Buddy Epsen - The Tin Man

I am sure that most people know that Buddy Epsen (well knows as Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies) was supposed to play the part of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz.  However, due to a severe allergic reaction to the aluminum powder makeup, he couldn't.

(Note: They used aluminum paste makeup on Jack Haley to ensure they didn't have the same problem that Epsen had)

What a lot of people may not know is that he did record "If I Only Had a Heart".  I really like it but in the end, I am glad that Jack Haley ended up with the role.  I have a great fondness for the tin man.  He is so sweet and gentle.  While Buddy Ebsen does a wonderful version of this song.  I love Jack Haley's angelic voice and can't imagine anyone else as the Tin Man.

Interesting Fact 1:  Did you know that Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland's (aka Dorthy) daughter, became Jack Haley's (the Tin Man's) daughter-in-law?  Liza was married to Jack Haley, Jr. 

Interesting Fact 2:   Did you know that Jack Haley (the Tin Man) was the Godfather to John Lahr, who was Bert Lahr's (the Lion) son?

Anyway....here is Buddy Epsen's version of "If I Only Had a Heart"

Cheater Pot Pie

I love Chicken Pot Pie - but not the frozen variety.  I only like homemade.  I think the reason I don't like the frozen kind is because of the meat - the squares of chicken just do not taste right to me.  I don't know....I came across this recipe about 7 or 8 years ago on Allrecipes.com and gave it a try.

I thought it was pretty good and I hadn't made it in a while. 

Here is the ORIGINAL version on Allrecipes.com but I changed it more to my personal tastes.

CHEATER POT PIE

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 (8 ounce) can mix peas & carrots 1 (8 ounce) can corn, low sodium, drained 1/2 pound  cooked chicken, diced or shredded 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup 1/2 cup milk Black pepper to taste (the soup and veggies have enough salt so I don't add extra) 1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated layered biscuits 1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional) Dash of Italian Seasoning (optional)

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly butter a 9 inch deep dish pie pan with melted butter; reserve some of the melted butter.
2.	In a saucepan over medium heat, combine vegetables and chicken; cook until vegetables are tender. Fold in soup; mix well. Pour in milk and mix until smooth; mixture should not be runny. Add pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.
3.	Remove from heat and spread mixture into bottom of pie pan. Separate biscuits into layers and place gently on top of mixture. Drizzle remaining butter on top of biscuit layers.  Sprinkle with cheese and Italian seasoning (if desired)
4.	Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Cartoon Cussing

I do not care for foul language - I always say there are better choices for words.

One day at work, I was miffed at an email I received and forwarded it to a co-worker and I prefaced it with:

Rack-a-sack-a-riff-a-raff-grumble-gaff-a-smack-a-rack

My co-worker replied back - what the heck does that mean?  I said "you know it is cartoon curse words".  I had to explain it but now we use cartoon curse words when we aren't happy with a situation at work now.

Here are good examples....brought to you by Yosemite Sam.

Funny Friday - Joaquin Phoenix's Forehead

I've been super busy and not much time for blogging lately but have to post a Funny Friday.  This one is a big uh... different.

Funny Friday - with Candy (sort of)

Funny Friday - Happy Independence Day

June 2014 Movies

Movies that I saw in the month of June 2014 that were new (to me)

Maleficent - oh my gosh!!!  My favorite movie so far this year.  It was just soooo good.  Angelina Jolie was perfect.  It was a different twist on the Sleeping Beauty story.  It was so visually beautiful (I saw it in 3D) and the special effects, makeup & costumes were fantastic.  Just such a great movie!  I may even go see it again.

Blended - The third movie to star Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore together.  I just love them together!  They seem like good friends in real life and that they would have a lot of fun on the set.  This movie didn't disappoint.  I didn't like it as much as the Wedding Singer but I liked it more than 50 First Dates - all three are great movies in my eyes.  If you are an Adam Sandler fan, you will really like this one because characters from his other movies make surprise appearances (I'm not saying who because I don't want to spoil it) but you will spot them !  Very cute movie !!

Enough Said - I liked this more than I expected to - starring the Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini.  It had a cute twist.  She meets him and is interested in him and starts dating him.  Meanwhile, she takes on a new female client and she and the client strike up a great friendship.  They both gripe about their exes.  But...she soon finds out that her new friend's ex, is the guy she is currently dating - oh no...what a pickle to be in.  It is steady paced but not slow - pretty cute!

The Great Gatsby - (the newer one - starring Leonardo DiCaprio).  I wanted to see this when it was released in the theaters but never got a chance too.  Now I am glad I didn't waste the money.  I just knew I would love this movie and truth be told, I didn't !  The sets were amazing, the costumes were incredible.  But....the movie is suppose to be set in the 1920s, right?  It is, they even tell you it is ! However, they are playing rap music through the whole thing.  I am not a big fan of rap music anyway but I like some okay.  This movie was RUINED by the music - it just didn't fit and was so out of place.  Why oh why oh why, when there was such great music in the 20s, did they ruin this movie

by adding songs like 100$ Bill by Jay Z, Back to Black by Beyonce and Andre and Bang Bang by will.i.am?  Remind me to not watch any films by Baz Lurrman every again.