Anna
1/31/06
Amanda~ I am very happy you found that juice!! It is my favorite and Man they are really good for you.

Tonight we had another realitor come over. He was our third one. We will meet with one more on Thursday. Then thats the last of em. We have had some really nice weather here and soon its going to be all gone. Tomorrow and threw out the week it is going to "Feel more like winter" they say. Nothing else really going on here. I'll keep you guys posted with the realitor info.

Well, many critics said it was one of the most important films of 2005. When you fill out your Oscar ballots, I think you should all vote for it for Best Picture. Seriously. --Gary

Anyway, nominations are early tomorrow morning, and I'll have the ballot up as soon as I can put it together; probably will be up by mid-afternoon. Meanwhile, take a look at the list of eligible movies for Best Picture. Can you pick the five that will be nominated? I'm predicting Brokeback Mountain, Capote, The Constant Gardener, Syriana, and The Dukes of Hazzard -- though I'm iffy about that last one....

Saturday was a fun day. And how nice to have rain all day long. I wouldn't love driving home in it though. We got over half an inch but I'm surprised it wasn't more for as long as it rained.

Sad news about the new co-anchor of ABC News getting hurt in Iraq this weekend. It sounds pretty bad. And good ol' Bush speaks tomorrow night. I don't think I'll be watching. I'll let Keith Olbermann give me the highlights. And no doubt it'll delay American Idol. Stupid Bush.

However, while I disagree with the lying author James Frey did when he told the stories of his past, I understand why he did some of it. He didn't remember stories to their full extent because of his abuse & he was writing a book, which needed to grab readers. I have heard he told the publisher it was somewhat fictionalized & they didn't sell it as that. Also, they did no fact checking. So, I guess my ranting goes to America. He should get a slap on the wrist for this -- not a public raking over the coals for weeks and 30 pages dedicated to the story on thesmokinggun.com. It's a bit much. But, that's what Americans want. Someone to throw sticks & stones at, because we are all SO innocent. I think it would be a horrific tragedy if something happened to this man -- say he relapses or dies. He seems very apologetic & sincere. And, this is coming from me -- the born skeptic!

Thanks to Donna for sending this in. It's a short movie; let me know if it doesn't play for you.

I want the Clinton bumper sticker. I miss Bill too.

Great reviews Olivia and Amanda. I wondered about Lovely Bones, but Oprah's book picks always sound so depressing. I may read this one though after reading your review.

Hey, I saw a great bumpersticker on my drive in this morning: Against a blue background with an American flag were the words "I Miss Bill." :-)

In other news, you heard about Richard Hatch, right? The guy who won the million-dollar prize on the original "Survivor"? Seems he was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 13 years in the slammer. My thoughts: 1) If you want to know where the real power in this country resides, look not to the NSA, FBI, or what-not -- it's the IRS. Thirteen years for the taxes on a measly million dollars??? 2) Hatch gets 13 years, and the Enron guys, the Tom DeLays, the Karl Roves, the Jack Abramoffs -- not to mention George Bush -- still walk around free. Are our priorities screwed up, or what? 3) Hatch claims he was assured by the producers of the show that his winnings would be tax-free -- in other words, CBS would write him a check for a million, and they would write another check to the IRS paying the taxes on said million. Sounds fair, especially considering how the network has profited from this show. Shame on CBS if they pulled a fast one. 4) But regardless of what CBS promised or didn't promise, did or didn't do, in Hatch's place my FIRST job -- before I even deposited the check -- would have been to get a good accountant/investment/tax person to make sure all the i's get dotted and t's crossed. Money is dangerous! Like explosives or something -- the more you have of it, the more careful you have to be.

Hey, great review Livy! But I didn't get one for WoW -- just the one for Flightplan. Are you sure you sent it?? --Gary
Later: It did finally arrive, Livy. Another great review!

And today I read that Bush is no longer calling it domestic spying, it's now domestic surveillance. Ah, that sounds much better.

Karen, Saturday works for me. Final weekend of the Eyes of the World jewelry sale. I could be talked into taking the girls there if they insist on going. ;-)

Olivia, I have an idea for a Valentine surprise we could work on and send out to everyone. Give me a call and let's chat about it--but let's keep it a surprise. ;-)

P.S.: I hope Erika will tell us the story behind today's crawl... :-)

Emily, what's AP?

I heard on the news this morning that the Valentine, NE guy who weighed over 1,000 pounds and has lost 650 pounds this past year will be having surgery today to remove 100 pounds of skin. Eeewwww.

Linz/Olivia, Taco Hot Pockets are on the school lunch menu today. What the heck are they? Are they any good?

Amanda, I love reading the Bushism's, keep 'em coming.

I need to work on my Who Am I's. Only one I know for sure is Teghan. Pretty sure I found Emily and Erika. No clue where Karen, Marsha and Mom are. They're usually easy to spot.

I didn't have a very busy week this week and it was a nice change! The new semester started on Monday, and for once I got my schedule all ironed out! I ended up adding Personal Finance to replace my study hall. All of my other classes have been going well too, it seems like I got stuck with all of my tough ones first semester! We have already started to register for next year's classes as well! Looks like just about all of the classes I am planning on taking will be either AP or college credit, so hopefully that will go well!

Mom has been feeling better, and we went shopping this afternoon. Dad and Erika got new cell phones last week, so we stopped into the cell store to try and replace mine. But, after waiting in line for a half an hour, we were told we couldn't replace it until August! So that was a bit of a bummer, but Erika and Dad do have brand new ones.

I watched the first night of AI, but I had dance during the second night, so I only saw a bit of the end. The auditions are always my favorite part of the show!

Also, the other thing that baffles me about this situation is the US notion that the threat of a new attack on US soil is bogus. They say there has been no upswing in terrorist "chatter" therefore we shouldn't pay much attention to bin Laden's threat. Apparently it is this "chatter" that alerts us to a terrorist attack. OK, do you think the terrorists might have gotten smarter & figured out a different way to communicate & plan attacks, since the "chatter" affect is published daily?

I thought the same thing on your second point. For a while there (until reporters like Keith Olbermann drew attention to it) they were sending out terrorist alerts it seemed like every couple of days. But since then -- for months -- there have been no alerts, not even like now when the #1 terrorist makes an actual threat. Huh? --Gary

Today's Bushism is another good one: "I hope we get to the bottom of the answer. It's what I'm interested to know." Idiot...

They have been watching me for awhile. Pretty much since I did two major research projects in college. One for my major: "Middle East Terror Groups" that offered insight, facts & history over the top 25 terror groups. And then the research for the project over profiling serial killers (and other bad people). So, I would say I am definitely on a watch list. Going to Aljazeera just gives you another side of the story to look at, the unbiased side. And it usually reports things MUCH quicker. But, I figure I got into Senator Hagel's office, so I can't be tagged too bad!

Ah, much easier to read! :-) But you realize that if you visit that site, the NSA will be recording all your phone calls.... --Gary

That's hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!

First of all, my Arabic is a little rusty -- I'm impressed you got any details at all from that site. :-) With bin Laden making a threat on one hand and offering a truce on the other, the White House will certainly spin it as desperation on bin Laden's part; and maybe that's true. Even as inept as the U.S. pursuit of bin Laden has been, his organization can't be doing well. But I would expect Pat Robertson to urge everyone to see "Brokeback Mountain" before Bush would negotiate a truce with bin Laden. He'd strip every gear he has, throwing himself into reverse like that -- after years of "We don't deal with terrorists." --Gary

Karen, sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Sounds nasty.

I forgot to watch AI last night. I agree with Amanda, it's just on way too much. I really only like the auditions but I always get hooked into the competition too. And it's always big talk on the bus so you gotta watch to you fit in with your bus mates. ;-)

Nice quote today. Einstein was so cool.

Feel better! --Gary

I wish we could witness the hanging of Bush. A recent Zogby poll says 52% would like Congress to impeach Bush if he wiretapped American citizens without a judge's approval. If we can't have the hanging, I'd settle for impeachment.

Why not both? --Gary

Yeah, I saw it last May in the theater (here's my review). My review is kind of critical, though I did give it an 8 rating. I'm still not sure why it didn't quite sit right with me the first time; I was reaching for something in my review that I never did nail down. Anyway, I watched it again on DVD and was much more favorable toward it. Good movie! --Gary

And thanks to Teghan for submitting her Who Am I -- Now tell your big sister to get busy on hers! :-)

"I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging." --At the dedication of his portrait; Austin, Texas; January 4, 2002.

So, did anyone spot the next American Idol last night? Last night was Chicago, tonight is Denver.

Emily/Erika, I'd like your version of the trip to NE Furniture Mart. Your dad claims he wasn't nearly as 'happy' as you say.

We hit a record high yesterday of 69 degrees. What a beautiful weekend, perfect weather. This is what I wish our summers were like. And today the temp has dropped 35 degrees, chilly and windy with a slight chance of snow.

Oh yeah, I guess I will be the first on this page to allude to the big news from Minnesota: WOO-HOO! :-)

Speaking of linking to something, if you click here you will be whisked to the "Who Am I" page -- which seven of you have already done. That means fourteen of you haven't! You'll have plenty of time to fill it out -- 3-day weekend! :-)

Ha! :-) It's true, there's something about pie... Four people have sent in their answers so far, and I can say this one will be interesting! --Gary

If you had to eat in the same restaurant every day for a month (ordering whatever you wanted from the menu), which restaurant would you choose?

Just think about it, don't answer it here! And be careful not to share your answer with others... :-) And by the way, our last "Who Am I" game (#10) was in early June of last year.

I've received a few suggestions, but would always welcome more! I will have the game ready by the end of the week, in time for the weekend. --Gary

Ryan won a HUGE award & was notified this weekend. He received the NCO of the YEAR award for his squadron! What does that mean? NCO -- Non commissioned officer -- so anyone with the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-5) thru Chief Master Sergeant (E-9) is eligible. They judge you on your work performance, dedication to the job & military, appearance, community contributions & your basic lifestyle. There are about 225 people in his squadron & it is a yearly award, so this is huge! They do the same award, only quarterly, which isn't as big of a deal & Ryan lost out on that one a few months ago, but now he doesn't care. He now will go into a competition with all the yearly NCO award winners at Sheppard & they will decide who is the best NCO on the base. Anyhow, send Ryan congrats, he deserves this. He has worked very hard for the last 9 years in the military & he is finally being recognized. (Nice timing, right? 10 months before he will get out.)

Another great game last night! After a kind of lukewarm first half, the Rose Bowl finished with a real nail-biting final five minutes. And now, no more college football for another eight or nine months... bleahh...

Here's a little more catching up: I've brought the links page up to date. We now have five complete years of "cool sites"! I'd like to draw your attention to some good ones over the Christmas holidays that you may have missed: