Another Golden Girl has gone to the Golden Palace in the sky. Rue McClanahan passed away this morning after suffering a major stroke. She was 76.

While she is most well-known for her iconic role as Blanche Devereaux on Golden Girls, she actually got her start on the stage in the 50's. She made her Broadway debut in 1969.

She acted in a couple of daytime soap operas, and then in 1972, she won the role of Maude's best friend Vivian on Maude, with fellow Golden Girl Bea Arthur. In the early 80's she worked on Mama's Family with another Golden Girl, Betty White. In 1985, she became Blanche Devereaux, and an icon was born.

Little known fact: Betty White was originally offered the part of Blanche, and Rue McClanahan was cast as Rose. Both ladies had played parts similar to those characters before and each wanted to do something different, so they switched. As you know, it was a wonderful decision!

After Golden Girls, and the subsequent spin-off, Golden Palace, Ms. McClanahan was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought the good fight and won. She spent the next 20 or so years working in film and doing charity work.

Cheesy Goodness sends out sympathy to the family of Ms. McClanahan. I'll be watching Golden Girls clips on YouTube if you need me.

imdb.com page

Patrick Stewart was now Sir Patrick Stewart.

(image credit: Anthony Devlin/AP Photo)

The 69 year-old actor was knighted today by Queen Elizabeth II and joins other great Shakespearean actors who crossed over into the realm of science fiction, like Sir Alec Guinness and Sir Ian McKellen in knighthood.

His most famous role is of course, Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and he gained another legion of fans with his role as Professor X in the X-Men film franchise, but he never let himself be pigeonholed into one genre. He has worked in stage, television and film, been nominated for awards in all three mediums and he always makes time for his fans by making appearances at sci-fi and comic conventions. His imdb.com page spans 6 decades!

Congratulations to this girl's favorite starship captain, Sir Patrick Stewart!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. If you are a Mom, Happy Mother's Day. If you aren't a Mom, you have one day left to do something nice for your Mother. Call her, tell her you love her and appreciate her. That will make her day!

Today is Cinco de Mayo (which translates to "5th of May), the day on which many people think Mexico won it's independence from Spain. Well... It's not. The ACTUAL Mexican Independence Day is September 16th.

Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the day the Mexican army defeated French forces in 1862. It is also not a national holiday in Mexico. Over the years, it has become a day of Mexican pride and celebrations in many other countries. So, take this new found information and wow your friends as you are out drinking Corona and Jose Cuervo in celebration of Mexican Heritage!

Here's is the news clip I told you all about yesterday! Again, if you are in the area, come see the show!

Hello everyone! Since I am a shameless self-promoter, I thought I'd let all of my local Texas (Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange area) readers know that I'll be on Live at 5 on Channel 6 today, singing, dancing and promoting the Port Arthur Little Theater production of Once Upon a Mattress which is opening tomorrow night on the mainstage! I hope to have a video of it tomorrow for anyone else who is interested in seeing it!

If you are local and you would like to see the show, the dates are February 25 - 28, March 4 - 7, March 18 - 21. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30PM, and Sunday matinees are at 2:30PM. Tickets are $14 for adults, and $12 for seniors and students. Call (409) 727-PALT(7258) for reservations.

CLICK HERE for a map to the Playhouse.

The Great Renaissance Tour is starting soon!

This is my husband's pet project, and I must say it was and is going to be lots of fun to make! Our plan is to go to different Renaissance/medieval/fantasy faires and tell you about them! The preview episode will be available on January 18 on YouTube.

For more information, here's the official website: The Great Renaissance Tour

This is my son. He's 2 and he LOVES playing computer games. This is him playing World of Warcraft on Daddy's computer. He knows how to move the characters around, and he knows what several keys do when he presses them. At this rate, he'll have his own account by the time he's 3!

There's only one more day left in the year. There's only one more day left in the DECADE! So, I've pored over all the posts I've made in the past year and found the ones I would consider to be THE BEST of 2009!

In January, we saw a Dragon Cake, Congress found YouTube, and we learned about an incredible desk made entirely of Legos! February gave us the Banana Lamp! Yes, I know there was more stuff in February, but nothing compares to the awesomeness that is Banana Lamp, except The Adventures of Lucas, but I'm a little biased! March came in like a lion, or rather an Elephant on Skis, and went out like a lamb, or rather a Pink Elephant! In April, we lost a Golden Girl, and in May, we celebrated our Moms. In June, we wished Tetris a Happy Birthday and learned a little history. July introduced us to Hamish, and checked to see if we were paying attention. In August, we learned What Music Looks Like and that sending our husbands to the grocery store is a bad idea. We went Pole Dancing in September, and also took an awesome photo! October introduced us to little Stuart Anderson, and we like him! Things got a little hairy in November, and I met the PostSecret guy! And now here we are in December, by way of Scarborough Faire.

And here is my very favorite LOLcat of the year: The Spaider!!

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A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Frank Warren, the founder of the PostSecret Project. He was lecturing at a college where my good friend is a professor, and I was invited to a reception before the lecture where Frank and I were able to have a little chat. I was even able to obtain photographic evidence that I actually met him! (That's why it took me so long to write this, I was waiting for the photograph to actually find it's way to me!)

Frank was in town to talk about the PostSecret Project, in which people send him anonymous postcards where they reveal a secret, which he then posts on his blog every Sunday, or even in a book. It was also a publicity tour for his newest PostSecret book (PostSecret: Confessions n Life, Death & God), which hit #1 on the bestseller list on October 20, the day of the lecture!

The lecture itself was different than any I've ever attended. He did more than just stand on the stage and talk at the audience. It felt as if he were truly sharing something special. He spoke about why he began the PostSecret Project in the first place, and how it's grown. He even showed us a few "secrets" that, for one reason or another, have never been published online or in any of his books.

The last part of the evening was when he invited audience members to step up to a microphone and share their own secret. It was definitely different.

He is still on his book tour for another month, so if he's coming to a city near you, I highly recommend attending his lecture or book signing. CLICK HERE for his list of upcoming events.

PostSecret

There are few things more awesome than classical musicians palying rock music, especially if the song they choose is epic in it's own right.

The Final Countdown (originally by Europe)

These guys actually inspired this post. The three guys are Melo-M, a Latvian cello group. If you are a classical musician wanting to play an epic rock song, this is how you do it!

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Cheesy Goodness is sad to inform you that one of our favorite celebrities has passed on. Bea Arthur died today at the age of 86. She had cancer.

Bea Arthur had quite a career spanning several decades and winning countless awards. After a storied career on and off Broadway, she burst onto the scene at age 50 as Maude Finley on "All in the Family", and her character was so well-liked, she got her own series. "Maude" ran for 6 seasons and Arthur won an Emmy in 1977.

She did movies and musicals (and a famous Star Wars Holiday Special appearance), but probably her most famous role was that of Dorothy Zbornak on "The Golden Girls", for which she also won an Emmy award.

In 2008, she was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame.

I hope you can all join us in celebrating her life.

Here are just a few more fun places to visit today. One quick warning, don't believe ANYTHING you see on the Inter-webs today!!!

Something is wrong in YouTube land. HINT - turn your monitor upside-down.

Bacon in a squeeze bottle. Yumm-o!

Cracked.com's new photoshop contest: The 13 Most Epic April Fools Day Pranks Never Pulled

Gmail's new feature, Gmail Autopilot, makes the tedious task of replying to email even easier.

Expedia is now offering flights to Mars!!! For super-cheap, too!!!

Introducing the New York Times Nano!

From your friends here at the Cheese, have fun today!

Everyone likes April Fool's Day. It's a day when you can play that awesome practical joke with little or no repercussions, simply by uttering two little words. "April Fool's!!!"

It's not just the little people who like playing tricks on April 1st. The media has a penchant for pulling the wool over the eyes of the general public on April Fool's Day, and suprisingly, we fall for it every year.

I found a great list on the Museum of Hoaxes website. The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time. It's a pretty long list, but it's human nature to joke, and what better day to do it than April 1st?

Here are a few of my favorites:

The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
In 1957, the BBC Announced that the Swiss were enjoying a bumper crop of spaghetti. Here's the video:

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is April Fool's Day! Are you prepared? Just in case you aren't here are a few ideas to help you prank your friends!!!

Some are simple, some are a little more complicated, but all of them are fun and relatively harmless. Have fun!!!