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Twelve pictures twelve months. I tried to choose images that best represent our lives each month. Although now that I look at it, there is no way any of it will make any sense to you. Best wishes to all of you in the New Year.
Twelve pictures twelve months. I tried to choose images that best represent our lives each month. Although now that I look at it, there is no way any of it will make any sense to you. Best wishes to all of you in the New Year.
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In the world of retail, there's star power, there's celebrity endorsement and then there's Oprah Winfrey. Her Midas touch saves names from anonymity, best sellers from dusty storerooms and favorite things from Internet obscurity.
But as Winfrey has long chosen abstinence in the arena of political endorsements and campaign-trail theater, her capital remains untested. Until now.
In May, Winfrey affirmed her support for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidacy to Larry King, describing Obama's leadership as "worth me going out on a limb for." In September, the media titan feted Obama at a California fundraiser, raking in more than $3 million for the Illinois senator's White House bid.
And this weekend, Winfrey hits the trail with the Democratic candidate, making appearances alongside Obama in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire.Well we all have seen and heard the ubiquitous question “Who are your top five most favorite music artists of all time?” and Personally I find them a little hard to answer. I mean for fuck sake I have some where around 35 gigs of music on my computer, does that strike you as the type of guy who has a short list of favorites? I might be able to give a top five for each genre. But the whole concept of these questions are so redundant in them self. Wouldn’t it simply be easier to simply establish the music some one doesn’t like first. Then you could end your conversation on a positive note by reviewing those bands you do like. Heck wouldn’t it be great if there was an online music source that built your profile off not only your likes but your dislikes from the start? Well now I am rambling.
So what are your top five most despised musicians of all time?
Here are mine in order:
2. Alanis Morissette
3. Guns and Roses
4. James Taylor
5. Back Street Boys
Whoops! no sooner did I publish this post and leave the house in my car, but what did I hear on the radio...?
Lets Add one more and make it a simple half dozen.
6. Cher!
None -- they don't want to be enlightened!
Cut fresh veggies and dip: Good, half the plate eaten.
Everything Nuts: Excellent!!!! Burned first attempt but wow they were really good!
Almond, Cashew, Cranberry mix: Forgot to serve.
Cheese and Crackers: Cheese selection needed to be wider, we served Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan, and Smoked Cheddar. A Baked Brie would have been great along with more Spreadable Cheese.
Smoked Salmon: One slice of quality fish was the perfect quantity!
Crab Salad wraps: Well liked well received, made 5 times to much.
Dinner
Salad- served buffet style (build your own): No one touched it, likely due to the fact that dinner and Hors d'oeuvres were served only about 40 minutes apart.
Fresh Tangerines: Looked great, bought to many.
Fish (Grilled) Talapia: Two large pieces were perfect, Prepared on the grill yum.
Turkey: 17.5 pound bird for 16 people just a little too much, maybe 15 would have been perfect.
Corn Bread: Excellent! Pre-Mix from Trader Joes.
Mashed Potato's: Perfect Potatoes from Mom's garden.
Sweet Potato's: Good, however it looked weird and few ate them, made a double batch and was twice to much. This dish did however become more tasty as left-overs. Next time make two days prior to meal.
Rolls: Average, store bought pre-maid none left over.
Wild Rice Salad: Very Good, Batch was twice the size it should have been.
Standard stuffing: Had very little left over!!! Seems we had a lot of stuffing lovers at our dinner table.
Grandma Hill's Famous Stuffing: Gone!!!!! Big favorite!!!
Corn (from Mom’s Farm): Yum!
Carrots (from Mom’s Farm): Did not show up.
Swiss Chard casserole (from Mom’s Farm): Only a few of us ate it :(
Cranberry Sauce: !!!!!! Holy shit these were really good!!!!!! Berries soaked in lots of sugar and brandy. YUM!
Hot Cider: Finished most of it!!! Trader Joes Spiced Cider.
Wine (Harbor Red): Gone!!!!! Big favorite!!!
Wine (white?): Gone!!!!! Big favorite!!!
Vanilla Ice cream: Did well!
Pumpkin Pie: Gone!!!!! Big favorite!!! Nothing special, From Jewel Bake shop.
Apple Pie: never happened.
Strawberry Rhubarb: Half of one pie eaten, Grand Travers Pie Company.
Black Berry Pie: One quarter eaten, Grand Travers Pie Company.
Pumpkin Spice Cake: Two slices eaten… by me Pre-Mix From Trader Joes.
Banana Bread: Four slices eaten Pre-Mix From Trader Joes.
Cookies: Gone!!!!! Big favorite!!! Could have bought twice as much. Frosted Sugar Cookies (jewel), and Chocolate Chip Cookies from Josephs.
Turtle Pumpkin Pie (from Mom’s Farm): miss-fire died in transit.
A. Because it's no big deal unless you're not getting any.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday that officials were working to secure the early release of a British teacher who faces being whipped in Sudan after she allowed her class to name a teddy bear "Mohammed."
Gillian Gibbons, 54, was arrested Sunday after she asked her class of seven-year-olds to come up with a name for the toy as part of a school project, her head teacher told CNN.
Robert Boulos, the head of Unity High School in the capital Khartoum, said naming the teddy bear was "a totally innocent mistake" and that Gibbons had never intended to cause offense.
He said Gibbons had asked the children to pick their favorite name for the new class mascot, which she was using to aid lessons about animals and their habitats.
Classmates took turns taking the teddy bear home with them, accompanied by a diary with the bear's name written in the front of it, Boulos said.
"All this is a very sensitive area. I asked her (Gibbons) why she had done it and she said she didn't chose the name, the children did," Boulos told CNN.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday he was "very sorry" about Gibbons' arrest and that the British embassy in Khartoum was "giving all appropriate consular assistance to her."
He said all efforts were being taken to ensure her early release and that government officials were in touch with the teacher's family in the northern British city of Liverpool.
The school teacher has been accused of blasphemy and is being held by police in Khartoum, Kirsty Saunders, British Foreign Office spokeswoman told CNN.
Although there is no ban in the Koran on images of Allah or the Prophet Mohammed, likenesses are considered highly offensive by Muslims.
Parents of students at the school informed the authorities and Gibbons was taken into custody Sunday, Saunders said.
So far Gibbons has yet to be charged with any offense, however, under Sudanese law, insulting Islam is punishable with 40 lashes, a jail term of up to six months or a fine, she said.
However, a Sudanese official told CNN that if police decided that Gibbons had acted in good faith, she would most likely be spared punishment.
"If the intentions are good, definitely she will be absolved and will be cautioned not to repeat this thing again," Mutrif Siddig, Sudan's under secretary for foreign affairs, said.
---When are people just gonna wake up and realize that Islam is a violent and non-tolerant form of Religion? I supposed once the kids got home they got beatings too because they agreed with this bear bring named Mohammed? If insulting Christianity was punishable by these same standards, people would be getting lashes on a daily basis with no remorse.---
- We Americans live in a nation where the medical-care system is second to none in the world, unless you count maybe 25 or 30 little scuzzball countries like Scotland that we could vaporize in seconds if we felt like it.
- Dave Barry
US columnist & humorist (1947 - )
NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer will withdraw a controversial plan that would have allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, a spokeswoman told CNN Tuesday night.
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan for driver's licenses for illegal immigrants came under heavy criticism.
Spitzer plans to withdraw the proposal on Wednesday, spokeswoman Jennifer Givner told CNN.
The governor is in Washington, D.C., for a meeting with New York's congressional delegation on the issue, she said.
Spitzer's plan drew national attention and stirred opposition from critics, some of whom expressed concern over possible voter fraud.
"I believe this is just a fundamental issue of right and wrong," said Rep. Tom Latham, an Iowa Republican who opposes Spitzer's plan. "And to give people official recognition when they come in and break the law in their first act in this country is simply wrong."
Seventy-six percent of Americans oppose giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, according to poll conducted in October for CNN by the Opinion Research Corp.
---Finally, someone with some fucking brains.---The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Linda Stein, a pioneer in New York's punk music scene who later became known as a real estate "broker to the stars," was beaten to death inside her Manhattan apartment, the medical examiner ruled.
Stein's daughter found her body Tuesday night face down in the living room of the Upper East Side apartment, where she lived alone. There were no signs of a break-in or robbery, and police said they had no motive or suspects.
An autopsy found that Stein, 62, died from blows to the head and neck, medical examiner spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said Wednesday.
Stein was the ex-wife of Seymour Stein, former president of Sire Records, which was the launching pad for the Ramones, Talking Heads and Madonna.
A former schoolteacher, she and Danny Fields co-managed the Ramones during the band's heyday. She is credited with bringing the Ramones to England for their infamous July 4, 1976, concert that helped spark the young British punk scene.
"If you could cook," said the husband, "we could fire the chef."
"If you could screw," replied the wife, "we could fire the driver."
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A former gang member convicted in a jewelry heist that resembled robberies he described in his memoir has been sentenced to 126 years in prison.
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Colton Simpson, 41, declined to speak during Friday's sentencing hearing and showed no reaction when Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson III issued the sentence.
Simpson, who has previous felony convictions, was sentenced under the state's three strikes law. He was found guilty of robbery, burglary and grand theft for his role in a 2003 heist at a Robinsons-May Co. department store jewelry counter in Temecula.
Simpson was accused of being the mastermind and getaway car driver. Two unidentified men, who were not prosecuted, were accused of entering the store and actually pulling off the heist.
Dickerson permitted Simpson's 2005 memoir, "Inside the Crips: Life Inside L.A.'s Most Notorious Gang," to be presented as evidence during the trial.
Prosecutors argued that a visit by Simpson to the jewelry counter two days before the robbery was similar to scenes in the book.
---Its crazy to me to think there are still Crips and Bloods out there and doing well. At my last check I was under the impression that most of the serious, hardcore L.A. gangs had gone underground more or less, kinda like the MOB. You damn well know they exist, but they are just really, really quiet about it.
Its like if someone my size was to end up in prison serving HARD time. Id join a white power gang so fast your head would spin. You need protection on the inside. I still remember a lot about the prison system from my years in college (and I worked in an all women medium security prison for about 6 months too) You dont play solo in prison for very long and expect to be left alone. You do what ya gotta do to live in there. OK, I got off topic, anyone else got any ideas about prison, or gangs for that matter? Are there still a lot of gangs over there? I would imagine Chicago is riddled with them. The gangs here are VERY well hidden, Des Moines has an excellent gang task force, be it very small---Long before the sun comes up to bake the Arizona desert, the Maricopa County sheriff's deputies get ready for the day's pursuit.
"The objective is basically to make stops on these vehicles, screen these individuals [to see] whether they're in this country illegally," said Madrid.With 4 million residents, Maricopa (which includes the cities of Phoenix and Mesa) claims to be the fastest-growing county in America. Illegal immigrants are helping fuel that growth with their numbers and labor, and in Maricopa County they aren't waiting for Washington to stop haggling over immigration reform. That's because they have a no-nonsense sheriff who likes to do things … his way.
---Its about time they gave some of our border patrol guards the power to actually arrest someone trying to get in illegally---
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Maybe Sting should start writing more instrumentals. The school teacher-turned-rock star topped Blender's list of the worst lyricists, thanks to lines that betray "mountainous pomposity (and) cloying spirituality," the music magazine said.
The survey, contained in the November issue that hits newsstands next week, placed Rush drummer Neil Peart at No. 2, Creed frontman Scott Stapp at No. 3, Oasis guitarist Noel
Blender assailed Sting for such alleged sins as name-dropping Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov in the Police tune "Don't Stand So Close to Me," quoting a Volvo bumper sticker ("If You Love Someone Set Them Free"), and co-opting the works of Chaucer, St. Augustine and Shakespeare.
A spokeswoman for the English rocker, who is currently in Belgium on the Police's reunion world tour, did not respond to a request for comment.
Blender described Canadian rocker Peart's lyrics as "richly awful tapestries of fantasy and science," and said Gallagher "seemed incapable of following a metaphor through a single line, let alone a whole verse."
Further down the ranks, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant (No. 23) was derided for his Tolkienesque musings on Gollum and Mordor in "Ramble On."
Carly Simon (No. 31) was mocked for rhyming "yacht," "apricot" and "gavotte" in "You're So Vain."
Paul McCartney made No. 38, thanks in part to "Ebony and Ivory," his socially conscious duet with Stevie Wonder.
The horror film "Poltergeist" is being re-released in theaters today to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The film, which is considered a classic and was nominated for three Oscars, has a lesser-known legacy: it strongly influenced the public's views about real-life ghosts.
About half of Americans believe in ghosts, according to a 2003 Harris poll. Since the scientific evidence for ghosts is shaky at best—and since relatively few people claim to have personally seen a ghost—most people get their information about them through the media.
Steven Spielberg, who wrote and produced "Poltergeist," is well known for his influence on pop culture in general. But his films have also shaped the public's perception of the paranormal. His successful films often include supernatural themes, including ghosts, aliens (e.g., "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," and "War of the Worlds"); miracles (the Indiana Jones series); and psychic powers ("Minority Report").
While audiences know the films are entertainment, there is a clear (if subtle and sometimes subconscious) influence on their beliefs about these topics
---Do you believe in ghosts?---As air travelers' summer of hell draws to a close, stories of canceled flights, lost luggage and late arrivals abound. But while it might seem that the whole system is a mess, which carriers are actually the biggest culprits?
Other than JetBlue's much publicized ice storm fiasco in February, customers seem to be engaged in a general rage against the industry machine. And it's true that some common annoyances, like long security lines, come courtesy of the government and tend to affect airlines across the board.
Check out the worst airlines at our partner site, Forbes.com.
But when it comes to delivering for customers, there can still be quite a difference from one carrier to another. To measure the worst performing airlines for the 12 months ended July 31, 2007, we analyzed the U.S. Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report for the three criteria that consumers say are nearest and dearest to their hearts--flight delays, cancellations and mishandled bags.
Overbooked planes were also cited in consumer complaints--who doesn't detest getting bumped from an oversold flight? But because the problem affects only a tiny fraction of the flying population, we didn't include the category in our calculation.
The numbers show that Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a former Delta Air Lines unit that still has working agreements for baggage and other ground operations with its former parent in Atlanta, and which ranks at or next to the bottom in all three categories, has earned the dubious distinction of America's worst airline. Right behind are Delta's low-fare subsidiary Comair, which has the nation's highest cancellation rate, and American Airlines' unit American Eagle, which ranks among the bottom four in all categories.
---Man, I truly hate airliners.---
I've been to my share of parties, talked to more than a few "pharmaceutical majors" and read plenty of Bukowski and Burroughs, but I've never heard people describe a drug with such simultaneous reverence and revulsion as the meth-heads in Montana, where a PSA campaign has helped reverse the prevalance of this drug. (To watch the videos, click here.)
"You feel like God," one young woman told me about her experience with the drug. Another described feeling "10 feet tall and bulletproof." She cracked a guilty smile when she spoke, and I was able to count her six remaining teeth.
Methamphetamine was invented in Japan in the late 1800s, and years later, the Nazis mixed it with chocolate to keep their pilots focused in battle. A graph charting American meth use looks like a hockey stick; a low plateau through the '60s and '70s that cranks skyward.
By the '90s, it was no longer a fringe weight loss aid or trucker's buddy. It became a smokeable, snortable, shootable party drug that has devastated rural America.
Why here? For years, it was cheap — and everywhere. Unlike cocaine, heroin or marijuana, meth is not grown but mixed; a witches brew of cold medicine, antifreeze, drain cleaner and other store-bought or farm-pilfered chemicals.
One needs only time to cook it, and space to mask the fumes. The American West has plenty of space, along with plenty of small-town kids eager to experiment on a slow Saturday night.
But calling meth addictive is like calling water wet. As it floods the brain with dopamine and serotonin, it also explodes the vesicles that receive these pleasure-producing hormones in the future.
Soon, the only way for a user to experience joy is with more meth. "If someone tells you they're a recreational user, they're full of crap," a veteran drug cop told me with a wry laugh. What begins as recreation often ends in soul-crushing depression and physical decay.
---Hah, I didnt know Nazi's used the shit, did you? I cant begin to tell you how many lives I have known that have been impacted by meth. My former sister in law lost her kids because of it. Iowa is pretty big for meth users. If you head out into "Corn Country" you can see plenty of old, abandoned trailers that were used for meth manufacturing. Drugs, how fun. Well, I just wanted to post a story to the board maybe spice things up a bit, me done.---
Mark Twain (35)
A man was eating in a fancy restaurant, and there was a gorgeous woman eating at the next table. He had been checking her out all night, but lacked the nerve to go talk to her. Suddenly she sneezed and her glass eye went flying out of its socket towards the man. With lightning quick reflexes, he caught it in mid-air. ''Oh my gosh, I am so sorry,'' she said as she popped her eye back in the socket. ''Let me buy you dinner to make it up to you.'' They enjoyed a wonderful dinner together and afterwards the woman invited him back to her place for a drink. They went back to her house, and after some time, she took him into her bedroom and began undressing him. The couple had wild, passionate sex many times during the night. The next morning when he awoke, she had already gotten up and brought him breakfast in bed. The guy was amazed and said ''You know, you are the perfect woman. Are you this nice to every guy you meet?'' ''No, she replied. "You just happened to catch my eye!'' |