Last night’s full moon set my mind to wandering. A strange power was taking me over and then nothing. Until I awoke this morning it’s all blank. I’m reaching for the cup; ahhhh, salvation. Clyde, hit play for me.

Tonight: Year’s Biggest Full Moon, Mars Create Sky Show

Oh, the magnificence of a full moon. Man has stared up at the night sky and contemplated her since he came down from the trees. It is truly a wondrous Orb. She creates the ebb and flow of our tides and contributes in many ways to the stability of our planet.

There is a mystery about her that stirs us deeply. We are moved by the beauty and splendor and by the knowledge that she has a dark side. It is on the full moon that the Werewolf is transformed and the vampires take flight.

We love to be thrilled and terrorized by demons, ghouls, zombies and the like. There is a particular popularity in our culture for the undead. Lately, it seems that vampires are all the rage, again. Novelist Stephanie Meyer has had fabulous success with her Vampire series Twilight. Selling more than 85 million copies in 37 languages; her books have won several literary awards.

And it is these particular creatures, these denizens of the world of the undead which intrigue us in a most sensual way. There is passion and carnal desire hidden just below the surface.

The plot of Meyer’s Twilight reads like the romance novel it’s meant to be and passion is not hidden at all. Essentially, it is the old story of vampire meets girl, vampire loses girl, vampire gets girl back. More specifically, Seventeen-year-old “Bella” moves to a small town near Washington state’s rugged coast to live with her father. She is befriended by the students at her new high school, but she is intrigued by the mysterious and aloof Cullen siblings. Bella eventually discovers that Edward Cullen is a vampire, though he only consumes animal blood. The pair fall in love and Edward introduces Bella to his vampire family. She’s definitely a girl you can take home to Mama.

Suddenly, up pop three nomadic Vampires who want to hunt Bella for sport. And to think Gypsies get such a bad rap. Of course, Edward and his family protect her and prevent her from becoming “one of them.” The rest you either know or can find out for yourselves.

Another offering in this venue is TV’s Vampire Diaries on the CW. In the pilot episode Elena Gilbert and her brother Jeremy come to terms with the death of their parents. Elena is popular amongst her peers and the perfect straight A student, but has difficulties hiding her grief from the world. Meanwhile, Jeremy treads on a dangerous path of using drugs to ease his pain. The arrival of new student Stefan Salvatore, however, makes Elena think about romantic possibilities. Beginning to sound familiar? The similarities continue from this point. Love, lust and blood. Oh. My!

It isn’t the stuff I would like to think my teenage granddaughters are interested in, but then again, they told our parents that rock and roll would ruin us. And look how we turned out. Okay, not a good example. I hope I’ve at least warmed your blood on a cold January morning.

Sincerely yours,

Hugh Betcha

No matter how much things change certain things remain the same. The clouds are thinning this morning. A little sugar in my coffee please and hit the play button.

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Have the Politicians got you down with the debt they continue to burden us and future generations with? Bankers got you under their thumb? Behind in the mortgage? Does your 401K and IRA make you envious of your kid’s piggy bank? Is the cupboard lacking even a small bone for your dog? Are you mailing your gold heirlooms off to some rip-off recycler?

It seems like the movers and shakers in this country have opened up a double dose of whoop-ass on poor little you and me. I should say a triple dose! The financial markets have been so manipulated and tainted that it seems an MBA has become a license to steal.

I’m tempted to pull a Howard Beal (from the film Network) and urge everyone in the country to open their windows and yell, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” This is no doubt the inspiration for those ridiculous J G Wentworth commercials.

It isn’t bad enough that credit has dried up and the banks are raising interest rates even on the borrowers who pay on time. Now the governments (local, state and federal) are increasing the tax burden on those already over burdened.

The infrastructure in this country has been crumbling for decades, public education is a joke and here in AZ most of the parks are closing. Not even the public parks remain as a refuge for down trodden souls to seek solace and renewal.

What’s a person to do, Hugh? Well if I were you I would probably consider selling a kidney on the Black Market. Let’s see, how about this?

Caucasian male, 50+, Non-smoking moderate drinker seeks needy recipient for kidney only slightly used. Asking 40K or best offer. No test drives! Ask about my special on Liver (by the pound). 1-800 UpA-Creek.

With so many out to grab all they can for themselves it seems to be the only logical solution. But don’t despair, Hugh has answers and you’ll find them here and the cost is the best part. FREE, FREE, FREE

If you have questions send them to AskHugh@hughcares.net and Hugh will be happy to answer them. Before you go, take a look at this clip from Network. After all, laughter is the best medicine. Peter Finch won a posthumous Oscar for this speech. No, he didn’t really blow his brains out, he had a heart attack. Hasta la vista, Baby.

Sincerely yours,

Hugh Betcha

The sun is back out after days of “wind and rain.” There is something to be happy about. Many things make us happy and sometimes it can be the little things. “Click” the play button and journey with me this morning as we explore “What makes Hugh (you) Happy?”

Happy is defined as: feeling or showing pleasure, contentment, or joy. Note: to Tony D. Yes, also one of the 7 Dwarfs.

So, what gives us joy and feelings of contentment? These are such intangible qualities that we could certainly spend eternity debating the philosophical and practical aspects of life that contribute to our
happiness.

Let’s just cut to the chase. If you use the link to take the Happiness Quiz you will find that most of the factors involve our relationships with friends, family and the world at large. The remaining few relate to health and the financial and material aspects of life.

In an article by Doug Hart titled The Key to Long-term Happiness he identifies these same areas and points to a lack of focus in many peoples lives for their failure to achieve happiness. Watching TV, talking on the phone and surfing the web (ouch!) are the main culprits that distract us from setting and accomplishing many of our goals. He has written a book The Road to Happiness to help people in pursuit of a more balanced life.

By now you are probably dying to know; what makes Hugh happy? I know, I know, of course Hugh understands that his well being is important to you. Okay, okay!

Money! If you have enough to eat and meet your monthly obligations then you probably have everything that you need. We always want more and should remember that we usually get what we need, the rest is gravy.

Hugh feels happy when the sun is shining in the Old Pueblo and he can take Dinah for a cruise. Dinah is my 95th Anniversary model DynaGlide Harley-Davidson. Traveling the back roads is relaxing; it is a time to unload the burdens of the day and unstress. In addition I spend spare time working in my cactus garden. A time of quiet solitude that helps renew the spirit.

The Loves of my life provide a foundation of emotional support. “The Chiefie” also known as She who must be obeyed provides the inspiration for many of my ideas. Together we have accomplished more than either of us would have done individually. Having a compatible and complementary partner is a major asset in achieving happiness. As for the others, siblings can be your peer review; they know you best. Children are your legacy and hope for the future. When you show them love it is returned. The grandchildren keep us rooted in the present and connected with a rapidly changing world. That’s Hugh’s take on the happiness issue.

Drop me a line. AskHugh@hughcares.net

Sincerely yours,

Hugh Betcha

Flashback memory of a happy moment in Hugh’s life.

As we near the end of January 2010 it is a good time to look forward to the remainder of the year with eager anticipation of the possibilities. At times life seems like a game of chance, so hit the play button and listen as you read my top 10 predictions for 2010.

1.) The team with the most points on the board at the end of the 4th quarter will be this year’s Super Bowl champions. I’m sticking by this one!

2.) The Publisher’s Clearinghouse 10 Million Dollar winner will jump up and down and scream with joy on T.V. Who wouldn’t?

3.) Republicans will accuse Democrats of being too liberal. What’s new?

4.) Democrats will criticize Republicans for being too conservative. Ditto!

5.) A prominent public figure’s sex scandal will be exposed. Scandalous!

6.) The price of gasoline will continue to climb. Ouch!

7.) Professional athletes will continue to use performance enhancing drugs and lie about it. Not me!?!

8.) Congress will accomplish little or nothing during the coming year. What can I possibly add?

9.) You will continue to hear the word “Green” applied to every idiotic idea meant to save the environment. It’s enough to make you puke “Green.”

10.) The world will not end in 2010. Not this year, anyway.

There you have it. Let me know what you think. Email your questions or comments to AskHugh@hughcares.net, I’m waiting to hear from you. Good Luck in 2010.

Sincerely yours,

Hugh Betcha

Going Viral!

Why, you may ask, did Hugh decide to begin this blog? You could call it a bet or a social experiment. After having a discussion with my “Chiefie”, also referred to as “She who must be obeyed”, I posed the following question to myself. “Self?” I said. What type of strategy would be necessary, using commonly available internet tools and applications, to create a Blog and within a brief time span set in motion a process called viral marketing?

Viral marketing and viral advertising, which refer to marketing techniques, use the power of pre-existing social networks to produce increase brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes. The process is similar to the spread of pathological or computer viruses without the harmful side-effects. It is enhanced by the social network processes of the Internet.

This principle is based on identifying individuals with a high potential to influence a wide segment of the Social Network. Social Networking Potential (SNP) is a numeric coefficient calculted to represent both the size of an individual’s social network and their ability to influence that network. By creating targeted viral messages that appeal to this population it is possible to set in motion such a event.

Not even in existence in 2006; Twitter is now a conduit that allows the spread of this type message making the plague look as lame as the “common cold.” 5 Steps to Going Viral on Twitter, by Dan Zarrella, explains these principles is plain languge for those with a greater interest. Viral Copy Report is an additional souce found at Copyblogger.com

With that said, I want to invite everyone with access to any and all web devices to transport me on this journey into the unknown. It’s up you to help make “Hugh” a success. The official start date will be on Valentine’s Day. By then everything will be in place to measure and evaluate the results. Details will be discussed under the category of “All about Hugh” along with other news of the author. Find out what’s with Hugh and what he plans to do next.

So it would seem that it may be possible for anyone to have, as Warhol put it, his 15 minutes of fame.
But is this the public moment you desire… definitely not Hugh.

Sincerely yours,

Hugh Betcha

Burn Notice

Last night was the season premiere of Burn Notice. Burn Notice, for the uninitiated, is a USA channel’s action series issued in spasms of about 8 episodes every few months. This type of scheduling format is another new millennium trend in television that is meant to “keep them wanting more.” TNT has similar schedules for several of their original series programming.

Frankly, USA has been providing a better line up in recent years than the traditional Big 3. And this series is another big hit for them. Debuting in 2007 the program is slick, clever and fast paced. Like the Mission Impossible or the Avengers the main characters do whatever it takes to outwit and beat the bad guys.

The action is balanced with thoughtful storylines and sometimes hilarious dialogue. Jeffery Donavon turns in a believable performance as Michael Weston. Weston is a blacklisted CIA agent dropped off in Miami with no money, no bank account and basically no identity. He teams with a former girlfriend Fiona (Gabriella Anwar) and former spy buddy Sam (Bruce Campbell) to help those who have fallen prey to the scum of mankind. From the Russian Mob to South American Narcotics traffickers this team takes on the worst and comes out on top. Michael also wants to find out who burned him and why in order to rejoin the Agency.

Campbell, who is best known for such cult classics as the Evil Dead movies, Army of Darkness and Bubba Ho-tep, provides comic relief with his sarcastic retorts. I want a couple of his wild shirts for my collection. As Sam he is the faithful sidekick who always comes through in the clinches.

Anwar is not exactly babe-alicious in my book; but her portrayal of Fiona contributes something to the ensemble that would otherwise be missing. The “former” part of the relationship is not quite accurate since the flame is definitely not out between her and Michael.

Last night’s episode ran the usual course with the high-speed driving, gunfire, an explosion or two and the bad guys being outmaneuvered in the end. The plot did reunite the Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless of Cagney & Lacey fame. Gless is a regular who plays Michael’s chain smoking mother and Daly’s character gets duped in order to obtain information to beat the crooks.

All in all, it is refreshing to see real effort put into producing an entertaining hour of television. I hope it continues for at least another season.

Oh, Brother. What is this world coming to when the Late Night Hosts become the topic of their own monologues? It makes me long for Jack Paar (yes, he once hosted the Tonight Show) or the more cerebral Dick Cavett.

The latest news is that Conan is getting $45M to say adieu. How sad; for the rest of us who just get a pink slip when terminated.

Here’s my take on late night TV.

Conan, you are getting a Gumby thing going with that hair style. See you on FOX. That’s where you probably belong.

Jay, welcome back. Now we can all go back to sleep.

David, that’s about enough with the sexual harassment. Lay off the Viagra.

Craig, you are one whacky Scot. I tuned in initially because I mistook your name for Colin Ferguson who shot up the Long Island Railroad back in the 90s. I was curious about how tou got your own show.

Jimmy Kimmel, you shouldn’t have abandon Adam like that. Then again, maybe that was what the “Man Show” was all about.

The other Jimmy, ha ha, I’m not up late often enough to appreciate your humor.

George Lopez, lay-off the “Gringos.”

When I was up late in the old days I preferred to watch a Late Movie. Remember when we enjoyed the talents of Fred Astaire. Watch the following and see what I mean.

Sincerley yours,

Hugh Betcha

Today begins the same as the previous three or four with our usually sunny skies being dominated by impending rain clouds. And no sooner does midmorning begin to offer a glimpse of “Old Mister Sunshine” than the low hanging clouds roll in to further obscure our view of the Tucson Mountains. The air is thick with moisture which is often scarce in this dry desert climate.

Weather did not prevent a session of fetch with “Cali” (Mexicali Rose) our newly adopted pit-bull. She was pining for some attention this morning and I was able to spend the time contemplating today’s post. That brings me to the subject of that internal dialogue.

DO I HAVE A POINT???????????????????????????????????
Just off the top of my head… I would have to say no! Do I need to have a point? Webster defines a point, among many other things as: The precise location of something; a spatially limited location. I like that one. Using that as my basis of thought, then definitely no; I do not have a spatially limited location.

I have issues. Issues are like spheres that can expand or contract. There are large ones and small ones. High priority issues and low priority issues. There are issues of every description. And issues and opinions on those issues are the reason Hugh is here. I want to share my thoughts on issues that are important to Hugh and to all of us. After all, Hugh is just like you when it comes to making sense of what we call the 21st century.

That will be the focus of a category I call “Hugh cares/who cares?” Hugh cares will look at aspects of life that are fundamental to our functioning as a civilized society; while who cares will refer to topics of media hype that get a lot of time and space in the media but are really of little value or substance.

Existentially our reality is constructed from within and projected outward. As a 20th century kid in the 50s I were exposed to the wonder and marvels that would be created by science and technology in the dawning age. So I surrounded myself with the fantasy of books and magazines promising a brave new world (without the designer drugs of Huxley’s novel). A family trip to the World’s Fair in Seattle ’62 not only provided opportunity to visit a beloved Aunt, it also introduced me to “the future”, THE 21st CENTURY!

The Space Needle and Monorail were awesome sights among many other fascinating exhibits and activities. There was a giant cake about 2 stories high that was refrigerated from the inside. For a quarter a vending machine would mold a plastic souvenir of the Space Needle or Buddha (don’t ask me to explain that!) right before your very eyes. This demonstrated the endless possibilities of the world of tomorrow which became the plastic world we have today.

Despite all the amazing sights it was the family bonds that were reestablished that were most memorable. Even though the few pictures from my old “Brownie” camera that did turn out have disappeared long ago, I still carry the images in my mind. Entertaining the folks with my Elvis imitations or sitting in front of their fireplace snacking on popcorn and Sprite are among them. There are memories of the fresh Salmon grilled out on the deck, walks in the lush trees and ferns surrounding their home or Uncle Sid’s girlie calendar (the kind that when you lift the flap her clothes disappear) that will always remain with me.

In conclusion it is the family ties that are as important right now as at any other time. Our friends, our families and our pets are what make us who we are and are of greater importance than what we have materially. Share what you have in life and most importantly share your love. My day was made perfect with the news that a loved one has received a “clean bill of health” after a medical procedure. I couldn’t be more pleased.
Have a Great Day and enjoy the video.

Sincerely yours,

Hugh

The sky is overcast with an intermittent drizzle falling on my face. There will be no brilliant sunrise to greet the day with promises of hope and glory. Perhaps it is appropriate on this early morning to contemplate the prospects of tomorrow and the day after. I will now vent on a subject that has become irritating, to say the least.

Armageddon tired of all the apocalyptic prophecies. The spate of movies and television programs proclaiming the “End Times” has grown tiresome to me. They first attempt to offer insight into the prognosticators of ancient times and end with biblical warnings amounting to “change your ways, sinner.”

The reason for our fascination in these presentations of doom eludes me. Admittedly I find myself drawn to choose a few among the many in order to absorb a bit of knowledge or at least be entertained. I have always been fascinated with the past. Some of those who know me think I am stuck in the 60s.

With the current tragedy in Haiti (I would urge everyone to send a donation or at least a prayer) many are all the more prone to pronounce them signs of the coming doom. Harmonic Convergence
is a New Age astrological term given to a planetary alignment having occurred in August of 1987 (right after Hugh’s birthday of the 15th.) My darling daughter filled water jugs during a visit at that time in case failure of the “power grid” left me unable to pump water from my well. DIDN’T HAPPEN!

The 1974 bestseller Jupiter Effect predicted, among other catastrophes, a great earthquake on the San Andreas Fault in California. None of the predications occurred. Whether it is the Millennium Bug or 2012 that we are speaking of; it seems to be a fascination of an anticipated event that fills a void. Similar to the hunger satiated by boob tube dramas or the voyeuristic desires we appease with “reality TV.” And, as with these TV offerings, they mostly fail to live up to the hype.

As a kid growing up in the 50s and 60s with such film classics as “Duck and Cover” I was reminded daily by the newspapers I delivered that a holocaust seemed imminent. I lived for years affected by the tense days of October 1962. The basements across the country were stocked and prepared as makeshift fallout shelters. We somehow survived to see the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Soviet Union. In this void new “Boogie Men” have arisen to threaten our security and keep us living in fear.

Well, this Baby-Boomer says shuck that yoke and find a new obsession. Just try living. There will remain one constant in the world and that constant is change. Prepare to change with the world and make it a better place for all. I’m going to shave and wash my face before I grab a cup of Joe and tackle a new day. Good luck, pardner.

P.S. While you await the change have a listen to another oldie pick by Hugh.

Later; those damn Vampire books and movies.

After several hours the process of editing and posting to the blog is becoming clear as mud. I suppose that is just the norm for an old fart such as myself. I will continue to plod along and expect to produce something useful in the next day or two. Good luck to me!

Hugh