Tuesday, November 30, 2004
116 Days
Sharon Rocha took the stand today to testify in the penalty phase of Scott Peterson's murder trial. She spoke of the 116 days they suffered before her daughter's body was found.
Chilling excerpt: Laci Peterson’s family and friends erupted in tears as Rocha recounted moments before her daughter’s funeral.
“I knew that I needed to spend some time with her,” Rocha said, clutching a tissue. “I knew she was in the casket and I knew the baby was there and I knew she didn’t have arms to hold him. ... She should have had her arms.”
I can't even imagine sitting in the same room with the man did this to your child and grandchild, and feeling so powerless to do anything about it. I hope that whatever happens, the families are able to find peace.
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Chilling excerpt: Laci Peterson’s family and friends erupted in tears as Rocha recounted moments before her daughter’s funeral.
“I knew that I needed to spend some time with her,” Rocha said, clutching a tissue. “I knew she was in the casket and I knew the baby was there and I knew she didn’t have arms to hold him. ... She should have had her arms.”
I can't even imagine sitting in the same room with the man did this to your child and grandchild, and feeling so powerless to do anything about it. I hope that whatever happens, the families are able to find peace.
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Monday, November 29, 2004
Esther?
Apparently Madonna wants to be called Esther now to keep in line with her belief in the Kabbalah. I don't really care about that, but I just can't get over how more and more she just keeps looking like Christopher Walken to me. I don't think this is going to end well for her.
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Sunday, November 28, 2004
Real Chicago
This looks really neat! It is a collection of photos from the Chicago Sun-Times from the 1940's to the present.
Some interesting ones:
Our Lady of the Angels School Fire Funeral
Muhammad Ali Before the Illinois Athletic Commission
Student Nurses Slain
State Schools for the Mentally Retarded
September 11th
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Some interesting ones:
Our Lady of the Angels School Fire Funeral
Muhammad Ali Before the Illinois Athletic Commission
Student Nurses Slain
State Schools for the Mentally Retarded
September 11th
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Friday, November 26, 2004
Follow the Cheese
Should you so desire, you can now follow the progress of the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich as it makes its way from Ft. Lauderdale to its new home in Vegas.
Jim DeFede, a journalist at the Miami Herald, has offered to drive the item safely there, and will be blogging their progress the whole way.
Vaya con Dios!
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Jim DeFede, a journalist at the Miami Herald, has offered to drive the item safely there, and will be blogging their progress the whole way.
Vaya con Dios!
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Thursday, November 25, 2004
Squanto-Mania!
I love Pilgrims, but now that I'm stuffed with turkey I was getting kind of sick of the "Puritanicalness" of it all and I thought I would try to highlight some other aspect of the story for my blog today.
I searched the 'net to find a story about Squanto, and how he really got shafted.... first he was kidnapped and dragged to England, then got home in time to find his tribe dead and finally ended up saving a bunch of useless (of course) English folks so they could steal what was left of his world. I ended up finding this. Enjoy.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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I searched the 'net to find a story about Squanto, and how he really got shafted.... first he was kidnapped and dragged to England, then got home in time to find his tribe dead and finally ended up saving a bunch of useless (of course) English folks so they could steal what was left of his world. I ended up finding this. Enjoy.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Scholarship for Speaking Klingon!
Monday, November 22, 2004
Grab your pink pillbox hat!
It's time to re-enact Dealy Plaza with the new game JFK Reloaded!
Apparently they don't buy into the conspiracy theory, so I'm guessing you don't get to choose whether you want to fire from the grassy knoll or the book depository building. And, really, even if you could get past the fact that this game is pretty tasteless, it seems like a complete waste of money. I mean, at most 6 shots in and then it's all over except for Kevin Costner droning on endlessly, "Back and to the left, back and to the left, back and to the left..."
I wonder if you win a power up and get the "Magic Bullet?"
Related Article
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Apparently they don't buy into the conspiracy theory, so I'm guessing you don't get to choose whether you want to fire from the grassy knoll or the book depository building. And, really, even if you could get past the fact that this game is pretty tasteless, it seems like a complete waste of money. I mean, at most 6 shots in and then it's all over except for Kevin Costner droning on endlessly, "Back and to the left, back and to the left, back and to the left..."
I wonder if you win a power up and get the "Magic Bullet?"
Related Article
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Sunday, November 21, 2004
The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names
This database, at the Yad Vashem site, is now home to searchable biographical information on 3 million of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust.
Now that it is online, they are encouraging people to check for their family members, and add any information that is missing. They describe it as a race against time, to record the information of as many of the lost as possible, before they fade completely from memory.
"The online Database creates a link not only with the dead but also among the living, within the Jewish people," said Nobel Laureate Prof. Elie Wiesel as he recently filled out a Page of Testimony for his father, Shlomo. "It strengthens the connections between families, between cities, between communities. Furthermore, it brings a heightened awareness and a deepened sense of remembrance."
I just think this is awe inspiring. I can't think of many things I've come across on the internet that are this worthy of anyone's time and effort. This is just amazing.
.*.*.
Now that it is online, they are encouraging people to check for their family members, and add any information that is missing. They describe it as a race against time, to record the information of as many of the lost as possible, before they fade completely from memory.
"The online Database creates a link not only with the dead but also among the living, within the Jewish people," said Nobel Laureate Prof. Elie Wiesel as he recently filled out a Page of Testimony for his father, Shlomo. "It strengthens the connections between families, between cities, between communities. Furthermore, it brings a heightened awareness and a deepened sense of remembrance."
I just think this is awe inspiring. I can't think of many things I've come across on the internet that are this worthy of anyone's time and effort. This is just amazing.
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Saturday, November 20, 2004
Plimoth Plantation
There are a lot of really cool things about living in Colorado, but sometimes I wish we moved around a lot so we could live near all sorts of historic places. This time of year it would be neat to live near Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Here's an interesting article from the same site on the origins of Thanksgiving and how it grew out of cycles of Days of Humiliation and Fasting, and the Days of Thanksgiving and Praise. Honestly, we could probably use more of the former in this country, and to dwell more on the reasoning behind the latter.
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Here's an interesting article from the same site on the origins of Thanksgiving and how it grew out of cycles of Days of Humiliation and Fasting, and the Days of Thanksgiving and Praise. Honestly, we could probably use more of the former in this country, and to dwell more on the reasoning behind the latter.
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Woman Sues Railroad
Sigh
Quote: A Jeannette woman who was slightly injured after being struck by a train while walking along railroad tracks sued Norfolk Southern Corp. Thursday for failing to warn pedestrians that trains travel on tracks.
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Quote: A Jeannette woman who was slightly injured after being struck by a train while walking along railroad tracks sued Norfolk Southern Corp. Thursday for failing to warn pedestrians that trains travel on tracks.
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Friday, November 19, 2004
Let's Not Link Homeschooling to Partisan Politics
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
BEHOLD!!!!!
In case I wasn't the last person on Earth to see this, I give you, The Virgin Mary in Grilled Cheese! Really! You should hurry though, because THIS IS NOT A HOAX and there are only 4 days left. Plus it's already up to almost $70,000.
Among it's many selling points is that it's 10 years old, so given the lack of mold it can also be numbered among The Incorruptibles.
All kidding aside, The Incorruptibles are very interesting, and if you have a minute you should surf around and check it out a little. I've always really found them fascinating...
Editing to Add: After much research, we believe the grilled cheese may not represent Mary at all. It appears to be Bette Davis, who having died in 1989 was available for grilled cheese engagements at the time this was produced. The ultimate irony for us old time movie fans, is that now we can pretend the grilled cheese sandwich is talking to us and saying, "You couldn't sell me on Ebay if I wasn't in this glass box!" And then we can say, "But cha AAH, Bette! Ya AAH in that box!" a la What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? Or maybe that's just me...
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Tuesday, November 16, 2004
We're off to see
Larrysface.com, the most wonderful blah blah blah, well it falls apart after that...
Apparently, the whole thing started with a picture of this guy's brother, Larry, and some friends who photoshop, and blossomed from there. It's pretty hilarious, and a lucky thing Larry's a good sport!
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Monday, November 15, 2004
The Grey Album
You know what, this is old news, but it's new to me, so I'm blogging it...
Apparently a DJ named Dangermouse (I'm old, so to me this will always be Dangermouse, but whatever) has taken a rather novel approach to music. He's taken the vocal content from Jay-Z's Black Album and used music from the Beatles White Album as a remixed background for it. He's rechristened this work The Grey Album. I snicker, but I would probably do the same. You can read more about it here.
If you would like to listen to songs from this, or download the whole thing (after reading about the harrowing legal battles that have ensued), have at it.
It's really kind of interesting, but he uses the "N" word a lot. And that takes it right off the list of music that can get played around the kids, which is about the only place I get to listen to music these days. I can only imagine trying to explain the etymology of that particular gem of the English language during our next vocabulary lesson. Not to mention, can't have that blasting out the windows of the minivan with everyone singing along as I pull up at Homeschool Day at the Capitol! Nope, when that ugliness butts into their lives it's not going to be on my account... Thanks anyway, Dangermouse and Jay-Z, it was a cool idea!
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Apparently a DJ named Dangermouse (I'm old, so to me this will always be Dangermouse, but whatever) has taken a rather novel approach to music. He's taken the vocal content from Jay-Z's Black Album and used music from the Beatles White Album as a remixed background for it. He's rechristened this work The Grey Album. I snicker, but I would probably do the same. You can read more about it here.
If you would like to listen to songs from this, or download the whole thing (after reading about the harrowing legal battles that have ensued), have at it.
It's really kind of interesting, but he uses the "N" word a lot. And that takes it right off the list of music that can get played around the kids, which is about the only place I get to listen to music these days. I can only imagine trying to explain the etymology of that particular gem of the English language during our next vocabulary lesson. Not to mention, can't have that blasting out the windows of the minivan with everyone singing along as I pull up at Homeschool Day at the Capitol! Nope, when that ugliness butts into their lives it's not going to be on my account... Thanks anyway, Dangermouse and Jay-Z, it was a cool idea!
.*.*.
Beavers Make Dam Out of Stolen Money
Friday, November 12, 2004
Scott Peterson Guilty!
Thursday, November 11, 2004
My goodness!
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
I don't see good things for the Peterson jury.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
p.s. i'll find my frog
him name is hopkin green frog
Apparently this has been all over the internet, but I didn't see it until today when it appeared on Pop Culture Junk Mail. Keep clicking on the pictures to open new pages...
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Apparently this has been all over the internet, but I didn't see it until today when it appeared on Pop Culture Junk Mail. Keep clicking on the pictures to open new pages...
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Root Canal, lucky me!
I got a root canal today, yikes! It was a re-treat of one I had done last year that failed. Man oh man was it a nasty experience.
They numbed me up quite well. The endodontist said that he doesn't mess around and he shot me so full of anesthetic that my eyebrow is numb on that side 2 hours later! For a bottom tooth!
When they got into the abscess there was a horrible stench. I apologized, and the endodontist and his assistant were very polite about it, but it was not a nice thing at all. Ewwww! They just kept using the suction and looking kind of pained, and I just kept wishing I was somewhere else and eventually they asked me to write them a very big check and I left.
The moral of the story? I don't know. I brush my teeth and floss and even see the dentist regularly and this still happens. I guess the moral of the story is there are some good things about dying young before your teeth start to go...
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They numbed me up quite well. The endodontist said that he doesn't mess around and he shot me so full of anesthetic that my eyebrow is numb on that side 2 hours later! For a bottom tooth!
When they got into the abscess there was a horrible stench. I apologized, and the endodontist and his assistant were very polite about it, but it was not a nice thing at all. Ewwww! They just kept using the suction and looking kind of pained, and I just kept wishing I was somewhere else and eventually they asked me to write them a very big check and I left.
The moral of the story? I don't know. I brush my teeth and floss and even see the dentist regularly and this still happens. I guess the moral of the story is there are some good things about dying young before your teeth start to go...
.*.*.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Homeschooled Student Receiving Grades at Public School
Simone Phillips was withdrawn from school three years ago, but her teachers keep filing grades and standardized test scores for her, even though her parents have tried repeatedly to tell them their daughter is no longer a student there. Nice.
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Sunday, November 07, 2004
We are MAD for Godzilla!
Or, at least the members of the family who are under 5 ft. tall are. And apparently they're not the only ones. The folks down at the Book of Ratings have sat down and rated Godzilla's Enemies. Although, technically in many of the movies, many of these creatures fight WITH Godzilla rather than against him, I'll just be sad that I know that, rather than trying to make everyone else adhere to the reality of Godzilla's universe...
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Anne Coulter on the Election
Right up until the very last minute, we were being told that this election would be so close it would be decided by the last vote, which would likely go to Kerry. It's interesting to note, now that the dust has cleared, the President Bush won by the largest margin of the popular vote in history. Anne Coulter's op/ed piece is appropriately scathing, as we would expect.
Quote: The Democrats threw everything they had at this election. They ran a phony Vietnam War hero and a phony Southerner. They had middle-aged women executives at MTV hawking "Rock the Vote" to entice the most uninformed young people to vote for Kerry. They had Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews and New York Times darling Eminem. They had documentaries, books, the universities, Hollywood (and the French!) on their side.
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Quote: The Democrats threw everything they had at this election. They ran a phony Vietnam War hero and a phony Southerner. They had middle-aged women executives at MTV hawking "Rock the Vote" to entice the most uninformed young people to vote for Kerry. They had Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews and New York Times darling Eminem. They had documentaries, books, the universities, Hollywood (and the French!) on their side.
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Still Insane
Couldn't get in to blog yesterday, so I'm trying to catch up today...
We're still playing Insaniquarium Deluxe daily, although not quite as frantically as we were. Final verdict? Definitely $19.95 well-spent...
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We're still playing Insaniquarium Deluxe daily, although not quite as frantically as we were. Final verdict? Definitely $19.95 well-spent...
.*.*.
Friday, November 05, 2004
Easy, no sew Christmas gift idea!
Fleece Ponchos! From the message boards at Five in a Row.
Edited to add: My mom pointed out that there are about a zillion crafts at this same site here, and in poking around I noticed it was a local radio station. I wonder how they show people the crafts on the air...
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Edited to add: My mom pointed out that there are about a zillion crafts at this same site here, and in poking around I noticed it was a local radio station. I wonder how they show people the crafts on the air...
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Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Stupid Learning
I was talking with a homeschooling mom today and this article came up. It's one of my favorites but I don't think I've blogged it, so I thought I'd put it here for folks to read. I really like his take on things, not totally unschoolish, but more child-led than many approaches.
Quote: Educators should have and meet objectives. But the objectives must translate to the every-day life of the student. We don't educate our children to pass tests; we educate them so they can perform in and enjoy the real world.
Right now our education system is bassackwards. We teach sub skills and concepts and search for an application. But we should be doing just the opposite: looking for what our kids want and need to live their lives, and teach the sub skills and concepts that support that. If it's not used outside of school, then it shouldn't be on the list of objectives.
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Quote: Educators should have and meet objectives. But the objectives must translate to the every-day life of the student. We don't educate our children to pass tests; we educate them so they can perform in and enjoy the real world.
Right now our education system is bassackwards. We teach sub skills and concepts and search for an application. But we should be doing just the opposite: looking for what our kids want and need to live their lives, and teach the sub skills and concepts that support that. If it's not used outside of school, then it shouldn't be on the list of objectives.
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President Bush's Victory Speech
Full text here.
Quote: There's an old saying, "Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks." In four historic years, America has been given great tasks, and faced them with strength and courage. Our people have restored the vigor of this economy, and shown resolve and patience in a new kind of war. Our military has brought justice to the enemy, and honor to America. Our nation has defended itself, and served the freedom of all mankind. I'm proud to lead such an amazing country, and I'm proud to lead it forward.
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Quote: There's an old saying, "Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks." In four historic years, America has been given great tasks, and faced them with strength and courage. Our people have restored the vigor of this economy, and shown resolve and patience in a new kind of war. Our military has brought justice to the enemy, and honor to America. Our nation has defended itself, and served the freedom of all mankind. I'm proud to lead such an amazing country, and I'm proud to lead it forward.
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Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Don't Sit Around Reading Blogs Today!
Get Out and VOTE!!!
Oh, and if you're in Colorado, please take a minute to check out this site Coloradoans Against a Really Stupid Idea. Thank you.
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Oh, and if you're in Colorado, please take a minute to check out this site Coloradoans Against a Really Stupid Idea. Thank you.
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Monday, November 01, 2004
You know, many people "from France" settle in Canada...
I wonder if these trick or treaters were at Beldar, Prymaat and Connie's house? If so, did they get chicken embryos too?
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Blood of Heroes
