Trip Tuesday

Date:                                       Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
Word of the Day:                     prosopography(pros\uh\PUG\ruh\fee); a description of a person's appearance, career, personality, etc

Weight:                                    206 pounds

Goal:                                       lose 100 pounds in one year duration

Pounds to lose:                        74 pounds

Waist Size:                               43 inches
Rowing Duration:                    79 minutes. 41 seconds

I love the word of the day today, it has such cache, I am really going to try and incorporate it into my daily use, so learn it, because I don't want to have to keep giving you it's definition.

The rowing was a little easier on CC today (than yesterday,) but I'm still behind my regular indicator, I don't know why I seem to be lacking a little zump, but there it is, I'm sure I'll be my regular self in no time, I hope I'll be my regular self.

United Parcel Service (UPS) delivered a Barbie item yesterday, and we are so pleased.  Our niece Jessie is hoping that she'll get this particular item on Christmas Day, and it is a good thing that Zac saw to ordering it from Amazon, because now, not only have the items gone way up in price, you can't locate the item anywhere, no store in Gainesville, Florida seems to be carrying them anymore, like I've said many times before, we're lucky!


 It took a very sharp turn towards the cold yesterday and I for one was sorry that I did not bring my mink/leather coat down here to keep me warm.  I bought this coat/jacket from the Alan Cherry store over twenty (20) years ago and there is still lots of life in it, I find if you take care of something, and if it is/was of quality,  it will last you a lifetime, I've got the coat to prove it!


Zac and I managed to get in a little baby-sitting yesterday as both Louise and Biff had places that they had to go to, it turned out that I really was just taking care of the little one, Jessie, as Raphael was going with his father, Biff,  to a basketball practice and Sally was away at a swimming practice.  Later, that evening Zac had to go to the swim hall to pick up Sally, which he did, and shortly after they got back from the hall, Louise returned home from her meeting at her workplace.

Louise, she's so wonderful, had prepared the dinner and she made enough for all of us; Louise makes excellent chile which normally I hate, but I do appreciate Louise's cooking, it is rather amazing to see how fast Louise can prepare the evening dinner with such very little time.

Whilst I took care of Jessie last night, we spent the time playing with her Barbie Dolls, and with her, let me try to get this right, PetStuff playthings, they are these little ceramic animals of different shapes, sizes and colours, and Jessie is absolutely crazy about them.  After playing, I read Jessie, the Barbie Dolls, and all of the little PetStuff animals, a book on Barbie's cousin who was getting married.

Zac frequently says that he doesn't know how I have the patience and the focus to play dolls with a six-year old, but the plain truth is that I really enjoy spending this one-on-one human time with Jessie, for me, it is such quality time and I know that Jessie and I are forming a deep and lasting bond.

On the weekend that just occured, Louise found a note that her youngest daughter Jessie had written about me, and Louise read me the note that said, in quite alot of detail, why she loves having me for an Uncle.  I was very much touched by her tenderness, candor and honesty.

Children don't miss a thing and when you have an above-average child, such as Jessie, (I'm sorry folks but I am not exaggerating, Jessie has had intelligence tests given to her and they indicate that she is quite above average intelligence, Jessie is in the genius realm, like me, Jessie will probably one day belong to MENSA) you have to give all that you can, you can't cheat her because Jessie will discover it and you better have armed yourself with plenty of energy because Jessie's energy seems to be endless, like all children.

Fortunately, Zac and I have a secret weapon to use with Jessie and that is our beloved dog, Winter.  Jessie loves Winter, probably as much as she is capable of loving anyone and Winter, God Bless her, loves Jessie equally and seems to have endless patience with regard to how Jessie is constantly hugging her, leading her around by her collar and being lectured on what is right and wrong.

A great plus in having all the children play with Winter is that Winter gets alot of exercise, and the children's energy never runs out, unlike ours, so Winter is in much better shape because of the children playing with her, in addition, Winter obviously feels the love because she wants to spend her time with the children as much as they want to spend it with her. 

There are now only eleven (11) days until Christmas Day which means there are only ten (10) days to complete your Christmas Shopping, please don't tell me that is still too soon for you to begin getting your presents, I can't take it. 

I am getting rather anxious about how fast Christmas Day is approaching and I am about ninety (90) percent completed, there is just one major gift for me to purchase and a whole bunch of stuffing stuffers, which are hard to get because Zac is always with me.  .Maybe, I can impose on my wonderful sister-in-law (she really is more like a sister and not like an-inlaw at all,) Louise, to help me out a little, again.

I have really good news for you again, it seems that Aspirin can cut the Cancer death rate, yes Aspirin's ability to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke has been well documented, but researchers now say a small daily dose of the drug can also cut the resk of death rates of more than 25,000 people who had participated in randomize controlled trials of aspirin that ended up to twenty (20) years earlier, they found that those who took the drug were twenty (20) percent less likely to have died of solid tumour cancers than those taking placebos. 

A new report from British scientists experts warn the study isn't strong enough to recommend healthy people start taking a pill that can cause bleeding and other problems.

In a new observational analysis published online Tuesday in the medical journal Lancet, Peter Rothwell of the University of Oxford and colleagues looked at eight studies that included more than 25,000 patients and cut the risk of death from certain cancers by 20 percent.

While some experts said the analysis adds to evidence of aspirin's potential to cut cancer risk, others said it falls short of changing advice to healthy people, and it failed to show the benefits apply equally to women, pay attention Lily, Marta and Louise, all of you who are women.
The trials mostly compared men who took a daily dose of at least 75 milligrams of aspirin for heart problems to people who took a placebo or another drug.  On average, the studies lasted at least four years. 
Researchers used national cancer registries to get information on participants after the studies ended,  (something I wish they had done, oh well,) though they weren't sure how many aspirin takers continued using it or how many people in the comparison groups may have started.

The researchers said that the projected risk after two decades of dying from cancers like lung and prostate would be twenty (20) percent lower in groups who had taken aspirin, and thirty-five (35)percent lower for gastrointestinal cancers like colon cancer.  These odds are figured from smaller numbers, there were 326 lung cancer deaths in all, for example. 

Only one-third of people in the analysis were women, not enough to calculate any estimates for breast cancer.  There appeared to be no benefit to taking more than seventy-five (75) milligrams daily,  roughly the amount in a European dose of baby aspirin and a bit less than the baby aspirin dose in the United States (U.S.,) why can't they ever include Canada, I guess we have our own researchers, but I sincerly hope Canadian researchers don't forget about our American friends.

The analysis left out a high-quality experiment that tested aspirin every other day in nearly 40,000 U.S. women.   No reduction in cancer risk was seen except for lung cancer deaths in that trial.  No funding was provided for the new Lancet analysis but several of the authors have been paid for work for companies that make aspirin and similar drugs.  Scientists said it would take some time to digest the study results and figure out which people should take aspirin.

Eric Jacobs, an American Cancer Society epidemiologist, called it a "major contribution" and said the study results, in addition to previous research, suggested aspirin's effects on the risk of dying from several cancers "appear likely."  Others said the study wasn't strong enough for doctors to start recommending aspirin.

One concern is that the studies were designed to look at cardiovascular risks, so the groups of people being compared may differ on things that affect cancer risk, such as family history of the disease. It was also questioned that drawing conclusions about people's cancer risk beyond the several years they were tracked.

Aspirin has long been recommended for some people with heart problems. But it can have serious side effects, like bleeding in the stomach and intestines, and poses risks in groups like the elderly who are prone to falls.  I, for one, am a big example of not being able to take aspirin as it causes my legs and arms to show alot of bruising which is probably indicative of "other bleeding."  It bothers me that I can't take Aspirin, and every now and then I do try and take it for a bit because I worry about "heart disease." 

"Heart Disease" is very common and genetic in my family, but I always have to STOP taking the Aspirin because of bruising, this last time the bruising took over one month to go away so I think, and hope, that I have finally learned that I simply can't take Aspirin and will have to count on my doctor, better eating and exercise to steer any "heart disease" away from me.

"Balancing the risks and benefits of aspirin is really important and probably something that needs to be done on an individual basis," said Ed Yong, Cancer Research United Kingdom (U.K.'s)  head of health evidence and information.  He was not linked to the study.  "If anyone is considering aspirin on a regular basis, they should talk to their doctor first," which I did, (I don't want you to think that I blindly started taking the Aspirin on my own, because I didn't.) Yong said.  He warned people should not think of aspirin as a guarantee against cancer, pay attention people, and other prevention strategies like not smoking and keeping a healthy body weight were essential.  That is one thing I have going for me, I don't smoke!

Well, I think I've given you lots to mentally "digest," so it is now time for me to walk my baby, otherwise known as (aka) Winter.  Have a great day!

Topics coming soon:

Art
Politics
Technology

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Mittens on Monday

Date:                                       Monday, December 13th, 2010
Word of the Day:                    gallivant(GALL\uh\vant); to wander about, seeking pleaure or diversion; gad

Weight:                                   206 pounds

Pounds to lose:                       74 pounds
Waist Size:                             43 inches
Rowing Duration:                    71 minutes, six (6) minutes, five seconds

Clearly, you can tell that I had difficulty spending time on CC today, I had a headache and couldn't get into it, oh well, an hour and a bit is better than nothing, not much, but better.

I know that you're going to think that I am just a biased Uncle, and maybe to some degree, you are right, however, my kids, and I'm talking all three (3) of them, Sally, Jessie and Raphael were excellent in the church play on Sunday.

Jessie and Raphael both had alot of lines and Zac and I both were impressed with the fact that the children did not let their parts overwhelm them, they both read their lines well.  Sally also read well, but she is twelve (12) years old, she has been around awhile!

Raphael, if he would like to be an actor one day, could do just that as he really got into his part of the "donkey" and at times he had all of us laughing out loud.  Jessie, at six years of age was amazing, and you just have to believe me on that, while our wonderful Sally seemed relaxed and had a good time on stage which was most enjoyable for the rest of us watching.   And Louise, yes, an extra bonus was hearing Louise sing; she has a very lovely voice, what a nice surprise finding that out!

Evidently, the play is a traditional Christmas play put on by many churches for many, many years, but I found the script fresh, funny and tender and I was very, very impressed with the entire production, good job kids, I tell you, you all were amazing! 

Okay people, for the first time since we have been in Gainesville, Florida, Zac and I both looked at a house that both of us would not mind owning.  The house was a four-bedroom, bright, sunny home and the only drawback, besides the one pink-counter bathroom, was that the swimming pool was a little on the small side, but, ironically, this is not a deal-breaker for us, enough of the other boxes that we wanted ticked got checked!  So, we shall see what we are going to see.    

There are now only twelve (12) days left until Christmas Day and yes, I am now singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas," and I am trying to acquire a partridge in a pear tree, this is not easy, "PetSmart" does not carry partridges, and they looked at me like I was missing a thing or three!      

Oh to have the gift of seeing in the future, (something that I'm very grateful that I can't do,) would Bernard Madoff do things differently,  it is so sad to hear that Bernie Madoff's own son has fallen victim to Mr. Madoff's unquestionable greed.  I don't know if you know this but Mark Madoff committed suicide on the weekend, this marks the third death that is outright due to the actions of Bernard Madoff, and I hope Mr. Madoff remembers each death, each day, for the rest of his life. 

There is now just eight (8) days until it is officially Winter and the days will start to get longer, I always feel alot better when I know the days are just that bit longer each and every day.  I don't mind Winter, I just hate the cold, and it's not even the cold I hate, it's the "cold wind," yes, the wind is what kills me in Wintertime.

Cold weather can bring with it tons of fun.  The winter sports, the holiday season, ski trips and cuddle sessions near cozy fires all begin as the weather drops.   Unfortunately, cold weather can also bring with it flu season, sore throats, pneumonia and the common cold.  To avoid getting sick, I'm going to give you the advice that Zac has given me repeatedly over the years:  stay hydrated and wash your hands often!

Well, that's it for now, it is important that you live your day and I'm going to go now and live mine, have a good one and make it count.

Topics coming soon:

Art
Politics
Technology

Slash Sunday

Date:                                           Sunday, December 12th, 2010
Word of the Day:                         philter(FIL\ter); a magic potion for any purpose   
Weight:                                       206 pounds
Goal:                                           lose 100 pounds in one year duration
Pounds to lose:                            74 pounds
Waist Size:                                  43 inches
Rowing Duration:                        one hour, eight minutes, four seconds

Whew! What a day yesterday!  We certainly accomplished alot!   Early in the day, we went to the Target store to buy Christmas wrapping paraphernalia, and we also went to the Toys R Us outlet to get a "rain check voucher" which we should have got on Friday for spending over one hundred dollars on a Barbie item.  Getting the voucher took some work; but we got it.

We also went to the Phillips Centre in Gainesville, Florida with Louise, Sally, Zac and Jessie to see the ballet "Cinderella."  Winter was taken care of by my brother Biff and his fantastic son, Raphael.

The production of ``Cinderella`` was not what I expected, it wasn`t performed by a professional ballet company, but instead was put on by a dance company wherein the dancers were all different shapes and sizes, seeing a ballet with female dancers six feet tall was a completely new experience for me.  I did enjoy it, but by the end, I was longing to see the old National Ballet Company of Canada, I guess that when it comes down to it, I enjoy seeing regular ballet by a regular ballet company.

There are only thirteen (13) days left until Christmas Day, and if you think thirteen is an "unlucky" number, just think how "unlucky" you're going to be if you don't start your Christmas shopping, come on, get out there, you might have some fun doing it.

After the ballet, (sounds like a song from the musical "A Chorus Line,") Zac and I went back to my brother Biff's house as Louise, very kindly, invited us to have dinner with all of them in her brood, you know who they are:  Biff, Louise (of course,) Sally, Jessie and Raphael, not to forget the two cats, Winnie and Tory.  We had spaghetti for dinner and it was good, Louise uses whole wheat pasta!


After dinner, well, before dinner, we went and got a Christmas tree, but after dinner, we began to trim the tree, and just doing this activity raised all of our excitement level, the kids were dancing with each other and singing Christmas carols, it was really quite alot of fun and I'm so grateful to Louise and Biff to include us, we are so blessed to be part of such a loving family.

Today, Zac and I are going to the church to see the children, Sally, Jessie, and Raphael in a Christmas play, it should be alot of fun to see all three of them performing in the same vehicle.


Well this is not going to be a huge surprise to any of us, but here goes:  Researchers are now saying that kids whose parents allow them to watch R-rated movies, films for which children under seventeen (17) years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, are up to three (3) times more likely to start smoking than those whose parents are more restrictive.  Isn't that interesting?  The researchers believe this sort of leniency could trigger smoking by exposing youngsters to depictions of smoking as well as by opening the door to more thrill-seeking, risky behaviours.  Okay, I for one am going to ensure that I do not expose any children to R-rated films, I hate the idea of any of them smoking, I hate the idea of anyone smoking.

Lily, sorry, but you and my sister Judy really need to strongly think about what you are doing to your lungs and you need to stop smoking TODAY as cigarette smoking has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity and premature mortality in Canada, the United States and the world. 

Other smoking facts include that:  Smoking-related diseases cause an estimated 440,000  deaths each year, women, just like you Lily and my sister Judy, women account for thirty-nine (39) percent of all smoking deaths, smoking costs the United States over $150 billion annually in health care costs and a 2004 Study by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC's) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion found that cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer.   I mean really think about that handful of facts, there are plenty more. 

The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) of the World's Most addictive substances places smoking at the top of the list.  Heroin placed 5th.  Smoking is forbidden to advertise on television, cigarette companies rent huge signs in sport stadiums.  Humphrey Bogart, seen smoking in Casablanca, smoked heavily in real life as well.  He died of lung cancer at the age of 57, leaving poor Lauren Bacall alone and widowed.

In 1953, the New England Journal of Medicine announced that the evidence linking smoking and lung cancer was “so strong as to be considered proof within the everyday meaning of the word.” 

Here is a fact I hate and want to thank the smokers for doing this to me:  nearly some ninety (90) percent of nonsmokers have some residues of cigarette smoke in their blood.

Tobacco is a poisonous plant. The poison in it is nicotine. Tobacco plants contain nicotine as a natural defense, to keep bugs from eating their leaves and workers on tobacco farms sometimes suffer nicotine poisoning when they absorb the chemical through their skin.  Thank goodness, I never had to do that for a living.
 
Okay, so my writing wasn't Walt Disney quality, sometimes we have to be serious, and sometimes we have obligations, of which, I am not an exception and must now end today's post so I can get ready to go to church.
 
Have a good day.
 
Topics coming soon:
 
Art
Politics
Technology

Some say Saturday

Date:                                        Saturday, December 11th, 2010
Word of the Day:                    fletcherize(FLECH\uh\rahyz); to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly
Weight:                                    206 pounds
Goal:                                       lose 100 pounds in one year duration
Pounds to lose:                        too many, hehe, 74 pounds
Waist Size:                              43 inches
Rowing Duration:                  118 minutes, 32 seconds

This is a shout-out to all my friends out there who are wondering what people down here are politically feeling and thinking, and let me tell you, SARAH PALIN, SARAH PALIN and SARAH PALIN.  (I don't get it, I don't get it, I don't get it!!!!!!)

It doesn't seem to matter to folks that Ms. Palin does not have a whole lot of knowledge and experience in foreign and domestic affairs, people like Sarah Palin because she is just what she seems to be, a warm, intelligent person who cares about her country.  And, interestingly, both Democrats and Republicans want Sarah Palin to run for President in 2012.

The Democrats, it seems, want Sarah Palin to run for President because they're sure she'll lose which will ensure their own as victorious.  Republicans want Ms. Palin to run because they really believe in her and think that she can control taxes going up.  I, personally, feel that taxes are just what they have always been, inevitable, uncontrollable and whomever is in charge will always fall under inspection and criticism.

I got a late start again today, I don't know what is wrong with me but I am sleeping in much later than normal, I think it is because I have not been getting in my nap during the afternoon, today will be no exception either as I will be attending the ballet "Cinderella."

 Last night Zac and I went to watch our nephew Raphael play in a basketball game, it was a little different for us to do this and we enjoyed the experience.  At the game, which my brother Biff coaches, our one niece Jessie was also there, so it was fun sharing the experience with her.

My nephew's team lost the game but they looked like they had alot of fun, which for me is key.  Raphael did manage to score two baskets so we thought that was good and Zac and I told him that we were proud of him, and we are.

After the game, we drove Jessie to her home as Biff and Raphael were staying to watch another game.  At Jessie's house, we dined on sloppy joes, socialized with Louise and Sally who had been at home for an hour or so and then we drove home.  It had been a good night.

I would like to honour my brother Biff today who gives alot of his time coaching basketball and soccer teams.  Biff, is an active father of three, teaches middle school children and still finds time to devote to others.  I know my parents are smiling down at Biff from Heaven and I hope Biff knows how proud all his family is of him.  Especially me.

I'm very proud of Biff who I feel is an excellent father; I don't always agree with his methodology (Biff's a yeller!,) but all you have to do is look at Biff's children and you'll see happy, content children.  I believe that says everything! (Yes, I know only yesterday I was concercerned about Raphael; I still am, that hasn't changed- I'm talking about the children's feelings for the majority of time, don't quibble so much people!)

No,  I know Biff did not do it alone and he does get excellent support and assistance from his amazing wife, Louise, just because I'm praising Biff does not mean that I'm forgetting about Louise, gosh, you people, whew!

Today, there are now only two (2) weeks, that's fourteen (14) days people until Christmas Day and you now have less than two (2) weeks to complete your Christmas shopping.  Shame on you if you haven't started your shopping, or maybe you're just the type that thrives on that last-minute rush of going to the stores and grabbing what you can to give as gifts.  That, is not for me.

I bought my niece a "Barbie" gift yesterday at the Toys R Us outlet and I was told by the salesperson that I was smart to buy it during the day yesterday as the store was going to be raising it's price on this item at six o'clock that evening, so good for me in getting a somewhat good deal.  I also bought some stocking-stuffers for Zac and the kids.  I tell you people, you spend a small fortune on those stocking-stuffers, WOW!

Okay, here's one that I bet you didn't see coming, and I was certainly surprised upon discovering, they are now reporting that married men make nicer men, yup, you read it here first folks.  It seems married men display fewer qualitites associated with antisocia, 1 personality disorder, like criminal behaviour, lying, aggression, and lack of remourse, than those who are unmarried, and the reason for this has been the subject of debate for some time.   Some believe that nicer men are more likely to marry in the first place, while others say that is is marriage which improves men's behaviour, how about that?  Researchers who studied 289 pairs of mail twins for twelve (12) years, between the ages of 17 and 29, have now concluded that both hypotheses, in combination are correct.

The researchers found that men with fewer nasty qualities were more likely to eventually end up married.  But among men who did marry, some showed signs indicating that their bad behavior decreased after the union.   Is it because marriage reforms them, or because men with more of these nasty traits are less likely to get married in the first place?  A little bit of both, study author Dr. S. Alexandra Burt at Michigan State University told Reuters Health.

Married men "are just not as antisocial to begin with," she said. "And when they get married, they get even less antisocial. So both things are going on."  Burt and her colleagues adopted a "novel approach" to investigate the link between marriage and antisocial personality disorder, said Dr. Ryan King at the University at Albany, SUNY, who was not involved in the study. 

Specifically, they followed 289 pairs of male twins for 12 years, between the ages of 17 and 29.  More than half of the twins were identical, meaning they shared all of their genes, and, largely, their childhood environment, as well, since both were raised in the same household.  The authors found that men who eventually married during the study period, about 60 percent of them,  showed less antisocial behavior at ages 17 and 20, suggesting that men with more of these traits are less likely to get married in the first place.

Specifically, they found that by the age of 29, unmarried men had an average of 1.3 antisocial behaviors, compared with 0.8 among married men.   However, among identical twins in which one was married and one wasn't, the married twin had fewer antisocial behaviors after the union than the unmarried twin.  Given that identical twins, with their similar genetics and childhood environments, are likely to have the same antisocial tendencies, these findings indicate that marriage helped weed out those bad behaviors.  "Not everyone is equally likely to enter the institution of marriage," King said. "But those that do enter into it get some benefit from it."  It's not clear why men's behaviors might improve after marriage, he noted.  (Could it not be the partner's influence? gad, what is wrong with people's thinking, or lack of thinking?)

Married men may spend more time with their spouses than their friends, King said, and bad behaviors such as delinquency and binge drinking tend to be group activities.  In addition, married men "have more to lose" if they're caught doing illegal activities, and may care what their spouses think. (I can't believe that they pay people alot of money to come up with this theory, clearly, I'm not in the right business!)

 It's also not clear why men with more antisocial behaviors may not marry in the first place, Burt said. They are probably not the most eligible bachelors, she noted. "You may not be looking to settle down with someone who's prone to aggression, theft, and other things." And for men with these tendencies, marriage may not be so appealing, she added.  Whether the same trend is true in women is also not clear, Burt noted, since women are less likely to have antisocial behaviors in the first place. 

The results, presented in the Archives of General Psychiatry, help explain the consistent findings from other studies that men who are married commit fewer crimes.  One recent study, for example, showed marriage was associated with a 35 percent reduction in crime.  Historically, studies have also found that married people as a group tend to be healthier than singles, though recent research suggests the health advantage of marriage may be fading.  Still, people with spouses tend to live longer, be less depressed, and suffer less from heart disease and stroke.  There you go people, there are three reasons to get married, but I'm also willing to bet that those three reasons for marriage are also identical to reasons why people want to end their marriage, wanna bet?

It's now time for you to get on with your weekend, do me a favour and tell me about yours, I really would like to hear from you.  As always, be safe out there and think of someone else besides yourself!


Topics coming soon:

Art
Politics
Technology

Flick its Friday

Date:                                        Friday, December 10th, 2010

Word of the Day:                     farouche(fa\ROOSH); sullenly unsociable or shy

Weight:                                    206 pounds
Goal:                                        lose 100 pounds in one year duration
Pounds to lose:                         74 pounds
Waist Size:                               43 inches
Rowing Duration:                     111 minutes, 18 seconds

Well, were back to Friday, I bet you're happy, me, I just can't believe how fast time goes by, I am constantly amazed by this phenomenon.

Last night, Zac and I went to see our Goddaughter and niece, Sally, play her clarinet in concert with her school.  The band was typical of middle schools, they did hit some bum notes, but most of it was on key and nice to hear.  I was glad when the bandleader bragged of her band, she felt that the school was ahead of most other middle schools in areas of skill and achievement, if they are, great, but I just am happy that Sally is enjoying learning and playing the clarient.  Watching Sally play in the band brought back memories of my own band playing, yes I was in the band, I played the French Horn, hush up Lily!

Just in case you were wondering, and I know there are some of you out there that do wonder about her, and thank you for that, whilst we were at the concert, Winter was being taken care of by Biff, Raphael and Jessie, and I know that while we were away, Winter was happy with her caretakers.

Okay, count em folks, there are now only fifteen (15) days until Christmas Day, that means there are only two weeks left for you to complete your Christmas shopping.  Two weeks goes by rather fast so don't take alot of comfort and think you have all the time in the world, you don't!  Santa Claus is watching all of us, so be on guard, and be good!

I was kind of disappointed that none of you gave comment on the blurb I wrote yesterday regarding the woman who got convicted of drowning her daughter based entirely on the witness testimony of her seven (7) year old son.  I thought that would anger you as it provoked me, I guess I don't know you as well as I thought I did, or maybe you're just busy with Christmas shopping, yeah, I'm going to think that way.

I was late getting up today and consequently am feeling rushed to catch up, I haven't yet spoken to my sister Judy, this post is still not finished, Winter needs walking, you know, all of it, and I'm behind the clock, I hate it.

Yesterday, I watched Woody Allen's masterpiece movie "Manhattan," for about the fiftieth time.  I really, really love this movie.  I saw it, primarily because of Woody's earlier film, "Annie Hall," that did so well in winning Academy Awards.  I dislked the movie "Annie Hall" alot,  mostly because it won Best Picture and Best Actress and I didn't think that it deserved to win those Oscars.  Gosh, I remember being so angry at that time, let me tell you.

Today, I do not have as much hostility towards "Annie Hall," as I did in 1977/78, but I still maintain that it did not deserve to win those Academy Awards, it was just a nice little movie, that's all, and certainly not the best that year.  Just in case you don't remember, other movie's nominated that year include:  "The Turning Point" "Julia" and "The Good-bye Girl,"  and any one of those three was more deserving to win than "Annie Hall."  However, we were talking about the movie "Manhattan," I must try harder at keeping focus.

The movie "Manhattan" is in black and white and centres around relationships, or more accurately, failed relationships. I fell in love with the character of Diane Keaton, "Mary Wilkie" who is a high-strung pseudo-intellectual woman and has a dog named "Waffles."  Some of you may remember that at a time in my life, I had a maltese dog named "Waffes," whom I loved greatly and miss terribly.

The story moves quickly and the acting is first-rate.  The cast includes, the aforementioned Diane Keaton, (I just love her in that movie,) Michael Murphy, Woody Allen (of course,) Meryl Streep in a small but very memorable role, and a very young Mariel Hemingway who got herself nominated for an Academy Award for the Actress in a supporting role category, and was hugely deserving of this nomination!

The movie is witty, quick, sharp and honest and I think it is one of Woody's finest, if any of Woody's  movies deserved Academy Awards, it is "Manhattan," and if you haven't yet seen it, what are you waiting for?

I am very concerned about my nephew Raphael.  After the concert and when we went to pick up Winter, Raphael approached me and he seemed quite melancholy.  I, naturally, assumed that Raphael had probably been in trouble and when I asked him what was wrong, he was reticent with me for about the first time in his life.

Raphael is a very sensitive, loving boy who seems to need attention more than his sisters.  I am somewhat mystified why this is so and in all likelihood there is probably nothing wrong with this; it might be because of the single fact that Raphael is the lone boy and he stands out because of this, in any case, I am going to call him later today just to reinforce with him how very much we love him; I don't think any child can hear this too much, do you?

Just to give you some notice, I know I haven't yet given a grammar lesson this week, and it won't be today, but I am going to try and remember to give one tomorrow, hopefully, I will not sleep in and I'll have plenty of time to devote to it.

I hope you all have a good day and that you enjoy your weekend.  Thank you for reading.

Topics coming soon:

Art
Politics
Technology

Tick Tock Thursday

Date:                                       Thursday, December 9th, 2010
      Word of the Day:                     bespoke(bih\SPOHK);made to invidual order; custom-made

      Weight:                                    206 pounds

      Goal:                                       lose 100 pounds in one year duration

      Pounds to lose:                        74 pounds
      Waist Size:                               43 inches
      Rowing Duration:                    97 minutes, twelve (12) seconds

Be still my heart; some things are meant to be, yesterday, I told you of my frustration in not being able to acquire good seats, tickets, for the musical show "The Secret Garden," today, I'm eating my words. 

Yesterday, I did say that I would be calling the box office of the theatre, obviously, I did, and lo and behold the ticket agent was able to come up with three seats, five rows back, for a Saturday matinee on February 26th, 2011.  Now, I'm very happy about getting these tickets but I'm also thinking that something is pretty smelly in Denmark, specifically with the online ticket-king business of Mirvish theatres.

My point of reference is simple, if I could get fifth row seats yesterday morning, why were these seats not present online for me to buy the night before?  And again, if these seats were available yesterday morning, were there in fact, better seats than fifth row available the night before?, and why wasn't I shown those online?

For the record, I did key things in correctly, a floor-plan was brought-up with all seats available to buy when I went online two nights ago, and the closest I could get was row S.  I mean, think about it, if I could have bought these seats two nights ago, I would not have had to make a long distance phone call yesterday morning, would I? Something smelly indeed.

Recently, I watched the program 20/20 which featured a story of a woman whose daughter had drowned,  and the mother of the girl was convicted of drowning this girl because her seven (7), that's right, her seven year-old son gave reports that he saw her drowning her.  The woman's son gave other stories, and would often contradict himself, however, the jury saw enough truth, I guess to convict the woman.  I find it absolutely dumbfounding that a jury would convict a woman to life in prison based on a child's testitmony who contradicted himself a record of thirteen Stimes.  I don't know what "reasonable doubt" is if it isn't a child contradicting himself thirteen times, what do you think of that?  Anyway, that story really disturbed me and I wondered if any of you happened to see it last Friday night, I am now on to happier thoughts.

Christmas Day is now sixteen (16) days away and soon not only will I be singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" but I'll try to be getting some of the items mentioned in the song, can any of you help me locate two turtle doves?

Zac, Winter and I went out on an outing yesterday afternoon, we stopped at The Oaks Mall, which is the big mall in Gainesville, Florida and visited a couple of stores to do some shopping.  We bought a Christmas tree that was fully decorated and is helping me get into the Christmas mood, we bought stocking-stuffers, candy, gift certificates, you know, Christmas kind of stuff, and then some.   I also had a late lunch/early dinner at Chick Fill A.  I love their Polynesian sauce on their chicken nuggets.

Over the next couple of days, Zac and I are going to be quite social.  Tonight, we are going to our Goddaughter and oldest niece down here, Sally's school concert.  I believe their band will be playing Christmas Carols and we will enjoy watching Sally play her clarinet, she's quite good you know.

On Saturday, Zac and I will be joining Louise, Jessie and Sally togo and see the ballet "Cinderella."  I have not been to the ballet in quite some time now so that should be a good time.  We are taking with us a present of a monopoly game that we bought at Walmart yesterday to give for charity, as we all should do our bit to help out those less fortunate than ourselves., even if its just a little something.   By the way,  Biff and Raphael did not want to go to the ballet so they will stay home and babysit Winter.

Sunday morning we will be going to church not only to worship but to watch all of our kids in the Church Christmas play, I hope we remember to bring the camera.


It is so funny to see alot of the people down here wearing heavy winter coats, Zac and I are going around without even wearing a jacket!  It's true, the weather is cooler than what people expect for Florida, but for Zac and I, we still feel like we've won a lottery.

Yesterday on "All My Children," there was a memorial service for the character of Zac Slater who in last week's storyline was killed in a plane crash last week  I know that "Zac" isn't real, nor are the other characters, but the storyline was acted so well, and the actors were so believable that I could not help but get caught up in the make-believe story and I was probably crying louder and harder than anyone else; I must give cudos to the actress Alicia Menshew who is Zac's wife/widow; that girl should be nominated for a daytime Emmy, even if it was just for yesterday's episode.   Alicia Menshew showed her heart and gave a phenomenal performance; I don't think enough credit is given to the actors in soaps, they really know their craft!

Have any of you heard about New York University photograhy professor Wafee Bilal?  Apparently, Mr. Bilal has had a camera mount surgically implanted into the back of his head for an art project commissioned by a museum in Oatar.  For the next year, a camera on this mount will capture one image every minute for his project, called "The 3rd I."  The museum will display a live stream of the photos when it opens at the end of this month.  Due to privacy concerns, Mr. Bilal will have to cover the camera lens while on university property, but all of the other private and mundane moments of his life will soon be on display for the world to see.  Doesn't that sound alot like that movie starring Jim Carrey, what was it?  I think it was called "The Truman Show," feel free to correct me.  Anyway, I thought when I read that story that you might find it as interesting as I.  Can you imagine having all the moments of your life recorded for the world to see?, I can't, not that I have anything to hide you understand.

Yesterday, I received an email from a friend that has given a complete list of The Beatle's songs and I can play any of the songs now whenever I choose,  and yes, you will probably receive a copy of this in your email.   Ironically, yesterday was also the day that John Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman in 1980?, do you remember that day?


While returning to his New York hotel with wife Yoko Ono, John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman, a delusional and possibly psychotic Beatles fan.  Chapman eventually elected not to pursue an insanity defense and instead pled guilty to the murder, receiving a sentence of twenty (20) years to life in prison.  He has since been denied parole on several occasions.  Rather than flee the scene after shooting Mr. Lennon, Chapman hung around and read from the book "The Catcher in The Rye" written by J.D. Salinger, until the police arrived.  It's kind of sad that this great book is tainted with such a bad memory.

Have a great day, get out there shopping people, time is running out.

Topics coming soon:

Art

Politics
Technology

White Wednesday

Date:                                          Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
Word of the Day:                         estivate(ES\tuh\veyt); to spend the summer as at a specific place, or in a certain activity

Weight:                                       206 pounds
Goal:                                           lose 100 pounds in one year duration
Pounds to lose:                            74 pounds
Waist Size:                                  43 inches
Rowing Duration:                       one hour, thirty-three (33) minutes
                                                                                                             

Good for me, after three (3) days of not rowing because of sickness, I got back on CC today,  and I managed to do an hour and a half at that, how about that?       

  Clearly, I am feeling physically better, but that is about all.  Yesterday proved quite frustrating for me.  I have been waiting for tickets to go on sale for the musical "The Secret Garden" for some time now, and alas, yesterday, when I was ill, and did not get back to my computer until late last night, I noticed that tickets had gone on sale for the show.  Naturally, there were only seats available that I don't like to sit in; they were quite far back.  If I can't sit in the first ten rows, I don't want to go.  I am not going to pay a couple of hundred dollars only to see blurs and images which is what it would amount to if I'm over the ten row mark, so I will not be going to The Secret Garden.

I have seen The Secret Garden before and it was the original Broadway show, which was superb and starred Mandy Patinkin, Rebecca Luker and Tony-winning Daisy Egan in the Mary Lennox role so I have a nice memory of it. 

I also saw another production of "The Secret Garden" that came to Toronto, it lacked the lustre of the Broadway show, but was still enjoyable.  And, no doubt I would have enjoyed seeing it again, alas, I guess it just wasn't meant to be.  I am going to have one final try at getting tickets by  calling the box-office this morning, but usually the on-line ticket server is pretty reliable so it will probably be in vain.  Regardless, I do recommend to all of you who have not seen the show to try and see it, unless, of course, you are like me and will not sit anywhere, does that sound snobbish?

Have you been keeping up with the count?  There are now only seventeen (17) days left until Christmas Day and even Mrs. Santa Claus is getting excited about the upcoming big day, as you know, Mrs. Claus is usually quite calm about the big day but there are rumours that Santa's wife has been heard humming Christmas carols, yup, it's true. 

And in six (6) just six days people, I too will be singing the Christmas Carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas," I have a large, tenor voice so listen carefully for me, although I don't think that even I can project my voice from Florida to Canada.

Zac and I have been store-hopping trying to find Jessie a Barbie Town-house that she wants for Christmas.  We had located the gift at Toys R Us when Raphael and Jessie were there with us, and in fact, the store had on display at least fifty (50) of these items. so naturally, Zac and I thought we had time to buy the gift, we didn't.

After taking Jessie and Raphael back home from our jaunt to Toys R Us, we went back to the store to purchase Barbie's townhouse, and in the course of one hour, the store had sold them out.   Unbelievable!  If I didn`t have bad luck, I wouldn`t have any luck at all!

It seems all the toy stores in Gainesville, WalMart, K-Mart, Sears, etc. have sold out this item.  Zac has placed an order with Amazon to have this toy delivered, and there is supposed to be one on it`s way, but we will not be abe to relax until we have the gift in our hot little hand.

No doubt you've heard, down here in Gainesville, Florida, well for all of Florida actually, we are experiencing a cold snap.  Yes, temperatures have dipped down to the high-fifties, and while I still don't mind this little bit of coolness, I am rather relieved to hear that the temperature will go back up by this weekend, what a relief!

How Sad, just one day after the announcement that Elizabeth Edwards had given up the fight against cancer, we learn that the very courageous Elizabeth Edwards has died from Breast Cancer,  I know we all offer our sympathies to the Edwards Family.

Well in a different vein, there is news that according to a new study, having multiple miscarriages or stillbirths considerably increases a woman's risk of having a heart attack later in life, my word, don't women have enough to worry about.  It seems each miscarriage increases a woman's risk of heart attack by about forty (40) percent.  The study involved more than 11,500 women in their mid-30s to mid-60s.  Compared to those who never suffered a miscarriage, women who had lost three or more pregnancies were five (5) times more likely to have a heart attack.  The relatively young age of the women in this study meant overall risk remained low, but the fact remains that miscarriages could alert doctors to future cardiac problem. 

Well, that`s about it for me today, sorry that I don`t have much to say, I hope you all have a good day.

Topics coming soon:

Art
Politics
Technology