to in my thoughts about Lesson #1, life is a blessing and our job is to find the happy path. Hatred blocks that path, causes great inner stress, outward regret and shortens the life we have to live. These days, the news is filled with people exacting violence in the name of hatred. Ironically, rarely does the hatred stem from the individuals eventually harmed. Hatred clouds our judgment and turns crazy thoughts into reality. Don't be that guy. It only leads to the seed of hatred being planted in someone else, directed at you.

I may never get that bubbling anger out of my brain at the sight of a Yankee hat, but I'll take that anger out on the lowly mushroom instead and move on. I'd rather spend my time rooting for the Sox than cheering against the Yankees. Negative energy is counterproductive. Unless they are playing each other. Then it becomes a win win situation.

ON MOVIES ~ Roles Of Reverence...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Religious Figures...

Today in the U.S. we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. in observance of his birthday - a very strong figure for the civil rights movement and humanity in general. He was also a very spiritual man - a Reverend who received his doctorate in theology from my alma matar, Boston University. His speeches took on the nature of a preacher tending his congregation - which is probably why they were so moving. I'm not familiar with any movies based on the life of this amazing man. But spiritual leaders across all religions have been presented to us on the screen in all different lights. Those doing good works, others masquerading as good. Stereotypes, humorous twists and everyday roles. Priests, nuns, preachers, rabbis - you name it, hollywood has cast it. Here are a variety of examples we came up with. Share on your blog movies that feature a religious character role, linking back here at The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

• George Carlin as Cardinal Glick in Dogma (1999)
• Kathy Najimy as Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act (1992)
• Karl Malden as Father Barry in On The Waterfront (1954)
• Bill Walker as Rev. Sykes in To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
• John Lithgow as Rev. Moore in Footloose (1984)

 Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Or would you like to guest host? Let us know in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.

ON BLOGGING ~ It's Not You, It's...Well Actually, It's You...

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Welcome to our weekly BlogAnon meeting where we confess a particular blogging sin and turn to you for support, suggestions and that blogging bond so we know we're not all alone. Don't be shy. Read along and let us know if you identify with us this week.

Ever pull up your feed reader and scroll through your daily folder (you DO have daily folders now, don't you?) and wonder why the hell you are even following some of those blogs? It happens. We've all been dumped before. And we've all abandoned blogs ourselves. My question is, what drives you to dump that blog?

I say dump the blog, and not dump the blogger, because that personalizes things too much. When I'm in a purge mode, I dehumanize the process in order to leave sentimentality out of it. Do I care about this blog and the posts it displays? No. Do I care about the blogger creating it all? Yes. I don't like turning my back on people. But the beauty of the blogosphere is that I can move on from the nicest people in the world if they just aren't doin' it for me anymore. I don't have that backbone in the real world. Sometimes I need to remind myself that the blogosphere is not transparent. That blogger is not going to have their entire world come crumbling down if I dump them from my reader.

Which leads me to another point. Would that blogger even notice if I went away? They probably wouldn't even realize I'd been gone unless I popped in after a long gap. I highly doubt they sit there wondering why The Bumbles haven't been by lately. And if they do, I'm sure they get over it when some other new blogger comes to visit, bringing a lot more to the table than I do, having gotten bored with their content.

Many times I dump a blog because the content of their posts doesn't match the level of my interest anymore. When I first encountered them, I was all over all things LOST. But now that LOST is no longer, we just don't have anything in common anymore. Their life beyond LOST consists of tips on finding discounts on make-up and endless reviews of hair metal cover bands - not exactly Red Sox and reading there. So although I thought Ms. Lostie was super fun to talk to about the hotness level of Sawyer and theories behind the source of the whispers, she and I have nothing in common without it. Like those parents who experience profound empty nest syndrome upon realizing they no longer have anything in common with their spouse other than the children who have now finally all moved out.

Sometimes though I dump a blogger, in spite of their blog. This is when I can't avoid letting things get personal. If I invest time visiting this blogger, reading their posts which are of great interest to me and leaving comments that added to the conversation then I expect to be acknowledged. If I am engaging in a one way discourse then I become quite irritated. I don't expect every comment that I leave in the blogosphere to result in a corresponding comment, e-mail or shout-out. I am talking about recurring visits to the same blog without any response. Maybe it means they don't enjoy my company and I can't take the hint. Maybe they just don't believe in responses - which is a pretty rude way to live in the blogosphere if you ask me. But - since they didn't ask me, or even respond to me - ever - they get dumped.

So - in either case, I'm dumping a blog or a blogger because of them, not me. It isn't that I don't have the time or the motivation. It's that they just aren't worth my time and don't make me motivated to join them in the blogosphere anymore. And I can make a clean getaway.

What reasons do you have for dumping a blog or blogger that you follow? How long do you stick it out before moving on? Do you feel blogger guilt when you ditch or embrace the freedom to find better blogs for you?

ON FUN ~ Put One Foot In Front Of The Other...

Image courtesy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua J. Wahl, via Wikimedia Commons

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"When in doubt, just take the next right step."

~ LESSON #2

I grew up moving all over the place. This meant that I was always "the new kid." Which is a cool thing to be when you are less than 10 years old. Once you hit about 5th grade, it is more of a suspect title. And as a teen, it is as if you have leprosy. Lucky me - I got to experience all stages.

No matter how many times you are dropped into a new world where everything is different, you still experience fear, self-doubt and shyness. Eventually it wears off. You learn to become an observer. Feeling things out until you have had time to decide what to do, who to talk to, where to go and what to share. Sometimes it is more challenging than others. But there is always that moment where you need to decide what to do.

Do I go up and try to sit at that table with the friendly looking kids? Should I accept the invitation to come out and play with these two people I have never met? Will they beat me up? Make me the butt of their jokes? Or will they show me the ropes? One bad move and you can really screw up your self-confidence in addition to your reputation - which is of the utmost importance when you are 12.

Each time I was confronted with such a decision, I was able to handle it by thinking small. When the opportunity arose to join the kickball game, I could sit on the teeter totter by myself, search for bugs with the strange looking kid or subject myself to the humiliation of being the last kid picked. I decided that being last was better than not being at all. I wasn't trying to kick the game winning home run. I honestly was shocked if I made actual contact. What I focused on was taking that small step in the direction of the group I wanted to learn more about. I just wanted to be on someone's team.

I was usually picked last, but I kept lining up to play. I had made that first baby step towards the goal of getting to know other people in a new school. I was well liked by the former bottom dwellers who were now no longer last, but next-to-last. I allowed them to move up in the food chain and for that, they watched my back.

Sitting on that bench gave me time to listen and learn. I figured out who the nice kids were and who were the jerks. I learned what the favorite songs and styles were of the day. I discovered which teachers were best to avoid. I found out who liked who and saved it all in my mental rolodex. And then I used that information to adapt to my surroundings and find better ways to fit in than by attempting to play kickball.

But in that initial moment of doubt - should I play or not - I decided to take that first step, or kick so to speak. From there I took another small step by mumbling a few words to the kids on my team. Using that, I had a base of familiarity to build upon and gain the inclusion in actual conversation. And from there, I found some new friends. Which was the overall goal. I needed someone to show me the ropes in this new town in yet another part of the country new to me.

If I had started that first day determined to come home with a posse of new friends, I would have been overwhelmed and likely disappointed. I also could have made some poor connections just for the sake of trying to accomplish the big picture too quickly. Breaking it down into one step at a time and seeing where that went allowed me to relax and take a more natural approach.

I still turn into a bit of a wallflower instinctively when I encounter a new group of people. My lips are zipped but my eyes and ears are wide. I try to muster the courage to talk to someone about the weather. Or the sports scene. To gain a foothold in the setting. And then be invited in to the crowd. Once I find a comfort zone, I am far from quiet, shy or demure. I am loud, teasing and jovial. After all of those baby steps to get there, it feels good to let loose and celebrate by kicking...up my heels.

ON MOVIES ~ If You Build It, They Will Come...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Building...

This weekend we spent some time showing our home to friends of friends who are looking to build an addition. I do not envy them. We went through that process 3 1/2 years ago and it was a lot of work. Building something new can be exciting, stressful and bank draining. But there is nothing like seeing that end result that you had a hand in creating and feeling the pride involved for a job well done. As in life, movie characters are often building something new. Here are a few examples we thought of. Share on your blog movies that feature new things being built, linking back here at The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

• Life As A House (2001) - Terminal cancer gives a man a new lease on life while building a home with his estranged son.
• Weird Science (1985) - Teen geeks try to build the perfect woman.
• The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) - Fascinating tale of a proudly built bridge doomed to be destroyed.
• Remember The Titans (2000) - Team building via integration.
• The Mosquito Coast (1986) - Eccentric and delusional father drags his family to the jungle to build an ice factory, amongst other things.

 Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Or would you like to guest host? Let us know in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.

ON BLOGGING ~ Conquering Your Feed Reader...

Image courtesy Hank LeClair via Flickr

The following post first appeared as a guest post on Florinda's terrific blog, The 3 R's Blog, while she was away having fun on vacation. You may have read it there before but I thought now was as good a time as any to share it again. This method has truly worked for me to allow me to stay in better touch with all of your writing, photos, recipes and reviews...

Until recently, my strategy for maximizing my Google Reader was to “Mark All As Read.” Amazing how those 400+ posts looming like Catholic Guilt just disappear with a click of a button isn’t it? The problem was, they kept coming back, multiplying like rabbits, at a furious pace. And the less of them that I read, the more good stuff I missed out on. Connections with my peeps were getting strained. Visits to our blog were dropping. You get what you give in the blogosphere. And since I’m all about building your online community, I needed to find a way to set a better example. Here’s what I did – maybe it will work for you too.

Step #1 – The Great Purge:

Once or twice a year, I get into a purge mode. I attack my closet and leave my usual indecisive & sentimental attitude outside. Each piece is pulled out, tried on, evaluated and placed in one of two piles – keep or donate. If it doesn’t fit – away it goes. If I haven’t worn it since the last purge – away it goes. If it is tattered – away it goes. It is an empowering feeling to take control of that closet and be able to see everything that I have. The Great Purge clears things up by removing the clutter and saves me time getting ready every day, making mornings less stressful. And it works with your Google Reader too.

I went through my Reader and deleted every subscription that hadn’t posted anything in the last month. Then I looked at how many active subscriptions I had in there. I set a limit for myself based upon how many blogs I realistically thought I had time to follow from week to week. And then I went through and unsubscribed from those that didn’t fit my interests, that had turned into something I didn’t care for or that I just didn’t have time to keep up with. Same process as with the closet. And now I can actual see all the quality posts I’ve been missing because of the endless stream of information, much of which I didn’t need to begin with.

Step #2 – Playing Favorites:

Of course I have my favorite clothes – those that seem to get put in the rotation every week. They just fit better, or bring out my eyes or some such thing, which makes me feel good when I wear them. And there are those comfy clothes that I change into each night after work to wind down the day ensconced in happiness. I have my favorite blogs too, the ones I like to touch base with daily. So it only makes sense to put them in a special folder for easy access.

My favorites folder is called “Because I Love Them” – in honor of why I change into the same comfy clothes each evening. It contains my personal Top 20 blogs that I want to read each and every day. I may not comment on them every day, but I want to read everything they post as they post it. There’s nothing wrong with having favorites. Think of them as your BFF’s in the blogosphere. It takes a long, hard look to get into my faves folder. Because in order to get in, someone else has to be moved out – that 20 blog limit is set in stone. No exceptions. Otherwise I’ll end up having to do the Great Purge again.

Step #3 – The Daily Special:

Do you remember those sets of underwear that had the days of the week printed on them? You wore your Monday panties on Monday, Tuesday’s on Tuesday and so on. One less choice to make each morning! Well, to simplify my Reader, I gave it daily folders – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

I took my remaining subscriptions and randomly allocated them evenly amongst my daily folders. A few book blogs here, a few photo blogs there, throw in a few food blogs and a dash of humor blogs for a nice mix. Then every day I’ve got a folder to open up and read a variety of posts. My commitment each day is only to the contents of that day’s folder. No messing around, deciding which feed to read. No overwhelming list of unread items to worry about. And it’s fun again. Kind of like those silly but practical undies.

Step #4 – Add Some Pizzazz:

I can’t really afford many fancy outfits – and I don’t have many occasions to wear them anyway. So sometimes it is better to just dress up what you’ve already got and be a little spiffy even when you don’t need to be. It saves money and still looks good. Versatility rocks. That’s why I use Feedly.

Feedly is an add-on through Mozilla’s Firefox browser. Firefox is faster and more attractive than Internet Explorer, and nowadays is compatible with most everything – so that’s why I use it. The less time I spend waiting for a page to upload, the more time I have to blog. A sweet bonus is that Firefox’s Feedly pulls all of my information from Google Reader and displays it in a magazine styled format which is easier to read, more attractive to look at and just as simple to maneuver around in. Plus it pulls my Twitter home page feed right in to the side bar, which makes it one stop shopping – versatile and spiffy. Just like my wardrobe. Can’t get any better than that.

ON FUN ~ Skipping In Public...

Image courtesy akahodag via Flickr

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Life isn't fair, but it's still good."

~ LESSON #1

Sometimes I wish we could hear, "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" when things aren't working out.  It would make everything so much nicer.  My neighbor's daughter was so sad to hear the truth when she asked her mother about Old Saint Nick that she told her mom her memory wasn't so great after all and she was just going to forget the entire truth was ever exposed to her.  I thought that was very sweet.  A way to cling to the good life when you discover that it isn't as magical as you were led to believe.

Others might refer to that way of thinking as "DENIAL" or living life with your head in the sand.  True.  But it is also a coping mechanism to bridge the gap between despair and moving on.  Isn't the goal in life to be happy?  Well, whatever floats your boat, I say.  What is so wrong with breaking into a skip down the sidewalk suddenly?  Kids can do this and no one bats an eye.  What is that magical line when such behavior means we are crazy?  If acting on harmless impulses makes us happy, why suppress them?  Life isn't always roses after all.  Sometimes you need to create something to smile about to get through the mounds of crap.

Life is forever testing our resolve.  I am a firm believer that if things were always perfect, we would never appreciate it.  Just when things are going swell, cancer hits.  Or fire wipes out a home.  Jobs are lost.  A loved one cheats.  That is totally not fair.  And it is easy and natural to become bitter about it.  To place blame.  Or to let that denial function take over for too long.  I don't mean to get all Pollyanna on you here, but when life is not fair, you eventually have to SUCK IT UP.

Because it is your life.  You still have control over yourself.  You can still wake up every day and find something good.  The alternative is the unfair part.  Not waking up again on this Earth.  You think your day sucks?  Read or watch The Diving Bell and The Butterfly.  That man found a way to live and experience happiness when he only had his imagination and one blinking eye to carry him through. Of course, he was miserable and in pain and distraught for quite a while. But he decided since he was alive that he could choose to live happily or sadly. And he worked hard every day for the happy path. At some point, that is a choice we all have to make.

I actually have stopped thinking that life is unfair.  Life is life.  A gift.  Sometimes that gift feels like a booby prize instead of the lottery. But our only job is to live it - with whatever means necessary to find joy when we can.  Even if that means skipping in public.

ON MOVIES ~ A Change Is In The Air...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Transformed Characters...

With the New Year upon us, it is common to make resolutions hoping to change something for the better in our lives. Resolutions don't always stick, but when they do, the improvements are worth the effort. The movies are always giving us characters who undergo some sort of change during the story's arc. These changes aren't always for the better - that's what makes them so compelling. Here are a few characters we came up with who made a distinct change during their time on screen. Share on your blog characters from film who have transformed, linking back here at The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

• Jules Winnfield - Pulp Fiction (1994)
• Melvin - The Toxic Avenger (1984)
• George Bailey - It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
• The entire cast from Requiem For A Dream (2000)
• William Foster - Falling Down (1993)

 Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Or would you like to guest host? Let us know in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.