Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

three beautiful things

Rude Awakenings

forget me not

Detox is going much slower than we anticipated. It’s time for:

Three Beautiful Things:

  1. The Healing Vapor of Mentholated Chest Rub
  2. Trying on a new “do” after 20 years.
  3. Opening the windows in January.

Everyone seems to be listing New Year’s Resolutions:

Here’s a couple of mine, in no particular order of importance,

  1. Soften the language (don’t swear so much)
  2. Get stronger, burn fat. Walk More.
  3. Refine marketing and distribution strategies.

In the mailbox: From Flo in OR,

Lenette,
Thank you again for your kindness and assistance. It was most comforting, even though I have had many experiences with sending my dear ones on in the past.
You have my best wishes,
flo

Always good to hear a kind word, seems like it’s been more frequent now that the holidays have passed. There seemed to be a lack of Christmas Joy with adults 40-65 on the streets this year.

Our condolences to the GardenSalad/GonnaEatThat household on the loss of Marvin’s grandmother. Here’s a taste of the “Pie”:

Grandma Sophie was about five feet tall, with a flaming head of red hair. Every time she saw me, she’d say, “Did you get taller? Why are you so tall?” I never told her she was a Shrinky-Dink and that was why I seemed like such a giant.

This weeks Sunday Secrets beats any reality T.V. programming you could dial up. However, I noticed that my favorite postcard this week has been replaced. The message was:

“I decide if you’ll merge depending on your bumper stickers.”

As Seen on TV

Greetings!

Three beautiful things:

Sunshine
Realizing you’re not as crazy as you thought
Inspiration

Lileks had a good Monday post, (see #2 TBT) mundane subjects like an adventure to the outdoor living store and highway driving. I quote:

“On the way out I saw a Summer Grilling section, with America-flag themed merchandise, and I had instant summer’s end panic. It’s the Fourth soon! Which means it’ll be over! And then it’s fall! And then it’s Winter! Repeat at an ever-hastening pace until dead!”

And I realized……I do that. Get on a loop and start to get a little anxious….about the clock. Settle down.

Urn Media Watch: Spotted on Soprano’s Sunday Night.

At Phil Leotardo’s social club, Phil hosts a celebration of what would have been his brother Billy’s 47th birthday. He places the urn holding Billy’s ashes back up above the bar – so he’ll be able to see his friends when they visit. Working himself up over the story of how his family’s name was changed from Leonardo to Leotardo (“a ballet costume”), Phil tells Butchie he’s had enough. He shouldn’t have stayed quiet in jail and he should have avenged Billy’s murder. “No more Butchie. No more of this,” he vows.

We carry this style, maybe we’ll rename: “The Leotardo”.

No.

Have a great week, might be a good night for baseball!

Own It!

Greetings!

Three Beautiful Things:

Fresh fruit salad
Naps
Knowing someone still loves you in your most unattractive moment

While wandering around the internets we stumbled onto this amusing post, I tuned in because the author had ripped a couple of my pix and referred to some of my product.

Jetpacks pointed out the Trimspa is still pimping Anna Nicole’s image. Howard K. Stern is probably licensing a deal for the Anna Nicole Smith Halloween costume. How many dead sexy Annas’ will we see later this fall?

Everything is for sale, and if you haven’t seen Mike Judge’s Idiocracy, check it out on DVD. Thanks again to JP for tipping us off. “Don’t expect too much, as it is a satire about a dumbed-down nation, but the many (and brilliant) stabs at corporations were severe enough to cause this movie to have to go underground.

No studio backing for its release. No marketing push. Left to flounder in limited runs in 16 cities, in some cases being billed as “Untitled Comedy by Mike Judge.” Then dumped on the DVD market with no publicity, hopefully to die a quiet death. That’s what happens when you bite the hands of Starbucks, Costco, Carls’ Jr., FedEx, American Express, Fox News and more. People wear disposable logo shirts in the year 2505 and anyone who reads is “a fag.”

Branding has been on our mind lately, I’ve noticed that the rock stars of the yoga world have branded their own styles of the ancient practice, including BREATHING. On the flip side of breathing, the McDeath of the funeral world has been in litigation over the attempt to trademark “Family Funeral Care”. Independents have been fighting hard to shut it down, funeral directors love the word “Dignity” and SCI already owns that.

AS SEEN ON TV: Our intern spotted some of our wares that we sold to MTV as props for one of their sick puppet shows.
Today’s Tip for Better Living: Take the last train to Clarksville.