25 memorable quotes

From USAToday:

Many things are said, and quoted, in 25 years. Some become catchphrases. Others we'd like to forget. And some words capture the essence of a news event, a phenomenom, or a time. USA TODAY reporters and editors came up with this list of our Top 25 most memorable quotes of the last 25 years.

1. "Let's roll."

Todd Beamer, Sept. 11, 2001, just before he and other passengers attacked terrorists controlling United Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The White House may have been the target.

2. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

President Reagan, June 12, 1987, appealing to the Soviet leader to remove the Berlin Wall that divided East and West German sectors. It fell in 1989.

3. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."

Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, Sept. 27, 1995, arguing that a glove used as murder evidence in the O.J. Simpson trial was too small.

4. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."

President Clinton, Jan. 26, 1998, at a White House news conference.

5. "You've got mail!"

America Online, 1989. The voice, which still greets users, is El Edwards, the husband of an AOL customer service representative.

6. "Read my lips: no new taxes."

George H.W. Bush, Aug. 18, 1988, accepting the GOP presidential nomination in New Orleans. A tax hike later in his presidency was a factor in his loss for re-election.

7. "Obviously a major malfunction."

Steve Nesbitt, NASA public affairs officer, Jan. 28, 1986, shortly after the space shuttle Challenger exploded.

8. "How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values?"

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Dec. 5, 1996, interpreted as a warning that stocks were too high. Markets plunged briefly the next morning

9. "You can't handle the truth!"

Actor Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan Jessup in the 1992 film A Few Good Men.

10. "I knew Jack Kennedy; Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen, debating Republican Dan Quayle in Omaha on Oct. 5, 1988.

11. "Just say no."

Nancy Reagan's anti-drug campaign slogan, 1983.

12. "I want to focus on my salad."

Martha Stewart, June 25, 2002, on CBS' The Early Show, when questioned about the probe into her stock dealings.

13. "Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?"

Former Labor secretary Raymond Donovan, May 25, 1987, after being acquitted of fraud charges.

14. "Keep hope alive."

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, July 19, 1988, in a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta.

15. "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."

President Bush, Sept. 14, 2001, addressing police, firefighters and rescue workers at Ground Zero.

16. "My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."

Vice President Cheney, March 16, 2003, on NBC's Meet the Press, describing how Iraqis will react when U.S. troops topple Saddam Hussein.

17. "One more thing."

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, 1999. He uses the phrase before unveiling products such as the iMac and iPod at computer shows.

18. "Don't give up. Don't ever give up. "

Former North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano, March 4, 1993, accepting an ESPY Award shortly before he died of cancer.

19. "It takes a village to raise a child."

Hillary Rodham Clinton in her 1996 book, borrowing from an African proverb.

20. "I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl."

Russ Grimm, 1984, a Washington Redskin who ended his career as a player with three Super Bowl rings.

21. "You gotta fight for your right to party. "

The Beastie Boys, 1986, in the song Fight For Your Right.

22. "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"

Rodney King, May 1, 1992, after the acquittal of Los Angeles police in his beating trial sparked widespread rioting.

23. "Where's the beef?"

Wendy's TV commercial, 1984, later used by Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale to ridicule opponent Gary Hart.

24. "I can't deny the fact that you like me! Right now, you like me!"

Sally Field, March 25, 1985,. accepting the Best Actress Oscar for Places in the Heart.

25. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Jerry Seinfeld, Feb. 11, 1993, in the episode The Outing, later used whenever a gay character was discussed on the show.

pet food recall

A real mess. For more info...

old college pic

This is USM's snare line in 1987, I think. Snare drummers left to right are:

Joe Sullivan, Carroll Hardin (me), Derrick Cole, Ricky Hamilton, Jay Kerrick, Robbie Johnson, Walter Walker

Johnny Carson on "Late Night"

Larry "Bud" Melman and Phil Collins

hot towels at the bus station

courtesy of Larry "Bud" Melman!

Staples Copy Cat

Hilarimous!

Andrea Bocelli

Why do people think he's an opera singer? I can sing opera, but that doesn't make me an opera singer.

Supertrapp slip-ons

They sound nice...real low and rumbly! Here's a picture:

ITIL certification

I passed it, though by not as much as I thought I had...I think I ended up basically with a grade of C...29/40. Blah, but at least it's over with!

R.I.P., Larry Bud!

From Time magazine:

"Not long after David Letterman discovered him in a student film, Calvert DeForest, reinvented as Larry (Bud) Melman, introduced the comic's first-ever late-night show on NBC in 1982. The earnest ex-file clerk went on to become Dave's fumbling, inadvertently hilarious lucky charm. Before retiring in 2003, he covered the 1994 Olympics in Norway, mock hawked products like Toast on a Stick, and greeted tourists with hot towlels in New York City's seedy Port Authority bus terminal. He was 85."

profound cartoon

By one of my favorite cartoonists, Roz Chast:

I've looked at obituaries and thought about how close in age so many who've died are to my parents' ages.

interesting

Half of all American troop deaths in the Iraq have been caused by explosives plundered from Saddam Hussein's weapons depots, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. Those depots--filled with hundreds of thousands of tons of shells--remained unguarded for years after the U.S. took control of the country.

The Boston Globe

huh?

lRL rLR lRR LL R rL lR...rlrL...lR, RRLLRRLLR (lrlrlR)!

Some of you ex-USMers will recognize that ending!

old enemies make peace

Following up from, or adding to, my Northern-Ireland post of a few days ago...

Leaders of Northern Ireland's largest Protestant and Catholic parties stood in the same room for the first time and agreed to share power. Ian Paisley founded the pro-British Democratic Unionists in 1971, while Gerry Adams has been a key leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, since 1978--and in all that time, the two never met.

Paisley and Adams said they would govern jointly starting May 8. That would mean reimplementing the Good Friday accord of 1998, which provided for home rule for the British province of Northern Ireland, under an executive made up of both parties. "We must not allow our justified loathing for the horrors and tragedies of the past," Paisley said, "to become a barrier to creating a better and more stable future."

I wonder if Paisley and Adams are now on hit lists for more extreme groups within the Protestant and Catholic communities?

Matilda

She is KILLING me with her gas explosions!!! Maybe that hamburger from Wild Willy's wasn't a great idea! But she sure liked it.

sleeping together

A University of Vienna study found that when men slept alongside their female partners, they woke up the next day less rested and with impaired cognitive functions. "We were never meant to sleep in the same bed as each other," a sleep expert said.

What about having to sleep with an English bulldog?

states of being

.tn.fl.mx.de.ms.il.ma.

Excuse me...

...but what are they doing here?

duke

"You're the duke of New York. You're A-number-1."

places I've lived

0. In my momma's tummy!
1. Knoxville, Tennessee
2. Eau Gallie, Florida
3. Columbia, Tennessee
4. Waverly, Tennessee
5. Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
6. Waverly, Tennessee (again)
7. Wilmington, Delaware
8. Biloxi, Mississippi
9. Hattiesburg, Mississippi
10. Columbus, Mississippi
11. Jackson, Mississippi
12. Hattiesburg, Mississippi (again)
13. Chicago, Illinois
14. Boston, Massachusetts

Northern Ireland conflicts

NORTHERN IRELAND'S HISTORY OF CONFLICT

Key dates in tensions between Protestants and Catholics: 1921: Northern Ireland is formed from six provinces that opt out of a self-government agreement offered by Britain and accepted by the southern part of Ireland. 1967-68: Northern Ireland's Catholics push for voting rights and demonstrate against unionist power in Northern Ireland. 1972: Direct rule of Northern Ireland from London begins. Violence against British troops quickly follows. Police report more than 1,400 bombings; 470 people are killed during the conflict's bloodiest year. 1994: Mostly Catholic Irish Republican Army announces a cease-fire. It lasts until February 1996, when the IRA sets off a bomb in London, killing two. 1998: USA helps broker the Good Friday peace accord in Northern Ireland. Voters in Ireland and Northern Ireland endorse it. 2005: IRA agreement to disarm clears way for implementation of the agreement. 2006: Great Britain and Ireland prod Northern Ireland's politicians to move forward on home rule and shared power. 2007: Voters elect a new assembly on March 7, giving the Protestant and Catholic political parties the power to form an executive government. Monday: If Northern Ireland doesn't form a government by this deadline set by Britain and Ireland, Britain will continue to rule it in consultation with Ireland. Reporting by Melanie Eversley, USATODAY. Sources: Wire reports and USA TODAY research

Northern Ireland

It's odd to see these two men together...especially since one is Ian Paisley.

Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams

HUGE pet peeve

A bit rambling, probably, but you should be able to figure out what I'm getting at:

This is a BIG pet peeve of mine...companies who have contracts (and automatic debits set up) with customers let the customers know that their accounts are about to expire, as they should. But then, instead of sending out a courtesy e-mail later, saying, "Your contract is about to expire: if you don't want this to happen please remember to upgrade (or whatever)"...

...they send out an e-mail at some point, easy to overlook, saying "We're going to be nice and upgrade you automatically, UNLESS you do x, y, or z," "x" being to make a cancel request, which takes any number of steps. And if you miss one of the steps, like confirming the cancel request, the cancel request is discarded, and you go on forever not noticing that you're still being charged.

I think companies make a lot of money because people don't notice the above. For instance, when my 1and1 (Website host) contract was going to expire in a few months, I chose not to renew my contract, at a now higher price. And, of course, nothing in those e-mails to me at the time said anything about the soon-to-come paragraph two above! I figured that I would choose not to renew and so my contract would end quietly at its expiration date.

Well, when the expiration date came, then I had to go through three or four steps to cancel what I thought should've been done automatically. I have to remember to be careful about these kinds of things.

Caveat emptor, for good reason.

BC's TFK

TFK is going to hell...doo dah, doo dah.
For f'ing over JAC...oh, doo dah day.

some Mississippi facts

Hmm, I may have posted this once before: sorry if I did.

Be happy that you live in the great state of Mississippi.

Mississippi leads in obese adults.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Biloxi to Henderson Point, is the largest and longest man-made beach in the world.

Mississippi was the last state to illegalize moonshine.

The Ringier-America company in Corinth, MS prints National Geographic.

The world's only cactus plantation is located in Edwards, with more than 3,000 varieties of cacti.

Mississippi has more tree farms than any other state.

Mississippi has more churches per capita than any other state.

Norris Bookbinding Company in Greenwood is the largest Bible rebinding plant in the nation.

H. A. Cole in Jackson, MS, developed the cleaning product Pine-Sol.

Pine-Sol is manufactured only in Pearl, MS.

Dr. Tichenor created Dr. Tichenor's Antiseptic in Liberty, MS (not in South Louisiana as commonly believed).

Four cities in the world have been sanctioned by the International Theatre/Dance Committee to host the International Ballet Competition: Moscow, Russia; Varna, Bulgaria; Helsinki, Finland; and Jackson, Mississippi.

David Harrison of Columbus owns the patent on the "Soft Toilet Seat." Over one million are sold every year.

The first football player on a Wheaties box was Walter Payton of Columbia.

The Teddy Bear's name originated after a bear hunt in Mississippi with President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt refused to shoot an exhausted and possibly lame bear. News of this spread across the country, and a New York merchant capitalized on this publicity by creating a stuffed bear called "Teddy's Bear."

H. T. Merrill of Iuka flew the first round-trip transoceanic flight in 1928. The flight to England was made in a plane loaded with ping-pong balls.

The birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo includes: a museum, a chapel, and the two-room house in which Elvis was born.

The world's oldest Holiday Inn is in Clarksdale.

Blazon-Flexible Flyer, Inc., in West Point, manufactures the best snow sled in the country, the Flexible Flyer.

Greenwood is the home of Cotton Row, which is the second largest cotton exchange in the nation and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Emil and Kelly Mitchell, the King and Queen of Gypsies, are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Meridian. Since 1915, people from all over the world have left gifts of fruit and juice at their gravesites.

The 4-H Club began in Holmes County in 1907.

The Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg is the largest research, testing, and development facility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

On April 25, 1866, women in Columbus decorated the graves of Confederate and Union soldiers in Friendship Cemetery. This gesture became known as Decoration Day, the beginning of what we observe as Memorial Day.

Shoes were first sold as pairs in 1884 at Phil Gilbert's Shoe Parlor in Vicksburg.

Inventor James D. Byrd of Clinton holds seven patents and developed the plastic used as a heat shield by NASA.

Mississippi University for Women in Columbus was the first state college for women in the country, established in 1884.

Every commercial airliner has at least one hydraulic component manufactured by Vickers in Jackson.

The McCoy Federal Building in Jackson is the first federal building in the United States named for a black man. Dr. A. H. McCoy was a dentist and business leader.

Hat Maker John B. Stetson learned and practiced hat making in Dunn's Falls, MS.

The oldest field game in America is Stickball, played by the Choctaw Indians of Mississippi. Demonstrations can be seen every July at the Choctaw Indian Fair in Philadelphia, MS.

Alcorn State University, in Lorman, is the oldest black land grant college in the world.

The International Checkers Hall of Fame is in Petal.

Natchez was settled by the French in 1716 and is the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River. Natchez once had 500 millionaires, more than any other city except New York City. Natchez now has more than 500 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Captain Issac Ross of Lorman freed his slaves in 1834 and arranged for their passage to the west coast of Africa. They founded the country of Liberia.

Oliver Pollock was the largest individual financial contributor to the American Revolution. He invented the dollar sign ($). He is buried near Pinckneyville.

Resin Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie Knife, is buried in Port Gibson, MS.

Liberty was the first town in the country to erect a Confederate monument, in 1871.

The Pass Christian Yacht Club is the second oldest yacht club in North America, founded in 1849.

The Mississippi Legislature passed one of the first laws in 1839 to protect the property rights of married women.

The Natchez Trace Parkway, named an "All American Road" by the federal government, extends from Natchez to just south of Nashville, Tennessee. The Trace began as an Indian trail more than 8,000 years ago.

The Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the Blues, which preceded the birth of jazz, the only other original American art form.

The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second-largest national cemetery in the country. Arlington National Cemetery is the largest.

D'Lo was featured in Life Magazine for sending proportionally more men to serve in World War II than any other town of its size; 38 percent of the men who lived in D'Lo served.

In 1894, Coca-Cola was first bottled by Joseph A. Biedenharn in Vicksburg.

Mississippi was the first state to outlaw imprisonment of debtors.

Belzoni is the Catfish Capital of the World. Approximately 70 percent of the nation's farm-raised catfish comes from Mississippi.

Fred Montalvo owns the company that makes “Icee” drinks from Edwards.

Peavey Electronics, in Meridian, is the world's largest manufacturer of musical amplification equipment.

Proportionally more Mississippians were killed during the Civil War than from any other Confederate state.

Serving during Reconstruction, Hiram Revels was the first Black U.S. Senator.

The first Parents-Teachers Association was founded in Crystal Springs, MS.

Babe Ruth's last home run was hit off a Mississippian, Guy Bush of Tupelo.

List of famous Mississippians

Soulja Boy, Batesville
Dick Stephens, Pontotoc
Dana Andrews, Covington County
Earl W. Bascom, Columbia
Lacey Chabert, Purvis
John Dye, Amory
Morgan Freeman, Greenwood
Gary Grubbs, Amory
Beth Henley, Jackson
Jim Henson, Greenville
Anthony Herrera, Wiggins
Eddie Hodges, Hattiesburg
James Earl Jones, Arkabutla
Simbi Khali, Jackson
Daniel Curtis Lee, Jackson
Kris Lee, Louisville
Shane McRae, Starkville
Gerald McRaney, Collins
Parker Posey, Laurel
Eric Roberts, Biloxi
Sela Ward, Meridian
Oprah Winfrey, Kosciusko

Artists

Earl W. Bascom, sculptor, Columbia
George Ohr, "Mad Potter of Biloxi"
Walter Inglis Anderson, painter, Ocean Springs

Athletes

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson), Gulfport
Lance Alworth, Brookhaven
Dizzy Dean, Wiggins
Earl W. Bascom, Columbia
Dennis Ray "Oil Can" Boyd, Meridian
Ralph Boston, Laurel
Jeff Bowman
Terrell Buckley, Pascagoula
Reggie Collier, D`Iberville
Joseph (Joe) Pierre Courtney, Jackson
Erick Dampier, Jackson
Jim Dunaway, Columbia
Marcus Dupree, Philadelphia
Eric Moulds, Lucedale
Brett Favre, Kiln
Charles Gavin, Laurel
Litterial Green, Pascagoula
Louis Edward Green, Vicksburg
Lancaster Gordon, Jackson
Bobby Hamilton, Columbia
Phillip Hampton
Othella Harrington, Jackson
Lindsey Hunter, Utica
Belton Johnson
Steven Lombardi
Deuce McAllister, Morton
Steve McNair, Mount Olive
Archie Manning, Drew
Shane Matthews, Pascagoula
Steve Newsome, Columbia
Jerious Norwood , Jackson
Joe Owens, Columbia
Roy Oswalt, Weir
Jeremy Patrick
Eddie Payton, Columbia
Walter Payton, Columbia
Justin Reed, Jackson
Jerry Rice, Starkville
James Robinson, Jackson
Eugene Short, Hattiesburg
Purvis Short, Hattiesburg
Jackie Slater, Jackson
Calvin Smith, Bolton
Jimmy Lee Smith, Jackson
Lake Speed, Jackson
Dmitri Young, Vicksburg
Antonio Mcdyess, Quitman
Claude Passeau, Lucedale
Al Jefferson, Monticello
Clarence Weatherspoon, Crawford
Sammy Winder, Madison
Ruthie Bolton, Lucedale

Authors/Writers

Earl W. Bascom, Columbia
Lerone Bennett, Jr., Clarksdale
Larry Brown, Oxford
Hodding Carter
Craig Claiborne, Sunflower
Gerald Ellis
William Faulkner, New Albany
Shelby Foote, Greenville
Richard Ford, Jackson
Barry Hannah, Clinton
Thomas Harris
Beth Henley, Hattiesburg
J. R. Johnson
Muna Lee, Raymond
Justin Mapp, Brandon
D. J. McCornik
Willie Morris, Jackson
Lewis Nordan, Forest
Walker Percy
William Alexander Percy, Greenville
William Raspberry, Okolona
Eudora Welty, Jackson
Tennessee Williams, Columbus
Richard Nathaniel Wright, Roxie
Stark Young, Como
Carolyn Haines, Lucedale

Civil Rights Leaders

Vernon Dahmer, Hattiesburg
Charles Evers, Decatur
Medgar Evers, Decatur
Fannie Lou Hamer, Ruleville
T. R. M. Howard, Mound Bayou
James Meredith, Kosciusko
Dianna Freelon-Foster, Grenada

Entrepreneurs/Business Leaders

Jim Barksdale (former CEO Netscape Communications Corporation)
Harry A. Cole, Jackson (inventor of Pine-Sol)
Hartley Peavey (founder Peavey Electronics)
Robert Pittman (founder MTV, former CEO and COO AOL)
Fred Smith, Marks, MS, founder and CEO of FedEx

Inventors

Joseph Newman, Lucedale
Earl W. Bascom
Elizabeth Lee Hazen

Military Figures

Charles Read
Nathan Bedford Forrest

Musicians/Composers

Glen Ballard, Natchez
Afro Man, Hattiesburg
David Banner, Jackson
Lance Bass, Laurel
Big Bill Broonzy, Scott
Jimmy Buffett, Pascagoula
R. L. Burnside, Harmontown
David L Cook, Pascagoula
Sam Cooke, Clarksdale
James Cotton, Tunica
Arthur Crudup, Forest
Bo Diddley, McComb
Willie Dixon, Vicksburg
Faith Hill, Jackson
John Lee Hooker, Clarksdale
Big Walter Horton, Horn Lake
Son House, Riverton
Guy Hovis, Tupelo
Mississippi John Hurt, Teoc
Carl Jackson, Louisville
Elmore James, Richland
Skip James, Bentonia
Robert Johnson, Hazelhurst
Tommy Johnson, Terry
Junior Kimbrough, Hudsonville
B. B. King, Itta Bena
Kris Lee, Louisville
Yung Money, Rolling Fork
Little Milton, Inverness
Brandy Norwood, McComb
Alexander O'Neal, Natchez
Charley Patton, Edwards
Elvis Presley, Tupelo
Charley Pride, Sledge
Leontyne Price, Laurel
Jimmy Reed, Duleith
Del Rendon, Starkville
LeAnn Rimes, Jackson
Jimmie Rodgers, Meridian
David Ruffin, Whynot
Jimmy Ruffin, Collinsville
Britney Spears, McComb
William Grant Still, Woodville
Ike Turner, Clarksdale
Newt Rayburn, Oxford
Lisa Stewart, Louisville
Conway Twitty, Friars Point
Muddy Waters, Rolling Fork
Bukka White, Houston
Big Joe Williams, Crawford
Sonny Boy Williamson II, Glendora
Cassandra Wilson, Jackson
Howlin' Wolf, West Point
Tammy Wynette, Tupelo
Lester Young, Woodville
Three Doors Down, Escatawpa
Mickey Gilley, Natchez

Politicians

Haley Barbour, Yazoo City
Ross R. Barnett, Standing Pine
Marion Barry, Itta Bena
Theodore Bilbo, Poplarville
Thad Cochran, Pontotoc
Jefferson Davis
James Eastland, Sunflower
Pat Harrison, Crystal Springs
Trent Lott, Grenada
Sonny Montgomery, Meridian
Charles W. Pickering, Jones County
Chip Pickering, Laurel
John E. Rankin, Itawamba County
Hiram Revels
John Stennis, DeKalb
Bennie Thompson, Bolton
James Vardaman, Yalobusha County
Jamie L. Whitten, Cascilla
William Winter, Grenada
Blanche Bruce
Gene Taylor, Bay St. Louis
James Z. George, Carrollton
Dianna Freelon-Foster, Grenada

Other luminaries

Red Barber, sportscaster, Columbus
Richard Scruggs, attorney, Pascagoula

http://www.mississippiscv.org/mississippi_facts.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-mississippians

Vienna Philharmonic (long)

Vienna Slow to Change Its Tune
Justin Davidson
justin.davidson@newsday.com

March 2, 2007

In the symphonic music world, the Vienna Philharmonic defines prestige. It performs annually at Carnegie Hall, its concerts are almost always sold out, its New Year's celebration in Vienna is broadcast around the world, and having stood on its podium is a conductor's equivalent of Olympic gold. The Philharmonic is Austria's preeminent purveyor of Austria's most visible export: classical music. But it is more: To many people around the world, and in its own corporate estimation, it embodies the quintessence of the Western musical tradition.

I have heard and written about the orchestra many times, but I will not be attending Friday's Carnegie Hall performances - or Saturday's, or Sunday's - and it may be years before I review it again. A decade after it supposedly committed itself to entering the 21st century, I believe that the Vienna Philharmonic has relinquished its claim to serious consideration as a dynamic cultural organization.

Almost exactly 10 years ago, on the eve of another U.S. tour and under pressure from the Austrian government, the orchestra struck down the statute in its bylaws forbidding women from becoming members. That change permitted Anna Lelkes, a harpist who had been playing in the orchestra in an unofficial capacity for many years, to become a full-fledged member. She has since retired.

In the decade since that change in policy, the orchestra has replaced about 40 people, and still has a solitary female member - another harpist, Charlotte Balzereit - and 136 men. Even if every one of the women now in the long and blockage-prone pipeline made it into this most rarefied of classical clubs, they would still only number five by 2010. The Citadel, the South Carolina military school that reluctantly admitted its first woman in 1996, has a far better record of adaptation.

When challenged on this issue, the Philharmonic answers that it is making a good-faith attempt to increase the number of women in its ranks, and offers a number of "buts": 1) Most members stay in the orchestra for life, which keeps the rate of turnover low. 2) The organization is dedicated to a fundamentally historical mission, so it need not reflect contemporary mores. 3) Its highest concern is the refinement of its art, and if the price to be paid for that is a sluggish creep toward equality, so be it. Finally, the orchestra's identity depends on a complex of highly local traditions, so any new member must not only be a brilliant musician, but also someone capable of imbibing and integrating with the orchestra's spirit.

Mary Lou Falcone, a New York-based spokeswoman for the Vienna Philharmonic, and one of the more indomitable women in a world historically controlled by conservative men, told me to be patient, that the orchestra works on its own time scale. "What I see is the openness of the Vienna Philharmonic to have auditions that include everyone. They're preserving the best of their tradition and a sound that's been there for 160 years, a distinctive sound, which most orchestras today don't have."

But the geological pace of change is not merely a regrettable obstacle in the relentless pursuit of quality. It is product of a narrowly preservationist, antiquarian philosophy, which fetishizes sound at the expense of spirit. The composers in the Vienna Philharmonic's pantheon were all disturbers of the peace, and they railed against the city's recurring fondness for the status quo. Beethoven was a liberal idealist, a radical egalitarian and artistic revolutionary who would have been revolted by the claim that performing his forward-looking, constantly renewable music required an inflexible reverence for custom.

Most orchestras are conservative: They keep reheating the same masterpiece soup, seasoned with the occasional novelty. But some - the Los Angeles Philharmonic, for example - aspire to flexibility, excitement, leadership and collaboration with the creators of today. Few major ensembles have quite so hidebound a philosophy, and none so monochromatic and homogeneous a membership, as the Vienna Philharmonic. (To take one top-tier example, women constitute 40 percent of the New York Philharmonic.)

The world's most important orchestra treats the symphonic repertoire the way re-enactment societies treat the Civil War: as terrain for the obsessive pursuit of historical correctness. There is a place for this, of course. We should be grateful for the efforts of so many dedicated people who put their expertise and time to the service of faithful reconstruction of the past. Obscurity becomes part of these organizations' charm.

But if we judge an orchestra's quality by what it contributes to the vibrant, dynamic musical culture that keeps the symphonic tradition alive, rather than by the transparency of its string sound, then the Vienna Philharmonic would occupy a dusty corner.

The orchestra's defenders make one additional argument: It is a completely private association, which receives no public funds, and so it does not actually have to change at all. Aside from its symbolic value to the Austrian nation, however, it is also an association made up entirely of Austrian civil servants: the tenured membership of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. For those musicians, membership in the Philharmonic amounts to a second job. It is difficult for an American to understand why the glacial pace of change in a group so tightly (if indirectly) linked to the government causes no apparent public embarrassment except in the liberal Green Party.

The Vienna Philharmonic cannot keep women out forever, especially since it professes not to want to. Even a group that holds nostalgia in such high regard has its progressive contingent. Inevitably, the orchestra will change. And when it does, I will recover my interest in hearing what it has to say, hoping to detect that great old sound fired by new ideas.

elephant ivory

From Time magazine:

257: Estimated amount, in tons, of ivory poached worldwide last year
23,000: Number of elephants that were killed illegally to reap that much ivory
$340: Cost per pound of ivory on the black market, up from $50 about 20 years ago

redheads

Apparently only 4% of the world's population hold the gene for red hair. By the year 2100 redheads may be extinct.

surviving Alaskan wilderness

If climbing, take your time. Let your legs take a lot of pressure, instead of arms, which will tire out much more quickly.

If trouble with grizzly, grab a stick and try to poke it in the eyes.

Alaskan devilclub plants are spiky and hard to get through, but are great sources of ginseng.

Follow stream down to river. When crossing streams, face upstream against the flow.

In Alaska, coastline is best place to find help.

If no fishing line, can make spear from tree. A Y-shaped spear end is nice...can use to hold down fish while reach down to pick it up. Key to being successful in fishing is patience. Watch out for fishing bears.

Salmon skin is thin and not with many scales...very good source of fat.

Caves are good shelters, but might already have occupants...be careful.

Shellfish available on rocks at low tide: must be cooked before eating, though.

Good wood for burning is wood that cracks audibly when breaking.

If on coastline, make signal fire for boats. Evergreen branches will smoke profusely, making a visible white smoke background against the dark background of trees.

...to be continued, when I finish the episode...

pet peeve

Hugely thick magazines in which the table of contents is hidden somewhere about 50 pages in. Or more. And ones with so many perfume samples, subscription cards, thick ads, etc., etc. that I can't browse through except about 40 pages at a time.

Yikes!!!

I'm more scared by her lips than by her chest! Mistress Rhiannon:

Rhiannon, whose 4,100-cubic centimeter, 48MMM tits each weigh approximately ten pounds, began her bust-enhancement odyssey in 1991, and has since had 30 surgeries on her right breast alone. "I went in for a boob job like some people go to get their teeth cleaned," says the raven-haired star of Cleavage Dreams, who looks like Elvira, if the horror-movie hostess had two beach-ball size mams popping out of her chest, along with large quantities of silicone and fat injected into her lips. "There's something about my personality that big is never big enough. If I'm going to do it, I'm going all the way."

and Melonie Charm:

Melonie Charm, a big-bust model who resides in upstate New York, has also had multiple breast surgeries, as well as a tummy tuck and the fat transferred from her belly into her lips. While the operations have primarily been a career move for Charm, she understands the psychological attraction of cosmetic surgery. "[Plastic surgery] does make you feel better," says Charm, who transformed her natural 34C breasts into 50JJJs. "It gives you more self-esteem—you look better, you're more confident, but that doesn't last forever. Some people who are not truly happy with themselves—they get plastic surgery. They feel good for awhile, and then they want to fix something else, or they want to get it redone."

song for Matilda

Sung to the tune of Homer Simpson's, "Hey There, Blimpy Boy." Or, in the real world, "Hey There, Georgie Girl." My version, sung to Matilda:

"Hey there, Jazzy Girl. You-u are so cute, just like a squirrel."

Group: pull GM "suicide" ad

By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY

Yet another Super Bowl marketer is swimming in hot water.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has sent a letter to General Motors (GM) criticizing an ad that shows a perfectionist assembly line robot dreaming about jumping off a bridge after dropping a bolt. The group said the spot may encourage people to consider suicide as a solution to their problems. The group demanded that GM apologize, not air the spot again and remove it from its website.

"We wouldn't see this ad around cancer or heart disease," says Robert Gebbia, executive director. "Why's it OK to make fun of mental illness or depression?"

...

GM has "no plans" to drop the robot spot, spokeswoman Ryndee Carney says. The ad currently is scheduled to air next during the Feb. 25 Academy Awards broadcast on ABC, she says.

GM has received "more than a handful (of complaints) but not a tsunami," she says. She says GM "did not intend to offend anyone."

GM should drop the ad now, says former Energy secretary Donald Hodel, who also was Interior secretary in the Reagan administration. Hodel's teenage son committed suicide 23 years ago.

"They should never have run that commercial, and they shouldn't run it again," says Hodel, who says he and his wife were shocked when they saw it. "If I had a child who committed suicide some time after watching that ad, I'd seriously consider consulting a lawyer and suing GM."

Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo and Juliet?

Mama on a pony!

These cookies ("biscuits," that is) are something else!!

Les Stroud survival tips

Les Stroud (Survivorman) offers survival tips in each episode, which range from general (eg. conserve resources whenever possible) to quite specific. Some of the more specific tips include the following (note: not all were employed successfully):

• In cold or freezing conditions, the worst thing you can do is let yourself get sweaty. He constantly mentions that if you get sweaty, you should let the sweat dry (he mentions this tip in almost every episode).
• Use a lens from a camcorder to start a fire.
• Always carry a "good Multi-Tool."
• Break wood between two trees to keep from hurting yourself.
• Cut vines in swamps and jungles and place a cup at the opening to collect water.
• Wipe mud over your skin to protect against mosquitos.
• If you catch food (like a rabbit) eat everything, except the entrails. In the case of a rabbit, it is important to eat even the bones as a source of fat, since there is no fat on the rabbit, your body will get Rabbit starvation, which leads to death.
• To start a fire with a lighter that has no fluid, use a piece of tissue formed into a cone at one end with a ball of sock lint stuffed into the cone to catch the spark that comes off the lighter. This only works if the socks are manufactured from 100% cotton. He refers to this as a prison match (and tells viewers not to ask him why he knows how to make it).
• Use a snowmobile seat cover to melt snow in the sunlight.
• Don't play the harmonica when polar bears are possibly around because they are attracted to strange noises.
• Use corn chips to hold a flame in a manner similar to a candle wick.
• Boil water by placing heated rocks in it. This is done when a water container cannot be held directly over a fire.
• Heat rocks over fire and place them around the body as heating packs while sleeping or resting.
• Use an emptied coconut shell filled with coconut fibers to carry a smoldering coal. This prevents the need to light another fire from scratch.
• Use cow dung to keep a fire smoldering while away. This prevents the need to light another fire from scratch.
• Use the elastic strap from a pair of boxers as a slingshot to fire a fishing spear.
• Soak the foam cushion of a broken snowmobile in gasoline to use as fire fuel in the Canadian Arctic.
• Determine the time until sunset by measuring the distance between the sun and horizon, wherein each width of your hand equals one hour.
• Use moss from the north side of a tree to gain bearings without a compass (though he added that this method, though accurate in his case, is often unreliable).
• When opening a conch shell, crack the point on the back and scrape out the meat inside.
• To get fresh water on an island build a solar still by finding a box (or something similar) and put seawater and plants inside, along with a smaller container in the direct center, and cover it tightly with a plastic sheet. Then put a rock in the center of the plastic. The plants will sweat fresh water which will evaporate, condense onto the plastic and drip into the container.
• Too much coconut milk causes diarrhea.
• The Five "W's" of Survival:
  • Weather: Temperature of the area, know what kind of shelter you need.
  • Wood: How much wood is around for both fire and shelter.
  • Wigglies: spiders, scorpions, snakes, anything that can bite you or poison you.
  • Widowmakers: rocks, trees, large animals, anything that can fall on you or attack you.
  • Water: Where will you get water, how will you obtain it.
• Use a potato peeler on thin branches to create very curly wood shavings.
• Always check your boots for "Wigglies."

Man vs. Wild: savannah survival

In Africa, not Georgia, that is!

Things I learned:

1. Lions: can't outrun them...stand tall, wave arms, clap, etc. to try to bluff them away.
2. Rhinos: Stand ground till last second and dive away. Run for cover.
3. Elephants: can't see well, so run fast and make sharp turns out of their paths.
4. Hippos: the most dangerous animals. Never get in the water with them. Best bet for crossing is in running, shallow water.
5. Puff adders: Hard to see, though can hear them, and very poisonous when happened upon.

Good to travel in water when in ravines and denser forests...leopards may be around.

Follow water UPstream...to often in the savannah, water flows downhill and then disappears abruptly into an aquifer. Go upstream to find the source, where civilization often will be.

The blackjack plant makes a good mosquito repellant when burned.

Elephant dung is a source of liquid when squeezed.

Viable meat is meat that vultures are hanging around: they eat only fresh meat. No bad smell, no maggots.

Don't drink stagnant water. Not worth the risk of debilitating parasites, etc. Animal trails lead to drinkable water.

Aloe is a good topical treatment of cuts and burns.

9/11 in perspective

Putting 9/11 into perspective

The attacks were a horrible act of mass murder, but history says we're overreacting.

by David A. Bell
January 28 2007

IMAGINE THAT on 9/11, six hours after the assault on the twin towers and the Pentagon, terrorists had carried out a second wave of attacks on the United States, taking an additional 3,000 lives. Imagine that six hours after that, there had been yet another wave. Now imagine that the attacks had continued, every six hours, for another four years, until nearly 20 million Americans were dead. This is roughly what the Soviet Union suffered during World War II, and contemplating these numbers may help put in perspective what the United States has so far experienced during the war against terrorism.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-bell28jan28,0,3764261.story?coll=la-opinion-center

Molly Ivins quotes/quips

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4516556.html

Quotes and quips from Molly Ivins

Some quotes from Molly Ivins, the liberal political writer whose words could be clever, ruthless and humorous—sometimes in the same sentence:

"I'm sorry to say (cancer) can kill you but it doesn't make you a better person," she told the San Antonio Express-News in September 2006, the same month cancer claimed her friend former Gov. Ann Richards.

"If you think his daddy had trouble with 'the vision thing,' wait'll you meet this one," Ivins on George W. Bush in "The Progressive," June 1999.

"If left to my own devices, I'd spend all my time pointing out that he's weaker than bus-station chili," on Bill Clinton, from the introduction to You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You

"Naturally, when it comes to voting, we in Texas are accustomed to discerning that fine hair's-breadth worth of difference that makes one hopeless dipstick slightly less awful than the other. But it does raise the question: Why bother?", in a 2002 column about a California political race.

"The poor man who is currently our president has reached such a point of befuddlement that he thinks stem cell research is the same as taking human lives, but that 40,000 dead Iraqi civilians are progress toward democracy," from a July 2006 column urging commentator Bill Moyers to run for president.

"Many people did not care for Pat Buchanan's speech; it probably sounded better in the original German," Ivins in September 1992, commenting on the one-time presidential hopeful's speech to the Republican National Convention.

"I dearly love the state of Texas, but I consider that a harmless perversion on my part, and discuss it only with consenting adults," from a March 1992 column.

"I love Texas, but it is a nasty old rawhide mother in the way it bears down on the people who have the fewest defenses," Ivins wrote in September 2002.

"....our very own dreaded Legislature is almost upon us. Jan. 9 and they'll all be here, leaving many a village without its idiot," from a December 2000 column.

Biloxi Indian tribe history

Biloxi Indian Tribe History

Biloxi. A name of uncertain meaning, apparently from the Choctaw language. They call themselves Taneks haya, "first people."

A small Siouan tribe formerly living in south Mississippi, now nearly or quite extinct. The Biloxi were supposed to belong to the Muskhogean stock until Gatschet visited the survivors of the tribe in Louisiana in 1886 and found that many of the words bore strong resemblance to those in Siouan languages, a determination fully substantiated in 1892 by J. Owen Dorsey. To what particular group of the Siouan family the tribe is to be assigned has not been determined; but it is probable that the closest affinity is with Dorsey's Dhegiha group, socalled. The first direct notice of the Biloxi is that by Iberville, who found them in 1699 about Biloxi bay, on the gulf coast of Mississippi, in connection with two, other shall tribes, the Paskagula and Moctobi, the three together numbering only about 20 cabins (Margry, Dec., iv, 195, 1880). The Biloxi removed to the west shore of Mobile bay in 1702. In 1761 Jefferys spoke of them as having been north east of Cat island, and of their subsequent removal to the north west of Pearl river Hutchins, in 1784, mentions a Biloxi village on the west side of the Mississippi, a little below the Paskagula, containing 30 warriors. According to Sibley (1805) a part of the Biloxi came with some French, from near Pensacola, about 1763, and settled first in Avoyelles parish, La., on Red river, whence they "moved higher up to Rapide Bayou, and from thence to the month of Rigula de Bondieu, a division of Red river, about 40 miles below Natchitoch, where they now live, and are reduced to about 30 in number." Berguin-Duvallon (1806) mentions them as in two villages, one on Red river, 19 leagues from the Mississippi, the other on a lake called Avoyelles. He also refers to some as being wanderers on Crocodile bayou. Schoolcraft said they numbered 55 in 1825. In 1828 (Bul. Soc. Mex. Geog., 1870) there were 20 families of the tribe on the east bank of Neches river, Tex. Porter, in 1829 (Schoolcraft, Ind. Tribes, 111, 596), gave the number as 65 living with the Caddo, Paskagula, and other small tribes on Red river, near the Texas frontier, and in 1846 Butler and Lewis found a Biloxi camp on Littler river, a tributary of the Brazos in Texas, about two days' journey from the latter stream. After this little was heard of them until 1886. According to Gatschet there were in that year a few Biloxi among the Choctaw and Caddo, but he visited only those in Avoyelles parish, La. In 1892 Dorsey found about a dozen of the tribe near Lecompte, Rapides parish, La., but none remained at Avoyelles. From the terms they used and information obtained Dorsey concluded that prior to the coming of the whites the men wore the breechcloth, a belt, leggings, moccasins, and garters, and wrapped around the body a skin robe. Feather headdresses and necklaces of bone, and of the bills of a long-legged redbird (flamingo?) were worn, as also were noserings and earrings. The dwellings of the people resembled those found among the northern tribes of the same family, one kind similar to the low tent of the Osage and Winnebago, the other like the high tent of the Dakota, Omaha, and others. It is said they formerly made pottery. They made wooden bowls, horn an, bone implements, and baskets.

Tattooing was practice to a limited extent. Descent was through the female line, and there was an elaborate system of kinship. The charge of cannibalism was made against theme by one or two other tribes; this, however, is probably incorrect. Dorsey recorded the following clan names:

Itaanyadi
Ontianyadi
Nakhotodhanyadi

Vincent and Margaret Sherry

I'm watching "Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice" on CourtTV right now. It's disappointing to hear him keep prouncing BihLUXee as BihLOXee, as if he never hear d the city-name pronounced.

And to talk of casinos and strip clubs, when in 1987 casinos weren't even a consideration yet...

dog show

Jerry and I are watching the AKC dog show on Animal Planet. Their "championship" names crack me up! I decided that Matilda's championship name would be something like "Q. Tazza Bean." Get it?!

Perky almost quit being perky, part 3

(Read previous posts for more perky-Perky info.)

After enduring being shot, dragged by a dog and then having her presumed dead body thrown in a kitchen fridge, US wonder-fowl Perky the duck has again shown her lust for life during an operation to repair her injured wing yesterday.

Perky suddenly stopped breathing during the operation, said Noni Beck, wildlife rehabilitator at the Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Tallahassee, Florida.

"It was a rough day yesterday," she told smh.com.au.

She said she had taken Perky to a local veterinarian for the operation, where she was told it would be touch-and-go for the fragile bird.

The vet began to operate and had just finished pinning Perky's wing when she abruptly stopped breathing, Ms Beck said.

"He's giving her oxygen, he's kind of tapping on her chest - he actually took a needle and kind of stuck her, because a little pain response can make you gag - and then he turned to me and said, 'She's gone, I am so sorry.' ''

But suddenly the duck came back.

"We were sitting there looking at each other and then it's been 10 seconds and somebody said: 'She just took a breath.' "

Ms Beck didn't realise how affected she was by Perky's close call until she went to her car afterwards to call a friend.

"I literally broke down, I was sobbing on the phone. I think the first words to come out of my mouth were: 'She's alive.' It was an emotional rollercoaster.

"She's stolen all our hearts, she's such a perky little thing."

Perky is now back at the sanctuary, doing well and spending much of her time on her personal heating pad, Ms Beck said.

Perky's amazing story has generated an huge amount of interest in what the sanctuary does.

"The response has just been unbelievable," Ms Beck said.

Numerous donations had been received as well as an almost overwhelming number of telephone calls from concerned citizens.

But the best thing, she said, was when one of the volunteers' sisters hit upon an idea.

"She said: 'Y'all need to make a T-shirt.' "

So Ms Beck and her team are now selling T-shirts with all funds going to Perky's recuperation and the sanctuary.

The T-shirt says "I helped the lucky duck" and has a picture of Perky on it.

A local mall has a stall for the T-shirts and they are also being sold on a local man's website.

Ms Beck said about 80 shirts had already been sold.

super lucky duck, part 2

She was shot, dragged by a dog, hung upside down and then left in a household refrigerator for two days, but the duck dubbed "Perky" seems now to be back from the dead after a startlingly quick recovery.

"I think right now her chances are really good, she's made it," Noni Beck, wildlife rehabilitator at the Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Tallahassee, Florida, told smh.com.au this afternoon.

And not only is Perky on the road to recovery, it seems she's been guaranteed a comfortable life at a local reserve where she will spend her days educating Floridians on why shooting ducks--or at least shooting at them inaccurately - can have consequences.

"The odds are that this girl is not going back to the wild, the wing break is that bad," Ms Beck said.

"She will hopefully go to an education facility, and we have several here in Florida that have really nice habitats."

Perky was hit in the leg, neck and wing by a local hunter last weekend. Ms Beck said the duck was felled, carried back to the hunter by his dog, hung in a brace of dead ducks, taken to his house and placed in a refrigerator.

Two days later the hunter's wife went to the fridge.

"When she opened the door this little duck raised her head ... she immediately called her daughter and said they had to do something," said Ms Beck.

The daughter took the duck to a local vet for treatment and told Ms Beck the story.

The bird, a 450-gram dark brown Canadian ring-neck, which had flown to Florida for the cold months, was treated for pellet wounds, a broken wing and a broken leg.

After that she was given to Goose Creek for recovery.

One of the vets who has treated Perky, David Hale, said it was easy to understand how the hunter would have thought the duck was dead.

"This duck is very passive," Dr Hale said. "It's not like trying to pick up a Muscovy ... where you put your life in your hands."

Muscovies are large, South American ducks known for their aggressive behaviour.

Perky's ordeal immediately became big news, with websites, newspapers and television leaping on the story of her near miraculous survival.

Ms Beck said she had received numerous calls from people wanting to support Perky in her recovery, and some wanting to give her a name.

"Everybody's been calling her the Lucky Duck, but tonight one of my volunteers called and they want to name her Perky, because she really has gotten so much better."

Ms Beck also revealed Perky's saviour, the wife of the hunter, was coming to visit tomorrow.

"She's kind of excited that the duck can be saved. She said she really didn't like it [her husband's hunting] and she's already told him if he shoots something he better kill it because if he doesn't she's going to take it to a vet clinic."

super duck, part 1

The duck would not die.

Wildlife officials said the feathered Lazarus had been shot by a hunter and put into his refrigerator for two days. That's when the hunter's wife opened the door and the duck lifted his head, giving her a scare.

The man's wife "was going to check on the refrigerator because it hadn't been working right and when she opened the door, it looked up at her", said Laina Whipple, a receptionist at Killearn Animal Hospital. "She freaked out and told the daughter to take it to the hospital right then and there."

The hospital's staff had the daughter take the 450-gram female ring-neck to Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, where it has been treated since January 16 for wounds to its wing and leg.

Sanctuary veterinarian David Hale said it has about a 75 per cent chance of survival, but probably will not ever be well enough to be released back into the wild.

He said the duck, which has a low metabolism, could have survived in a big enough refrigerator, especially if the door was opened and closed several times.

Pliny

"In vino veritas." Damn straight.

When will I die?

You Will Die at Age 76

You're pretty average when it comes to how you live... And how you'll die as well.

At what age will you die?

"familiar"

An interesting comparison of two definitions of the noun "familiar":

9. Witchcraft and Demonology.

a. an animal, as a cat, that embodies a supernatural spirit and aids a witch in performing magic.

10. Roman Catholic Church.

a. an officer of the Inquisition, employed to arrest accused or suspected persons.

year I was born

In 1964 (the year you were born)

Lyndon B. Johnson is president of the US After riots break out, Panama suspends relations with he US Cassius Clay becomes heavyweight champion when Sonny Liston throws in the towel in the sixth round in Miami Near Anchorage, the strongest earthquake ever to strike North America kills 117 Worst soccer disaster in history occurs when rioting and panic kills over 300 in Liverpool Hundreds of white college students work for civil rights in the south during "Freedom Summer" South Africa sentences Nelson Mandela to life in prison Kemeny and Kurtz create BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language Nicolas Cage, Jeff Bezos, Rob Lowe, Elle Macpherson, Courteney Cox Arquette, and Keanu Reeves are born St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series Cleveland Browns win the NFL championship Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles released in the US, sparking Beatlemania The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, breaking television ratings records The game show Jeopardy! debuts on television Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews, is the top grossing film

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

Am I art, or is art me?

You Are Impressionism

You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways. You tend to focus on color and movement in art. For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail. You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature.

What Art Movement Are You?

Sesame Street me

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

5-factor personality test

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have low agreeableness. Your self interest comes first, and others come later, if at all. In general, you feel that people are not to be trusted. And you're skeptical that anyone else really feels differently. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

the five-factor personality test

8th-grade math

I passed, with 90%!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could you pass 8th-grade math?

What does my birth day mean?

Your Birthdate: April 15

You take life as it is, and you find happiness in a variety of things. You tend to be close to family and friends. But it's hard to get into your inner circle. Making the little things wonderful is important to you, and you probably have an inviting home. You seek harmony with others, but occasionally you have a very stubborn streak. Your strength: Your intense optimism Your weakness: You shy away from exploring your talents Your power color: Jade Your power symbol: Flower Your power month: June

What does your birth date mean?

my soulmate's name

Oof, don't go to thesoulematecalculator.com...I think I got into a spam/phishing loop...something like that. Anyway, my soulmate's name is "Brook." I wonder if the site thought "Carroll" (my name) was a male's name? Maybe so. Anyhoo, I had to go through a lot of work to get out of the loop, and unsubscribed from getting charged all sorts of money for all sorts of things.

N.B.! This scam...and I'm a computer-support specialist for 12 years now!...cost me $19.99 plus another $9.99. :-(

7 deadly sins

Like the Ten Commandments, I can never remember these (and their Latin equivalents):

1. lust (luxuria)
2. gluttony (gula)
3. greed/avarice (avaritia)
4. sloth/laziness (acedia)
5. wrath/anger (ira)
6. envy/jealousy (invidia)
7. pride/hubris (superbia)
   

peninsula story

From Nora Ephron's book, I Feel Bad About My Neck:

A man and a woman live in a house on a deserted peninsula. The man's mother comes to stay with them, and then man goes off on a business trip. The woman takes the ferry to the mainland and goes to seee her lover. They make love. When they finish, she realized it's late, and she gets up, dresses, and rushes to catch the last ferry home. But she misses the boat. She pleads with the ferryboat captain. He tells her he will take her back to the peninsula if she gives him six times the normal fare. But she doesn't have the money. So she's forced to walk home, and on the way, she's raped and killed by a stranger.

The question is: Who is responsible for her death, and in what order--the woman, the man, the mother, the ferryboat capain, the lover, or the rapist?

Ephron's acquaintance says the question is a Rorshach, and if you ask your friends to answer it, they will all answer differently.

Most objectively, the rapist is responsible for her death.

mouse potato?

Am I one? I suppose!

back in time

From Perez Hilton's site...like looking back in time...best I can imagine.


"Purrrrfection!!! Burlesque diva and international fashion plate, Miz Dita von Teese, looks like a yummy slice of angel's food cake as she arrives at the Dior fashion show in Paris on Monday."

another pet peeve

MySpace pages with audio, which seems to be pretty much all of 'em.

23

I like seeing actors/actresses play parts opposite the genres they usually play...people like Robin Williams and, now, Jim Carrey...in 23.

Saints

Aggh...that was awful! How can a team expect to win a game if it gives away 9 points straight off, on three separate fumbles? It's lucky the Saints weren't down 30 to nothing at the half...not that it mattered in the end. Not that the Bears are in, I'm not sure whom I should be for in the Super Bowl...the Patriots/Colts or the Bears? I might go for the Bears, since they won their game fair and square and since one of my faithful friends is a rabid Bears fan. And I lived in Chicago for 10 years, too, longer than I've lived here in Boston.

Lisa and Homer: inferring or implying?

Homer: "What are you inferring?"

Lisa: "I'm not 'inferring' anything. You 'infer'; I 'imply.'"

• And there you have it!

yellow fever and Aedes aegypti

Interesting facts about yellow fever, from Molly Caldwell Crosby's book, The American Plague:

yellow jack/coup de barre/vomito negro/saffron scourge/American plague

• In New York, Greenwich Village would become known as "the Village" because it was safe haven outside of the city during yellow fever epidemics.
• Napoleon would abandon his conquests in North America after losing 23,000 of his troops to yellow fever in the colony of Haiti. He made a hasty and fearful retreat from this pestilent hemisphere, selling his larger Louisiana holdings for cheap to Thomas Jefferson.
• During the Civil War, yellow fever would serve as one of this country's first forms of biological warfare. And the Spanish-American War, at the close of the nineteenth centure, would be fought more against this fever than against the Spanish.
• In 1878, Memphis, Tennessee would suffer losses greater than the Chicago fire, San Francisco earthqualke, and Johnstown flood combined.
  

another plastic-surgery "problem"

...the Italian Michaela Romanini...she looks like a man, I think. She might be a handsome woman if she hadn't gone berserk with the lip augmentation.

Saints vs. Bears

I had a dream last night about the NFC Division Title game this weekend: the final score was Saints 14 | Bears 7. I can only hope!

more Ms. Wildenstein

I just don't get what she was going for. Her chin and LIPS are monstrous...it's like Frankenstein...well, worse!

another spam "story"

(I've added the helpful "paragraph" breaks. You're welcome!)

First, it would promote consumer trust.

When you buy a new shredder - get a cross-cut version rather than a strip cut one. Having learnt Vasthu Sastra in China, Vanitha is practicing it in Chennai. " On the other end of the spectrum, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Russia, Malaysia, and China were designated as "endemic surveillance societies.

One thing Apple does best is to get product on the shelves immediately after its announcement.

We may, however, be at the tipping point where electronic record-keeping will actually start to reduce paper. Adopting it as legislation has not been the best approach. ranks the lowest amongst democratic countries surveyed.

Go to a blog that you want to follow, such as mine at www. standard for all companies. He found that on average they were more effective than the ones most people use at work. If one comments on something they received for free, or is being paid to adopt a position on something, be up front about it.

comWeb MasalaDaily Hot NewsThenali OnlineFashionVambuAppo IppoTidbitsShanthi- MadhanGossipsNangal SuttavaiMovies In Chennaimore.

Panera brought a lawsuit against the shopping mall in an attempt to prevent them from leasing space to Qdoba. Taking too big a stride will land one in a pit!

I have a smartphone, but am in the market to upgrade it soon to one running Windows Mobile 5.

, was trying to keep a Mexican restaurant chain, Qdoba Mexican Grill, out of shopping malls where Panera already had a restaurant. Department of Agriculture representatives to assist in his ruling that a burrito is not a sandwich. Which leads to the network neutrality issue.
Included were all 25 EU members as well as countries such as Canada, the U.

Critics are concerned that the existing telcos wil undercut the competition, so in the end we will be left with no competition and higher prices. 5 million social security numbers. If the number is complete, use a pen to scratch out the middle four numbers on your copy. Until now, a 3rd party plug in was required to do that. If you don't have IE7 yet, just run windows update.

I tend to side with the view that this is more about disclosure than anything. There was also an overall rejection of the idea that additional security screening should be given to visible minorities at airports.

, was trying to keep a Mexican restaurant chain, Qdoba Mexican Grill, out of shopping malls where Panera already had a restaurant.

sad

How did Jocelyne Widenstein get herself to this point?

interesting optical "delusion"

Rainbow with Waterfall, from Stare Clips

Saddam Hussein

(I didn't post this properly before...obviously the execution went through).

I guess it's part of human nature...compassion, that is: Saddam Hussein is potentially to be executed within the next three hours, CNN says. He did terrible things to his country and others, yet I still feel sorry for his imminent capital punishment. Still doesn't seem right to me to kill others, even in the case of war or capital punishment. I think I'd rather be executed than spend the rest of my life in prison.