Favorite Five - Sounds

Just like songs can bring to mind specific emotions and memories, I believe other sounds (besides music) can do the same.  With this entry, I'm focusing on "good" sounds.  Comfort sounds.  Happy memories.  I'll save the irritating sounds for another post.


1.  Train whistle - I think this has to be my number one comfort sound.  The small town I grew up in didn't have passenger train service (maybe in the "old" days, but not that I can remember), but we did have freight trains.  The tracks were close enough that I could hear the whistle each night, yet not so close that it was jarring. 

2.  Barred Owl - There are many types of owl, but I like to hear the Barred Owl, or what I usually call a "Hoot Owl".  I often hear them in our woods and have learned that if I call out to them, they will many times hoot back in reply!

3.  Woodpecker - While I do enjoy hearing a woodpecker drilling a hole in a tree, what I really like to hear is the call of the Pileated Woodpecker.  With a voice to match their size, I think they are the variety Woody Woodpecker must have been modeled on!

4.  Northern Cardinal - I like to wake up in the morning to the sound of birds chirping outside my window.  Something about that just portends a good day.  As with the Pileated Woodpecker, the song of a Cardinal transports me back to my childhood.

5.  Summer Sounds - That's vague, I know, but it's really a variety of sounds.  As a child I wasn't always sure what creature made what sound.  As an adult I think I've sorted them out.  Spring Peepers calling for rain (frogs), Bullfrogs with their deep voices (obviously frogs), and Cicadas (what I called locusts - the annual ones as opposed to the 13 or 17- year variety that make such a racket). 

Even though I've already picked five, I must give an honorable mention to livestock sounds.  Every time we are out in the middle of our pond fishing and I hear a cow moo, it makes me smile!  Same for when we had donkeys and they'd bray.  Such entertaining sounds!!


With the exception of my first pick all my favorite sounds are from nature.  Maybe yours are inside sounds.  (popcorn popping, bacon sizzling in a pan, bubble wrap?)  Think about it - what are some of your favorite sounds?

Favorite Five - Trees

I'm tired of Winter and that turns my thoughts to "Springy" things. It was around this time last year that I did a Favorite Five - Flowers post. This time it's Trees.


1. Dogwood - There's no surer sign of Spring and the approach of Easter than blooming Dogwoods. Our woods are full of them! (not blooming yet, of course) I can't see their delicate white flowers without thinking of the Legend of the Dogwood .

2. Magnolia - I think Magnolia blossoms are absolutely beautiful and they make a wonderful centerpiece for a dinnertable. My aunt had a huge tree in her front yard and it was a nice, cool hiding spot in the heat of summer. The only drawback was that mosquitoes also loved it. The broad leaves hold water and make a perfect breeding ground for the pests.

3. Gingko - My aunt (a different one) had one of these trees in her backyard. I love the little fan shaped leaves and they turn the most wonderful golden yellow in the fall! Watch out, though...one big gust of wind and they all come off!

4. Oak - I know that's a generalization, but there are several types of Oak tree that appeal to me. I might like Water Oaks (a type of Red Oak) best, but other varieties have much better acorns for making whistles.

5. Tulip Poplar - My husband moved one of these from a friend's house to our backyard shortly after we built our house. It grew quickly and became my favorite spot for hanging birdfeeders. Sadly, it ended up storm-damaged and we had to cut it down.

Here are a few others I like: Red Maple, Sweet Gum, Loblolly Pine. What about you? What are your favorites?

Favorite Five - Movie Soundtracks

Before we continue, let me clarify things. Don't confuse the soundtrack for a movie with its score. For example... everyone is familiar with the musical score for the original Star Wars movie. However, that's not what I'm talking about here. That can be a whole different post for another time. What I am referring to are the albums that are released containing specific songs, usually by various artists, that appear in a movie.

1. Boogie Nights (and Boogie Nights 2) - This should have been released as a double CD rather than making you buy both! Despite the title of the movie (which is actually about a porn star), it's not just disco music.

2. Forrest Gump - This one is a double CD. One of the best things about it is the wide range of years the music covers, just like Forrest's life.

3. Beverly Hills 90210: The College Years - I never liked this TV show and haven't seen the movie. I only got the CD because of one specific song (before the days of iTunes and individual purchases). Fortunately the rest of the CD was good.

4. Blues Brothers 2000 - A lot of the music on this CD includes the Blues Brothers Band, but that's okay since they're quite good in their own right. Includes Blues Traveler, Erykah Badu, The Louisiana Gator Boys, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Jonny Lang, and more.

5. The Fighting Temptations - This is a fun, feel-good movie with some great music from such varied artists as Beyonce, The O'Jays, Shirley Caesar, Missy Elliott and others.

Worth mentioning: Almost Famous, Good Morning Vietnam, In the Name of the Father, Mr. Holland's Opus, The Fifth Element.



I hope I haven't blurred the line between soundtrack and score with any of my choices, especially the "worth mentioning" picks. I've included a link to Amazon for the top five so you can see what songs appear on each album.

How about you? Are there any particular movies with great songs that you want to mention?

Gerry Rafferty

I was sad when Gerry Rafferty died earlier this month. My favorite of his songs, Baker Street, made my "favorite five - songs" list that I posted last year. It was released in February of 1978 and I spent that summer studying in England. Brings back great memories!

Favorite Five - YouTube clips

Our satellite internet connection does not lend itself to watching YouTube clips. While faster than dial-up, it allows a very limited amount of downloading each day before totally slowing our system to a crawl. So....although I haven't spent lots of time at YouTube, I've still managed to find a few short clips that are guaranteed to entertain me.

I'll bet most of you are familiar with at least one of these.

1. Model Falls Twice - I'm a bit klutzy and can always laugh at myself when I trip, but it's really the newscasters' reactions that are funniest here.



2. Lizard Jumps on Newscaster - You'll probably have to watch this one more than once. Keep an eye on the left side of the picture.



3. Sneezing Baby Panda - Short, but hilarious!



4. Spiders on Drugs - My favorite spider is the "caffeine" spider.



5. Evolution of Dance - Lengthier than the others, but worth the time.

Favorite Five - TV Game Shows

I've rarely seen a game show I didn't like. Oh, I can think of a couple... The Gong Show, Three's a Crowd, and maybe a few others. It was a thrill when we first moved to the country and got a satellite dish to discover a channel devoted entirely to game shows. At the time Game Show Network (or GSN as it's now called) showed repeats of all my favorites from my childhood along old black and white shows from the early days. Certain months of the year I have more time available for mindless TV and in those days I always landed on GSN. These days it's more often the Food Network, but I still have a soft spot for GSN.

I seriously doubt any of you are the game show freak that I am, but surely there's at least one show you enjoyed. Here are my favorites:

1. Family Feud - Any host will do (there have been many), but my favorite was Richard Dawson.

2. Jeopardy! - I rarely watch this anymore, but there was a time when my kids were little that they knew not to disturb me during that half hour!

3. The Match Game - My younger two kids would play along with this using their dry-erase boards. I only liked the version with Gene Rayburn, who was my favorite game show host of all time.

4. The Price is Right - I found it interesting to watch some of the early B & W episodes with Bill Cullen as host. Totally different! I've only seen the newest version with Drew Carey a couple of times.

5. Password - I had the home version of this game. I never could picture Betty White married to the host, Allen Ludden. The only other version I watched was with Bert Convy as host.

Other favorites: Pyramid, Hollywood Squares (Peter Marshall version), Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck, Lingo, The Weakest Link... and I could go on, but I have to stop somewhere!

Play it again!

This time last year I posted an entry about a wonderful evening I spent at the symphony listening to the music of The Eagles, of all things. If you missed that one, you can click here to see what I'm talking about.

Last night our regional symphony kicked off their current season, Music of All Nations, with a similar treat..... the return of Jeans 'n Classics, this time with the music of Pink Floyd!!! As much as I like The Eagles, in my opinion their music just can't compare with that of Pink Floyd. The evening was everything I anticipated (and for months, at that)!!

The first half of the program was dedicated to setting the stage. They performed music of that era which lent itself well to orchestration. The selections included Conquistador (Procol Harum), Crime of the Century (Supertramp), Space Oddity (David Bowie), Acid Queen (The Who), Lucky Man (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), Living in the Past (Jethro Tull), and two Pink Floyd numbers - Wish You Were Here and Another Brick in the Wall Part 2.

Following the intermission, they performed Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety! You may remember it appeared on my Favorite Five - Albums list. What an experience!!! Thinking the evening couldn't get any better, they gave an encore with Comfortably Numb, the crowning jewel from The Wall album!

Jeans 'n Classics have a large repertoire. Dare I hope they return another year - maybe to do Led Zeppelin?

Favorite Five - Love Songs

Okay. I'm not a romantic kinda gal and I don't have a playlist on my iPod for "love songs", but... I've had a request for a Favorite Five post on this topic. Without letting myself think too long and hard about it, here's what I've come up with. I've included some YouTube clips, but they don't always do the song justice.


1. I Only Have Eyes For You (Art Garfunkel) - I remember listening to this as a teenager and my mother coming into my room singing along with it. I was surprised to find out it was a cover of a song that had been recorded several times before! YouTube clip

2. Waiting For a Girl Like You (Foreigner) - This one brings back memories of a time that wasn't so pleasant. I try not to let that ruin the song for me. YouTube clip

3. Don't Want to Wait Anymore (The Tubes) - The memories are a little better with this one even thought they're from pretty much the same time period. YouTube clip (The studio version is SO much better!!)

4. Love Me Now (Gino Vannelli) - Actually, this song is best when listened to with the song that preceeds it on the album, Storm at Sunup. I use to listen to this in my college dorm using a pair of those huge headphones.... really, really getting into it. YouTube clip

5. Ain't Nobody (Rufus & Chaka Khan) - There was a time where I used this as the personalized ringtone for my husband on my phone. YouTube clip

Worth mentioning: Your Song (Elton John), He Stopped Loving Her Today (George Jones), Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers), Shake You Down (Gregory Abbott), Run to Me (The Bee Gees), Sometimes When We Touch (Dan Hill), My Prayer (The Platters).

As always, I know I've left out some really good ones! What are some of your favorites?

Favorite Five - Songs

It's been quite some time since I posted a "favorite five" entry. To make up for that, I'll tackle one of the harder topics on my list. Songs.

I love music.... all kinds of music. Most of my memories have a song associated with them. My moods are determined by what I listen to (or perhaps it's the other way around). So how on earth can I choose just five songs ??? To start with, all five could be Yes songs. In fact, I think I made that fairly clear on my Favorite Five - Albums post. So, I'm going to eliminate them and let it be understood that Yes belongs at the top.


1. Blinded by the Light (Manfred Mann) - This song takes me back to my first two years of college when I was attending a small Liberal Arts school. It's funny how all these years later I can still sing along word for word when this comes on the radio (or my iPod). My closest friends from that time would probably put their money on two other songs, though: On and On (Stephen Bishop) or Storm at Sunup/Love Me Now (Gino Vannelli).

2. Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty) - This is one of several songs I always associate with the summer I spent studying at Oxford (in an American program). Another favorite from that time is Follow You Follow Me (Genesis).

3. Night Meets Light (Dixie Dregs) - After two years at a small college I transferred to a large state university to complete my education. It was there I discovered this group and this song in particular. Other favorites from that time frame are Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd) and Don't Stand So Close to Me (The Police).

4. Fairy Tales (Anita Baker) - I can't really say what it is about this song that I love so much. I don't try to sing along since I don't know most of the lyrics, which is odd considering how many times I've listened to it from start to finish.

5. Space Oddity (David Bowie) - No special memories for this one, either. Just a great, classic rock song!

This list could vary on any given day and, as always, I'm sure I've left off many great songs. Here are a few runners up: One of These Days (FFH), Cover Me (FFH), Pavane pour une infante defunte (Ravel), Sandy Beaches (Delbert McClinton), Ordinary World (Duran Duran), It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference (Todd Rundgren), Sailing (Christopher Cross), In a Lifetime (Clannad), American Pie (Don McLean), Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin), Rocket Man (Elton John), Ain't Nobody (Rufus and Chaka Khan), Don't Want to Wait Anymore (Tubes), Make It Right (Lisa Stansfield), Mysterious Ways (U2), Between You and Me (DC Talk), Ocean Floor (Audio Adrenaline).



Okay....so this has gone far beyond just "a few" and I barely touched on some genres. Can you tell me some of your favorites?

Favorite Five - Card Games

When I did my Favorite Five - Board Games entry I promised I would also do one for card games. As a child I played my share of card games such as Battle (War), Old Maid, Go Fish, Slap Jack and others, but I don't think any of those will make my top five list.

1. Double Solitaire - Playing solitaire on the computer is a fun time-waster, but nothing beats the real thing ... except maybe double solitaire. That is when two people play together, each using their own deck, but playing off either player's aces as they surface. It can become a very physical game!

2. Spades - Following my college graduation I ran with a group that loved this game. We would have marathon sessions of Spades. When my friend Dennis and I were partners we were almost unbeatable! I don't think I've played in more than 25 years, though, so I wouldn't be a good partner anymore.

3. Spoons - This was something I played a lot as a teenager. Again, it's been so long that I really don't remember the rules. I just remember that lots of folks could play and that it also got quite physical at times.

4. Speed - We call this game "high/low" and play it a little differently than what is shown in the link I provided. Again, a potentially physical game. (am I seeing a pattern here?)

5. Pyramid Solitaire - Somewhere around my house I have a book that lists dozens of variations of solitaire. There are several versions I enjoy, but this one probably ranks at the top.

I always think of some I should have included once I read your comments, but for now these are my "worth mentioning": Rook, Uno, Blackjack, Freecell.

I do remember one card game I didn't like. When I was five years old my brother asked me if I wanted to play "Round Up". I eagerly said yes then watched as he tossed a loose deck of cards into the air announcing, "There are the cows. You round them up!". It must have scarred me for life since I can remember the day so vividly!

Favorite Five ~ Fast Food Chains

I realize that most of the time fast food fare is not healthy eating. That doesn't change the fact that I like it on occasion. As for the new regulations about posting nutritional information in these places? If I'm splurging on fast food, I really don't want to know how many calories or how much sodium I'm eating. Just let me enjoy my "bad for me" meal without the guilt trip!

Here are some of my favorite places:

1. Sonic

2. Taco Bell

3. Quiznos

4. Subway

5. Arby's

Favorite Five - Fantasy Careers

I think most kids go through phases in their lives where they aspire to heights that they most likely will never reach. With hard work and the right opportunities some might be realistic, but many are just pipe dreams. I've had a few of my own over the years.

1. Rock star - Lead singer wasn't necessarily my goal. I wanted to be either the drummer or the bass player.

2. Best-selling author - The genre might have varied depending on what I liked reading at the time, but always fiction.

3. Chef - Considering I've struggled with my weight for much of my life, this one always came with the added wish of being able to eat whatever I wanted without gaining anything.

4. Artist - Specifically one who created sculpture through welding.

5. Librarian - Okay.... this one was realistic and what I actually wanted to be "when I grew up". Life just took me a different direction instead.

Okay. Now it's your turn!

Favorite Five - Board Games

I've mentioned before that I like to play board games. Part of our Christmas Eve celebration is pulling out Holiday Bingo followed by other games once the gifts have been opened. Each New Year's Eve we gather with two other couples and play Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary. Occasionally we try a new game, but always come back to those two.

Here's my list of favorites. Note I'm not including any card games. That will be for another time.

1. Masterpiece - The Art Auction Game - I was amazed to find this game listed at Amazon and even more amazed at the price! I guess it's so expensive since it's out of print (according to Wiki). I have the original 1970 version which features paintings from the Chicago Art Institute. I visited the Art Institute while in college just so I could see the paintings from my game!

2. Scrabble - I've played this game since I was a kid. I remember what a thrill it was to beat my mother for the first time. Thanks to a marathon evening of Scrabble on one of my sister's visits, my kids hate the game! I'll admit, she was pretty vicious and cut-throat.

3. Pictionary - My strength lies in the drawing rather than the guessing part of this game. Either part is fun, though. Of course it helps to have a good partner!

4. Pente - I love this game so much that I devoted an entire blog entry to it here.

5. Hey Pa! There's a Goat on the Roof - This was my favorite board game as a kid, but unfortunately mine got lost or given away at some point. I would have enjoyed playing it with my kids when they were growing up. I could probably find it at E-Bay if I really wanted it, but it wouldn't be the same. Mine had a tin can stuck under the well. Sentimental value.

Worth mentioning: Facts in Five, Clue, Acquire, Trivial Pursuit.

Favorite Five ~ TV Dramas

These days I don't follow any television dramas. That's not to say I haven't watched my share over the years, though. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Dragnet - "Just the facts, ma'am". I'm sure I watched some of the earlier episodes as re-runs, but the ones that stand out in my mind are those that aired after 1967 when Harry Morgan joined the cast as Jack Webb's partner.

2. Homicide: Life on the Street - In my opinion.... the absolute best of all television dramas! I have all seven seasons on DVD along with the wrap-up movie when the series ended.

3. St. Elsewhere - There have been several "doctor" shows I watched including ER, Medical Center, and Marcus Welby M.D., but St. Elsewhere still ranks as my favorite. I also enjoyed its "sister show", Hill Street Blues.

4. Law & Order - This show began in 1990 and, from what I can tell, is still going strong. I can't remember how many seasons I watched before I lost interest. Probably somewhere between five and ten. There are several spin-offs, but the only one I've watched is SVU. Interestingly enough, one of the actors from Homicide made the jump to SVU playing the same character.

5. Picket Fences - I guess the best way to describe this show is "quirky". It was a fun show with a great cast, but only lasted four seasons. Seems like I remember it ended without wrapping up any of the story lines.

Runners up: L.A. Law, Magnum P.I., Dallas.

Favorite Five - Fruit

It's only natural to follow up my Favorite Five - Vegetables entry with one on fruit. I think it might be harder to approach fruits than vegetables since fruit flavors have a wider application. For example, my favorite flavor Life Saver Candy or Tootsie-Roll Pop is orange, but the fruit itself doesn't make my list. As with vegetables, there aren't too many fruits I don't like. I'm not particularly fond of blackberries and raspberries or papaya and mango. I love cantaloupe, but don't care much for honeydew. It's only been in recent years that I've acquired a taste for watermelon. Enough rambling. Here are my favorites:

1. Avocado - Just like the tomato, this is botanically a fruit but usually treated as a vegetable when cooking. Since I didn't include it with my vegetables, it gets top billing here. Love, love, love it!!

2. Olives - I had to "google" to see if olives were considered a fruit. I like them black, green, with the pits, without them, stuffed, any way I can get them!

3. Lemons - When I was growing up I often requested a lemon icebox pie for my birthday rather than a cake. And.... in my opinion, the best lemonade is made fresh, with very little sugar. The more sour, the better.

4. Strawberries - Arkansas grows some of the best strawberries around and I always look forward to them being in season. It's almost that time of year!

5. Apples - We eat apples at our house several times a week. My favorite way to serve them is diced with a sliced banana then topped with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of walnuts. I usually buy Gala apples, but for eating out of hand, nothing beats a tart Granny Smith.

Favorite Five - Vegetables

Having spent eight years as a vegetarian, you can rest assured that I like my veggies. There are a few I don't care for, mushrooms being the most notable. They say your tastes change every few years, so I periodically try them again in one form or another. I still don't like them. I think it's as much the texture as the taste. Some vegetables, such as purple hulls and butter beans, I didn't like as a child but grew to love as an adult. Others, like Brussels sprouts, I wouldn't even try for years, but liked once I gave them a chance.

Here are my favorites:

1. Spinach - No doubt about it... my favorite! I like it in any form or fashion.

2. Tomato - Okay, it's technically a fruit, but I'm counting it as a vegetable here. I started yellow tomato seeds a few weeks ago and hope to have a big harvest of them this summer!

3. Onion - I like most kinds, but especially enjoy the red/purple variety when served raw in a salad or on a sandwich.

4. Summer Squash - I prefer yellow squash, not zucchini. Steam it, fry it, pickle it, bake it in a casserole, or just eat it raw!

5. Green Beans - This was my favorite vegetable as a child. I like canned better than fresh or frozen and whole beans better than cut.

I love potatoes but didn't include them on my list since not everyone places them in the vegetable category. So tell me.... what are your favorites?

Favorite Five - Magazines

My love of reading isn't just limited to books. I've been a life-long reader of magazines as well. Growing up in a family of magazine lovers and relatives that liked to give subscriptions as gifts exposed me to a wide variety of titles over the years.

Some were only read in certain "seasons" of my life: Highlights when I was a kid (and again with my kids), Seventeen as a teenager, and titles like Ladies' Home Journal as a young wife and mother. Some subscriptions have spanned decades, such as Newsweek and Mad (which I finally stopped a few years back since it just wasn't funny anymore). A few were short splurges such as Architectural Digest and The Herb Companion.

The following are my current favorites:

1. Readers Digest - My paternal grandmother lived with us when I was a kid and this was one of her favorites. I would spend hours poring through her copies. The humor sections are still my favorites.

2. National Geographic - I remember my aunts keeping their copies and sending them off to be bound together by the year. I think one had them all the way back to the very first magazine!

3. Discover - I first "discovered" Discover when I was in college. It's a great scientific magazine that isn't too technical for laymen. My favorite monthly feature is "Vital Signs" which is written by real doctors sharing unusual cases they've encountered.

4. Guideposts - I've read this since I was a teenager and remember it as a favorite of my grandmother's, too. The stories never fail to inspire and uplift me.

5. Simple & Delicious - Originally called Quick Cooking, I've prepared many a recipe from this magazine. I also get their e-mail newsletters along with those from Taste of Home, their "sister" publication.

Favorite Five - Books

This post (along with favorite songs) has been weighing heavily in the back of my mind ever since I began my Favorite Five series. I touched on the topic with children's books and book series, but knew eventually I would have to tackle my overall favorites. However, the question was how do I pick just five out of the hundreds I've read over the years? I've often heard folks mention favorite books and how many times they've read them. I don't do that. There are too many books out there I haven't read to spend time repeating any! (except poetry, of course)

Take a look at my choices then tell me some of yours.


The Once and Future King (T.H. White) - There was no doubt this book would be on my list. I read it in college and it remains my favorite version of Arthurian legend. It's one of the few books I've been tempted to read again, but I'm afraid it might not live up to what I remember.

Katherine (Anya Seyton) - As a teenager I read all of the Anya Seton books my local library had to offer. If I remember correctly, this was the first and it set into motion my life-long love of historical fiction.

The Silver Pigs (Lindsey Davis) - Murder mysteries are fun. Even better are murder mysteries set in the past. This is the first in a series that takes place in ancient Rome during the reign of Vespasian. It led me to a variety of "historical mysteries".

To Live is Christ (Beth Moore) - I fudged a little here...this is the workbook which accompanies the Bible study rather than the book. It had a profound influence on me and played a part in taking me to the next level in my spiritual life and my relationship with God.

The Holy Bible - This is the only book that I consistently read (present tense) over and over. I believe it's the living Word of God and every time I open its pages my soul is renewed and refreshed. I have a wide variety of versions in my home, but my favorite is the Life Application Study Bible (New International Version).

Favorite Five - Actresses

Last month I posted "Favorite Five - Actors". Now it's time for the women, a more difficult task. I mostly drew from movies and would probably have had lots more runners up if I'd thought harder about TV shows.

1. Sandra Bullock - I liked her in Miss Congeniality , but she's also proven herself in dramatic roles.

2. Jodie Foster - Looking over her filmography, I was amazed at how many television shows she appeared in as a child.

3. Dawn Wells - "Mary Ann" and "the Professor" were my favorite characters on Gilligan's Island. You should see her in The Town that Dreaded Sundown! (said with tongue in cheek)

4. Kathy Bates - The first thing I remember seeing her in was Misery, but perhaps her funniest role was "Mama Boucher" in The Waterboy.

5. Julia Roberts - For some reason this actress use to irritate me, but the more things I've seen her in, the more I like her.

Runners up: Grace Kelly, Kathleen Turner, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sally Field, Eve Plumb (my favorite "Brady")

Favorite Five - Comedians

I would venture to say everyone loves a good laugh. (If you don't, then something's wrong with you and you need to loosen up!) Here's my attempt to list my favorite comedians. I hope you'll join in and list some of yours, too. It's when I read your comments that I realize how many good ones I've left out!

1. Bill Cosby - Other than the Three Stooges (who I admit I loved as a kid), Cosby is probably the first comedian I had any real exposure to. We had several of his albums at our house when I was growing up and I still think "To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With" is one of the funniest routines I've heard.

2. Johnny Carson - Some people would probably classify Carson as a TV talk show host or entertainer rather than a comedian given that he hosted NBC's Tonight Show for 30 years. However, I saw him do stand-up in Las Vegas back in the 70s and he was every bit the comedian.

3. George Carlin - This guy always made me laugh. I don't know if it was his dark humor (I tend to laugh at inappropriate things) or the fact he never hesitated to poke fun at things other people didn't dare to.

4. Lucille Ball - If I'm flipping through the channels and happen to come across I Love Lucy, I always have to stop and see which one it is. I know I've seen every episode at least once and most of them many times.

5. Carol Burnett - If anyone can live up to Lucille Ball's legacy of physical comedy, it's Carol Burnett. I consider her one of the funniest women ever, especially when teamed up with Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner and Vicki Lawrence.

Runners up: John Candy, Robin Williams, Chevy Chase, Colin Mochrie, Tim Allen, all of the Blue Collar Comedy crew.