... I want to celebrate New Years in Sydney. Imagine watching this from the deck of a cruise ship!
iTunes is currently playing: Let's Dream In The Moonlight from the album Past Perfect, Disc Six by Billie Holiday.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Jack Bauer interrogates Santa
I am SO looking forward to January 17th, when Jack and Chloe return for Season 8.
iTunes is currently playing: Feliz Navidad from the album Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Brits get it.
They understand we've been sold a bill of goods by the global warming folks. When are we going to wise up?
iTunes is currently playing: Prelude To The End Of The Game from the album Brand New Day by Sting.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Disturbing Hoosier News
According to NWI.COM (online version of The [Hammond] Times), Indiana has the second highest smoking rate in the country. It is difficult to believe that in this day and age, more than a quarter of adults in Hoosierville smoke. Even worse, the percentage has gone up in the last couple of years (unlike most other states, where fewer people are smoking).
What's up, Hoosiers? Do you all not get that smoking is bad for your health??
iTunes is currently playing: Save Yourself from the album Aces by Suzy Bogguss.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The number of women who will buy this item:
ZERO!!
Withings, the French company behind the Wi-Fi Body Scale, the first bathroom scale equipped with a wireless connection to send your weight and body fat information directly to your Web page and iPhone, announced it has added Twitter capability to the scale, enabling the user to automatically tweet the weight/fat info to followers.
In a news release, Withings declared the Twitter function would be a great help to users, "further motivating them by sharing their progress with followers."
Withings, the French company behind the Wi-Fi Body Scale, the first bathroom scale equipped with a wireless connection to send your weight and body fat information directly to your Web page and iPhone, announced it has added Twitter capability to the scale, enabling the user to automatically tweet the weight/fat info to followers. In a news release, Withings declared the Twitter function would be a great help to users, "further motivating them by sharing their progress with followers."
iTunes is currently playing: We Have No Secrets from the album "The Best of Carly Simon" by Carly Simon.
I remember very clearly ...
... the terror we felt as those news reports broke. Random shootings at a gas station and a Home Depot. A bus driver ready to start his route. A crazy person, we said. Who else would do something like this. And then relief when the two men were in custody and the shootings stopped. Sympathy of sorts for the teen. Rage toward the other, the ringleader. So much rage. Maybe that is why it only took 7 years to execute him, instead of the 20+ it often takes for death penalty cases to wind their way through the justice system. Relatives of the victims say they feel better now. Really? When the government does its eye-for-an-eye thing, does it bring back the dead? Did it heal your broken heart?
iTunes is currently playing: nothing.
iTunes is currently playing: nothing.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Makes us ex-pats wanna cry.
From the [Gary] Post-Tribune:
The fiancee of Gary's latest homicide victim said she asked him not to visit the Brunswick neighborhood where he was shot and killed Wednesday. Terry Flournoy Jr., 36, became the fifth person in six days to be killed in Gary when he failed to heed that warning. Witnesses said they heard several gunshots before Flournoy was found dead in a purple Pontiac Sunfire in the 700 block of Hovey Street. "People have been getting killed left and right over here," Mya Gauldin, ... said.
From GoogleMaps:
iTunes is currently playing: Lonesome For A Place I Know from the album "Idlewild" by Everything But The Girl.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A Day in the Country
Yesterday was a beautiful day so we took a drive out to Lancaster (PA). We saw quite a few horse-drawn buggies, as the area is home to some Amish folks. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents, as the buggies travel right alongside the cars on Rt. 30.
Does this cow need to be milked or do they always look like that?
As we approached our house at the end of the day, we saw a couple of our local deer watching the cars go by. I never get tired of watching these guys.
Does this cow need to be milked or do they always look like that?
As we approached our house at the end of the day, we saw a couple of our local deer watching the cars go by. I never get tired of watching these guys.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Bokeh
Playing with a new lens for my Olympus E-520: a Rokinon 85mm 1.4.
iTunes is currently playing:
Someone's In The Background from the album Hearts And Flowers by Joan Armatrading.Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
American Life in Poetry #226 (Travel-themed!)
Occasionally I post an issue of Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry column, when its featured poem particularly hits home with me. The following poem reminds me of the afternoon we spent whale watching with a group of folks who cruised Alaska with us on the Diamond Princess last May. We saw so many whales that afternoon! It was one of the highlights of our cruise, and it was wonderful to share the experience with so many others. If you have ever traveled in a group, the poem may touch a chord with you, too.
American Life in Poetry: Column 226
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Elizabeth Bishop, one of our greatest American poets, once wrote a long poem in which the sudden appearance of a moose on a highway creates a community among a group of strangers on a bus. Here Ronald Wallace, a Wisconsin poet, gives us a sighting with similar results.
Sustenance
Australia. Phillip Island. The Tasman Sea.
Dusk. The craggy coastline at low tide in fog.
Two thousand tourists milling in the stands
as one by one, and then in groups, the fairy penguins
mass up on the sand like so much sea wrack and
debris. And then, as on command, the improbable
parade begins: all day they've been out fishing
for their chicks, and now, somehow, they find them
squawking in their burrows in the dunes, one by one,
two by two, such comical solemnity, as wobbling by
they catch our eager eyes until we're squawking, too,
in English, French, and Japanese, Yiddish and Swahili,
like some happy wedding party brought to tears
by whatever in the ceremony repairs the rifts
between us. The rain stops. The fog lifts. Stars.
And we go home, less hungry, satisfied, to friends
and family, regurgitating all we've heard and seen.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Sustenance" from "For A Limited Time Only," by Ronald Wallace, (c) 2008. Used by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. The poem first appeared in "Poetry Northwest," Vol. 41, no. 4, 2001. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
American Life in Poetry: Column 226
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Elizabeth Bishop, one of our greatest American poets, once wrote a long poem in which the sudden appearance of a moose on a highway creates a community among a group of strangers on a bus. Here Ronald Wallace, a Wisconsin poet, gives us a sighting with similar results.
Sustenance
Australia. Phillip Island. The Tasman Sea.
Dusk. The craggy coastline at low tide in fog.
Two thousand tourists milling in the stands
as one by one, and then in groups, the fairy penguins
mass up on the sand like so much sea wrack and
debris. And then, as on command, the improbable
parade begins: all day they've been out fishing
for their chicks, and now, somehow, they find them
squawking in their burrows in the dunes, one by one,
two by two, such comical solemnity, as wobbling by
they catch our eager eyes until we're squawking, too,
in English, French, and Japanese, Yiddish and Swahili,
like some happy wedding party brought to tears
by whatever in the ceremony repairs the rifts
between us. The rain stops. The fog lifts. Stars.
And we go home, less hungry, satisfied, to friends
and family, regurgitating all we've heard and seen.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Sustenance" from "For A Limited Time Only," by Ronald Wallace, (c) 2008. Used by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. The poem first appeared in "Poetry Northwest," Vol. 41, no. 4, 2001. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
iTunes is currently playing:
Universal Traveler from the album Talkie Walkie by Air.Sunday, August 9, 2009
A big improvement? You be the judge.
I love my new door!
BEFORE:
Our original door was much larger than a standard-sized door and had a big round doorknob the size of a grapefruit on the outside.
AFTER:
Target checks out the new door. The installer had to build a frame around the door because the old one was so big.
Here is a close-up view of the stained glass window in the door.
BEFORE:
Our original door was much larger than a standard-sized door and had a big round doorknob the size of a grapefruit on the outside.
AFTER:
Target checks out the new door. The installer had to build a frame around the door because the old one was so big.
Here is a close-up view of the stained glass window in the door.
iTunes is currently playing:
This House (Album Version) from the album Hoodoo by Alison Moyet.Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Evian Roller Babies
I feel as if I am always the last person on earth to learn about a cool commercial or video or performer or whatever. Has everyone else known about Evian Babies for a while??
iTunes is currently playing:
Have You Seen My Baby from the album Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman by Randy Newman.Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Were they naughty instead of nice?
[Photo posted on TwitPic.com by PrincessCruises.]
Dan and I sailed on this ship a couple of weeks earlier and we were very lucky. The weather was beautiful throughout our trip with the exception of an hour or so in Ketchikan. So many people told us that Alaska is a must-see cruise destination and it is true!
iTunes is currently playing:
Heavy Cloud No Rain from the album Ten Summoner's Tales by Sting.Tuesday, June 9, 2009
American Life in Poetry: Column 220
Another interesting poetry column from Ted Kooser:
American Life in Poetry: Column 220
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
One of the privileges of being U.S. Poet Laureate was to choose two poets each year to receive a $10,000 fellowship, funded by the Witter Bynner Foundation. Joseph Stroud, who lives in California, was one of my choices. This poem is representative of his clear-eyed, imaginative poetry.
Night in Day
The night never wants to end, to give itself over
to light. So it traps itself in things: obsidian, crows.
Even on summer solstice, the day of light's great
triumph, where fields of sunflowers guzzle in the sun--
we break open the watermelon and spit out
black seeds, bits of night glistening on the grass.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2009 by Joseph Stroud, and reprinted from his recent book of poems, "Of This World: New and Selected Poems 1966-2006," Copper Canyon Press, 2009, by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
American Life in Poetry: Column 220
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
One of the privileges of being U.S. Poet Laureate was to choose two poets each year to receive a $10,000 fellowship, funded by the Witter Bynner Foundation. Joseph Stroud, who lives in California, was one of my choices. This poem is representative of his clear-eyed, imaginative poetry.
Night in Day
The night never wants to end, to give itself over
to light. So it traps itself in things: obsidian, crows.
Even on summer solstice, the day of light's great
triumph, where fields of sunflowers guzzle in the sun--
we break open the watermelon and spit out
black seeds, bits of night glistening on the grass.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2009 by Joseph Stroud, and reprinted from his recent book of poems, "Of This World: New and Selected Poems 1966-2006," Copper Canyon Press, 2009, by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
iTunes is currently playing:
Black Diamond from the album Winter Solstice On Ice by The Rippingtons Featuring Russ Freeman.Friday, June 5, 2009
American Life in Poetry: Column 214
It's been a while since I posted one of former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's poetry columns, but this one struck a chord with me so I decided to share it.
American Life in Poetry: Column 214
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Sometimes I wonder at my wife's forbearance. She's heard me tell the same stories dozens of times, and she still politely laughs when she should. Here's a poem by Susan Browne, of California, that treats an oft-told story with great tenderness.
On Our Eleventh Anniversary
You're telling that story again about your childhood,
when you were five years old and rode your blue bicycle
from Copenhagen to Espergaerde, and it was night
and snowing by the time you arrived,
and your grandparents were so relieved to see you,
because all day no one knew where you were,
you had vanished. We sit at our patio table under a faded green
umbrella, drinking wine in California's blue autumn,
red stars of roses along the fence, trellising over the roof
of our ramshackle garage. Too soon the wine glasses will be empty,
our stories told, the house covered with pine needles the wind
has shaken from the trees. Other people will live here.
We will vanish like children who traveled far in the dark,
stars of snow in their hair, riding to enchanted Espergaerde.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2007 by Susan Browne, whose most recent book of poems is "Buddha's Dogs," Four Way Books, 2004. Poem reprinted from "Mississippi Review" Vol. 35, nos. 1-2, Spring 2007, and reprinted by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006
American Life in Poetry: Column 214
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Sometimes I wonder at my wife's forbearance. She's heard me tell the same stories dozens of times, and she still politely laughs when she should. Here's a poem by Susan Browne, of California, that treats an oft-told story with great tenderness.
On Our Eleventh Anniversary
You're telling that story again about your childhood,
when you were five years old and rode your blue bicycle
from Copenhagen to Espergaerde, and it was night
and snowing by the time you arrived,
and your grandparents were so relieved to see you,
because all day no one knew where you were,
you had vanished. We sit at our patio table under a faded green
umbrella, drinking wine in California's blue autumn,
red stars of roses along the fence, trellising over the roof
of our ramshackle garage. Too soon the wine glasses will be empty,
our stories told, the house covered with pine needles the wind
has shaken from the trees. Other people will live here.
We will vanish like children who traveled far in the dark,
stars of snow in their hair, riding to enchanted Espergaerde.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2007 by Susan Browne, whose most recent book of poems is "Buddha's Dogs," Four Way Books, 2004. Poem reprinted from "Mississippi Review" Vol. 35, nos. 1-2, Spring 2007, and reprinted by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006
iTunes is currently playing:
The Dreams Of Children from the album The Dreams of Children by Shadowfax.Monday, May 11, 2009
San Filippo baby in the news.
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video="http://kathyhand.com/video/stemcell.flv"
player="2"
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Read the article here.
video="http://kathyhand.com/video/stemcell.flv"
player="2"
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Read the article here.
Monday, March 2, 2009
In our Pennsylvania backyard ...
... we have deer and at least one fox. Folks who live (or winter) in Naples, Florida are entertained by the most interesting birds!
iTunes is currently playing:
Little Birdie from the album Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown! by Joy Williams.Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Since when do politicians ...
... have to know what they are voting for ...
iTunes is currently playing:
Things We've Handed Down from the album The Rainy Season by Marc Cohn.Monday, February 2, 2009
Offensive? You be the judge.
NBC was happy to take money from the makers of Doritos to show us an ad during the Super Bowl in which a man takes a bite out of a Dorito and a woman's clothes fly off of her body.
They also took money for a GoDaddy.com ad in which a woman with huge, fake breasts rips her sweater open to show us what she paid for.
But NBC apparently felt that the following ad was too offensive for television.
They also took money for a GoDaddy.com ad in which a woman with huge, fake breasts rips her sweater open to show us what she paid for.
But NBC apparently felt that the following ad was too offensive for television.
iTunes is currently playing:
That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be from the album The Best Of Carly Simon by Carly Simon.Thursday, January 29, 2009
I know ... bad hacker! bad!
... but I still laughed my @** off when I saw this!
You gotta love Austin!
You gotta love Austin!
iTunes is currently playing:
Shame from the album Bad Love by Randy Newman.Saturday, January 24, 2009
Is the honeymoon over?
From Politico.com:
Now that he’s in office, Obama’s approval ratings are starting to normalize, as partisan back-and-forth picks up.
Just a week ago [prior to his inauguration], Gallup found an astonishing 83 percent approval of how he has handled his transition, showing he had even won over most Republicans.
The Gallup Poll on Saturday released the first job-approval rating for President Obama, based on interviews during his first three full days in office: 68 percent.
The new job-approval figure puts him at the upper end of opening poll numbers for presidents, but doesn’t set a record.
iTunes is currently playing:
Somebody (Changed Your Mind) from the album All True Man by Alexander O'Neal.Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Evidence that the NAACP ...
... has outlived any usefulness it ever had ...
iTunes is currently playing:
The Fences from the soundtrack album Alexei and the Spring by Ryuichi Sakamoto.Monday, January 12, 2009
I totally get this.
In fact, I'm thinking Dan and I should fly to Vegas and renew our vows ... at the In-n-Out Burger on Tropicana.
Couple weds in fast-food style ... in Taco Bell.
Customers continue to order tacos and burritos as vows are exchanged.
Couple weds in fast-food style ... in Taco Bell.
Customers continue to order tacos and burritos as vows are exchanged.
iTunes is currently playing:
I Love To See You Smile from the album Guilty: 30 Years Of Randy Newman (Disc 4) by Randy Newman.Sunday, January 11, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Laugh of the Day
From the L.A.Times:
Porn mogul Larry Flynt sues nephews over use of family name
By Victoria Kim and Andrew Blankstein
January 7, 2009
Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt has been called a lot of things over the years. But he insists that the Flynt name still stands for quality when it comes to adult entertainment.
So this week, he filed suit against two nephews who are using the family name for their own line of adult films. Flynt said he is going to court to protect his good name, saying that he is concerned that Jimmy Flynt II and Dustin Flynt might tarnish the Flynt franchise by producing lower-quality porn that the lawsuit calls "inferior products" and "knock-off goods."
"To come into the adult entertainment business and use my name not only confuses people who buy my products, but if they're not maintaining a certain quality, it could also hurt my name," Larry Flynt told The Times on Tuesday.
Porn mogul Larry Flynt sues nephews over use of family name
By Victoria Kim and Andrew Blankstein
January 7, 2009
Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt has been called a lot of things over the years. But he insists that the Flynt name still stands for quality when it comes to adult entertainment.
So this week, he filed suit against two nephews who are using the family name for their own line of adult films. Flynt said he is going to court to protect his good name, saying that he is concerned that Jimmy Flynt II and Dustin Flynt might tarnish the Flynt franchise by producing lower-quality porn that the lawsuit calls "inferior products" and "knock-off goods."
"To come into the adult entertainment business and use my name not only confuses people who buy my products, but if they're not maintaining a certain quality, it could also hurt my name," Larry Flynt told The Times on Tuesday.
iTunes is currently playing:
Family Tree from the album Right Down The Line: The Best Of Gerry Rafferty by Gerry Rafferty.Saturday, January 3, 2009
If I hadn't seen this ad ...
... with my own eyes I'd swear it had to be a joke. It isn't bad enough that we are bombarded by rap music ringtones everywhere we go. Soon we will be assaulted by PERFUME emanating from laptop computers, too!
iTunes is currently playing: Girls Just Want to Have Fun from the album The Essential Cyndi Lauper by Cyndi Lauper.
iTunes is currently playing: Girls Just Want to Have Fun from the album The Essential Cyndi Lauper by Cyndi Lauper.
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... to an angel who would have turned 32 today. Love, Mom. iTunes is currently playing: Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear from the...
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... hubby and I sailed our first repositioning cruise on Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas, traveling from Harwich, England (near...
