Gary’s Blog
The official definition of the word proudledrapper
Definition of Proudledrapper: A leprechaun lyricist who only writes on New Years day, carrying a basket containing a female fox, a bottle of Chianti 1978, no fewer than three tomatoes, and a selection of fresh fruit.
Proudledrapper is a word that was introduced into the English language on January 7, 2010 by Gary Olson
He invented the word because if you make up words, and enough people use them, it gets into the dictionary, which is cool.
Though Gary invented the actual word, he developed it's definition by asking his Facebook friends for suggestions. Flemming Laugaard came up with the best definition, which is still in use today.
The word proudledrapper is very flexible.
The definition of the word proudledrapper can be changed based on the context in which it is used, the time of day, or the number of chocolate chips in a two and one half inch Toll House cookie.
The word can be used as a noun, verb, or split infinitive as long as the infinitive is split vertically rather than horizontally. If you split it horizontally, very bad things will happen. Don't do it.
We ask that you use the word proudledrapper in a sentence at least three times per day. If you do, the world will be a better place for your efforts to spread this wonderful new word.
Thank you.
On the importance of having useful pets.
This is a true story about my efforts to increase the usefulness of a dog that was formerly just a pet. With a little effort it was possible to turn him into a working dog.
About this Blog
Though this is my personal web site, it is not about me.
You will not encounter my personal fears, existential anguish, or barely controllable rages. Rather this web site is about stuff I find interesting.
Now I guess I should warn you I have an an odd sense of what is interesting, so it might not appeal to you. But check it out anyway.
We might have similar tastes. The site is broken into Categories. Here are some of them.
Little Willie Poems – At the turn of the 19th century Edward Gorey wrote a book called “Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes”. It contains Little Willie poems that are wonderfully morbid. This is a collection of my favorites.
Facebook Friends – This a collection of some of the many friends I have made from around the world through Facebook.
Interesting People – These are people I find interesting. They aren’t necessarily famous interesting people, because those are boring. These are more like people who are doing interesting things.
Favorite Politicians – This is a collection of off-beat politicians I find interesting. I am one of the few people I know who follows politics because it is funny. That probably says more about my sense of humor than the state of the world.
So that is what this web site is about. If it sounds interesting, wander about. If you’re inclined, let me know what you think.
If you have any reactions, please feel free to send me a message. I’d love to hear from you.
Gary Olson, The Bearded One.
Welcome Video
This is a little video to welcome you to my web site.
In it I give a very brief introduction to what the web site is all about. For the most part, the real purpose is to give you a glimpse of the guy behind the scenes. I thought it would humanize the web site a bit.
Artist Inventor, Francis Gabe
Francis Gabe, inventor of the Self Cleaning House, was my mentor.
That might explain, in part, why some people consider me a tad eccentric. I had a good role model.
Francis was an amazingly creative artist, writer, and inventor.
She designed and built buildings out of scrape materials, created beautiful panel sculptures of dragons out of concrete, painted, drew sketches, made pots in her kiln, and, most notably, invented the Self Cleaning House.
When I was in my twenties I lived alone in a cabin in the rural outskirts of Newberg Oregon. Francis Gabe was my neighbor, my only neighbor.
We were both loners who did not particularly like or relate well with people. Fortunately we did relate well with each other. We both recognized our common estrangement from society, and that was our bond.
I eventually adapted to society by developing modicum of social skills and enough grasp of psychology to survive. Francis adapted by assuming the role of a minor celebrity.
For a time Francis was very popular with the media. She and her Self Cleaning House appeared on radio, television and in print. She was a guest numerous times on David Letterman, along with many other television talk shows.
Many articles were written about her and her inventions, including one in the New York Times. You can still find quite a bit written about her on the web. Much of that information is wrong, but it is consistent with what she wanted the public to believe.
Perhaps most interesting was a video done of Francis for the web site Weird American Video. Though the video makes fun of her, which I dislike, I have to admit it captures the essense of what made Francis Gabe so intriguing as a person. She is, without a doubt, the most interesting person I have ever known.
If you have a minute, watch the video. Pay particular attention to the house. She built the entire house out of cinder block and discarded materials … by herself.
This was thirty years before the recycling/rebuilding phenomenon took place.
Francis was always an original thinker and a woman ahead of her time. They don”t make them like that anymore.
Favorite Movies, Killer Klowns
Killer Klowns From Outer Space is a Gawd Awful movie.
None-the-less, I love it for it’s title, which, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is so ludicrous it makes me forgive everything else.
Killer Klowns was created by Stephen, Charles, and Edward Chiodo. They are three brothers who, as teenagers, made monster movies using a Super 8 camera. As adults they went their separate ways, but eventually reunited to create Killer Klowns From Outer Space.
If I am remembering correctly, they shot the whole movie is fourteen days.
The premise of Killer Klowns is that clowns from outer space invade a college town where they promptly begin killing local residents. The clowns shoot people with this gun that surrounds the victim in a ball of cotton candy.
Not necessarily a bad way to go.
They then take the human/cotton candy ball to their circus tent/space ship. There the balls age (as in decompose) until they are properly ripened. At that point the clowns stick a silly straw into the cotton candy cocoons and suck out the bloody gore.
You don’t get classier than that.
I highly recommend this film to anyone who has a twisted mind and is a connoisseur of the bizarre.
This is a truly bad movie.
Entertainment, Hoop Girls
I thought the hula hoop craze was dead, but I was wrong.
When I was a lad, which was a really long time ago, hula hoops where quite the rage. Everyone had one.
Of course, back in the olden days pretty much all anyone did with them was swivel them around your hips. When people wanted to get fancy they saw how many hoops they could get going at once.
Pretty unoriginal.
Now the Hooping craze seems to be getting reborn in San Franciso. Maybe it’s also getting hot in other places as well, but I’m not aware of it. But then, what do I know.
The Hoop Girl phenomenon has taken hula hooping to a new level. Incorporating music, dance, and a certain athleticism, it is emerging as a new art form.
I’ve provided this video clip for your edification and entertainment. It featues HoopGirl All Star Jennaluna.
Enjoy
Favorite Politicians, Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko
I love this gal.
Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko is a Ukrainian politician and current Prime Minister of Ukraine.
Before becoming Ukraine’s first female Prime Minister, Tymoshenko was one of the key leaders of the Orange Revolution. In this period some Western media publications dubbed her as the “Joan of Arc of the Revolution”. In my book, that is way cool.
Prior to her political career, Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko was a successful but controversial businesswoman in the gas industry, which made her wealthy. Some people think she is a crook. But then, some people have rather stodgy ideas of what it takes to succeed in politics.
She was once arrested on charges of forging customs documents and smuggling of gas between 1995 and 1997 (while president of United Energy Systems of Ukraine). Her political supporters organized several protest rallies near the Lukyanivska Prison where she was held in custody. She was found innocent and released.
According to Tymoshenko, the charges were fabricated by political the regime in power. In spite of being cleared of the charges, Moscow maintained an arrest warrant for her should she enter Russia for over four years. Those Russians do hold a grudge.
She has twice been ranked by Forbes magazine as being among the most powerful women in the world. She is ranked by me as one of the most interesting politicians I have ever encountered.
It is embarrassing that the Unites States doesn’t have any politicians that are even remotely this cool.