Also, starting tomorrow: "If Cats Ruled the World" week.

Glad to hear Brent's surgery went well. Hope he gets to go home today.

When do Paul's come home?

Not sure. They're at sea today, and dock in L.A. either late tonight or sometime tomorrow. Then a plane trip home. --Gary

The beautiful snow here is melting like gangbusters. But it's nicely melting into the fields and lawns, not rushing in a stream down the gutters. A very well-behaved snow, this was!

Nice; but I've already got him on speed-dial. --Gary

Word. It is the George Bush of organs. --Gary

Thanks for the link -- some great pictures in there. Yeah, you see snowmen and snow forts and snow sculpture all over town (for the next few days, anyway, before it all melts this weekend). I've never seen a snowfall that cheered people up the way this one has. Usually people are grumbling about the slush and the shoveling and whatever, but when people talk about this snow, it's all smiles. :-) --Gary

Final port of call today for the cruisers: Cabo san Lucas!

Hadn't heard about the Caribbean one yet, but the thing in Chile I heard this morning. Yeesh! --Gary

Punch is excellent! --Gary

I have to shovel again this afternoon. I think we got more last night than we had during the day. The snow is so heavy, I hope it doesn't do any damage to the trees and bushes. I picked daffodils last Friday and a bunch more were just starting to bud, I hope they survive.

Erika, I can't believe you were brave enough to walk in a room full of snakes. Do you remember when you were little and we had to call them ballerinas because you didn't even want to hear the word snake?

Amanda, I didn't see any but I heard that people around here were noticing red spots on their cars--it was dirt from Texas that blew in.

Woo-hoo! I hadn't heard about UN-L extending the snow day until I read your note. So I checked the UN-L site to make sure. Best Snowstorm Ever! :-) --Gary

Sounds really cool, Emily. Keep your eyes on NASA now -- some years down the road you may see some of your design work on one of the Mars missions! Thanks for your write-up. --Gary

Yeah, I was watching at that time too. "We were on the Weather Channel!" --Gary

Cookie sales are OVER! Thank goodness!! Our troop sold 4692 boxes! We rocked! The troop donated 145 to the troops overseas. And our top seller was (drumroll please) TRISTEN! She sold 843, the highest ever sold in our troop in the 3 years we have been doing this!

I feel your pain, Erika. It's usually that way here too, but not this time! :-) --Gary

So I woke up for some reason around 3 am (just a few minutes ago) and figured I'd get up to look out the window. And saw nothing; not a single additional flake on the ground or in the air. Nertz! I thought. So I flipped on the TV to see how the weather forecasters were going to talk themselves out of this one. The forecast was basically unchanged: big snow on the way. And then the closings crawl listed UN-L! Woo-hoo! Snow day! I'm turning off the alarm and going back to bed!

Sorry, Emily, nothing arrived here. Give it another try...? --Gary

Meanwhile, the Mexico cruisers drove to the Omaha airport this morning just as the snow was beginning, and by now (late afternoon Sunday) they have arrived in sunny California and have probably boarded the ship. I saw Lindsey and Livy last night when they brought Ceaser over to stay at Grandma's, and they were really looking forward to the trip. I asked what their wake-up time was for their early flight and was told 3:15 am. Oh wait, here's a quick Livy story: We started talking about waking up in general and morning routines, and Lindsey mentioned that she liked a shower in the morning where Livy preferred a morning bath. She said to Livy, "A shower wakes me up, but a bath always relaxes me -- I don't know how you take a bath in the morning." After a pause, Livy said, "Well... I just sit." :-)

Thanks for your Movie Squares answers, Livy. You got 13 right! You missed 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, and 23. See you later! --Gary

We're looking forward to your reports! But don't lose any valuable eating time or recreation time by looking for an internet connection. :-) Have a great time! --Gary

I just noticed everyone has missed #20 so far, but I think nearly everyone has seen it. It has been reviewed twice (hint!) on our reviews page; and it's not "Pirates of the Caribbean"!

You got 17 right, missing 6, 12, 16, 19, 20, 22, and 23. --Gary

You got 20 right, Lindsey: you missed 16, 19, 20, and 23. --Gary

It's really hard to know how difficult these things will be. I start out seeing the whole picture, so even after I reduce it down to a small square I still know what the whole picture looks like -- so they all seem too easy to me! :-) On the other hand, even if the small square is easy, if you haven't seen the movie it's almost impossible.... Anyway, have fun.

Yeah, I'll be in San Francisco for about 6 days in April. It is for work, but I'll have very little to do -- which is nice. I haven't been back there in a long time. I'm also going to New Orleans in August, again for about a week. I'm attending a conference that will be held in the infamous Convention Center. Should be interesting! Feel better, Brent! And have fun in Des Moines, Erika! --Gary

If you don't trust your dad, you can always trust the crawl! For those who don't see it, today's crawl is: "The expression 'three dog night' comes from the Eskimos -- meaning a night so cold you have to bed down with three dogs to keep warm." --Gary

Here's a Super Shooter (cookie press). Google to the rescue! --Gary

And, canned chicken? What is that? Like tuna, or something else?

Anyone watch AI? We hate Bucky!!!!!!! We love Chris, Paris, Taylor & a few others...

I put in the links to their pictures as I'm not good with all their names yet. But you left out Kellie, who -- along with Chris -- are the two top talents! (In my humble opinion, of course.) --Gary

Linz, I'll add the dip recipe soon, too. ;-)

All are now on the recipe page. --Gary

I saw the Shatner show -- great stuff! It's playing again Thursday night at 7 and again at 11. Yeah, your storm was getting big play on the news here; wow! Glad you've got power and heat so you can enjoy it. --Gary

I just now put up the answers to the Movie Squares game, if anyone had any they couldn't figure out. Hope y'all enjoyed the game. Anyone for a Round #2...?

Boy, what a week you all have had! You all deserve a "snow day" and a treat, at least! --Gary

#24, for those who don't know -- and until a little while ago, that was everybody! -- is Singin' in the Rain. Rent it! You'll thank me! :-) --Gary

You can also click on Edit in the menu bar above, then click on Find for the same thing. Very useful! --Gary

I did get it, Livy. Count down 4 notes from this one and read it! :-) And you also told us a little about your bowling day: count down 14 notes and read that. --Gary

Teghan wants to be a Girl Scout & sell cookies SO bad, its unreal. She helps a lot. Everytime I have to go get more cookies from the warehouse Teghan helps unload every single case out of the back of the truck. She also saw some horses the other day here in town & now all she can talk about is wanting horses. She wants three and one will be named Princess. She actually for some reason thinks Grandpa Paul should get some & she can take care of them.

Hey Nelsons, how's Brent doing?

Hey, right now Emily is getting ready to have dinner on the beach at Galveston!

Thank you, Tristen, for playing the Movie Squares game. I got your answers last night. Everybody is stumped by the very last one; I knew that was going to be a hard one, but I put it in anyway -- so it doesn't really count. Tristen did great! Only missed one -- the one with the white cat. (#11 -- I've now numbered them.) If you take another look at it, Tristen, I bet you would get it!

Erika and Lindsey are the record-holders so far: All correct except for #24. Emily might want to take another look at #s 15 and 21 (and 24) -- though I imagine she might have more interesting things to do at the moment. Amanda should consult with Tristen on #21. Karen missed a perfect score because of #s 2, 6, 14, 22, and 24. And our Mystery Guest (or should that be Mystery Guesser) missed #s 2, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 21, 22, 23, and 24 in addition to leaving off their name.

And have fun today, Erika! I always liked that custom of local schools choosing an out-of-town team to cheer for. Be sure to make your parents treat you special next week. With Emily getting a trip to Houston and you getting a trip to the dentist, you ought to be able to really make that work for you! :-)

Even though the Movie Squares game is just for fun -- no prizes, no winners (though I will post the scores later) -- I will say that Erika and Lindsey have done the best job so far: only missed one (the one at the end, which no one has gotten right yet!)

Glad you like it! Think of this one as a warm-up. I made this one with Tristen in mind, after she had a tough time with the Oscars. (Though, come to think of it, her score and my score were not that different...!) Anyway, this one -- except maybe for the very last square?? -- should be more "accessible" to younger viewers. :-) --Gary

Tristen, what are you doing for Spring break?

Yes, seeing the work of the Founding Fathers dissolve before my eyes is making me a little grumpy today. So how about playing a fun game? (Thanks for the link, John!)

Thanks, Sean. I think you're probably taller than Trump, not shorter, but fixing that would have been quite a bit more work! --Gary

Also, congratulations to Livy, for being the only one who picked the Best Picture!

Lindsey (and Donna), I added the Oscar hand-over date to the countdown page. And hey Lindsey, thanks for the reviews! --Gary

Egad, you're right about Sam! I see what I did: About halfway through the scoring, I mistakenly included her with the 17-and-unders as her score was identical to Lindsey's at that point. Anyway, I have re-written the 2006 Oscar results to reflect this. Sorry, everybody! As to your new categories: Nice idea, but... Our 17-year cut-off is purely legal, to protect me from lawsuits. :-) There are many movies that the 17-and-unders can't go to; when we older-than-17s don't see them, it's because we choose not to. Anyway, I've got a new movie game starting Thursday where the under-17s may very well outshine the over-17s. Be there! Aloha! --Gary

You will need at least Internet Explorer 6, Media Player 10, and Macromedia Flash 7 for it to work. If you have all of the above, enjoy! --Gary

Yeah, no matter how I fiddled with it, it looked a little...off. I finally came to the conclusion that Renee Zellweger has weird shoulders and arms. --Gary

Okay, out of context that's probably the weirdest sentence ever to appear on these pages. But the answer is: Renee Zellweger. --Gary

Wednesday-- packed up & caught my flight! Nothing major to speak of this day! I was glad to come home! This concludes my trip. I can't wait to go back. I can't wait to go with Tristen & Ryan either. Ryan has been, but it was just like London, where he had like 8 hours to drive by & run up to stuff.

Thanks for doing these write-ups, Amanda. What a great trip! --Gary

I did hear it, Livy -- I got up to watch it too. Very loud, with lots of thunder and lightning! Have fun with the Cha Cha Slide! --Gary

Yeah, Livy, this note arrived at 2:35 am!!! Hey, I thought you were going bowling last Friday. Be sure to tell us about it when you do go. Oh, P.S., Amanda: Thanks for the Bush card! It arrived a couple of days ago. It's horrible! :-) --Gary

Gary~
We got the Oscar ballot too. Though, since Ryan didn't do it I dont know that we will watch that much. Especially if Desperate Housewives & Grey's Anatomy is on. Ryan got on to fill it out the morning you took it off.. Oh well.

The scoresheets had already been printed off and mailed out by the time I took the page down. (Before I took it down I even called Ryan to remind him and waited an extra day -- and that was after daily reminders on the newsletter for the final week.) Sorry you missed it, Ryan, but I had to mail the sheets when I did to make sure everyone got them in time. --Gary

To really get in the spirit of the Oscars this Sunday, you should all do what Grandma's going to do: She's preparing a meal with all the same dishes that Wolfgang Puck will be serving at the Oscar dinner -- spicy tuna tartare in a sesame miso cone, smoked salmon pizza with dill creme fraiche and caviar, citrus-marinated shrimp, green and white asparagus with prosciutto, marinated baby artichokes with lemon aioli and a smoked salmon Oscar matza with caviar, hot soup of celery root and apple with real 24-carat gold dusted on top, organic chicken with risotto made with black truffles; and for dessert, little bittersweet chocolate Oscars covered with gold dust. She's also giving everyone a "goodie bag" just like the winners will get, full of gifts totalling over $55,000. Should be fun!

Monday-- We got up & headed out to catch a Tourmobile! First it took us to Arlington Cemetary where we visited the Kennedy graves & then went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in time for a changing of the guard ceremony. It was unforgettable. It was freezing cold that morning & it is up high on a hill, and just about the time the ceremony started a light snow fell. The snow stopped shortly after. Then we visited Arlington House which I never knew existed & has a great story behind it. We drove by the Lincoln Memorial which is under heavy construction, the Jefferson Memorial, the new FDR memorial, the WW2, Korean War & Vietnam Memorial. We didn't get out at each stop, as we were sure we would come back to visit them in person later that day (which of course, we didn't! We ran out of time!) But, we went to Union Station for a little lunch & hot drinks to warm us up. Then we headed back onto the Tourmobile to head to the Washington Monument. We secured tickets to ride to the top. This was amazing. I have a little fear of elevators, cramped spaces & heights, so I was a little concerned. But, the elevator was the most secure feeling one I have ever been in, it only took us 70 seconds to ride up the 555 5/8 feet & the Park Ranger talked the whole time telling us the story of its building. Then once you are on top you forget it all because the views are amazing. If you ever go to DC, you have to do this! As we got to the Washington Monument a US Air Force helicopter flew by very low & very close to the monument, and guess where it landed? On the ellipse at the White House right next to us! We wondered who it was??? Then we headed back to the hotel where we met up with some Veteran's my mom works with from North Carolina & we went out to eat at Legal Seafood. It was excellent. Oh, one other night we went to a family owned Greek restaraunt. It was SO good!! Makes me want some spanakopita!

And, that's enough for now! Tuesday & Wednesday, my last days will some soon! (But they were the most uneventful & I was exhausted!)

Have fun bowling today, Livy!

Friday-- we got up & went to the Holocaust Museum and that was a worthwhile visit. We were there for about 2 or 3 hours & could have spent more time there. Some of the most moving parts were when you walked through one of the train cars used to transport people, and then the room full of shoes. It was a room half the size of my house that had shoes from the deceased that came up to your calves. It gave me the chills. When we were done there we headed to the Dirksen Senate building where we grabbed lunch in a basement cafe. At 3 we headed up to Senator Hagel's office where one of the staffers showed me around a little bit (Senator Hagel was in Nebraska) and then an intern took us down into the basement & we rode the "Senate staff & Senators only" underground rail car that took us to the basement of the capitol through one of the many underground tunnels. We had an hour long tour of the capitol, which included the old Supreme Court room, the old House of Representatives room (the whisper room), the Rotunda -- which was amazing, and the room under the rotunda which includes the spot on the floor that is the absolute center of DC. We also got gallery passes to see the House of Representatives. That was amazing to me to see the room where the State of the Union address is held & to think of how many important people had been there before. Also amazing to me were the paintings throughout the capital on the walls & ceilings that were done my Brumaldi -- I never knew it all existed.

Saturday-- Up early & out to the White House. It was a COLD morning on this day & we had a few blocks to walk. We, for some reason, got put at the head of the line when we told the Secret Service guys we had a congressionally arranged tour, so we felt pretty important. We got to tour the Library, Vermeil Room, and the Diplomatic Reception room. Then we went upstairs to the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, State Dining Room & the Cross & Entrance Halls & out the front doors. It was very impressive. It was neat to see rooms that we have seen before on TV & in pictures (East Room & State Dining Room mainly). The Blue Room was by far my favorite. (If you go to the website I have here & click on each room you can see a real picture of the room.) This wasn't a guided tour & there was Secret Service in each room & they aren't the most friendly and talkative, so a visit to the White House Visitors Center (which is about a block away) before or after the actual tour is very helpful. One thing that shocked me a bit is how close everything is. The Treasury Building is not but 50 yards away from the East side of the White House. I guess in pictures the White House seems secluded a bit, but it is not. After this tour we went to the National Archives and it was very cool. Right away you see the Magna Carta which is AMAZING. Of course, my latin is shaky but it was still phenomenal to see an 800 year old document (that was signed in Runnymede, England--WHICH I'VE BEEN TO, extra cool!) that laid the foundation for democracy. Then the rotunda which holds the Charters of Freedom was an awesome experience. Then that afternoon I headed to the Smithsonian Museum of American History where I spent a few hours looking at the First Ladies dresses, a huge exhibit on the presidents, some fun stuff like the Seinfeld puffy shirt & Dorothy's red slippers. Also there was the Star Spangled Banner which is being refurbished & you can see the room with the famous flag laid out being worked on. It is the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key's famous tune. It was awesome, the room it was in was almost the size of my house! But, one of the most breathtaking things here was the entrance where they have hanging the American flag that was draped over the damaged Pentagon on September 12, 2001. It was chilling. You can't imagine it unless you see it. Of course, that's how all this stuff is in this city!

Anyhow, that concludes this commentary. I have typed enough for now. I will pick up with Sunday at a later time!

Welcome back! --Gary

I don't know what their thinking is, aside from it being a general Republican strategy to excuse the rich from paying anything and require the poor to pay for everything. Why shouldn't the same apply to insurance...? --Gary

Oooops! I guess I thought for a minute this was my own private page. :-) Okay, the Oscar race is all over (except for the part where they open up all those envelopes and read the names). I put together the scoresheets and mailed them off today to you out-of-towners. They should all arrive by Saturday. The only iffy one, said the postal person, was Texas. So if you Iowa Parkers don't receive yours in Saturday's mail, let me know and I'll email the list to you. It won't be as convenient to use, but at least you'll be able to play along. By the way, anyone who happens to be in Lincoln on Oscar night is invited over to Grandma's to watch the festivities on the big-screen!

February was Sweeps Month, when all the television stations are closely tracked to see how many people are watching, and some interesting results emerged. One, Fox "News" was down overall and MSNBC up overall; but especially interesting was the 7 o'clock slot, when the swinish Bill O'Reilly is on opposite Keith Olbermann's program. From this time a year ago, O'Reilly's viewership is down 21%, while Olbermann's is up 55%. Are people coming to their senses at last...? :-)

Anyone out there insured by Geico (like me, at the moment)? I learned several months ago that Geico is a "red" company, meaning they invest in and donate to right-wing Republican causes, which was enough to make me decide to switch to another insurer (like Progressive, a "blue" company which invests in Democratically-backed companies and causes) when my policy runs out. But just today I learned this about Geico: They use your education and job status to figure out how much to charge. In short, blue-collar workers and those with less formal education pay more. For example, a 30-year-old single male would pay $1,686 a year if he is a lawyer with a master's degree. But the same man living at the same address, driving the same car and having the same coverage would pay $2,880 if he reported being a janitor with only a high school degree. This stinks. And it is being investigated right now by two Democratic senators who are drafting a bill to ban this practice. Bottom line: That number is 1-800-PROGRESSIVE.