Exhaust Pipe Potatoes

Recently Andy Rooney, the curmudgeonly commentator who appeared for many years at the end of the CBS news magazine program 60 Minutes, had announced that he was planning to retire.  Perhaps it was time for that; after all, he was 92.
And then today came the news that, due to complications after minor surgery, Mr. Rooney has died....

Some of you may know that I'm a fan of the classic Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.  I loved the original show, the films that spawned, the 1991 reboot, the books, the comics...if it's Dark Shadows, I've enjoyed it at some point.
There'd been talk of a new feature film reboot for years, but the project was stuck in turnaround for so long that I kind of brushed it off.  But then, late last year, there was new buzz.  And as 2011 came in and picked up steam, there was more buzz...

It's fashionable at times to dislike certain people.  Be they entertainers, politicians, athletes, people from your home town...it seems like there are certain folks that others pick on when they want to trash someone.
9 times out of 10, the someone being picked on is someone that I like or adore.  Even if I don't know them personally...well, everyone has their favorite celebrities, right?...

Repost from last year, but I like this, so...
214 years ago, at twenty minutes past 11 on the night of 30 August, 1797, a baby girl was born to a pair of intellectuals residing in Somers Town, London, England.  She was named Mary, after her mother.
In less than two weeks, the mother was dead....