Donna
6/30/04
Hey, I'm around. I've just been really busy at work and barely time to keep up with reading the newsletter. Then when I've had the time to write, I didn't just want to comment on the last thing written because I should have said something about several other earlier notes, and that would have sounded goofy and would have take awhile to write so I just haven't said anything. I'll try to do better from now on. ;-)

I will address your first question only, and the answer is: I haven't written a review of Fahrenheit 9/11 because I haven't seen it yet! It is showing in one theater here in town -- the Mary Riepma Ross Theater here on the campus -- and the first weekend's shows were all sold out. Before it opened I called the Douglas Theater chain trying to find out where it would be showing. The lady I spoke with said, "We have no plans to show that movie." I said, "You've got 'Garfield' showing in four theaters around town, and this movie you're not showing at all?!?" She said, "Try the campus theater." I did, and found it was sold out. So maybe next weekend! --Gary

Looking forward to seeing Sean's new car, and the finished pool. (Good pictures, Lindsey!) Also looking forward to seeing Sam and Anna this weekend. And the 4th! Woo-hoo!

So, what's in the news? The U.S. handed over the Iraqi government this morning, so now at last THAT problem is solved! I'm sure we'll never have any more trouble from that part of the world again.... Okay, I was being sarcastic, in case you couldn't tell. Actually, we have 160,000 troops over there right now, and they're not budging. In fact, a few days ago that lying son-of-a- Bush said he was going to increase the number of troops in Iraq by 15,000. I know most of you are too young to remember Vietnam, but I had a little flashback!

Much more hopeful was the news that "Fahrenheit 9/11" made history on the weekend. It earned $22 million in its first three days, which makes it now the #1 movie in America! That's a first for a documentary film. And it is especially significant in that it's only showing in about a third as many theaters (thanks to right-wing corporate censorship) as any other first-run movie. And even though it may hurt ticket sales, Michael Moore plans to bring it out on DVD in just a few months, so that everyone has a chance to see it before the election. Which is great. I hope they include one free in every box of Cheerios!

Whats everyone planning on doing for the 4th? We probably wont do much, since nothing is legal here!!

??? When I checked it, 791 was on its way to Portland after stopping in Denver. So then I found a #768 leaving Denver for DFW at 10:25 -- figured that was his flight... I hope this was all more clear to Sean! :-) --Gary

After Denver, it looks like the Denver-Dallas flight number is 768. (Type the number into the Flight Status box.) Pretty cool indeed! --Gary

And most everybody seems to be having a great summer, too: Anna in DisneyWorld, Emily's dance awards, Erika's fun in the Secret-Room Museum, Ryan's promotion, Lindsey and Livy getting to clean out Grandma's fridge... Good times for all!

I'll field this one! Amanda referred to an "amazing fact" that I put on this morning's crawl -- the little tickertape that runs along the bottom of the front page. If you're not seeing it, it's because you don't have Java enabled on your browser (which is Internet Explorer, I'm assuming). For instructions on turning it on (which will not only let you see the crawl but let you see lots of other cool things on the internet), go here. And if you have any questions about it, let me know! Today's crawl, by the way, is this: "AMAZING FACT: A recent poll showed that more than 70% of New Yorkers could not name the only state in the U.S. that ends with the letter 'k'.... can you...?" --Gary

Erika is about to go the museum, volunteering for a Blues Clues class. Emily is at her first day of dance camp. Started at 8 and should be over about 4, goes for the rest of the week. Brent is back to work, went in half days Monday and Tuesday, hoping to make it all day today.

Yeah, it's difficult even with the name staring you in the face.... I tried it out last night on Grandma, Donna, and Lindsey and Livy who had dropped by. Grandma got it right away(!), but for Donna and Lindsey it was quite a while before...*ding!* --Gary

[looks up at sky] NOOOOOOoooooooooo!! (j/k Sam!) :-) --Gary

Oooh, sorry about that -- hadn't occurred to me. I haven't been keeping up with the news, and that image didn't even cross my mind. My bad! --Gary

Have fun, Anna! See you soon! --Gary

Recipes: My bad. The "exit" page was still set to bring you to our old web-address; I hadn't changed it to the new one. So you were seeing a "page not found" error. But the recipes should have gotten to me anyway. Were some missed? It's all fixed now, so please try again.

I just don't trust my car on the freeway any more, otherwise I'd volunteer. (Also, the AC isn't working....) I'd be glad to ride along though -- or drive! -- if Hickory Park is the destination. Oh, and of course, seeing all you guys... --Gary

And also a TX project!

So with no computer, I've been watching TV. Have you caught any of the 9/11 hearings on CNN? Interesting, though depressing. Recordings from the morning of September 11 are painful to listen to, as they reveal one ball dropped after another. I'm not saying the acts of that day could have been prevented necessarily, but man, the response was clearly not very effective. One tape I heard this morning from some air traffic controllers as they observed the off-course planes on radar went: "Shouldn't we be thinking about scrambling some aircraft?" (i.e., sending up fighters planes to see what's happening in the planes and, as a last resort, shoot them down.) "...[sigh] Oh I don't know... Everybody just left the room..."

Also announced was the fact that the hearings have discovered NO linkage between the acts of 9/11 to Iraq. None. But Bush's lies have worked well: over 60% of Americans believe Iraq was responsible for 9/11. Which makes this the first time in history that America started a war and invaded another country without provocation. Another proud first for George II!

And now, rather than end today's sermon on a depressing note, here's a joke: An elderly woman finished her meal at a nice restaurant and as she headed to the door, stopped at a table and said to the man sitting there, "I'm sorry for staring, but you look just like my son who's serving overseas right now," and she teared up a little. The man said, "Well... gee, is there anything I can do for you?" She said, "Would it be too much to ask if you would just say, 'Goodbye Mother' to me as I leave?" He said, "Of course I will!" and did so as she left the restaurant. A few minutes later the waiter brought him his tab. "127.50!! But I just had a sandwich!" "Yes," the waiter said, "but your mother said you were also taking care of hers."

Hope everyone had a pleasant St. Reagan's Day last Friday!

P.S.: Have you checked the reviews or recipes lately...?

As I read someplace on the internet yesterday after 6+ days of total media focus on this, "Even Jesus only gets one day..." --Gary

Excellent article! Thanks for the link. --Gary

Well, to the Republicans Reagan was a saint; so our current Republican leadership is all a-swoon, and our Republican-owned media are falling all over themselves with tributes. If Clinton had died, God forbid, I daresay I would be expected at work on Friday as usual. --Gary

As we'll be remembering Reagan all this week, here are a few things that should also be remembered but probably won't get said:

--Under his 8-year administration, the gap widened between rich and poor: the middle and lower classes got poorer, and the rich got much richer.
--He claimed to be against big government, but the government grew under his administration -- especially the military, the funding for which created the worst deficit in this country's history (until George II assumed the office).
--It was Reagan's administration that funded Saddam Hussein and turned Iraq into a military power, which led us directly to today's situation in Iraq.
--Reagan opened the doors of government to the Religious Right, a movement which now controls the White House and the Congress. The Religious Right routinely blocks funding for medical research, especially stem cell research -- which ironically is thought to be the most promising approach to curing Alzheimer's and many other diseases.

I'm not bad-mouthing him; just trying to remember the whole picture....

I was no fan of his either, but I have to admit feeling bad that so many people (including me) gave him such a hard time for "I don't remember" and "I can't recall" during the Iran-Contra thing. We know now he was then beginning to feel the effects of Alzheimer's, and really couldn't recall.... --Gary

Good! Tell him to lay off racquetball for a day or two. --Gary

Yesterday at work a new guy got one of our forklifts stuck in a mud hole. I am always the guy people ask to help them pull stuck forklifts, yesterday was no exception. Half of the company had to come out and watch, and all the Ford fans said that a Ford could have pulled it out better. A co-worker, Tyrone, said that Brent who drives a brand new Ford Ranger could have pulled it out better. Brent has pulled a forklift out one time also. He is pretty proud of his truck, and thinks it can do anything. I told everyone my truck could easily out pull his. There were a lot of skeptics, and even I became a little nervous after all the talk. Tyrone, a Ford fan, thought it would be a good idea to chain them up and have a tug-o-war. So, at 5:30 that is what we did, right out in front of the company. We lined up the center of the chain with the center of the old railroad tracks. We each had our trucks in 4wd low range. We pulled the chain tight, someone yelled go, and we both went at it. A lot of tire scratching, a lot of burnt rubber, and a few seconds later, I had him pulled 15 feet my way. As I told him before we started, I could have taken him to where ever I wanted him to end up. I decided to let him off easy, because even though his pretty truck is under warranty, he would have had a hard time explaining a fried transmission. Check out all four tire marks left by my truck, that's from all four 12" wide tires spinning on the cement. Now I'm looking for more competition!!

Wow -- Palm, books on tape, handheld games, and a paddleball... For me, that's a wild Friday night! --Gary

No, I didn't get any videos. Please try again. (When you feel up to it!) --Gary

Ooops! I guess the countdown page was wrong. Get well soon, you two! --Gary

A little Walkman-type tape player and Books-on-Tape? A Gameboy? One of those paddle-balls with a long rubber band? It is boring, I know! --Gary

Good news! --Gary

Hey, where were you two years ago today? Okay, that's cool, now let's talk about me: I was in Rome. :-) After a long plane trip and then a short train ride into Rome we checked into the little hotel. I remember we had a bit of trouble finding it as there wasn't even a sign outside; the hotel consisted of seven or eight rooms on the second floor of this old old building. (Every building in Rome is old!) It was just a block or so from the river (Tevere, or Tiber), and on the other side of the river was the Vatican; so we went there first. It was really overwhelming to be suddenly surrounded by so much history, and so many masterpieces of art -- among them, on that first day, Michelangelo's Pieta. After that we went to the Piazza Navona, also just a few steps from the hotel. The Piazza Navona is a big open area which in ancient times had been a chariot racetrack; over the centuries it has retained its flattened-oval shape and is now a popular meeting place and strolling spot. We sat with a glass of wine for an hour and then had dinner at a sidewalk cafe right beside the central fountain as the sun went down. What a day!

Before I leave the podium, here are a couple of interesting articles if you're in a political mood: One from The Hill which asserts that Kerry's lead over Bush is the strongest showing (at this point in the race) of any challenger in the history of modern polling (woo-hoo!); and an article from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, which is polling the "borderline" states where the race is the closest, says that if the election were held today Kerry would win a "crushing" victory (woo-HOO!). (Also see today's cool site to see the Wall Street Journal on the same topic.)

Its been kinda quiet on here lately. Not much has been going on with us either, Erika started her flute lessons today, and I started dance squad. Whats everybody else going to be doing this summer?

Happy Birthday Mom!