Back from Dubai

And boy was it one hell of a week. I hardly got a chance to sleep. We did a lot of drinking and for some reason we all woke up early everyday. There were 5 of us that stayed at this guys house and we all kept wondering why even though we were out of Bahrain, we were still getting up before 9 every morning. We just couldn't sleep much.
The softball part was fun. I didn't get a lot of playing time but a lot of good came out of the games. There was one game where I think we all turned a corner and became closer as a team. We played my old team and were down big late in the game. We somehow managed to catch up and win the game in dramatic fashion, highlighted by a 3 run homerun by our cleanup hitter to take a one run lead. Some insurance runs followed and after giving up a 2 run homerun to the opposing team, we snagged the last out and celebrated like we won the championship. It was one of those statement games where we just never gave up and came together. Despite losing in the championship game, the one game still made it worth while. Sitting in the stands during our offtime and hanging out together also contributed to bringing us together. We all rooted for the ladies teams who supported us and just had a lot of fun. The guys that I stayed with in the house were great. We all stuck together throughout the tournament and I became really good friends with them. I got to know them a lot better and regret the assumptions I made in prior blog posts about them and the team. It's funny how life shows you the quality of people you're surrounded with but hides who they really are until you've already opened your mouth and inserted your foot. I regret writing those things in the past. A feeling i've never had in all my years of blogging. I know i'm very opinionated and I usually think before I speak but this wasn't the case on my posts regarding the softball team and my position. I've apologized to a few of them personally already and will try to get the rest of them at some point this week. Even if I don't play for the base team again, the one thing I at least want to do is salvage the friendships I made in Dubai.
Now that i'm back, it's back to getting my priorities in order. That's a little difficult considering i'm absolutely exhausted and our new puppy is draining all my energy. I don't know if i'm over-caring for it but it's better to be safe than sorry. I swear I walk that dog maybe 8 times a day. And i'm at work for at least 10 hours a day. On top of not getting any sleep, i'm not getting much of a chance to just sit and rest and even check email. I don't even want to mention work. Playing catchup from the trip is hellacious. I'm trying to pace myself since I know if I completely dive in to finishing it, i'll complete it all in no time, then i'll sit around bored the last day of the week. I'd like to think i'll get some rest this weekend, but with the puppy and all, i'm sure i'll be busy. It's tough work housetraining them. You gotta take them out constantly so they don't pee or crap in the house. Then I have to try and teach her how to sit and stay and all that stuff. She's still young so we're slowly getting her in to learning how to do those things. One step at a time.

Hey Gramps!

Happy Birthday to me!Cha, cha, cha.I live in Minn-ie.Cha, cha, cha.I look like a monkey.Cha, cha, cha.Cause I am For-tee!Cha, cha, frickin' cha!Actually, my birthday was last week but you tend to get a little behind when you're as old as I am. On Saturday, Lady Di surprised me with a birthday party at a local restaurant. My folks and my sister's family came in for the weekend and I thought we were just taking them out to eat. At the restaurant I discovered twenty-five extra family members waiting to sing Happy Birthday to me. It was humbling and heartwarming to see so many well wishers. Or maybe they all gathered just to see how much wear and tear forty years had inflicted on me.Our group was so big, the cake Lady Di brought wasn't enough. So she sent our nephew, Kubes, out to get a backup. This is what he brought back.In case you can't read it, it says, "Looking Good Kubes Happy Birthday". Did he just get a cake telling himself how good he looks? Or maybe it was supposed to read "Looking Good From Kubes", and he just didn't want to pay for the extra frosting. Regardless of the message, the cake still tasted great after a huge Mongolian grill bowl of meat and vegetables.After eating, the kids helped me open my many nice gifts and luckily they were either golf or book related. No embarrassing gifts meant to augment or improve what time has diminished.Well, now that I've reached the big 4-0 I suppose I will have to get used to some different routines. I will have to get more fiber in my diet now so I will start drinking more Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat. Throw in a couple ibuprofen and chase it with a shot of Geritol and I will be ready for the morning. I can spend the afternoon at the Cane Emporium and then drive the Cadillac home on the freeway at 53mph. Then I can enjoy supper at 4:30 in the afternoon and finally get caught up on what Matlock is up to.Well, it's almost 9pm. Time to put on the night cap, put the teeth in the water glass and set the alarm for a bathroom run in two hours. Can anyone help me turn off this Internet, Google, dot e-mail doo-hickey?

Deep in the heart of Texas!

Well, we're back. And we survived. Summer was a champ on all flights. Awesome. But who wouldn't be sucking on a boob for 2 hours straight? She slept for most of it, and when she wasn't sleeping, she was checking out her new surroundings. The stroller cover proved successful, and even though I felt kind of lame using it, I was glad I did when we landed in Milwaukee and another family with the same stroller as us found theirs with a wheel snapped off. Suckers.Highlights:Warm weather. While rather humid, the warmth was very welcome. Poor Summer was a hot sweaty mess the whole time, and her hair was matted to her head most of the time, but at least she knows what it feels like to sweat now.Good food. If there's one thing my family knows how to do, it's eating.Hanging out with my cousins and their kids.Playing games.Seeing our friends Matt & Seena Swinyard, and their son Caleb, who I knew in Florida, and now live in San Antonio.Handing off Summer to Grandma and Grandpa while I slept.SONIC!! With no huge lines!Summer having fun on the plane.Great-Grandma BarriosGreat-Grandpa BarriosAfter a ride on the motorcycle.At Kreuz Barbecue. Deeeeelish.It was just a touch windy that day.With Matt & Seena & CalebIn small town Martindale.My Aunt Linda and her granddaughter Ayla.Mi AbuelitoMi AbuelitaMy cousin's 3 kids on the bottom, my cousin at the top.I told my cousin's son Rocky to pose and this is what he gave me. I have many more pictures of equally stunning yet different poses. He's 4. The model's proud mama, my cousin Jessica. Love her. I don't love how pale I look next to her.4 generations of Barrios women! As my mom said, we're watering down the gene pool.Overall...definitely different traveling with a rugrat, but definitely doable. Here's to lots more trips!

Why is KK deleting almost all my posts in certain threads?

Hey TW guys:
Can you please review the various posts of mine that Karl has deleted in the "Obama bows" thread? He's really going overboard lately, as you'll see from the content of my various posts that aren't breaking any forum rules at all. He's similarly censored me at times in the Obama Birth Certificate thread as well.
Maybe if you're intent on allowing KK to continue moderating, you could at least advise him not to delete posts made by those posters he doesn't like in any of political threads in which he's participating himself unless there are obvious, clear cut, and egregious rule violations?
A classic example of this capricious and spiteful deleting was when one poster complained that the network news was not covering Obama's mistake in protocol regarding his bow, saying in part:
"Also, when stories break like this threads topic, rarely do you see much about it on the major networks. In this case I don't think any of the 3 even covered it as a mistake or improper protocol. However they are much more likely to be critical of the slip ups of Republicans".
I responded thusly:
"I don't think it's even been established that there was a mistake or improper protocol, let alone why that should merit time on the network news. The one expert cited in this thread said there is no formal protocol in this area."
KK apparently found that statement in need of censorship and would not allow me to post it. An objective review of the entire thread up until that time -- post 313 -- would show my post in reponse to that didn't even come close to breaking any rules and was perfectly legitimate. I could not imagine DD, Spencer, or any TW guy deleting that post if they had been moderating the thread themselves.
This is just one example. There are many others like it. It is a pattern with him, and I respectfully ask you to put a stop to it. Obviously, many others here feel the same way. If I insult somebody, delete it if you want. Fair enough. If I say something risque, delete it. Fair enough. But when I or any other poster expresses a legitimate viewpoint that happens to be at odds with KK's worldview, it should be allowed to stand unless it clearly violates a forum rule.
I realize this is a private message board and you guys own it and this is not a democracy and you can do as you please and all that, but it wouldn't hurt to have a little more fairness and objectivity around here when it comes to such matters.

Top 10 Record Setting Programs On American TV

Television has become a staple part of life for the majority of people and in some countries television is now regarded as an essential human right (ridiculous in my opinion). Through the years, many shows have come and gone, but some have stuck around and become world record setters. This list looks at 10 of those programs. 10 Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito PBS Record: Longest running cooking show. Originally airing in October 1989, and continuing to the present, Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito has been running on public television stations coast to coast in the US and also worldwide for 20 years. Host Mary Ann is responsible for all the content on the program, and she has to avoid certain recipes that wouldn’t hold up well under the hot lights of a television studio. She has also published 10 cookbooks covering Italian cuisine and focusing on Sicilian and Neapolitan favorites. 9 Gunsmoke CBS Record: Longest running scripted drama. Gunsmoke was an American television staple for 20 years between September, 1955 and September, 1975. The show, set in Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870’s, was an extension of a highly popular radio program of the same name, but the TV show featured a different cast. Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) was faced every week by western despots who had no respect for the law or his friends, Chester, Festus, Doc, and Miss Kitty. 8 The Simpsons Fox Record: Longest running scripted comedy. Animator Matt Groening originally created The Simpsons as a series of short clips to be featured on The Tracey Ullman Show in the late 1980’s. The show became one of the first ratings hits for the fledgling Fox Network when it was expanded into a weekly half-hour primetime show in December, 1989. The Simpsons initially focused on juvenile rascal Bart, but eventually switched to the lovable Homer as the star of the show. In 2007, The Simpsons was released as a full-length feature film, and the television show is currently still going strong in its 20th season. 7 The Price is Right CBS Record: Longest running game show. Although The Price is Right originally aired in 1956 with host Bill Cullen, it was discontinued in 1965. When it returned in September, 1972 with new host Bob Barker (coming over from Truth or Consequences), the new version found unprecedented longevity. The Price is Right changed hosts with the retirement of Bob Barker in 2007, but it has continued to outlast a changing television landscape for 37 years, and has survived to the present, largely due to a resurgence of the show’s popularity on college campuses. 6 Sesame Street PBS Record: Longest running children’s program. The Children’s Television Workshop and muppet creator Jim Henson combined to create a powerful children’s show in 1969 that featured education and entertainment. The show originally aired in November, 1969 and has continued to the present for an amazing 40 years. Many of the “jokes” in the programming are intentionally aimed at adult viewers, and Sesame Street has the unique ability to attract both toddlers and their parents. 5 General Hospital ABC Record: Longest running program filmed in Hollywood. Although it is set in Port Charles, New York, daytime drama General Hospital is the longest West Coast production on American television. The show debuted in April, 1963 as a half-hour program, and expanded to a full hour in 1978 to remain a constant fixture on ABC for 46 years. The show’s highest point was achieved in the early 1980’s with the marriage of Luke and Laura (the highest viewership of any daytime drama for a single episode), and a wacky plot involving secret agents, world domination, and a mysterious object known as The Ice Princess. When popular Laura (Genie Francis) left the show briefly, she was replaced as Luke’s love interest by a young and savage Demi Moore. 4 Pro Bowlers Tour ABC, CBS, Fox, ESPN Record: Longest running sports program. This event originally aired in 1962, and was an extension of the Professional Bowlers Association. The Pro Bowlers Tour was highly responsible for the popularity of bowling in America during the 1960’s and 1970’s, and the championship game regularly drew many more viewers than did college football. When ABC ended its yearly run with the Pro Bowlers Tour in 1997, it was briefly picked up by CBS and then the Fox Sports Network through 2000. Finally, ESPN gave it a permanent home in 2001, where the Pro Bowlers Tour has been able to continue enjoying its uninterrupted run for 47 years. 3 Guiding Light CBS Record: Longest running daytime drama. Soap opera Guiding Light made the jump from NBC radio to CBS television in June, 1952 and is scheduled to air its final episode in September, 2009, giving it a run of 57 years. The show has survived and rolled with many marketing swings (color television, African American characters, expansion from half-hour to full-hour, etc.), but was finally axed on April 1, 2009 by CBS. Although the last official episode will air on September 19, host Proctor  Gamble is still in negotiation to move the program to another venue and perhaps keep the series alive at a new home. 2 CBS Evening News CBS Record: Longest running network newscast. Originally airing in August, 1948 with anchor Douglas Edwards, the CBS Evening News has been the flagship program for the CBS network for 61 years. The anchor desk is extremely stable, and has featured only six news anchors during its entire run. The venerable Walter Cronkite followed Douglas Edwards, and Cronkite was eventually succeeded by Dan Rather. Following a brief pairing of Dan Rather with Connie Chung in the mid-90’s, Rather continued as the sole anchor until a scandal forced him to resign in 2005. He was briefly replaced by Bob Schieffer, and the current anchor desk is held by Katie Couric. 1 Meet the Press NBC Record: Longest running show in worldwide broadcast history. Meet the Press is a Sunday morning talk show that began in November, 1947, and features a moderator and topical guests discussing everything from politics to the economy to foreign affairs. Eleven moderators have graced Meet the Press, including original moderator Martha Rountree, Roger Mudd, Chris Wallace, and its longest-serving moderator of 16 years Tim Russert. When the ever-popular Tim Russert died unexpectedly in 2008, he was briefly replaced by a retired Tom Brokaw, and finally by David Gregory, which all adds up to an amazing 62 years of continuous television broadcasting.

United’s New First Class, Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City

Wednesday, April 15
8:40 pm Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (SGN)
United Flight 869 First Class Seats:04F, 04E
Duration: 2h 30m Boeing 747-400 935 miles traveled
After checking out of the hotel we grabbed a cab down in front of the W. The hotel staff member assisting us on our way was a little bit concerned that we were heading off to the airport ‘only’ 2.5 hours before our flight, but I wasn’t in the slightest. There was a bit of traffic heading in the opposite direction but the roads were all clear for our drive.
We pulled up to the airport and headed inside, strangely there wasn’t anybody in either the business or first class checkin lines ahead of us. I say strangely because even though I knew the load for our flight was going to be exceptionally low, there’s a Singapore flight leaving around the same time.
Bags tagged to Vietnam, off through the government formalities, and onto the train to head out towards the far gates where United is housed. Instead of heading up to the Red Carpet Club, and admittedly it’s the nicest RCC in the system, we headed in to the Thai Airways lounge. We were immediately welcomed upon presentation of our boarding passes and escorted to a pair of seats on the first class side, while the attendant kept our boarding passes for a moment in order to photocopy them.
The business and first class sides of the lounge are separated by a pseudo wall, the first class side a little bit more nicely furnished, much smaller, and fewer people. The first class side has table service, and we were offered a menu and drinks as soon as we were seated.
Here’s the small-ish first class side of the lounge
The lounge shares a buffet area with business class, but also has menu service. Here’s the menu:
And the buffet area:
I made myself a plate from the buffet:
Okay, two plates.
The bathroom and showers are also shared between business and first.
We caught up on e-mail and then it was time to head downstairs to our departure gate. Even though we were flying UA, the lounge attendant came to let us know when our flight was beginning to board. Not 30 seconds later we could hear the airport announcement for it.
I had grabbed a bottle of water in the lounge, but it was confiscated from me at the plane-side check for liquids. Hmmph.
I didn’t care, it was a short flight, I did want the bottle of water because after all even though I was flying in first class it was going to be United first class – one never knows what kind of service to expect!
Still, it was my first time flying United’s new first class. Obscene, huh? I simply haven’t had the opportunity, and any time I thought I might I always winded up with an aircraft swap. At least the 767 fleet is finally completed (though I admit, for a frequent coach-to-business upgrader like me I’d take the old seats since they came paired with a whole bunch more seats and a better shot at upgrades).
My bottom-line impression is that the seats aren’t all that much better than the old first class suites, except that they are newer (the old seats were certainly threadbare, but they were comfortable and I always slept well in them) and of course come with a much larger video screen and video on demand instead of tapes. The new seats had a bit of an intangible ‘cheap’ feel to them (maybe just too much plastic?), and though they did have storage space it seemed like there was a bit less than with the old suites.
The seat is perfectly comfortable for lounging, andit’s nice to sit in UA F with the seats not worn so thin. With the armrests up in bed mode the seat is way too narrow, claustrophobic. But the armrests are your only (minimal as it is) privacy, so Id be reticent to put them down with a full cabin. The seats are really a generation old, the current world standard of F seating offering some measure of separation between you and other passengers in the cabin. This one is just really quite open, in some ways like the Thai Airways first class seat.
Not sure how common this is, but for my seat the compartment which stows the tray table is already showing wear, not quite closing properly. And I still don’t understand the shoulder restraint that pairs with the seatbelt. The seat controls are too far away, just a tad beyond easy reach, and there just aren’t enough controls. The video controller is even farther away.
Here’s the first class cabin
And the main event, the seat itself
Our route from Hong Kong down to Ho Chi Minh City.
We had been offered predeparture water or orange juice. Ok, ANA doesn’t do predeparture beverages and that’s the law. But in first class, when it’s legal to offer more, it would be nice if they would. This felt so ‘business class’.
Shortly after takeoff we were offered beverage of choice and a dinner selection. Now, granted this was a flight scheduled at 2.5 hours but there was no menu. Rather the flight attendant affered “A turkey cheese wrap or lamb.”
Umm, lamb? Like, how is it prepared? “Oh, it’s Indian.” Well, I know I don’t want the turkey cheese wrap as my first class dinner, so I’ll try the lamb. My wife did the same, and I believe so did the other 3 passengers (2 of whom were non-rev) in the cabin.
It was actually rather tasty, not terrible in the least, but note that the entire meal was served on a single tray. Not that fond of the dessert, though.
After dinner I got up to use the restroom. I went inside it turned out that the toilet was clogged. I told the flight attendant who replied, “Oh, I know.” Hmm. I guess the look I gave him spoke volumes, as he put an out of order sign on that lav shortly thereafter.
The other first class bathroom was visited by one of the non-revs who left a rather distinct sign of his presence that lingered long after his visit. That wasn’t the flight attendant’s fault of course. But it rendered both first class lavatories virtually unusable. And it was certainly a contrast with ANA, where the toilet paper ends were folded over by the flight attendants after each passenger used the facilities… just one of the little signs indications that the bathroom receives ‘attention’ as it frankly needs to on a long journey.
Ah, United.
Flight attendants collected the noise canceling headsets about 30 minutes prior to landing, so I wasn’t able to finish the episode of Entourage I had started. It was late, I wasn’t much up to doing anything on the computer or reading, and so I pretty much just zoned out to the flight map for the descent.
Upon deplaning we were the first ones out the jetway, and there wasn’t a single person manning the immigration booths. As soon as we were seen walking in that direction, though, the whole immigration team scurried into position. We walked up, my visa was given great scrutiny, and we were let into baggage claim. After getting our bags and walking out into the arrivals hall we immediately spotted the sign with my name on it being held by a representative of the Sheraton, who assisted us outside with our bags and called for the hotel Mercedes.

live-blogging election day

5:05 p.m. GMT, 12:05 p.m. ESTI'm way too excited to sit still, so I thought I'd channel some of my energy into live blogging the election. It's especially difficult here in England, because we are already coming up on night, and don't yet have too much news, so the fingernails are quite stubby by now, as you can imagine....As I've mentioned in this blog before, I have voted for Barack Obama. This is the 3rd time in my life that I'm eligible to vote for president, and the 1st time that I have voted for a major party (having voted Green in 2000 and 2004.) It might be interesting to know how it feels to back someone who wins!5:41 p.m. GMT, 12:41 p.m. ESTMy ballot was cast in California, and Daiku's in New York, two states the reliably tend to swing blue. However, we have family in two very hotly contested swing states- Missouri and Virginia. I'll be looking closely at those states- anyone else voting there? I have heard reports of long lines in VA, some places where it took people over 4 hours in line before they could vote. I only had to mail in an absentee ballot. I take off my hat to everyone who has endured any difficulties in physically voting today.Being in England for the most heated parts of the election has been a blessing and a curse. It's difficult to feel so detached from the process back home, but such a relief to be away from the 24-hour news cycle and some of the more vicious aspects of the election.6:44 p.m. GMT, 1:44 p.m. ESTmemories...2004: I lived in Irvine. I had no t.v. I remember going to the gym on election night to try to see a bit of news. And then, at home, I remember waiting up until all hours of the night, constantly hitting the "reload" button, hoping against all hope the the Ohio tallies would start bearing positive news. Alas, they never did. I wore black to teach the next day.2000: I lived in New York City. I came home straight away after work, excited to watch the results. My mom and I had just voted for Ralph Nader that morning, and I remember being very encouraged that he would get the 5% of votes needed to ensure federal funding for the Green party. Then the election took a turn for the weird... at around 3 a.m. I realized I wouldn't be finding out results that night. Gore lost. Nader didn't hit 5%. Who knew then that a terrifyingly traumatizing 8 years had just begun?one way or another, I guess I'm destined to stay up late on election nights!8:24 p.m. GMT, 3:24 p.m. ESTEven though the presidential race seems to eclipse all the other ones, there are of course many other important races and issues that people are voting about today. One of those, an issue close to my heart, is a ballot initiative in CA that would ban cruel confinement of farm animals. (Proposition 2) This would be such a landmark law, since changes to the agricultural industry in CA, due to its sheer size, could not help but have a ripple effect. Another, which I voted against, is Prop. 8, an initiative that would seek to limit marriage only to those between men and women. What's even sadder is that 3 other states have anti-gay measures on the ballot too. (including Arkansas, which is seeking to make it illegal for gay couples to adopt children). In a world where so many children desperately await adoption, I find that last measure especially crass and mean-spirited. Here's something interesting to ponder. CA legalized interracial marriages before the U.S. supreme court. Talk about "activist judges"! Back then, 96% (NINETY-SIX!!!) of Americans were against people marrying from different races. Today, only about 50% of Americans oppose same-sex marriage. Makes you think, huh?11 p.m. GMT, 6 p.m. ESTthe earliest polls are closing now! let's get this show on the road! now it feels like something really is happening.11:22 p.m. GMT, 6:22 p.m. ESTwe just heard from a relative in Georgia. apparently, someone left a dead cat by her Obama sign. this happened to some of their neighbors too. it's gut-wrenching, and so wrong on so many levels.12:05 a.m. GMT, 7:05 p.m. ESTFinally, the BBC has started broadcasting election news! The first results were not too surprising, VT for Obama, KY for McCain. Interestingly, MO seems to be a stalwart swing state- no one is calling it one way or another yet! My mother-in-law, in Missouri, said that they've gotten 3 phone calls and a flier, all reminding them to vote, all from the Obama campaign. The organization of his campaign is so reassuring. She also said that a worker at a local polling place was illegally demanding 2 instead of 1 form of ID, but that he was quickly booted from his job. Yay, progress!12:21 a.m. GMT, 7:21 p.m. ESTChris Hitchens was just on the BBC, calling the McCain campaign "cheap, nasty, sordid."12:25 a.m. GMT, 7:25 p.m. ESTThe BBC is showing people gathering in Chicago, anticipating a celebration. the sense of excitement is so palpable!It just occurred to me how privileged Daiku and I are that all of our friends and family are politically in sync. Frankly, I don't know how I'd deal with someone close to me who saw it fit to vote for McCain right now.12:31 a.m. GMT, 7:31 p.m. ESTNorth Carolina, Ohio, and W. Virginia just closed. The fact that W.Virginia is not even projecting immediate results is itself telling. Tellingly awesome.12:40 a.m. GMT, 7:40 p.m. ESTIt is so weird to be watching an election without a t.v. and without American news! Apparently, U.S. networks are calling W. Virgina for McCain, but the BBC, in its imminent conservatism, is holding out. Calm and measured. At least we get to hear Rick Gervais talking about Obama here- a definite plus!Ohio is especially close to my heart. We have friends from there who were election monitors in 2004, and the stories of voter fraud and disenfranchisement that they tell are bone-chilling. Let's right that wrong, OH!12:57 a.m. GMT, 7:57 p.m. ESThow weird that the NY Times (top) is saying Obama is leading in SC while the BBC (bottom) is calling SC for McCain?...huh...?1:04 a.m. GMT, 8:04 p.m. ESTPA for Obama!!!!1:23 a.m. GMT, 8:23 p.m. ESTwell, here's something you don't see every day! (I know, I know, it's ephemeral, but let's revel in the novelty, shall we?)NYTimes Map, projecting an Obama lead (!!) in TX1:36 a.m. GMT, 8:36 p.m. ESTbazu rides the Tube, London, November 20081:52 a.m. GMT, 8:52 p.m. ESTwas it just me, or did the BBC anchor just refer to New Hampshire as North Hampshire? Ha- it's late at night, we'll give him a pass.2:36 a.m. GMT, 9:36 p.m. ESTI don't know how much longer I can stay awake! I'm still biting my nails over VA and MO- so far it doesn't look like Obama will win either. That will be a bummer for many of my family and friends! Ohio for Obama, though! Yessss. Louisiana just went to McCain. Sad and telling. How sad that the Republicans helped wipe New Orleans to the ground, and now the state goes to the GOP, once again.According to a commentator on the BBC just now "fundamentally, America remains a center-right nation." That is truly sad. Somehow, as good as this looks for Obama, this is not shaping up to be the landslide that many of us had dared hope for. It seems that things are too entrenched for real surprises over any given election cycle. This is sad too. Very bittersweet evening.2:47 a.m. GMT, 9:47 p.m. ESTI just had a mini-meltdown, brought on by sleep loss. I incorrectly though I saw that CA had passed its ban on gay marriage and I freaked out: "Oh noooo! I can't believe CA banned gay marriage! I can't believe it! Ellen and Portia are null and void! Ellen and Portia had a vegan wedding!!! Noooo!" Fortunately, I was wrong, but hopefully that gave you a glance into my addled brain right now! There is still hope. Come on, CA.2:52 a.m. GMT, 9:52 p.m. ESTas I live and breathe: I just saw the BBC anchor shut down John Bolton, because he was "chattering away as [they were] trying to talk to people in Florida. Suck it, John Bolton! Seriously, though, Bolton is a huge symbol of the Bush years, someone who took the W administration's bellicosity to the United Nations, to our country's great shame. I'd like to see him, like GW, like the trauma of the last 8 years, disappear. Being smacked down by the BBC is a good start!2:57 a.m. GMT, 9:57 p.m. ESTObama just pulled ahead of McCain in VA!!! Go, VIRGINIA!! And he's also ahead in FL! GOBAMA!3:12 a.m. GMT, 10:12 p.m. ESTJust saw Erica Jong and Eddie Izzard praising Obama on the BBC... the evening is getting surrealer and surrealer! Erica Jong used a very interesting term to refer to Obama "coolth" - talking about the aura of calm that he projects, that we are probably unconsciously all responding to. I understand that no politician, especially a mainstream politician, will be ideal, and we will have opportunities to become disillusioned with Obama in due time, but for now, I'm with much of the world in believing in him, and believing in the opportunity that he covers the U.S. and the world.3:20 a.m. GMT, 10:20 p.m. ESTJohn Bolton continues to make an ass of himself, lashing out at the BBC, yelling like a cornered animal. He needs to get off the world stage. Now.historian Simon Schama (left), trying not to punch John Bolton (right) on the BBC3:31 a.m. GMT, 10:31 p.m. ESTWhat does a vegan eat while nervously watching election results? A delicious potato-spinach dip, inspired by a Yellow Rose tester recipe. I just recently finally found nutritional yeast here in the U.K., and I'm taking full advantage of it. There is some champagne* chilling in the fridge. Life is good.*cheap sparkling wine from TescoOther exciting election results I'm watching: Elizabeth Dole is gone! Her dirty campaign apparently did nothing for her. It looks like Al Franken is in the lead for the senate seat in Minnesota! That is amazing. Losses for negative campaigns all around.3:36 a.m. GMT, 10:36 p.m. ESTIs this a mistake...? This is the map of Utah on CNN right now... pure science fiction!in what universe does Obama beat McCain in Utah 50%-48%??3:41 a.m. GMT, 10:41 p.m. ESTThis is looking really good in Virginia! Come on, VA, we're rooting for you! 2% lead for Obama, around 50,000 votes. click on image for a bigger, clearer, picture3:59 a.m. GMT, 10:59 p.m. ESTLooking down to the closing of the polls on the West Coast, and cinching this thing for Obama. I am, however, saddened that it looks as if anti-gay and anti-abortion measures seem to be passing in several states.Dennis Kucinich on the BBC, talking about a new economic reality to come with Obama's presidency4:01 a.m. GMT, 11:01 p.m. EST

let's get this part out of the way

i'll update you on the sad/scary stuff so we can get it out in the open and move forward, how's that? once i've cleared the air i'll feel more normal about posting silly frivolous things.so, i mentioned in my last post that i had some family health drama over the past month or so, which coincidentally centered around the time we were about to leave town for ten days, which made things even more frustrating and created a lot of uncertainty and weirdness over vacation. my grandmother, whose health had been failing, really started to go downhill about ten days before we were supposed to leave. she was fighting breast cancer that had spread to her bones, and in the past year or so, it was getting the best of her. this was horrible, because she had actually been fighting breast cancer since 1980(!), when she had her first mastectomy. she had another bout in 1995, which resulted in a second mastectomy, and then a few years ago it spread to her bones. she did pretty well at first, but then after awhile it took its toll, and it was terribly difficult for her (as well as for the rest of us). she was such a fighter, and such an optimist--she never EVER complained and she was always certain that things would work out okay. she was usually right, too. the week or two before we were supposed to leave town, her health declined dramatically, and there was a lot of stress over whether to use hospice or a nursing home, and in the end we tried both. my family absolutely insisted that we go on our vacation anyway (saying that even my grandma would insist if she could), so we did, but we were pretty sure that my gram wouldn't survive to see us return. i was able to spend a lot of time with her and say my goodbyes and i love yous, but it was still awful having to leave, knowing that i wouldn't be there with everyone. she passed away the day after we left town, just a few hours before our ship pushed away from the dock. as i said, i was prepared for it to happen, but it still sucked pretty bad. my grandpa is absolutely heartbroken--they had been married for 60 years and were still madly in love. in the end, it was a blessing, but still, so very sad.and if that weren't enough...the evening before we left town, my little sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. she called to tell me, and i was a useless pile of crap, because all i could do was sob quietly and listen to her talk. she had found a lump a couple weeks earlier (i knew this already), and had gone through the whole thing with her doctor, and eventually had a mammogram and an ultrasound and a biopsy, and then they called her immediately the next day with the news. she is 31 years old, with two little girls (four and a half, and fourteen months), and a wonderful husband. the word suck doesn't even begin to describe this. anyhow, she also insisted that we keep our vacation plans, because she was going to have two different tests while we were gone and she "wouldn't even know anything" until we got back anyway. so, we went, knowing that she had cancer when the rest of my family (still dealing with my gram's impending death) had no idea. i pretty much had a stomach ache the whole time, when i wasn't secretly crying somewhere.once we got home we learned more about her diagnosis... she has a pretty aggressive form of breast cancer (she's triple negative, if that means anything to you), but as far as they can tell (after an MRI, CT scan, and bone scan) it hasn't spread anywhere beyond the known mass yet. she started chemo two weeks ago, and will undergo a total of 12 weeks of treatment (four cycles of a three-week treatment) before having surgery this summer. after she recovers from surgery, she will have another 12 weeks of chemo (a different drug than she is getting now) and we will go from there. she is being really awesome and strong, which i believe is really important, and i'm super proud of her. but i'm still totally scared and freaked out when i let myself think about it too much, which i suppose is normal.she is being tested for the BRCA gene, and depending on her results, my mom and i will get tested too. it's quite likely that she does NOT have it, but she wants to check just in case; it could affect her treatment decisions, and it would potentially have an impact on me, my mom, and my nieces. i went for my mammogram last week (i'd never had one before; i was "too young"), and it came back normal. my mom also went for one, and they have an "area of interest" that they want to do ultrasound on (tomorrow). sigh.i'm trying really hard to report "just the facts" and not get all overly emo on you guys, since that's not usually what i'm about... but at least this somewhat explains where the eff i've been lately. i've probably rambled too much, so i'll stop. the next post will be more upbeat, i promise.

No Logo Needed Mock Draft: 31st Pick

Two picks left, both of whom are on the Vikings' schedule this year. First up, the team that, outside of Detroit, is the least likely to make the playoffs this year (due to the Super Bowl Loser Curse). Picking on behalf of the Cardinals, the writers of Raising 'Zona.With the 31st pick in the Mock Draft Among Blogs, the Arizona Cardinals select:Chris Wells, RB, OSUWhy the Cardinals chose Wells as per DraftCountdown.com:The Cardinals might be the only team in the league that counts running back as one of their top Draft Day priorities, but that could work out well for them as there should be some excellent options on the board here. There is certainly a chance that Knowshon Moreno will be long gone by this point but running backs do tend to slide a bit and unless a team goes against the grain and takes one even though it’s not a glaring need, a la Pittsburgh with Rashard Mendenhall last year, he could still be available late in round one.There are some who feel Moreno is one of the ten best players in this entire draft and in some ways he is similar to Cadillac Williams in that he doesn’t have elite size or speed but makes up for it with outstanding instincts and vision. If Wells and Moreno are both gone Arizona could turn their attention to Donald Brown or LeSean McCoy. The Cardinals could also use an upgrade at center and after the way James Harrison abused Mike Gandy in the Super Bowl they have to at least consider bringing in a new left tackle as well. Keep an eye on outside linebacker here too because even though the Cards have some solid options like Travis LaBoy and Chike Okeafor they really don’t have that impact pass rusher at the position.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I'm sorry that I have been so absent lately from this blog, but I've had good reason. Two good reasons actually. Firstly, N1S performed in his play Hansel and Gretel and did a great job. Pictures and details will follow in the near future. Then, right after his play weekend, Lady Di and I went on vacation.This is the first time Lady Di and I have enjoyed a vacation away from the kids. Last Monday, we left Grandma and Grampa in charge and headed south to the Cayman Islands. We had a wonderful time and got to do a lot of things that we haven't in the past due to the kids' schedules. We also learned that we missed the kids terribly and will bring them with us when we go back. The whole time we were there, we would notice multiple things that would have interested the kids. When we got home we immediately had to wake up the kids to give them some long overdue hugs. It would be too difficult to be away from the kids for so long again.So, we are still unpacking and downloading pictures so hopefully I will be able to post a few items soon. Your patience is appreciated.

I Have Small Balls

Yes! Yes, I do! Look, you can see them right here!This is what happens when you decide to make a Sock Yarn Blanket out of only Koigu. You realize you don't have nearly as much Koigu as you thought you did and you need to purchase MORE. Enter Yarn Expressions, my new favorite online yarn store, that sells Koigu mill ends! Praise God for mill ends. For the price of two full skeins of Koigu you can get five mini skeins and have more colors to play with. I'm quite sure I've now died and gone to heaven. We're missing a picture of skein number five because a rogue skein of Kersti snuck into my bag and as beautiful as it might be, Kersti is heavier than the ol' Koigu KPPPM.So I Rav-mailed the owner of Yarn Expressions and within an hour more mills ends were in the mail to me and I was told to just keep the Kersti. Customer service with a capital C if you ask me. Yarn Expressions sells full skeins of lots of other yarns as well so if you're in the market for more yarn, and who isn't, I quite heartily recommend them. Yay, The Koigu Blankie Of Love continues!

Times Square Dress Rehearsal

Last night I went to see the Broadway play Impressionism starring Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen.Many critics had mixed reviews but I loved it. My friend Mike G. joined me for what turned out to be a perfect evening. Mike G. and I have known each other since I returned to New York many moons ago. We met at work and became fast friends.He lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn and he spends a lot of time telling me that it is only a 30 minute trip from my place to his place. I enjoy laughing robustly at this tall tale. People in Brooklyn love to tell you that it only takes 15/20/25/30 (FILL IN) minutes to get to the East Village.And it is always a fantasy.Other than that, Mike G. is pretty much a perfectly fabulous and loving friend. He teaches seventh grade at a tough Brooklyn middle school and enriches a lot of lives every day with his creativity and humor. He is cute, smart and dives into all New York City has to offer. Of course, I will not rest until he finds a wonderful guy and I dance at his wedding.Both of us have crazy schedules but we try to carve out time every couple of months to get together. We decided a while ago that we are committed to signing up at the same assisted living facility and enjoy rehearsing the things that we'll be doing when we are 85 and the mini bus drops us off in the City to have a few hours of fun.Before the play, we decided to go to the MOST RIDICULOUS BAR/LOUNGE WE COULD THINK OF AND AGREED ON A CAMPY SPOT PLANTED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF TIMES SQUARE.Yes, it was a risk. But when you are rehearsing your life as an assisted living day tripper, you laugh in the face of risk.The campy crazy bar/lounge was GREAT. We laughed and had a ball, lingering far too long over our drinks. Mike G. made me swear I would keep the location a secret or it would get overrun with even MORE tourists and freaky locals (like us). Luckily, we slipped into the theater a few precious minutes before the curtain went up. Afterwards, the clock struck 10 and being the nice Catholic boy that he is, Mike G. escorted me to the subway since EVI was pooped after a long work day. Not so for my beloved Mike G. - the night was still young with lots of the Big Apple left to bite.

Three Useless "Facts"

"Facts"Bite-sized nutrition trivia is not limited to Registered Dietitian Jeopardy!Magazines of all sorts (ranging from Us Weekly to Details to Forbes) occasionally pepper sidebars or "Did You Know...?" features with short bursts of "diet-friendly" tips.Television shows, e-mail chain letters, news broadcasts, and even advertising campaigns often rely on nutrition "facts" to captivate their audiences.Alas, here are three often-mentioned facts I consider useless, irrelevant, and better off erased from the collective consciousness."If you put a nail in a glass of Coke for four days, it dissolves because of all the acids!"The "logic" here is that if Coke can corrode metal, just imagine what it does to our stomachs!Although all soda is nutrition-void sugar water (and the phosphoric acid in it can contribute to osteoporosis in individuals with insufficient calcium intake), it is not corroding our gastrointestinal system -- particularly when you keep in mind that stomach acids are more acidic than anything in Coke.If you put a nail in a glass of our stomach acids, that sucker would probably disintegrate in just TWO days.Initially shocking fact? Check.Completely irrelevant? Check.Absolutely useless? Double check"I lost weight by cooking with olive oil instead of butter and choosing healthy fats, like avocado."It seems like every other "celebrity who lost weight shares diet secrets!" (it seems to me that celebrity magazine editors think the only two secrets are to eat lots of fish and hire a personal trainer) article I read contains this quote.Yes, olive oil and avocados are heart-healthy fats that, if consumed regularly, can benefit cardiovascular health. However, all fats -- regardless of how heart-healthy -- contain nine calories per gram.I suppose I can somehow "vouch" for the avocado reasoning since they offer a good deal of fiber (thereby contributing to quicker satiety).However, a tablespoon of butter contains approximately twenty fewer calories than a tablespoon of olive oil.From a weight loss standpoint, replacing two tablespoons of butter with two tablespoons of olive oil in a dish serves no purpose."Twinkies are so processed they have a shelf life of 20 years!"You need the exclamation mark at the end of that one for complete pearl-clutching effect.Twinkies are by no means a health food, but they will not outlast a nuclear explosion (that honor only belongs to cockroaches and Cher).While Twinkies have a longer shelf life than many other mass-produced baked goods (mainly thanks to their dairy-free ingredient list), expect them to start spoiling after a month.PS: although foods with long shelf lives are usually highly processed and offer plenty of sodium, sugar, trans fats, and/or artificial preservatives, they do not take that same amount of time to be digested.

Big boxing palm

a {Decorating} bug...

For the last few weeks I have been working on my parents house re-decorating a few rooms. It seems like this time of year...every year...either my mom, or I, get the bug and re-do a few rooms. We decided since there are getting to be more and more babies (no, that doesn't mean anyone else in the family is pregnant, just me!) anyway, that there should be someplace for the kids to take naps, as well as, a place for my Grandma Kunz to stay. I had my mom clean out her old sewing room (she never used it anyways!) and I got to work on a the NEW and IMPROVED NURSERY...I wish we had before pictures, but once the woman got started cleaning out the room there was no stopping her!The lighting is terrible...Im sorry!First she cleared EVERYTHING OUT. I didn't re-paint the room because we painted it only a few years ago. The lighting is bad...{sorry}... but the back wall is a dark brown, and the rest is a light cream. Very monocromatic. I used a teal-blue and golden yellow as accent colors, (strange? I know, but it worked!) The biggest key to re-doing a room is starting with a clean slate, if you only take a few things out and try to re-arrange it will never feel different, you'll just end up with the same thing, only with a few things moved around. We then went to Target and we got this Crib for $150 and the bumper. I had my mom make the curtains and bought the fabric at Home Fabric's in IF. We also bought the bedding at KMART for less than $100...cheap! And it worked perfect with our colors. The frames we bought at Porters, I just bought some Scrapbooking alphabets and made each grand-child their own frame. I am in the process of printing off each babies newborn picture black and white to put in these frames, these turned out so cute. The twin bed was an old one they had in storage. And my mom made most of the pillows with left over material from the curtains and we even threw in a few that weren't to matchy-matchy to liven it up...not everything needs to match perfect!I did all the frames different and all I used was pre-cut alphabets and chip board cutouts that matched my color scheme. I then just went around her house and picked up a few odds and ends to tie it all up. So Simple...I think the overall effect turned out so chic...it reminds me of a Pottery Barn Room...love! The only thing I want to do now is hang a old quilt on a rod above the crib, my mom is in the process of making one with her old scraps.{OK...and now I guess the Cat's out of the Bag- so to speak! We have decided to name our baby Carmen. That is why the 4th frame says Carmen! Hopefully it fits when we actually see her for the first time, because we are pretty set on that name. Randall picked it out and it stuck, I must say it has grown on me. The more I say it the more I love it. I think its pretty classic and unique too. So if you dont like it, or know someone named Carmen that you dont like, just keep that tid-bit to yourself!! We are happy at the moment with this name!!}Anyway, so what did I do with my mom's sewing room? Well, last fall my parents built a new office for their business and were able to move their office out there, leaving this room unused. So once again my mom got everything moved out and re-organzied, then I had her and Melinda paint the room a fresh new coat of tan, and the trim and ceiling a darker brown. We also had new formica put in, put new hardware on the cabinets, and moved out some filing cabinets. Then I found these fun wire baskets at Porters and I hung them on the walls, this way she is inspired by her fabrics, seeing things on display like this always motivates me to do projects! This is just one side of the room, Scott was doing homework so I didn't take a picture of the other side, but you get the idea. For such a simple change it was a lot of work. I think for the moment I am done with the big projects I have wanted to do before this baby comes...well, nevermind, I still havent finished re-doing the cradle I bought off craigslist! Im so excited! Ill post some pics as soon as its done! Its so cute.So there you go, I told a few of you I would post some pics of what I have been doing... here you go!

Match Report: West Ham United 0 - 3 Liverpool

Steven Gerrard scored twice against West Ham to send Liverpool top of the Premier League and keep alive their slim title hopes.With Manchester United playing on Sunday, Rafael Benitez's men overtook them on goal difference - but time has almost run out and they only have two matches left.United have four games and may not need them all to secure the title, although the efforts of Gerrard has at least stretched them well into May.The 28-year-old's goals at Upton Park took his tally to 23 for the season, with Ryan Babel adding a late third to seal the win.Liverpool's hopes this season have been built on the firepower of Fernando Torres and Gerrard - and the pair combined after 76 seconds for the opener.Torres, back fit after a hamstring problem ruled him out of the win over Newcastle, received the ball in midfield but was given the time to turn and pick his pass, threading ball through to Gerrard beyond the Hammers defence.The hosts were claiming offside but James Tomkins had played Gerrard on, with the England midfielder taking the ball around Robert Green and finishing into an empty net.The early opener stunned the hosts, who kicked off knowing Fulham had won and Tottenham picked up a point earlier in the day in the race for the Europa League next season.Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola believes four more points will see them secure seventh place - which will get them into Europe if UEFA grant them a club licence - and they had their moments after the setback of Gerrard's opener.As they attempted to find a way back into the game, Diego Tristan flicked a header at goal from Mark Noble's free-kick that required Jose Reina to save.They got a little closer just before the half-hour mark when Noble earned a free-kick on the left and swung the set-piece into the danger area. Radoslav Kovac got in front of Reina to meet the ball but his header flew over the crossbar.Their progress was undone when Luis Boa Morte suffered a nightmare 30 seconds which resulted in conceding a penalty just before the break.He was furious that no free-kick was given when Javier Mascherano brought him down, then chased back to own penalty area and hauled down Torres when Yossi Benayoun scooped the ball through.Green saved Gerrard's spot-kick but the rebound fell to the Liverpool captain to tap home.David di Michele should have pulled a goal back when he seized on a mistake by Jamie Carragher. He raced through and got his feet tangled up as he tried to take the ball around Reina.It was a shocking miss and referee Alan Wiley rubbed salt in the wound by booking the Italian for diving.Boa Morte was trying to atone for own his first-half error after the restart but one powerful run was ended by Fabio Aurelio, earning the full-back a caution.Liverpool threatened to score a third, with Benayoun volleying over from Dirk Kuyt's cross and Torres looping a header just over the crossbar.The Hammers defence looked under pressure but Matthew Upson was exposed in a different way when he received a bloody nose - the centre-back had to strip down to his underwear on the sidelines to change his kit.Upson was among the players racing back when Liverpool broke on the hour mark, with the hosts saved by Green rushing out to block Kuyt's effort.Benayoun then exchanged passes with Torres before shaving Green's post with a drive.There were ironic cheers when Di Michele was taken off for Freddie Sears, as there were when Tristan put the ball in the net after clearly being offside.The visitors were able to keep out any genuine efforts and added a third through Babel with five minutes remaining.Kuyt crossed for his fellow Dutchman, Green saved the initial header but the rebound was tapped home.

Has This Third World Scientist Really Invented A Water-powered Car, Or Is He Just Nuts?

Daniel Dingel has been a curiosity for the past four decades or so, mainly because of his water-powered car thats so shrouded in mystery and conspiracy theories that its not difficult to resist the temptation to dismiss it as a hoax. But is it not? FHM Philippines chats with the man to basically ask the question: Whats up with that? What will free us from fossil fuel is gathering dust in the garage of Daniel Dingel: a water-powered 1996 red mica (with some odd panels) Toyota Corolla GLi. This is the same car that has made the rounds of news coverage where the man demonstrates how, with a liter of water and only water, he can drive for up to an hour& Click below to enlarge and read:

The Pope Bends Over For Islam - But Not Far Enough

Pope Benedict made his first landfall on his Middle East Trip in Amman, Jordan, expressing his 'deep respect for Islam..and the values it proclaims."Unfortunately, he didn't quite abase himself far enough in the eyes of Muslims:Jordanian clerics expressed disappointment that Pope Benedict XVI in an address to Muslim leaders on Saturday failed to offer a new apology for remarks seen as targeting Islam."We wanted him to clearly apologise," Sheikh Yusef Abu Hussein, mufti of the southern city of Karak, told AFP after the pope's address in Amman's huge Al-Hussein Mosque."What the pope said (in 2006) about the Prophet Mohammed is untrue. Islam did not spread through the power of sword. It's a religion of tolerance and faith," Hussein said. Mufti Hussein's words are highly illuminating when it comes to the unfortunate state of mind of many Muslims. They are particularly ironic in the wake of the peace and tolerance exhibited by many Muslims the world over in recent years. The events that happened after Pope Benedict made his original speech in Regensburg are an example - the violent riots, the firebombing of churches, threats to church property like the the Church of the Holy Sepulcher still in lands under Muslim control, death threats and the actual murder of several priests and nuns.As for Islam not being spread by the sword, the Mufti and Muslims who think like him have willfully blinded themselves to the sack of Byzantium, the jihad against India and the Islamic invasion of Southern Europe, among many other events of Islam's bloody history. And that's not to mention the body count of the modern Islamist war against the west, which is still ongoing.This Pope, as I've noted before, has already participated in a number of events designed to show his submission to Islam and Islamism. He's morphed into the classic dhimmi, indulging in appeasement out of fear.It's interesting to contrast Pope Benedict's attitude towards Islam with his atitude towards Jews and Israel.He started out by courageously linking the fate of the Church and the Jews, but has moved to the other end of the spectrum with astonishing speed.During his time as Pope, there has been the movement to beatify Pope Pius XII , the head of the Church during the Holocaust and later make him a saint. There have been the Church's issues with Israel, such as the ridiculous statements from Papal officials likening Gaza to a concentration camp and the constant shilling for the Palestinians in an effort to preserve Church property even as Arab Christians are being deliberately driven out of the Holy Land by Muslims. There was the abrupt closure of the Vatican's Holocaust archives and the refusal to cooperate with both Catholic and Jewish scholars researching the Church's actions during the Holocaust, the re-instituting of the old Pre-Vatican II Latin mass calling for the conversion of the Jews.Finally there was the clumsy attempt at rehabilitation and restoral to the Church's bosom of a bunch of unrepentant Jew haters and Holocaust deniers, and Benedict's absolute refusal to discipline or censure openly anti-Semitic Church figures like Poland's Cardinal Joseph Glemp or Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Meridiaga, the Archbishop of Honduras who, among other things blames "the Jews"for the Church's scandals involving priests and sexual abuse of young parishoners and calls for Jerusalem to be taken away from Israel as its capitol.When Iran's Ahmadinejad made his foul speech at the UN earlier this week, virtually the only European delegation not to walk out was the one from the Vatican.And the Pope himself recently made a fairly plain statement by accepting and wearing a Palestinian kefiyah, a symbol of Palestinian 'resistance' in Rome, the equivalent of donning a swastika armband whether he fully realized it or not.Given Pope Benedict's superb intellect, there's no doubt in my mind that he fully understands what he's doing and what direction he's taken the Church.Like Pius XII in the 1930's, Pope Benedict appears to have made a conscious decision to avoid a battle with the Church's enemies and to focus on political expediency.He has chosen appeasement, and it will cost the Church dearly in the future, because Islam is not a religion of tolerance and there's no amount of supplication Pope Benedict can do that will satisfy it. And as for the Jews, no amount of concilliatory, facile remarks on his part are going to change the fact that he has chosen to ignore the anti-Semitic bigotry in the Muslim world and in his own Church as part of that supplication.

Gift Idea: Newly Pregnant Mom at：2009-05-12 22:44:59 Click: 0 I'm so excited! I just found out my youngest brother and his wife are expecting their

I'm so excited! I just found out my youngest brother and his wife are expecting their first baby. I immediately set to work trying to find an expectant mom mother's day gift for my sister-in-law. I finally decided upon the Braelyn Bounty Bug Pregnancy Planner. It is a 7.5" x 9" binder-style planner that can be carried around in Jenn's purse. It has tabs that divide the contents into nicely organized sections. Included in those sections are :-A 12-month undated calendar -Pages to hold critical information such as OBGYN/Midwife contact information, hospital information, insurance information, pharmacy information, test results, questions for the physician and a chart to assist in keeping track of monthly progress-Interview questions for potential pediatricians -A nursery checklist to assist with registering for baby showers and keeping track of what items have been fulfilled and what hasn’t -A gift log -A checklist of things to do before baby arrives -An area for the birth plan -A hospital packing list for Mom, Dad and Baby -A family and friends call list -A post delivery checklist -Space for postpartum visit questions -A handy pocket for paperwork It comes in three colors. I couldn't really decide what color would be best but Jenn is a very fun girl who loves to decorate for every holidays and wear fun, funky socks to celebrate those holidays so I decided to go with the fun, funky zebra print: The Braelyn Bounty Bug Prego Planner in the Zebra Print can be found online at Babies R Us for $24.98.

Samsung range cooker - new electric ranges

[KBIS 2009 Review] Samsung range cooker, FTQ387 is the new electric range with a large 5.9 ft³ of oven space, that allows you to cook large meals with greater ease. It comes with a beautiful, easy to clean, fast heating 5-burner ceramic cooktop, including a triple burner, a dual burner and a warming center. For incredible performance and cooking convenience, the electric range also includes a fast boil element, which can boil a pot of water 6 minutes faster than traditional 6"/9" burners. The large oven offers some of the high end features normally found in more expensive ranges. This stainless steel Samsung range cooker comes with 8-pass hidden bake element, a 6-pass broil element and 3-fan true convection cooking system, called Surround Airvection, which combines a true convection oven with a multi-fan system to circulate heat evenly throughout the oven. The On/Off fan control maintains the ideal temperature. The oven is also easily cleaned with the help of energy efficient Samsung SteamQuick function. Just pour 10 ounces of tap water into the range oven, close the door and press the button. 20 minutes later, simply wipe the oven clean. The 600 watt warming drawer with stainless handle has 3 temperature settings to keep meals ready. Other features of these 30" wide electric ranges include Sabbath Mode, glass touch controls, 2-color LED display, multi position chrome oven racks and pyrolytic cleaning. Price for this Samsung electric range cooker is $1,300. For those of you who can live without European 3-fan convection cooking, glass touch controls and a 2-color LED display, check the FTQ353 electric ranges, available in stainless steel for $1,000 and white and black for $900. Samsung

Get Ready for Sustainability Now 2009

This is a quick public service announcement from Phil Clark, a journalist at UBM Built Environment in the UK. He blogs
at Zerochampion and previously wrote a guest article on this site. Want to hear from experts and professionals on their experiences of sustainable design and construction? All from the comfort of your home or office? Well a new virtual event I’m running next week, called Sustainability Now, may well be up your street. It’s free to attend and offers a flexible way for finding green content, from reports, articles, and data to video and audio shows. You can also connect directly with your peers in green architecture, engineering, and building at a lounge area, which offers instant messenger communication for users.
Although some of the focus of the event will by UK sustainable legislation, there should be enough during the two days – next Wednesday and Thursday (May 13 - 14) – to help you shape your attempts to green the built environment stateside. We will be looking at the Passiv Haus green method and how this could be used as a basis for low-carbon design for houses and other building types. A live web seminar will also look at how best to tackle upgrading existing housing to ensure already-built houses don’t continue to leak heat or consume considerable electricity and water.
I’ve been long interested in how different regions and countries can share and collaborate in the green building movement to accelerate innovation and change. My last post on this site was on the prospect of a global green building standard. This seems a closer prospect after the announcement in March of an accord signed by the organizations behind the USGBC LEED standard and the UK BREEAM method to work on a common method of measuring carbon emissions from new buildings.
With this is mind I’m planning to run an American hour at Sustainability Now on the second day of the show. This will be towards the end of proceedings to allow for the time difference (unless some of you are keen night owls and want to log in during the early hours). I’ll be inviting some experts in the U.S. to discuss challenges they face in cutting carbon from new and existing buildings – from the technical as well as policy perspective. You’re all welcome to take part in what I hope should prove enlightening and entertaining event.

It's the little details that REALLY make a home.

Okay, I won't force you to view any more grandbaby pictures today. I promised you that yesterday and I meant it. I had my camera with me this past weekend when we stopped by the Sewing Queen's home. I was looking around and I realized that the thing that makes her home so charming are the details.(I shared a couple shots about a year and a half ago, but these give a better idea of her style.) I thought you might enjoy a little tour of her niceties. It's a mobile home, and it is absolutely the most adorable cottage ever. I tell you this because so many of you email me saying you don't think you can do these things with the place you live, whether it be large or small, an apartment, a mobile home, a modern styled loft, or a "fixer upper". I want you to understand that it's not about the size or style of your place, it's what you do with your space. Make it cozy. Make it charming. Make it yours. You see, it's really all in the details. This little piggy has made it through three moves. He used to be a sort of monochromatic cream color if I am remembering correctly, but with this last move, the Sewing Queen and I decided he needed a make over to go with her newly redone kitchen, so we painted him up and sealed him with a nice coat of verathane. He's perfect on the kitchen counter now. The kitchen cupboards were in good shape, but the cupboard doors were outdated, so the Sewing Queen had a contractor make new doors from bead board. We wallpapered the area above the cupboards to carry out the cheery cottage look...pretty charming, huh? And all done with one roll of wallpaper!(Of course, the Sewing Queen made the custom valace for the window, as well!) Her ceiling lights in the kitchen, dining and gathering room (where she keeps her computer set up) all came from Lowe's. We painted them sage green and added some flowers and shades to give them a custom look for nearly nothing. Speaking of her computer area, look at the easy fix for a basic folding conference table. She simply skirted it...it adds a lot of personality and it hides whatever she needs out of sight. Her guest bath is darling as well. She keeps it looking roomy by using lots of creams and lace. A vintage chair covered in a chennile type fabric holds towels and adds a sweetness to the room. Her bedroom is full of cheery cottage bedding. Click on the picture to see all of those adorable pillows. I love mixing and matching patterns within a color group. It adds a custom feel. (Oh dear. I see that I quite accidentally have a grandbaby in that photo. How did that happen?!) One thing you might have noticed is that her entire home is done with the same colors in each room. The bedroom pulls more yellow and the kitchen more green, but the rooms flow thanks to the colors being compatible and it gives her home a nice feel. Also, this enables her to move items from one room to another so she won't tire of them and the rooms always seem fresh. I hope you've enjoyed the tour. Just remember...life is in the details.

Baby Makes Two

Actually, on with movie star gorgeous Giada this morning on Today was, not only Jade (too cute!), but Matt and Meredith during a Mother’s Day breakfast dem. And there was a quick on-camera sighting of Todd, plus Al and Ann came in at the end.Jade was sitting next to the dem bench in a high chair and I got extremely nervous that with no adult nearby she would stand up and fly out of the chair. MATT (not Meredith, who was standing the closest) realizes there’s a problem and goes right over. Jade doesn’t like this strange man at first, but then she warms up to him.Hold it a red hot minute! Giada is showing us how to use a BOXED waffle mix?!! Oy! That is NOT what I paid for! I’m just going to watch the baby. Matt is feeding her pieces of waffles, which is far more interesting than the nothing-to-write-home-about recipe, although the espresso nightcap (strange name for a brunch drink) looks good. Giada, cooking anything, is at least a feast for the eyes and that baby is hard to resist.This pound cake recipe, shown later in the morning, is definitely worth a try and unusual with the addition of cream cheese

Kukup

We actually ended up in this place by accident.We missed the left turning to Piai and ended up at the end of the road to a place, which is haven for seafood lovers.Kukup is actually a Chinese fishing village.There are many seafood restaurents over here, and of course mainly Chinese. Many came in big families and were seen having some big feasts on the table with all kind of exotic seafood, making a scene reminded me of Bukit Tambun.The jetty over here is also the boat terminal for Indonesians travel to and fro from Pulau Kerimon. We were told the boat ride cost about RM90. An immigration office is also located here to facilitate visitors.Opposite this end is a small island made entirely of mangrove swamp and jungle, took us less than a 5 mintues boat ride costing RM5.Entry to this national park cost another RM5. Someone advised us against going there as there would not be much thing to see other than 'trees'.Nevertheless, since we were already there, why not just spend another 'once in a life time'?I was told there could be snakes around, but I was disappointed to just see small crabs and sea shells.Well, there was just another fun of walking past this hanging bridge just for the feel of it, nothing so great about it, but heck, I was here for once.The boat ride actually included trip to some fish farms located between the mainland and the island. We were shown some of the fishes rear in captivity like giant Garoupa, shark and some interesting 'spitting' fish (unsure of name).

LFTC - Obama's Convenient Churchill

Historian Arthur Herman, in a superb column, eviscerates President 44's dubious citation of Churchill as having opposed torture, noting that 44 apparently relied upon a blogger, rather than the history book UK PM Gordon Brown gave him.p AH deals with the torture issue:"There is no place for compromise in war," Churchill wrote. In choosing between civilized restraint and the British people's survival, he never hesitated. He contemplated using mustard gas if the Nazis invaded England. He authorized the fire bombing of German cities, the so-called terror bombings, in order to cripple the German war effort and morale. He was prepared to let Mahatma Gandhi die during his hunger strike in 1943 rather than be blackmailed into abandoning India, the last bastion against Japanese domination of Asia.As for German POWs and spies, Churchill left matters in the hands of his interrogation master, Col. Robin Stephens, nicknamed "Tin Eye" because of his monocle and martinet manner. It's true that Stephens told his interrogators that "violence is taboo" -- the source of Sullivan's claim that Churchill didn't allow torture. Stephens, however, felt perfectly free to use every degree of psychological pressure on his detainees, including sleep deprivation and hooding prisoners in solitary confinement for long stretches. He'd have tried women's bras and caterpillars, like our own interrogators, if he'd thought of it.But there's another, more powerful reason why the British didn't torture their captured German spies. They didn't have to. Thanks to the Ultra code-breaking program, British MI5 had access to nearly every major German High Command decision. Had Ultra not existed, the attitude toward captured German spies would've been a lot less casual. (Sixteen were in fact executed for espionage before war's end.)Likewise, if America hadn't had the Clinton-era intelligence "wall of separation" that prevented the CIA and FBI from sharing information before 9/11, a place like Gitmo might never have been necessary.Yet those who today denounce Gitmo as an American gulag -- including our president -- are the ones who complained most bitterly about warrantless wiretaps. They refuse to see that the need for the one resulted from the lack of the other."Moral force," Churchill once said, "is no substitute for armed force, but it is a very great reinforcement."Bottom Line.p President Obama would profit greatly by learning more about what Winston Churchill really thought about fighting atavistic enemies in a war of survival.p Better he learn it the easy way, by reading Churchill, than the hard way, by what Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in 1978 (referring to the Soviet Union) called "the pitiless crowbar of events."p The event came 18 months later, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and Jimmy Carter--shocked that Soviet boss Leonid Brezhnev had lied to him--said that he had learned more from the invasion about the Soviets than anything else before had taught him.p Watching presidents go to foreign policy school in public can make us witnesses to a painful spectacle.

Do you think taking nap is a good thing?

I am a guy like to take nap.without nap, i can't work well in the afternoon.

but, in office, you can only take a nap on your desk.painful.only ten minuts,

my arms are rigid and can't move a little.why life is so hard? last week, i

dicided not take nap. only five days,i can't insist.i am sleepy

all afternoon.the boss was angry with me. he abused me in a meeting.of

course, he didn't mention my name.

Cape Town Cameos #2

Continuing our trip to the Mother City, we went to bed after a hectic day and woke up the next morning to ash in the doorway. Going up onto the rooftop deck, with its wonderful 360 degree views, we were greeted by the sad sight of Table mountain burning, and the drone of helicopters shuttling back and forth with giant buckets of water to release on the flames. The fire had burned all the way over the mountain from the Rhodes memorial side and was burning right down to the city limits. However the sadness caused by that sight was lifted by a stunning sunrise over the City.... Even the ugly crane that that hovered over the Waterfront skyline took on a brief glorious etherial beauty After a leisurely breakfast on the delightful little patio overlooking the street, we went to town to stroll around and check out some art galleries. Being the oldest town in South Africa, Capetown has a delightful city centre, an ecclectic jumble of historic and new, with influences from many different cultures. To just park the car and wander around soaking in the sights and sounds (not to mention the delicious aromas of coffee and Malay cooking wafting from corner cafes as you pass!) is a rare treat. First stop on the gallery circuit was 34 Long St, an old building wedged between tall modern ones on either side, but very contemporary inside!Finally the coffee aromas got too much for us, and we ended up enjoying cappuchinos in a lovely Italian Cafe with an entire wall of driftwood encased between two sheets of glass.We eventually ended up having lunch at a pavement cafe in Greenmarket Square, being entertained by the Ganga Muffins, a jazz/blues duo with a distinctly Cape flavour to the music... it was such fun!We then went for a drive around the mountain to check out some of the panoramic views from up there, before heading across to the back of the mountain for a bit of shopping in Newlands. From above Sea Point we got a view of the half finished Greenpoint Stadium, and the infamous Robben Island with the Greenpoint lighthouse in the foreground. We rushed back to change, then straight off to run the gauntlet of the rush hour traffic, and off to Camps Bay, for dinner and a show at the Theatre on the Bay. it started drizzling just as we arrived. And then cleared a bit and rounded a perfect day off with this sunset from the theatre dining room.The show was very good, an Italian called Ennio Marchetto who is uses origami in a very original way, to make costumes and change rapidly between characters. A good laugh, and then off for a well earned sleep..........check out Ennio in action Thanks for the visit. Please note that all photos are clickable if you want to see them full size.

Math Journaling

Once upon a time...Shonda asked to hear more about our math journals. It's been a while ago now, but I'm ready to answer! The idea of writing in math has been around a long time. When I was still a classroom teacher in Maryland in the 90s it was all the rage and math teachers were trying to figure out how to manage it.Since my kids enjoy math puzzles and like to try and figure out longer problems or hands on problems or just otherwise interesting problems outside of their math workbooks, I thought I'd try out the math journal.I was further inspired by and article in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine back in February- when I became enthralled while flying to Denver. The article is from the Winter 2008-2009 issue and is entitled, Mind-Mannered Math No More. The author, Cheryl Bastarache, explains how she organizes a math journal for her kids. Actually, that issue had several math articles another one I enjoyed was about Integrating Math into Everyday Life. I find we talk a lot about how to solve everyday problems as we go about our day. For example, the day I made the bubble solution we needed 2.5 quarts of water. I told the kids that 4 cups equaled a quart. I-6 said we'd need 8 cups then. When told him we actually needed another half quart he replied, without missing a beat, that it would mean 10 cups. This would make a fine math journal entry!You have to make a choice about what kind of notebook you will use for a math journal. You can use bound notebooks, three prong folders, or a loose leaf binder with dividers. I like the flexibility of the binder so that's what we've gone with. Mrs. Bastarache suggests the following sections within the journal:copywork- lists like days of the week using StartWrite or math quotations which she says you can Google.research-facts from math biographies, history of math or other topics of interest- her family studied the history of the calendar, the history of the Canadian dollar (she's Canadian), and early calculators. They've also done the mathematics of cartography, tessellations, probability, and genetics. They've used lots of creative methods to share the research like lapbooks, skits, comics, etc.challenges- puzzles, games and anything that requires them to think beyond where they are right now. The key is to make sure they explain how they got an answer.responses- this could be answers to open-ended questions, making up their own problems with solutions, and logs about math literaturefun stuff- puzzles from magazines, printouts from computer games, sketches of answers to domino problems, and work from the Roddles book or pattern block activities, or even making their own math games.R8's math journal- She's been working from Math for Girls- this was a problem about hairShe had to figure use doll measurements and her own measurements to decide whether or not if she was the size of her doll if the doll's clothes would fit her. Turns out no! This was all about proportion.Measuring her own proportionsAnother source for math journalingThis was a great activity on understanding when to multiply and divide.I found the April Math Calendar at Homeschool Math Blog.Looking forward to when the May calendar is posted!A math puzzle for E10 from the book The Junior Big Book of Games published by Games Magazine. Remember that one? I used to use this puzzle book for my skills classes back in the day.This is where E10 does his Life of Fred math so far. This is a superb little program that is all about well Fred. You HAVE to get your hands on Fred. Make sure to visit the website and read all about Fred. Both of my older kids sat down and read the whole of Fred when it arrived. It's all about a 5yo boy who teaches at Kittens University and how he wants to buy a bike.Math webites and blogs to check out:Homeschool MathHomeschool Math BlogLet's Play MathCritical Thinking Puzzles- a puzzle each day. Sweet.We use Horizons Math as our math curriculum. It's thorough, visually pleasing and cheap. There is a lot out there for math. I don't plan to change things now. We are invested with Horizons having all the teacher materials through grade 6.I have to bend and stretch Horizons to make it fit every child. However, it does provide our core program. I wonder if I can be brave in the future...brave enough to make math journaling the main piece of the curriculum. First I think I'll get I-6 started on one and see what he can do.

The Flip side of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

This is a guest post by one of my good friend Rajagopal. Quite a thinker.National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) act was passed in August 2005, which provides a guarantee for 100 days of employment(unskilled labour) to atleast one adult in every household. Though enacting the same took some more time, it is in place now, and rural dwellers below and near poverty line are definitely benefited by this. The laymen call it "The 100 days of employement Plan". Though this plan appears to be something that would make a positive impact on our economy in the long run, there is a flip side to it which is due to the lack of policies or thoughts put into making this scheme beneficial in the long run, coupled with the attitude of the beneficiaries towards work, and improving their own economic status.What do you think is be the work being given to these employees?The act states that it should be public work. That sounds good! This act should ideally provide employment and at the same time get rid of some of the infrastructure and developmental issues associated with the villages, such as bad road, lack of canals into the farming fields, etc.But in reality, the people responsible for this in the Panchayat boards seem to lack interest or intellectual ability, and incentive to identify the real issues and address them using the funding that comes through this scheme. It seems that these Panchayat boards aren't being held accountable for getting constructive work done out of these resources, but just to be able to use up these resources to keep the act active."This 100 day employment programme is a boon to us. My daughter-in-law gets paid Rs 80/- per day of employment, without having to do much work. She just signs in an entry register, deweeds the place for an hour, informs the supervisor that she needs to milk the cow at home and comes home, goes back in the evening to sign the leaving register." said a member of a family being benefited by this plan."They would just give us a Shovel(Mannvetti), and ask us to uproot the weeds in a field(specifying which area it is)." said the lady when asked about the nature of work. She also added that it is the same field all the time :-)The Panchayats are empowered to figure out what development work could be done in their village, and get approval from the Panchayats at the higher level(according to point 13 in the Gazette for this act). The people administering these village panchayats seem to not have the ability to identify, plan, raise fund, manage and execute on real development activities that would benefit the village in long term. And moreover, when they are accountable only to provide 100 days of employment to all households, and there is no incentive from the top down to get any useful byproducts out of the same, why would some one do it, unless they are passionate about making the village better.Now lets get to the other part of this programme which indirectly affects agriculture."Most of the workers who used to come for deweeding, ploughing, cultivation and other activities needed to carry out agriculture no more are ready to work in the fields due to the 100 days employment plan, since they get paid without doing any work. The plan had made them lazy. Given that they get rice at Re.1 per kg, they could get enough money to keep them away from hunger for the year through this plan. Though they could come for the farming activities apart from the 100 days of employment and get paid more, they don't do that. Agriculture is no more easy to manage given the lack of manpower. The lack of manpower is also fuelled by the self help groups that have emerged. Seems like we'll just have to sell off the farming fields to these builders and go to the cities where our wards live." says a farmer in the village, who had been cultivating different crops and been providing employment to a lot of people over several years. This resounded with a few other farmers that I happened to interact with.There two things that appear scary to me in this:1) The availability of subsidized rice and guaranteed income through NREG is making the rural dwelling unskilled people lazier than before. They lack the incentive to work, learn skills, earn more, etc. They would gradually turn unemployable along with being unskilled, and would become more dependent on the availability of the subsidy over rice from the government.2) Due to unavailability of manpower forces the conventional farmers to sell off their cultivable lands and head towards the towns and cities. Given that there is already a decline in the percentage of farmers in India due to monsoon dependency of farming, further decline in farming activities would just make things worse. This might even lead to a state where there might be a requirement to import grains if enough attention is not given to the issue.These are just things that came OTOH, and there might be more.The NREG Act would greatly benefit the economy if:1) The Panchayat officers are given management trainings, and educated and incentivized enough to handle this scheme in a constructive manner.2) Social Entrepreneurs enter this arena, and provide consulting services to these village Panchayats on effectively handling this.3) Self help groups be encouraged to do farming activities as well; not just commodities. Self help groups have been developing some skilled labour, and had been stimulating the microeconomy of these villages and continue to exist.4) Educated people should start looking at agriculture in large scale with modern equipments, and farming methods(that require less manpower). This might help sustain the self sufficiency of food in the country. Risk management could also be done by selecting a set of regions that have differing demographics interms of monsoon. Easily said than done, but operational efficiency would become the core of agricultural success.The first two suggestions are aimed at equipping the Panchayats to be able to make the right plans and decisions locally without having to expect developmental plans to come from the higher ups. This also would ensure that the human resources are being utilised in a constructive manner.With appropriate incentives and accountability in place for people executing on these plans, this plan would transform the economy in a positive way. But that doesn't seem to be the current scenario.PS: All the conversations above are from a small sample set of people in a few villages in the Cauvery Delta Region(Near Poompuhar) of Tamil Nadu, India.-- Rajagopal(One of those a***oles sitting in his cubicle cozily with a Mac Laptop and typing out a blog post with the dreams of a Knight in White Horse emerging out of nowhere to make these transformations)

Creativity Cards at Pottery Barn Kids

I was just looking around for gift ideas and came across Creativity Cards - a creative way for children to pass their time on the Pottery Barn Kids site. These cards are made of wood in bright colors and patterns to spark your child's interest. With these 10 small and 10 large cards, kids will be able to create all kinds of structures with the vivid color palette and their wonderful imagination!Also available is the Curved Wood Building Set which includes 20 pieces in four different shapes that fit together to create more structures.Both of these educational toys are perfect for helping your child develop hand-eye coordination! Check them out at Pottery Barn Kids!Creativity Cards $ 19.99Curved Wood Building Set $29.99 Technorati

Depressive realism.

So I was looking up stuff about mah new drug Topamax (an anti-seizure med they give you for migraines now) and came across this phrase depressive realism, which is the proposition that people with depression have a more accurate view of reality (source: Wiki).People without depression are more likely to have inflated self-images and look at the world through "rose-colored glasses", thanks to cognitive dissonance and a variety of other defense mechanisms.Well, couldn't one just be "normal," meaning that you view reality accurately in that it pretty much sucks because it's cold and boring and you get such small fucking portions of it, but even so it's not depressing because sometimes there's cake to eat and music to listen to and kittehs to play with (in my reality anyway). I think that's how I view it. Then again, maybe no one would call me normal, eh?Dykman et al (1989) argued that, although depressive people make moreaccurate judgements about having no control in situations where in fact theyhave no control, they also believe they have no control when in fact they do;and so their perceptions are not more accurate overall.Yah, I think that's true, from my very limited and anecdotal experience with depressive peeps. Also, and it's more of an academic question than anything else, when do you help someone? If a person is content with a delusion, if it works for them, maybe you should just leave them alone. I'm thinking of my father who believes my deceased mother visits him. It seems to make him happy to believe this, and he's relatively functional otherwise, so ... where's the harm? In any case, there's nothing I can do about his delusion.People will relentlessly believe what they wish to.

The Tri-County Animal Shelter in Hughesville, Maryland SUCKS

Just a quick post to say how sucky the Tri-County Animal Shelter in Hughesville, Maryland is. It's antiquated, it's stinky, it's loud and depressing. And whatever employee I talked to on Monday April 20, who said that no dog fitting Whiskey's description was there, should be fired. She also asked me if he was micro-chipped, which I thought was strange. Since they should not have ANY dogs that are micro-chipped, since they should be scanned when they are taken in. If the person said they had new animals come in within the past 24 hours and was unsure, I would have been there. But no, she told me that no dog fitting Whiskey's description was there and I could look online at pictures of the strays (there was no pic of Whiskey). I knew that if someone found him, they would call the # on his tag. The pic below with his ID was taken just last week.I posted on the Lost & Found on our craigslist and another popular regional website in their classifieds. I put up a lost dog sign, drove around the neighborhood etc. The shelter is located in another county - about 30 miles away. My neighbor, the one who watched Whiskey when we were away, stopped by the shelter and ta-da found Whiskey.I was happy and shocked on one hand, and furious with the Animal Shelter on the other hand for lying/being incompetent. And something is waay too fishy with how by coincidence his tag is missing. I think whoever in the neighborhood called to report a dog running (walking) loose, removed the ID tag to be mean.

Observe and Report's Shocking Sex Scene Draws Fire

Seth Rogen's next battle won't be against bad guys in The Green Hornet. Instead, he should be girding up to defend himself against furious feminists who have launched an internet offensive over a scene from his new R-rated movie, Observe and Report. A video (embedded above) on the Feministing blog offers up a "big Friday feminist 'fuck you' to Seth Rogen and the crew who made Observe and Report." The vlogger calls out Rogen for a brief but shocking sex scene between his character in the movie, bipolar mall cop Ronnie Barnhardt, and Anna Faris' completely loaded makeup clerk, Brandi. See also: Review: Observe and Report Delights and Disturbs Seth Rogen Goes From Geeky Comic Hero to 'Super Antihero' Gun-Loving, Zombie-Hating Twins Geek Out in Observe and Report The controversial scene, which takes place after Brandi goes on a pills-and-tequila binge worthy of a lost weekend in Tijuana, shows an apparently unconscious Brandi and a jaw-dropping and profane punchline that earned big laughs during the two screenings I've seen. Feministing fails to see the humor. "It's not funny, Seth," vlogger Courtney says before demanding an apology from the actor. "You're basically giving [men] permission ... to not take rape seriously. I didn't think that was worth the laugh." Others are joining the anti-Observe and Report campaign. In addition to Feministing's video, there are angry tweets ("This shit is not ok, ppl. Pls RT & help spread the word!") and the perhaps-inevitable Facebook protest group ("We won't see Observe and Report because it is flippant about rape"). Observe and Report director Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way, Eastbound & Down) called his shockingly funny film both "polarizing" and "sad" in an interview with Wired.com. "We definitely wanted to make something that was like provocative and weird and kinda dangerous," Hill said last month after his movie's world premiere at the South by Southwest festival. A fan of movies like Pulp Fiction that break from the standard Hollywood formula, he admitted that Observe and Report is "not for everybody." "I wanted to do something where like the main guy makes bad decisions and he's kind of an asshole," Hill said. "And you know, if there's a theme with the works we've done, that's only as a response to that kind of mainstream bullshit." In a separate interview with Wired.com during SXSW, Rogen said he had no idea how audiences would react to the genuinely twisted Observe and Report, in which he moves into uncharted territory with his portrayal of "super antihero" security guard Ronnie, a character that is far darker than his usual nice-guy roles. "I cannot begin to predict," said the comic actor who previously starred in such geek-friendly fare as Superbad, Pineapple Express and Zack and Miri Make a Porno. "And I never can, to be honest. But this [movie], I'd say even more so than the others, I really don't know. There's no precedent for this one." During a panel discussion about Observe and Report during SXSW, Rogen's co-conspirator Faris said she relished the opportunity to play the obnoxious Brandi, a role she nails with pitch-perfect comedic timing. But in an interview with A.V. Club, she says she was surprised that the sex scene made it into the picture. "I'm so grateful I was cast," she said, "but when I read the script, I thought, 'Well, this is Warner Bros. This is a studio movie, so this is all gonna be softened up. It's a comedy, right?' So when we were shooting it, even the date-rape scene — or as I refer to it, 'The Tender Love-Making Scene' — I just thought, 'We'll shoot it, but it's not gonna be in the movie. I don't have to worry about that one.' And yet there it is." So there it is indeed. Have you seen Observe and Report? Let us know your reaction to the movie that's splitting critics into two distinct camps: Those who denounce it as "bitter, ugly and painful to watch" and those who call it "fucking amazing." (For the record, I'm in the second camp.) Report your observations in the comments section below. See also: Review: Observe and Report Delights and Disturbs Gun-Loving, Zombie-Hating Twins Geek Out in Observe and Report Seth Rogen Goes From Geeky Comic Hero to 'Super Antihero' Review: Zack and Miri Scores With Funny Porno Farce SXSW: Observe and Report Makes Violently Funny Premiere

It has rained for over a week

One rainy day, I came home from school and ayi and Zuri were watching a movie. They're not allowed to do this but I didn't mind because it was raining so hard. Anyway, they were watching it in French which cracked me up. Neither one of them cared what was said. Zuri is mesmerized by the movie "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." I've never known him to have such good concentration.Yesterday was a good day in Carleigh-world. Last week, I had misplaced my favorite metal-ish, double-insulated cup that I bought in the states (because they're so expensive here). The first place I went actually LOOKED for it for me (and in several places). In the past, when you lose something here and go back for it, they just tell you, without looking as if they are all-knowing, that they don't have it. Alas, no cup. The second place HAD it! I was so happy; I had even run into a friend and told her that I thought it would be a miracle if they actually would return my cup.Secondly, because it was STILL rainy, I asked the cab driver to wait for me. I told her that I would give her 5 yuan if she would. Later, she refused to take it! This is actually the second driver to do this in just a few days so maybe I should change my opinion on the "All Chinese are out to steal money from Westerners." There are some honest people out there, I'm VERY happy to report.

The biggest music spring