A Fun Thing to Do sometime

Fun – to do
Get your favorite celebrities' pictures for these tags:

Suit and tie
Suit, no tie
White shirt
Blue shirt
Red shirt
Pink shirt
Hawaiian shirt
Other colors
Blue jeans
Hands
Lips (mouth)
Barefoot in the sand or sand between my toes
Sunglasses
Heat up
Cool down
Cowboy
Indian
Surprise!
Smile
Frown
Puzzled
Perplexed
Deep in thought
Clueless
Angry
Sad
Happy
Eyes glazed over
Serious
Comical
Lovers
Geek
Fanning the flames of passion
Forgetful
Dubious
Presenting the evidence
Leadership
Threatening
Frightened
Holier than thou
Puppy eyes
In the crosshairs
Saving money
Speedo
Day
Night
Morning
Evening
Home
Office
Cleanshaven
Mustache
Beard
5 o’clock shadow
dressed for success
in his underwear
in his jimmies
showering
sleeping beauty
pouting
pucker up
intelligent
idiotic
literary
collect instructor
high school instructor
revolutionary
playing chess
smoking a cigarette
smoking a cigar
smoking a pipe
dipping snuff
opera gloves
dancing slow
dancing fast
dancing the Irish jig
beaten up
beating up
carving wood
cavalry
flying high
eating: food fight
eating
telephone: then and now
watching TV
weaponry: knife
spear
pistol
revolver
rifle
cannon
dying grace (death scenes, Etc.)
blue collar
white collar
exploded
driving
music: guitar
keyboards
medical: crutches
hospitalized
legal – lawyer
fighter

Quotes (Miscellaneous)

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." - Mark Twain
Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't. -- Mark Twain

"Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really
need it. " - Swedish proverb

"When I kill a man it's cause he needs killing." Sniper 3 quote

In time we hate that which we often fear. -- William Shakespeare

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. -- Cyril Connolly (1903 - 1974)

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live. -- Mark Twain

Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. -- C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963)

Imagination is more important than knowledge... -- Albert Einstein

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. -- Mark Twain

About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment. -- Josh Billings (1818 - 1885)

Your life story would not make a good book. Don't even try. -- Fran Lebowitz (1950 - )

I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way. -- Mark Twain

The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it. -- Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. -- Albert Einstein

Frustration is one of the greatest things in art; satisfaction is nothing. -- Malcom Mclaren

Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk. -- Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened. -- Mark Twain

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. -- Albert Einstein

Keep writing. Keep doing it and doing it. Even in the moments when it's so hurtful to think about writing. -- Heather Armstrong, Keynote Speech, SXSW 2006

Confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can have. It's much sexier than any body part. -- Aimee Mullins, Oprah Magazine, May 2004

It's just human. We all have the jungle inside of us. We all have wants and needs and desires, strange as they may seem. If you stop to think about it, we're all pretty creative, cooking up all these fantasies. it's like a kind of poetry. -- Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Mister Sandman, 1994

But seduction isn’t making someone do what they don’t want to do. Seduction is enticing someone into doing what they secretly want to do already. -- Waiter Rant, Waiter Rant weblog, 11-29-05

When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, 'It's in the script.' If he says, 'But what's my motivation?, ' I say, 'Your salary.' -- Alfred Hitchcock (1899 - 1980)

Failure lies not in falling down. Failure lies in not getting up. (traditional Chinese proverb)

Love what you do, and you will not work a day in your life. – unknown

The Man That Could Not Be Hanged

February 23, 1885
A remarkable reprieve for a man sent to the gallows
On this day in 1885, a 19-year-old man named John Lee is sent to the gallows in Exeter, England, for the murder of Ellen Keyse, a rich older woman for whom he had worked. Although he insisted he was innocent, Lee had been convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. However, after the noose was put around his neck and the lever that would release the floor beneath his feet was pulled, something malfunctioned and Lee was not dropped. Strangely, the equipment had been tested and found to be in working order. In facts, weights used in a test run plunged to the ground as expected. The hanging was attempted two more times, but when Lee stood on the trap door, and the lever was pulled, nothing happened. He was then sent back to prison.
On November 15, 1884, Keyse, who had been a maid to Queen Victoria, was found dead in a pantry next to Lee's room. Her head was severely battered and her throat cut. There was no direct evidence of Lee's guilt; the case was made solely on circumstantial evidence. The alleged motive was Lee's resentment at Keyse's mean treatment.
The authorities, mystified at the gallows' inexplicable malfunction, decided to ascribe it to an act of God. Lee was removed from death row, his sentence commuted, and he spent the next 22 years in prison. After he was released, he emigrated to America. The cause of Lee's remarkable reprieve was never discovered.
Condemned prisoners no longer have a chance at such reprieves. Even when there are mishaps in carrying out an execution (in one case, an executioner failed to properly find a vein for a lethal injection), authorities follow through until the prisoner has been put to death.

Christmas Cookie Recipe -- This is Hilarious (imo)

Christmas Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup of water
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup of brown sugar
lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo
again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer...Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar...Beat again. At this point it's best to make
sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another cup ... just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck
in the cup of dried fruit, Pick the frigging fruit off floor... Mix on
the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it
loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who giveshz a sheet. Check the Jose
Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add
a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to
beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish
the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.


CHERRY MISTMAS

Guidelines for Submitting Fan Fiction

Finish your story! Readers will not remember your post that is "Chapter One" when “Chapter Two” comes out . If you have a story to tell, tell it all--then submit it. The only exception to this is what I call "loose story arcs". You can have a story that is complete and standing on it's own with no dangling story lines that is posted, then come back to those same characters and situations in a second story. Each story is its own, though related. These types of stories are usually marked as Part X of a Series.
Verify your spelling and grammar! A few errors here and there are to be expected, but if your story is riddled with mistakes, it really detracts from the enjoyment of the story. Your English teacher was right--spelling DOES count in the real world.

Writer's Definitions

Fan fiction – fiction written by fans about characters created by someone else.

Slash – fiction involving intimate sexual relationships between same sex couples (male)

Fem slash – fiction involving intimate sexual between same sex couples (female)

Het – fiction involving intimate sexual relationships between opposite sex couples

Gen – fiction that focuses more on plot than on relationships between couples

Canon – that which is sanctioned as being part of the storyline by the original creators

AU – fiction that departs from canon at some point

PWP (“Plot? What Plot?” or “Porn without plot”) – fiction that focuses more on sex than plot

Birthday Calendar

I think this is already submitted to blog but check it out first

Birthday Calendar

This link is interesting (I thought)

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

You plug in name and date of birth and it tells you exactly how old you are (to
the sec) some interesting statistics about your birth year, your birth stone,
etc. etc. etc.

WHY ENGLISH TEACHERS DIE YOUNG

This may be a repeat, but it’s still funny.
28 REASONS WHY ENGLISH TEACHERS DIE YOUNG
Or, Actual Analogies and Metaphors Found in High School Essays. (Maybe they're using "analogy" as a metaphor for "simile." Otherwise, you have to suspect the quality of the English teacher who distributed this.)
-----
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.
18. Even in his last years, Grand pappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
26. Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH cleanser.
27. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
28. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

Please Do Not Commit Suicide!

If you are considering suicide, here are some things to think about.

Reasons young people give for considering suicide:
My parents don’t know I’m alive.
I’m not attractive.
My classmates ignore me.
I have no money, no job, no future.
I want to hurt the one who hurt me.
I’m in trouble and there’s no way out.
I hate myself.
Other people commit suicide.
My troubles will never end.
Nobody cares for me.
My troubles are too big to handle.

And some answers:
My parents don’t know I’m alive.

It probably often feels that way. Parents worry about money, they have many problems, and of course, they can be selfish. They think that “things” are important and forget to show love to their own children. You need to help them know how you are feeling. Talk to them. Pick a time when they can listen.

I’m not attractive.

That could be so, but sometimes we are too hard on ourselves when we look in the mirror. You may think other kids despise you because of your hair or height or skin color, or whatever. It just isn’t so. I know it sounds corny, but beauty is only skin deep. It’s what’s inside that counts. Ugly and handicapped people have succeeded. Go and talk to one of them.

My classmates ignore me.

That’s also likely to be true. Most kids – and adults – think of themselves first. Look around and see all the loners. Strange as it may seem, happiness is in serving others. The more you do for others, the less you mope around for yourself.

I have no money, no job, no future.

Sure, unemployment is high and money is scarce. But you don’t know the future. Poor people make it to the top. Study. Make yourself useful to someone. Work for low wages or no wages. Make a name for yourself that you are friendly and willing to learn.

I want to hurt the one who hurt me.

We all feel that way at times – I will get even! Wouldn’t revenge be great? But to take your life is wrong. Is that really the way you want to come face to face with your Creator? And to repay evil for evil is wrong. God says that vengeance belongs to Him. Anyway, just imagine how much better He could extract revenge than you, if that is in His righteous judgment! Try forgiving. It will amaze you – and the one you forgive.

I’m in trouble and there’s no way out.

You may be in trouble, but there is a way out. Drugs, despair and death are not the answers. Talk to a counselor, a minister or preacher, or some adult you trust.

I hate myself.

You may have been put down so often that you start believing that you are no good. That’s not true. Don’t believe the lies. You have worth. No one can put a price or a value on the human soul. It is something that will live on for eternity. Nothing can destroy the human soul, not even an atomic explosion. So don’t go blaming yourself for things that are not your fault. Do something worthwhile and see how it changes how you feel about yourself.

Other people commit suicide.

Yes, they are, and it really shakes the community. So if you think that committing suicide will draw attention to yourself and teach others a lesson, it will, that’s for sure. But suicide is not the answer. Wait a few days. I truly believe that anyone who is seriously considering suicide as an option is not thinking clearly or wisely. Please talk to someone first.

My troubles will never end.

It seems that way right now, but you can pray and God will hear. Once you are out of this life, you can never return. Remember, the soul is eternal. When you die, you will go somewhere. What awaits you in the next life?

Nobody cares for me.

It’s a rough and evil world. Even if no one else cares for you, God does. He created you, and He has some purpose for you. God created you for fellowship with Him. Ask Him what you should do.

My troubles are too big to handle.

It certainly seems that way sometimes. And the troubles of no two people are exactly alike, so no one can really understand you. But God can! All problems in life are due to sin, and Jesus Christ died on the cross to take away sin. He died so that you can live. Find out about Him. He’s waiting for you.

Is suicide an unpardonable Sin?
No -- not if you are "saved" or a "believer". Here's why.
Whether or not you yourself have ever contemplated suicide, you probably know someone who has considered it. People in such despair may believe they are unloved and life has no purpose; or perhaps they want to escape a painful situation that seems hopeless.
We often don’t realize that individuals around us – even Christians – are struggling with such feelings. Ask God to make your spirit sensitive to needs around you. If a person says, “Sometimes I feel life isn’t worth living,” recognize that this may be a cry for help. You might be the only person he or she feels free to approach. Listen lovingly – genuine love is the greatest cure in the world.
Many wonder if God would forgive suicide. Jesus took on all our sin at the Cross, and His grace covers our worst sins, even in death. But that is a terrible excuse to check out of life – suicide is still rebellion against God’s will. The Lord has created each of us for a great purpose, and we were ransomed at great price!
1 Cor 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
God never turns away anyone who cries out to Him.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
He’ll rescue you if you let Him! When you submit to Him, He’ll take you from that pit of destruction and give you security, regardless of how far down you are or strong the quicksand feels.
He is our refuse and strength, “a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Not a past help or a future help, but a present help. His awesome power and love can radically transform your life.

If you are "lost" and have not accepted Christ's death on the cross as atonement (or payment) for your sins, then YES -- suicide is the unpardonable sin -- because once you are dead, it is too late for you to accept salvation by faith through grace.

How to Blog

How to blog by Tony pierce, 110
write every day.
If you think you’re a good writer, write twice a day.
Don’t be afraid to do anything. In fact if you’re afraid of something, do it. Then do it again. And again.
Cuss like a sailor.
Don’t tell your mom, your work, your friends, the people you want to date, or the people you want to work for about your blog. if they find out and you'd rather they didn’t read it, ask them nicely to grant you your privacy.
Have comments. don’t be upset if no one writes in your comments for a long time. Eventually they'll write in there. if people start acting mean in your comments, ask them to stop, they probably will.
Have an email address clearly displayed on your blog. Sometimes people want to tell you that you rock in private.
Don’t worry very much about the design of your blog. Image is a fake out.
Use Blogger. It’s easy, it's free; and because they are owned by Google, your blog will get spidered better, you will show up in more search results, and more people will end up at your blog. Besides, all the other blogging software & alternatives pretty much suck.
Use spellchecker unless you’re completely totally keeping it real. But even then you might want to use it if you think you wrote something really good.
Say exactly what you want to say no matter what it looks like on the screen. then say something else. Then keep going. And when you’re done, re-read it, and edit it and hit publish and forget about it.
Link like crazy. Link anyone who links you, link your favorites, link your friends. don’t be a prude. Linking is what separates bloggers from apes. And especially link if you're trying to prove a point and someone else said it first. it lends credibility even if you’re full of s--t.
if you haven’t written about sex, religion, and politics in a week you’re probably playing it too safe, which means you probably f--ked up on #5, in which case start a second blog and keep your big mouth shut about it this time.
remember: nobody cares which N*Sync member you are, what State you are, which Party of Five kid you are, or which Weezer song you are. the second you put one of those things on your blog you need to delete your blog and try out for the marching band. similarly, nobody gives a s--t what the weather is like in your town, nobody wants you to change their cursor into a butterfly, nobody wants to vote on whether your blog is hot or not, and nobody gives a rat ass what song you’re listening to. Write something Real for you, about you, every day.
Don’t be afraid if you think something has been said before. it has. and better. big whoop. say it anyway using your own words as honestly as you can. just let it out.
get Site Meter and make it available for everyone to see. if you're embarrassed that not a lot of people are clicking over to your page, don’t be embarrassed by the number, be embarrassed that you actually give a crap about hits to your gay blog. it really is just a blog. And hits really don’t mean anything. you want Site Meter, though, to see who is linking you so you can thank them and so you can link them back. Similarly, use Technorati, but don’t obsess. Write.
People like pictures. Use them. Save them to your own server. Or use Blogger's free service. if you don’t know how to do it, learn. Also get a Buzznet account. Several things will happen once you start blogging, one of them is you will learn new things. That’s a good thing.
Before you hit Save as Draft or Publish Post, select all and copy your masterpiece. You are using a computer and the internet, s--t can happen. No need to lose a good post.
Push the envelope in what you’re writing about and how you’re saying it. be more and more honest. Get to the root of things. Start at the root of things and get deeper. Dig. Think out loud. Keep typing. Keep going. Eventually you'll find a little treasure chest. Every time you blog this can happen if you let it.
Change your style. Mimic people. Write beautiful lies. Dream in public. Kiss and tell. Finger and tell. Cry scream fight sing f--k and don’t be afraid to be funny. The easiest thing to do is whine when you write. Don’t be lazy. audblog at least once a week.
Write open letters. Make lists. Call people out on their bulls--t. Lead by example. Invent and reinvent yourself. Start by writing about what happened to you today. For example today I told a hot girl how wonderfully hot she is.
When in doubt review something. There are not enough reviews on blogs. Review a movie you just saw, a TV show, a cd, a kiss you just got, a restaurant, a hike you just took, anything.
Constantly write about the town that you live in.
out yourself. Tell your secrets. You can always delete them later.
Don’t use your real name. Don’t write about your work unless you don’t care about getting fired.
Don’t be afraid to come across as an a-swipe. own you’re a-s-wipedness.
Nobody likes poems. Don’t put your poems on your blog. Not even if they’re incredible. Especially if they’re incredible. Odds are they’re not incredible. Bad poems are funny sometimes though, so fine, put your dumb poems on there. Whatever.
Tell us about your friends.
Don’t apologize about not blogging. Nobody cares. Just start blogging again.
Read tons of blogs and leave nice comments.
If you're going to rip off/mimic/be inspired by one blogger make it raymi, she’s perfect.
The average blog is at least 6 inches long.
Blogs stay hard for a week.
Blogs won't tell you size doesn't count.
Blogs don't get too excited.
Blogs never suffer from performance anxiety.
Blogs are easy to pick up.
You can fondle a blog in a supermarket.... and you know how firm it is before you take it home.
Blogs can get away any weekend.
With a blog you can get a single room.... and you won't have to check-in as Mrs. Blog.
A blog will always respect you in the morning.
You can go to a movie with a blog.... and see the movie.
You can go to a drive-in with a blog.... and you can stay in the front seat.
With a blog you can always wait until you get home.
A blog won't eat all the popcorn.... or send you out for Milk Duds.
A blog won't drag you to a John Wayne Film Festival.
A blog won't ask: "Am I the first?".
A blog doesn't care if you're a virgin.
Blogs won't tell other blogs you're a virgin.
Blogs won't tell anyone you're not a virgin anymore.
With a blog you don't have to be a virgin more than once.
Blogs can handle rejection.
Blogs won't pout if you have a headache.
Blogs won't care what time of the month it is.
Blogs never want to get it on when your nails are wet.
Blogs won't give it up for Lent.
With a blog you never have to say you're sorry.
Afterwards, a blog won't: ...want to shake hands and be friends.
...say, "I'll call you a cab".
...tell you he's not the marrying kind.
...tell you he is the marrying kind.
...call his ex-wife or therapist.
...take you to confession.
Blogs don't leave you wondering for a month
Blogs won't make you go to the drugstore.
Blogs won't tell you a vasectomy will ruin it for them.
A blog a day keeps the OB-GYN away.
A blog won't work your crossword with ink.
A blog isn't allergic to your cat.
With a blog you don't have to play Florence Nightingale during the Flu season.
Blogs never answer your phone or borrow your car.
A blog won't eat all your food or drink all your liquor.
A blog doesn't turn your bathroom into a library.
A blog won't go through your medicine chest.
A blog doesn't use your toothbrush, roll-on, or hairspray.
Blogs won't leave hair on the sink or a ring in the tub.
Blogs won't write your name and number on the men's room wall.
Blogs don't have sex hang-ups.
Blogs won't make you wear kinky clothes or go to bed with your boots on.
Blogs aren't into rope & leather, talking dirty, or swinging with fruits & nuts.
You can have as many blogs as you can handle.
You can eat blogs when you feel like it.
Blogs never need a round of applause.
Blogs won't ask: "Am I the best? How was it? Did you come? How many times?"
Blogs aren't jealous of your Gynecologist, Ski Instructor, or Hair Dresser.
A blog won't want to join your sports group.
A blog never wants to improve your mind.
Blogs aren't into meaningful conversations.
Blogs won't ask about your Last Lover.... or speculate about your next one.
A blog will never make a scene because there are other blogs in the refrigerator.
A blog won't mind hiding in the refrigerator when your mother is over.
No matter how old you are, you can always get a fresh blog.
Blogs don't leave whisker burns, fall asleep on your chest, or drool on the pillow.
A blog won't give you a hickey.
Blogs can stay up ALL night.... and you won't have to sleep on the wet spot.
Blogs don't leave dirty shorts on the floor.
A blog never forgets to flush the toilet.
A blog doesn't flush the toilet while you are taking a shower.
With a blog, the toilet seat is always the way you left it.
Blogs don't compare you to a center fold.
Blogs don't count to 10.
Blogs don't tell you they liked you better with long hair.
A blog will never leave you ... for another woman.
...for another man.
...for another blog.
A blog will never call and say "I have to work late, Honey", and then come home smelling like another
woman.
A blog never snaps your bra, pinches your butt, or gives you a snuggy.
You always know where a blog has been.
A blog never has to call "the wife".
Blogs never have mid-life crises.
A blog won't leave you for a cheerleader or an ex-nun.
Blogs don't play the guitar and try to find themselves.
You won't find out later that your blog ... is married.
...is on penicillin.
...likes you - but loves your brother.
A blog doesn't have softball practice on the day you move.
Blogs never tell you what they did on R&R.
A blog won't ask for a promotion just when you're up for a promotion.
Blogs don't care if you make more money than they do.
Blogs won't wear a leisure suit to your office Christmas party.
A blog won't leave town on New Year's Eve.
A blog won't take you to disco and dump you for a flashy outfit.
Blogs never want to take you home to mom.
A blog doesn't care if you always spent the holidays with your family.
A blog won't ask to be put through Med School.
A blog won't tell you he's outgrown you intellectually.
Blogs never expect you to have little blogs.
Blogs don't say "Let's keep trying until we have a boy".
It's easy to drop a blog.
A blog will never contest a divorce, demand a property settlement, or seek custody of anything.
A blog NEVER leaves the toilet seat up.
A blog lasts longer than seven seconds.
A blog won't expect you to cook dinner when you're not hungry.
A blog will never expect you to sit in the wet spot IT makes.
A blog doesn't care if you go shopping.
A blog doesn't mind when your mother visits.
A blog does as many chores as a man, with a LOT less complaining.
Having a blog can't make you pregnant.
A blog won't tease you because you once liked Barry Manilow.
If a blog had a sports car, it wouldn't love it more than you.
A blog doesn't want to go out alone with the other blogs.
A blog doesn't sulk.
A blog wouldn't waste its money on Playblog magazine.
A blog won't switch the TV channel.
A blog doesn't have to sleep with the windows open.
A blog doesn't snore.
A blog can't interrupt.
A blog doesn't care that you can't find your car's carburetor.
A blog doesn't think black leather bikinis are neat.
A blog doesn't belch. Or fart.
A blog doesn't mind having pantyhose dry in the bathroom.
A blog doesn't care that you don't balance your checkbook.
A good blog is easy to find.
A blog can't pout.
A blog doesn't have a mother.
A blog doesn't have friends who will drink your blog.
A blog wouldn't yell if you dented the car.
A blog won't get jealous if you enjoy another blog.
A blog won't care if you gain five pounds.
A blog will be there for anytime of the month.
A blog doesn't want children.
A blog doesn't think poetry is queer.
A blog isn't ready until you're ready.
If the blog is finished before you are, you can have another blog.
Hangovers from too much blogging go away.
A blog tastes good.
Having a blog doesn't make you want to take a shower.
A blog will never invite friends home for dinner without calling.
A blog's life does not revolve around the football.
A blog would never make fun of your new outfit.
A blog never needs a shave.
You don't have to let a blog win.
A blog doesn't care what toppings you get on the pizza.
Just because you have dinner with a blog doesn't mean you have to sleep with a blog too.
A blog doesn't have morning breath.
A blog is happy to go where ever you want to go.
A blog will never drink the last blog.
A blog will never take the newspaper apart before you've read it.
When a blog is finished, it doesn't roll over and go to sleep.
A blog wouldn't mind if you wanted it to wear a condom.
A blog is never temperamental.
A blog will never complain about your cooking.
A cold blog is a good blog.
A blog will never worry about losing its hair.
A big, fat blog is nice to have.
A blog won't steal the covers.
You don't have to laugh at a blog's jokes.
A blog won't mind at all if you're not in the mood for blog.
You can enjoy a blog when you are on your period.

Writing Notes

Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em,
tell 'em,
tell 'em what you told 'em.

Training and presentations mnemonic for effective presentation or speaking structure, in other words:
introduction,
content points,
summary.

Post an image that you like and write about it. Even if you're not planning to keep a photo blog, a visual entry can be just the thing you need to break the blogging ice. Perhaps, you can post a picture that inspires or delights you; or maybe, something that makes you laugh or cry. Then, write a sentence or two that comes to mind when you look at this image.

Timeline notes

March 18, 1864 -- Sanitary Commission Fair in Washington -- The U.S. Sanitary Commission Fair in Washington, D.C., closes with President Lincoln commending the organization for its fine work. The Sanitary Commission formed in 1861, the creation of northern civilians concerned for Union troops' medical care. The voluntary association raised more than $22 million in donations and medical supplies, and it represented a major contribution by Yankee women to the war effort. Although administered by men, the vast majority of its volunteers were women. The commission raised supplies and provided lodging and meals to wounded soldiers and troops returning home on furlough. It gathered medicine and bandages for the army and sent inspectors to the camps to oversee the set up of clean water supplies, latrines, and cooking facilities. Volunteers worked on the front lines as doctors and nurses helped evacuate wounded soldiers to the rear. Some generals and army doctors found commission workers to be annoying and troublesome, especially when they criticized army medical practices. One doctor complained about what he saw as "sensation preachers, village doctors, and strong-minded women" interfering with the doctors' work. Some of these women included noted reformer Dorthea Dix and Mary Ann Bickerdyke, a tough no-nonsense church volunteer who became the commission's agent to the Army of the Tennessee before the Battle of Shiloh. She was completely dedicated to caring for common soldiers, and she was not afraid to challenge doctors and officers when she thought their care was being compromised. At Chattanooga, she ordered timbers for breastworks burned to keep wounded soldiers warm--when military police asked her who had authorized the burning, she replied, "Under the authority of God Almighty. Have you got anything better than that?" The commission's work fit 19th century women's socially proscribed roles as caretakers and nurturers of men, but the work also allowed women to carve out their own careers, and it could be seen as a step forward for the women's rights movement. Lincoln said at the closing of the Sanitation Commission Fair, "if all that has been said by orators and poets since the creation of the world in praise of women applied to the women of America, it would not do them justice for their conduct during this war."
March 23, 1839 : OK enters national vernacular -- On this day in 1839, the initials "O.K." are first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for "oll correct," a popular slang misspelling of "all correct" at the time, OK steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans.
During the late 1830s, it was a favorite practice among younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang when talking to one another. Just as teenagers today have their own slang based on distortions of common words, such as "kewl" for "cool" or "DZ" for "these," the "in crowd" of the 1830s had a whole host of slang terms they abbreviated. Popular abbreviations included "KY" for "No use" ("know yuse"), "KG" for "No go" ("Know go"), and "OW" for all right ("oll wright").
Of all the abbreviations used during that time, OK was propelled into the limelight when it was printed in the Boston Morning Post as part of a joke. Its popularity exploded when it was picked up by contemporary politicians. When the incumbent president Martin Van Buren was up for reelection, his Democratic supporters organized a band of thugs to influence voters. This group was formally called the "O.K. Club," which referred both to Van Buren's nickname "Old Kinderhook" (based on his hometown of Kinderhook, New York), and to the term recently made popular in the papers. At the same time, the opposing Whig Party made use of "OK" to denigrate Van Buren's political mentor Andrew Jackson. According to the Whigs, Jackson invented the abbreviation "OK" to cover up his own misspelling of "all correct."
The man responsible for unraveling the mystery behind "OK" was an American linguist named Allen Walker Read. An English professor at Columbia University, Read dispelled a host of erroneous theories on the origins of "OK," ranging from the name of a popular Army biscuit (Orrin Kendall) to the name of a Haitian port famed for its rum (Aux Cayes) to the signature of a Choctaw chief named Old Keokuk. Whatever its origins, "OK" has become one of the most ubiquitous terms in the world, and certainly one of America's greatest lingual exports.
in 1850, Henry Wells & William Fargo founded American Express.
March 24, 1890 - Supreme Court makes surprise decision -- The Supreme Court stirred controversy on this day in 1890, handing down what some deemed a "surprise" decision in Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad v. Minnesota. The case revolved around the question of whether or not a state held the right to impose fees that would cap a company's "reasonable profits." Based on the decision that such a cap violated a "person's" rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, the Court ruled in favor of the midwestern railroad. The conflation of a company with a person, a position spearheaded by Arthur Conkling, was only part of the flap that surrounded the case. People howled that the Court had effectively installed itself as the lone judge of what constituted a "reasonable profit." In essence, the Supreme Court had overstepped its bounds and thus imperiled the "delicate balance" between the judiciary, executive, and legislative branches of the government.
In 1889, German Ferdinand von Zeppelin patented his "Navigable Balloon."
March 16, 1881 -- A virtuous woman turns murderous -- Francisco "Chico" Forster is shot to death on downtown Los Angeles street by his jilted lover, eighteen-year old Lastania Abarta. The forty-year old Forster was the son of wealthy Los Angeles land developer and considered one of the city's most eligible bachelors despite his reputation for womanizing and poorly treating women. Abarta worked in her parent's pool hall, where she sang, played the guitar, and met freqent customer Forster. On March 14, she was invited to perform at a party given by Pio Pico, California's last Mexican governor. The former politician had just lost a sizable tract of land near San Diego to Chico Forster's father. During a song, Abarta changed the lyrics to mock Pico and then ran off with Forster to the Moiso Mansion Hotel. Apparently, the couple made love after Forster promised to marry Abarta. But when Forster disappeared and didn't return with a ring or priest to perform the ceremony, Abarta and her sister Hortensia started to comb the city in search of him. They finally found him at a race track gambling and dragged him to their carriage for a trip to the church. But Forster got out of the cab on the way, the women closely following behind until Abarta suddenly pulled out a gun and shot him through the eye. Outraged by his son's untimely death, Forster's father hired a special prosecutor to make sure that Abarta was properly punished. Abarta's lawyers tried a novel defense, they ran with America's 1880s obsession with "female hysteria." Medical theories of the time held that women could be driven crazy because of their reproductive system. Their first step was to introduce in evidence the blood stained sheets from the hotel where Abarta lost her virginity to Forster. The lawyers then trotted out no less than seven medical experts who expounded their hysteria theories. They testified that Abarta was clearly displaying classic "hysterical symptoms" caused "because her brain was undoubtedly congested with blood," when she killed Forster. However, the most important testimony came from Dr. Joseph Kurtz who received applause from the spectators in the courtroom when he stated that "Any virtuous woman when deprived of her virtue would go mad, undoubtedly." The jury, all men of course, took just twenty minutes to acquit Abarta, who left town and disappeared out of sight.

Texas Cattle

March 7, 1885
Kansas quarantines Texas cattle
The Kansas legislature passes a law barring Texas cattle from the state between March 1 and December 1, the latest action reflecting the love-hate relationship between Kansas and the cattle industry.
Texans had adopted the practice of driving cattle northward to railheads in Kansas shortly after the Civil War. From 1867 to 1871, the most popular route was the legendary Chisholm Trail that ran from San Antonio to Abilene, Kansas. Attracted by the profits to be made providing supplies to ranchers and a good time to trail-weary cowboys, other struggling Kansas frontier towns maneuvered to attract the Texas cattle herds. Dodge City, Caldwell, Ellsworth, Hays, and Newton competed with Abilene to be the top "Cow Town" of Kansas.
As Kansas lost some of its Wild West frontier edge, though, the cowboys and their cattle became less attractive. Upstanding town residents anxious to attract investment capital and nurture local businesses became increasingly impatient with rowdy young cowboys and their messy cattle. The new Kansas farmers who were systematically dividing the open range into neat rectangles of crops were even less fond of the cattle herds. Although the cowboys attempted to respect farm boundaries, stray cattle often wreaked havoc with farmers' crops. "There was scarcely a day when we didn't have a row with some settler," reported one cowboy.
Recognizing that the future of the state was in agriculture, the Kansas legislature attempted to restrict the movement of Texas cattle. In 1869, the legislature excluded cattle entirely from the east-central part of the state, where farmers were settling most quickly. Complaints from farmers that the Texas cattle were giving their valuable dairy cows tick fever and hoof-and-mouth disease eventually led to even tighter controls. On this day in 1885, the Kansas legislature enacted a strict quarantine. The quarantine closed all of Kansas to Texan cattle for all but the winter months of December, January, and February-the time of the year when the diseases were not as prevalent.
These laws signaled the end of the Kansas role in the Texas cattle industry. The open range was rapidly closing, hemmed in by miles and miles of barbed wire fence. With the extension of rail lines into Texas itself, the reason for making the long drives north to Kansas began to disappear by the late 1880s anyway. The Kansas quarantine laws became irrelevant as most Texans could more easily ship cattle via railheads in their own states.

Old West Silver

February 28, 1878
Silver rebounds
Proponents of silver-based currency had a rough go of it during the early 1870s, as legislators rebuffed their push for the free coinage of silver. However, the election of the 45th Congress, which was split down the middle on the expanded currency issue, opened the door for the passage of pro-silver legislation. And, on this day in 1878, the House gave the nod to the Bland-Allison Act, which called for the coinage of silver, albeit it in limited doses. Bland-Allison was another sign of the growing political power of the expanded currency movement, which blended silver forces with the burgeoning greenback movement. Earlier that February, the Greenback and Labor parties joined forces to form the Greenback Labor Party which, for brief period at the end of the 1870s, made a serious run at the national political stage. At the same time, the economy became ripe for the rise of silver: the nation's currency was deflated to Civil War-era levels, while miners across the West were churning up vast quantities of silver. The silver movement flourished for the next decade or so, as many in the greenback crusade, realizing that silver was a better horse to ride to an expanded currency, joined the drive for the unlimited coinage of silver.

Story Starters

Subject: Re: just for fun
Things about me that you may or may not know.

Four jobs I have had in my life
Four places I have lived.
Four TV Shows that I watch:
Four places I have been:
People who e-mail me (regularly)
Four of my favorite foods;
Four places I would rather be right now:
Four Things I am looking forward to this year:

Romance Story Idea

First Born by Lindsay McKenna

about two helo pilots from the 101st Airborne stationed at Ft. Campbell. Great Read!!!

Jason Trayhern wore his father's glorious military legacy like a thorny crown. Though a skilled fighter pilot himself, Jason's rebel tactics didn't sit well with his commanding officers. They expected more from Morgan Trayhern's son, which was why they gave Jason another chance. But that chance felt like a death sentence. For Jason was going into combat with a new partner. And she was all too . . . female.

A handsome, arrogant daredevil was the last thing Annie Dazen needed in her cockpit. But once she saw the wounded heart beneath Jason's tough-guy façade, she longed to heal him. And once she discovered the passion in this brooding soldier's touch, she longed to hold him tight. Now the stakes were higher. Because if she hoped to see a future with her would-be hero, they needed to survive their dangerous mission first!

Down by the Ol' Cemetery (note to self -- please learn how to spell cemetery!)

On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence.
One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts. "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy, as several dropped and rolled down toward the fence.
Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery.
He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me." He knew just what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off.
Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along. "Come here, quick," said the boy. "You won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls."
The man said, "Beat it kid. Can't you see it's hard for me to walk?"
When the boy insisted, though, the man hobbled to the cemetery.
Standing by the fence they heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me..."
The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been tellin' the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord."
Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.
Then they heard, "One for you, one for me. That's all. Now, let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done."
They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the boy on the bike!

Civilian Snipers

‘Don’t Try to Run’
Inside the Chilling World of Civilian Snipers
By Bob Woodruff

Oct. 12 — Few Americans are aware of a mysterious world that teaches civilians how to master the deadly sniper art — and it's only mouse clicks away.
Through videos and Web sites, civilian snipers have attracted a cult following.
"'One shot, one kill' is the slogan of the sniper," said Tom Diaz of the Violence Policy Center.
A series of sniper shootings — eight of them fatal — in the Washington, D.C, region has area residents living in fear — which is exactly the way the sniper wants it.
"There is a subculture, there is a civilian subculture in this country dedicated to the fulfillment of that proposition," said Diaz.
Sniper Glorification
Through the Violence Policy Center, a national nonprofit organization working to fight gun violence, Diaz has been monitoring the sniper culture for years. He has been collecting evidence of what he calls the glorification of the sniper.
This evidence includes training videos that teach people how to build high-powered rifles and use them with devastating effect.
In addition, Diaz has collected dozens of books with menacing titles and pictures. There are also Web sites, he says, that recount the heroic work of military snipers and also advertise for sniper training.
Historically, members of the military and police forces have taken sniper-training courses, but it wasn't a civilian pastime. In the last 10 years, however, special sniper courses have been open to the public — to anyone who can afford to sign up.
'Killing Human Beings'
Peter Tarley, an expert sniper who has been teaching courses for police departments and the military for years, says he understands what attracts some civilians to the sniper world, although he refuses to teach them.
"It maybe shocking to the average American to know that there are training schools that civilians can go to," Tarley said. "There are Web sites, all of which teach this doctrine: 'one shot, one kill.' … And we're not talking about shooting woodchucks, we're talking about killing human beings."
Web sites with names like "Sniper's Paradise" and "Sniper Country" provide a road map on how to master this deadly art, Tarley said.
Although they are careful to warn readers not to act criminally, many are riddled with disturbing quotes.
"The careful application of terror is another form of communication," says one sniper on a Web site's chat board.
Another sniper wrote: "The only thing I feel when I kill is the recoil from my rifle."
A particularly chilling quote reads: "Don't try to run. You'll only die tired."
Obsessed by the Sport's Demands
Hollywood movies about snipers have gained nearly cult status in the sniper culture.
Enemy at the Gates, a movie about snipers in World War II, and Sniper, starring Tom Berenger, are discussed frequently on sniper Web sites' chat boards.
Tarley says shooters who become obsessed with sniping are attracted to the sport's demands.
"They're trying to be as precise as possible, the breathing control required — the ability to time your shot with your heartbeat," Tarley said.
Gun-control advocates say the sniper culture is growing fast and needs to be controlled, because even with their conspicuous weapons, snipers can get away.
But despite the disturbing messages posted by snipers on their favorite Web sites, Tarley insists the sniper culture is not a dangerous one. He says snipers rarely murder.

Dating Tips

Extreme dates, like bungee jumping, make you a lot closer to the other person. A lot of feelings start to surface. You need to go with your feelings and explore the relationship. Intense situations

Extreme Dating

Dating in the mode of Extreme Programming. While possibly never tried (or at least repeated), it is useful to see how similar humans are to machines.

This was refactored so that mostly serious suggestions are normal text, mostly funny ones are italics. Just in case any of the geeks couldn't tell. See, self-documenting.

DoTheSimplestThingThatCouldPossiblyWork: Chocolates. If that doesn't work, try roses. Don't make a complicated plan on how to win their heart - just think of something simple and honest.

RefactorMercilessly: If your date is less than impressed with your appearance or your PC vs Mac jokes, you've obviously done something wrong. Work to readjust their expectations of a date to something simpler and more reasonable. If you dare. Change your strategy if it's going badly. Change yourself if you can't see how to proceed.

TestDrivenDesign: Once you have made the adjustment, run all the UnitTests again to make sure where you stand. If something goes wrong in the dating process, do not continue, stop it immediately and work on the issues until they are resolved.

ContinuousIntegration: If something goes right, be sure to cement that behavior by presenting her with a gesture of approval. If something goes right, be sure to include it in your future plans.

SmallReleases: Don't get married on the first date. Work things out slowly. Consider giving out N month anniversary agreements. Remember when you started going out so you can offer some small gesture on 'month anniversaries'.

FortyHourWeek: Too much time spent dating can result in unhealthy practices. Be sure to take a breather every now and then.

OnsiteCustomer: LongDistanceRelationship does not work.

YouArentGonnaNeedIt: Don't worry so much about how you can please your date three months in the future; keeping them happy in the present tense is challenge enough.

PairProgramming: It helps to have more than one person involved. It works better if both partners work together.

ThereMustBeFood: and red wine?

OnceAndOnlyOnce: Don't continually cut-and-paste the same personality type into your dating program. One canonical experience should be enough.

DoTheSimplestThingThatCouldPossiblyWork:
i.e. Go to the least effort possible for your date. Don't bother showering, shaving, or looking respectable; if you think there's a chance you can get away with looking like a slob, go for it. To a more reasonable extent: why go to the trouble of a big fancy five-course meal at a restaurant and a big broadway play, when a rented classic film and a home-cooked meal would do just fine? (Because dates that take place in the home are recipes for disaster, except for established couples, that's why.)
Remember, "simplest" isn't the same as "least amount of effort".

Contributors: TorneWuff

Mile High Club

Chicago Mile High Club
Membership into the elite Mile-High Club has always been difficult to attain. Only those couples who were bold enough to carry on their initiation in the backseats of an under booked airline flight, or wealthy enough to own their own aircraft were usually able to join.
Now you can join the club in romantic comfort, style, and discretion. We are offering you and your loved one the exclusive use of our 20 passenger airliner so that you can become mile-high club members, with all of the safety and privacy that comes with having a large twin-engine turboprop airliner all to yourselves. The cabin is large and roomy, over 20 feet in length, 6 feet wide and 5.5 feet tall. The cockpit is divided from the cabin. We have equipped the cabin with clean, comfortable furnishings. A bottle of chilled champagne along with cheese and crackers are included for the flight.
Once you are aboard, the captain and first officer will communicate with you when it is permitted to move from your seats. This fast climbing aircraft will be one mile high in less than 5 minutes after takeoff. At that time, you will have 30 minutes of privacy. Should an unusual situation occur in the cabin, it is possible to signal the flight crew to deal with it. Otherwise, you and your loved one will remain totally undisturbed except for the soothing hum of the engines and the moonlight through the cabin windows.
Does this sound like the gift of a lifetime to give to your significant other? We think it is and invite you to call us with questions. Do not be bashful, the flight crew is made up of mature, dedicated professionals. The crew will never interfere, participate or comment in anyway on anything that goes on in the cabin, they are there to fly the plane. Furthermore, they are bound under contract to total secrecy and discretion as to the identities of our customers.
A few important notes: These flights are cancelled in the event of marginal weather. We will not fly when there is a chance of turbulence or uncertain conditions. The flight crew reserves the right to make these decisions. With that in mind, it is important that you keep time open for alternate dates. Although we will always try to meet your appointment, we will not compromise safety or comfort.
This service is offered to the public as a sight-seeing flight and will remain within 25 miles of the departure airport. Most flights are done at night. We generally depart from the Hinckley Airfield in Hinckley, IL. It's a rural, private airport with little or no activity after dark. It is unlikely that any one would ever be there to see you arrive or embark on the flight. Service from other airports can be arranged, but all flights must begin and terminate at the same location.
The cost for this "sightseeing" flight is $999.99/hour. Reservations must be made at least one week in advance and a non-refundable deposit of $250.00 is required. If we are unable to fly because of weather conditions or circumstances surrounding our flight operations, the deposit is moved to your alternate date. If you fail to show up or cancel for other reasons, the deposit is forfeited. You will be required to sign a release of liability agreement and must bring a picture ID to prove your identity and that you are at least 18 years of age.
Questions? Drop us an email to discuss how we can help you design the perfect evening for that special someone.
Order your Romantic Mile-High Club gift certificate now!
* Flights are available from May 1 - October 31
* Sky Team Aviation pilots are FlightSafety trained

The Ultimate Conspiracy Theory

Bilderberg: The ultimate conspiracy theory
By Jonathan Duffy
BBC News Online

The Bilderberg group, an elite coterie of Western thinkers and power-brokers, has been accused of fixing the fate of the world behind closed doors. As the organisation marks its 50th anniversary, rumours are more rife than ever.
Given its reputation as perhaps the most powerful organisation in the world, the Bilderberg group doesn't go a bundle on its switchboard operations.
Telephone inquiries are met with an impersonal female voice - the Dutch equivalent of the BT Callminder woman - reciting back the number and inviting callers to "leave a message after the tone".
Anyone who accidentally dialled the number would probably think they had stumbled on just another residential answer machine.
But behind this ultra-modest façade lies one of the most controversial and hotly-debated alliances of our times.
On Thursday the Bilderberg group marks its 50th anniversary with the start of its yearly meeting.
For four days some of the West's chief political movers, business leaders, bankers, industrialists and strategic thinkers will hunker down in a five-star hotel in northern Italy to talk about global issues.
What sets Bilderberg apart from other high-powered get-togethers, such as the annual World Economic Forum (WEF), is its mystique.
Not a word of what is said at Bilderberg meetings can be breathed outside. No reporters are invited in and while confidential minutes of meetings are taken, names are not noted.
The shadowy aura extends further - the anonymous answerphone message, for example; the fact that conference venues are kept secret. The group, which includes luminaries such as Henry Kissinger and former UK chancellor Kenneth Clarke, does not even have a website.
DISCREET AND ELITE
This year Bilderberg has announced a list of attendees
They include BP chief John Browne, US Senator John Edwards, World Bank president James Wolfensohn and Mrs Bill Gates
In the void created by such aloofness, an extraordinary conspiracy theory has grown up around the group that alleges the fate of the world is largely decided by Bilderberg.
In Yugoslavia, leading Serbs have blamed Bilderberg for triggering the war which led to the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic. The Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, the London nail-bomber David Copeland and Osama Bin Laden are all said to have bought into the theory that Bilderberg pulls the strings with which national governments dance.
And while hardline right-wingers and libertarians accuse Bilderberg of being a liberal Zionist plot, leftists such as activist Tony Gosling are equally critical.
A former journalist, Mr Gosling runs a campaign against the group from his home in Bristol, UK.
"My main problem is the secrecy. When so many people with so much power get together in one place I think we are owed an explanation of what is going on.
Mr Gosling seizes on a quote from Will Hutton, the British economist and a former Bilderberg delegate, who likened it to the annual WEF gathering where "the consensus established is the backdrop against which policy is made worldwide".
"One of the first places I heard about the determination of US forces to attack Iraq was from leaks that came out of the 2002 Bilderberg meeting," says Mr Gosling.
But "privacy, rather than secrecy", is key to such a meeting says Financial Times journalist Martin Wolf, who has been invited several times in a non-reporting role.
"The idea that such meetings cannot be held in private is fundamentally totalitarian," he says. "It's not an executive body; no decisions are taken there."
As an up-and-coming statesmen in the 1950s, Denis Healey, who went on to become a Labour chancellor, was one of the four founding members of Bilderberg (which was named after the hotel in Holland where the first meeting was held in 1954).
His response to claims that Bilderberg exerts a shadowy hand on the global tiller is met with characteristic bluntness. "Crap!"
"There's absolutely nothing in it. We never sought to reach a consensus on the big issues at Bilderberg. It's simply a place for discussion," says Lord Healey.
Formed in the spirit of post-war trans-Atlantic co-operation, the idea behind Bilderberg was that future wars could be prevented by bringing power-brokers together in an informal setting away from prying eyes.
"Bilderberg is the most useful international group I ever attended. The confidentiality enabled people to speak honestly without fear of repercussions.
"In my experience the most useful meetings are those when one is free to speak openly and honestly. It's not unusual at all. Cabinet meetings in all countries are held behind closed doors and the minutes are not published."
That activists have seized on Bilderberg is no surprise to Alasdair Spark, an expert in conspiracy theories.
"The idea that a shadowy clique is running the world is nothing new. For hundreds of years people have believed the world is governed by a cabal of Jews.
"Shouldn't we expect that the rich and powerful organise things in their own interests. It's called capitalism."
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3773019.stm
Published: 2004/06/03 11:34:47 GMT © BBC MMIV

Beach Encounter by Mia Watkins

Beach Encounter
Author: Mia Watkins

One crisp, early November morning, I took a brisk walk on a beach near my home. Except for the gentle surf and some screeching seagulls, the beach was silent and deserted. Emotionally, I was reeling under the stress of a recent difficult divorce. How was it possible that a family like ours could totally disintegrate? We already had our two daughters when I was diagnosed with cancer.
Treatments followed with the usual sickness and loss of hair. They were unsuccessful, and eventually I had major surgery. Miraculously, I recovered from this ordeal and was given a clean bill of health.
During the following months I began to lose my balance and tire easily. After many doctors' appointments and tests, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. My HMO offered no treatment or hope. I coped the best I could, had hand controls put in my car, used crutches on bad days and even a wheelchair at times. My husband was unable to cope with all these illnesses. He began to show symptoms of manic-depression and eventually became abusive, even to the point where he once beat me unconscious.
God had been my strength and anchor during these ordeals. I knew He was walking with me, that He would never leave me or forsake me, and knew all about my wounds and hurts. It was His peace that had carried me thus far. Some days, when my legs were strong enough to carry me unaided, I enjoyed my beach walks like on this crisp November morning.
In the distance, I spotted a man sitting quietly on the sand, gazing at the ocean. Yet, as I passed him from behind, I saw his shoulders shaking and realized that he was sobbing, apparently in great agony. Should I stop and talk with him? A perfect stranger? Who knew if he was a fugitive or an ax murderer? I walked on.
However, something about those agonizing sobs pulled me back. I slowly turned and walked toward him. He was still crying and hardly seemed to notice me. I took a closer look and saw a man in his forties, dressed in jeans and T-shirt, short hair and cleanly shaven. Certainly not a dangerous-looking man. Gently, I sat down beside him. For a moment, no one spoke, then I asked softly.
"Are you all right? Can I help you with something?" He kept staring at the ocean.
"I have melanoma," he said. "They are going to amputate my leg."
Taken aback, I was silent for a moment, then began to ask him general questions, hoping to calm him down and get his mind on something else. I learned that his name was John, he was single and alone in the world. I noticed a necklace he was wearing, made out of old string fashioned into a cross. Wanting to keep the conversation going, I asked him:
"Where did you get that, John?"
"I made it in Vietnam," he began. "My buddies and I were in a foxhole. They all got killed, except me. The enemy was still around so I could not move or let them know I was alive. To get my mind off the danger, I took the strings of my buddies' gear and started to knot it into a necklace. I prayed for safety while I was doing this and put a cross at the end. I have never taken it off," he finished.
"When you were praying," I asked softly, "did you believe God heard you?"
"I don't know," he said, "my life was spared, but what for? Now I have a deadly disease. Look at all the thousands of people who were killed during the war. How can a good God allow all this?"
I explained as best as I could what the Bible has to say about good and evil, war and disease.
As I spoke I was strangely aware that somehow these weren't my own words pouring out of my mouth. They came with a compassion and conviction that weren't my own. God was there with us, explaining His love and care to this desperate young man.
"John," I said gently, "you've been through a lot and you are facing a lot more. You need someone to lean on, to support you. You need Jesus as your friend. You can trust Him, and He loves you, John. God is there for you. Jesus, His son, died, so that we may have peace and eternal life. We need this peace to go through life," I stressed.
I told John a little about my own life's struggles and illnesses.
"I could not have made it without God's help and support. Even today, as I was walking on the beach, I felt His presence and his strength. Without Him, I could never have survived. But look, I'm still alive and I still have hope. You can too, John."
Our conversation continued. John had many questions. The gentle surf kept rolling toward us, and I knew God was at work in John's heart. Finally, I asked him if he wanted to pray. Slowly, he nodded his head.
Gently, I led him in a prayer of forgiveness and surrender to the Lord. We both wept, but this time John's tears were not tears of sorrow but tears of relief and peace. Deeply moved, I was amazed at this transformation and in awe that God had used me in this way so unexpectedly.
"John," I finally warned him, "you're going to have a hard time. You're a child of Christ now, and there are going to be some roadblocks ahead of you. It's very important that you find a good church, get a Bible and start reading it."
I suggested a local beach community church.
"People dress informally there, John. You can come just as you are."
I got up to leave and rummaged through my bag for a business card but found none. Finally, I tore a deposit slip from my checkbook, wrote down my phone number and handed it to John.
"Call me," I said. "We'll talk and I can also get you a Bible."
Then I got up to continue my walk. I hadn't gone far, when he got up and ran after me, calling me back.
"You know," he said, when he caught up with me, "you are an angel who dropped in from heaven."
I smiled and said, "No, John, you've watched too much TV I'm not an angel." I turned away again, but he stopped me. Slowly he took his necklace off and handed it to me.
"I want you to have this," he said.
Tears came to my eyes again. Overwhelmed, I knew I couldn't refuse his gift, so I carefully accepted it and pulled it gently over my head.
When I returned home I hung John's necklace over my desk lamp. Every time I saw it there, I prayed that God would keep him safe and in the center of his will.
I did not hear from John again, but the following spring a letter arrived. There was no return address. Inside was a small card. Taped to it was a crumpled piece of paper from my checkbook with my address. On the back of the card was one sentence: John went to be with the Lord.
When I read it, I cried and removed John's necklace from my lamp and put it with other treasures in a safe place. I knew I would see John again in heaven. But the story did not end there. Three years later, last December, I received a mysterious Christmas card. Again, there was no return address. Inside was a handwritten note that said: “I'll be eternally grateful for my son's eternal life.
I'm John's mother, and I now attend his church.”
A note from the author:
P.S. I'm glad to report that today my multiple sclerosis is in complete remission. I have given away my crutches and wheelchair and recently had the hand controls in my car removed. To God be the glory.

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;” - Ecclesiastes 3:4

A Very Short Story by Tamara Halbritter

And Then You Wake Up
by Tamara Halbritter

I had a dream last night. The kind that wakes you up, gives you chills and sends you right to the liquor cabinet. Where you’re sweating and it’s only 50 degrees. Where you inventory body parts. Then you look to see if they’re really yours, and if they could’ve been at that place.
With those people. Those awful people.
They had taken your child away from you, saying she’d be safe. They had forced you through a doorway and . . . now you can’t remember what happened. So you try to go back before the doorway. Before they took Anna.
A sound hammers at your ears, like a ratchet striking metal. Nonstop noise and pitch black, broken only by shards of light slashing your dirty shirt. You look around for a way out.
Watching the mud along the floor, you see a shadow rise up against the wall.
Next, you’re eating dinner in a café with three strangers. They are cold, like the rigid leather chairs. You look at the clock, wanting to pick up Anna. The waiter never returns. You wait and wait. The conversation floats around you, dull sounds waft into your ears.
The three strangers don’t notice that you can t hear them. One is gray and sits up straight. The others are younger and slouch against the booth. Their dank odor assaults you. Hand shaking, you set down your glass. You want to pick up Anna.
A corridor before dinner, walking through a corridor to get to the restaurant. The gray one marched ahead. Photos lined the wall, black and white photos of people that all looked the same. Whispering from the other two echoed and grated against the tiled surfaces. Stiffly, you followed.
You smell bergamot.
And you give Anna a hug. She reaches for your neck to stay and shrieks when they take her. They carry her through the doorway and shove you back the other way. She cries and stretches toward you. You can’t reach her.
She’ll be safe. She’ll be safe. She’ll be safe.
Your heart ricochets off its cavity walls, sending wild blood. You can’t get enough air. You are trapped. Your throat aches from trying to scream through the fabric, the handkerchief. The chair won’t budge. Chilled and sweating and terrified, you wake up.
Still gasping for breath, no marks on your wrists, real tears. You clamber out of bed, walk down the hall to Anna’s room. You peer through the doorway. She’s not there. You run to her crib, tear wildly at the sheets, and slump back. She’s at her father’s tonight.
She’ll be safe, you think.
Shivering, you head to the liquor cabinet and reach for the brandy.

The Old Farmer's Pond

An old farmer in Kansas had owned a large farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back, fixed up nice; picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple and peach trees. The pond was properly shaped and fixed up for swimming when it was built.

One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over. He grabbed a five gallon bucket to bring back some fruit As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee.

As he came closer he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end of the pond.

One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!"

The old man frowned, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked." Holding the bucket up he said, "I'm here to feed the alligator."

Moral: Old age and cunning will triumph over youth and enthusiasm every time.

A Thank You to God

Dear God:

I want to thank you for what you have already done.

I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards. I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better, I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me, I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears. I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves. I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet, I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job, I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief. I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed, I am thanking you right now.

I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I am thanking you because you have not given up on me.



"And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." -1 Chronicles 4:10

A love story from Song of Solomon

Vignette
Tenaciously clung to
Follow the flock and you find their shepherd.
Previous love song of God
A love promise
A close and intimate communion complete unity and oneness of love is possible only with the believer through the church, the Bride, and Jesus Christ, the Divine Bridegroom.
A debt of gratitude
He took me by the hand
Courtship
Learn to love him
Open your eyes to behold his beauty
Longing for fuller enjoyment of his love
Fear of total surrender includes fear of pain and hurt emotions
She loves his presence but his visits are infrequent
She will not trust him fully. Her will is unsurrendered.
She longs for his presence. His absence becomes more unbearable.
She fears what he might require of her. Her distrust grieves his tender heart. She is unsatisfied and unhappy.
His love conquers her fear. She yields herself. She will love him, come what may.
When she agrees (submits), he takes her into his chambers alone with him. Sacred intimacies of his wondrous love. First fruits of her consummation are gladness and rejoicing.
She is aware of her imperfections in the light of morning; she is ashamed of her appearance. She wears the wounds of her sin like scars. He knows, yet loves her still. He likens her beauty to that which is beautiful around him.
She desires to labor with him and for him. This stirs his heart-love for her.
He gives her gifts. He delights to add to her adornments. His gifts increase his own pleasure. His presence brings out her beauty and fragrance.
He himself is well-beloved and far better than everything his gifts bring unto her. Their communion is intimate. He may lie all night betwixt her breasts. She finds him wholly desirable.
His great heart is occupied with her. Hawks have quick and penetrating eyes. Doves have tender eyes of innocence.
She affirms that he is the one who is fair and pleasant. She compares his pleasantness to that of her surroundings.
He tells her she is choice among women. He is delightful, refreshing and noble.
She experiences yet another demonstration of his love, this time in public. He is not ashamed to acknowledge her before his friends. He brings her to a banquet. All who are present recognize his great love for her. He spreads his love banner over her.
She is overwhelmed with his love. She finds the blessedness of being possessed. She is comforted by his hand under her head, his arms embrace her.
Heart-rest is her right and enjoyment. It is never by his will that her rest be disturbed.
She loves hearing the voice of her beloved. The sound of his voice brings her great anticipation.
He playfully wants to secretly gaze upon her without her knowing but she sees him behind the wall, at the window, peeking through the lattice. (cf voyeurism and television and movies where we get to look at others without their “knowing”)
In the clefts of the rocks, in the secret places of the stairs . . .
He yearns to see her face, to hear her voice. He grows concerned that she is unhappy with him.
She comforts herself that no matter how she treats him, she will never lose him. She possesses him. He possesses her. She knows where to find him if she needs him.
Until the shadows flee away
She turns him away and tells him to return next morning
Careless of his desire, she will enjoy his love later.
Wounded by her refusal, he departs, too hurt to reproach her.
By the time night came, she realized she was alone. She sought him whom her soul loved but found him
Not. She missed him. His absence becomes insupportable, so she goes in search of him in the dark. She could not find him.
The watchmen of the city (police?) find her desperately searching for her beloved. She inquires if they have seen him. They reply no. She leaves them.
Then she finds him, a very short time after this.
She confesses her love for him openly.
She held him and would not let him go. She clung to him, determined to never let him go again. Frightened of losing him, she retreats with him to the safest place she knows (her mother’s bedroom?).
He lets her lead him to her safe place with no words of reproach. Intimate communion is immediately restored. He tells everyone to be quiet and not disturb her sleep. He will let her awake when she pleases. (What an honor and privilege!)
As he returns with his “entourage,” others see their own handiwork of his vehicles and their ornate artistic richness. They have pride in their own handiwork and not their returning king.
But she is occupied with her returning king. She calls attention to him. She rejoices upon seeing him.
His wedding day, recalled, was the day of the gladness of his heart. She glories in his remembrance of their love.
The first words of his greeting reveal how much he has missed her. He exults her beauty.
Her love is silent during his greeting. Too deep for expression.
He tells her he is leaving again, the next morning. He woos her. He stirs her desire to be with him. He invites her to come with hi, even in dangerous places. He wants her to want to be with him, no matter where he is.
He has ravished his heart, taken it away, with one look of her eyes. Her ready attentiveness inspires more of his praise.
He is entirely ravished with her. She holds his heart.
He praises her love, fair, better than wine. Her lips and tongue drip like honeycomb and cream. Her garments smell like fragrant spices and herbs. She is his personal private garden. She is sealed up to all but him. She is savory and full of life.
She invites and entices him to enter into his private garden, and partake or eat of his pleasant fruits. He answers her call at once. He assures her that he finds all his satisfaction with her.
She is asleep. Night. Alone. Her heart awakes. It is night, and he has come home. He wants in. He knocks at the door, not opening it himself. He implores her, “open to me.” He wants her to freely open to him. He tries to inspire her, to open to him, on the basis of his closeness to her. He urges her to open by reference to his need. He is wet with dew or rain.
She refuses and makes excuses that she’s ready for bed. He tries to open the door himself but finds it locked. She hears this – her heart is moved for him.
She got out of bed but paused to put on fragrance, more occupied with her graces than with his desire. She opened the door but he had already left. She realizes she failed him when he had spoken.
She seeks him in the dark, calls him, but he doesn’t answer.
She is overcome with his love. She forgets her own problems and thinks only of him. She describes his
Appearance – white or sun burnt? Ruddy – fresh, healthy red color, a glorious complexion, curling locks of COLOR hair, sparkling clear eyes evenly positioned, smells fragrant, soft lips, speech is sweet, strong lips, jointed perfectly, beautiful countenance, mouth is sweet and good, altogether lovely and perfect.
She calls him her beloved and her friend.
From her heartfelt description, other women desire to see him. Because she knows where his heart is, she suddenly knows where he is.
She claims herself as his possession. Her claim on him comes last. She still knows herself to be the object of his desire.
She knows he has been waiting for her.
He appears. He immediately speaks loving words to her in the presence of other women.
Even though she is wounded, he describes how beautiful she is to him, overwhelming beauty. Abundant COLOR hair.
Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, fresh as a new day.
She partakes of his work. He is beside her. Before she is aware, her soul carries her away. He is more to her than any other beloved. Shula.
In the presence of the king, she cannot conceive why any attention should be paid her. She asks what they see in her that makes them act so.
The women describe her overwhelming beauty.
The king is held captive in her tresses. Her hair is wrapped around his memory.
Now, after listening to their praise, he cannot remain silent. He openly delights in her. Fair. Pleasant. He finds her delightful and refreshing.
The apples she had eaten at his tree imparted to her a sweet breath. He is the source of her beauty and fruitfulness.
Even when asleep, she is aware of his presence.
She claims herself as his possession. She identifies herself as the object of his desire. She leaves out her claim on him.
She wishes to be alone with him. She calls him away. She wishes to satisfy him with her love. Commune together alone. She wishes to demonstrate her love.
She wishes she could have cared for him as he has cared for her. She would give him the best of herself (enclosed garden). For giving of herself, he would love her.
She sleeps restfully after contemplating such happy thoughts.
She leans upon him. Others notice their oneness. She is leaning upon him. He claims her as his possession from her very birth.
He takes delight in her beauty.
She remembers her inconstancy. She pleads him to bind her to his heart and arm. Seal upon his heart. His love is as strong as death.
Her jealousy, fear of losing his affection, is cruel as the grave.
He reassures her. Many waters cannot quench love. If a man gave all he had to buy love, it would be despised. Love cannot be quenched or bought. Her love to him is secured by his love to her.
She is conscious of her union with him by the fact that she says “we”. In all things she is one with him.
She recognizes him as her instructor and asks his advice.
Her walls enclose him, not ass doors would keep him out.
She is conscious that she has found favor in his eyes.
She does not work for him to earn favor but to demonstrate her love. She knew he loved her.
He asks her to let him hear her voice. He desires her presence.
In response to his voice, she beckons him to come to her. Make haste.

A Buried Treasure

Author: Bob Perks bob@bobperks.com

She is your neighbor. She lives in that house down the street where the grass gets a little tall in the summer. The sidewalks remain covered in snow a little longer than most of the homes in your area. During your early morning drive you'll see her outside in her housecoat and slippers sweeping the porch. Even on a warm summer day she wears a heavy sweater.

Every so often you see her walking down the street with her fold-up push cart heading toward the grocery store. For the most part she is invisible to the world. She has become a part of the scenery. She goes about her daily routines asking for nothing from the world. And the world responds by doing nothing for her.

The truth is she could die tomorrow and you most likely wouldn't even miss her.

"They're selling that old house down the street. You know, where that old lady lived."

"I saw a sign at the grocery store. They're having a tag sale. God, I bet there's some great old stuff in there. Let's make a point to go Saturday. We'll get there early for some real bargains."

By the end of that Saturday, when the last piece of her life has been sold, she will be but a memory for someone. Her worth to whatever family members laid claim to her property, will be in dollars and cents. She was just passing through this life, biding her time.

"How sad," you say to yourself.

How sad indeed. Sad that you never got to know her.

If you had taken the time to say "hello" one day you would have been blessed. Perhaps walking the down the street one early summer's eve you would have seen her sitting on the old oak rocking chair you got at a bargain price the day they auctioned off her life. That chair was hand made by her Father. He came to America with the skill of a craftsman and raised her and her seven siblings with his bare hands. Her Momma sat in that chair and breast fed every one of them. She made their clothes, baked bread everyday and tended to a large garden that they depended on for fresh vegetables.

This mysterious old lady was married once for what would have been a lifetime for most of us. Her husband died years ago, but not before he paid the last payment on the home you rummaged through on Saturday.

Children? They had seven kids and raised them on hand-me-downs and fresh garden vegetables. Two died at an early age, one in a car accident when he was just a teen. The others went on to college and scattered across the U.S. in search of big dollars, big homes and little respect for who gave them life and everything they had today.

Except for a few photographs that they split among themselves as tokens of the "good old days" they each received their portion of the estate and went on with their lives.

Some where in her possessions they found an envelope filled with cash. On it was written the words, "I couldn't spend your money." For they would send her checks to pay someone to cut the grass and shovel the sidewalk.

She did it herself.

She had no living relatives and very few friends to visit her. The ones still around were tucked away in nursing homes she couldn't get to visit.

Yes, how sad it is that you didn't take the time to say hello. You would have met an honest to goodness Angel here on earth.

I am guilty, too. You see, I wouldn't have met her either except one day while driving past her house I blew a tire and pulled by the side of the road. While struggling with the spare, she came out and offered me a fresh glass of homemade iced tea. I sat on her steps as she rocked in that chair and told me a lifetime of stories. She talked so long she apologized for she rarely got visitors. I assured her that she need not apologize at all. I was the one who was sorry that I had never stopped by sooner.

"You are an angel," I told her.

In her sweet, gentle voice she said, " We are each other's angels. We meet when it is time."

She died the other day and I sat on her front porch and watched her life fall apart.

The neighbors got some real bargains that day. But I found a treasure.

"I Believe in you!" Bob Perks bob@bobperks.com


"Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith." - Proverbs 15:16

Hands

Author: Unknown

An old man, probably some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the park bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if he was ok.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was ok. He raised his head and looked at me and smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," he said in a clear strong voice.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, sir, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were ok?" I explained to him.

"Have you ever looked at your hands?", he asked. "I mean really looked at your
hands."

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making.

Then he smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life. They held my rifle and wiped my tears when I went off to war.

"They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle. Yet, they were strong and sure when I dug my buddy out of a foxhole and lifted a plow off of my best friends foot. They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body.

"They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

"These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life. But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And He won't care about where these hands have been or what they have done. What He will care about is to whom these hands belong and how much He loves these hands. And with these hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ."

No doubt I will never look at my hands the same again. I never saw the old man again after I left the park that day but I will never forget him and the words he spoke.

When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and wife I think of the man in the park. I have a feeling he has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God. I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel his hands upon my face. Thank you, Father God, for hands.

"He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich." -Proverbs 10:4

Interesting Quotes

Michelangelo - "Genius is eternal patience."

"You kids today have it easy. When I was a kid everything was HUGE. My dad was nearly four times bigger than me. You couldn't even see the tops of counters... Then gradually everything became smaller until it was the manageable size it is today." - Bizarro (comic strip)

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however." - From Illusions by Richard Bach

"When the chips are down, and you're at the end of your rope, you need someone that you can count on. And that's what you'll find here... someone that will go all the way, no matter what. So don't lose hope. Come on over to our offices and you'll see that there's still heroes in this world. ... Is that it? Am I done?" --Allen Francis Doyle, from Angel—

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." --Sherlock Holmes--

"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters." --Frank Lloyd Wright--

"Maybe this world is another planet's hell." --Aldous Huxley--

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." --Martin Luther King Jr.--

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." --Jimi Hendrix--

"You must feel fear in your whole body right now and how powerless you are. Become strong. Crying over reality won't change anything. You understand don't you? Dying is not an easy thing to do." --Cho Hakkai, from Saiyuki--

"There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher." --Flannery O'Connor--

"Being a hero is about the shortest-lived profession on Earth." --Will Rogers--

"There's a time and a place for everything and I believe it's called fanfiction." --Joss Whedon--

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." --Winston Churchill--

"When the universe collapses and dies, there will be three survivors: Tyr Anasazi, the cockroaches, and Dylan Hunt trying to save the cockroaches." --Tyr Anasazi, from Andromeda--

"God gave men both a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time." --Robin Williams--

"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." --James Dean--

"In any contest between power and patience, bet on patience." --W.B. Prescott--

"Fate protects fools, little children and ships named Enterprise." --Will Riker, from TNG--

"The writer's mind, when it works, is like Alice's rabbit, leading quickly, almost recklessly, to mysterious, yet attractive, places." --Roger Rosenblatt--

"Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure." --Ross MacDonald--

"You were working for her, Seska was working for them, was anyone on that ship working for me?" --Chakotay, from Voyager--

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." --Mark Twain--

"I prefer to follow the uncomplicated advice of Jiminy Cricket who said, 'Let your conscience be your guide.'"
--Willard Scott--

"Lying is a skill like any other, and if you want to maintain a level of excellence, you have to practice constantly." --Elim Garak, from DS9--

"Reality is something you rise above." --Liza Minnelli--

"Computers can sense fear." --Abby Scuito, from Navy NCIS--

"An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex." --Aldous Huxley--

"Life is precious, whether it's one or many." --Albert--

"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others." --Groucho Marx--

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." --John F. Kennedy--

"Laws change depending on who's making them, but justice is justice." --Odo, from DS9--

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." --Walt Disney--

"Creativity is allowing oneself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." --Scott Adams--

"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." --Tom Clancy--

"You know, if you think sort of sideways, sometimes you can actually figure out how to make things work."
--Neil Gaiman--

"Nine times out of ten a hero is someone who is tired enough, cold enough, and hungry enough not to give a damn. I don't give a damn!" --Hawkeye Pierce, from M*A*S*H--

"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying."
--Woody Allen--

"To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge." --Nicholas Copernicus--

"A man can't be too careful in the choice of his enemies." --Oscar Wilde--

"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." --Napoleon Bonaparte--

"Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult." --Charlotte Whitton--

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -- Albert Einstein--

"Oh, well, let's see: killed Simon and River, stole a bunch of medicine, and now the captain and Zoe are off springing the others got snatched by the Feds. Oh, and here they are now." --Kaylee Frye, from Firefly--

"If you meet Buddha, kill Buddha. If you meet your ancestor, kill your ancestor. Attached to nothing, bound by nothing. Live life for the sake of life itself." --Genjo Sanzo, from Saiyuki--

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau--

"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup." --Unknown--

"Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die." --Robert Hepburn--

"There's no rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need any." --Faye Bradford--

Story Idea -- Modern Romance

Head Over Heels....

Anyone see this movie? I happened to catch it (for the second time) on TNT Saturday and something struck me, this reminded me of MFU through the eyes of the innocent. I don't know why I didn't catch that before.
It's funny, this woman moves out of her apartment because she comes home to find her boyfriend in (their) bed with a model, clearly having sex. So she ends up moving in with 4 models, renting a small spare closet, but the apartment is huge. They have this neighbor (across the courtyard) that this woman falls for. They watch him as he works out, lives life, etc all from watching through the window. Little do they know he's FBI and he's working undercover. They crash this party he's having and she spends time talking to him on the steps, after initially leaving and he stops her.

She restores old paintings and after seeing him "kill" a woman in his apartment, the dealer the guy's been working to arrest (who found out she was at the party, and is suspicious of her) stops by her place with a painting for her to privately restore. Anyway, she inadvertently blows his cover (which is when she finds out the truth about him) and well she gets pulled into the action. Her and her roommates, all the while helping the FBI agent take down the dealer.

It's a cute movie. :) Bats

EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION -- Darwin's Point

THE EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION—HOW IT CAME ABOUT
§ 1
Progress in Evolution
There has often been slipping back and degeneracy in the course of evolution, but the big fact is that there has been progress. For millions of years Life has been slowly creeping upwards, and if we compare the highest animals—Birds and Mammals—with their predecessors, we must admit that they[Pg 108] are more controlled, more masters of their fate, with more mentality. Evolution is on the whole integrative; that is to say, it makes against instability and disorder, and towards harmony and progress. Even in the rise of Birds and Mammals we can discern that the evolutionary process was making towards a fuller embodiment or expression of what Man values most—control, freedom, understanding, and love. The advance of animal life through the ages has been chequered, but on the whole it has been an advance towards increasing fullness, freedom, and fitness of life. In the study of this advance—the central fact of Organic Evolution—there is assuredly much for Man's instruction and much for his encouragement.
Evidences of Evolution
In all this, it may be said, the fact of evolution has been taken for granted, but what are the evidences? Perhaps it should be frankly answered that the idea of evolution, that the present is the child of the past and the parent of the future, cannot be proved as one may prove the Law of Gravitation. All that can be done is to show that it is a key—a way of looking at things—that fits the facts. There is no lock that it does not open.
But if the facts that the evolution theory vividly interprets be called the evidences of its validity, there is no lack of them. There is historical evidence; and what is more eloquent than the general fact that fishes emerge before amphibians, and these before reptiles, and these before birds, and so on? There are wonderfully complete fossil series, e.g. among cuttlefishes, in which we can almost see evolution in process. The pedigree of horse and elephant and crocodile is in general very convincing, though it is to be confessed that there are other cases in regard to which we have no light. Who can tell, for instance, how Vertebrates arose or from what origin?
There is embryological evidence, for the individual development[Pg 109] often reads like an abbreviated recapitulation of the presumed evolution of the race. The mammal's visceral clefts are tell-tale evidence of remote aquatic ancestors, breathing by gills. Something is known in regard to the historical evolution of antlers in bygone ages; the Red Deer of to-day recapitulates at least the general outlines of the history. The individual development of an asymmetrical flat-fish, like a plaice or sole, which rests and swims on one side, tells us plainly that its ancestors were symmetrical fishes.
There is what might be called physiological evidence, for many plants and animals are variable before our eyes, and evolution is going on around us to-day. This is familiarly seen among domesticated animals and cultivated plants, but there is abundant flux in Wild Nature. It need hardly be said that some organisms are very conservative, and that change need not be expected when a position of stable equilibrium has been secured.
There is also anatomical evidence of a most convincing quality. In the fore-limbs of backboned animals, say, the paddle of a turtle, the wing of a bird, the flipper of a whale, the fore-leg of a horse, and the arm of a man; the same essential bones and muscles are used to such diverse results! What could it mean save blood relationship? And as to the two sets of teeth in whalebone whales, which never even cut the gum, is there any alternative but to regard them as relics of useful teeth which ancestral forms possessed? In short, the evolution theory is justified by the way in which it works.
§ 2
Factors in Evolution
If it be said "So much for the fact of evolution, but what of the factors?" the answer is not easy. For not only is the problem the greatest of all scientific problems, but the inquiry is still very young. The scientific study of evolution[Pg 110] practically dates from the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859.
Heritable novelties or variations often crop up in living creatures, and these form the raw material of evolution. These variations are the outcome of expression of changes in the germ-cells that develop into organisms. But why should there be changes in the constitution of the germ-cells? Perhaps because the living material is very complex and inherently liable to change; perhaps because it is the vehicle of a multitude of hereditary items among which there are very likely to be reshufflings or rearrangements; perhaps because the germ-cells have very changeful surroundings (the blood, the body-cavity fluid, the sea-water); perhaps because deeply saturating outside influences, such as change of climate and habitat, penetrate through the body to its germ-cells and provoke them to vary. But we must be patient with the wearisome reiteration of "perhaps." Moreover, every many-celled organism reproduced in the usual way, arises from an egg-cell fertilised by a sperm-cell, and the changes involved in and preparatory to this fertilisation may make new permutations and combinations of the living items and hereditary qualities not only possible but necessary. It is something like shuffling a pack of cards, but the cards are living. As to the changes wrought on the body during its lifetime by peculiarities in nurture, habits, and surroundings, these dents or modifications are often very important for the individual, but it does not follow that they are directly important for the race, since it is not certain that they are transmissible.
Given a crop of variations or new departures or mutations, whatever the inborn novelties may be called, we have then to inquire how these are sifted. The sifting, which means the elimination of the relatively less fit variations and the selection of the relatively more fit, effected in many different ways in the course of the struggle for existence. The organism plays its new card in the game of life, and the consequences may determine[Pg 111] survival. The relatively less fit to given conditions will tend to be eliminated, while the relatively more fit will tend to survive. If the variations are hereditary and reappear, perhaps increased in amount, generation after generation, and if the process of sifting continue consistently, the result will be the evolution of the species. The sifting process may be helped by various forms of "isolation" which lessen the range of free intercrossing between members of a species, e.g. by geographical barriers. Interbreeding of similar forms tends to make a stable stock; out-breeding among dissimilars tends to promote variability. But for an outline like this it is enough to suggest the general method of organic evolution: Throughout the ages organisms have been making tentatives—new departures of varying magnitude—and these tentatives have been tested. The method is that of testing all things and holding fast that which is good.
. . .
THE ASCENT OF MAN
§ 1
No one thinks less of Sir Isaac Newton because he was born as a very puny infant, and no one should think less of the human race because it sprang from a stock of arboreal mammals. There is no doubt as to man's apartness from the rest of creation when he is seen at his best—"a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honour." "What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension so like a God." Nevertheless, all the facts point to his affiliation to the stock to which monkeys and apes also belong. Not, indeed, that man is descended from any living ape or monkey; it is rather that he and they have sprung from a common ancestry—are branches of the same stem. This conclusion is so momentous that the reasons for accepting it must be carefully considered. They were expounded with masterly skill in Darwin's Descent of Man in 1871—a book which was but an expansion of a chapter in The Origin of Species (1859).
Anatomical Proof of Man's Relationship with a Simian Stock
The anatomical structure of man is closely similar to that of the anthropoid apes—the gorilla, the orang, the chimpanzee, and the gibbon. Bone for bone, muscle for muscle, blood-vessel for blood-vessel, nerve for nerve, man and ape agree. As the[Pg 156] conservative anatomist, Sir Richard Owen, said, there is between them "an all-pervading similitude of structure." Differences, of course, there are, but they are not momentous except man's big brain, which may be three times as heavy as that of a gorilla. The average human brain weighs about 48 ounces; the gorilla brain does not exceed 20 ounces at its best. The capacity of the human skull is never less than 55 cubic inches; in the orang and the chimpanzee the figures are 26 and 27½ respectively. We are not suggesting that the most distinctive features of man are such as can be measured and weighed, but it is important to notice that the main seat of his mental powers is physically far ahead of that of the highest of the anthropoid apes.
Man alone is thoroughly erect after his infancy is past; his head weighted with the heavy brain does not droop forward as the ape's does; with his erect attitude there is perhaps to be associated his more highly developed vocal organs. Compared with an anthropoid ape, man has a bigger and more upright forehead, a less protrusive face region, smaller cheek-bones and eyebrow ridges, and more uniform teeth. He is almost unique in having a chin. Man plants the sole of his foot flat on the ground, his big toe is usually in a line with the other toes, and he has a better heel than any monkey has. The change in the shape of the head is to be thought of in connection with the enlargement of the brain, and also in connection with the natural reduction of the muzzle region when the hand was freed from being an organ of support and became suited for grasping the food and conveying it to the mouth.
Everyone is familiar in man's clothing with traces of the past persisting in the present, though their use has long since disappeared. There are buttons on the back of the waist of the morning coat to which the tails of the coat used to be fastened up, and there are buttons, occasionally with buttonholes, at the wrist which were once useful in turning up the sleeve. The same is true of man's body, which is a veritable museum of relics. Some[Pg 157] anatomists have made out a list of over a hundred of these vestigial structures, and though this number is perhaps too high, there is no doubt that the list is long. In the inner upper corner of the eye there is a minute tag—but larger in some races than in others—which is the last dwindling relic of the third eyelid, used in cleaning the front of the eye, which most mammals possess in a large and well-developed form. It can be easily seen, for instance, in ox and rabbit. In man and in monkeys it has become a useless vestige, and the dwindling must be associated with the fact that the upper eyelid is much more mobile in man and monkeys than in the other mammals. The vestigial third eyelid in man is enough of itself to prove his relationship with the mammals, but it is only one example out of many. Some of these are discussed in the article dealing with the human body, but we may mention the vestigial muscles going to the ear-trumpet, man's dwindling counterpart of the skin-twitching muscle which we see a horse use when he jerks a fly off his flanks, and the short tail which in the seven-weeks-old human embryo is actually longer than the leg. Without committing ourselves to a belief in the entire uselessness of the vermiform appendix, which grows out as a blind alley at the junction of the small intestine with the large, we are safe in saying that it is a dwindling structure—the remains of a blind gut which must have been capacious and useful in ancestral forms. In some mammals, like the rabbit, the blind gut is the bulkiest structure in the body, and bears the vermiform appendix at its far end. In man the appendix alone is left, and it tells its tale. It is interesting to notice that it is usually longer in the orang than in man, and that it is very variable, as dwindling structures tend to be. One of the unpleasant expressions of this variability is the liability to go wrong: hence appendicitis. Now these vestigial structures are, as Darwin said, like the unsounded, i.e. functionless, letters in words, such as the o in "leopard," the b in "doubt," the g in "reign." They are of no use, but they tell us something of the history of the words. So do man's vestigial[Pg 158] structures reveal his pedigree. They must have an historical or evolutionary significance. No other interpretation is possible.
Some men, oftener than women, show on the inturned margin of the ear-trumpet or pinna, a little conical projection of great interest. It is a vestige of the tip of the pointed ear of lower mammals, and it is well named Darwin's point. It was he who described it as a "surviving symbol of the stirring times and dangerous days of man's animal youth."

"DARWIN'S POINT" ON HUMAN EAR (MARKED D.P.)
It corresponds to the tip (T) of the ear of an ordinary mammal, as shown in the hare's ear below. In the young orang the part corresponding to Darwin's point is still at the tip of the ear.

§ 2
Physiological Proof of Man's Relationship with a Simian Stock
The everyday functions of the human body are practically the same as those of the anthropoid ape, and similar disorders are common to both. Monkeys may be infected with certain microbes to which man is peculiarly liable, such as the bacillus of tuberculosis. Darwin showed that various human gestures and facial expressions have their counterparts in monkeys. The sneering curl of the upper lip, which tends to expose the canine tooth, is a case in point, though it may be seen in many other mammals besides monkeys—in dogs, for instance, which are at some considerable distance from the simian branch to which man's ancestors belonged.
When human blood is transfused into a dog or even a monkey, it behaves in a hostile way to the other blood, bringing about a destruction of the red blood corpuscles. But when it is transfused into a chimpanzee there is an harmonious mingling of the two. This is a very literal demonstration of man's blood-relationship with the higher apes. But there is a finer form of the same experiment. When the blood-fluid (or serum) of a rabbit, which has had human blood injected into it, is mingled with human blood, it forms a cloudy precipitate. It forms almost as marked a precipitate when it is mingled with the blood of an anthropoid ape. But when it is mingled with the blood of an American monkey[Pg 159] there is only a slight clouding after a considerable time and no actual precipitate. When it is added to the blood of one of the distantly related "half-monkeys" or lemurs there is no reaction or only a very weak one. With the blood of mammals off the simian line altogether there is no reaction at all. Thus, as a distinguished anthropologist, Professor Schwalbe, has said: "We have in this not only a proof of the literal blood-relationship between man and apes, but the degree of relationship with the different main groups of apes can be determined beyond possibility of mistake." We can imagine how this modern line of experiment would have delighted Darwin.

19th Century Cowboy Attire

Questions and Answers:

QUESTION:

Hi Bob,

I'm writing an article on cowboy attire and although I have information on what the cowboy of today wears, what was the attire in the 1800's? Where was the cowboy clothing made and how did it get to the general store? I've searched the internet but it doesn't exactly give me what I want.
Thanks,
- H. Q.

ANSWER:

In the 1800s, cowboys and other manual laborers wore what was called "ready-to-wear" -- second-hand clothing that had been discarded by the higher classes.

With few exceptions (such as military uniforms), new clothing was not mass produced back then. If you wanted an outfit, you went to a tailor, who measured you and custom-made the shirt, suit, trousers, coat, or whatever. If you out-grew your duds or just got tired of them, you might sell them to a second-hand (or ready-to-wear) store, where they would be bought by folks who needed inexpensive clothes for work.

That's why you'd often see cowhands riding the range wearing a suit coat or vest and dress pants (rather than jeans). Also, many veterans continued to wear parts of their former uniforms for work.

By the way, did you ever wonder why chimney sweeps usually wore top hats and tuxedos? Well, the fancier the clothes were, the harder they were to re-sell... and the lower the second-hand price. Chimney soot was tough on clothes, so a black tux at a rock-bottom price was just what the sweep needed!

A printed source you may find helpful is Cowboy Gear: A Photographic Portrayal of the Early Cowboy and their Equipment, by David R. Stoecklein. You can order it on-line through Barnes & Noble by clicking the link located in my Trading Post.

A Real Indian Parable

A Minneconjou camp which had settled down for the winter was raided by Crow Indians. The Crow stole many horses and took a Lakota woman back to their camp.

The Lakota woman was unhappy staying in the Crow camp. She missed her people. Some of the Crow women saw this and took pity on her. They gave her food and a blanket and told her to hide by a creek near the camp.
She hid herself in the bushes along the banks of the creek. A short time later some of the Crow men came looking for her. While the Lakota woman was hiding, two wolves came upon her. The wolves growled at her and circled around her. The woman thought the wolves were going to kill her. But the wolves treated her kindly and guided her along a path to the east. The wolves and the woman traveled together while the Crow were chasing them. A raging blizzard caught the woman and her wolf friends in the open prairie. Two more wolves joined them as they walked through the blowing snow. The small wolf pack and the woman struggled through the snowdrifts and the cold winds.

There is power in this story. The woman was able to get safely away from the Crow because of the blizzard. If one is traveling in a blizzard and remembers this story- one need not be afraid.

After many days of traveling, the small band reached Squaw Buttes near present day Opal, South Dakota. They came to a cave in the rocks and the wolves forced her inside. The cave had an awful smell. As her eyes adjusted
to the darkness, she saw many wolves in the large den. She thought that the wolves would tear her apart. Instead the wolves dragged her in a deer, tore it apart and shared it with the woman.

The wolves were one big family. Many generations of wolves lived together in the cave. Each wolf had its own place in the family. The hunter wolves brought in the meat. The other wolves kept watch over the den. In this way- they all looked after each other.

The woman made herself a home in the den. She learned to speak and understand the wolves' language. The woman would dry and store the meat for the winter. She got along well with the wolves and they got along well with her. Soon she smelled just like the other wolves.

The wolves knew their country well. They always knew whenever the two-legged ones passed through. The wolves usually stayed away from the two-leggeds. The wolves did not like the way they smelled.

At turnip digging time of the year- the woman's mother was still mourning. She thought that her daughter had been killed. One day the hunter wolves saw the mother near the den. The wolves went back and told the woman. The woman wanted to go back to her people. She was worried that they would not accept her back. The wolves told her to wave her blanket two times if she wanted to stay with her mother. If she waved once- the wolves would come and take her back to the den.

When the mother saw her daughter coming- she was so happy to see her that she cried. The woman waved her blanket twice to the wolves who were watching her from the hills. The wolves saw this and went back to their cave. The woman's name became Iguga Oti Win - "Woman who lived in the rock". The rock is now considered a sacred area to the Lakota.

Be Careful of this tale because if it is told on a winter night it might cause a blizzard!

Aho
~u-ne-ga-wa-ya~
(Whitewolfe)

The Blizzard of '88 (1888, that is)

March 11, 1888

Great Blizzard of ’88 hits East Coast

On this day in 1888, one of the worst blizzards in American history strikes the Northeast, killing more than 400 people and dumping as much as 55 inches of snow in some areas. New York City ground to a near halt in the face of massive snow drifts and powerful winds from the storm. At the time, approximately one in every four Americans lived in the area between Washington D.C. and Maine, the area affected by the Great Blizzard of 1888.

On March 10, temperatures in the Northeast hovered in the mid-50s. But on March 11, cold Arctic air from Canada collided with Gulf air from the south and temperatures plunged. Rain turned to snow and winds reached hurricane-strength levels. By midnight on March 11, gusts were recorded at 85 miles per hour in New York City. Along with heavy snow, there was a complete whiteout in the city when the residents awoke the next morning.

Despite drifts that reached the second story of some buildings, many city residents trudged out to New York’s elevated trains to go to work, only to find many of them blocked by snow drifts and unable to move. Up to 15,000 people were stranded on the elevated trains; in many areas, enterprising people with ladders offered to rescue the passengers for a small fee. In addition to the trains, telegraph lines, water mains and gas lines were also located above ground. Each was no match for the powerful blizzard, freezing and then becoming inaccessible to repair crews. Simply walking the streets was perilous. In fact, only 30 people out of 1,000 were able to make it to the New York Stock Exchange for work; Wall Street was forced to close for three straight days. There were also several instances of people collapsing in snow drifts and dying, including Senator Roscoe Conkling, New York’s Republican Party leader.

Many New Yorkers camped out in hotel lobbies waiting for the worst of the blizzard to pass. Mark Twain was in New York at the time and was stranded at his hotel for several days. P.T. Barnum entertained some of the stranded at Madison Square Garden. The East River, running between Manhattan and Queens, froze over, an extremely rare occurrence. This inspired some brave souls to cross the river on foot, which proved a terrible mistake when the tides changed and broke up the ice, stranding the adventurers on ice floes. Overall, about 200 people were killed by the blizzard in New York City alone.

But New York was not the only area to suffer. Along the Atlantic coast, hundreds of boats were sunk in the high winds and heavy waves. The snowfall totals north of New York City were historic: Keene, New Hampshire, received 36 inches; New Haven, Connecticut, got 45 inches; and Troy, New York, was hit by 55 inches of snow over 3 days. In addition, thousands of wild and farm animals froze to death in the blizzard.

In the wake of the storm, officials realized the dangers of above-ground telegraph, water and gas lines and moved them below ground. In New York City, a similar determination was made about the trains, and within 10 years, construction began on an underground subway system that is still in use today.

The Blizzard of 1888

The most severe winter storm ever to hit the New York City region reaches blizzard proportions, costing hundreds of lives and millions of dollars in property damage. Although the storm also struck New England, New York was the hardest hit, with the 36-hour blizzard dumping some 40 inches of snow on the city. For several weeks, the city was virtually isolated from the rest of the country by the massive snowdrifts. Messages north to Boston had to be relayed via England. Even "Leather Man," a fixture of New York and Connecticut history who had walked a circuit of 365 miles every 34 days for three decades, was reportedly delayed four days by the Blizzard of 1888. Leather Man, who walked during the day and slept in caves at night, was known as such because his clothes were made out of large patches of thick leather.

The Chinese in the Old West

March 12, 1888

Chinese laborers excluded from U.S.

Agreeing to cooperate with a policy unilaterally adopted by Congress six years earlier, China approves a treaty forbidding Chinese laborers to enter the United States for 20 years.

In the 1850s, large numbers of Chinese immigrated to the American West. Most came from the Pearl River Delta region of South China, where famine and political instability made if difficult for them to support the large extended families thought to be essential to happiness and success. When exaggerated reports of the California Gold Rush reached China, thousands of Chinese men booked passage for California. In contrast to many of the other immigrants to the American West, few of the Chinese immigrants intended to settle permanently in the U.S. They planned instead to work in the gold fields only until they had saved enough money to return to China and support their families.

Few Chinese, however, found wealth in the U.S. In order to pay for their passage across the Pacific, many Chinese immigrants became indentured servants. Arriving in America with a heavy load of debt, they were forced to work until they had paid back their debt. Chinese and Anglo employers alike took advantage of their plight, paying the immigrants just enough to keep their hopes alive but not enough to free them from debt.
By 1880, just over 100,000 Chinese lived in the United States, the majority of them in California. Most came in hopes of striking it rich in the gold fields, but they quickly learned to make money in whatever way they could. Despite the prevalence of local and state laws prohibiting them from owning certain mining properties or entering into specified businesses, many Chinese succeeded in finding niches. Groups of Chinese immigrants would occasionally band together and transform old mining claims, abandoned by Anglos, into paying operations. Others prospered in businesses like laundries or restaurants, which most Anglo men considered menial "women's work."

Inevitably, the success and distinct culture of the Chinese immigrants made them an easy target for xenophobic Anglos. Wherever they went, however, the Chinese were treated with growing resentment. By the 1880s, many working-class Anglos began to accuse the Chinese of depriving them of jobs and undermining early efforts to unionize the western mining industry. Blatant racism fed Anglo hatred. One San Franciscan argued that God intended the Chinese to remain only in China, for "they are not a favored people, they are not to be permitted to steal from us what we have."

The American government responded to these fears by limiting Chinese immigration with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first time that the U.S. excluded immigrants based on race and nationality. Significantly, the Exclusion Act only excluded Chinese laborers. The U.S. continued to welcome merchants, who promised to help Americans maintain lucrative trading ties with the vast Chinese population, and professionals who offered valuable skills. Immigrants from no other nation received such discriminatory treatment.

Six years later, the Chinese government agreed to the fundamental principles of the Exclusion Act. Under pressure from the U.S., the Chinese signed a treaty on this day in 1888 agreeing not to allow any laborers to immigrate to America. Only in 1943, when China became a valuable ally in the war against Japan, did the U.S. finally abandon this blatantly racist policy.

Radio Broadcast Ministries (RBC) Been Thinking About article

BEEN THINKING ABOUT: THE WISDOM OF MOTIVES

Is it right to consider not only whether a law was broken, but why?

I’ve been wondering about this after reading how a German court handled the ticketing of a motorist caught speeding by a traffic control camera. When the court learned why the driver had broken the speed limit, charges were waived. Instead, officials sent the driver a doll of a policeman holding a traffic camera. It mattered to someone in the system that the man was speeding to get his wife to the hospital for the birth of their first child.

Motives and the courts

The “police doll verdict” touches on an issue of law discussed by defense lawyer and author Melvin Belli. In Everybody’s Guide to the Law, he writes, “Two things must be present for a crime to be committed: an act . . . and a particular state of mind.” Belli goes on to say, “In law, it is frequently said that an act is not a crime if done without a guilty mind.”

But what is a guilty mind? Legal scholars have an ongoing debate about whether courts should weigh motive in considering guilt. Should a traffic court really be interested in why a speeding driver is breaking the law?

Motives and everyday life

Outside of court, motives are easier to consider even if they remain difficult to prove. If a wife sees red when her husband brings home yellow roses, her reaction is more likely to be about her suspicion of his motives than the color of the flowers. When large corporations give big money to a political campaign, we suspect an ulterior motive. In so many areas, we naturally look for the hidden agenda behind gifts, personal endorsements, and even good manners.

Motives and faith

Jesus talked a lot about motives. His approach, however, was to help us focus on our own hearts before going after the faults of others. Because of our inclination to do the right things for the wrong reasons, He told His disciples not to let their left hand know when their right hand was giving to the poor (Matthew 6:3-4). He also said that when they prayed they should do so in secret rather than making a self-serving public display of their spirituality (vv.6, 18).

What difference do motives make?

If we are not careful, we can do some of the best things for the worst reasons. Our purposes combine with what we believe and do to shape the character of our faith, our love, and our laughter. They fuel blind ambition and feed bitter envy. They determine whether we use the knowledge of the Bible to help others, or to control, condemn, and con them out of their money.

Bad motives can put honorable actions to shame just as good motives can turn even the most menial task into something noble.

Where do good motives come from?

The wonderful thing about good motives is that their source and story is not limited to a conscience or commandment that says, “You should, you ought, or you must.” According to Jesus and the Bible, if we love well, it is because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). If we have the right kind of faith in the darkest night, it is because our God has shown Himself to be more trustworthy than our circumstances.

But thinking about where good motives come from raises another important question.

What happens when the music stops?

This was the question Job faced. According to the Bible, he was one of the wealthiest men in the world until his reasons for serving God were challenged.

As the story unfolds, Job’s name comes up in a conversation between God and the devil. The King of heaven points to Job as an example of someone who has remained loyal to Him. Satan, however, responds by attacking Job’s motives. He argues that Job sees God as a meal ticket and says that if Job weren’t getting what he wanted, the King’s model citizen would be cursing rather than praying.

So God allows Satan to test Job’s heart. In waves of terrible misfortune, Job finds himself destitute and confused by pain and grief. Why? Why was God allowing this to happen? The harder Job tried to find answers, the more bitter and angry he became.

While much of his earlier life had been spent trying to help others (Job 29), Job now finds himself in a desperate struggle to defend his own reputation. Even his friends are accusing him of hiding the scandal they believe would explain his suffering.

Only when God intervenes does Job’s terrible ordeal come to an end (38-42). Only when God opens Job’s eyes and enables him to see the wonder and wisdom of his Creator as he has never seen Him before does Job’s cloud of despair lift. Only then does Job declare, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:5-6).

Job’s motives for remaining loyal to God had been tested. His reasons for fearing God and hating evil (1:8) had been refined in the fires of loss. Now in stark nakedness of soul, he worshiped God because he had come to see that God alone deserves to be trusted in the dark night of our soul.

Thousands of years later, Job’s story is still helping us to see that, in a sense, Satan had a point. In the courts of heaven and on earth, motives count. If we are not careful, why we seek God can say more about our desires than about our confidence in His eternal power, wisdom, and honor (James 4:1-3).

And so we pray: Father in heaven, we are so inclined to be concerned about the motives of others, while overlooking our own. Search us, O God, and know our hearts; try us, and know our thoughts; and see if there is any wicked way in us, and lead us in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24). — Mart De Haan

http://www.beenthinking.org/thanks-for-stopping-by/

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An Interesting post on dangerously strong magnets

Dangerously strong magnets

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, December 13, 2005 11:48 AM | permalink

I love the warnings for these large neodymium magnets. (I have some tiny ones and when they snap together, they can cause a painful pinch).

Beware - you must think ahead when moving these magnets.

If carrying one into another room, carefully plan the route you will be taking. Computers & monitors will be affected in an entire room. Loose metallic objects and other magnets may become airborne and fly considerable distances - and at great speed - to attach themselves to this magnet. If you get caught in between the two, you can get injured.

Two of these magnets close together can create an almost unbelievable magnetic field that can be very dangerous. Of all the unique items we offer for sale, we consider these two items the most dangerous of all. Our normal packing & shipping personnel refuse to package these magnets - our engineers have to do it. This is no joke and we cannot stress it strongly enough - that you must be extremely careful - and know what you're doing with these magnets. Take Note: Two of the 3" x 1" disc magnets can very easily break your arm if they get out of control.

www.boingboing.net/2005/12/11-week/

Victorian Maternity Clothing

Creating a healthier corset had been a problem since the Victorian era. Many styles of "health corsets" were created by various companies all purporting to be more beneficial to the wearer's health than regular fully boned figure constricting corsetry. Corsets had been accused over the centuries of causing every ailment to woman from cancer, consumption and gout to hysteria!

Although in an age before birth control where women were pregnant for most of their child bearing lives, maternity clothing and especially underwear, was rarely advertised.

During the 19th century, life expectancy at birth rose from about 35 to about 45. Medicine and surgery had little to do with this. Anesthesia and antisepsis improved a patient’s chance of surviving surgery, but most people didn’t die of conditions that surgery could help with. Medical treatment for infectious diseases, the major killers for most of the period, was ineffective at best. In fact, one of the major developments in medical was the statistical evaluation of therapeutic models, as in a study that showed death rates from pneumonia were 1 in 5 with bleeding, 1 in 5.5 with doses of tartar emetic (an antimony compound), and 1 in 13 with simple bed rest.

The concepts of self-limiting diseases and supportive treatment emerged during this period, and at least stopped doctors from killing patients with heroic doses of heavy metals.

Improved public sanitation was a major contributor to longevity. Sewer systems, street cleaning, and safe drinking water reduced the contagion and the prevalence of illness, starting in the 1840’s. By the 1850’s, most cities had boards of health, organized locally in English-speaking countries and nationally elsewhere. Bathing was revived between 1850 and 1875, at least for the upper and middle classes, whose servants could do the heavy work a bath required before indoor plumbing. Pasteur’s work on bacteriology gave scientific justification for new standards of cleanliness that were already emerging.

The collection of social statistics, pioneered by Babbage, Quetlet, and others of their era, led to the emergence of epidemiology. Disease carriers such as Typhoid Mary, unsafe wells, and other sources of contagion could be removed. This was undertaken on a large scale during the construction of the Panama Canal. The first attempt by the French in the 1880’s cost 25,000 lives, largely to yellow fever. The American attempt that completed the canal in the 1900’s lost fewer than 5,000, thanks to American health officers who wiped out the mosquitoes that carried the disease.

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Victorian Inventions

The middle and late nineteenth century was a golden age in American invention. The technology introduced by American inventors improved the standard of living. Many inventions produced in the Victorian era are now used daily in everyday life.

Many inventions seemed to really make the world "smaller."

Telegraph--Samuel Morse--(1832-1844)--This form of communication used a system of dots and dashes (the Morse Code) to represent letters used in relaying messages. He first conceived an electromagnetic telegraph in 1832, and made an experimental version in 1835. In 1844 he produced a telegraph key to expand the use and make the system more practical. Within ten years after the first telegraph line opened 23,000 miles of wire crisscrossed the country.

Telephone--Alexander Graham Bell--(1870-1876)--While transmitting with telegraph instruments, he realized it might be possible to transmit the human voice over a wire by using electricity. The first clearly transmitted sound was between Cambridge and Salem, Massachusetts, on November 26, 1876. Although the telegraph has become outdated, the telephone is still used in everyday life.

Many inventions seem to "shed light" on the modernizing world.

Light Bulb--Thomas Edison--(1879-1880)--In 1880, he designed the first version to have all the essential features of a modern light bulb, this included an incandescent filament in an evacuated glass bulb with a screw base. Although the outward appearance has changed throughout the years, the basic structure has remained the same.

Then, there were inventions that "stitched" the world together.

Sewing Machine--Isaac Merritt Singer--(1850-1853)--He improved the existing sewing machine and incorporated automatic feeding of the cloth, regulated tension on the needle thread, and lubricated needle thread so that leather could be sewn. Before this, clothes making was time consuming. This introduced a new way to mass produce clothing.

Transportation was the "driving" force in the Industrial Revolution.

Steam Engine--The original use for steam engines was to act as a power source for textile looms. Later, it would be used to power trains and ships. Without this baby you would be riding your bike everywhere.

Airplane--Wilbur and Orville Wright--The brothers became interested in flying while working in a bicycle-manufacturing shop. Wilbur made the longest flight going 852 feet in 59 seconds. One of the main reasons for their successful flight was their control system. Many improvements have been made over the years. Although this invention wasn't very practical at the time it was first made, it has become the quickest and most convenient mode of long- distance transportation.

The Victorian Era

This era gets it's name from England's Queen Victoria, who ascended the throne in 1837 at the age of 18. Victoria was the only child of Edward, Duke of Kent (a son of George III) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. Her father died while she was a child and she came to the throne after the deaths of her uncles, William IV (king from 1830 - 1837) and his predecessor George IV (king from 1820 - 1830).

Victoria, herself, was often an influence on fashion and jewelry styles and this was particularly so during the early years of her reign.

During the Victorian era the population of Great Britain grew from 25 million to 40 million and advances in medicine, agriculture, animal husbandry and industry occurred by leaps and bounds. In the world of literature, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were scribbling away.

Despite great economic and social advances, the Victorian era was a time of squalor, deprivation, and grinding poverty for most people. The Enclosure Movement of the early 19th Century had forced huge numbers of people off of their lands and into the cities where they lived cheek-to-jowl and hand-to-mouth. Horse excrement littered the streets, water was pumped into homes untreated, and sewage systems were quickly pushed beyond capacity. The first large factories were started, and with them crushing boredom, inhumane work loads, and horrific industrial injuries.

Into this world arrived Rattus Norvegicus -- the brown rat. The rat pits required a certain type of rat -- the Brown Rat -- to do business. The Black Rat is simply too small and too docile to provide much sport, plus they tend to reside at rooftop, making them much harder to catch. It is not an accident that the Romans, who would fight any other two animals at the drop of a hat, did not have rats pits -- they were missing the required animal.

The Brown Rat arrived in Great Britain around 1730 and -- over the next 70 years -- quickly proliferated in the trash and garbage-strewn cities of England driving its cousin, the plague-carrying black rat, into extinction.

Bored and impoverished factory workers quickly found a good use for brown rats -- as contest combatants with small dogs. Thus was born the Victorian Rat Pit.

Rat pits were not actually pits, but instead were small built-up enclosures six to 12 feet in diameter, with wooden sides at elbow height, and with smooth metal walls to discourage the rats from climbing.

Into this pit were tipped various numbers of rats, depending on the size of the dogs and the rules of the contests. In general, dogs competed against each other by weight, with dogs being timed on how many rats they could kill in a set amount of time or -- conversely -- how much time it took them to kill a set number of rats.

Some contests featured rats placed inside overturned flower pots so that the dog had to knock over the flower pot, release the rat, and then run around inside the ring to catch the rat -- amidst all the other flower pots also containing rats ready to be released if that pot were knocked over in the commotion.

The rat pit era did not last long and, contrary to what is sometime asserted, no breed of dog was specifically bred for this sport. Because the rules varied so much from pit to pit and from contest to contest, it was impossible to breed a dog that could develop much of a competitive edge.

Speed was important, of course, but so too was the weight of the dog and the degree to which it could take punishment. Square pits were very easy for a dog to work as the rats would jungle up in a corner and the dog could pick them off the back -- here only speed mattered. Round pits defeated this tactic, however, and if a dog were required to work 30 to 50 loose rats in a round enclosure, it would likely take some bites around the ears.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal was founded in 1825. They found rat pits an easy thing to oppose as they were organized, drew easy publicity, and had a less-than-politically-powerful clientel. It did not hurt at all that many rat pits were associated with bars. Never mind that children were being jungled off into work houses, mothers were starving, and factories were lopping off the fingers of their workers -- save the rats!

By 1835, rat pits had been outlawed in Great Britain -- along with the fighting of any other animal whether wild of domestic. The era of the rat pits had lasted not much longer than 50 years.

http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2005/03/queen-victorias-rat-pits.html

19th Century Prostitution

The 19th century demanded that women protect their Chasity at almost any cost; phrases such as "a ruined woman" and a "fate worse than death" were meant seriously. But at the same time, prostitution was a thriving industry. In fact, there were several different strata of prostitution, from demimondaine or adventuresses whose informal liaisons with prosperous men might be as stable and exclusive as a marriage, through house girls, down to the streetwalkers among whom Jack the Ripper found his victims.

Many people thought prostitution gave men an outlet for impulses that otherwise would endanger every woman they encountered. Many, possible most men were at least occasional customers of prostitutes; it was a fairly common experience for them to have their first sexual experience this way. In an era when there was no safe treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, this was a significant public health problem.

Stoddard, W.H. (2000) - Gurps Steampunk, pg. 28, SJG:Austin
[edited for removal of game specific content]
Posted by Dr. Rafael Fabre AT 08:44

Victorian Home

The Victorian Era brought on fancy, beautiful, yet cozy interior designs. The creativity of things was unbelievable. Decor was exceedingly fanciful and household items were transformed into pieces of art. Not all homes were large but all were decorated carefully.

Furniture showed the wealth of a family and was extravagantly decorated. Victorian furniture brought back old classic styles. It looked like buildings with tall arches, ornate curves, large stuffing, and carved heads. Victorian furniture gave an impression of richness. Surviving American furniture has become very valuable because less was produced in the United States.

ROOMS IN THE VICTORIAN HOME

Parlor--The parlor was the most formal room in the home. It was used only for Sunday family gatherings and entertaining guests. Furniture crowded the parlor to show the wealth of the family and to present good manners because a fresh seat would always be available. Fire places warmed the parlor in the winter.

During the Victorian era lighting was primarily from gas. But with Edison's improved design of the incandescent light bulb in 1879, electric lighting began replacing gas lighting in Victorian homes. This change became the catalyst for a variety of lamp shades made to shield glaring light bulbs. Elegant shades graced table and floor lamps as well as crystal chandeliers imported from Europe. And the electric light bulb enabled fine work to be sewn at night usually under a parlor bridge lamp.

Kitchen--In early Victorian times the kitchen was located in the basement until it was moved to the first floor. Everything was stored in wooden or tin closets. This way they were free of dust and kept away from bugs and other pests.

Dining Room--Most dining rooms were located near the kitchen and was only used for dinner. Other meals were served in the kitchen. The furniture was made dark and heavy and usually large enough to seat several people. If the kitchen and dining room were located on separate floors a dumbwaiter, a shelf that moves vertically in a chute, transported meals quickly.

Bed chambers--Although bedrooms were kept very private they were still kept very proper. These were located on the second floor and used for reading, sewing, relaxing, and sleeping. Bureaus and wardrobes were used in place of closets. Popular four-poster beds contained mattresses stuffed with goose feathers or horse hair. These sometimes had canopies to add warmth and privacy.

Nurseries--Some houses contained a separate nursery for children. This is where they slept and played. Most nurseries were plain and had simple furniture. Strollers were a common item in these nurseries.
Some of the more wealthy families also had ballrooms, smoking rooms, water closets, music rooms, and conservatories.

Victorian Detective Stories

Detective Stories (1993)
An anthology of stories edited by Michael Cox

The Victorian era saw the first great flowering of the detective story. Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle, J.S. Le Fanu, and a host of others pioneered a genre of fiction that remains among the most popular today. Now, in Victorian Tales of Mystery and Detection, Michael Cox provides a sampling of the finest detective stories written from the 1840s to the early twentieth century.

Here readers will find tales displaying a vast array of detectives and villains--and a multitude of murder methods and motives--all chronologically arranged so that readers can follow the genre as it develops over time.

For instance, in Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" we see an example of the many Sherlock Holmes escapades that popularized and came to typify the detective story for the Victorian public.

And in the progression of the stories, we witness the evolution of the investigator from Poe's brilliant and eccentric Chevalier C. August Dupin, to Doyle's scientific Sherlock Holmes, into Robert Barr's cavalier Valmont (a possible model for Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot).

Including well-known stories by famous authors, as well as little known gems reprinted, this book offers hours of enjoyment and escape for all lovers of crime fiction.

Victorian Baby Names

Names Beginning With A B C

Atha, Adelina, Arabella, Avie, Audie, Arminda, Alverta, Ardella, Annabell, Attie, Aggie, Augustine, Arlie, Aletha, Aurora, Aura, Arvilla, Arizona, Arminta, Arie, Ara, America, Althea, Altha, Avis, Adella, Aurelia, Alpha, Alta, Augusta, Ada, Amalia,

Biddie, Beryl, Bell, Bella, Birdie,

Cherry, Claribel, Capitola, Celestia, Cammie, Carmel, Calla, Cordia, Ceola, Cleora, Clementine,

Names Beginning With D E F

Delphine, Dessa, Delphia, Dovie, Doshia, Dove, Dessie, Dellie, Drusilla, Delta, Delila, Dicie, Delpha, Daisy, Dell,

Eura, Euphemia, Eleonora, Eudora, Elfrieda, Emmaline, Evalena, Electa, Exie, Erie, Eulalia, Elvie, Elta, Eldora, Etna, Eve, Eula, Essie, Etta, Ella, Edrie, Enola, Evra, Ena, Eldora, Elsa, Estella, Effa, Era, Eugenie, Elvira, Etha, Easter,

Fairy, Fronia, Florida, Faye, Fern,

Names Beginning With G H I

Golden,

Hertha, Hetty, Hessie, Honora, Hazel, Hattie,

Ivah, Iris, Isa, India, Idella, Iola, Ivy, Izora, Icy, Ila,

Names Beginning With J K L

Jemima, Junie, Jettie, Jossie,

Kizzie, Kitty,

Libby, Lota, Lavenia, Loma, Lulie, Leontine, Lockie, Lella, Lovina, Lavada, Lollie, Luna, Lutie, Letitia, Leora, Lucretia, Lura, Lucinda, Lelia, Lulu, Lula, Larue, Leva, Lady, Lyda, Lovie,

Names Beginning With M N O

Magnolia, Metta, Mintie, Minta, Mahala, Mallie, Missouri, Mazie, Media, Mercy, Maida, Minda, Myrtis, Mima, Millicent, Maybell, Magdalen, Minnie, Mossie,

Nova, Novella, Nealie, Nelia, Nannie, Nonie, Nevada, Nella, Neva, Nettie, Nellie, Naoma,

Oda, Onie, Ocie, Odessa, Octavia, Opal, Ona, Oma, Ophelia, Orah, Odile, Ova, Omie, Ossie, Osa, Odelia, Ottilia, Ola, Ora, Ozella, Ouida,

Names Beginning With P Q R

Parthenia, Paralee, Pinkie, Pansy,

Queen,

Ressie, Rosamond, Rella, Roma, Rosia, Rosalia, Rozella, Rilla,

Names Beginning With S T

Signe, Sabra, Sada, Salome, Sabina, Sula, Sina, Sophronia, Sudie, Sigrid,

Tempie, Tressa, Tressie, Tilda, Tennie, Thekla, Tabitha, Tennessee, Theodosia, Tiny, Twila, Thora, Trudie, Treva, Thea,

Names Beginning With U V W

Ula, Ursula, Una,

Verdie, Valeria, Veda, Viva, Vallie, Vesta, Vannie, Vella, Violet, Viola, Vassie, Versie, Vina,

Wilda, Willa, Winifred,

Names Beginning With X Y Z

Yetta,

Zada, Zola, Zona, Zora, Zella, Zula, Zita, Zenobia, Zettie, Zilpha, Zelda, Zadie, Zena, Zoa,


Names Beginning With A B C

Ammon, Arlington, Arvid, Author, Ace, Archer, Asbury, Alden, Alois, Aloysius, Axel, Alton, Asa, August, Arden, Almon, Arley, Artis,

Burrell, Byrd, Bedford, Bascom, Ballard, Brooks, Brady, Butler, Baxter, Bishop, Boyd, Barton, Bradford, Burley, Booker,

Collins, Chesley, Commodore, Carson, Colonel, Crawford, Cicero, Coleman, Casimer, Clovis, Carlton, Curley, Coy, Columbus,

Names Beginning With D E F

Duke, Dow, Doss, Dempsey, Dayton, Doctor, Dorsey, Davis, Dock, Delmas, Darwin, Dewey, Donovan, Durward, Damon, Dexter, Dillard, Davis, Dewitt,

Ewald, Ewing, Ebb, Edson, Eber, Evans, Eldridge, Erastus, Eino, Ewell, Early, Enoch, Emerson, Ellsworth, Emery, Ellis,

French, Fleming, Furman, Fayette, Finley, Fate, Freeman, Fletcher, Frasier, Farris, Finis, Fritz, Foster,

Names Beginning With G H I

Griffin, Gottleib, Gardner, Grady, Green, Gerhard, Godfrey, Gust, Garrett, General, Garland, Grant,

Handy, Hudson, Hurley, Hosteen, Harper, Hayes, Hampton, Hollis, Howell, Harlan, Henderson, Harrison, Hilliard, Hoke, Heber, Hayden, Hilton, Haskell, Hardy, Horace,

Isham, Ivory, Isom, Ike, Ignatius, Isadore, Ivan,

Names Beginning With J K L

Justus, Junious, Judge, Jennings, Johnson, Jefferson,

King, Kirby,

Linton, Landon, Leigh, Loy, Lawyer, Love, Lafe, Lambert, Llewellyn, Lowell, Larkin, Leander, Lawton, Ludwig, Loyal, Logan, Lucian,

Names Beginning With M N O

Moody, Manning, Meyer, Merrill, Merritt, Minor, Major, Mose, Mortimer, Murray, Mack, Miller, Murphy, McKinley, Monroe,

Norris, Noble, Norval, Nelson, Napoleon,

Orrie, Orion, Olen, Orley, Okey, Orson, Orlando, Otho,

Names Beginning With P Q R

Press, Park, Pinkney, Pleasant, Palmer, Price, Porter, Preston, Percy, Pierce, Prince,

Quincy

Reinhold, Roswell, Rice, Rome, Reece, Rush, Ransom, Raleigh, Ross, Reid, Romie, Royce, Roosevelt,

Names Beginning With S T

Stanton, Simpson, Sanders, Sumner, Squire, Sterling, Sim, Smith,

Theron, Tillman, Thaddeus, Thornton, Truman, Thurston, Talmadge, Taft, Turner,

Names Beginning With U V W

Urban, Ulysses,

Vester, Volney, Verner, Vaughn,

Weldon, Whit, Watt, Worth, Wright, Wheeler, Webb, Wellington, Walton, Watson, Wylie, West, Wyatt, Warner, Wayman, Woodrow, Willis, Wallace, Williams,

Names Beginning With X Y Z

Young,

Zeb

Vintage Hairstyles

Regency Hairstyles

By the early 1800s, the powdered wigs of the Georgian era were forever relegated from fashion, as men of the period began wearing their hair short and natural. During the Regency era, women's clothing as well as hairstyles were modeled after Greek and Roman styles. Women wore their hair up and fastened their buns with ornamental combs, diadems, bonnets and silk ribbons. They parted their hair in the shape of T, V, Y and U's. Regency girls often curled their hair at the front to crown their faces with soft ringlets. Ladies also wore bonnets, hats or turbans.

To achieve a Regency hairstyle, fasten your hair in a bun or braided bun, leaving enough hair around your forehead and sides of your face. Using a thin curling iron, curl the hair around your face in soft tendrils. This is an easy, upswept style that is perfect for formal occasions!

Victorian Hairstyles

During the Victorian era, having one's hair styled by a hairdresser became popular. French hairstyles that were parted in the middle became trendy, while adorning one's head with flowers also gained stead. Austrian empress Elizabeth was the first to place flowers in her hair, and she soon started a widespread trend. "Barley curls" or "sugar curls" were long drop curls worn by children throughout the century. In the early 1840's, women took to wearing these curls alongside a coiled chignon, which was situated at the back of the head. Women continued to wear hats during this era. Fine milliners created fanciful styles decorated with plumes and ribbons. During the 1870s, the hair at the back of the head was occasionally allowed to hang loose, long and full, a lovely natural look that was featured in many pre-Raphaelite portraits.

Sometimes the hair was seen in ringlets, and sometimes in large loops. In 1872, an important invention in hairstyling was invented: crimping. Crimping allowed for a "turned up hairstyle" in which the hair was pulled over a hot iron, resulting in an attractive wave. The "Marcel wave" was a new style created by the hot iron, and consisted of loose waves arranged around the head. By the end of the 1880s, pompadours were worn. This was a style in which the hair was swept up high from the forehead.

Often, fake hair pieces were used to add height and depth. In addition, the "titus" hairstyle became popular from the 1880s. This hairstyle involved cutting the hair very close around the head. The hair was then curled, and styled with various ornaments including flowers. By the "Gay Nineties", high hairstyles had almost disappeared from the landscape of fashion trends. The look of the "Gibson Girl" was much more natural. A bun swept loosely on the head became the crowning feature of young Victorian girls. The "psyche knot" was especially prominent. This was basically hair pulled back from the forehead and knotted on the top of the head. Small coiffures, pompadours, and French twists were also worn, along with hair ornaments.

To create a Victorian hairstyle, try a natural, long style. Begin by curling your hair in natural waves, either with a curling iron or by setting your hair in curlers the evening before. Pull your front strands to the lower back of your head and fasten with a pin.

Edwardian Hairstyles

During the Edwardian era, hairstyles were often full and somewhat "poufy." Ladies who had the luxury of a maid or attendant could achieve this look. The maid would wind her hair around balls of padding, which were called "rats." This sort of hairstyle was often accompanied by large Edwardian hats which were kept in place by jewelled hatpins and decorated with elaborate trimmings like ostrich feathers. Another important invention in hairstyling was made: permanent curling. Women could now have curly hair that would hold for months.

The "Roaring Twenties" saw the emergence of a drastic new style: the Flapper style. Women wore their hair shockingly short in a bob haircut. As fashions tended away from the corsets and formality of the earlier era, so hairstyles followed this trend towards a more natural look. As the Edwardian era ended, new technology in movies made trends in hairstyles much more accessible to the general public. As such, actresses such as Clara Bow, who sported an early flapper cut, and singer Josephine Baker, whose exotic looks were closely watched and mimicked, brought their signature hairstyles into mainstream culture.

To create an authentic late Edwardian look, try a Flapper bob. Keep your hair bouncy and natural by avoiding heavy gels, mousses or styling aids. Or slick back your hair with hair gel for a more formal, bold look. If your hair is long, apply gel, pull the hair back and twist it into a bun. Pin the bun at the base of your neck. Place a glittery headband on your head, adjusting for comfort. Insert a feather into the left side of the headband, securing the feather with hairpins.

Gold Mines in the Old West

Gold was discovered in a creek called Sweetwater about 1842 and the settlement of South Pass City came into being. Indian raids by the Sioux or Cheyenne were frequent and killed many of the settlers. The raids were sparked by their drinking water being poisoned by the miners as well as their food supply being killed by the settlers. Despite these difficulties, the town continued to grow and in 1870 had a population of 4,000 and became the county seat of Carter County. Not too many years later, the population began to diminish as people moved away to find their future elswhere. Interesting sites still remain along the main street of Riverside.

Silver Reef is located about 18 miles northeast of St. George, Utah just off Highway 15. It was once a silver mining boom town. John Kemple discovered silver here in the spring of 1866. He was never able to find the source of the silver vein however, and he moved to Nevada. In 1874 he returned and established the Harrisburg Minimg District. The picture to the right is of the building that was the Wells Fargo Station during the town's boom days. Kemple located many claims but never developed them. By 1875 there were many prospectors in the area.

The news of silver ore being found in the sandstone caught the attention of two bankers, the Walker brothers, from Salt Lake City. They provided the grubstake for a well known prospector, William T. Barbee. Late in 1875 there were 21 claims staked where the potential for mining silver was rich. Barbee quickly set up a town and called it Bonanza City. There wasn't much to Bonanza City, but the property values were high anyway. Most of the miners couldn't afford property there so they set up a tent city in a rocky section of land and named it "Rockpile". It was aptly named because at that time a rock pile with tents is exactly what it was. There was a small cluster of businesses in Bonanza City.

Mines closed in Pioche, Nevada in November of 1875, and many of the miners and business owners came to this area. They changed the name of the "Rockpile" to Silver Reef. Almost instantly, there were 9 grocery stores, 6 saloons, a newspaper, and 5 restaurants. I find it interesting that the grocery stores outnumbered the saloons. There is still a restaurant in Silver Reef, called the Cosmopolitan. You see it pictured to the right. It is open only Wednesday to Saturday however. It didn't happen to be any of those days when we were there so we never saw the inside.

Pictured left is one of the old ruins still standing in Silver Reef. It's a bit hard to tell exactly what it was, but from it's location, it may have been one of the businessmen's home. Some Chinese laborers who had been working on the railroad, found Silver Reef and set up their own Chinatown. From 1878 to 1882, Silver Reef's population reached over 1,500. Six miles were being actively mined, and over a million dollars came from those mines every year. People lived the highlife in Silver Reef until around late 1881 when several factors caused the economy to take a downward slide. It went the way of many of the old boomtowns.

Three things contributed to the demise of Silver Reef. The world silver market dropped, the mines were filling with water faster than it could be pumped, and the mine stockholders lowered wages until the miners couldn't afford to stay. The majority of the mines had completely closed by 1884. Several people attempted to revive the town in 1898, 1909, 1916, and 1950, but no one was successful at this venture. Today, there are still parts of Silver Reef standing like those in the picture to the right and a few modern houses have been constructed. One of those belongs to Jerry Anderson, whose beautiful bronze sculpture and painting is displayed in the Wells Fargo building pictured above.

Inventions

FIRST THINGS FIRST

By Michelle J. Hoppe

As we stand on the brink of a new millennium, we can only wonder at what the future will bring after all that has passed in the former millennium. They say necessity is the mother of invention. But add in some dreams, some inspirations and some aspirations, and it is easy to see that this world will be amazingly different a mere fifty years from now, much less 1000 years. So I leave you with your dreams. And I leave you with some amazing facts. And I leave you wondering what the world would be like if these inventions hadn't come about.

How could we ever live without . . . The following inventions have become so commonplace, it is difficult to imagine life without them. And yet, there was life before the toothbrush. In fact, America was discovered before toothbrushes. And 1000 years from now, don't you wonder what people will be marveling at? What will be invented in 2498 that our millennium counterparts can't live without?

The Chinese invented the toothbrush in 1498. So why did it take Beecham's until 1892 to market the first toothpaste in a tube?

Chocolate was imported to Spain from Mexico in 1520, then to Italy in 1606, and France in 1660. The English had been drinking chocolate since 1657.

Sulphur matches were first mentioned in England in 1530. Is it any wonder Life Insurance policies followed in 1583?

The first graphite pencils were made in 1584. No mention is made as to whether they were No. 2 Pencils.

The first jeans were made by Levi Strauss in 1850. Rivets were added in 1874 so the pockets carrying all those rock specimens could hold up better.

The first regular manufacture of perambulators began in London in 1850.

D.M. Smith of Springfield Vermont patented the spring clothespin in 1853.

Heinrich Goebel invented the first form of the electric light bulb in 1854. And parents have been after their children ever since then to turn them off when leaving a room.

Can you believe it has been around this long . . . Some innovations have become so much a part of our everyday lives, that it is difficult to believe they have been around for centuries. Does it really seem plausible for something invented 400 years ago to still be in use today? Here is just a sampling.

The first Life Insurance policy was taken out on June 18, 1583 by London Alderman Richard Martin.

The first deaf mute to learn to read lips was Luis de Velasco in 1615.

The first submarine was built in London by the Dutch physicist Cornelius Drebbel in 1624. So if the sandwich was invented in 1762, when was the first submarine sandwich made?

Ice cream was a popular dessert in Paris by 1677. Do you suppose mint chocolate-chip was available back then?

The first weather forecasts appeared in the May 14, 1692 issue of A Collection for the Improvement of Husbandry and Trade. Based on previous year's records, they were neither scientific nor accurate. Has much changed over the years?

Joseph Merlin, a musical-instrument maker, wore the first roller skates to a masquerade in 1760. Too bad violins and roller-skates don't mix. Especially with mirrors.

The first reference to a jigsaw puzzle was in London in 1763, by John Spilsbury.

The first Traveler's Checks were issued by the London Exchange Banking Co. on January 1, 1772. I wonder if they were used to pay for holiday expenses?

A dry-cleaning process was discovered by M. Jolly-Bellin of Paris in 1849. Leave it to a woman to devise an easy way to clean clothes.

The first literary agency was founded in London by A.P. Watt in 1875. Do you think they represented romance?

Mrs. W.A. Cockran perfected the first dishwashing machine in 1889. Again, a woman had to think of this.

It seems like this has been around forever, but it's only been . . . On the other side of the coin are things which have become so much a part of everyday life, that we think they must have been around since the last millennium. Think again. Here are some things we encounter almost everyday, yet they've only been around for a century or so.

Tea was first drunk in England in 1650. Yet, the first tea shop didn't open there until 1884. Can you imagine an England without tea?

The roll top desk was devised by Abner Cutler of Buffalo, New York in 1850. Somebody had to devise a way to hide all that clutter when company came calling.

The Teddy Bear, named after President Theodore Roosevelt, was created in 1902.

Nabisco introduced Oreo cookies in 1911. What is life without Oreo cookies?

Zipper fastenings were first used on women's dresses in 1930. How long do you suppose it took a man to learn how to unzip the fastening?

Tamper-proof (and often impossible to open) packaging for non-prescription drugs began in 1982.

And so it goes as we wait for the dawning of a new millennium, and the dawning of a new life.

For more on discoveries and inventions, I suggest the following references:
The Book of Firsts by Patrick Robertson, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1974
Domestic Technology by Nell DuVall, G.K. Hall & Co., 1988
The Timetables of History by Bernard Grun, Simon & Schuster, 1991
Some are available for purchase in our on-line bookstore in the non-fiction section.
Also see the Researching the Romance page of Literary Liaisons for more suggestions.

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The blind cowpoke

'We had a hot-blooded English stallion name of Desmond Day. Bred him to mustang mares and sold the cross for cavalry remounts.

'On the first day of May 1925, Desmond Day was in the corral. He come past me and that was it. Always figured he kicked off to the side, hit me, I never saw it coming....

'They sent me to blind school - to learn me to weave baskets. Said that way I could make a livin' since I couldn't buckaroo no more....

'I don't really give a damn about bein' blind all these years. Bothers the neighbors more than it bothers me. One time I was painting the house but every time the neighbors came by and saw me they would make me come down off the ladder. But I showed them. Finished painting at night, didn't make any difference to me....'
'After the accident I was blind as a bat so I began using my hands to see a horse. Tell a lot just by feel. Tell if he has wire cuts, a capped hock, pigeon-mouth, fistulous withers.... I'm good enough I can actually tell the color of a horse and be right 95 times out of 100. Colors have a different texture, feel, hairs are distinctive. The only one that gives me fits is a paint. Depends on where you touch a paint what color it happens to be.

Give me a couple minutes and I can tell more about a particular horse than most folks would probably care to know. It wasn't a gift I was born with. It took me a while to develop it. But I enjoy eating - so I learned. I would have to say, over the long haul, that my blindness hasn't affected me all that much. Got no complaints. In this here life I've pretty much done exactly what I wanted to do.'

Western Story Idea

It's a few years after the civil war in the western part of the United States. In the north there are Apache and Comanche, from the south Mexican bandits raid the US villages. Join the US Army and become an honest man or lend your hand to a bandit chief for a fistful of Dollars.

Five Factions:

United States Cavalry (very well equipped Cavalry, little number of men)

US Settlers (mostly rather poor equipped Infantry and some Cavalry, mixture of modern and out-dated firearms) [Anyone got any hats, long coats, suits, cowboy boots or anything? It's nothing without the hats.]

Mexicans (some well equipped Cavalrymen, a lot of poorly equipped Infantry (mostly musketeers))

Comanche (only Cavalry, very fast and little use of firearms)

Apache (some Cavalry and some Infantry, equal ratio of melee and ranged weapons; some firearms)

Notes from the website http://www.circlekb.com/page/CKCG/CTGY/STEBER:

According to popular theory the first inhabitants of north America arrived during the last Ice Age. Between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago people are believed to have crossed from Asia to North America on a natural land bridge, where the Aleutian Island chain now exists.

These people migrated south, hunting mastodons and mammoths, giant ground sloths, camels and long-horned bisons. They ate the meat and used the hide for clothing and shelter. Their weapons consisted of rocks and obsidian-tipped spears. In time the atlatl, a device used to throw spears or darts, was developed. It was not until about 3,000 years ago that the bow and arrow was introduced to North America.

On the eve of the white man's arrival the population of North America, divided among 500 tribes, was estimated to exceed one million. But the Europeans brought with them diseases from which the native people had no natural immunity and plagues of smallpox, fever, tuberculosis, measles and venereal disease swept through the Indian nations with devastating results. Ninety percent of the people died: entire tribes were wiped off the face of the earth. Those who remained were rounded up and placed on reservations. The way of life they had known for countless centuries was doomed.

Maybe a brother against brother storyline?

The Western Frontier is disappearing as encroaching civilization and the industrial age meet in 1882…
Like the growth of a tree, the history of the American West has occurred in cycles, eras, rings of expansion and evolution. One generation pushed westward for furs, the next for gold, followed by land-hungry pioneers, timber-hungry loggers .... They built layer upon layer.

For a few weeks every fall, at ranches scattered throughout the great American West, cowboys come together to ride the open range. This gathering of man and beast is called Roundup.

In addition to the work, Roundup is a time of reunion with old friends and making the acquaintance of new ones. . . . it brought . . . together a company of rugged Western individuals, men and women who have devoted their lives to working with horses. Freighters, stage drivers, homesteaders, farmers, ranchers, buckaroos, rodeo riders, horse loggers and wanderers - they all share a common love for horses.
The men who ride the open range of the far West are known under a variety of names: vaquero, range rider, mustanger and buckaroo, but the name most commonly known is cowboy. The nature of a cowboy's work demands independence and toughness. He is a man of action; yet the long, lonely hours spent in the saddle provide ample time to develop a unique outlook on life. Simply put, a cowboy's tenet is, 'What cannot be cured is endured.' And endured with cheerfulness and good humor. It is far better to joke about the droughts, windstorms, blizzards, outlaw mustangs and loco cattle than to complain.

The cowboy would never have existed without his horse. Like the cowboy, the horse is referred to by an assortment of names: mustang, bronco, cayuse and, sometimes, jughead, broomtail, nag, hay burner, plug and other even less complimentary epithets. The ancestors of the western horse date back to the animals brought to America by Cortez and the conquistadores. As the Spanish mounts escaped, were lost or stolen, the horse began its phenomenal spread across western North America.

The high desert was first settled by daring stockmen who drove in foundation herds, numbering in the thousands. The cattle thrived on the native grasses and when the steers were ready for market, cowboys on horseback drove them to railroad towns in the Midwest. With the invention of barbed wire in 1874 and an influx of homesteaders who claimed waterholes and divided up the range, the heyday of the big outfits and their cowboys passed into history. But as long as there is open sky, rimrock, bunch grass, sagebrush and juniper, cowboys will still ride the range.

Early-day women of the West are depicted in fading photographs: a gaunt, bonneted figure in a long dress walking beside a wagon, baby cradled in her arms, children scattered behind, a woman, looking older than her years, stirring lye soap over an open fire, a dancehall girl on stage, miners watching her every move....

Letters and diaries tell the details of these women's existence, the sorrow of being uprooted from family and friends, the yearning for companionship of other women, bearing children without the benefit of a doctor and trying to rear them in an uncivilized land.

One turn-of-the-century, Western historian noted, 'With the coming of woman came also the graces of life, better social order and conditions, and increased regard for the amenities of life.'

Eastern women were relegated to conduct themselves within strictly-established social boundaries. Western women were allowed more freedom to stretch their wings and explore the realm of their existence. And in the process they tamed the Wild West.

The first white children to come west were sons and daughters of the pioneers. They trudged barefooted beside the wagons, across the dusty plains, through the heat and the prickly pear cactus and over the mountains of sharp volcanic rocks. Some never made it and piles of stones and improvised crosses marked their graves.

Those who survived found a wonderful playground out west. A playground of bright-colored rocks, slow-moving streams, wide-open spaces and deep, dark forests. Mothers watched over their young because if a child wandered away, he or she might be carried off by a wild animal or stolen by Indians.

Children of the frontier were seasoned to a hard life. They had to be strong and resilient and were forced to grow up quickly. By the time a boy was eight or nine he knew how to handle a rifle and hunted wild game for meat. He helped his father clear land, split rails, build fence and farm with a team of horses. Girls worked beside their mothers, picking wild berries, making lye soap, rendering hogs, washing on a scrub board, cooking over a woodstove.... The list of time- consuming chores went on and on. By the time a girl was fourteen or fifteen she was ready to marry and start a family of her own and the circle of life continued.

Logging in North America began with the arrival of European colonists in the 1600s. In a few short decades there were water-powered sawmills scattered up and down the eastern seaboard with the main concentration in northern New England. The lumber was used to build ships, furniture, kegs and barrels, buggies and wagons. As the loggers cleared areas in the forest, others arrived to farm the ground.

It took 200 years for the timber to be logged from the eastern seaboard. The loggers and lumbermen moved inland to the Great Lakes region and when they had high graded the timber there, they continued west to northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Lumberman Samuel Wilkeson wrote in 1869, on viewing the Western forests for the first time, 'Oh! What timber! These trees so enchain the sense of the grand and so enchant the sense of the beautiful that I am loth to depart. Forests in which you cannot ride a horse - forests into which you cannot see, and which are almost dark under a bright midday sun - such forests containing firs, cedars, pine, spruce and hemlock - forests surpassing the woods of all the rest of the globe in their size, quantity and quality of the timber. Here can be found great trees, monarchs to whom all worshipful men inevitably lift their hats.'

The discovery of gold in California launched the nation's first gold rush.

It began January 23, 1848. James Marshall, who was building a sawmill for John Sutter on the American River in the Sierra Nevada foothills, turned water from the millpond into the tailrace. A glimmer in the clear water caught his eye and he picked up a yellow rock about the size of a dime and weighing one-quarter ounce. He saw more and picked those up, too.

John Sutter wrote in his diary that Marshall, 'soaked to the skin and dripping water,' came bursting into his office 'informing me he had something of utmost importance to tell me in private....'

Word leaked out and the following year 80,000 miners rushed to California hoping to claim a share of the big strike. They scratched and clawed gold from the hills and stream beds of California and when the easy-pickings were gone they moved onto the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and into the Rocky Mountains. Other disgruntled miners moved to the Northwest, and finally the lust for gold drove prospectors to the Alaskan frontier.

The typical miner was a bearded young man, dressed in a slouch hat, red long johns, trousers tucked into high-topped boots - he packed a shovel, pick and gold pan. When his dream of easy riches eventually died he often stayed in the West and became a farmer, stockman, tradesman or professional. If married, he sent for his family - if single, he married a daughter of pioneers and started a new family.

The lasting effect of the gold rush was not so much in the individual accumulation of wealth, but in the simple fact that thousands of miners stayed rather than returning home and they helped win the West.

Sir Francis Drake, the daring English pirate, was the first European to sail the stormy North Pacific. ln 1579, after having raided the Spanish settlements of South America, he sought to escape up the coast through an inland waterway that would return his ship, the Golden Hind, to the Atlantic Ocean.

In his wake came other explorers. They soon concluded a Northwest Passage did not exist and turned their attention to exploiting the natural resources of the region. Trade was initiated with the natives, trinkets for sea otter fur. The fur was transported to China where riches beyond the wildest dreams awaited the adventuresome sailors. Within a decade the sea otter played out and mountain men pushed inland, trading and trapping beaver. The great companies, Hudson's Bay, North West and Pacific Fur fought for the rich spoils.

The discovery of gold in California signaled the start of a era. Miners flooded to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Eventually they became disillusioned with the diggings and drifted north, discovering veins of gold in rock and placer pockets in creek bottoms and even on ocean beaches. Following the miners came a wave of pioneers who settled interior valleys, laid claim to the land and plowed the virgin soil. A few hardy souls pushed over the last mountain range, going as far west as land allowed. They were rugged individualists who ever after were isolated by the deep woods on one side and the wide Pacific on the other.

Great-grandfather has witnessed so much change in his life. When he was a boy the horse and buggy was the mode of transportation. He has lived to see aviation progress from a few barnstorming pilots hop-scotching across the country to jet aircraft thundering across the sky. And he was sitting there that day, in front of the television, when men walked on the moon. All the years and hard work have taken their toll but when he is seated in his favorite rocking chair, great-grandchildren scattered at his feet, his eyes sparkle as lively as they must have in his youth. He exuberantly recounts the past, painting vivid pictures of his life on the western frontier as a pioneer, miner, freighter, stage driver, Indian fighter, trapper, homesteader, logger, buckaroo ....

The story over, he waits, and then a small voice implores, 'Grandpa, tell us another story, please.' Grandpa grins, 'We11, all right. Once a long, looong, looooong time ago....'

Mountain men and fur traders were the first to travel the route that would one day become the Oregon Trail. In their wake came missionaries who wrote letters and reports describing the far side of the continent and praising the mild climate, healthful conditions and the deep, fertile soil.

Historians recognize 1843 as the official beginning of the Oregon Trail. That spring a group of a thousand land-hungry pioneers with 120 wagons and 5,000 head of cattle departed from Elm Grove, Missouri. Some of their wagons were abandoned along the Snake plateau but other were brought to the Columbia River where flat-bottomed boats were built and floated through the dangerous rapids of the Columbia Gorge to the Willamette Valley.

It took the pioneers from early spring until late fall to reach the far west. They threw together shelters and subsisted that first winter on fish, game and the generosity of their neighbors, both white and Indian. Come spring they cleared ground, tilled the virgin soil and planted crops.

The heyday of the Oregon Trail occurred after gold was discovered in California in 1848; it is estimated one-quarter million pioneers traveled overland on the Oregon Trail. From these early emigrants the social fabric of the West was woven.

Within a few years communities were established and schools and churches were built. Then came stage lines, mail deliveries, railroads, telegraph wires and the other trappings of the white man's civilization.
The storyteller spins a web of fantasy while the campfire sends a shower of sparks leaping into the night sky to drift among the ancient stars. It is in this manner that the history of mankind has been passed from one generation to the next. In North America the native people formed their cultures and spiritual beliefs through stories. Stories described the origins of earth and mankind, of floods, fires, hunts, wars, heroes, the supernatural, myths and legends. Young people knew what had happened in the world because their elders communicated it to them around the campfire.

The first Europeans to make their way among the Indians were mountain men who told fantastic and mystifying tales of great cities to the east and other worlds that existed across the great shiny waters. Each successive wave of white invaders brought with it a different blend of fact and fiction.

In today's world it might appear that campfire stories can no longer compete with movies and television. But no special effect can ever come close to the power and impact of human imagination. Try reading or telling a story around the campfire. Watch the faces of your listeners and know the value and significance of keeping alive our time-honored traditions of oral history.

A tall tale begins innocently with convincing facts and a few trivial details thrown in. But in the course of the story the limits of believability are stretched to the breaking point. ln the end we are left wondering how we could have been so naive, so darn gullible.

America's tall tales have been handed down through generations and are firmly rooted in character, situation and landscape. In the past a skillfully-told yarn was a diversion from the drudgery and monotony of everyday life and tellers of tall tales were held in high regard because their stories made people laugh.

A tall tale is best enjoyed when told aloud. Dialect, intonation and gestures add to the story. A pause here. A shake of the head there. A practiced laugh. A wink, a sly smile or a deadpan look provide seasoning and can communicate as much as a well-placed word.

In our modern fast-paced world, dominated by instant communication, changing technology and constant entertainment, the tall tale is no longer considered an essential part of everyday life. As a result, the telling of tall tales has become a dying art form.

The names of the gunfighters are legendary: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Doc Holliday, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, Henry Plummer, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok.... These men, and others like them, epitomize the image of the Wild West.

The gun fighting era was born in the late 1830s when Samuel Colt patented his single-barreled pistol with a revolving bullet chamber.

But the gunfighter was not common on the frontier until after the Civil War when renegade bands of Confederate soldiers refused to surrender. Their lawless ways spread as they stole from the hated Union bankers and the monopolistic railroads, rustled from wealthy ranchers and killed anyone who dared stand in their way. Railhead towns, where the great Texas cattle drives ended, generated more than their fair share of gunfights. In these towns the distinction between the law and the outlaw was a fine line and many times the men who wore badges worked both sides of the fence.

It generally fell to the individual to uphold the law and nearly every western man strapped a six-shooter to his hip. If a man's cattle or horses were stolen, if his home was ransacked or his family attacked, it was up to that man to track down the guilty party and administer swift justice.

Around the turn of the 20th century the free-roaming gunfighters found the wild country could no longer hide them as technology, in the form of telegraphs and telephones, cut off escape routes. Even though the era of the gunfighter had drawn to a close, writers and movie makers, using the colorful backdrop of the Old West, turned the frontier gunfighters into larger-than-life folk heroes, folk heroes who will never die.
Grandma grew up on a farm and, at a relatively young age, she fell in love and married Grandpa. They moved west, found the opportunities to their liking and together they raised a wonderful family.

Grandma was the glue that held the family together. She performed the necessary domestic tasks of making a home - caring for the children, cleaning, cooking, baking, washing, sewing and darning. She also tended the chickens, milked the cows and churned the cream to butter. And when necessity arose, like the time a horse rolled on Grandpa and he was laid up for nearly a year, Grandma demonstrated she could take on a man's work as well.

The Grandma I remember was old. Her domain was the kitchen, a room dominated by the cheery warmth of a wood stove and the sweet aroma of baking pies. While Grandma worked, frequently pausing to wipe her calloused hands on her freshly ironed white apron, she talked - telling stories of pioneering days, tales handed down from the Indians and interesting things that had happened to family members, friends and neighbors. Every once in awhile she lowered her voice and shared some small secret.

My children will know their great-grandmother because of the stories I will share with them and from the words Grandma carefully wrote in her journal. Every evening, no matter how trying her day had been, she would take a few moments to reflect and describe things from the day that were important to her - a laughing child chasing a butterfly across the pasture, the lovely fragrance of wildflowers in bloom, a field of wheat dancing in an afternoon breeze.... When Grandma finished the entries she would lay down her pen, close her journal, blow out the candle flame, and say to herself, 'And so ends another glorious day.'

Lew Minor was a bronc-buster who chased wild horses across the vast reaches of Nevada, a buckaroo who rode rough-string and broke cavalry remounts, and a cowboy star who won rodeos throughout the West and Canada. He toured the nation with the famous Kit Carson Wild West Show as the featured attraction and won the world champion bronc rider belt buckle at the 1912 Pendleton Round-Up.

Years were spent chasing an elusive dream - finding the best bucking horse over the next ridge - until a rodeo accident forced Lew's retirement. He settled down near his birthplace and passed the years hunting, fishing and running a few head of cattle.

At age 93 Lew was inducted into the Round-Up Hall of Fame and for a fleeting moment he once again basked in the warm accolades, and then they faded and he was home again with only memories to sustain him. He was a throwback - a bronc buster trapped in the space age - forgotten and friendless except for the companionship of one man who refused to allow the legend of Lew Minor to die.

Rationalize

Thursday, March 20, 2008
Rationalize

My professor Gary Sattler cited this quote in class. It is from the 1983 movie Big Chill

Michael: I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.
Sam Weber: Ah, come on. Nothing's more important than sex.
Michael: Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?

Sam (Tom Berenger) typifies our obsession with sex. I'm more interested with Michael (Jeff Goldblum) insight into rationalization. I couldn't go a day, let alone a week, without a "juicy rationalization." Every day I justify my choices, actions, decisions, etc.

Think about it. Why do you do what you?
-Why did you put on that shirt today?
-Why didn't you call your Mom last night?
-Why do you want to go out to eat for Chinese and not Mexican?
-Why are you speeding on your way to work?
-Why do you like that song so much?

O.k. there is obviously a point to where this just gets neurotic and unhelpful. If you question every decision you'll dissect your soul until there is nothing left but little fragments of a self. However there is a healthy awareness, a generous vigilance, needed in our lives. There is no place this is needed more than in areas of sin. Whereas the above questions are mostly pointless and have little redemptive value, we need to question sin.

In sin we rationalize and justify our actions.

For instance: I stole the money because I needed it. I punched him because I was mad. I cheated on my wife because I don't feel attracted to her anymore.

I think the best way to reconcile sin is to question it.

For instance: Why do you need the money? Why were you mad? Why don't you feel attracted to her anymore?

This is the point where most people just give up and walk away. We think these questions are just a Freudian attempt to get to our "real self" and undo all that society, parents, and pop culture has plagued us with. Like if we are able to remove all the layers of the onion than the "core" our "real identity" will emerge and thus we will be a better person. (Jungian psychology)

I would give up and walk away too. There is only so much I can unwind and dissect myself. Eventually I feel so undressed and exposed in my weakness.

But there is no power in sin when it is undone before God. When I question my sin I don't try to get to a more "ideal self" but I open myself up to being forgiven and reconciled to something far larger than a "real self." (I am not trying to live my story better, but I am being swallowed up by God's story. So in light of the Easter season I am reminded to take my sin and crucify it. But like Christ, the crucifixion is not something I can do on my own. It is a part of being obedient to where God is calling me to go.

So my challenge isn't necessarily to "unrationalize" your sin, but to rather crucify your sin and find redemption in the resurrection. So when you feel undressed, exposed, and weak you are clothed with the mercy of power of Christ.

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature
Romans 13:14

http://watchinggravity.blogspot.com/2008/03/rationalize.html

The Male Face Women Find Most Attractive

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.

However, if she is menstruating or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over his mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire.

No further studies are expected.

Police Comments

The Following 16 Police Comments Were Taken Off Actual Police Car Videos Around The Country:

16. You know, stop lights don't come any redder than the one you just went
through.

15. Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch after you wear them a awhile.

14. If you take your hands off the car, I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document.

13. If you run, you'll only go to jail tired.

12. Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that's the speed of the bullet that'll be chasing you.

11. You don't know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?

10. Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I'm the shift supervisor?

9. Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket

8. The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?

7. Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy and corn dogs and step in monkey poop.

6. Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven.

5. In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC.

4. How big were those 'two beers' you say you had ?

3. No sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we can.

2. I'm glad to hear that the Chief (of Police) is a personal friend of yours. So you know someone who can post your bail.

AND THE WINNER IS....

1. You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't. Sign here..

Report Card Comments

These Are Actual Comments Made On Students' Report Cards By Teachers In The New York City Public School System. All Teachers Were Reprimanded But, Boy, Are These Funny!!!

1. Since my last report, your child has reached rock bottom and has started to dig.

2. The wheel is turning but the hamster is definitely dead.

3. Your child has delusions of adequacy.

4. Your son is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.

5. Your son sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.

6. The student has a 'full six-pack' but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together.

7. This child has been working with glue too much.

8. When your daughter's IQ reaches 50, she should sell.

9. The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming.

10. If this student were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a
week.

The Dancing Prospector

An old prospector walks his tired old mule into
a western town one day He'd been out in the desert
for about six months without a drop of whiskey. He
walked up to the first saloon he came to and tied
his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there
brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes,
a young gunslinger walked out of the saloon with a
gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the
other. The young gunslinger looked at the old man
and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever
danced?" The old man looked up at the gunslinger and
said, "No I never did dance. I just never wanted
to." A crowd had gathered by then and the gunslinger
said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna' dance now,"
and started shooting at the old man’s feet. The old
prospector was hopping a round and everybody was
laughing. When the gunslinger fired his last bullet,
he holstered his gun and turned around to go back
into the saloon.

The old man reached up on the mule, drew his
shotgun, and pulled both hammers back, making a double
clicking sound. The gunslinger heard the sound and
everything got quiet. The crowd watched as the
gunslinger slowly turned around looking down both
barrels of the shotgun. The old man asked, "Did you
ever kiss a mule square on the butt?" The gunslinger
swallowed hard and said, "No. But I've always wanted
to."


The lessons from this story are:
Don't waste ammunition & don’t mess with old guys.

One Flaw in Women.....

Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take 'no' for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without, so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have the compassion and ideas.

They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give.



HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN, IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

10 Things You Should Never Say to a Woman

Do you really have it "under control"?
By Jessica Murphy

http://men.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6014915

Madame, that is by far the ugliest nose I have ever seen, and I compliment you on it -— it suits you! —Peter Sellers, "The Pink Panther"

It's true: Some comments are better left unsaid.

But as a sophisticated man of the 21st century, you already know this. You know you're not supposed to comment on your girlfriend's weight, or tell her that her friends are hot. And you know she probably feels the same way you do about the phrase, "Can we still be friends?"

Additionally, you've found that honesty, while valued in most situations, can sometimes offend. What you say to defuse tension in an argument often stokes the fire. We understand that the female psyche can be complicated, and we're here to demystify what may seem like strategically placed trapdoors.

Here are 10 things most women don't want to hear:

1) "What did you do to your hair?"
Unless we've cut our own hair—this is not common—someone else did something to our hair. It wasn't us. And most likely we've gone to a lot of trouble and expense for it. "I like your new haircut" is infinitely better, and shows you're paying attention. It's also far superior to the generic "You look different," which tells us you're as clueless as ever.

2) "They both look the same to me."
We understand you care a lot less than we do about the outfits or the registry dishware we're asking you to compare. But they can't possibly look exactly the same, can they? Give us something. Anything. Mentally roll the dice and pick one, so we don't worry about your vision—or worse, that you don't care.

3) "Relax."
A kissing cousin to "Don't get so worked up," this generally creates the exact opposite effect you're shooting for. When you say "Relax," what we hear is that you think that we're being irrational over nothing, and this makes us do anything but relax.

4) "I've got it all under control."
Ha! Famous last words. Refrain from using them if you don't want us to take fiendish delight in your getting lost because you won't stop for directions (if we're late, there will be fiendish fuming), or because you're missing a piece to your flat-screen television because you said you didn't need to read the assembly instructions.

5) "You're not one of those feminists, are you?"
Yikes. Chivalry may be nearly dead, but saying this will drive the last spear through its heart. Feminist or not, a woman is likely to be offended by the question. Just be yourself. Be kind, open the door, offer to pay, and go from there. We can choose to accept or share in your generosity.

6) "When are you due?"
Take one second to imagine a woman turning to you and responding, "I'm not pregnant," or "I had the baby six months ago," and you'll understand why you should eradicate this question from your vocabulary. In one nanosecond, innocent—even considerate—curiosity can turn to deadly, if unintentional, offense. And there's just no way to recover from this one.

7) "You're being emotional."
In the heat of the moment this may be true. But unless you want your partner to become more emotional or get angry, you're better off keeping this observation and its off-limits follow-up question—"Is it that time of month?"—to yourself.

8) "You're acting just like your mother/my mother/my ex-girlfriend."
All three are problematic. An ex should be mentioned sparingly, and never in comparison. Why would we want to remind you of a person you broke up with? And come to mention it, why are you thinking about her? You see the slippery slope. Conjuring an image of our mother or your mother can be equally grating. We want you to treat us as individuals and not as mere products of your (or our) upbringing.

9) "You complete me."
We've seen "Jerry Maguire" and most other romantic comedies far more often than you, and while we may (or may not) like cheesy movie lines, they usually fail in real life. We understand that the possibility of romance makes inexplicable things come out of a man's—and sometimes a woman's—mouth, but keep the compliments real and honest and sincere and say you love someone when you mean it.

10) "Do you really think you should be eating that?"
Yes. She should be eating it. Even if she told you she's given it up.

Jessica Murphy is a freelance writer based in Seattle.

10 Things You Should Never Say to a Guy

No, it's not just a game. And yes, we do think she's pretty.
By Craig Playstead

http://men.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6014683>1=32001

For years we've all heard the things men shouldn't say to women, such as "Yeah, those jeans do make you look a little chunky," and "Why didn't you tell me you had a hot friend."

We've been doing our best to behave, but it's time you knew there are a few things that won't score you any points with the man in your life. For the most part, we're an open book, but there are a few things that make us cringe.

Here's a look at 10 things women say that drive men nuts.

1) "That looks cute."
For the most part, men hate cute. We don't want to hear about it, we don't want to see it, and we sure as hell don't want to be it. If we come down stairs after getting dressed and you tell us we look cute, there's a 100 percent chance we're changing. We're supposed to be your protector, your rock, and cute does not fit into that picture.

2) "We need to talk."
These four words shut off a man's brain faster than long division. When men hear you say that they immediately go into flight mode. And anything they can do to get out of this conversation—and better yet, your apartment—they will. There are plenty of other ways to approach a delicate conversation, and getting us in a place where we feel comfortable is a good start.

3) "It's just a game."
Actually, it's not just a game. Sports are a major part of our lives and the outcome has as much to do with our mood as just about anything else. Is it fair? No. Is it right? No. Is it immature? Maybe. But it's life. Sometimes we just care too much. We understand that it doesn't make sense, but you should be happy that we're that passionate about something. Telling us that "it's just a game" is like us telling you that Oprah's just a talk show host.

4) "Nothing's wrong."
Please don't tell us nothing's wrong. The look on your face could make the toughest guy on the planet weep like a third-grade girl and your arms are crossed so tight you might explode. We're not mind readers; tell us what's going on. And don't make us guess because—believe me—you won't like what we come up with.

5) "I sound like my mom."
The mere fact that you might turn into your mom someday scares the hell out of us. Don't say it, even in jest—it's not funny. We actually believe (and pray) that the saying "every woman ends up looking like their mother" is an old wives' tale. If we didn't, no one would ever get married.
6) "I just want to be friends."
No you don't. You just want us to stop calling you. This is a lot like pulling off a band-aid. Do it quick—don't prolong the agony. Most of us take "I just want to be friends" as "There's still a chance," so if there isn't just make it a clean break and move on. Everyone will be much better because of it.

7) "Size doesn't matter."
Don't lie to us. We know it does, and we're doing our best to make up for it in other ways. It's best just to not say anything at all.
8) "What are you wearing?"
We're wearing whatever's clean or whatever you tell us to. We don't plan out our wardrobe days in advance, but we do actually try and look presentable. It may not work a lot of the time, but we do give it a shot. Giving us direction is completely encouraged though, so go ahead and suggest … nicely.

9) "Do you think she's pretty?"
Of course we do, our standards are much lower than yours. But just because we check her out doesn't mean we think any less of you. We try to be as discreet as possible, but for the most part, we can't help it. It's in our DNA. When an attractive woman walks by, it's best to just pretend nothing happened.

10) "Which outfit do you like better?"
I'm going to be honest here—90 percent of the guys out there are not going to tell you which outfit they like better: They're going to try to pick the one you like better and not get into a holy war when the babysitter is due any minute. To us, you always look good. Getting a couple cocktails and spending as much time as we can without the kids is our ultimate goal for a rare night out.
Craig Playstead is a freelance writer and father of three living in the suburbs of Seattle. In the past he's also been a sports writer, a game writer and a talk show host. You can reach him at playstead@hotmail.com.

Notes on Abe Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was a backwoodsman who rose from humble beginnings to the heights of political power. During the dark days of the US Civil War, he served as a compassionate and resolute president. Depression and mental pain were his frequent companions. Yet the terrible emotional suffering he endured drove him to receive Jesus Christ by faith. Lincoln told a crowd in his hometown in Illinois:

“When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me; I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. I do love Jesus.”

Life’s most painful tragedies can bring us to a deeper understanding of the Savior. . . . Heartache has a way of pointing us to the Lord Jesus, who has shared in our sufferings and can bring meaning to seemingly senseless pain. — Dennis Fisher

Gumshoe

Gumshoe http://boymeetsworld.wikia.com/wiki/Gumshoe
"It was one of those nights. You know the kind: like day, but darker."
— Gumshoe
"Gumshoe" is the Noir world alternate of Eric. Although his true name is never mentioned, he introduces himself as the local gumshoe. He seems to not understand what "gumshoe" means, and allows his receptionist to stick gum on his shoe. Although he is illiterate, he carries a notebook which he often writes in and pretends to read from.

Some notes on being gay versus pretending to be gay

Some miscellaneous anonymous quotes:

"Some gay people get married to the opposite sex to hide the fact that they are gay."

"All my friends are gay, I was just trying to fit in."

"Given the prejudice that gay men can suffer, I cannot think why someone should pretend to be gay. . . . It is more likely that if such a person were discovered in a gay situation (sexually) or in a gay bar or club, they might say they were pretending to be gay."

"On the whole gay men are not prejudiced against straight men."

"I still know a supposedly straight guy who goes out fishing (or that’s what he tells his wife) with another married man. These two have been conducting an affair for about 19 years, but neither will "come out" to the wife or to the world."

"It's the PERSON you fall in love with and not the gender (though obviously there is much to be said for physical attraction)."


Straight guys play at being gay in cunning (and successful) ploy to pull
By Amelia Hill, The Observer, Sunday March 16 2003

This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday March 16 2003 on p9 of the News section. It was last updated at 00:59 on March 16 2003.

It's Saturday night, and Phil Graham and Dan Farndell are putting the final touches to their game plan for the evening. Graham has a new necklace, which he's not too sure about and Farndell is practising his walk, trying to replace every hint of masculine swagger with a more effeminate swing.
'Does this look too much?' Graham asked, fingering the gold chain around his neck. 'No, it's spot on - they'll love it,' said Farndell. Dressed in tight black T-shirts and trendy jeans, with leather jackets, hair gelled and subtle touches of jewellery, they want to look like any other gay couple out on the town.
But they are not like any other gay couple: they are 'Strays' - enthusiastic players of a new dating game gaining currency across the country when STRaight men pretend to be gAY to attract women. It's a trick, they insist, that delivers the required results.
'I never actively claim to be gay, but by simply giving women the impression I might be I find practically without exception there's more chance they will sleep with me when they realise I'm heterosexual,' admitted Graham, a 28-year-old computer expert from south London.
Gay best friends are a celebrity must-have - Madonna is seen out with Rupert Everett, Geri Halliwell turned to George Michael in her hour of need, and Sex And The City character Carrie Bradshaw relies on gay friend Stanford Blatch. But now, according to tomorrow's edition of Cosmopolitan magazine, heterosexual men are taking advantage of the vogue.
Geoff Saunders, the homosexual author of Other People and Watch My Lips, says the tactic has gained popularity over the past 18 months.
'It was the gay community that first coined the name Strays,' he said. 'I've seen Strays in action as far afield as Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Brighton.
'The gay community is divided about this tactic: on the one hand, we find it amusing and can understand why straight men do it; girls love hanging out with gay men because they want someone they can chat to and have a laugh with without worrying about ulterior motives.
'Obviously not all gay men dress and act like these men, and it's insulting to suggest we do. In reality, these men are not pretending to be gay, they're simply pretending not to be heterosexual predators on the pull.'
The ruse occurred to Graham a couple of years ago when a girlfriend told him one of his most attractive qualities was being unusually open for a heterosexual man. 'I didn't start pretending to be gay as a deliberate, cynical tactic right away,' he said. 'But the thought just grew until I decided to give it a proper go.'
Allan Pease, who co-wrote the recently published Why Men Can Only Do One Thing At A Time And Women Never Stop Talking with his wife Barbara, has observed the phenomenon in other countries.
'Men have begun testing this Stray technique in America and Australia too,' he said. 'But it's doomed, no matter what country it's tried in, because women all over the world want the same thing from their men, and that's someone they can trust.'
What began as a joke for Graham and his friends has become a routine: he estimates he can pick up twice as many women when in Stray mode than he can when approaching them as himself. Now, when he goes out to meet women, the chances are he'll pretend to be gay.
'I admit it still feels a bit odd to actively try to downplay my masculinity, but if I end up with a girl it's a temporary sacrifice I'm prepared to make.'
Farndell, an architect from Essex, agrees. 'I'm more successful and less nervous if I treat dating almost as if it's a sitcom or I'm a character in a film. You're not putting yourself on the line.
'To tell a woman you're gay is the end of everything,' he says. 'You need to make absolutely certain she can't accuse you of lying or deceiving her. The knack is to nuance your behaviour so she assumes you're homosexual but, when she realises you're not, feels it was she who misread the situation.
'Dancing is always a good ploy because heterosexual men aren't supposed to be able to move. That's a really big mistake on their part, because most women love dancing.'
The deception didn't seem to trouble Erika Johansson, a 25-year-old fashion buyer for a designer clothes label who approached Farndell as he danced with Graham and was soon shimmying up and down his side.
'To be honest, the only reason I started dancing with Dan was because I didn't think he was going to hit on me,' she said later. 'I could just be myself.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/mar/16/ameliahill.theobserver

A Poetry Find

Deacon Brodies

Find a quiet corner; breathe; close your eyes,
Hide in the solitude of the crowd.
A blur of voices, a shroud of smoke,
And the world can slip away outside.
Relax; will the knot to ease inside your troubled head,
Trace the grain on the table; the ache in your soul,
Touch the dew on the glass, the cool condensation,
And the whiskey fire, sip it down slow.
You went running down that lonely road,
Chasing your destiny like an endless goal,
You went stumbling down that lonely road,
Chasing your dreams like some poor soul.
This is no kind of answer, no way out of the mess you've made,
It wont bring her back, it can't take away the shame.
It's just a suitable place for a broken man,
To watch the hours die away.
.
You went running down that lonely road,
Chasing your destiny like an endless goal,
You went stumbling down that lonely road,
Chasing your dreams like some poor soul.

– lyrics from Deacon Brodies by Grant Macaskill

Looking for Mr. Goodbar by Herbert Hadad

A complex and chilling film that inspired fear in the hearts of young single women on the prowl.

Mr. Goodbar, the symbol of which terrified a generation of New York women in the latter part of the last century, was a real person with a different name.
I found the real Mr. Goodbar within 10 days of his crime. I called Mr. Goodbar but Mr. Goodbar never returned my call.
Let me tell you the tale. I was a newcomer to New York journalism, working for the New York Post, and the murder became my first important story. With a little digging and a lot of luck, I found the alleged killer -- his name was John Wain Wilson -- and the District Attorney's office asked that I put away my notes and keep the discovery a secret.
"We think you've got the right guy but if you print anything you'll spook him and kill the case," they said.
My editors went along. After waiting for the D.A. to cinch the case and hand back my exclusive -- the story that would help make my reputation -- I got impatient and called Wilson myself.
He lived in an apartment in Chelsea. "He's not here just now," said his older roommate. "He's visiting his family in the Midwest and should be back in a week or so."
The roommate gave me the right dope, but it was incomplete. Wilson came back in a week or so from the Midwest, but he was manacled to about five cops, who tossed him in a downtown hostelry called The Tombs.
The Goodbar story began one morning as I sat on the Post's rewrite bank. (A rewriteman, as most of you know, is the one who takes the research, as well as the exaggerated and sometimes hysterical observations of the reporter at the scene, and crafts them into a readable yarn.)
"Kinky murder on the West Side," said the City Editor, Larry Nathanson. "Take it on line 6."
What I got was a description of a young female victim, beaten on the head with a small piece of statuary as she lay in her own bed. The headmaster of a school for the handicapped had called when she'd failed to show up at her teaching job for a few days. Someone was let into her apartment and made the discovery. The only other bit of information was that she was last seen alive leaving a bar near her building with a young man.
Being new to the paper, I was especially eager to make a good impression. Within minutes I was reeling off paragraph after paragraph of crisp prose on the size and quality of the apartment building, the ambience and habitation of the bar where Roseann Quinn -- the victim's real name -- had apparently met her killer, the rhythm and color of the street late at night.
"This is damn good stuff," exclaimed the editor. "Where're you getting it?"
I tapped my moist forehead. "I live next door to the All-State Café and across the street from Quinn's place, with the Gristede's on the first floor," I confessed.
An intimacy developed between the principals of the crime and the chronicler. She was already Roseann, my victim, and I was going to do all I could to make the story bigger and better -- and maybe even crack the case.
For the next several days I used my spare time visiting the grocers, cleaners, newspaper stand and other spots where Roseann likely shopped. They were the same merchants I used and were inclined to be helpful. A few knew her -- the dry cleaner by name from writing up tickets for clothing left -- as a pretty, quiet young woman who walked with a slight limp.
I reached the headmaster. She was kind and patient with the children, he said, and came from a good and pious family in New Jersey. They were of no help.
After a while, the story began to cool. Until I learned that police had visited a midtown office and asked lots of questions about a young male employee. No one had said anything outright, but the cops left the impression they were looking for Roseann's murderer. I had a friend at the company.
"I'll lose my job if they trace this back to me," he said. I blithely promised him anonymity. He then told me about Wilson, the tall, slim, handsome man who had been taken on as a mailroom clerk and who had become a favorite of the young women.
"He loves to take them downstairs for an ice cream soda, and they love going," my informant said. "Beyond that, I don't know much about him or his habits."
But he gave me Wilson's name and remembered that Wilson stopped coming to work - vanished, in fact - about two days after Roseann Quinn's body was found. If he was right and Wilson was indeed the killer, it meant that Wilson came to work the morning after the slaying and continued to make his soda-fountain dates, but that something made him run a few days later.
The contrast of the killer and the wholesome youngster sipping malteds was intriguing, and I think we could have run the story without the suspect's name. But someone allegedly smarter than I was offered the information to the D.A. instead, and there went that day's story and most of the ones after that.
As most of us know, the case became really famous following publication of the book, "Looking for Mr. Goodbar," and the movie adaptation. They dramatized the danger and shallowness of New York night life as young women tried to meet eligible young men.
For the record, it was later disclosed that Roseann and Wilson met in the All-State Café on West 72nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue and then proceeded to her apartment across the street. When Wilson declined or became incapable of romantic endeavor, Roseann either kidded or taunted him. He became enraged and beat her to death.
So Wilson was returned from the Midwest, and the court reporters anticipated a real juicy trial.
But then came the call I got from the Post's legendary court reporter, the man with his own table at Forlini's restaurant on Baxter Street behind the courthouse, Mike Pearl.
"You hear from Wilson yet?" he asked.
"No."
"Well, you won't. Scratch Wilson. He just hung himself in his cell."

http://www.evesmag.com/goodbar.htm

PERKS OF BEING OVER 50

1. Kidnappers are not very interested in you.

2. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.

3. No one expects you to run--anywhere.

4. People call at 9 PM and ask, Did I wake you?

5. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

6 There is nothing left to learn the hard way.

7. Things you buy now won't wear out.

8. You can eat supper at 4 PM .

9. You can live without sex but not your glasses.

10. You get into heated arguments about pension plans.

11. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

12. You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room.

13. You sing along with elevator music.

14. Your eyes won't get much worse.

15. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

16. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.

17. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

18. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.

19. You can't remember who sent you this list .

Australia Says No to Violence against Women!

Australia Says No to Violence against Women
written by Angela Berenger.

On 2004, the Federal Government funded a $20 million Campaign to bring awareness to the public of violence occurring in the home behind closed doors. The Campaign is a milestone toward opening up publicly against family violence via the media, being one of the most influential social institutions in society today.

The Campaign includes encompasses a website and booklet containing information of what it is aiming to do. There are also advertisements on the television and the radio as part of the campaign, portraying men and women speaking about instances about family violence. The Campaign is definitely a step forward towards seeing family violence as a serious crime in society and the efforts should be given credit for the efforts made toward this long time growing concern.

However, following an article in The Age News in October 2006 titled “Domestic Violence Misunderstood” raises significant concerns to the effectiveness of the impact the commercials had on its viewers. Even though awareness that domestic violence is indeed a crime has risen, as well as the defining factors of what abuse is has broadened; for instance harassment and threats can be done through modern technology such as sms on a mobile telephone, there are still significant numbers of women who are not taking in the messages that are being portrayed through the media about domestic violence.

Particularly, Women who have migrated to Australia that do not have a strong understanding of this country and it’s language have next to no understanding or education about domestic violence and what support there is out there for them. The impact of violence has not been hard-hitting enough for people to sit up and take notice of how serious and damaging it can be to live in an abusive home environment. Showing average people making statements about whether or not abuse has occurred doesn’t seem to have an impact strong enough for all cultures and status in our communities.

Although it sends out a strong message that violence is not acceptable and it is a crime, people seem to sit up and take more notice when there is a shock factor. For instance a commercial showing what can occur when speeding in a car or when a person drink-drives, a smoker and the effects of the body from doing that; has been more effective for people to take notice and much more hard-hitting.

How would a commercial about domestic violence affect viewers if they were to see a woman cowering in a corner, battered esteem and body, with a man holding his power and strength over her and then attempting to apologise for his actions? A vicious cycle of abuse is what is occurring over and over again until the person being abused gathers up the courage and strength to leave, although in many cases. This has not been successful as the perpetrator has gone too far and murdered their victim or the victim has turned into rage and attacked their abuser and they may be sentenced to a life of imprisonment.

So how would harder hitting messages on commercials, relating to violence in the home have an impact on the viewers? I can only assume and hope that the nature of it would make more the public and the people affected to sit up and take notice about the seriousness of crimes taking place right in the family home.

October 15th, 2007. Filed under Community & Writing, Mindless Banter | No Comments »

Website Colors That Turn Off Your Customers

Website Colors That Turn Off Your Customers
Author Nicholas Hall | Thursday 7th February 2008 | Design & Technique | Views: 630 | Rating:


Nicholas Hall
Nicholas is a accomplished web developer.
He owns NPA Media and many more well known sites.

Website Colors That Turn Off Your Customers

Using too many colors or the wrong combination of colors could alienate or turn off customers completely. Out of any form of non-verbal communication, color is the quickest way to communicate a message and meaning. Many studies have been done on the psychology of color and the subconscious emotions that they create. Studies have shown that color can help improve recall, comprehension, and understanding by 75%. In
fact, color accelerates the ability to learn by 20% by keeping readers focused and improving retention.

Choose Colors with Care.

Marketers spend oodles of time and money determining the colors to best market their product: the colors that will prove the highest amount of return on investment. You may want to hire a professional web designer to help you. Make sure the web designer you hire is not just a programmer, but also a graphic designer and/or marketer. After all, the reason why 99% of all websites fail is because it was created by a technician, rather than a marketing expert.

So, What Colors are Best for Your Website?

That is hard to say. Again, you may want to hire a professional to help you. However, the following tips will help you understand the underlying meaning behind color so you may be guided to make the right choice. Keep in mind that depending on its value or intensity, one color can give very different emotions.

Red - Stimulating. Exciting. Energizing. Appetizing. When you eye sees red, chemical responses in your body cause your blood pressure, pulse rate, and adrenaline to increase. Fire engine red is more energetic than a more traditional burgundy.

Pink - Happy. Romantic. Spirited. Youthful. Best used for less expensive and trendy products. Vibrant pinks are common in the cosmetic industry. Bubble gum pink can be considered immature, but fuchsia or magenta are considered more sophisticated.

Orange - Friendly. Adventurous. Energizing. Inviting. Of all the colors, orange is the hottest. Similar to red’s arousing effect, orange is often associated with bright sunsets or fall foliage. Orange contains the drama of red with the cheeriness of yellow. Neon orange tends to be load and is the most disliked color, but a more tempered vivid orange is highly effective for point-of-purchase graphics and specials.

Yellow - Warm. Sunny. Cheerful. Vibrant. Yellow is equivalent to enlightenment and imagination. This color is especially effective for food service industries because of the – association to bananas, custards and lemons. Pale yellow is an excellent choice for point-of-purchase materials (materials at the cash register or reception area) because the eye sees the highly reflective yellow before it notices any other color.

Brown - Rich. Sheltering. Durable. Sensible. Brown is an earth tone and is related to the earth’s nurturing qualities and stability. Generally speaking, brown provokes a positive response, but the wrong shade could lead to customers relating it to dirty, which could be detrimental for a product in the fashion industry, for example. Brown works well with food products since customers also relate it to root beer, coffee and chocolate.

Blue - Cool. Trusting. Serene. Consistent. Similar to the earthy color brown, blue is related to the sky and water, both dependable constants in our lives. Blue is an ideal color for websites, especially e-commerce websites. Many banks and financial institutions use blue in their marketing because it makes customers feel more trusting. Blue also can generate a cold, distant, corporate feeling, the opposite of generating a personal relationship with the customer.

Green - Refreshing. Healing. Fresh. Soothing. Green offers the most variety of choices out of all the colors of the rainbow. Green works well for personal hygiene or beauty
products because of its soothing and flattering tones. Most people link green to nature; they think of foliage or grass. Mint green is seen as fresh while bright greens are associated with grass. Emerald greens are elegant and deep greens are
linked to money and prestige. Green is also combined nicely with many other colors and can also work as a neutral.

Purple - Elegant. Sensual. Regal. Mysterious. Purple is seen as sensual and spiritual as it combines the sexuality of red and the sereneness of blue. It is best used with creative products, new products, or cutting edge products. Deep purple is associated with regal sophistication and lavender has a more subtle nostalgic appeal.

Neutrals - Classic. Quality. Natural. Timeless. The neutral tones of beige, gray and taupe emulate the psychological message of dependability and timelessness. They are regarded as safe and non-offensive and will not go out-of-date as they are always in style.

White - Pure. Bright. Pristine. Simple. While white can signify clean elegance, it can also be considered generic and stark, unless you have stylish graphics to compliment the white.

Black – Strong. Classic. Mysterious. Powerful. Black is most closely associated with the night. Black is seen as powerful, dramatic, elegant and expensive. In food packaging, a customer will actually pay more for a gourmet image. Although black is associated with mourning, its positive associations far outweigh its negative. Warning: too much black can be overkill.

In conclusion, choosing the right colors for your website is an important decision. Use these tips and hire an expert if you need help!

Dog Logic

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. -Anonymous

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. -Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. -Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. -Andy Rooney

Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate. -Unknown

Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. -Franklin P. Jones

If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise. -Unknown

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. -Mark Twain

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. -Roger Caras

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money. -Joe Weinstein

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert A. Heinlein

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them. -Phil Pastoret