The things we learn...

With apologies for my usual delay between posts, and the usual excuses (promotion at work, wedding planning), I speed onward.

Recently, I had the honor of getting a Thinking Blogger Award from Stewie.

He said:

"3. Life on the Rim — While he’s been making me gag with his new girlfriend posts, Ace sometimes throws out some Civil War trivia, among other little tidbits. I’m not much into the Civil War history, but Ace never bores me with his posts about it."

So instead of posting about the girlfriend/fiancee, I figure I'll pay tribute by posting something more intellectual, along with my own five nominees.

The only problem is, of course, of the dozen or so blogs I read regularly, two of them that often make me think belong to Stewie and The Lesley, who nominated him.

So, here's some other blogs that make me think:
1. Jintrinsique unplugged: The regular Jin just mostly makes me hungry. But unplugged, she raises some interesting points about life.
2. A French Girl in Niagara: As does Jewels, who beads in her "real" blog, then describes her life and interesting hobbies on her version of unplugged.
3. Fnordication: Fnordboy doesn't post often, but when he does, I usually have to Google something. I like learning new stuff.
4. Boobs, Injuries and Dr Pepper: OK, so this one usually makes me laugh more than think, but there are lot of life lessons mixed in with the humor.
5. Metro Reading: Now, I'm blatantly cheating, because Stewie writes this blog, too. But there aren't too many things that make me think like a good book, and we've got similar taste in books, which leads to some great discussions.

I'm not nominating the fiancee, because, well, it seems like even worse cheating than nominating back the guy who nominated you. If she didn't make me think, frankly, I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life with her.

And, of course, the Rules:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

Now, on with the part where I earn my "thinking" award.

They recently announced the DVD release of a TV series called "Voyagers!"



"Voyagers!" was one of my favorite TV shows as a kid, even though it only lasted one season. Heck, I remember in elementary school, playing "Voyagers!" on the playground with my best friend, Justin.

He was Phineas Bogg, the time-traveling hero, and I was Jeffrey, the little kid who inadvertently accompanies him on his misadventures. The psychology of this relationship with J.T. - who I haven't seen in years and miss in some way almost every day - is a discussion for another post.

Bogg was played by the former model Jon-Erik Hexum, while Jeffrey was played by Meeno Peluce, who starred in "Don't Go Near the Park," a dreadful movie I reviewed for HorrorTalk.

The plot, if I recall correctly, went something like this:

Bogg was a Voyager, tasked with traveling through history to set things right that had gone wrong somehow. He had two tools: A device like a pocketwatch that enabled him to travel through time, and a history book.

He also had two problems. First, the device was malfunctioning, and second, he lost his book saving Jeffrey. Fortunately, Jeffrey was a history buff - and thus, they became a team. "Phineas Bogg," I would later discover, is a takeoff on Phileas Fogg, the hero of "Around the World in 80 Days."

Sadly, that wasn't the only thing I learned by being a "Voyagers!" fan. I also learned that pistols firing blanks can be lethal.

Jon-Erik Hexum went on to another TV show after "Voyagers!" got canceled, and at some point, on the set of the show, he was clowning around with a blank-pistol. He put it to his head, and pulled the trigger.

The wad (which seals the powder in the blank case) ejects from the barrel at force, which Hexum obviously didn't know. At point-blank range, it fractured his skull and drove the pieces of bone into his brain, a wound that quickly proved mortal. He was rendered brain-dead, in a coma, and his family finally pulled the plug.

And that's a strange, tough lesson to learn as a child, when one of your heroes dies. Doing something stupid.

But it's a lesson I've never forgotten. Rest in peace.

On a side note, I just want to point out that Rosie O'Donnell is about the only liberal I know who is so damn obnoxious, she can make me feel sorry for a Republican.

Especially poor lil' Elisabeth Hasselbeck, non-winner of "Survivor" and wife of a third-string quarterback.