Word Of The Day

LISSOME - agile, limber.

Job Driving You Nuts?

Risky Business
Think you’ve got a tough job? Here’s scientific proof you might be dreaming. The Canadian Province of Quebec did a study of the major occupational groups at risk for mental health problems, reports the Canadian Journal of Public Health. And somewhat unsurprisingly, the occupations with the lowest levels of decision-making freedom on the job had the highest elements of risk. The highest-risk jobs were in road transportation. That is, taxi drivers and bus drivers. Following them were jobs in textile, leather and fur manufacturing. Then came housekeeping, maintenance workers and painters. At lowest risk, (according to the study) were data processors, editors and university professors.

Word Of The Day

GARRULOUS- excessively talkative in a rambling manner.

North Pole

It's 98 degrees in Iowa today.

Thought this pic of the North Pole might cool things off,

at least in our minds.

Isn't it beautiful.

Word Of The Day

SPURIOUS - not genuine, conterfeit

No Bones About It

Did you know that when you push against something with all your strength, the muscles you use all are actually arranged so that they are pulling? That's why the adult human body has three times as many muscles as bones -- 656 muscles to 206 bones, according to Amazing Facts About Your Body, a book by Doubleday and Co. Other miscellaneous facts about muscles:
The largest muscles in the body are the two in your buttocks that control your thigh bones.
Muscles make up about 42 percent of a man's body weight and about 36 percent of a woman's.
Your body's muscles are strongest at age 25 and begin to decline after that.

Word Of The Day

RIGMAROLE -A COMPLICATED PROCEDURE , CONFUSED OR MEANINGLESS TALK.

Like Taking Candy From A *Bobby

Two British police officers have been arrested by colleagues on suspicion of stealing candy from the staff confectionery shop.
An investigation was launched after "a significant stock loss" from the sweetshop at Hailsham Police Station in southern England, Sussex Police said Friday.
The shop operates by officers helping themselves to the candy and drinks before leaving money in a tin.
The two officers, who have since been released on bail, have been suspended while "a number" of other staff and officers have also been removed from frontline duty while the candy-theft probe is carried out.


* Too funny...

Strip Poker

It started as an April Fool's joke but an Irish bookmaker's proposal to hold the world's biggest strip poker contest will become reality next month.
Paddy Power floated the idea as a joke but it generated so much interest and hundreds of requests to take part that the Dublin-based company decided to organize a contest.
So next month, 200 poker buffs will risk baring all in an attempt to become the first World Strip Poker Champion -- and earn a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
The winner will also receive a "Golden Fig Leaf" trophy plus 10,000 pounds ($18,630) in cash.
"This will be the most fun you can have with your clothes on or off!" Paddy Power said in a statement for the tournament, which will be held in London on August 19.

* I think I'd like to get in that tournament. I love to play poker and if I had to do much stripping down I'd scare/distract the competetion so badly I'd come back and win. Those Irish have some great ideas don't they?
** Ian it's held in London so you or LR should get in it and please send photos. He He!

Patriots Unite !

The daughter of a Soldier. .......
Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camo's, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for it
hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.
Of course, I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear of reprisal.
Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said, "Hi." The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and asked what did she want to give to her daddy.
Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.
The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear
up. When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second.
Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a walkie-talkie and started talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying, "Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon."
The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause.
As I stood there applauding and looking around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier, in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American!
Red Friday
Just keeping you "in the loop" so you'll know what's going on in case this takes off.
RED FRIDAYS -- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record-breaking numbers.
We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no media coverage to reflect our message or our opinions.
Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.
Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday - and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that..
Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.
By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.
If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the
once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.
The first thing a soldier says when asked what we can do to make things better for you is, "We need your support and your prayers."
Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and let's wear something red every Friday.

Childhood Fun

I'm harking back to childhood. What were your favorite toys and activities of your youth?

My favorite toys were my Easy-Bake oven, it started my love of baking and food ;a Baton, I had visions of becoming a famous majorette; a giant Teddy Bear I got when I was two(it was bigger than me);Spirograph, where you made artsy circular shapes using different colored pens and cogged wheels; my weaving loom, I made tons of ugly little pot holders; Etch A Sketch, loved trying to draw things; my bicycle, I road the country backroads and all over town; my generic Barbie, my mom and aunt made little outfits for her; those suncatcher makers, you put little plastic beads in a metal framed piece then baked it in the oven until the beads melted and you had a fine stained art piece; my View-Master, your own personal slide show and those cool Kaleidoscopes.

My favorite activities were riding our horses, hiking around, playing in the creek, building forts in the hay mow, snowmobiling, riding dirt bikes, shooting hoops, reading books, writing short stories, collecting rocks, swimming in the pond, late night games with my brothers or the neighbor kids of hide n seek, tag, statues, Red Rover, boardgames, helping my mom bake goodies, going to 4-H meetings and watching American Bandstand on Saturday mornings (I thought I was a good singer and dancer).

LASCIVIOUS - lewd, lustful, libidinous, lecherous.

Celeb Birthdays

Today (7/26) actress, Sandra Bullock turns 42 and actor, Kevin Spacey turns 47.
They are two of my favorite actors. What is you favorite film each of them stars in?

My picks :
Kevin - American Beauty
Sandra- Hope Floats

Word Of The Day

COTERIE - A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ASSOCIATE CLOSELY.

Book 'Em Danno

Authors in jail have their prose and cons.

Celebrity Twin

According to MyHeritage.com, everyone has a little celebrity inside. Largely meant for charting family trees and as a genealogy community, the Web site also boasts an addictive face recognition technology that blurs the boundary between the great unwashed and the thoroughly groomed.
To find out which celebrity you most resemble, download a photo of yourself, and you'll quickly receive a list of stars with similar facial features. The results, which can include men and women, are often surprising.

Unfortunately I couldn't see who was my twin because my computer could not download Macromedia Flash Player used to view the results. Darn it! Who do you think I resemble?

Word Of The day

NEPOTISM - favoritism based on family relatonship.

Granny Dundee

With Australian outback hero Crocodile Dundee as her inspiration, an 80-year-old British pensioner foiled a knife-wielding burglar with an even bigger blade of her own.
When woken by a masked man holding a knife, Winifred Whelan screamed and ran downstairs to the kitchen.
Grabbing a giant carving knife, she told the startled intruder "You call that a knife? This is a knife" in an echo of the famous scene in the Crocodile Dundee film when actor Paul Hogan confronted a New York mugger.
As she took on the intruder, her husband grappled with his accomplice.
Recalling the incident on the day the burglars were jailed for the break-in, Whelan told The Liverpool Echo: "I said to the robber 'You call that a knife?' His was around 10 inches long and I had a carving knife measuring around 14 inches.
"I pointed it at his belly and added 'This is a knife!'"

Word Of The Day

INCHOATE - not fully formed, shapeless, disorganized.

This Day In History

On July 24
1847
Mormon leader, Brigham Young, and his followers arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah.
1929
U.S. President Hoover proclaimed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced war as an instrument of foreign policy.
1937
The state of Alabama dropped charges against five black men accused of raping two white women in the so-called Scottsboro case.
1956
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ended their team. They ended the partnership a decade after it began on July 25, 1946.
1974
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Nixon had to turn over White House tape recordings to the Watergate special prosecutor.
1978
Billy Martin was fired, for the first of three times, as the manager of the New York Yankees baseball team.
1984
Terry Bradshaw retired from the National Football League.
1985
Walt Disney released its 25th full-length cartoon. The work was The Black Cauldron.
1987
Hulda Crooks, at 91 years of age, climbed Mt. Fuji. Hulda became the oldest person to climb Japan’s highest peak.
1998
A gunman burst into the U.S. Capitol and opened fire killing two police officers. Russel Weston Jr., was later ruled incompetent to stand trial.
2003
The U.S. released pictures of the bodies of Odai and Qusai Hussein. The two died during a battle with U.S. forces near Mosul, Iraq.

Word Of The Day

SULTRY - oppressively hot and humid, sweltering; arousing passion.

Sounds like summer in Iowa to me. ;oP

Salsa

It’s salsa season! Here’s a recipe that uses a variety of vegetables from your summer bounty.Yield: 3 cups
3 lg ripe tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 sm cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 sm carrot peeled and finely shredded
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 tb fresh lemon thyme
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tb Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 tb balsamic vinegar or Red wine vinegar
1 ts sugar
1 ts salt In a large nonreactive bowl, mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until chilled about 1 hour.

Tipping The Scales

At the scale-manufacturers' convention, people often wanted to weigh themselves on different scales to see if they agreed. Some visitors abstained, however, not wishing to advertise their weight. A smooth-talking representative coaxed a woman onto his scale by promising her that he would not look and that she could even cover the digital display so only she could see her weight. She finally stood on the scale, whereupon a loud, mechanical voice from within the machine announced: "One hundred and sixty-three."

I knew there was a reason I despised salesman. ;oP

I'm Losing My Mind

**KILLER BISCUITS WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER** (actual AP headline) Linda Burnett, 23, a resident of San Diego, was visiting her in-laws and while they went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car with thewindows rolled up and with her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head. One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda's eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Linda replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour. The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally got in, they found that L inda had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head. A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but quickly recovered and tried to hold her brains in for over an hour until someone noticed and came to her aid. Linda is a blonde, but I'm certain that's irrelevant.

Word Of The Day

Cloche - a woman's close-fitting, bell-shaped hat.

Color My World

List your colorful favorites below.

Song with a color in the title - Blue Telescope by John Hiatt
Movie with a color in the title - On Golden Pond
Brown food - Hamburger
Orange food - Carrots
Purple food - Blueberries
Green food - Peas
Yellow food - Yellow cake
Red food - Strawberries
Flower color - Yellow tulips
Pastel color - Pink
Car color - Dark green
Shade of blue - Robins egg

Happy Birthday Robbin

Today July 21st is my oldest friend, Robbin's 47th birthday. We met at the babysitters when I was three and went all through school together. She lived in the house my grandmother grew up in. God bless you my red-headed, freckled face, funny friend. Have a wonderful day. Cheers to forty-something years of friendship!

Word Of The Day

MALODOROUS
Definition:foul-smelling
Example:The room was MALODOROUS, so they opened the windows in the hope the breeze would blow the scent away.
Synonyms:fetid, mephitic

Word Of The day

LOQUACIOUS - exceedingly talkative.

This Day In History

On July 20
1810
Colombia declared independence from Spain.
1881
Sioux Indian leader, Sitting Bull, a fugitive since the Battle of the Little Big Horn, surrendered to federal troops.
1917
The draft lottery in World War I went into operation.
1944
U.S. President Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term of office at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
1944
An attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler failed. The bomb exploded at Hitler's Rastenburg headquarters. Hitler was only wounded.
1947
The National Football League (NFL) ruled that no professional team could sign a player who had college eligibility remaining.
1969
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. became the first men to walk on the moon.
1998
Russia won an $11.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help avert the devaluation of its currency.
2003
In India, elephants used for commercial work began wearing reflectors to avoid being hit by cars during night work.

Word Of The Day

PARTURITION - childbirth

Trivial Tidbits

The highest apartment residence is the 92nd floor of the 100-story John Hancock Building in Chicago.

The Seasame Street characters Bert and Ernie were named after characters in the film "It's A Wonderful Life."

The odds against a bridge player getting all 13 cards in the same suit in one deal are about 158,753,389,899 to one.

The artificial sweetener Sweet n Low first appeared on the market in 1958.

The first continously operating laser was produced in the USA in 1961.

Food was first served on a commercial airplane in 1919.

About 56,000 Americans are over 100 years old.

Johnny Appleseed (whose real name was Jonathan Chapman) was an American pioneer who planted apple trees along the frontier in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Word Of The Day

LEGERDEMAIN - trickery, wile.

Act On This......spoof

AMERICANS WITH NO ABILITIES ACT - CONGRESSIONAL ACT 2006 WASHINGTON , DC - Congress is considering sweeping legislation, which provides new benefits for many Americans. The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislation by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition. "Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said Barbara Boxer. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they do a better job, or have some idea of what they are doing." The President pointed to the success of the US Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack job skills, making this agency the single largest US employer of Persons of Inability. Private sector industries with good records of nondiscrimination against the Inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry (68%), and home improvement "warehouse" stores (65%) The DMV also has a great record of hiring Persons of Inability. (63%) Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million "middle man" positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance. Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given, to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees. The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations which maintain a significant level of Persons of Inability in middle positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires. Finally, the AWNA ACT contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Nonabled, banning discriminatory interview questions such as "Do you have any goals for the future?" or "Do you have any skills or experience which relate to this job?" "As a Nonabled person, I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them," said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, MI due to her lack of notable job skills. "This new law should really help people like me." With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Said Senator Ted Kennedy, "It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her adequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation and also find a place for all illegal aliens no matter how useless they may be."

Word Of The Day

CACOPHONY - harsh, jarring noise.

This Day In History

On July 17
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to the British at Rochefort, France.
1866
Authorization was given to build a tunnel beneath the Chicago River. The three year project cost $512,709
1867
Harvard School of Dental Medicine was established in Boston, MA. It was the first dental school in the U.S.
1917
The British royal family adopted the Windsor name.
1945
U.S. President Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II. During the meeting Stalin made the comment that "Hitler had escaped."
1955
Disneyland opened their gates in Anaheim, CA.
1975
An Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit. It was the first link up between the U.S. and Soviet Union.
1979
Nicaraguan President, Anastasio Somoza, resigned and fled to Miami in exile.
1985
My niece, Tiffany was born. Happy 21st Birthday!
1996
230 people were killed when TWA Flight 800 exploded and crashed off Long Island, NY.
1997
After 117 years, the Woolworth Corp. closed its last 400 stores.
1998
Nicholas II, the last of Romanov czars, was buried in Russia 80 years after he and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.
1998
An entire village was swept away in Papua New Guinea by a 23-foot wave that was triggered by an undersea earthquake. Eight days later the government reported that 1,500 people were dead, 2,000 were missing and thousands were homeless.

Word Of The Day

Alacrity - cheerful readiness, liveliness.

Windows

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.- - George Bernard Shaw

Word Of The Day

Mollify - soothe, calm, to appease.

A Great Artist Remembered

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Art enthusiasts dressed up as the 17th-century nobles, beggars, priests and prostitutes portrayed in the paintings of Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn, honoring the 400th anniversary Saturday of his birth.
Celebrations centered on the cities of Leiden, where Rembrandt was born July 15, 1606, and Amsterdam, where he did his greatest work, suffered personal tragedies, and died in 1669.

Memorium

My eldest brother , Greg was born 51 years ago today, July 15, 1955.
Sadly he passed away June 4, 1994.
It seems like only a short while ago, still. I miss him.
Happy Birthay Greg!

Clip This

A Canadian man was handed the keys to a three-bedroom house Wednesday, exactly a year after he offered a red paper clip online, asking to trade it for "bigger or better" things.

In his latest trade, Kyle MacDonald, 26, swapped a bit role in a Hollywood movie for a house in the small Western Canadian town of Kipling, Saskatchewan.
When he started his quest with the paper clip, MacDonald said getting a house was his goal.
He traded in the paper clip for a fish pen and eventually moved up to an afternoon with rocker Alice Cooper before snagging the Hollywood movie role in his 14th trade.
Wednesday, the mayor of Kipling presented MacDonald with the house in return for a role in the movie "Donna on Demand," starring Corbin Bernsen.
Kipling, population 1,140, will give the role to the winner of a contest it plans to hold in September. "We're getting some very positive attention, and that never hurts any community," Mayor Pat Jackson said in a telephone interview.
Local businesses have donated housewarming gifts such as flowers and wine, and a 12-foot red paper clip has been erected in the front yard. The town plans to build "the world's largest red paper clip" at a yet-to-be-determined location.
MacDonald, who lives in Montreal, has become an Internet and media sensation during his series of swaps, garnering interviews and attention from as far away as Japan.
He said on his Web site that he and his girlfriend will move into his new house before September and plan to throw "Saskatchewan's biggest housewarming party ever."

I have a green paper clip I want to turn into a car. Anyone want to trade?

Word Of The Day

ANALOGOUS - similar or alike in some way; equivalent to.

A Baaaad Pun

Shepherds sometimes have staff meetings.

USS New York

With a year to go before it even touches the water, the Navy's amphibious assault ship USS New York has already made history. It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.USS New York is about 45 percent complete and should be ready for launch in mid 2007. Katrina disrupted construction when it pounded the Gulf Coast last summer but the 684 foot vessel escaped serious damage, and workers were back at the yard near New Orleans two weeks after the storm.It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft."It would be fitting if the first mission this ship would go on is to make sure that bin Laden is taken out, his terrorist organization is taken out," said Glenn Clement, a paint foreman. "He came in through the back door and knocked our towers down. The New York is coming right through the front door and we want them to know that."Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, Louisiana to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on September 9, 2003, those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Captain Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and "The hair on my neck stood up. It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back." The ship's motto?- "Never Forget"

Word Of The Day

Venal - open to or associated with bribery.

A Cool Respite

A tranquil place to take a break from the summer heat.
A section of Sunsert Park in Washington, Iowa.

What's In Yours?

As the bus pulled away, I realized I had left my purse under the seat. Later I called the company and was relieved that the driver had found my bag. When I went to pick it up, several off-duty bus drivers surrounded me. One man handed me my pocketbook, two typewritten pages and a box containing the contents of my purse. "We're required to inventory lost wallets and purses," he explained. "I think you'll find everything there." As I started to put my belongings back into the pocketbook, the man continued, "I hope you don't mind if we watch. Even though we all tried, none of us could fit everything into your purse. And we'd like to see just how you do it."


This could be me. Ha Ha Ha

Love Vs Logic

The lover knows much more about absolute good and universal beauty than any logician or theologian, unless the latter, too, be lovers in disguise.
- George Santayana, "The Life of Reason: Reason in Society", 1906

Word Of The Day

Tenable - reasonable, excusable.

Today in History

On July 10
1832
U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoed legislation to re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
1913
The highest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. was 134 degrees in Death Valley, CA.
1919
The Treaty of Versailles was hand delivered to the U.S. Senate by President Wilson.
1938
Howard Hughes completed a 91-hour flight around the world.
1960
Lynn Wilkinson - Godwin, my best girlfriend growing up was born. Happy Birthday !
1962
Fred Baldasare swam the English Channel underwater. It took him 18 hours to swim the 42 miles.
1984
Dwight ‘Doc’ Gooden, of the New York Mets, became the youngest player to appear in an All-Star Game as a pitcher. He was 19 years, 7 months and 24 days old.
1985
Coca-Cola resumed selling the old formula of Coke, it was renamed "Coca-Cola Classic." It was also announced that they would continue to sell "New" Coke.
1989
Mel Blanc, the "man of a thousand voices," died at age 81. He was known for such cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
1991
U.S. President Bush lifted economic sanctions against South Africa, citing its "profound transformation" toward racial equality.
1997
Scientists in London said DNA from a Neanderthal skeleton supported a theory that all humanity descended from an "African Eve," 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
2000
Jean-Claude Van Damme was given three years probation and fined $1,200 for drunk driving and driving without a license. Van Damme had been arrested after he crashed his Mercedes-Benz into a restaurant on September 23, 1999.
2002
Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of the Innocents" sold for $76.2 million at Sotheby's.

Word Of The Day

Pragmatic - practical, logical.

Emotional Intelligence

The sign of intelligent people is their ability to control emotions by the application of reason.
- Marya Mannes

Thought For The Day

Anyone driving slower than you is an idiot and anyone driving faster than you is a maniac.

The NEW Words Of The Day

Mouse potatoes joined couch potatoes, google officially became a verb and drama queens finally found the limelight on Thursday when they crossed over from popular culture to mainstream English language.

The mouse potato (who spends as much time on the computer as his/her 1990s counterpart did on the couch), the himbo (attractive, vacuous -- and male) and the excessively emotional drama queen were among 100 new words added to the 2006 update of America's best-selling dictionary, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary.
The Internet search engine Google also found its way into the dictionary for the first time as a verb, meaning to find information quickly on the world wide web.
New words and phrases from the fields of science, technology, pop culture and industry are chosen each year by Merriam-Webster's team of editors after months of poring over books, magazines and even food labels.
"They are not tracking verbal language. They are looking for evidence that words have become assimilated into the written English language," said Arthur Bicknell, senior publicist with Merriam-Webster.
"Unfortunately with slang words by the time it has become assimilated it probably isn't cool anymore. If the grown-ups are using it, forget it!," Bicknell said.
Other words making their debut this year were soul patch (a small growth of beard under a man's lower lip), unibrow (two eyebrows joining together) and supersize -- the fast food industry phrase for extra large meals.
The technology world contributed ringtones (changeable incoming cellphone call signals) and spyware (software installed in a computer to surreptiously track a user's activities) while biodiesel and avian influenza came from the world of science.
America's first dictionary -- Noah Webster's A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language -- was published 200 years ago and also introduced a crop of fresh words that have now become familiar.
Those "new" words in 1806 included slang, surf, psychology and, naturally, Americanize.

Word Of The Day

Frowzy - dirty and untidy, slovenly.

Be Happy

If ignorance is bliss, then why aren't more people happy?

Word Of The Day

Gimcrack - a showy, useless trifle.

The Golden Rule

Courtesy is simply doing unto others what you would like them to do unto you.

Speeding - Don't Try This

British motorist John Hopwood concocted a novel scheme to avoid payment when he was given a speeding fine -- simply switch the road signs.

Hopwood, 44, had been snapped by a speed camera breaking the 30 miles per hour limit.
So he went to a 40 mph area, removed a red "40" warning sign, drove back to the 30 mph area, attached it to a lamp post and took a photo as "proof" that his offence of driving at 48 mph had not been so bad.
However, suspicion soon arose when other drivers started querying the sign.
"This was a stupid act, bound to fail," Judge Anthony Ensor at Manchester Crown Court was quoted by media as telling Hopwood, who admitted trying to pervert justice.
He was ordered Tuesday to serve an intermittent custodial sentence of 28 weeks which requires him to spend his weekends behind bars and told to pay 2,763 pounds in legal costs.

Word Of The Day

Taciturn - not talkative, silent, quiet.

Anti-social

"SOCIAL ISOLATION has many well-documented side effects. Kids fail to thrive. Crime rises. Politics coarsens. Generosity shrivels. Death comes sooner . well-connected people live longer, happier lives."So writes Time magazine's Robert Putnam, in his recent essay on the increasing social isolation of Americans.


Come to think of it.... I do need to get out more.

Word Of The Day

Symbiosis - mutual helpfulness, cooperation.

Independence Day

Happy 4th Of July

Hope your day is filled with good friends, family, food, fun and fireworks.

God Bless America

Sexy 4th of JulyTip

Icy Hot Kisses
One of you sucks on an ice cube, while the other takes a sip of a hot drink. Then kiss! You're sure to be seeing fireworks!

Word Of The Day

laconic - using few words

Back To The Womb

In the Beginning
Do you remember the first sound you ever heard?
Though it may have receded from our consciousness, its repetitions echo emotionally all our lives, soothing when the rhythm is slow, exciting when it's fast. Even the first words we try to speak imitate that sound -- ma ma, da da, boo boo. And later, as adults we are soothed by poetry written with the same rhythmic ba-BUM, ba-BUM sound, writes author Diane Ackerman.
The sound is a mother's heartbeat.
"For a baby in the womb the mother's heartbeat performs the ultimate cradlesong of peace and plenty. The womb is a snug, familiar landscape, an envelope of rhythmic warmth, and the mother's heartbeat a steady clarion of safety," writes Ackerman in her book, A Natural History of the Senses.
And for the rest of our lives, everything important becomes heartfelt, from a broken heart to how we feel deep in our heart, she adds.

Word Of The Day

Ephemeral - fleeting, brief, disappearing.

My Birthday

Today, July 2nd is my birthday. I'm the a whopping 46. Does that make me an old lady? I think I have a few more good years left in me. Ha Ha!
July 2nd is a popular birthday in my family. I have an uncle, a cousin and niece that share it with me.
Even the neighbor lady shares it with me. I saw a big banner on her garage reading
Happy Birthday Mother.

Word Of The Day

Incorrigible - impossible to manage or reform.

Have You Ever...

Please take the "Have You Ever" survey. Answer yes or no, feel free to give details if you'd like.

HaveYou Ever......

Won a Blue Ribbon?
Shop lifted?
Been the victim of a crime?
Went skinny dipping?
Broke a bone?
Forgot your child in a store?
Won a prize?
Forgot your telephone number?
Got caught parking/making out?
Been bitten by an animal?
Broken a mirror?

My answers:
I've won blue ribbons in horse shows and at county fairs for baking.
Never shop lifted.
I was robbed at gun-point when I was working at my C-store.
Been skinny dipping a few times.
Never broke any bones.
Never left my kid in a store but left them in a parking lot.
I won a cash prize in a NCAA basketball pool.
I can never remember my cell phone #.
Been caught making out a couple of times.
My mean ol cat bit me a few times.
Never broke a mirror.