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Because comics have been around for so long, every spin on a character and "What if?" scenario you could fantasize about already exist. Think it would be cool to see an evil version of Superman? Done. Want to know what would happen if the X-Men and the Avengers fought? Done. Think it would be wacky to see Batman as a baby? You're right, it's very wacky. Every corner of comic imagination has been covered.
I do mean every corner. For each awesome idea, there are a TON of ridiculous alternate versions of superheroes that should have never seen the light of day ...
5Superman Is a Simpering Fop
Superman is like the Jesus of superheroes -- there's an interpretation for everybody to enjoy, whether you want Freemason Superman or Amish Superman or something in between (whatever the hell that might be). The '90s even gave us a hippie version named Sunshine Superman, whose Justice League calls itself the Love Syndicate.
Hippies: What can't they ruin?
So why not something for the socially repressed across the pond?
How It Got Ludicrous:
What would have happened if Kal-El's rocket had landed not in Kansas, but in Somerset, England? The answer is True Brit. And you can tell right away what you're in for: a metric quantity of irreverent puns.
Monty Python's John Cleese has a co-author credit on True Brit. Now, if comedy was a superpower, Cleese would have a "C" stamped on his chest and a cozy seat in the Hall of Justice. So it's kind of a personal crisis for me to report that this book does for satire what a stillborn Chihuahua does for a rich girl's libido.
So ... no pain, then?
You would expect this Superman to battle uniquely British foes like Maggie Thatcher's dole-zapping lizard henchmen. But no, Superman is too afraid of making a scene to use his powers.
OK, but surely Colin "Superman" Clark at least faces Anglican challenges like tea shortages or naming his kids something even more English than "Benedict Cumberbatch," right? Wrong again. It's 90 pages of Superman stammering haplessly just to belabor the point that British tabloids are shallow rags. Oh, and the villainous news mogul looks like John Cleese, just in case any flush producers were in the market for an adaptation-ready property with a marquee name attached.
The comedy isn't funny, and if there had been action it would also not be funny. With no supervillains to fight, the queen tasks him with making the trains run on time, speeding up their state health care system, and revamping BBC programming into something interesting -- which seems like an unfair request, considering he can't even do that for a Superman comic.
Truly this was Superman's Career Opportunities.
There's a running gag where the Clarks are so embarrassed by their son drawing attention to himself that they keep moving farther away without telling him. This eats up 10 percent of the book just so it can propagate the myth that Wales is a real place. And no offense to the Welsh, but if your country exists, how come there's no portal to it in the back of my wardrobe?
The book ends with Superman emigrating to America because he's sick of Great Britain -- although his is a biased perspective, since he never needs health care. So after watching him bust his ass for the country he loves, nothing changes, and Superman says, "Sod you all, I'm going someplace easier."
English Superman would have had more dignity chasing Lex Lutheran through a "Yakety Sax"-filled highway.
But I still love you, John Cleese.
4Wolverine Is Not a Mutant
Comic books contain one law of physics, and that is Logan's Rule, which says that, regardless of temperature or pressure, Wolverine slays mountains of ass. If you dropped Wolverine into a vat of phosphoric acid, the acid would learn, to its horror, that it could be stabbed. The only thing he can't cut is his hair properly, and that's because his hair is Wolverine, and therefore cannot be defeated.
How It Got Ludicrous:
Earth X is a miniseries that takes place in a future of the Marvel universe where everyone on Earth has become a 1980s cartoon character. Marvel's sexiest forbidden lovers, Jean Grey and Wolverine, are now a fat, boring married couple. That's a daring switch-up, even though we know there's no credible future in which Wolverine can take his Centrum Silver multivitamin without stabbing a few ninjas.
Danny DeVito in his Flock of Seagulls days.
The ludicrous part happens next. Wolverine finally learns his mysterious origins, and they're not pretty. Say "Oh, hell" to Logan's great-great-not-very-great-grandfather, Moon-Boy:
No way did he sire Wolverine. Moon-Boy couldn't get laid in Swaziland if his semen cured HIV.
This paragon of dignity is one of the "Small Folk," which are what human beings were supposed to be until alien gods, called Celestials, tinkered with our DNA. That's right -- Wolverine's not the mutant. You are. And your mutant power is not having a healing factor. So thanks for saving us from that, outer space people.
Moon-Boy is a member of the Moon Clan, aka the Wolf Clan, and all the feral heroes of the Marvel Universe (like the Beast) are descended from him. By the time Earth X takes place, their proud lineage has petered out to a fat, hairy little guy prone to psychopathic fits of violence. So basically, the true face of humanity is Joe Pesci.
But what about the feral villains? Oh, it's explained. Wolverine's arch-nemesis, Sabretooth, gets his powers from inhuman ancestors in the Bear Clan, the Moon Clan's mortal enemies. It's just one of those weird coincidences that true human beings and their monstrous foes evolved the exact same abilities.
The Bear Clan and the Moon Clan have been bickering for eons, and didn't quit trying to destroy each other even when history invented better things than feuds, like pornography and video games. Which explains why they're dying out. Now, I'll grant you, Moon-Boy might have gotten lucky only because of his sweet ride: a T. rex named Devil Dinosaur.
He's basically the Knight Rider of Parallel-Lithic Earth.
But none of that matters, because when Earth X Wolverine met Days of Future Past Wolverine (who is another future timeline Wolverine), the latter laughed his fat counterpart right out of his own book.
That's just how badass Wolverine is -- you give him the answers he's been seeking his entire life, and when they're not worthy of his legend, he shames an entire timeline out of existence.


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#5 ♥
Well, it's been four days since the season ended. It's been rough, that's for sure. Especially since everyone who thought that the Padres were not going anywhere this season are back in full force saying, I told you so! It's extremely frustrating, but what can you do. The only consolement I'm getting is that I believed all season and I didn't give up. I was right there with my boys the whole time, and man they had an incredible season.
As the offseason goes on, I'll be writing some season-rememberance stuff, but right now I kind of want to review my personal season of blogging.
Let me tell you, this year has been absolutely amazing. I didn't blog as consistently as I have in years past, but this blog has really had a great year. In 2009, I was around the 20s in the Latest Leader list. This season I jumped up to number 10 and number 11. That's where I was for most of the year until I jumped up to #6 in August and now, I was #5 in the top fan blogs list. I'm soooo excited!!!
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that my all-time favorite baseball player is Kevin Kouzmanoff, whose number is 5. I've always wanted to be #5 on the list so that I could do a dedication to him and I'm soo excited that it's finally happened!!
Since there's a lot of recaps going around, I'm going to review Kouz's season. I didn't really talk about him much this season because I was so focused on the Padres' first-place dominance, but I think it'll be cool to see how he did after he was so sadly shipped away from the Padres.
Kouz was traded to the Oakland A's on January 16th, 2010, in exchange for Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham.
He hit .247 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs. He played in 143 games, and of course, his back acted up near the end of the season and he was out for a few weeks.
His fielding stats, though, are no where near as impressive as last year. Remember that when he had three errors all season and a .990 fielding percentage and he didn't get a Gold Glove? That was so sad. Man. But anyways, he had 12 errors this year, and a .968 fielding percentage. So, not too bad, but not as great as last year.
On another matter, he's still as adorable as ever😉
I missed you a lot this season, Kouz. Definitely not the same without you, and your trade even effected my fanhood just a little. I'm glad you had a great season with the A's, and I hope that someday you'll be able to play in San Diego again. Love you!!!!!
Thank you guys sooo much for your great support. Thank you for getting me to #5. This blog would be meaningless if no one read it, so thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy putting it together. You guys are amazing!!!!
6 Comments
Congrats on #5! You must be stoked. Haha. I forgot about Kouz during the regular season. Oops. Maybe he'll be back in San Diego. Who knows?🙂 Hope to see you keep blogging during the offseason, Padres buddy!
Kaybee: Congratulations girl! #5 is definitely something to smile about! Congrats to you, and to your Padres for opening everyone's eyes. I definitely hope to see you around here at MLBlogs. Are you going to watch the postseason games?
Congrats on the great season on your blog. I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating the ending to the Padres season was for their fans, but as you said they exceeded a lot of expectations. I expect them to be right back up there among the leaders next season. Just like my Jays, they traded away their ace and improved.
If it's any consolations the Padres were seriously the most evil scary thing this year. For a second there I thought they would make the Wild Card and be evil and scary all over again. I'm sorry your team is out but I'm also really glad they're out because man what a nightmare they were!
Congrats on getting #5 like you wanted. Funny how the 'told you so' people never appear when they are wrong and always have 20/20 vision when they know things aren't how you wanted them to be.
Padres kicked butt nonetheless! They fought hard and that's worth celebrating! Nothing to be ashamed of!
Best of luck next season and I hope you enjoy the postseason🙂 The Pads will be back with full force!

subset: commoncrawl


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Children's Nature Art Camp
Tue, 2 Apr 2013 10:00 AM - Thu, 4 Apr 2013 3:00 PM
10 a.m.-noon first workshop or 1-3
p.m. second workshop Tuesday-Thursday
Frances Plecker Education Center, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum
This workshop, led by artist Lenna Frances Keefer, offers children ages 7 to 12 education on plant identification as well as basic botanical drawing. All materials are included with a $35 cover charge. Advance online registration need. For information, visit www.jmu.edu/arboretum.


text: Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial (2) tv-14 Play video Select your TV provider to log in to have full access to videos Select your TV provider See all providers Don't see your TV provider? Learn more You can access this video on the free HISTORY® app. *You must verify your TV provider towatch this video on the App Your Parental Control settings do not allow you to view this content. Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial (2 min) tv-14 A quick look at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and the aftermath.


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So there are a couple ways for you to start your spatial archaeology adventure on Google Earth. One can search the Google Earth community for "archaeology" to find news and information or "ruins" to see specific sites. Also, archaeologist James Q. Jacobs has a webpage dedicated completely to archaeological sites on Google Earth.
Here are some favorites of Catholicgauze.
- Aperlaem is a partially submerged Roman ruin city with history from both the pre-Christian and Byzantine eras.
- Ancient Greek and Roman theaters and amphitheaters have many high-resolution cultural points.
- The Cahokia placemark shows the ruins of the once great capital of Woodland Indian state.
- The last one I want to point out shows the next stage in archaeology and Google Earth using Sketchup. The Csomorkány Church Ruins are shown in 3D. Expect more ruins and sites to be portrayed in 3D. Architects already use Sketchup to show off buildings so expect other fields to utilize the technology soon.


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August 20, 2008
Classified Staff Council
The Bluefield State College Classified Staff Council meeting was called to order at 1:37 pm in Basic Science Auditorium by Lisa Neel, Chair, presiding.
Council Representatives Present: Lisa Neel, Chair Tom Harrison, Vice-Chair
Deirdre Guyton Jane Richardson Lori Dials Anita Barilla Carol Baldwin Fred Hardee
Marviene Johnson
Council Representatives Absent: Vonda Wilson
Classified Members Present: Jeff Noe Mike Fore
Joanna Thompson Michelle Noe Carol Kirby
Board of Governor's Rep (Classified): Daniel Frost* (absent)
Administrative Guests: Dr. Albert Walker Dr. Tracey Anderson
Mr. John Cardwell Ms. Leah Taylor
*Denotes non-voting
The minutes were not distributed and not prepared for the meeting. The secretary said that they would be ready for the next meeting.
The chair thanked everyone for attending the meeting. She also stated that her goal for 2009 and hopefully the council's goal is to improve upon communication. She listed the accomplishments of the council:
•Constitution signed and in HR
•Classified Plaques—Wall of Fame--She then thank thanked the following people for their assistance
o Dr Walker for purchasing the plaques; Michelle Noe for her hard work and Joe Thompson for hanging them.
•Spotlight—to begin next month
She then introduced Dr. Walker who informed the council of the updates of the institution.
Dr. Walker touched on the following highlights concerning the institution.
•Enrollment is up 6%
•We are preparing for Accreditation (2011) by doing the following:
o We need to document everything
- Improvement of education purposes
Classified Council Annual Meeting 8‐20‐2008 Page 2
o Asking all faculty to update all syllabi—all documents must be current
•Looking and reviewing the Mission Statement of the institution
•Pushing faculty to get terminal degrees. Three positions were filled and one more is needed.
•Talked about flexible scheduling due to gas pricing. He recommended that we get with the supervisor and discuss. Some agencies are accommodating.
•Started a soccer club. They are now looking for a coach. Anyone interested should contact Terry Brown.
•Three Boilers need to be replaced on campus—major priority.
•Faculty/Staff Development—as we get closer to accreditation we to concentrate on good customer service and use as a practice everyday. The student comes first.
With no questions for Dr. Walker, the chair thanked him and introduced Mr. John Cardwell, VP of Student Affairs.
Mr. Cardwell thanked Classified for their hard work and dedication in enrollment growth. He informed us of the short falls at the college due to Grant supported services and the scholarship opportunities (spouses, dependents, etc) the college is offering tuition waivers. The applications are in his office and they can pick them up.
Mr. Cardwell asked if there were any questions that we had of him. After hearing no questions, the chair thanked Mr. Cardwell for participating and introduced Dr. Tracey Anderson who discussed the Strategic Plan.
Dr. Anderson spoke to the staff members about the Strategic Plan. She passed out some mini brochures about the strategic plan. She said that the Strategic Planning Committee would be meeting to discuss the Mission Statement on September 17 at 9:00 am.
Ms. Leah Taylor, Director of Human Resources, spoke of the changes in hiring committees.
- There is no an implementation of orientation of hiring committees. There was no consistency or score sheets or training. This process was implemented on January 1, 2008. Anyone wanting to sit on a search committee, please let Lisa or Leah know.
- Improving communication—If there is any way that she can assist in improving the communication to Dr. Walker or her to let her know.
Question: What is the status of the revision of Performance Appraisals?
Ans.: We are waiting to see what comes out of that committee. (Personnel Study) It has the potential to be a good plan, but we have to wait and see.
Question: At one time we did evaluations of supervisors online. Will we be doing that again?
Ans.: Ms. Taylor stated that she was not on that committee. Some liked the idea, some didn't. She is waiting on the process.
Old Business:
New Business:
With no further business to come before the council, meeting was adjourned at 2:31 pm. The next meeting will be September 17 at 1:30 pm.
Submitted by,
Lisa Neel, Classified Council Chair
Deirdre Guyton, Recording Secretary


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Thank you, MontpelierOctober 31,2013
Thank you, Montpelier
Kingsbury Companies LLC would like to offer our sincere thanks to all of the city of Montpelier, staff, merchants and citizens, for your patience and assistance over the last several months while we worked on the installation of the new district heat system. The district heat project consists of a very complex piping system that can require as many as 21 quality assurance steps per joint. Combine the complicated installation with all of the unknowns under the streets of a centuries-old town, and delays and disruptions are inevitable. During much of the project, we had three pipe crews within two city blocks, and are acutely aware of the disturbances this has caused. We appreciate how flexible and gracious everyone has been in adjusting their normal patterns to accommodate our construction.
We would specifically like to thank businesses like La Brioche, Manghis Bread and Capitol Plaza for not only putting up with us, but offering coffee and treats to our team in the early morning hours. Thanks also to the many citizens who cheered us on and handed out cookies as we worked, and to those that offered constructive criticisms to help us improve. We wish you all generations of beneficial use of the new system, and applaud your bold steps toward energy independence. Thank you for your patience and hospitality during this very challenging project.
Dean Zoecklein
The writer works for Kingsbury Companies construction team.MORE IN LettersA sixth-offense DUI gets plead down to a misdemeanor. A breathalyzer is refused. Full StoryBurr Morses recollection (Whats good for the goose, Nov. Full StoryMSNBC news analyst Rachel Maddows report on the election of Republican Rutherford B. Full Story
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Arisaema 2012
bulborum wrote:
No Amy
It is Dracunculus vulgaris
but also with a fantastic perfume ;D
Thanks Roland! :D Luckily that day it was not sending out its 'fragrance'! Whew!! :P
Some smell hardly
other ---------------------------------------
but they are soooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful
my biggest flower was almost 70 cm
I grow mine in the hedge on a half shady place
Ive had D vulgaris to 75 cm... They are wonderful and reliable hardy even here in Z6 when grown in a well drained place.
I have never tried dracunculus in the garden. I assume they need a hot dry site during the summer and such a place doesn't exist in my garden!
However, I have started trying Arisaema the last few years. Didn't like them before . . . . ???
Two years ago I lost several potfulls of very nice seedlings due to freezing during the winter. However I got more seeds from Chadwell and have several new plants in the garden this winter. Hope they cope better in the ground!
Here is one I got several years ago - don't remember the name though. Picture taken last spring.
That's a beauty Trond!! :o Too bad you don't know which it is...perhaps someone will chime in with the ID.
Mark, I am also excited about my Arisaema seeds from Chris! I hope they will grow well for us!
Speaking of A. triphyllum, I only grow two plants; one is green and white, and the other is one of the typical ones... I would love to see near solid black ones, though!
Roland, I love your 'Green Devil'! Did this selection come from your regular ringens seeds?
Trond, nice looking Arisaema, whatever it is!
Here is a picture from last spring, I can't wait for my Arisaema to flower this year!
Saori wrote:
Roland, I love your 'Green Devil'! Did this selection come from your regular ringens seeds?
It was just a fantasy name for the jury to get my merite
it was from seed from a few wild collected bulbs
There is also a nice black stemmed one
probably I call that one Black devil for the jury ;D
maybe I can make a good picture this spring
one of the dark ones is on the back-ground
Trond, not sure what species your Arisaema is, but it sure is a dramatic one, most fetching! You could try going through the long and excellent thread on SRGC Forum entitled "Aroids (the family Araceae)", many Arisaema photos to wade through, maybe one will resemble yours.
Arisaema topic on SRGC, Aroids (the family Araceae):
Saori, what a slender and delicate beauty that A. triphyllum is! I find it fascinating that this species can vary so much. A favorite spring passtime is walking around the garden, seeing the "jacks" here and there, invariably I "lift the hood" on each spathe I find, to see what the inside color and markings might be. The soft all green ones are refreshing too.
Amy, the image of two blooms on A. ringens at Nick Nickou's garden in Connecticut shows a brown-flowered form, rather nice I think, I thought there was only a green or black form, good to know there is more variation. By the way, I have my own nickname for this Arisaema, the Clenched Fist Cobra Lily ;)
Roland, I can see that dark-stemmed black-flowered form of A. ringens hiding in the background, do show us again this spring, what a special form it is. :o
I have an Arisaema species that Darrell Probst gave me, he collected it in China. This year is flowered well once again, with it's very wide shoe-leather brown spathe, a striking form, I consider it one of my treasures. So far it has not set any seed :(
I posted on SRGC where there are some Arisaema specialists, here's my original post on this Chinese Arisaema species:
A response from an SRGC forumist, discussing A. taiwanense and A. sukotaiense, suggesting that my plant looked like A. aff. sukotaiense:
For comparison, a photo of A. sukotaiense that does look similar, other photos seen under this name don't look as similar.
And for more comparison, here is A. taiwanense as shown by David Toole, looks very different, love the long thread-like tips to the leaves. My understanding is that A. taiwanense can be taken as the type for a large and difficult group of allied species.
Now to some photos taken in my garden at the end of May 2011.
On the left, looking under the hood, on the right, backside profile ;)
Overall view and the ornamental fan of leaves:


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Man charged with lying about crashMarch 01,2013Police: man lied
about crash
A Chittenden man charged with lying about being the driver in a crash on Adams Road in Pittsford pleaded innocent to the felony offense this week.
Andrew N. Rasulo III pleaded innocent in Rutland criminal court to a charge of false swearing, which carries a potential 15-year jail sentence.
Vermont State Police arrested Rasulo late last month following a crash on Jan. 6 that involved his 2001 Nissan Maxima. A passing motorist found the car at the crash scene at 3:32 a.m. No one was in the vehicle, but police say they found Rasulos cell phone in the wreck, according to court records.
Rasulo reported the car stolen later in the day and also filed a claim with his insurance company. Police say using evidence obtained from the phone, they suspected that Rasulo was driving the car at the time of the crash.
When confronted with evidence, Rasulo allegedly told police he struck a patch of black ice, lost control and crashed. He told police he was in shock and scared after the crash and left the area.
Asked later why he lied about his vehicle being stolen, Rasulo told police Because I thought my insurance company would pay for it.MORE IN This Just InWASHINGTON Long-term U.S. Full StoryMONTPELIER The Vermont attorney generals office says drug companies have complied with a state... Full StoryMOUNT HOLLY At its meeting next week, the Mount Holly Select Board will consider an ordinance... Full Story
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Fort Collins spends $50K on median
- published_in
- The Eye
A definite HGTV contender, it features lots of river rocks, bushes and trees. It's quite the sight, especially considering the decidedly pedestrian grass median just to the west.
But it sure looks expensive.
So The Eye asked: How much did this thing of beauty set us back?
Turns out, the city of Fort Collins spent $50,000 on it – a nice chunk of change that would buy plenty of grass seed or even sod.
Tim Kemp, capital projects engineer for the city, acknowledged that, as far as medians go, this one was expensive to build. But grass can end up costing a lot to water and maintain.
The new median, the first of its kind in Fort Collins, will allow the city to test whether it can save money in the long-term by using trees and plants that use less water. It's also designed so that city crews will spend less timing pulling weeds.
"The goal is to cut down on long-term maintenance by using more sustainable plant choices," Kemp said.
Sounds good.
Looking ahead, he said, if the city determines it can save money with these kinds of medians, it may build even more.
NCMC confident in its Weld paramedics investment
Weld County Paramedics Services posted losses in 2008, 2009 and 2010 before bouncing back with net income of just over $250,000 in 2011.
With numbers that unhealthy, the Eye wondered what NCMC Inc., which runs Northern Colorado Medical Center, was thinking when it bought the assets of the ambulance service last month.
NCMC paid about $800,000 for the operation, which includes eight ambulances, three of which are model-year 2011 and are worth about $151,000 each, according to county documents.
For starters, NCMC believes it can fairly easily find ways to save money, in part by eliminating duplication in a variety of areas, including back-office functions such as billing and supply ordering.
It also points to changes in the way ambulance services now bill the government. Paramedic services were forced to bundle their charges at a rate that "grossly understated" the cost. That was fixed in 2010.
The Great Recession also didn't help, leaving many without health insurance. The lack of insurance meant that many patients, once examined by paramedics, refused transport if the situation was not an emergency. Weld County Paramedic Services could not charge if a patient was not transported.
Beyond all of these factors, having the ability to control a patient's care from the very beginning will allow NCMC to better treat a patient, ultimately saving even more money, it says.
There's good incentive to do so: The Affordable Care Act states that a patient who is readmitted into a hospital with the same condition within 30 days of being discharged will not have his or her care covered by Medicare or Medicaid, leaving the hospital with unpaid bills.
And, as we all know, hospitals just hate that.
Mystery at the MPO
Something's up at the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization, but the Eye can't figure out what.
A phone message left at the MPO offices asking about Executive Director Cliff Davidson was returned by a lawyer. That person told the Eye there was nothing to say at the moment. Davidson himself never returned repeated phone calls.
The organization's board consists of 15 officials from different NoCo communities. The MPO works to enhance air quality and mobility between the North Front Range and the Denver Metro Area.
None of board officials contacted would agree to discuss the status of the organization.
The Eye will keep you updated, or at least try.
Want to see more? Login or Subscribe.


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Welcome to Facebook Like-You-Back hosted by:
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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Treasure Chest Thursday: A Letter from Uncle Ralph, 1980 October 2nd
This is a wonderful world of my Minnesota McPherson family, the family of my father, aunts, uncles and grandparents, as well as great uncles and great grandparents. Enjoy, as some of this will resonate with many of you. Uncle Ralph was really rather an Everyman. He writes these letters with unique sense of a common history of time and place.
Ralph Jabez McPherson, 1945
Dear Olive & Norman,
Your letter came the same day I wrote to you. Getting some funny weather now. Supposed to be a Santa Ana that can get only within 5 mi of the beach. Most of your Santa Anas, its just as hot at the beach as it is on the desert. This ones different. 70 degrees at the beach till 5 mi inland then to 95 to 100 & the desert 116 yesterday at Palm Springs.
Knocked $30 off the elect bill this last month but it was still almost 46.00 but the weather had cooled so we just had the house open with a fan or two on.
Not much news, its mostly all political now. The Liars are out in full force now. So I never listen to them. I just read their record and on most of them its pretty shoddy.
Yes I suppose being the youngest & coming to Calif so young you might not even heard of most of your relatives. I didn't keep in touch like Margie did but I met lots of them & knew of others & nearly all the older generations are in Wisconsin. Some in Iowa, not many in Minn or Mich. In wis there were the Burmeisters, Fosses, Irelands & McPhersons, also a few Foys , in Iowa, the Fiskes. In those days people were close knit, some of them never got over 50 mi away from home in their life time. In those days, and late in the afternoon would pull into any farm house & ask to stay all night. It was common precedure if you lived close to a highway & very few would take money for putting a person up. I know 2 or 3 times a year some one would stop at our place to stay, team & all & all of them Perfect strangers. In one way it was a way of getting outside news (outside of a 20 mi circumference). Also in those days you might work for a neighbor 4 or 5 days but never think of getting paid except by him helping you.
I can remember Dad giving me hell. He was going to shock grain for another farmer & then that fellow was to shock corn for Dad. The only thing Dad and Mother had to go to Madison so Dad told me to go in his place which I did but when I finished shocking his grain, he asked if I'd rather have the 3.00 or have him come up & shock corn for me. The 3.00 looked big to me & it was no problem for me cut and shocks the corn. Only I didn't know what bawling out I was going to get when Dad got home.
Write when you can & say Hi to everyone. Love,
Ralph & Sally
Ralph was my father's older brother and in this letter he was writing to his baby sister Olive Lorraine and her husband Norman. Olive Lorraine and Verna, being born at the end of the quarter of a century age span between eldest and youngest, were always asking about family history. My McPherson family tends to be clannish and the in-laws soon become part of the clan. Foy, Ireland, and Burmeister were of his grandfather's generation; Foss and Fiske were of his father's generation. For me these are the names of my past, the names of my tree.
5 comments:
$46 electric bill? I don't even get that low in mid winter in Phoenix! What a difference things were just 30 years ago!ReplyDelete
Thirty years does make a difference. Uncle Ralph could tell you to the penny what he spent every month -- and he did.ReplyDelete
What a wonderful "slice of life" from the past!ReplyDelete
Ah, the lost art of letter writing! Thanks for sharing!ReplyDelete
Love that letter, it's a real keeper, it tells a lot about close knit neighbors. YOu couldn't finish your crops in time, a few neighbors might come and help you finish. You in turn helped at baling or thresing.ReplyDelete
I suppose the same thing pertained to the early pioneers when an old friend from Germany came new to your area. YOu put them up the best way you could until they could get on their feet. and your bonus was wonderful company and helpers and probably friend for life.
I remember my cousin from Minnesota telling me she did not find that atmosphere where she stayed in Arizona.


text:
beautiful, interesing galery!
awesome gallery
Your art is amazing. Enchanting...
amazing stuff !
lovely gallery! really expressive and even a little bit mad! ^^
Your eye for unique images is incredible. You should direct a short film/movie or do the cinematography for one. It would be spectacular.
your art is so expressive and mysterious, it's as though you can catch the essence of your subject. a harmonious gallery of which i love!!!!


text:
Downtown merchants handily dismissed a rendering submitted by a volunteer. They also expressed disappointment that the views and input of the downtown business community weren't solicited earlier in the process.
The enduring centerpiece of street festivals, political rallies, Friday night summer concerts and other town square gatherings, the gazebo was not only getting worn around the edges, but wasn't as functional as it should be.
A rendering of a new gazebo presented at a town meeting came as a surprise to nearby shopkeepers, prompting a flurry of criticisms about the appearance of the proposed design.
"That area is the center of the universe as far as Franklin is concerned. We need to be very careful when we put something there that it is something we can be proud of for years and years to come," Mayor Bob Scott said. He is agrees with merchants that the process should have been more inclusionary.
"Everybody probably has some ideas, and there are probably some very good ones out there," Scott said, advocating for the town to work collectively with the merchants on a new gazebo design.
The first go at a design evokes a sense of formality, involving a small stained glass window, white pillars and a cupola, deemed "more fitting for a wedding than a bluegrass show," according to one critic.
Complaints over the design built steam on a community Facebook page, with a flurry of posts in recent weeks. A handful of shopkeepers repeated their concerns at a town meeting last week, offering suggestions on how to remake the structure into something that embodies what they perceive as part of the essence of Franklin.
One shopkeeper, Sandy Pantaleo, who runs nearby Main Street Coffee & Tea with her husband, said in an interview that she is "unhappy and displeased" with the appearance of the proposed gazebo, which she said came across as "closed, reserved and dated."
A timber-frame design with a rustic style, she and others told town leaders, would better reflect the identity of the town and its environs. Others emphasized sustainability, calling on town leaders to postpone plans for a makeover for further consideration.
The unsolicited suggestions led town leaders to agree to organize a kind of contest among shopkeepers and other downtown business owners for alternatives. They are expected to come up with a framework to review any new conceptual drawings when they meet again in March, along with a time frame for the project.
"Let's get more ideas than just one," said Mayor Bob Scott. Scott said he, too, would like to see a more rustic, mountain look. "I am no architect, but I don't think it fits in with what we want Franklin to look like."
While they encouraged creativity, some cautioned against extravagance.
"We have to stay within the realm of what we can afford to do," Alderwoman Joyce Handley said, warning against "doing something that looks wonderful but has no use to anybody."
The gazebo plans weren't forged in a vacuum. Input was sought during the design process, just not from the at-large Main Street merchant community.
Linda Schlott, the town's Main Street Coordinator, was serving as a liaison to coordinate input from a psuedo-gazebo committee, which included musicians, festival organizers and members of the town's official Main Street Program — a more limited pool of stakeholders.
The town has set aside about $50,000 for the gazebo in its 2013-14 budget.
But some suggested that the town is rushing through such plans without seeking financial support from outside sources.
"This is an iconic piece of our town," said Angela Hubbs Moore, a businesswoman in town. She suggested that the town turn to the public for input and possible investments. "We're missing the opportunity to look for less traditional routes."
Despite the backlash, reluctance among shopkeepers over the proposed design was in some ways expected, Town Manager Warren Cabe said.
"It was a good starting point," he said of the rendering, dismissing any suggestion that the town had sought to quietly advance the plans as a way to speed up the process by avoiding public input.
At the same time, he acknowledged the subjectivity of such a project, adding that whatever the town selects as the final design will likely have at least some critics.
"You're not going to make everybody happy," he said at the last meeting.
Criticism of the drawing highlights a lingering disconnect between at least some shopkeepers and the town's Main Street Program.
The Main Street Program spearheads promotional initiatives for downtown Franklin, from putting on street festivals to beautification through flowers in summer and holiday decorations in winter.
Designated as a nonprofit, the program is financed largely by the town, operating with a $90,000 budget this year, according to town financial records. That includes the salary of its only employee, Linda Schlott, who serves as its executive director and is advised by a nine-member board of directors.
It has drawn complaints over the past couple of years from shopkeepers who make up a grassroots group, called Venture Local, that has sought to introduce new ideas to improve the downtown economy but has encountered stumbling blocks. They maintain that the Main Street leaders have not heeded their ideas — however few — that they say represent the majority of business owners.
The last big dispute between merchants and the Main Street Program centered around a series of Friday night block parties to get people downtown. Merchants were reprimanded for failing to get proper permission to block the street, string banners and put up tents. They in turn accused the town and the Main Street Program of not being supportive or receptive to new ideas.
"It's not what it used to be," Pantaleo, the coffee shop co-owner, said of downtown. "Everyone needs to come up with some new ideas."
Schlott, of the Main Street program, has maintained that she shares such views.
"A lot of new ideas are a good thing," she said. She cited so-called visioning forums she has arranged as a way to improve communication between the town and its shopkeepers. "We're willing to work with anybody."


text:
Haha! I must have missed that. It's the finals week this week so it's all the previous winning dishes. While it's nice to see all the efforts, you do have to watch the previous episodes to see how they did most of it. It's interesting but it is done a bit haphazardly as a programme. And it is on for too long, weeks and weeks of heats.
Better than Food Glorious Food though, "hello, I've made a quiche and I'm old", "that's a nice quiche, you're through".
that geordie woman with the beehive has star quality
but as yo say: dross.
I think masterchef has been a let down. There'll never be another Thomasina Miers


text:
Why Does My Voice Sound Crappy In The Morning a direct question
Posted 21 January 2010 - 03:49 PM
Oh I know -- it's because my vocals have relaxed all day long from all of the talking I've done! Duh! I just now thought of that. Okay, so was this post a waste of time. No. I just thought of something else. What if I spent 1 hour (or a half hour) each morning reciting the same essay. Would this "warm up" my voice so that I could sing just as good as I do at night? That's the question.
Posted 21 January 2010 - 04:21 PM
The rest I have no idea about, although I do always wake up with a dry throat.
Posted 21 January 2010 - 04:34 PM
Friend me on facebook: Valerie Cox
The Challenged Songwriter Blog
Posted 21 January 2010 - 04:58 PM
lyD, on Jan 21 2010, 03:21 PM, said:
I change my air filter (house, not car!) regularly. If it gets too dirty my throat gets dry in the morning. I buy the highest quality, the ones that can filter everything.
Posted 21 January 2010 - 05:01 PM
Posted 21 January 2010 - 06:04 PM
Talking shouldn't be your warm up for singing. Singing should be
Always up for a collaboration with lyricists!
Posted 21 January 2010 - 06:12 PM
Beer is not such a good idea.
Why do I so often just go with the beer?
Nice advice thread here .. http://forum.cockos....ht=vocal+advice
My Facebook Music Page
Posted 21 January 2010 - 08:18 PM
Alistair S, on Jan 21 2010, 05:12 PM, said:
I always find a shot of Crown especially warming.
Friend me on facebook: Valerie Cox
The Challenged Songwriter Blog
Posted 22 January 2010 - 08:51 AM
Posted 22 January 2010 - 09:10 AM
Posted 22 January 2010 - 12:55 PM
Classic "Muse" Quotes:
"**** you delete me now mother ****er cow head old noob"
- fesal, January 21, 2015
Posted 22 January 2010 - 02:23 PM
I'm adding that once I learn the section breakdown, I can then go back and figure out where my problem is, in the morning.
Posted 22 January 2010 - 02:30 PM
Just thought id throw that one into the pot
Posted 22 January 2010 - 03:09 PM
Posted 23 January 2010 - 03:51 PM
Generally speaking, I try not to sing or record for at least 1.5 to 2 hours after waking up. Rehearsals at 9 am used to irritate me... not only because I'm a night person, but I'd have to get up at 6:30 am just to make sure my voice was somewhat awake by 9.
If you have to sing in the AM, I advise (as mentioned above)
- hydration (not coffee, it's a dehydrant)
- a walk
- gentle vocal warm-ups spread out over time.
If you suffer from sore throat or dry throat in the morning try a humidifyer.
Sleep is important for the voice. We should sleep 7 to 8 hours a night.
12Feb10-*NEW BLOG: "BE YOUR OWN GURU ;)"
MY STORY & MY MUSIC: www.vikkiflawith.com
Be a FAN: http://www.reverbnat...om/vikkiflawith
Posted 23 January 2010 - 08:38 PM
Posted 23 January 2010 - 10:07 PM
Hummingbird, on Jan 23 2010, 02:51 PM, said:
So does this mean we should warm up for 1 1/2 - 2 hours after waking? If so, that's fine, but wow, that's a long warm up.
Posted 24 January 2010 - 01:36 AM
Teri, on Jan 23 2010, 07:07 PM, said:
Hummingbird, on Jan 23 2010, 02:51 PM, said:
So does this mean we should warm up for 1 1/2 - 2 hours after waking? If so, that's fine, but wow, that's a long warm up.
no, it means we should wait 1-1/2 to 2 hours before attempting to warm up. Have a warm shower, drink herbal tea, go for a walk, have a swim, do your yoga, etc.
12Feb10-*NEW BLOG: "BE YOUR OWN GURU ;)"
MY STORY & MY MUSIC: www.vikkiflawith.com
Be a FAN: http://www.reverbnat...om/vikkiflawith
Posted 24 January 2010 - 07:41 AM
Hummingbird, on Jan 24 2010, 12:36 AM, said:
Gotcha! and Thanks!
Posted 24 January 2010 - 02:46 PM
12Feb10-*NEW BLOG: "BE YOUR OWN GURU ;)"
MY STORY & MY MUSIC: www.vikkiflawith.com
Be a FAN: http://www.reverbnat...om/vikkiflawith
Posted 24 January 2010 - 05:01 PM
Neal K, on Jan 22 2010, 11:55 AM, said:
I tend to agree with Neal, if you're a true natural singer you can sing morning, noon or night, as long as you're on pitch and in tune with the music, nothing like a throat with resonating phlegm in it, or a dry throat to give your voice tone that little extra something, might limit your range though, but think of it as adding fx as you would to a guitar's sound.
If you think your voice is not in it's most pristine condition, the listeners may disagree with you on that, while on the other hand if you think your voice is in it's most pristine condition as you hear it, the listeners may think you just suck, as I said, as long as you're on pitch and in tune that's all that matters. Let your voice sound as it sounds, Of course if you can't get on pitch or in tune after a few me...me...me...me's, then you're not a natural singer and I would fallow Hummingbird's advice.
Janis Joplin would party and drink and smoke her head off the night before and then go into the studio and record all those chart busting hits of hers or if you scan the youtube videos of the Beatles in the recording studio, more likely then not they are usually smoking a cigarette as they record.
Whatever works best for you, you either have an interesting and distinct singing voice that people want to hear, or you don't.
Posted 24 January 2010 - 09:16 PM
Bruce N, on Jan 24 2010, 04:01 PM, said:
True, the audiences are the ones that decide whether you are worth watching or not, and whether your voice is pristine or not, day or night. Whatever they say, goes.
Posted 24 January 2010 - 09:56 PM
Bruce N, on Jan 24 2010, 02:01 PM, said:
Yes, there are natural singers who abused their voices (and themselves) and some are not here to talk about it. And yes, there are natural singers who take care of their voices and are still singing well decades into their career.
And then there are those who need help to find the natural voice, to explore their potential, and find their unique sound. No shame in that.
12Feb10-*NEW BLOG: "BE YOUR OWN GURU ;)"
MY STORY & MY MUSIC: www.vikkiflawith.com
Be a FAN: http://www.reverbnat...om/vikkiflawith
Posted 25 January 2010 - 07:54 AM
Hummingbird, on Jan 24 2010, 08:56 PM, said:
And then there are those who need help to find the natural voice, to explore their potential, and find their unique sound. No shame in that.
Hummingbird, nice point about abusing the voice and not abusing it. Also, very clever to bring up the point that some are exploring their potential, as I think I am. As Lazz once pointed out, I am learning all that I can, so that I can be the best that I can be. Mediocre isn't in my book. It never was, and it never will be.
Posted 25 January 2010 - 08:32 AM
I am certainly at my best singing in the morning or early afternoon, but I don't do much of anything to warm up. I do drink a lot of water, but also a good deal of coffee. (Sometimes, but not until the afternoon , I will have a beer).
But what helps me the most is probably that I do my best work earlier in the day, whether it's taking up carpet (which I did yesterday) or playing music. Right now, I have a lot of energy and motivation to get things done, and that will hopefully carry over into my performances today.
When I record for February Album Writing Month, I do a lot of night-time recording because I like the uninterrupted time after my wife and our daughter are asleep (They are at work and school today!). But my voice sounds tired from a day of teaching and talking.
My voice is not great, but I can carry a tune and it fits comfortably in my songs. Almost anything I have put out for "official" release, singing or instruments, has been recorded during daylight hours.
Facebook fan page
My website
Posted 25 January 2010 - 06:22 PM
Tom Hoffman-youtube
The Story Behind The Song channel
DrumStuffTH channel
Charlie Droste Musical Memoriam channel
Posted 26 January 2010 - 10:02 PM
I know someone who had surgery on his sinuses for this very same problem. I'm thinking if he could have discovered if he had food allergies, he might not have needed that surgery, and could have saved himself lots of money in the end.
Posted 04 February 2010 - 08:04 AM
They can change during time too (eg if you eat a lot of certain food to avoid certain other foods, you may develop sensitivity to that food, so food rotation is very important). Also check any food additives or such.
There can be food allergies or sensitivities or environmental pollution (eg furniture or carpeting in your room, especially if it's new or with fishy ingredients (cheap particle board from China or such) and if you don't air enough, or the air outside is polluted as well, I've even read different opinions on ionizers or air filters or such).
A guy online says he prevents seasonal allergies or any problems with sinuses by rinsing the nose canals with salty water, maybe some of you could find it helpful? (My Mum helped cure her cold that way too.)
I'm usually 'rubbish' in the morning for anything, and deeply envy anyone who is a morning person.
That is why I hated choir practice in school too - who can sing their best at 7 am?
Otherwise, I find eating fresh fruit (eg apple) or vegetables (eg lettuce or sauerkraut - C vitamin and other minerals & vitamins!) perks me up any time of day. A truck driver told me he takes a big pot of sauerkraut for long drives to keep him up. Lemons - I find them too 'sour', not too good if the throat is not at it best, I stay away from lemonade if voice or throat are 'raspy', at times it made it worse.
A voice teacher said to stay away from dairy or chocolate to prevent phlegm. (So if you eat/drink those in the morning...?)
Janis Joplin - love her singing, wouldn't it be better if she took care of herself (and her voice) a bit better and could sing many more songs?
Posted 04 February 2010 - 02:03 PM
Posted 04 February 2010 - 07:16 PM
Beer helps my ears to lack discrimination too!
My Facebook Music Page
Posted 05 February 2010 - 09:02 PM
Susan R, on Feb 5 2010, 07:53 AM, said:
Hey what character might that be?? (I'm gonna be sorry I asked!)
Posted 07 February 2010 - 07:15 AM
Peace on Y'all
Darryl "SocaMos" Murray
Posted 07 February 2010 - 01:49 PM
SocaMos, on Feb 7 2010, 12:15 PM, said:
Damn. I read it as "screw the encores" (they're what caused the Monday problem!)
I'm a smoker too. I really should give up ... again.
My Facebook Music Page
Posted 09 February 2010 - 02:11 AM
#35 Guest_go-round_*
Posted 17 February 2010 - 04:06 PM
Why can't you jump out of bed and run a marathon? Same reason. You gotta warm up.
Posted 10 May 2010 - 10:41 PM
I can sing when I first wake up, but I feel like it's harder (and a whole lot raspier) especially if my sinuses get congested over night.
Yes definitely warm up and also exercising a bit works for me.
Posted 11 May 2010 - 09:26 AM
Friend me on facebook: Valerie Cox
The Challenged Songwriter Blog
Posted 13 May 2010 - 04:31 AM
Posted 13 May 2010 - 09:25 AM
---Rupert Neve
ANGELz REIGN Productions
Posted 18 October 2010 - 02:41 PM
1. If anybody asks you to sing before noon, just give them the finger and walk away.
Okay, so that fixes the singing in the morning problem.
As for warming up, I find that singing Alice in Chains always gets my voice where I want it. Especially "Got Me Wrong" or "Rotten Apple."
Posted 19 October 2010 - 05:36 AM
I feel that singing is like an exercise. It is impossible for us to wake up in the morning and immediately go jogging or whatever. We certainly need to do certain warmups to get our body fit and ready. Likewise, it is impossible for us to sound our best in the morning just like that. Thats why i believe that warming up before singing is extremely vital if we want to sing and sound good.
Posted 01 March 2011 - 12:09 AM
Posted 10 March 2011 - 10:32 AM
sometimes someone will call and i don't want them to know I've been sleeping (like my boss) so i'll really go out of my way to bring energy into my voice and it never works. "what are you, sleepin'?" uhhhh...
talking/singing, always sounds bad in the morning, just how it is


text:
|Learn to Download Audiobooks
Event Type: General Programs
Age Group(s): Everyone
Date: 4/11/2013
Start Time: 7:00 PM
End Time: 8:30 PM
Learn to check out and download digital audiobooks from Media On Demand, the Library's online audiobook service. It has over 2,000 current titles that you can listen to on your MP3 player, iPod, or other portable device. Chris Keefe, Reference Librarian, will provide a demonstration as well as answer any specific questions.Library Location
Location: 2nd Floor Meeting Room
Status: Closed


text:
back on topic, I don't think this is anything to get real excited about. How about some real competitions...like the GP series, etc.?
ah...you think you got me, don't cha...but I never said those "real competitions" were exciting to begin with... But compared to something like Campbell's, the GP series is actually something we - er- you guys can "predict" and "analyze".
I'm kind of confused as to when Joubert suddenly got a consistent quad - he didn't land the jump in competition for over a year (more like a year and a half) and then he landed one good one at worlds and a couple of shakey/flawed ones and he now has a consistent quad? I think Lambiel is probably the only other skater besides Pluschenko with a properly consistent quad and the rest in your list can land them (and land them very beaituflly) but they are hit and miss in competition.
If we want to get Lambiel, we could talk about his 3A. Other than that, he seems just fine with consistency.
On topic: Pity, we wont see either Joubert of Lambiel at Campbells but do you think the entrants will go for the Quad at Campbells?
Lambiel was digned 4.2 points when his triple axel was downgraded to a double by the cheating technical specialist. He also lost 2 points for a two footed triple loop. He would have beaten Joubert in the long by over 6 points without those two errors(or so called errors in the case of the downgraded triple axel).
Ohhh...and here I thought that 3axle was clean! He beat Joubert overall by like 3 points, right? Probably from going all out in the QR. I love Lambiel and I think Joubert did amazing at Worlds 2006. Hopefully he will build on that, and we'll see the newest men's rivalry between those two, with Evan and Johnny fighting for a spot on the podium as well!
What is the Chinese man's name, something Li? He always catches my eye, huge jumps. Hopefully he will have a breakout season!
Yes Lambiel's margin of victory came from the qualifying round.
I seem to recall that Lambiel built himself a nice 8-point cushion in the 2005 Worlds QR as well. Too bad for Stephane that there will be no QRs at Worlds any more.
The main difference between Joubert's and Lambiel's jump layouts was that Lambiel did 3F+3T and 2A instead of Joubert's 3F+2T and 3F. The total base values for the eight jumping passes (including second half bonuses, and giving Lambiel credit for the 3A) were Lambiel 62.2, Joubert 59.8.
As Hockeyfan mentioned a while back, Joubert could have closed the gap just by throwing in a couple of 2 loops at the end of one of his solo jumps.
BTW, Lysacek did almost the identical jumps, except he did a second 3A (in combination) instead of a second 4T. Base value for Lysacek's jumps was 60.4
It is pretty easy to look at the CoP point values and see what you have to do to maximize your tech score. So it is not surprising to see the same jump layout for all the top men.
What hurt Lysacek were his program component scores. They were substantially below Lambiel and Joubert, and also below Sandhu and Buttle.
Last edited by Mathman; 08-24-2006 at 03:56 PM.


text:
ECS | CeRTS | IWAS | Teachers
| Students | Administrators
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(Sullivan, IL) - After over a year of research, planning
and collaboration a design team of approximately
40 state and regional educators and service providers have
completed a Full Service Community Schools plan
for the state of Illinois. The team consists of representatives
from such professions as education, health, mental health,
criminal justice, recreation and business.
Serving as Chairperson of the joint Illinois State Board
of Education and Regional Offices of Education initiative,
Dan Anderson Regional Superintendent of Schools for
the Southern most 5 counties, says the team has
developed a specific plan for assisting school districts to
organize local partnerships which will help in the operation
of full service schools. I think the concept of using
schools as a hub for delivering a full continuum of services
to children and adults is one that not only makes good common
sense, but has also been proven to be effective and efficient
Anderson said. I believe this project can greatly assist
schools and communities in addressing the goals set forth
in the federal No Child Left Behind Act signed
into law last year Anderson added.
Anderson says that program services should begin by the end
of October, pending completion of training for regional teams
who will be providing training and technical assistance to
interested schools. The three member teams will consist of
an educator, service provider and an at large
community representative.
Debbie Bretag, Executive Director of the Illinois Center
for Violence Prevention and the Chairperson for The Illinois
After-School Partnership is fully supportive of the Full Service
Community Schools initiative. The Partnership values
its work with the FSCS, as it serves as a strong example of
effective collaboration and gives young people the best chance
to succeed academically and to develop to their fullest potential
Bretag said.
Lynne Haeffele-Curry, Director of Planning and Performance
with the Illinois State Board of Education, has been working
closely with the design team on the project. Leaving
no child behind academically cannot be a reality unless communities,
families and schools work together. It has been proven that
the Full Service Community Schools approach can greatly enhance
the prospect of providing for all of our students needs
Haeffele-Curry said.
The announcement of the Plan will take place at 1:00 p.m.
on Wednesday, August 13 at Sullivan High School, located at
725 North Main Street in Sullivan, Illinois. Sullivan High
School has been a pioneer in addressing the Full Service Community
Schools concept for the past 10 years.
Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street
Springfield, IL 62777


text:
Dummy Medicines, Dummy Doctors, and a Dummy Degree, Part 1: a Curious Editorial Choice for the New England Journal of Medicine
This post concerns the recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) titled "Active Albuterol or Placebo, Sham Acupuncture, or No Intervention in Asthma." It was ably reviewed by Dr. Gorski on Monday, so I will merely summarize its findings: of the three interventions used—inhaled albuterol (a bronchodilator), a placebo inhaler designed to mimic albuterol, or 'sham acupuncture'—only albuterol resulted in a clinically important improvement of bronchial airflow; for that outcome the two sham treatments were equivalent to "no intervention." For all three interventions, however, self-reported improvements were substantial and were much greater than self-reported improvements after "no intervention." In other words, dummy treatments made the subjects (report that they) feel better, whereas real medicine not only made them feel better but actually made them better.
Before proceeding, let me offer a couple of caveats. First, the word "doctors" in the flippant title of this post refers mainly to two individuals: Daniel Moerman, PhD, the anthropologist who wrote the accompanying editorial, and Ted Kaptchuk, the Senior Author of the trial report. It does not refer to any of the other authors of the report. Second, I have no quarrel with the trial itself, which was quite good, or with the NEJM having published it, or even with most of the language in the article, save for the "spin" that Dr. Gorski has already discussed.
My quarrels are the same as those expressed by Drs. Gorski and Novella, and by all of us on the Placebo Panel at TAM. This post and the next will develop some of those points by considering the roles and opinions of Moerman and Kaptchuk, respectively.
A True Story
Late one night during the 1960s a friend and I, already in a cannabis-induced fog, wandered into a house that had been rented by one of his friends. There were about 8-10 'freaks' there (the term was laudatory at the time); I didn't know any of them. The air was thick with smoke of at least two varieties. After an uncertain interval I became aware of a guy who was having trouble breathing. He was sitting bolt upright in a chair, his hands on his knees, his mouth open, making wheezing sounds. He took short noisy breaths in, followed by what seemed to be very long breaths out, as though he was breathing through a straw. You could hear the wheezing in both directions. Others had also noticed that he was in distress; they tried to be helpful ("hey, man, ya want some water or somethin'?"), but he just shook his head. He couldn't talk. My friend, who had asthma himself, announced that this guy was having an asthma attack and asked if he or anyone else had any asthma medicine. No one did.


text:
1. Art in open spaces: Jack Poole Plaza, Vancouver, B.C.
The surprise here is the life-size Digital Orca sculpture breaching vertically from the Jack Poole Plaza, a triangular slice on the waterfront. And no, the whale isn't fuzzy; it's pixelated into Lego-like blocks. Also on the plaza is the Olympic cauldron--where the flame burned during last year's Winter Games--now on display permanently. North end of Thurlow St.; 866/785-8232.
2. Lessons in gardening: Hayes Valley Farm, San Francisco, CA
Plunked down on what used to be a freeway off-ramp, Hayes Valley Farm is the urban equivalent of the back-to-the-earth experience you used to have to drive to. Just a block from a strip of boutiques, city farmers are growing kale, snap peas, and beets. Drop by to learn composting or take a yoga class. Free yoga; soil classes from $25; 450 Laguna St.; hayesvalleyfarm.com
3. High-design farmlandia: Civic Center Park, Denver, CO
The gold dome of the Colorado State Capitol makes for a classic photo op--except for one thing: the chard, basil, and tomatoes now growing in Civic Center Park where there were once ubiquitous petunias. Grow Local Colorado and Denver Parks & Rec teamed up to tend these highly designed plots of edibles and donate the harvest. Broadway at Colfax Ave.; denvergov.org/parks
4. Art, movies, and music alfresco: Civic Space Park, Phoenix, AZ
Potholed parking lots and shabby warehouses had to make way for Civic Space Park, a 3-acre green gem set among office buildings, Arizona State University's downtown campus, and a light-rail stop. Time your visit for freebies: yoga classes (8 a.m. Sat), movies (Apr 22), and concerts (Apr 1, 15). Or wander the art gallery in the park's England building. At night, the netlike sculpture floating overhead, fountain to splash in, and tall, cylindrical light sticks all have an otherworldly glow. N. Central Ave. at Polk St.; phoenix.gov/parks
5. A city safari: Thomas C. Wales Park, Seattle, WA
The amphitheater-shaped bowl cut into a steep hillside at Thomas C. Wales Park is no accident--this was once a gravel pit. Now, it's dominated by the Quarry Rings sculpture, five rock-filled doughnuts perched in midair. Peer closer to spy nesting boxes for songbirds and slots to house bats. 2401 Sixth Ave. N.;


text:
Local Ruakaka builders Josh Mrsich and Isaac Holmes along with Greenpeace activists erect signs and hazard tape around the perimeter of the 50 hectare site proposed for the Marsden B coal fired power station's toxic ash dump. The ash dump would leak poisonous arsenic, mercury and cadmium into the surrounding environment.
© Greenpeace / Pullman
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Lol Their parody of yolo? What do you guys think of this? Funny or just annoyed that Yolo is being brought up?
Captain Jack, Johnny Depp!
It's good I expected better thought
I liked it.
Pretty catchy, I was just gunna share this but you beat me too it. ;D
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Let's face it: It's rare that a sequel is TRULY necessary. It's true for movies, books, and video games, and it's definitely true for music. Simply put, many musicians tell their tale in three to five minutes, and that's all they need.
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Others see "3-5 minutes" and decide "fuck hyphens."
Occasionally, though, artists feel the need to expand on a song's original vision, so they pen a sequel. Oftentimes it's completely rudderless, like the time Buddy Holly heard a rumor that Peggy Sue got married but was too lazy to find out for sure. Or when the devil returned to Georgia for a fiddle-playing rematch and he and Johnny played the same goddamned solos they had played years prior. Thanks for wasting six minutes of our already too short lives, guys.
Then there are songs with an actual clear second part, except they're so bad, so out of left field, or so depressing that they completely slaughter the original's intent. If The Empire Strikes Back had turned Darth Vader into a singing and dancing clown or killed Luke off in the first five minutes in favor of Vader and Leia ruling the Empire as husband and wife, nobody would be able to watch A New Hope with a straight face anymore. That's exactly what happened when ...
4 "Big Bad John" Lost All Sense of Realism With "The Cajun Queen"
The Original:
You've probably heard "Big Bad John" and probably assumed it was a Johnny Cash song, despite an entire Internet pointing your dumb ass to the real singer (Jimmy Dean). That's not to say it isn't Cash-y; it is. A gruff, deep-voiced narrator tells the story of a big burly man who rescued a bunch of miners from a collapsing mineshaft, only to be trapped inside and die alone. It's a sad, cautionary tale that implores you to tell captive miners to go screw, because if you help and the whole thing implodes, it's your ass.
"What year are you guys in? Have superheroes been invented yet? Cuz if so, one of them might help you."
The best part is how realistic it is. John was "six foot six and weighed 245," and he could punch a man to death. Well, shit, that sounds plausible. There are plenty of men out there that size, and a good hard punch can absolutely kill somebody. Even the part where he "grabbed a saggin' timber" to gain access to the miners makes sense. Sure, he moved a tree, but his adrenaline was pumping. And science has shown that the ability to lift heavy stuff because someone is trapped underneath it is actually very possible.
And then, once the mine completely collapses, he suffocates, just like an actual human would. Big Bad John could absolutely exist -- until the mine part anyway, when he would cease to exist. Jimmy Dean's dead now, so hopefully someone cool would write the tribute song to Real Big Bad John.
Ian Gavan/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
The Sequel:
All that gritty realism from the original is tossed out the window. In its place we get a bullshit tall tale that, if you told it to your grandchildren, they would immediately ask your doctors to up your meds. And they'd be right; clearly you need it.
In "The Cajun Queen," John's girlfriend (simply called the Cajun Queen, because Dean couldn't be bothered to sing "Linda") comes to town and demands entrance to the collapsed mine. Then, "without a sign of a light," and after single-handedly moving several tons of debris, she somehow tracks down the very-dead John and kisses his "cold blue lips." Two kisses later, John miraculously comes back to life and gets "the power of a hundred men," prompting him and the Queen to claw their way up and out of the mine like it was a damn carnival rock climb.
Ty Allison/Stone/Getty Images
"Man, what were those miner babies bitching about? This is easy!"
Remember how adrenaline can kick in when danger is afoot, effectively giving you super strength? Well, that doesn't happen simply because somebody kissed you, or if you're looking for someone who has been dead for Lord knows how long. And he was dead; cold blue lips do not lie, and unless she was telepathic and could teleport, she wasn't getting to him pre-death.
Oh, and she's incredibly fertile, too; she and John proceed to have "110 grandchildren" before kicking it for real at one point or whenever. Even if this were set in the Old West, that's a ridiculous amount, especially if Grandpa was legally dead for a while. Then again, he should have been legally dead forever, because Jimmy Dean should have left poor John to rot alone in the mines, instead of artificially resurrecting him for the sake of a happy-dappy-sappy ending.
Non-Musical Equivalent:
Rose swims back to Jack, dives a hundred feet underwater, drags his body back up to the surface, and hugs him until he comes back to life. Then they rebuild the Titanic with their bare hands and sail around the world on it.
3 The Narrator of "Him" Gets Brutally Dumped and Slowly Commits Suicide During "I Don't Need You"
The Original:
Rupert Holmes is known mainly for "The Pina Colada Song," and thank God there's no sequel to that (if there were, it would probably be called "On My 10th Colada of the Night Because I Forgot I Was Cheating on You for a Very Good Reason").
But Holmes had another massive hit called "Him." In the song, "him" is the guy his woman is cuckolding him with (not "Him," but "him." Got it?). He discovers the affair because "over by the window, there's a pack of cigarettes / not my brand you understand." Since nobody ever switches smoke brands ever, Holmes surmises that there's a third wheel in the relationship, and he's actually right on the money.
Fine Art Images/SuperStock/Getty Images
You're canoodling with that 120-year-old Russian man again, AREN'T YOU?
At this point, he stands up to his cheating woman and forces her to choose between her two men. He does so in the manliest manner imaginable:
Him him him, what's she gonna do about him?
She's gonna have to live without him
It's him or it's me, me, me
No one gets to get it for free
It's me or it's him
Good show, Mr. Pina Colada Man. Let her know you're not going to take this betrayal lying down, that she cannot play you any longer. She either chooses you or she chooses him.
The Sequel:
She chose him. Oopsie doodle!
Yes, as we learn in the Holmes-penned sequel, "I Don't Need You," Holmes' lady decided to stay with the man she was cheating on Holmes with, leaving Holmes all alone. But that's OK, right? He's strong and independent, right? After all, the song is called "I Don't Need You"; Holmes is clearly looking forward to starting anew, hopefully with a new lady who will love and appreciate him for what he truly is.
Namely, colorblind.
One listen, though, and you'll realize that Holmes is full of crap. He's wasting away, not eating, not going out, and generally moping and pining for his lady all day, while sarcastically claiming he's fine and doesn't need her:
I thank my lucky stars
That you have freed me
Cuz I'm losing weight at last
Losing weight and losing sleep
And losing my mind fast
I don't need you
I don't miss you in the way I expected
I have time to clean the sink
And feel neglected
Later on, he claims that he already forgot her phone number, then proceeds to recite it from memory. Considering most of us can't do that with our own parents, we're guessing Holmes is trying to tell his ex-lady something here.
"Mom, I've TRIED to call, but those dang second through 10th digits keep throwing me off. Numbers are hard, Mom!"
If you liked "Him" because it was a powerful tale of a man done wrong and standing up for himself, then tough tits. "Him" turned out to be nothing but a bluff that Holmes did not expect to be called out on. His woman's gone and his so-called inner strength has atrophied into an incredibly slow suicide solution: don't eat, don't sleep, don't go out, OD on pina coladas, be sad all day, and never take your woman back ... unless she wants to come back. Which she doesn't. Because you're Rupert Holmes.
Non-Musical Equivalent:
Cameron Diaz actually chooses Brett Favre in There's Something About Mary. Ben Stiller goes home and becomes a reclusive shut-in who starves himself to death while forever cursing the Green Bay Packers.
20th Century Fox
Then the Jets ... then the Vikings ... then whatever other team Favre joins for his inevitable next final comeback.


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Phillies Fan Tossed Out Of Mets Citi Field
No, this is not an April Fools joke. Reed Frazier, a Phillies fan who was working as a cameraman at the Mets new home, Citi Field, was told he could either remove his Phillies rain jacket or leave the building. Frazier, told by his boss to wear rain gear, did not see a problem with his jacket.
It wasn't even a Mets game; it was the stadiums opening game with the Red Storm vs.
It wasn't even a Mets game; it was the stadiums opening game with the Red Storm vs.Georgetown. Despite pleading his case that the jacket did not affect his job in anyway, he was still asked to leave.
Personally, I think he should sue for discrimination. If they were not going to provide him with a uniform or company rain gear, they had no right to tell him what logo he could and could not have on his jacket. Poor guy. Well, just let the Mets try to tell opposing fans who paid ridiculous prices for a ticket that they cannot come inside. In fact, I'd be happy to go to a Mets-Phillies game at Citi Field, dressed in all Phillies gear, just to see what would happen. But I am not going to pay more than 3x's the price to see the Phils play in New York as compared with my ticket price in Philly. If anyone else would like to pay for me to go though, that's fine :O) Just remember hospital bills may factor in… :O)
In other news, RHP Bobby Mosebach has been offered back to the Angels and they decided to take him. That leaves 3 relief pitchers and 2 spots to fill; JA Happ, Jack Taschner and Gary Majewski will battle for those spots. Happ pitched 2 2/3 innings in relief today against the Yankees and did not fair too well; he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. Happ may have difficulty adjusting to the pen as this is a role he is not used to. Taschner and Majewski each pitched a scoreless inning in yesterday's rout of the Blue Jays.
I am still crossing my fingers and toes that Gary Sheffield does not land in Philly. There have been rumors about Andruw Jones as well, but again, this guy is also way past his prime. In 2007, Jones hit .222 and far worse in 2008 with an average of .158 as mostly a pinch hitter. The Phillies need a pinch hitter, but not one batting .158. We already have Miguel Cairo who has performed pretty well this Spring and can still play the field; he is also versatile and can play multiple positions. If it were up to me at this point, I would go with Cairo. You still have Matt Stairs for power and Greg Dobbs for, well, just about everything! Chris Coste can be use off the bench too.
But of course, nothing is up to me…Mr. Amaro needs to work it out. Unless he would like a consultant…if so, I am available. Call me ;O)
(Cario photo & graphic design by Jenn)
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5 Comments
Is that story about the Phillies cameraman true? (I'm assuming everything I read is an April Fool's joke today.) If so, it's ridiculous. The Mets (and Yankees) really need to lighten up!
Boy, those New York teams just have no sense of humor! So glad I don't live there.
Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts
Well that just confirms it – they are all "Fuddy-duddy's" in NY!
Jane – yup, it's true…So sad.
Sue – Got that right!
Julia – You are FAR too nice :O) Ha, ha!
Oh man, the saga continues. I think it's hilarious. Who the hell cares what the man is wearing as long as he's wearing something? Right? Sue. I agree. Sue the Mets. Get Omar's money.


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Political Science
Jorge Heine's Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy in PS: Political Science and Politics
Jul 30/13
The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy (Oxford University Press, 2013), co-edited by Jorge Heine, was one of two books highlighted in the "Books by our Readers" section of the July 2013 issue (vol. 46, # 3) of PS: Political Science and Politics, the journal of the American Political Science Association (APSA), with a circulation of 16,000. No more than eight books a year are included in the "Spotlights" sidebar of this section.
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One piper's exploration of the music of the Scottish Lowlands, its history and its performance. It's a diary of discovery, not a series of essays. You're invited to make your own contributions using the comments option on most pages.
Through the Debateable Lands
- Details
- Created on Saturday, 14 December 2013 14:46
- Hits: 2552
I see the last entry here was in March. It has been a very eventful year, starting around that time, with workshopd and presentations, festival shows, two issues of Common Stock, a trip to the USA to give workshops on both sides of the country and back for lexctures at the Ntionl Piping Centre, and ending with the collapse of my hard-drive last wednesday.
Another fascinating weekend i spent at new Lanark, four days of workhops on composition organized by Distil.
The result of this has been the beginnings of an extended compostion for smallpipes/harp and string quintet. The working title 'Throug the Debateable Lands' is taken from Norman MacCaig's poem 'Crossing the Border'. The basic concept is to evoke the border lands as they were in the eraly years of James VI, using as thematic materilal a few tunes from the area/era, esdpecially the original border air of 'The Twa Corbies'. More about this soon I hope, as well as news of a pilot one-day workshop in Edinburgh in early April next year...
Hacking Hackie Honey
- Details
- Created on Friday, 29 March 2013 16:12
- Hits: 3273
I've spent this week practicing 'Hackie Honey' from Wm Dixon's MS and this morning had a moment of enlightenment. This is one of those tunes whose quaver runs sometimes seem to end at a cliff-edge - here is the first two bars of strain 5, for instance:
the last two notes of each bar seem to hang in the air with the result that, when I play them, the very last one, arguably the most important, gets thrown away in the rush to get the next note in place. I've struggled often with this kind of thing in music with this feature - a common device in the early 18th century repertoire, not just Dixon.
So what did I discover today? I found the trick, which is to treat those last two notes not as the end of the current phrase but as the beginning of the next phrase, almost as a pick-up. The music then runs on into the following passage and each note is much more likely to get its due attention.
What's more, this principle can be applied to all those six-quaver groups, and to many of the four-quaver ones too - treat the last two notes as the beginning of the next phrase.
Not only does this give the notes their full value, but it keeps the music driving on, shifting the 'weight' onto the next beat, just as the dancers shift their weight ready for the next step.
Maybe this is news to no-one but me; but if so, I wish someone had told me ages ago...
Distractions, distractions
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- Created on Tuesday, 26 February 2013 19:14
- Hits: 3508
Just in case you thought this blog was completed deceased I thought I'd better add a post, just to say I am yet again distracted, first by updgrading the website, then by upcoming presentations , to the International Bagpipe Conference on March 9th and then a workshop at the Bagpipe Society Blowout at the end of May, not to metnion the LBPS competitin. However, I have been listening again to some recordings I made a while back of tunes from Henry Atkinson's fiddle manuscript and from William Dixon's book. Hopefully I will get a moment to post about these soon...
pushing the envelope
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- Created on Tuesday, 06 November 2012 11:38
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Just a quick post here since there's been a rather extended gap. I've spent the last couple of weeks tuning the fiddle up again, for the first time for quite a while, preparing for an extraordinary weekend playing with Callum Armstrong, culminating in a performance at last Saturday's Annual Collogue in Edinburgh. Callum and I spent a day at Julian Goodacre's house in Peebles working on three tunes, two from William Dixon's manuscript and one of Callum's own tunes. The Dixon tunes were 'My Love Comes Passing By Me' and 'Gingling Geordie' [a tune which appears in several other collectins, including Playford's 'Original Scots Tunes']. However, Callum is such an inventive and adventurous [as well as exemely talented] musician that things were never going to be that simple. Some of the results will soon be available elsewhere on the site, but I have to say that there were moments during our day of practice where things happened that were unlikely to happen again, hence my remark on Saturday that 'you should have been here lastg night'. To sit down with a player like Callum [he is a student of baroque recorder at Trinity College, London] with only an outline plan for how the performance might proceed, and the knowledge that anything might happen in the next few bars, is likely sometimes to produce spectacular resutls, but is also just as likely to prove less than successful; either way it was a trully exciting experience for me; I hope it was, at least some of the time, for those in the audience on Saturday.
Johny Cock Thy Beaver
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- Created on Tuesday, 14 August 2012 18:48
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Playford's 1684 setting of this well-known lowland tune ['A Scottish tune to a ground' is Playford's note] was one of the tues I played recently at the LBPS evening at the Glasgow Piping Live! Festival. This is one of thoe tunes that the more I play it, the more complex the interpretation of its simple notation becomes.


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Feb 25, 2011 0
Fantasy Guru Daily: 2/25/11
The league now turns its focus from the labor negotiations to the combine in Indianapolis. With executives, coaches, agents, and prospects all in the same place, we are learning about draft plans, possible roster moves, and a whole lot more, which we cover in today's Fantasy Guru Daily.
Labor talks are over for now … but will resume on Tuesday. Representative from the league and NFLPA finished seven days of negotiations on Thursday with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service with mediator George H. Cohen. Cohen said, "Some progress was made, but very strong differences remain on the all-important core issues." At Cohen's suggestion, the two sides have agreed to continue mediation on Tuesday, March 1. The owners have meetings scheduled for March 2-3, with the CBA running out at 11:59p.m. ET on March 3. With a five-day break in talks, Cohen requested that the two sides continue to stay silent on matters discussed in mediation.
Kyle Orton is the Broncos' starter for now … according to HC John Fox. While Fox said Orton would be the team's #1 QB if the season started right now, he did say [...]


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Striking Conversation (or the Labor Day Hangova)
Leave it to my pessimistic and oft paralyzing misanthrope of a colleague, Mr. Krause, to dampen everyone's Labor Day spirit by mentioning those two words most feared by fans of our national pastime: Baseball Strike.
Chris Carpenter pitched a one-hit, complete game shut out against the Brewers to further solidify the Cardinals' grips on the NL Central crown and Al wants to talk about a potential baseball strike!?! This malicious posturing is akin to sleeping with your crazy ex-girlfriend on the eve of your wedding.
Why screw with pain?
Yet Mr. Krause has made a lofty name for himself by dropping unfounded speculation. So we'll just go with it.
And by go with it I mean briefly say that given the collusion and vindictive-laden history of Major League Baseball and its owners, the Player's Union has got to have the right to strike as a last (albeit catastrophic) resort. While the horrors of the impetuous strike of 1994 continue to wreak havoc on the game (disillusion among fans, PED scandals, destruction of small market teams, etc), the Union would be absolutely insane to go so far again.
But still, the choice must be there for them to have any leverage.
As great as baseball is, it is not responsible for governing a people. It is not responsible for policing our streets, putting out fires, getting people to work. If they wanna strike, they should be able to do so… then watch as our interest in the English Premier League collectively jumps to dramatic new heights.
If it ever came to that — baseball taking itself for granted… again — then I think we all know how serious the alcoholism epidemic will become among Major Leaguers. I know this because my Labor Day (just one day without work) looked a lot like this:
|Returns Oct. 8th
|Alcohol Mash-Up
Now imagine 750 out-of-work Sidney Ponsons running through the streets of our nation and tell me the Players Union doesn't know better.
Hate me 'cuz I walk the walk, just don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.
*Cap tip to Tosh.0 on the video.
13 Comments
I believe soccer would slip in to take the place of our national game. It has been nipping on the heals for a long time. Maybe I should look for MLSblogs to start taking off? Somebody should get a hold of Olbermann to make sure he knows a namedropper over there too? I'm just saying..
He drank it after he threw up into the cup??? Well – I think I just lost my appetite for dinner….
Tom — I'm sure someone there knows Beckham. Maybe he'll even write a blog there and update it once every four or five months or so like all the good players do!
Julia — I'm with ya. I've done dumb things, but never that.
750 out-of-work Ponsons…they'd all be knights, then, so couldn't they go and defend the Netherlands?
That was sick what that guy did!🙂
And Jeff I won't hate you cuz your right!!
Great post:
I wanna see Allen's response.
And A drunk Sidney Ponson:
no one wants to see that!!
–Ted "TTW/T" —
English Premier League, yeah okay…you'd have to learn to call it football… a drunk Ponson would be like a normal Vinnie Jones during his professional english footbal (soccer) days… Lets see you would probably be a Manchester United fan, thats probably about the same as a Cards fan in baseball… and Allen would probably be a Birmingham City fan…and yeah I've definately done some stupid things but, the guy drinking after pukin…never…I really like the girl head first into the can…hahahahaha thats funny…
Outside the Phillies Looking In
Based on my observations of his Facebook page, Sidney seems to only post about getting drunk when he's employed. After getting DFA'd by KC in August, he's friended people, posted comments on their walls and pictures–but no more rambling status updates about getting hammered.
IBDB — Netherlands, Dutch, Orange… it's all the same.
Ted — That guy in the vid drinking his own vomit WAS allen. Haha.
Peter — I always thought I'd be more of a Chelsea type of guy. I though Man United was more of a Red Sox/Yankees type of team. But I what do I know? Nothing… about soccer– I mean, "football" that is.
Mary — That is funny. And maybe one of the funniest comments I've ever read here. I imagine his FB status updates and immediately laugh myself off my chair. I'm not kidding.
Jeff — Some of the things Sidney has posted as his Facebook status have made me wonder if he's on something other than Milwaukee's Finest. Either that or he's just really philosophical when he's blitzed.
Mary — Hehe. I'm willing to believe it's something "other"…🙂
Prince — YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!
I'm with Prince: YEEESH! I was fine until the first vomit thing. I was eating breakfast and…..
Jane — Thought about putting a disclaimer there… but what fun would that be?


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Batman and Superman actors through the years
Published On: Mar 24 2016 10:34:20 AM PDT Updated On: Mar 28 2016 09:53:18 AM PDT
With Ben Affleck's debut underneath the Caped Crusader's cowl in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," take a look back at some of the other men who've played Batman and Superman.
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By Tom Philpott: Military Update
If tax laws mirror a nation's values, then America clearly values its military personnel, and more so today than a few years ago.
Combat-zone tax exclusions, combined with changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and child tax credits, have reduced or even wiped out the tax liability of thousands of military families. For many, taxes have been replaced by extra cash in the form of refundable tax credits.
"That's exactly what these credits were designed to do for the low-income individual," said Vincent Mullett, a retired Marine and a senior IRS tax specialist in San Marcos, Calif., near Camp Pendleton. But Mullett said he knows of colonels (O-6s) who now qualify for EITC and child tax credits.
Mullett and Raphael Tulino, IRS spokesman for southern California and Nevada, spent a few hours with Military Update reviewing 2005 tax highlights for service members. Later, Army Lt. Col. Jane Fenton, executive director of the Defense Department's Armed Forces Tax Council, offered more insights.
The first thing military taxpayers should know, IRS officials said, is they don't have to tackle tax returns on their own. Free help is available year round, on military bases stateside and overseas, through the IRS' Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
Staffed by IRS-trained volunteers using the latest tax-filing software, VITA is open to active duty, military retirees, reserve component members, service spouses and survivors. Tax returns filed electronically can generate refunds in seven to 10 days. That should encourage even cash-strapped families to avoid the fees of commercial tax services or the exorbitant fees charged for so-called Refund Anticipation Loans.
Military members now serving in combat areas don't have to worry about 2005 tax returns on time. IRS tax actions are suspended until they leave combat areas, and then they will have six months to file. Even that deadline is extended automatically by the number of days a member served in a combat zone from Jan. 1 to April 15, the normal U.S. tax-filing period.
Even in peacetime, military personnel enjoy some tax breaks. That's because a portion of military pay is provide as tax-free housing and food allowances, or "in kind" government housing and meals. On average, said Fenton, allowances represent roughly 25 percent of officer compensation and 33 percent of enlisted. The average value of tax breaks on those allowances, she said, is about $5,000 for officers and $2,500 for enlisted.
In a combat zone, all enlisted and warrant officer pays are non-taxable. Only the combat tax exclusion for commissioned officers is capped, for 2005 at $6,529 tax free a month. A member who serves even a day in a combat zone receives that month's pay tax free. Likewise, all bonuses or special pays received are tax free, which encourages members to re-enlist or extend service obligations while serving in combat areas.
Combat tax breaks become even more valuable when combined with tax credits available to millions of other Americans.
Tom Philpott can be contacted at Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, Va. 20120-1111, or by e-mail at: firstname.lastname@example.com