Flood Photos

Grand Ole Opry

Downtown Nashville





This is the Opryland Hotel.

This is inside it in the covered courtyard.

This is a highway in the county where I live.

Telethon

The telethon is hosted by Vince Gill and streamed live on wsmv.com. They might run it again. Many Nashville stars are performing and answering phones, including Keith Urban, Alison Krauss, Naomi Judd, Amy Grant, Lorrie Morgan, Darius Rucker, Phil Vassar, Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry, Steve Wariner, Buddy Jewell, Lonestar, Bo Bice, Lee Roy Parnell, Bryan White, Julie Roberts, Chuck Wicks, Jimmy Olander, Steven Curtis Chapman, Brandon Heath, K'eb Mo, Billy Dean, and Dan Tyminski (sang "Man of Constant Sorrow" from O Brother - I love that song).

What's so bad is that many people didn't have and couldn't get flood insurance because they weren't in a flood plain. Others had flood insurance that said in the "fine print" that it didn't cover damage from water that came from outside the house. And some cover the structure only but none of the contents. Many people have applied for FEMA money, but it is restricted to homes within a certain distance from rivers. Cars were towed that people had to pay to get back and increases every day. Mortgage companies are not going to give anyone a break on paying for homes that no longer exist. I wouldn't be able to pay rent if I were making mortgage payments, too.

There are people who have lost everything. Worse than that are the 20 deaths. Pets and farm animals died and are missing. This is just so strange. We keep saying we've never seen anything like this here before. We are used to rain. We get a lot of it - heavy showers and rain that has lasted for over a month, but this is unbelievable. 25% of the rain we usually get in a year happened in 48 hours. This is from rain - RAIN! There was a stationary front with heavy rain that wouldn't move on the way it usually does, so it just sat there drenching everything in a torrential downpour.

Brad Paisley said that much of the staging and props for his coming concerts — called the H2O tour — were underwater during the floods, and that most of his guitars, amps and equipment had been destroyed. Ben Jumper, the owner of a storage plant called Soundcheck Nashville, where Paisley, Vince Gill, Keith Urban, and other musicians kept their gear, said he expected his losses from the flood would amount to tens of millions of dollars. Keith Urban said he had to borrow a guitar to appear on the telethon and that all his musical instruments and equipment is stored in Soundcheck. Lorrie Morgan said all of hers and her wardrobe is there, too. A publicist for Kenny Chesney told The A.P. that the musician’s home would probably be condemned after water rose above its first floor.

The music performers are donating their time and money to help out. Taylor Swift donated $500,000. Vince Gill said he could eat for a month on that. So far they have over a million dollars which won't go that far during all this.

First the Flood

Although there were many places in the county ruined and destroyed by the flooding, I was safe and had no damage. CNN is supposed to have a report on it tonight at 9:00 CDT on Anderson Cooper's show. There's a telethon on local WSMV tonight from 7:00 - 10:00 but not nationally. Lots of big names in music will be on it.

Tennessee Governor "very pleased" with response to flooding by Obama administration

"I've never seen this kind of response," said Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (D), "and we've had our share of tornadoes and so forth." The Volunteer State governor was speaking to reporters on a conference call from Nashville, which has been hit hard by rains last weekend.

"FEMA and the White House could not have been more helpful in this thing," Bredesen said. Record amounts of rain fell Saturday and Sunday, more than 13 inches recorded in parts of Tennessee. Officials Thursday reported the state's 20th death from the storm and subsequent flooding.

After speaking with the governor Monday, President Obama signed a disaster declaration for the state Tuesday, sending federal aid to Tennessee to help supplement the state and local recovery efforts. While Governor Bredesen wouldn't put a precise dollar amount on a damage assessment, he admitted, "it's a lot of money, it's a lot of money. I'd be astonished if not a billion dollars."

Governor Bredesen recognized his state's emergency was "sandwiched between" the news coverage of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square, and while he wanted to call national attention to the "extraordinary event", he noted the Obama administration has been focused from the beginning. "FEMA was on the ground before the rain drops fell," said Bredesen, who noted he'd not only spoken to Mr. Obama, but Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett. "We're very pleased with the response we've gotten from the administration."

Bredesen said that during their Monday conversation, he and Mr. Obama did talk about a future presidential visit. Both agreed it would be counter-productive for the president to come down south in the first days following the storm as so many resources are needed to accommodate a presidential visit. Bredesen said however that "if he wanted to do so at this point, he'd be very welcome."

The Tennessee governor says no one in his state feels "slighted" by the fact the president has not yet been down to assess the damage first hand. "He has a lot on his plate, and we're working through these things with FEMA and the Red Cross," said Bredesen. "But he's welcome to come any time he wants," as is Secretary Napolitano, to whom Bredesen has also extended an invitation. To date, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, who was in Tennessee today and participated in the conference call with reporters, has been to the state twice since the weekend's storm.

Source

Home

I'm back. Details tomorrow. Being on a sequestered jury is exhausting. I've missed you and need to catch up on what's going on with you and in the world.

Crap!

I called the number and have to report for jury selection in the morning at 8:30. That's bad enough but we were also told to pack a bag for 5 days because it's a sequestered jury trial. That sounds ominous. I don't want to be selected! If you don't hear from me all week, you'll know why. I'm bummed!

Bees

A bumblebee uses 22 muscles to sting, but it does not die when it stings, it can sting again and again. In bumblebee hives, the entire colony, except for the queen, dies at the end of each summer. The intense fear of bees is called apiphobia.

We're All Wet

It's still raining. The ground is saturated. Rivers have crested and overflowed. People are stranded and some are in shelters. It's much worse in Nashville than it is here, but it's bad enough here. Roads are impassable and dangerous. Neighborhoods look like rivers and lakes. Highways are beginning to crack and crumble. Boats are out on flooded streets, highways, yards, and parking lots to rescue people. It's bad and hasn't stopped raining.

So far, so good for me and my family and most of my friends. Just wanted to give you an update. This is all that's on the local TV channels. Weather people are on with their fancy maps and graphics, and we stay informed except for all those people without electricity now. There have been 6 deaths in the state from this and damaged and ruined homes and cars.

I'm watching semis making their way through the flood on I-40 and thinking about Tug.

No rain is predicted all next week, thank goodness!

Check HERE and/or HERE for articles and photos.

Flooding

Some of you might have seen this on the news. We had torrential rain and floods, and it's not finished yet. They're predicting double what we've gotten already in the next 24 hours. One of my knitting friends had over 4' of water rush into her house in 45 minutes. Her appliances and furniture were floating, and everything will be ruined downstairs. Really bad! I'm OK.



A portable classroom from a nearby high school floats down a flooded Interstate 24 before breaking apart during the May Day 2010 Flood in Nashville, Tennessee. (Video courtesy WTVF - Nashville, TN; no copyright infringement is intended)

Nail Trivia

The fingernails grow faster on the hand you favor. If you are right-handed, your right fingernails will grow faster, and vice versa. The middle fingernail grows faster than any other nail.

Oil Spill

HERE is an interactive map that shows the extent of the oil spill in the Gulf day by day. This is heartbreaking.

Invasion of the Mailbox Ants!

Millions of ants were inside my mailbox with their little ant eggs several days ago. They did this last year and left after I scrambled them around a bit. Not this year! First I scrambled them. Nothing. Then I put ant bait in the mailbox. Nothing the next day. So I wiped them out with a paper towel and then washed the inside and outside of the mailbox with soapy water and a cleaning solution of vinegar and water and put the ant bait back in there. When I got the mail yesterday afternoon many of them were back. These ants are relentless. So I went to Lowe's and bought the hard stuff - yes, the poisonous screw-the-environment spray and sprayed the fool out of the mailbox, inside and out. This morning they were all dead. So I cleaned the poison out of the inside of the mailbox and sprayed the posts and bottom of the mailbox. Just because I have them, I put the ant bait things back inside at the back of the box.


I googled and found that this is much more common than I thought. It makes me feel bad that this is called an ant nursery. I'm a baby ant killer and their mothers!

Damn! I just read this from a mailman on his blog HERE:

Sometimes during a heavy rainstorm a colony of ants will seek refuge in a rural-type mailbox. Desperate people, finding thousands of ants climbing through their mail, will get out the poison and spray. Then they wind up with a sticky box full of countless ant carcasses. The best way to get rid of the ants is simply to leave the mailbox open. The ants, not liking the light and the vulnerability, will immediately begin to move out, and will soon be gone, eggs and all, leaving no trace that they were ever there.

Facebook FYI

From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Facebook's Eroding Privacy Policy: A Timeline
Commentary by Kurt Opsahl

Since its incorporation just over five years ago, Facebook has undergone a remarkable transformation. When it started, it was a private space for communication with a group of your choice. Soon, it transformed into a platform where much of your information is public by default. Today, it has become a platform where you have no choice but to make certain information public, and this public information may be shared by Facebook with its partner websites and used to target ads.

To help illustrate Facebook's shift away from privacy, we have highlighted some excerpts from Facebook's privacy policies over the years. Watch closely as your privacy disappears, one small change at a time!

Facebook Privacy Policy circa 2005:

No personal information that you submit to Thefacebook will be available to any user of the Web Site who does not belong to at least one of the groups specified by you in your privacy settings.

Facebook Privacy Policy circa 2006:

We understand you may not want everyone in the world to have the information you share on Facebook; that is why we give you control of your information. Our default privacy settings limit the information displayed in your profile to your school, your specified local area, and other reasonable community limitations that we tell you about.

Facebook Privacy Policy circa 2007:

Profile information you submit to Facebook will be available to users of Facebook who belong to at least one of the networks you allow to access the information through your privacy settings (e.g., school, geography, friends of friends). Your name, school name, and profile picture thumbnail will be available in search results across the Facebook network unless you alter your privacy settings.

Facebook Privacy Policy circa November 2009:

Facebook is designed to make it easy for you to share your information with anyone you want. You decide how much information you feel comfortable sharing on Facebook and you control how it is distributed through your privacy settings. You should review the default privacy settings and change them if necessary to reflect your preferences. You should also consider your settings whenever you share information. …

Information set to “everyone” is publicly available information, may be accessed by everyone on the Internet (including people not logged into Facebook), is subject to indexing by third party search engines, may be associated with you outside of Facebook (such as when you visit other sites on the internet), and may be imported and exported by us and others without privacy limitations. The default privacy setting for certain types of information you post on Facebook is set to “everyone.” You can review and change the default settings in your privacy settings.

Facebook Privacy Policy circa December 2009:

Certain categories of information such as your name, profile photo, list of friends and pages you are a fan of, gender, geographic region, and networks you belong to are considered publicly available to everyone, including Facebook-enhanced applications, and therefore do not have privacy settings. You can, however, limit the ability of others to find this information through search using your search privacy settings.

Current Facebook Privacy Policy, as of April 2010:

When you connect with an application or website it will have access to General Information about you. The term General Information includes your and your friends’ names, profile pictures, gender, user IDs, connections, and any content shared using the Everyone privacy setting. … The default privacy setting for certain types of information you post on Facebook is set to “everyone.” … Because it takes two to connect, your privacy settings only control who can see the connection on your profile page. If you are uncomfortable with the connection being publicly available, you should consider removing (or not making) the connection.

Viewed together, the successive policies tell a clear story. Facebook originally earned its core base of users by offering them simple and powerful controls over their personal information. As Facebook grew larger and became more important, it could have chosen to maintain or improve those controls. Instead, it's slowly but surely helped itself — and its advertising and business partners — to more and more of its users' information, while limiting the users' options to control their own information.

DWTS Results or Cry Me a River

Lotsa crying going on this latest two weeks when the dancetestants are off the show. This week Jake the Bachelor cried when he left and got all emotional about it, and last week Kate did bigger crying. Could it have something to do with the fact that Jake and Kate are celebrities from reality shows and not because of talent in performance or athletics in the entertainment business? Why, yes, I'd say it does! They got a taste of being on TV and now have to give that up. Boo Hoo!

DWTS 10 - Week 6

The dances tonight are the samba and the Argentine tango. For the first time on the show, they're having a swing dance marathon. There will be another set of scores for the marathon. The first scores are for their individual dances, and the "+" scores are for the swing dance. Couples were eliminated one by one with the first eliminated receiving a 4 and then it went by 2's all the way to the last remaining couple who got a 10. Then we have their total out of 40.

Jake and Chelsie are dancing the samba. He's definitely improved but needs to connect to the music according to Carrie Ann. He stumbled once but recovered. It was a fun dance, and he seemed to have loosened up and enjoyed it. Bruno said he didn't wiggle correctly.
Scores: 7/7/7 = 21 + 4 = 25

Evan and Anna also did the samba. Woo, Evan, that hip action! Anna flipped him over on his head, and Evan suffered a mild concussion. He danced really well and got into the performance. The judges said his lines and movement didn't fit this dance. Len even said it was his worst dance. Evan is so polite and kind. His demeanor reminds me of one of those Hollywood stars like Tyrone Power.
Scores: 7/7/7 = 21 + 6 = 27

Nicey and Louis danced the Argentine tango comically but with technically correct moves. Niecy did this well! She really worked on it and got that leg over Louis's shoulder and danced! She had good lines and footwork. She showed passion for a cookie during the dance. Len probably won't like that. He did! Who can ever figure out what Len will say?
Scores: 7/7/7 = 21 + 5 = 26

The judges are stuck on those numbers. Tom said the show was brought to us by the Paddle 7. I just love him!

Erin and Maks did the samba. They are so funny together during rehearsal. It was energetic and fun. She did well. Len told her he was giving her another 7 this week because she should be getting higher scores and fussed at Maks for the choreography. Bruno and Carrie Ann disagreed and said she danced really well and nailed it. Tom said maybe we'll find out if Len forgot to bring the other paddles to the show.
Scores: 9/7/9 = 25 + 9 = 34

Chad and Cheryl danced the Argentine tango. They went to Cincinnati for the Draft Party where Chad was energized by his fans. He listened to Cheryl and really improved. Their dance was seductive and passionate. Very good! The judges said he had good lines and all the moves for this dance.
Scores: 8/8/8 = 24 + 7 = 31

Nicole and Derek performed the samba. Nicole freaked out during rehearsals, but who could tell it when she danced? It was energetic and entertaining. Carrie Ann and Bruno loved it. What's with Len? He said it wasn't a samba but a hodgepodge of sexy moves and gyrations. He's caught up on the 7 paddle.
Scores: 9/7/10 = 26 + 10 = 36

Pamela and Damian danced the Argentine tango. She had on a brown wig and black lacy slip for this dance of seduction. Who better to seduce? She's discouraged about being in the bottom two again but said she wanted them to be who they are and just dance. It was definitely seductive and sexy. She did well, but her footwork wasn't as sharp as it could have been at times. Carrie Ann thought so, too. Brooke asked her how she came back with a fighting spirit after being in the bottom two, and Pamela said she preferred to be on top. Uh huh.
Scores: 7/7/8 = 22 + 8 = 30

Now for the swing dance marathon where the judges eliminate them until one couple is left. First couple eliminated were Jake and Chelsie and the ones in first place were Nicole and Derek. This was fun to watch.

Not sure how much sense this would have made. I was watching the show, chatting online with Charlie about it, recapping just enough to get the dances and scores for each couple, and then had a phone call from a friend who watches American Idol and decided to check out DWTS and complain about how revealing the costumes are. She's not a prude but decided to go on about that and other things. So now I've just watched it again to really focus on it and write the recap. I mostly got the gist of it before.

Here's a blog by Maksim where he discusses the judging and Kate. He tells it like he sees it. Interesting!

Tornado Safety

We can all use some comic relief from The Onion.

Too Soon Gone

Many of you know that I work very part-time for a reflexologist and his wife in their vitamin and supplement store. Jim died yesterday morning suddenly from a heart attack and was only 57 or 58. It's such a shock, and I'll miss him very much. He has been a good friend for over a decade. We have the same sense of humor and got along well.

He was a devoted husband and father. I'm not sure what his wife will do now. His death is a loss to all of us who relied on his encyclopedic knowledge that helped so many. I told my internist that I had a foot in both camps, and he didn't miss a beat and said, "Literally." For the most part, Jim didn't believe in far-out practices, and I always liked it when he and my doctor told me the same things, such as taking fish oil and not taking magnesium and calcium at the same time. I trust Dr. Ross but don't have access to conversations with him the way I did with Jim.

Jim was so full of life and positive. Many will miss him. He was diabetic but kept it under control. Tina and I have talked about wake-up calls and messages. When someone close dies, and he knows about health, it makes us pay attention. We are.

Did Not Know

Medical experts have observed that people who stutter rarely do so when they are alone or talking to a pet.

Italians - Captains for Other Countries' Kings or ... (I'm 12)

Everybody knows that the first Spanish vessels to reach the New World were commanded by the Italian Christoforo Colombo (no relation to Peter Falk). But what about other nations? The first English vessels to reach the New World were commanded by the Italian Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), and the first French vessels were commanded by the Italian Giovanni da Verrazano.

Oh, Great!

A bowling pin needs to tilt only 7 1/2 degrees to fall.

Haven't bowled in ages but now another reason to feel bad about my scores. Besides, I don't like wearing shoes other people have worn, especially so many other people. And I never bowled enough to justify having my own bowling shoes.

FNL

Friday Night Lights returns May 7! I know Tivo Mom is as excited as I am about this if not more so. I wonder what new characters will be on the show and who will return besides Coach Taylor and his family. Some have gone to college and others might still be in town. Minka Kelly (Lyla Garrity) is on Parenthood now, so I don't know if she'll be there with Riggins or not. Can't wait to find out what's in store for that show!

DWTS Rant and Results

If Kate stays on, it's because of the ratings. People are voting for her to watch her embarrass herself so they can make fun of her. That gets old, and it will keep others who actually try to dance and others who are dancing well to be voted off the show. Check this out: (Source)

"This is the first thing that they absolutely live and breath for - they count down the days until Monday. So I've gotta keep dancing, for them. I have to."

Though she looks, for all intents and purposes, like she doesn't want to be kept around on the reality TV danceathon, Gosselin reportedly sent out a mass email to friends and supporters after the show "BEGGING" them to vote for her, not once but ten times. She also asked that people send the email out to their friends and colleagues.

That may be why she's still on the show, despite dancing like she's wearing stilts, clashing with her fellow contestants, arguing with her partner, and whining like a broken record that life is just so hard as a celebrity, even if you're working every day to remain one.

Gosselin has survived far longer than most would have expected, with many supposedly voting to keep her around for nothing more than the unintentional comedy value she brings. Even her ex-husband, the king of uninentional comedy, Jon Gosselin, has admitted he's been voting for her to stay on.

But the joke is starting to get old for many. The Kate Gosselin awful dance juggernaut has taken on such a life that even other celebrities are weighing in, and the general consensus is: Ick.

"She sucks, she's got to go," said Whoopi Goldberg on The View Tuesday morning. "She's got to go."

Co-host Joy Behar chimed in saying, "She cannot dance. She's got eight children, and as the Catholics say, she does not have rhythm."

Replied Goldberg, "This woman, with those eight children... you cannot stay on if you don't try. You're not trying. You don't even look like you're trying to do it."

"SMILE!", Whoopi demanded, adding, "She needs to look like she's happy to be there, even if she can't dance. She's an angry b-tch, this one."

TBS late night comedian George Lopez has been running an online campaign to keep Gosselin embarrassing herself weekly, saying "I tweeted that everybody should vote for Kate and why. Do it for her kids. Do it for her poor partner Tony Dovolani and most importantly ... Do it for the United States of America!"

He added, "It’s your duty, America. Remember every vote counts and it’s time to keep Kate alive. You are the change we have been waiting for.”

So dedicated to the campaign is Lopez that, on his show Lopez Tonight Monday, he brought on Jackass star Steve-O, who stapled "Vote for Kate" messages to his chest, stomach, groin and testicles. Live. On TV.

That's dedication to a cause.

Well, great news! At least Kate is in the bottom two tonight. Maybe there's hope at last! YES!! Thank goodness! Off at last! I am sooooo glad! She cried and said she gave it her all. I don't think so. Anyway, we don't have to be subjected to that any more. Tony has to be relieved. I know I am.

DWTS 10 - Week 5

OK, this week, I'm going to try not to say how much I want Kate off this show. Apparently people vote for her to keep seeing the train wreck of her stumbling around in a whiny daze. Well, I can't help it. She sucks!

This is movie week, so they danced to songs from movies.

Nicey and Louis danced the jive to "La Bamba." Nicey said before DWTS the only thing she did to stay in shape was - nothing. She said this was the fastest she's ever moved ... on the dance floor. This was pretty good but lost some on the footwork. I hope she gets to stay on the show. The judges said she was the jiggly queen. Nicey and Louis have good chemistry together and are fun to watch.
Scores: 6/6/6 = 18

Chad and Cheryl performed the quickstep to Disney's "The Bare Necessities" from The Jungle Book. Chad thought something was wrong with Cheryl during rehearsal because she wasn't laughing at his jokes and going along with his flirting. He kept asking her what was wrong, and she finally told him they had a lot of work to do and needed to get down to business. Apparently, it worked because Chad did well! The judges didn't think so, but the quickstep looks hard, and he kept up. They thought he was uneven, wild, and had bad posture.
Scores: 6/6/6 = 18

Erin and Maks danced the jive to "You Never Can Tell" from Pulp Fiction. Their rehearsals are like watching a romantic comedy with all the bickering and bantering and explosions. Fun and funny actually and definitely some chemistry. I thought the part was a little too long at the beginning with Maks reading the menu, but when the music got faster and the dancing took off, wow! Good routine that looked difficult! I enjoyed it. Bruno said Erin had that Uma magic and gave them the score I thought all of them should have - an 8. Brooke asked if there's any romance between them, and Erin said not unless he gives her a ring like Chad gave Cheryl. Maks ran away! Tom said, "It don't mean a thing if it don't have that bling!" They'd better not get voted off. I did my part.
Scores: 7/7/8 = 22

Jake and Chelsie did the cha-cha to "Old Time Rock 'n Roll" from Risky Business. He said he's been told he resembles Tom Cruise. Really? He started off in a white shirt and no pants and somehow put them on during the dance. Odd. During rehearsal Chelsie told him he's being too analytical and needs to feel the dance emotionally. So he showed up without a shirt and with sunglasses to channel Tom Cruise. She said, "Wrong movie." :-) He had good footwork, energy, and style. He's definitely improving. Bruno said he was cheeky and asked why he put his pants on. Carrie Ann said she loved the dance and the whole package. Well!
Scores: 8/7/8 = 23

Pamela and Damian danced the quickstep to "9 to 5" and she dressed like Dolly Parton in that movie. Pam said she was exhausted because this dance requires more cardio than some others. She stayed in character and did well - good footwork, energy, and posture. Len, of course, was crabby about the non-dancing narrative part for 24 bars at the beginning as usual, but the others liked their dance. Carrie Ann said she'd like to see her on Broadway in a musical. Len must not like foreplay. (Thanks to Charlie for that line!)
Scores: 7/6/8 = 21

Kate and Tony attempted a foxtrot to "Don't Forget About Me" from The Breakfast Club. She was horrible again, and the judges scores were way too high. I would have given her 2's. Bruno called the performance “catatonic.” He added, “Tony could have gotten more life out of a frock on a coat hanger.” So true! She must have pissed off the wardrobe department because she's in a frumpy dress again - not even really a costume. They've never put anyone in outfits like that before, and may I say that I applaud that. She reminds me of students I've had who didn't do their homework, study, or try at all and then wonder why their grades are so bad. Tony said she had no motivation and puts zero energy into it and expects results. He said he has to push her each week, and it gets exhausting. Poor Tony looks like a trapped animal. Then she blames not practicing on her children, whines, and says she doesn't want to be the underdog who is sent home and then uses the kids to get votes. She can't dance and doesn't even try to learn!!! Poor Tony for having to endure this torture.
Scores: 5/5/5 = 15

Nicole and Derek are dancing the tango to "Pretty Woman" from the movie. Wonderful performance! The judges loved it. So did I. Her dress was like the one Julia Roberts's character wore to the opera. Beautiful! Excellent footwork, energy, and style. Bruno said it was the pride and perfection of the tango! Carrie Ann praised them, too. I see 10's ahead for them except for Len but think he'll give them a 9. Right! Damn, I'm good!
Scores: 10/9/10 = 29

Evan and Anna danced the rumba to "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" from Armageddon. Dance moves are difficult for Evan since many are so different from skating - hip movements since they have to be still and tight, feet straight in skating and pointed for dancing, eye contact, arms, etc. Wow! Great lines, emotion, and footwork. They have good chemistry and movement. He seems so kind and polite saying all the right things. When asked about being competitive, he said they were all like a family and he cheered them on but was most competitive with himself and wanted to please Anna.
Scores: 9/9/9 = 27

Evan and Nicole should be the final two since they are definitely the best dancers.

Survival

Even if the stomach, the spleen, 80 percent of the intestines, one kidney, one lung, and virtually every organ from the pelvic and groin area are removed, the human body can still survive. And even if 80 percent of your liver were removed, the remaining part would continue to function. Within a few months, the liver would have reconstituted itself to its original size!

Billie Jean!

Billie Jean King holds the distinction of being the oldest woman to receive a singles seed at Wimbledon. She was 39 years, 209 days old when she got the No. 10 seed in 1983.

The Tea Party Doesn't Know It's Own Power

Our Brains

Today on "Fresh Air" on NPR, Terry Gross interviewed Barbara Strauch about her book The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain. It was very informative and made me feel better about some things and realistic about others. Of course, as with everything else, exercise is important - yes, physical exercise. (sigh)

The bad news: Our brains do decline as we age.

The good news: Forgetting names, Strauch says, doesn't necessarily mean that something's amiss.

In fact, Strauch says, "there is a whole host of areas where they find we improve in middle age over our 20-something selves."

"We are better at getting the gist of arguments," she says. "We are better at recognizing categories. And we're much better at sizing up situations. We're better at things like making financial decisions, which reaches a peak in our 60s. Social expertise -- in other words, judging whether someone's a crook or not a crook, improves and peaks in middle age."

Memory Exercises

• If you can't remember a name, go through the alphabet in your head -- A, B, C -- which may retrigger the memory in your mind.
• Exercise. Get your heart pumping, which improves cognitive function across the board.
• If you're trying to remember to take your medication, imagine yourself taking it. This will create a bigger neural footprint in your brain, creating more ways for your brain to remember.
• Get out of your comfort zone. Take up a hobby -- piano lessons or knitting -- that will challenge your brain.

Tips taken from The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain

Full interview and podcast HERE along with a test.

Just A Gigolo!

In Defense of Gigolos

by Jamie Johnson

April 14, 2010, 12:45 PM

Porfiro Rubirosa, a gigolo everyone wanted to know.

One distinction that appears to be made less and less within the ranks of fashionable society is that between a gentleman and a gigolo. For the better part of the last century, formalities required leading figures of the upper class to examine the backgrounds of their friends and associates to make a determination about where these individuals fit into the greater social order. Since tradition forbade the inclusion of anyone who didn’t hold a direct connection to a vast fortune, all men were invariably classified according to the source of their income. Those lucky enough to posses their own money were considered gentleman, and the others who were forced to rely on handouts from rich wives were referred to as gigolos.

In more recent times, affluent society has relaxed its exclusivity and offered admittance to successful professionals who, though extremely powerful, don’t necessarily have large fortunes to speak of. The inclusion of these individuals within the establishment has added new layers of nuance to the old system of assigning social labels. Originally, there were only three kinds of families included among the moneyed class: those who were rich on the paternal side; those who were rich on the maternal side; and, the most prevalent scenario, those who were rich on both sides. Back then, when society could be broken down straightforwardly into such basic and absolute categories, the title gigolo must have been easier to apply and decidedly less pejorative.

There is really no shortage of authentic gigolos living prominently alongside fabulously wealthy women these days. You just don’t ever hear of them, because the term has become so debased. No one wants to be associated with socially loathsome characters. But if you look around and scratch the surface of respectable society, you’ll see them all right. They still exist and, right along with their female equivalent, the gold-digger, they are usually making someone somewhere happy.

Complete article HERE.

Gleek

Gleeks, do you agree with this article in Vanity Fair about last night's episode of Glee or not? I watched it and enjoyed it and would like to know what you think. Here is an excerpt about the songs and the article is HERE.

Song Rating (* to *****)
• “Hello, I Love You” (The Doors) ** This song last felt original and interesting when I was seven. But I love it when the characters sing in "musical fashion," while enduring their real life.
• “Gives You Hell” (All American Rejects) **** Rachel is angry, and expresses it in character, as the leader of a PG-13 Mickey Mouse Club singalong.
• “Hello” (Lionel Richie)*** A bit obvious for a show titled "Hello," but this ballad always makes me mourn the loss of AM radio and its achingly saccharine sounds.
• “Hello, Again” (Neil Diamond) ***** As on-the-nose as a beanbag in a clown's face. But this is a flawless Diamond.
• “Highway to Hell” (AC/DC) **** Vocal Adrenaline provides some much needed pyrotechnics and choreography. And screaming.
• “Hello, Goodbye” (The Beatles) ** A visual indicator of the confounding back-and-forth plot lines of the episode, in lame black-and-white formal-wear.

Half-Governor Sarah PAY-lin

Article from The Nation

Sarah Palin: No Hockey Mom
Liz White

Although she lost the election, Sarah Palin has certainly come out ahead. ABC News reported Tuesday that the governor turned media star had raked in more than $12 million since July from various speaking engagements, television contracts, and her book, Going Rogue. Several hours later, California state Sen. Leland Yee revealed pages believed to be from Palin’s speech contract with the California State University’s Stanislaus Foundation (where Palin will speak at a gala this summer) that were found in a Dumpster by several students. Palin’s high cost, and her high demands, have concerned lawmakers in a state struggling with sweeping budget cuts.

Among Palin’s requests: business or first-class commercial airfare or a private plane (a Lear 60 jet, or bigger), and “two unopened bottles of still water and ‘bendable straws’ must be waiting on a wooden lectern.” Palin’s speech is reported to cost the foundation about $75,000—less than her usual reported $100,000 fee.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Palin portrayed herself as the Everywoman, "an average hockey mom." She was just like us, she told her growing supporters, and she—not elitist, celebrity, Washington-insider Barack Obama—understood our daily struggles. Her new Fox News show, Real American Stories, continues this act, as will her upcoming TLC show, Sarah Palin’s Alaska, for which she is reported to earn about $250,000 an episode.

As everyday Americans struggle to make payments on their mortgage and unemployment hovers at 9.7 percent, Palin is looking an awful lot like the elitists she’s built her brand railing against. She even quit her $125,000 public-servant position as governor to bring in more cash. That move paid off, but if she’s seriously considering a presidential bid, she’ll have to come up with some new talking points to use against an incumbent president.

With more than $12 million in the bank and a slew of speaking engagements, and more speculation than ever, she’s become more of a celebrity than Obama. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if she runs, she’ll have a hard time selling herself again as just another middle-class hockey mom.

The iPad isn't cat-compatible. It says so in this article and has more videos.

DWTS Week 4 Results

The judges gave low scores last night and harsh criticism (especially Len) last week, which unnerved the dancetestants. Their confidence was undermined, and it was shaky for some of them to begin with. I hope they calm down soon and enjoy what they're doing. They are all improving. Nicole and Evan are still at the top with Pam and Chad moving up. In fact, Pam and Damian performed their tango for the encore dance. Len said she was overdressed. Maybe on one side.

Sade sang. Where has she been? Haven't heard from her for a while, or id I just miss something besides her? Chelsie and Damian danced a hot tango while Sade sang beautifully.

Every expletive I know, Kate is still there!!! What is wrong with these voters? And how many times have I said that about actual elections? Aiden is gone. Crap Kate still clods on. Does she even have any personality?

Cautionary Trivia

Persons who engage in solitary endurance sports are the ones most likely to be compulsive exercisers, i.e., joggers, long-distance swimmers, weight lifters, and cross-country skiers. Frequently, devotees of these activities set unrealistic, ambitious goals and then drive themselves mercilessly to reach them. A study of New York marathoners a few years ago found that their divorce rate, both male and female, was twice the national average.

DWTS 10 - Week 4

For the first time, the judges are giving two scores - technique and performance. The dances this week are the rumba and the tango. The show wasn't too exciting, and I was really tired, so this recap will reflect that. Sorry.

Erin and Maks - Tango
Scores: Technical: 6/6/6 = 18 Performance: 7/7/7 = 21 (39)

Erin hurt her back but danced through it. Part of the way through it her heel got caught in her shoe strap. She danced well despite all that and looked great.

Evan and Anna - Tango Scores: Technical: 9/8/9 = 26 Performance: 9/8/9 = 26 (52)

Anna made sure Evan worked on the areas Len said he needed to improve. Their dance was

Niecy and Louis - Rumba Scores: Technical: 6/6/6 = 18 Performance: 6/6/6 = 18 (36)

Louis told Niecy that the rumba is romantic and spiritual.

Aiden and Edyta - Rumba Scores: Technical: 5/5/5 = 15 Performance: 6/6/6 = 18 (33)

Bless his heart, Aiden just can't loosen up and perform. And he's an actor! I haven't seen him on that soap opera he's on and don't know how he is on there, but he needs to let go and enjoy dancing.

Nicole and Derek - Rumba Scores: Technical: 9/8/8 = 25 Performance: 8/8/9 = 25 (50)

Wow! This was a rumba! Beautiful!

Jake and Chelsie - Tango Scores: Technical: 6/7/6 = 19 Performance: 7/6/6 = 19 (38)

Jake was determined not to be in the bottom two again and worked hard. It showed because he improved. He's still not there yet though. The judges criticized his technique but said parts of it were good. He tripped during the dance and got off kilter after that.

Kate and Tony - Tango Scores: Technical: 4/5/5 = 14 Performance: 6/6/6 = 18 (32)

Kate said the criticism from the judges was right because she is a beginning dancer. Saying "dancer" is quite a stretch. Poor Tony. I don't know how he can stand it. She whines and cries and complains. I do not like her. Last week she was a zombie. This week an oaf. Bruno said at times he actually thought she was dancing. If she has sex like she dances, I'll bet she's one of those women who just lies there and doesn't move. There's an expression for that, so I'll just say she's a dead dance.

Chad and Cheryl - Rumba Scores: Technical: 7/6/8 = 21 Performance: 8/7/8 =23 (44)

Chad improved this week and danced well. He's a big flirt and is having fun.

Pamela and Damian - Rumba Scores: Technical: 7/8/8 = 23 Performance: 8/7/9 = 24 (47)

Pamela acts as if she's having sex with whomever she's around. Maybe she is. The judges said it was her best dance so far.

TW3

Reasons I liked That Was The Week That Was, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Politically Incorrect, Laugh-In, SNL, and now love Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me! What am I leaving out?

An American version of TW3 was on NBC initially a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, then as a series from 10 January 1964, to May 1965. The pilot featured Henry Fonda and Henry Morgan, guests Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and supporting performers including Gene Hackman. The recurring cast included Frost, Morgan, Buck Henry and Alan Alda, with Nancy Ames singing the opening song; regular contributors included Gloria Steinem, Tom Lehrer and Calvin Trillin. The announcer was Jerry Damon. Also a guest was Woody Allen, performing stand-up comedy; the guest star on the final broadcast was Steve Allen. A running gag on this version of the show was a mock feud with Jack Paar, whose own program followed TW3 on the NBC Friday schedule; Paar would repeatedly refer to TW3 as "Henry Morgan's Amateur Hour." After the series' cancellation, Lehrer recorded a collection of his songs used on the show, That Was The Year That Was, released by Reprise Records in September 1965.

In the American version, an episode showed a smiling U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson contemplating an easy 1964 campaign against the Republican nominee, U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona. The satirists sang that Goldwater could not win because he "does not know the dance of the liberal Republicans", then a substantial component of the GOP, many of whose members had supported Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York for the Republican nomination.

It's Back!

Leonard Nimoy directed the films Three Men and a Baby and The Good Mother with Diane Keaton as well as Star Trek IV The Voyage Home.

The Boy

Brendan and I are having a great weekend. He has been so good and lots of fun. Yesterday we stayed around the house and then went to Mother's for lunch and the afternoon. We stayed outside all that time since the weather was gorgeous. It was a wonderful day. On the way home around 5:00, he wanted to go to Yarn Frenzy to see Tina, but when we went there, she'd already gone home. Diane, the owner, and Yvonne, a master knitter and friend, were there, so we visited with them for a while. Then back to my house for dinner I cooked, bath, reading, singing, and bed. Today is going well, too. I'm going to meet Brian in Bellevue and will not lock my keys in the car this time. Let's not have another week like that one that began with the call to AAA before!

I played him Tom Lehrer's song about the Periodic Table of Elements since Brendan has a chart at home and has been learning them because of a They Might Be Giants song about them on a science DVD he likes. He noticed that some were missing, but updated animations on YouTube list seven that were discovered since 1961 when Lehrer wrote the song. He said Copernicum was not included. (Good grief! What a freakishly good memory!) It was discovered in 2009, so it wasn't on the updated versions. (I googled it - keeping up with him is daunting in several ways!) As many chemistry courses as I took (5), I never did learn the whole Periodic Table - just some of them.

Speaking (typing) of Tom Lehrer, have any of you heard "The Vatican Rag"? That was a favorite of mine back in the 60's when I bought his album and listened to it over and over. It had the "Element Song," "New Math," and "So Long, Mom" on it among others. He taught math at MIT and Harvard and wrote for "That Was The Week That Was" (TW3) which is before your time for most of you readers and was a satirical show that lampooned the establishment. David Frost was on it.

Let the Weekend Begin!

I picked Brendan up from school this afternoon and headed to my house with him. We stopped at Calypso to eat which could have gone better but was pretty good for the most part. It's way too hard for him to stay in his chair and eat. He bothered a few people which embarrassed me, but I'll keep working on this. He can do it better at some restaurants than others. I don't believe he's ever stayed put for an entire meal at my house or Mother's. I have to keep in mind that I'm accustomed to Brian, who was so easy - unbelievably so. This isn't selective memory - he really was. Brian entertained himself, behaved well everywhere I took him, and was fun to be around. I'm not going to say he was perfect, but he was close enough for me.

Brendan has a lot going for him. He's never met a stage he didn't like and can reproduce/imitate any voice and sound he hears AND remembers everything, too! He would be great at doing voice-overs and acting. He's enthusiastic, loving, and creative! I love him and will try to keep up with him this weekend! We'll have fun and do lots of things.

Also let's face it - I'm twice as old as I was when Brian was Brendan's age. Makes a big difference!

Jon Stewart

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Big Bang Treaty
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

iPad

Any of you have an iPad? If so, how about a review of it?

Another Poll

Fox poll: IRS more popular than tea party movement

by Jed Lewison

Fri Apr 09, 2010 at 07:32:03 AM PDT

Hahahaha. The teabagger network giveth more hilarity: a new Fox News poll shows that more Americans have a favorable view of the IRS (49%) than of the tea party movement (36%).

It's not just that people don't know what the tea party movement is. The net favorable rating (favorable minus unfavorable) of the IRS is +11% (49%/38%) compared to +2% for the tea party movement (36%/34%).

Best of all, this poll comes one week from April 15, the IRS's worst day of the year and the teabaggers best day of the year. Ask the same question six months from now, and you'll probably get even worse news for the teapartiers.

A couple of other things worth noting in this poll: Fox asked whether Americans felt the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or the Tea Party movement more closely represented their values. The results: 40% said Democratic Party, compared to just 25% and 19% for the GOP and teabaggers, respectively.

And as Greg Sargent noted yesterday, the poll not only showed most Americans weren't offended by Biden's BFD f-bomb, but 51% said they'd be less likely to vote for a candidate if Sarah Palin campaigned on his or her behalf. Only 25% said they'd be more likely to vote for the Palin-backed candidate.

No More Trivia

Server not found

Firefox can't find the server at www.ducoclam.com.

Unless this message changes, I won't have a source for easy trivia and will have to google and come up with something myself. Like that's going to happen!

Bravo Shows

I stuck it out with Shear Genius and was surprised that Brig won. I can't say that I enjoyed that show this season. For one thing, it wasn't as good without Jaclyn Smith. Camila Alves (Matthew McConaughey's Baby Mama - got that from the Minx) drove me crazy when she spoke. After getting to know them better, I thought Janine was bitchy to Brig who is weird on her own and very tall. Janine and Matthew forged a bond and excluded everyone else. Check out that expression on Janine's face. She was positive she would win and also dresses creatively. What happened is that Brig's last two designs were avant-garde and futuristic (and ugly) but were original and what the guest clothes designer and judges (mostly) were looking for. I'm not invested in this show enough to recap but just wanted to comment on it. If you want to read a good recap, go to Blogging Bravo. Did any of you watch?

This is a conservative look for Brig.


Season Two of Top Chef Masters was also on last night. I liked all the chefs and wish no one had to be eliminated. Here are the bios of the chefs. Tony Mantuano who owns the restaurant in Chicago that's a favorite of the Obamas and Susan Fenigar won and go to the next round. Their assignment was to pair two harmonic dishes for a first date, and they served couples who were on first dates. The usual judges and Kelly Choi returned. The other master cheftestants were Jerry Traunfeld, Jimmy Bradley, Ana Sortun, and the hot Govind Armstrong. There will be some chefs returning who were on Season One, and according to the previews, things will get hectic. It was pretty calm viewing this week, and I really enjoyed the show and look forward to more!


For a proper and highly entertaining recap, check out the Minx's collaborative blog All Top Chef. She's the best and has fabulous photoshopping skills!

Comments

I changed the settings for comments because I've been getting more anonymous comments recently. I set it for "registered users" instead of "Google accounts only." If this causes any of you problems with commenting, please let me know. My email address is on here somewhere, and I'm on Facebook and Twitter. If some of you want to register on Google, it's no big deal. You're probably already in that or some other place in that Open ID part. I might just do comment moderation like many of you have. We'll see.

Grandmothering

My youngest grandson Brendan sent me his first email from his own email account. He typed it all, put the cursor where he wanted it, and clicked send. He will be seven in a few weeks. I'm thrilled that he wrote to me. He's been calling me regularly and doing phone performances with occasional bits of conversation when I can get him to. This is what he wrote to me ... I think it's so sweet and wonderful! Such a grandmother I am!

I had a drum lesson. Love Grammy. I love you. I want to see you & i love your house.

I'm picking him up from school Friday afternoon while Brian and Melissa are in KY at a geek convention. Melissa sells her art at the Cons, and Brian plays games. Brendan will be with me all weekend until Sunday evening. Oh, he's started drum lessons once a week on Music Row in Nashville. This should work out since he's always liked to have something in each hand to beat on things with. Now he can do it rhythmically.

Words

Oddly, in ancient Greece no term existed for homosexuality, there were only some expressions referring to specific homosexual roles. Experts find this baffling, as the old Greek culture held love between males in the highest regard. According to several linguists, the word homosexual was not coined until 1869 by the Hungarian physician Karoly Maria Benkert.

Lost

Lost has some 'splainin' to do and just five more episodes to do it in. I miss those episodes that used to be on from the week before that had explanations with them. Who knows what's going on?

Oh, Really?

The word testimony came from men in Roman times taking an oath before the court that they were telling the truth. To insure their statements were accurate, they swore on their testicles.

Fallon

Jimmy Fallon did a parody of the Kate Zombie Dance from DWTS. We might have a new litmus test for "dancing" to replace the Elaine dance on Seinfeld, which was intentionally funny and not painful to watch. Actually all anyone has to do is what Kate stumbled through and just imitate her. No parody really. Anyway, you can compare. Do you think people are voting for her just so they can make fun of her? There has to be some reason.

Jibber Jabberz made the comments on there. The video is too wide to see everything, but you get the idea. If not, go HERE. Poor Tony, her professional partner. (Brian fixed it for me!!)



Jimmy Fallon's is much better, but then he has talent.

DWTS Week 3 Results

Please, please let it happen tonight. PLEASE let Kate go away ... far, far away so we never have to watch her attempt to dance again.

Anna and Evan performed the encore dance, and Derek and Chelsie did the paso doble the way it's supposed to be danced. Reba McEntire sang while Maks, Edyta, Val, and Snejhana danced. Val is Maksim's brother, and I'm not familiar with Snejhana. Dmitry and Lacey danced to "Consider Me Gone" when Reba sang again.

Well, another disappointing night. Kate must have fans. Crap! Buzz went, and Kate wasn't even in the bottom two AGAIN. She cannot dance at all. It's like how their fans kept Billy Ray Cyrus and Master P on way too long. Argh!!!

Guess I'm a Hypocrite

If I were foolish enough to be one of those "other women" who had an affair with a famous married man, I wouldn't seek publicity or entertain the idea that I remotely deserve an apology. They need to apologize to the wives! When married men hit on me during my young, cute single and divorced years and I turned them down, it was because I'm too selfish to get involved with someone I can't call, send cards to, safely email and text, see on holidays and weekends, go to his house, meet his family, have him meet my family, etc etc etc. I also felt bad for their wives and how they talked about them. If they don't have any more regard for the person they married that that, why would I want to spend time with them? As I told them, when I was unhappily married, I got a divorce.

Now to the hypocritical part - magazines and shows shouldn't give those women attention, but then here I am posting about it with links and all. Guess we've become like people in a big ol' small town gossiping about each other.

Oh Good Grief!

From Vanity Fair

John Edwards’s Illicit Inamorata Rielle Hunter Will Go on Oprah!

by Juli Weiner

April 6, 2010, 1:50 PM

The Oprah Winfrey Show’s Oprah Winfrey has snagged the first post-affair interview with embattled John Edwards paramour (and actual Jay McInerney character) Rielle Hunter. The air date for the chat has not yet been announced.

Oprah has a knack for this sort of thing: last May, she scored an interview with both Elizabeth Edwards and John Edwards after the latter’s public admission of an affair with Hunter. According to the Huffington Post, the couple granted the interview request on the condition that the name “Rielle Hunter” would go unspoken, as Elizabeth Edwards did not want to give her any more publicity. Of course, any press that Hunter did not receive in the aftermath of the Edwards interview will surely be recuperated with her own on-air confession. And once again, Elizabeth Edwards plays the role of Job, a sort of Jay McInerney character avant la lettré.

DWTS - 10 - Week 3

This season I've been following some of the dancers on Twitter which is interesting. Evan broke two toes but is carrying on and says it won't stop him from dancing or from his participation in Stars on Ice.

Tonight began with a dance by the pros which showed how the dances are supposed to look. They danced the paso doble and the quickstep which are the featured dances for this week.

Evan and Anna are trying out a a combo name Team Evanna, according to Evan on Twitter. The dancers had to tell a story with their dances this week. Evanna danced a quickstep to a song from Chicago that had Charleston elements in it. He played a man waiting for a woman and then glad to see her. Energetic and peppy dance. The judges liked it. Could not even tell he had any broken toes. Scores: 9/8/9 = 26 Well done!

Buzz and Ashly are dancing the story of a father going off to war and returning to his daughter who is glad to see him. Their waltz wasn't that good. He still walks through the dances. The judges liked the story but not the performance. Scores: 5/4/4 = 13. So far his fans have kept him in the competition.

Jake and Chelsie had some tension when Jake needed to walk away after he told Chelsie she was disrespectful to him when she talked to him about improving. Their story was a quickstep to "Walk Like an Egyptian" with him as an archeologist and Chelsie as Cleopatra. Jake isn't a very good dancer but was entertaining according to the judges (and me). Scores: 7/7/7 = 21.

Niecy and Louis danced the quickstep to a 60's scenario about interracial relationships. It made Niecy cry during rehearsal thinking about how it would be if she couldn't marry who she loved. Louis said he was still in that battle himself because of gay rights and marriage equality. It made me cry when they were emotional. Their dance made me cry, too - very powerful about forbidden love. The judges said she got off-track some, and backstage she said she wasn't used to being vulnerable in front of people. Scores: 7/7/7 = 21

Chad and Cheryl are doing the paso doble. Their story is that he pursues her and she rejects him. Chad said he was used to that because that's what she kept doing to him no matter how much he tried. Chad is hot. I wish he danced better because I want him to stay around. The judges liked it much better than last week. Scores: 7/6/7 = 20

Pamela and Damien also performed the paso doble. Oh wow! What a hoot that Charo came in and helped Pamela with her dance. She did well. The judges said her performance was good but needs to be refined. Scores: 7/7/7 = 21

Aiden and Edyta are performing the quickstep. He's definitely improved from last week. Their story was that he was an artist painting his ideal woman who comes to life. Judges said his quickstep was more careful than carefree (Len). Bruno said he looked like a kid skipping around a meadow and improved. Carrie Ann thought so, too. Scores: 7/6/7 = 20

Erin and Maks are doing the waltz. She's blindfolded! I thought that was just for the rehearsal. Weird for the dance. She's very graceful and elegant. Pretty dance. The judges said the storytelling worked and was profound. Len didn't like it. Scores: 8/7/8 = 23

Kate and Tony did the paso doble to "Paparazzi" which Kate said she identified with because they are always outside her door. Tony brought in an acting coach to help Kate show her emotions. Well, it didn't happen at all. She moved around like a zombie and did not dance. She has no rhythm or music in her at all. Please, people, do not vote for her at all. She has to go!!! She sucked big time. Scores: 5/5/5 = 15 These scores are too high.

Nicole and Derek perform the quickstep with a story about being sailors. Nicole stressed out during rehearsals. Good quickstep! Nicole is energetic and engaging. I loved it! So did the audience! Len didn't like it and said it was vaudeville, not a quickstep. Bruno and Carrie Ann said there was a lift and he broke the hold and that it was a show tune and no quickstep. Scores: 8/6/9 = 23

Marriage Partner Equity?

In an article in Psychology Today titled "The New Trophy Wife" there is a trend for men to marry women who are successful in their careers. Check out the article HERE and the excerpt with links to other articles in the magazine. Have any opinions about this?

Men's attraction to professionally achieving mates is one piece of a much larger story. "We're experiencing a historic change in the things people want out of marriage, the reasons they enter into it and stay in it," says historian Stephanie Coontz of Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Men in their 20s and 30s embarking on first marriages are relieved to no longer be the sole breadwinner and decision-maker, a burden many watched their fathers shoulder. "These men are truly redefining masculinity," says Terrence Real, a psychologist and author of How Can I Get Through to You? Closing the Intimacy Gap Between Men and Women. And the pursuit of a high-achiever is not solely the province of youth. Status-conscious tycoons want to have second marriages—and affairs—with alpha women. "Older men want the most impressive achiever in the office. In the eyes of a man's peers, the woman with the career and degrees counts for more than Miss America," says Frank Pittman, psychiatrist to Atlanta's elite. "Status is attached to a woman who is successful, not to a woman with a perfectly pear-shaped ass."

Common wisdom holds that men are socially programmed and biologically compelled to select women based on beauty and youth, physical traits that signal reproductive health. But many men date "across" and, increasingly, "up" the axes of education and achievement, with less regard for age, or for the notorious "arm candy" factor.

I wonder how the choice of partner applies to same-sex couples. Read any articles or have any opinions on this? I would think there would be more equality in education, career, income, looks, and values. But that doesn't apply to some couples I know and does to others. Can we make generalizations?

Froggy's Potential Son-in-Law

Grant Imahara, co-host of Discovery Channel's "MythBusters" program, puts the finishing touches on a robot skeleton sidekick for Craig Ferguson. SOURCE

Craig Ferguson has been joking for months about his "robot skeleton army," ever since signing up for Twitter. Tonight, robot-guru Grant Imahara will deliver something even better: a robot sidekick.

Imahara, co-host of Discovery Channel's "MythBusters" program, will present Craig Ferguson with his robot skeleton sidekick on Monday night's installment of his television show, "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." For reasons that remain mysterious, Ferguson has dubbed the robot "Geoff Peterson." Even robot skeletons need names, it appears.

The robot will be made of plastic with a metal frame, and consists of power supplies, servo motors and switches, with LED indicators in its eyes. Imahara is a former animatronics engineer and model-maker known for his work on R2D2 and the Energizer Bunny.

After joining Twitter in February, Ferguson nicknamed his followers "the Robot Skeleton Army." Ferguson jested repeatedly about his army; on February 20, he wrote "Robot Skeleton Army over 100,000 strong. Celebratory cheesy puffs in the hollowed-out volcano. I decree a day of cartoons & snacks."

Imahara kicked off a campaign for the construction of a sidekick on March 1 with a tweet that read "@CraigyFerg I hear you are looking for a robot sidekick. I think I can help... for a price: get me 100,000 followers. If you can."

Once the followers were collected, the project kicked off in earnest. In an interview with NPR, Imhara said Craig's original concept was to have a little box on his desk with a bunch of buttons. "He would push a button, and then the sidekick would respond with a preprogrammed phrase, like, 'You're the man, Craig,' or 'That's awesome,'" he told the news organization.

The robot apparently delivers on Ferguson's wishes. Imhara told NPR that "he can say up to seven phrases ... you push a button and it repeats the phrase from the skeleton -- the skeleton has an on-board amplifier, and a sound board, and so it can play back the phrase. In addition, there is a microcontroller that I'll program with the synchronized movements. So it'll be a complete sidekick experience along with movement, and he can move his jaw, his eyes light up, his head turns, and he can raise one arm."

While it began as a joke in Ferguson's head, the robot skeleton seems to have taken on real legs. Let's hope it holds no harm for mankind.

Brian Electricity

AT&T, eat your heart out. In one day, the human brain generates more electrical impulses than all the telephones in the world put together. The nerve impulses can travel as fast as 170 mph.

Clam Up

A deep-sea clam can take up to 100 years to reach the length of three-tenths of an inch. The clam is among the slowest-growing, yet longest-living, species on earth.

Who? Really?

Zak Starkey, son of drummer Ringo Starr, is now the drummer for the legendary band The Who.

Tweet Request

For those of you on Twitter, please do this. One of the guys on Myth Busters made a robot skeleton for Craig Ferguson to have as his sidekick on his show. This is a worthy cause for Lollipop Theater.

MythBusters

Today! In honor of the robot's unveiling, add #lollipoptheater 2 all ur tweets. Here's why: http://tinyurl.com/yjbr355

According to its website, "Lollipop Theater Network is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to bringing the magic of movies currently in theaters to children confined to hospitals nationwide due to chronic or life-threatening illnesses... [the] goal is to create a fun escape from the daily reality of the illnesses these children face and to offer them and their families a moment of normalcy in an otherwise stressful environment." Since 2002, the organization has screened over 175 films for sick children, sometimes with the stars of the film showing up for the events. Actors Steve Carell, Jason Bateman, Amanda Bynes, Wanda Sykes, and Katharine McPhee have participated in Lollipop Theater events.

Makes Sense

Greek conqueror Alexander the Great ordered his entire army to shave their faces and heads. He believed beards and long hair were too easy for an enemy to grab in order to decapitate his victim.

Autism Awareness

My son Brian told me about this blog and linked to one of her posts on his FB page. Some of you teachers might enjoy reading her blog. This is from her post about autism awareness on her blog A life less ordinary? that I enjoyed.

These instincts matter. We've made many people aware of our son's autism. The responses range over a spectrum from kind and understanding acceptance to the "I don't like labels" (as if their preference in this situation mattered) to an almost stated implication that we use autism as an excuse for our son's behaviors. The thing is, I think that people whose reactions are kind and understanding are kind and understanding people anyway, and the "It's all about what I think" people are like that all the time, and the "I judge you as a parent" people are simply like that all the time, too, awareness or not of autism notwithstanding.

Like most of us, I've been in the shoes of someone who was not aware of autism before I became aware of autism. Before I had children, back in the mid-1990s, I taught middle school. You've done your time if you've taught middle school--these kids are at the most befuddled age, confused and caught between childhood and adulthood, cool and collected one minute, silly and stupid the next, and the only predictable thing about them is their unpredictability. I loved them.

Kathleen Turner as Molly Ivins

Oh, I wish I could see this but have no idea how I can! It looks wonderful, and I loved and miss Molly Ivins. Read the article HERE. This is an excerpt from it.

"Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins" had its world premiere Wednesday night at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. On a sparse stage set that feels like a newspaper boneyard, Turner traverses the complex life of an American original: A privileged upbringing (deb parties, Smith College, good French), a domineering daddy (a price-fixing Big Oil lawyer called The General) and a cultivated yet ditzy mama; a 6-foot physique that made her feel like "a Clydesdale among greyhounds"; two lovers who died young (one in a motorcycle wreck, the other in Vietnam, the first war she loathed and opposed, before Iraq); great jobs (The Texas Observer, her "gateway drug"); awful jobs (The New York Times, where editors were "mice training to be rats"); the God Bless 'Em Godawful Texas Legislature; her beloved dog (named "S---" for her perverse pleasure in shouting the name indoors and out); and her own mortality at 62, after three bouts of breast cancer with a generous side of cigarettes and booze.

This play is not a recitation of Molly Ivins' greatest hits, her celebrated zingers, rants and civic sermons delivered over 40 years. Still, one ought to know it was she who dubbed as "Shrub" George Dubya Bush, and who said of Pat Buchanan's red-meat, right-wing speech at the 1992 Republican Convention, "It probably sounded better in the original German." If it's a full Ivins immersion you seek, listen to all of her audio books.

Loquacious and Indolent

I began blogging in June, 2002, and noticed that I've written a total of 2,957 posts so far. Someone I used to teach with said he was called loquacious and indolent when he was in college. I identify! Thanks to those of you who read my blog and hang in there with me! I appreciate your comments and you. If there are lurkers who don't comment for some reason, I'd like to hear from you (I think). Let me know on here or by email if you read my blog because I'd like to know who you are. Thanks again!

Joy's Updates: 1,582 Posts, last published on Aug 9, 2008

Babble On: 1,375 Posts, last published on Apr 1, 2010

Census, etc.

My mother called this morning to remind me that today is the deadline to mail our census forms. I was brought up to be a responsible citizen. When I was hobbling around during chemo, she drove me to vote during early voting because that's always been a priority for her and was for my father, too. She would call to ask if I'd voted and want to know what number I was, so she'd have an idea of how many people voted.

Be sure to be counted. I noticed there's a place to check "unmarried partner" so that will help count the gay couples, married or not depending on where they live. I've seen posts on some of your blogs about this and just read an article in The Nation about being counted. HERE

Now to finish my taxes and get that done! It's part of the dues I don't mind paying to get to live in this country. We are fortunate in so many ways. I know I am to have grown up in the family I have with love, support, and laughter. Now to get higher on that list that begins with "compared with other industrialized countries."