Bud Gott's Amazing Blog-O-Rama!

In a recent comment on this site, my friend Michelle mentioned drive-in movies.

It's been many years since there's been a drive-in anywhere near me in Delaware. I think there may be one left in the southern part of the state, but I'm not sure.

Do any of you have drive-ins near you? If so, what was the last movie you saw at one? Also, can you remember the first movie you ever saw at a drive-in?

Ah, what can I say about Markie Post? She's a truly talented babe. Besides being gorgeous and having one of the best pairs of legs in the history of television, she's also a very good actress. She's shown us her great comedic skills on shows such as NIGHT COURT and HEARTS AFIRE. She's also shown great dramatic skills in Lifetime movies that ex-girlfriends have forced me to watch with them.

And I mentioned her great legs, right?

What do you think about fate? Do you believe that things happen for a reason?

I usually do.

Sometimes I kick myself for some of the decisions/choices I've made in my life. For example, I'm not real crazy about the job I'm currently in. The work itself isn't so bad but the hours and the pay sort of suck. If I'd done a few things differently, I may not have ever gotten the job there and maybe I'd currently be in a different job I like more.

Ah, but that's where fate comes into it. Maybe I was supposed to land the job there. After all, if I'd never gone to work there, chances are damned good that I'd never have met my girlfriend Maria (she also works there.) We've been together for almost a year now and I can honestly say that it's been one of the best relationships I've ever been in. Because of that, I find it VERY hard to regret earlier choices I made in my life. All of them played some sort of part in leading me to this job and to Maria.

But what about the extremely bad things that happen in our lives? Do they all happen for a reason, too? Look at 9/11 or at all the hurricanes that devastated so many people last year. What could possibly be the reasons behind those events?

One of the worst tragedies that ever happened to my family was the death of my brother Michael when he was only one day old. It will always make me both angry and sad. Sad because of the lives we were never able to share together;angry because I still wonder what reason God could have possibly had for causing my family so much pain by taking Michael away from us so soon.

It is, of course, something I'll never truly or fully understand. Who's to say why God does or doesn't do things or what his reasons are for them? Also, and I mean no disrespect to God by this, but I wonder if it's not all up to him and some things just happen merely by chance.

Also, even when bad things happen, sometimes good things happen as an indirect result of them. A few years ago, a friend of mine got divorced. She and her husband both went through a lot of pain. He later remarried. While on his honeymoon, he ended up saving the life of some man he didn't even know. As hard as the divorce was on my friend and her husband...were they destined to be divorced? If they hadn't divorced, would the man have died since my friend's ex-husband wasn't there to save his life?

My brother Michael was born and died when I was just one year old. My brother John was born two years later and my brother Ed was born two years after that. If Michael had lived, there's a very good chance that my parents would not have had John or Ed when they did, if at all. Then I would have missed out on two brothers and two nieces who I love very much. I'm not at all saying I'm glad Michael died (FAR from it!) I'm just trying to look at these fate/chance/God's choices things from different angles.

I guess I basically believe that things happen for all of those reasons. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with God. However, I also think there's a lot to be said for fate, chance, karma and other things like that.

Oh, it's mind-boggling stuff, isn't it?

I guess we just need to do our best and roll with the changes that come our way. Also, I think it's very important to stay optimistic about the future.

Even if you're at a point lower than you've ever been before and the future looks horrible, there's ALWAYS a chance things will get better. If we ourselves don't have the power to make them better, then perhaps fate, chance, God, or something else will make them better.

It's certainly been known to happen before...

The final episode of ALIAS airs tonight on ABC.

ALIAS has been one of my favorite shows ever and I'm sorry to see it go. However, I know tonight's finale is going to be awesome. No one had better call me or suddenly show up for a surprise visit during the show. I don't want to miss a single second of it.

I bet the majority of you have at one time owned either HI INFIDELITY or REO SPEEDWAGON'S GREATEST HITS.

Some of their songs may be easy to make fun of now, but there's no denying how incredibly huge the band used to be.

So, what is (or was) your favorite REO song(s?)

I know a lot of you (okay, maybe two of you) like it when I feature pics here of attractive women. Since I hate to disappoint my readers, I'm starting up a new weekly feature entitled BUD'S BABE OF THE WEEK.

Each week I'll feature a different female celebrity. (Right now my friend Vicki is probably thinking, "Oh God, he's going to have sleazy pictures of Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson on here!") Nah, I probably won't. Instead, I'll most likely be featuring celebs who often don't get the notice they should be getting. Yes, they'll be beautiful and the pictures will probably be hot, but they'll be performers who I have a lot of respect for.

For example, this week's featured celebrity: actress Khandi Alexander. Khandi currently stars on CSI: MIAMI. I've been nuts about her ever since she starred on the great NEWS RADIO.

Besides being beautiful and having a great (a REALLY great) body, Khandi is a fantastic actress. She's very versatile. On NEWS RADIO she's shown she's great in comedic roles and on ER and CSI: MIAMI, she's shown she's also great at drama.

Now if only she'd return my calls...

I think a lot of great musicians get a bum rap from critics and music listeners. It's often for the wrong reasons.

For example, let's look at Rick Springfield. Talk about an underrated performer! Rick had hit after hit in the 1980s but he was often dismissed as a great musician because of his looks and because he had acted on GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Rick had a LOT of great songs. Actually, his greatest material came after his height of fame. His TAO and ROCK OF LIFE albums were, in my opinion, his greatest works. But sadly, by the time they were released, radio stations had lost interest in playing his music.

Two current acts who I think are underrated are Train and The Goo Goo Dolls. They both consistently put out great music but don't get the credit they deserve.

I think part of their problem is the songs from their albums which are released as singles and played on the radio a lot. Usually those songs are ballads or 'poppy-sounding' tunes. There's nothing wrong with that kind of music, but it doesn't fully show what those bands are capable of doing. Both bands can really rock, but you just don't hear those songs unless you have their cds.

So, who else do you think is underrated?

Ah, I love James Taylor. I'm going to have that song in my head now for an hour or so.

So, it's a beautiful Spring day here in scenic New Castle, Delaware. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and even the garbage truck looked less garbagey as it rolled down the street this morning.

Spring might be my favorite season of the year. It's in a 3-way tie with Summer and Fall. (Though if a gun was held to my head and I HAD to pick a favorite season, I'd go with Summer.)

So, what's your favorite season of the year?

Last weekend I saw Train in concert. They were FANTASTIC! It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

Which leads me to ask...what's the best concert you've ever been to?

(I've seen over a hundred acts, so I have to give this question some more thought before I answer it myself.)