Here is the original version--the one I will download as soon as it becomes available! I was very surprised that I found it.
Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley sang 'Hallelujah' live on French TV in 1995--that is where this video is from. In 1997 he drowned at the age of 30. Tragic.
Goodnight Moon
I found the video with the band Shivaree--might be the original one. I had never seen this before--just love the song, so I didn't care about the video. :)
Sweet Home Chicago
Clapton is up again playing this song. The other soloist is Doyle Bramhall II--he is amazing. Bramhall was part of Clapton's band when we saw them in concert--he is left-handed and plays a right-handed guitar upside down and backwards! It was awsome watching him play.
(I'm Your) Hootchie Cootchie Man
I was able to find this video of Muddy Waters singing Hootchie Cootchie Man at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960. Great rendition of the song. I really love the piano.
Salt Of The "Oval" Silhouette
This is salt of the Death Valley floor as far as the eye can see ("See Salt"). This salt may be eaten but it is not reccommended. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks, Copyright-2005Salt Of The "Oval" Silhouette
There is Sea Salt and then there is "See Salt". Many love to experiment with different types of salt this great Earth provides while others don't get much farther than ripping open the paper packets or breaking the "perfs" on the servings provided at the local In-N-Out.
Here is a posting that shows how far afield one can get when one explores the worlds of salt and salt culture - there is even a blog dedicated to JUST SALT!
Consider this originally posted at Pajamas Media -
Whereas I used to have two salts – table and kosher – in my pantry, I now have six, and counting.
by Nancy Rommelmann
Let me explain.
First, an acquaintance began importing Portuguese Flor de Sal, the “flower of salt” harvested from salt crystals that float on the water’s surface. Snowy white and sparkling, its taste is both delicate and briny. My husband and I used it when we were feeling fancy, pinching it on top of fresh bread dipped in good olive oil.
Soon after, a friend gave me a box of Maldon sea salt, from Britain. This salt is flaked, looking like translucent bits of shale, and its flavor is clean and sweet. I started to stir it into chocolate chip cookie dough, and found the chocolate and salt pinged off each other, pushing up the cookie’s “wah!” factor. I next sprinkled it on a caramel sundae, also to good effect; the salt hit intensifying and by contrast mellowing caramel’s milky sweetness.
Why did these things happen? As best I could figure, what I’d heretofore been using—regular table salt—was a miniscule grain, and thus too easily diffused; it made things “salty,” but that’s it. The sea salt, by contrast, had texture, and hence enough muscle to punch out discrete pockets of flavor.
The beginnings of a Death Valley salt flat. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks, Copyright 2005Hmm. Were other flavor amplifications as easy as adding the right salt? And if so, what kinds of salt?
In order to learn how far I could go, I first looked up were we’d been. A cruise around the web taught me that in ancient Rome, a soldier’s pay was in salt, thus the word “salary”; that in Rabbinic literature, salt was a metaphor for wisdom, and that France’s Medieval salt tax, the onerous “gabelle,” was in part responsible for inciting the French Revolution. I knew from experience that salt-free bread tasted like cardboard, and that eggs and soups were ghastly without salt, they simply need it, as do all living things: no creature on earth can survive without sodium and chlorine, the two main components of salt.
My fetish with this most common of staples must have been part of the cultural flotsam, for in short order my husband came home with a set of Danish modern salt and pepper grinders and announced, “I like a salt you can grind,” and a gourmet shop specializing in “finishing salts” opened a few blocks from our house.
“Welcome,” said the proprietress of The Meadow, pouring small cups of a port-like Banyuls from the Pyrenees, as we faced a panorama of salt, in feathery mounds and quartz-like slabs and one mortar and pestle made entirely of rose-colored salt from Pakistan. There were nearly fifty salts, from Bali and Cypress, Bolivia and Portugal, Peru and New Zealand and Vietnam. There were salts smoked over French oak casks used to age Chardonnay, and salts speckled with Tahitian vanilla bean. There were shards of salt so sharp I could imagine it slicing my tongue to bits, and salt as fluffy as baby powder. There were deep-sea salts and salts from quarries and those derived from volcanic clay; gold salt and silver salt; salt black as pitch and white as cream. Salt that tasted like salt, salt that tasted of smoke, of fruit, of mineral, or metal. Tasting pinch after pinch, reading how the salts were procured and by whom was like hearing a new language, and one that you could learn rather quickly, simply by being curious.
Though in truth, it was not possible to be too curious; my mouth simply couldn’t take more than a dozen salts, no matter how many honey-roasted cocoa beans I ate to cleanse the palate. We wound up buying two— Hiwa Molokai Black Lava, and Alaea Volcanic. The first is black and rocky and intense; the latter, a dusty rose, lightly crunchy, and mild. We’ve used them for poultry and popcorn and to salt the rims of cocktail glasses. I like them both but sense there are others I will like more, and after that, another.
Though I am not yet as evangelical as the owner of the Meadow—who blogs that “a strong relationship with gourmet salt safeguards against the stagnation and turpitude that overtakes us as money, children, and slackening metabolism slowly suck the juice from our bones”—I do see how this first step might lead right down the wormhole. That once we insert the sublime on the everyday, it’s hard to go any other way. For now, I am content to know there’s a little colored salt in the cupboard, and perhaps next week, a Halen Mon Gold from the coast of Wales, because I read it is exceptionally harmonious with sweets, and maybe a Fleur de Sel de l’Ile de Ré, which is said to smell like violets.
How Death Valley Salt Is Made - Video Credit: Edmund Jenks, Copyright 2005
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Nancy Rommelmann is a columnist and feature writer for the Los Angeles Times, the LA Weekly, Bon Appetit and other publications, and a frequent contributor to Portland Food & Drink. She is the author of several books, including Everything You Pretend to Know About Food And Are Afraid Someone Will Ask, and the recently completed memoir, Leaving Los Angeles. Her personal blog can be read here.
Layla
I did the My Seven (Plus One) post several days ago and realized how very eclectic my taste in music is--and obscure. So, I decided to try and find as many of the songs as I can and post them so that others can hear what I hear. The first one I have is 'Layla' by Eric Clapton. This particular video is from The Prince's Trust Concert from a few years back. While the song isn't played exactly like the original--I REALLY miss the sound of the slide guitar 'floating' above the rest of the instruments--it DEFINITELY shows what Clapton can do. If you watch the video closely, you can see Elton John playing piano and Mark Knopfler playing onstage next to Clapton. Enjoy.
Things NOT To Do With Your Husband
K went out and bought an HDTV-ready Sony the other night. It is absolutely gorgeous and I THINK the picture will be worth the money--when we get it set up properly. I don't know if we are total idiots, if the Sony company has no idea HOW to write instruction manuals, if we didn't do the right kind of or enough research, or if Charter cable has us over a barrel, but things just are not going the way I thought they should. It should be as easy as plug in a cable and you're done, right? In your dreams!
First, K is just like every other man: try first, read the directions later. All of this was going on while the Wings were playing, so I wasn't going to be part of the hook-up. While the TV got hooked-up and playing, it wasn't completely right. It didn't help that he insisted on having the display as wide-screen zoom, even though the feed wasn't made to be seen in wide-screen. The pixilation was horrid! He was happy just to be able to watch TV in wide-screen. After the game was over, he went to bed. Of course, before closing the bedroom door he told me, "You can tweak it to make it better if you want." (Translation: fix the TV so that it works right.)
The following day after he got home from work, the first thing he asked was, "Did you fix the TV?" "No, I had other things I needed to do, so it is just the way you left it." He left the kitchen in a bit of a funk. Later that evening, after he had gone to bed, I tried tweaking the thing. It is not doing what I think it should.
Today after he came home we BOTH tried different things to get the thing working properly. It is working fine, it just is not working as it should and I have a solution for fixing it: Call someone who works with these things and have them set it up the right way! We don't even have to go through the cable company proper--maybe--because we know someone who works FOR the company. All K has to do is call the guy and ask his opinion--he just might be willing to come in and take a look. I know we will HAVE to get an HDTV receiver in order to get the HDTV signal--that much is a given. K won't even agree to that, yet. At this point, we have to use TWO remotes in order to watch the TV--one for the digital box to change channels and one for the TV to work the volume and every other feature the TV has. I'm thinking there MUST be a way to only have to use one remote in order to watch TV--but, then, this IS Charter we are talking about. I'm also thinking we will be able to get the HDTV feed for broadcast stations WITHOUT having to buy the HDTV tier through Charter--as long as we have the receiver. K thinks we will have to buy the tier. I am not understanding why we can't find any digital channels when we try setting them up--we ARE paying for digital cable, after all. K thinks it is because the digital channels are coming directly through the receiver--and he might be right about that. There just are too many unanswered questions and I think we need help.
In the span of about an hour, while trying to get this thing hooked-up properly, I was ready to call a lawyer and start divorce proceedings. The two of us CANNOT work with any electronics, TALK about electronics, be in the same room as any electronic devises, turn on and use any electronic devises, and still expect to stay married. I am an example of 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' and K is a man, so this is NOT going to work. If we can't come to some kind of understanding, then I will have to do something on my own--and then I will have to call a lawyer.
From US News & World Report:
Iranians Had Showdown With U.S. Forces
Iranians Had Showdown With U.S. Forces
According to a U.S. Army report out of Iraq obtained by U.S. News, American troops, acting as advisers for Iraqi border guards, were recently surrounded and attacked by a larger unit of Iranian soldiers, well within the border of Iraq.What is interesting is that the news story says the incident occurred "well within the border of Iraq", yet looking at the Army report this is not at all clear. The report says it happened "near the Iran/Iraq border." To the question "Was it on the Iraq or Iranian side of the border?" the report says only that "The exact location is part of the ongoing investigation into this incident."
The report highlights the details: A platoon of Iranian soldiers on the Iraqi side of the border fired rocket-propelled grenades and used small arms against a joint patrol of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers east of Balad Ruz. Four Iraqi Army soldiers, one interpreter, and one Iraqi border policeman remain unaccounted for after the September incident in eastern Diyala, 75 miles east of Baghdad.
Government Privatizing National Security
Due to its increasing practice of contracting out to private firms and agencies, the U.S. government is quickly losing its expertise and competence in vital national security and defense programs, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The number of private federal contractors has now risen to 7.5 million, which is four times greater than the federal workforce itself, the report indicates. Such a trend is leading the government to what Wysocki calls the "outsourcing [of] its brain."
"Oddball" Earth
False-color satellite image of Chimborazo (center, left), Carihuairazo (10km northwest of Chimborazo), Tungurahua (center, right with ash plume) and El Altar (bottom, right), Ecuador. Pale blue indicates snow/ice cover, bright green indicates lush vegetation, and red indicates sparser vegetation. Tungurahua’s volcanic ash plume appears in lavender. Image width is 78km, image direction is top to North. Image Credit: Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory, based on data provided by the Landsat 7 science team and the University of Maryland’s Global Land Cover Facility."Oddball" Earth
An interesting fact was revealed in a highlighted segment of the morning's news on ABC7, Los Angeles and that is - Mount Everest is NOT the tallest place on Earth, ie. the place on Earth that would be the closest spot next to any other celestial object.
The segment pointed out that the Earth is not perfectly spherical. The Earth has a shape that a beach ball would assume when someone sits on the ball. Kind of an oval silhouette type of shape known formally as an "Oblate Spheroid"! ... Hence the name of this weblog.
The point here is that when one takes this spheroid shape into consideration ... the "tallest" place on Earth would be located logically somewhere around the Equator and it has been found as a volcano in Ecuador.
Mount Chimborazo is located in the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes of central Ecuador, 150 km (93 miles) south-southwest of the capital Quito.
The shadow of Chimborazo as seen from the top of the mountain. Image Credit: Gerd BreitenbachThis description from Wikipedia -
Farthest point from earth center
Although the summit of Mount Everest reaches a higher elevation above sea level, the summit of Chimborazo is widely reported to be the farthest point from earth center (Senne 2000), although this could be challenged by Huascarán. Chimborazo is just one degree south of the equator and the earth's diameter at the equator is greater than at Everest's latitude (nearly 28° north), with sea level also being elevated. So, despite being 2,581 m (8,568 ft) lower in elevation above sea level, it is 6,384.4 km (3,968 mi) from the Earth's center, 2.1 km farther than the summit of Everest.
Mount Chimborazo as viewed from the Southwest. Image Credit: WikipediaReference Here>>
After eating some rats and nearly being killed by a mudslide in Baños, we took off more or less at random and decided for the other side of Chimborazo. First day of approach walking up scree slopes with big packs. Then we didn't feel like going to the summit the next day (that is to say, Vincent was altitude-sick, as usual), so we just went for some ice-climbing on the face on a route that led to nowhere. Basically the rule was: "go where it's steepest". In fact it is hard for us ice climbers to find any routes of technical interest on those gentle-sloped volcanoes. Well, we managed to find a couple pitches of 80° ice. The rock around is real bad though. Image Credit: Guillaume Dargaud
Traditional summit picture on Chimborazo, this time with some sun. The Altar is visible on the right and Iliniza (?) on the left. The Altar is not very well known but it is one of the nicest mountains of Ecuador. It is also one of the hardest, having been first climbed only in the 50's by an italian team. Image Credit: Guillaume DargaudWith this change in perspective, it's funny ya' know but the gentlemen pictured above did not know that they had just scaled the tallest point on the planet Earth.
Poll AnswersQUESTION:
Who was the first person to climb and conquer Chimborazo and replace Sir Edmund Hillary as the first person to the "Top Of The World"?
Any comments?
They Blew It Again
Every team has 'those games,' but the Wings seemed to have more than their share this year. From a 3-0 lead in the second, the Stars came back in the third to tie. No score during overtime and the Stars won in the shootout. And this isn't the first time the Wings have given up a 3-0 lead this season. I sure hope they don't do this during the playoffs!
The game wasn't broadcast on any channel I get, so I had to listen to it on web-radio. So, I really can't tell how well Detroit played, but it sounded like a decent game. Only four more games till the playoffs. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.
Word is that Kopecky won't be back for any of the regular season games. Don't really know if he will be back till next year. And in the first minute of tonight's game, Kronwall was hurt and brought to the hospital. They said it was his hip, but won't know everything till after they run all the tests. Time will tell with it all.
The game wasn't broadcast on any channel I get, so I had to listen to it on web-radio. So, I really can't tell how well Detroit played, but it sounded like a decent game. Only four more games till the playoffs. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.
Word is that Kopecky won't be back for any of the regular season games. Don't really know if he will be back till next year. And in the first minute of tonight's game, Kronwall was hurt and brought to the hospital. They said it was his hip, but won't know everything till after they run all the tests. Time will tell with it all.
NHL and Fighting
During the pre-game show tonight, there was some discussion--again--about fights taking place during games. (And despite all the talk, there is much less fighting going on these days than there was in years past. Believe me, I remember.) They went over the position of the players and the position of some of the powers-that-be and the position of everyone else, etc, etc, etc. I could go on and on about fighting in the NHL and I could give the reasoning behind it and the reasoning behind banning fights, but I won't go over the same ground that others have gone over again and again ad nauseum. The thing I have to say is this:
Some people say they won't watch hockey because of the fighting. I can guarantee this: the people who do not watch hockey now would NOT watch it even if you turned all hockey games into a freaking ice-ballet! Just say you don't like hockey--you won't hurt anyone's feelings by saying it! I have no hesitation when I say how much I hate football--and there is NOTHING that can be changed about the game to make me like it. So, don't try to change a game that I love by criticizing it and (possibly) bringing about changes that will not make the game better--just say you hate the sport and be done with it.
That is all.
Some people say they won't watch hockey because of the fighting. I can guarantee this: the people who do not watch hockey now would NOT watch it even if you turned all hockey games into a freaking ice-ballet! Just say you don't like hockey--you won't hurt anyone's feelings by saying it! I have no hesitation when I say how much I hate football--and there is NOTHING that can be changed about the game to make me like it. So, don't try to change a game that I love by criticizing it and (possibly) bringing about changes that will not make the game better--just say you hate the sport and be done with it.
That is all.
My Seven (Plus One)
Burg tagged me to list seven songs I am listening to. As I have the tendency to either 1) listen to entire albums until I want to puke, or 2) have music on for background noise, I decided to change this a little. I am going to list the seven songs I don't think I could EVER get sick of listening to--even if I listened to them every single day, multiple times. I will explain the 'plus one' at the end of the list. (Besides, I DO have this as the mix labeled 'BEST.') Here goes:
1) Layla by Eric Clapton (Derek and the Dominoes)--original version
This simply has to be the best song ever written. While I DO like the 'Unplugged' version, the original is my favorite. From the guitar riffs to the plaintive lyrics, it doesn't come any better than this. Clapton is at his best with his singing and playing--I guess unrequited love IS a good motivator for writing songs! At the time he wrote this, he was in love with George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd. After Boyd and Harrison divorced, Clapton married her. Clapton and Harrison remained best friends through the years--they called each other 'husbands-in-law.' Clapton eventually divorced Pattie. Most, if not all, of the songs on the Derek and the Dominoes album 'Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs' were supposedly written about Pattie.
2) (I'm Your) Hootchie Cootchie Man written by Willie Dixon
I love the blues and this is one of my favorite songs. I have it by several people--Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, etc--and I can't pick whose version I like the best. It is just down and dirty blues. A good, good song.
3) Sweet Home Chicago written by Robert Johnson
Anyone who has seen the movie 'The Blues Brothers' has heard this song. Possibly the best Chicago blues song ever written. I have it performed by Eric Clapton, but I really liked the way the 'Blues Brothers' did it in the movie, also. Good blues, but then Robert Johnson didn't write anything that WASN'T good!
4) Goodnight Moon by Shivaree
This song was played at the end of 'Kill Bill, Vol 2' while 'The Bride' was driving in a convertible. As soon as I heard it, I KNEW I had to find and download it. It is very quirky and once you hear it, you don't forget it--and it keeps playing over and over in your mind! It just hooked me and has never let me loose.
5) Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter
This is the song that is in the video of the 'blood bath' game between Detroit and Colorado. The person that put the video and music together did a fantastic job--and I haven't been able to get the song out of my head. This is the newest 'best' song on my list.
6) Desire by Ryan Adams
I guess this is the closest I will ever get to country music. (Ryan Adams is listed as an alt-country artist in some places.) This I first heard on the Fox show 'House, MD.' It is quite a haunting song and the lyrics are great:
7) Hallelujah written by Leonard Cohen
Many, many people have covered this song, but the best--in my opinion--was by the late Jeff Buckley. This is another song I picked up from 'House, MD'--they have WONDERFUL music on that show. Buckley's voice seemed to be very well suited for this song. Another haunting song.
(Plus one) While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Clapton makes another appearance via this song--albeit a supporting one. This song was written by George Harrison and it is on The Beatles 'White Album.' Clapton DID play on that recording. My copy of the song is the one that was on the album 'The Concert For Bangladesh.' Harrison held a benefit concert for the country of Bangladesh in 1971 with the proceeds from the concert, album, and movie to benefit the country. At this time, Clapton was well into his heroin addiction and Harrison invited him to participate in the concert as a way for him to get out into the world again. Despite Clapton barely getting to the concert on time and without rehearsing, Clapton gave one of the best performances of his life on this song. The guitar on this song is hauntingly beautiful. (Do we sense a trend here with the word 'haunting?') Anyway, this gets the 'plus one' spot because I don't have the version of the song that I want. When I can get the song off of the 'White Album' without having to pay $30 for the ENTIRE album, then I will have to decide if this song replaces one of the first seven. Then again, I just might expand my list to include all eight songs.
I hope you enjoyed the list--and that the songs weren't TOO obscure! As for who I want to tag, I will just say: EVERYONE! I enjoyed doing it and enjoy reading other people's lists even more.
1) Layla by Eric Clapton (Derek and the Dominoes)--original version
This simply has to be the best song ever written. While I DO like the 'Unplugged' version, the original is my favorite. From the guitar riffs to the plaintive lyrics, it doesn't come any better than this. Clapton is at his best with his singing and playing--I guess unrequited love IS a good motivator for writing songs! At the time he wrote this, he was in love with George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd. After Boyd and Harrison divorced, Clapton married her. Clapton and Harrison remained best friends through the years--they called each other 'husbands-in-law.' Clapton eventually divorced Pattie. Most, if not all, of the songs on the Derek and the Dominoes album 'Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs' were supposedly written about Pattie.
2) (I'm Your) Hootchie Cootchie Man written by Willie Dixon
I love the blues and this is one of my favorite songs. I have it by several people--Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, etc--and I can't pick whose version I like the best. It is just down and dirty blues. A good, good song.
3) Sweet Home Chicago written by Robert Johnson
Anyone who has seen the movie 'The Blues Brothers' has heard this song. Possibly the best Chicago blues song ever written. I have it performed by Eric Clapton, but I really liked the way the 'Blues Brothers' did it in the movie, also. Good blues, but then Robert Johnson didn't write anything that WASN'T good!
4) Goodnight Moon by Shivaree
This song was played at the end of 'Kill Bill, Vol 2' while 'The Bride' was driving in a convertible. As soon as I heard it, I KNEW I had to find and download it. It is very quirky and once you hear it, you don't forget it--and it keeps playing over and over in your mind! It just hooked me and has never let me loose.
5) Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter
This is the song that is in the video of the 'blood bath' game between Detroit and Colorado. The person that put the video and music together did a fantastic job--and I haven't been able to get the song out of my head. This is the newest 'best' song on my list.
6) Desire by Ryan Adams
I guess this is the closest I will ever get to country music. (Ryan Adams is listed as an alt-country artist in some places.) This I first heard on the Fox show 'House, MD.' It is quite a haunting song and the lyrics are great:
Two hearts fading, like a flower.
And all this waiting, for the power.
For some answer, to this fire.
Sinking slowly. The water’s higher.
Desire
With no secrets. No obsession.
This time I'm speeding with no direction.
Without a reason. What is this fire?
Burning slowly. My one and only.
Desire
You know me. You know my way in.
You just can't show me, but God I'm praying,
That you'll find me, and that you'll see me,
That you run and never tire.
Desire
7) Hallelujah written by Leonard Cohen
Many, many people have covered this song, but the best--in my opinion--was by the late Jeff Buckley. This is another song I picked up from 'House, MD'--they have WONDERFUL music on that show. Buckley's voice seemed to be very well suited for this song. Another haunting song.
(Plus one) While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Clapton makes another appearance via this song--albeit a supporting one. This song was written by George Harrison and it is on The Beatles 'White Album.' Clapton DID play on that recording. My copy of the song is the one that was on the album 'The Concert For Bangladesh.' Harrison held a benefit concert for the country of Bangladesh in 1971 with the proceeds from the concert, album, and movie to benefit the country. At this time, Clapton was well into his heroin addiction and Harrison invited him to participate in the concert as a way for him to get out into the world again. Despite Clapton barely getting to the concert on time and without rehearsing, Clapton gave one of the best performances of his life on this song. The guitar on this song is hauntingly beautiful. (Do we sense a trend here with the word 'haunting?') Anyway, this gets the 'plus one' spot because I don't have the version of the song that I want. When I can get the song off of the 'White Album' without having to pay $30 for the ENTIRE album, then I will have to decide if this song replaces one of the first seven. Then again, I just might expand my list to include all eight songs.
I hope you enjoyed the list--and that the songs weren't TOO obscure! As for who I want to tag, I will just say: EVERYONE! I enjoyed doing it and enjoy reading other people's lists even more.
Take THAT Nashville!
The Wings won against Nashville 2-1. The game was very good and Detroit was ready for it--and Nashville even played quite well. It was nice to see Nashville play without the little pissant Tootoo--tonight was the last night of his suspension. They have too many good players to have to put up with the crap Tootoo pulls. I hope Barry Trotz realizes that he is more of a liability than an asset. With this win, Detroit won six of the eight games they played with Nashville this year. As of tonight, Detroit and Nashville are tied for first place in the league.
I don't know who picks the stars of the game on Yahoo's site, but I wonder what THEY are smoking! Tonight they picked Datsyuk as number 1 (I agree), Bertuzzi as number 2 (again, I agree), and Nashville's Legwand as number 3--and I very much disagree with the number three pick! Osgood was amazing in the net for Detroit tonight--he DEFINITELY should have been one of the stars! Oh, well, I guess the one who scored Nashville's only goal deserved the third star. Yeah, right.
I don't know who picks the stars of the game on Yahoo's site, but I wonder what THEY are smoking! Tonight they picked Datsyuk as number 1 (I agree), Bertuzzi as number 2 (again, I agree), and Nashville's Legwand as number 3--and I very much disagree with the number three pick! Osgood was amazing in the net for Detroit tonight--he DEFINITELY should have been one of the stars! Oh, well, I guess the one who scored Nashville's only goal deserved the third star. Yeah, right.
I spent more than 35 years in the department enforcing federal civil rights laws — particularly voting rights. Before leaving in 2005, I worked for attorneys general with dramatically different political philosophies — from John Mitchell to Ed Meese to Janet Reno. Regardless of the administration, the political appointees had respect for the experience and judgment of longtime civil servants.
Under the Bush administration, however, all that changed. Over the last six years, this Justice Department has ignored the advice of its staff and skewed aspects of law enforcement in ways that clearly were intended to influence the outcome of elections.
Read the whole article. The Bush administration is probably the greatest threat to American democracy in our history.
Under the Bush administration, however, all that changed. Over the last six years, this Justice Department has ignored the advice of its staff and skewed aspects of law enforcement in ways that clearly were intended to influence the outcome of elections.
Read the whole article. The Bush administration is probably the greatest threat to American democracy in our history.
Thursday Afternoon (Boring Title)
Yesterday ALL of the Red Wings were skating at practice. HOORAY!! Of course, there still is no word on when Zetterberg OR Kopecky will actually play, but it definitely is a step in the right direction. There is some indication that they BOTH might play a game or two before the season ends. Good, good news. Lebda WON'T be playing in Nashville tonight because of the concussion he got on Saturday. It seems as if it is more a case of not having a helmet fit correctly than any other reason. But he probably will play on Friday. It will be so strange to have everyone off of the injured list. Things are looking up. GO WINGS!!
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Burg tagged me today. I have to list seven songs I am listening to these days. I think I will change that a little bit--I haven't been listening to anything specific recently. I will come up with seven songs that I could listen to ANYTIME, instead. Might be interesting. I will do the post later tonight.
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I got another sign today that spring is here. Our 'lawn guy' called this morning to see if we want him to continue taking care of our lawn. DUH! I didn't take that call because I have to talk to K first. We WILL have the lawn taken care of, but I have to find out if K wants to do the spring clean-up himself--I would say no, cause he is working so much overtime. Anyway, I have to give our 'guy' a call and tell him to 'go to it.'
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I guess the oldest granddaughter and her friend wore the medals they got at the science fair to school the following day. I guess they REALLY were proud of their accomplishment! :) (And rightly so.)
Calling All Wingnuts takes on the global warming deniers, specifically Myron Ebell of the Competetive Enterprise Institute.
“Mr. Ebell, I’m sorry, but I feel like I walked in on you in bed with my wife and you just spent the last two hours asking me if I was going to believe me or my lying eyes.” The crowd (and remember, this was a Federalist Society event) chortled.
“I mean, heat waves killed hundreds or thousands in Europe and Chicago. Coral reefs are dying off. Bark beetles are devastating forests they’ve never been found in before because the temperatures were to cold to sustain them. I don’t have to go through it all, you’ve heard it all before… data point after data point after data point says global warming is a problem.”
“Further, Exxon-Mobil recently admitted to spending $16 million dollars to cloud the science - to propagandize against global warming. And your firm, the supposedly non-partisan Competitive Enterprise Institute was one of the greatest recipients.”
Nothing against Zetterburg but without him Datsyuk gets to show off a little. He still is pretty humble most of the time. He's doing great though, in my opinion. The most turnovers in the whole league! I don't know how he does it, but he's always where the puck ends up. He patiently waits for the puck only to steal it. Great work. The face offs he seems to win a lot too. I say it once and I'll say it again "He's The Best Player In The NHL."
Tidbits
The oldest granddaughter called me last night, all excited. It seems that she and her partner won third prize in the science fair. While that might not seem like that great of a deal, it IS a lot more impressive when you know that there were somewhere between 300 and 400 kids that participated! She's a smart one.
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After the record high temp of the other day--and the fact that it is still quite mild--I think I MAY be able to get out and start working the garden pretty soon. I'm sure the ground MUST be thawing already. Of course, no planting can be done until May, but if I get the ground ready I may be able to buy the plants I REALLY want, instead of taking the leftovers at the end of the planting season. :)
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One of my favorite websites is Stuff On My Cat. I know--as well as the people who run the site--that everyone isn't quite as enamored of cats as I am, so they have now launched a new site: Stuff On My Mutt. Cute pictures of dogs with 'stuff' on them!
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Talking about cute, this has got to be one of the cutest videos EVER. I LOVE otters, just so damn darling, but this video is precious. Be sure to watch all of the way to the end so that you can get the biggest 'AWWWWWWWWWWW' moment of your life.
NON-Hockey Post
I realize I have been hockey-obsessed recently. And I realize not everyone cares one bit ABOUT hockey. And I realize I DO have some people making a point of checking in here daily, so it is time for me to do a non-hockey post. (You have to take what I can offer--I DO lead a boring life! :)) Here goes:
I just read one of the best quotes I have seen in a long time. While describing someone who whines and 'martyrs' him/herself, someone said, 'Get down off the cross, someone needs the wood!' I know way too many people I could say that to!
There is a new alarm clock in town. It is called 'Clocky.' It looks like this:
'Clocky' will ring and if you press snooze after the first time it goes off, and you DON'T get up, it will 'jump' down to the floor and find a place to hide. It will ring again and you have to find it in order to turn it off. You can read more about 'Clocky' here. This would have been the perfect thing for my youngest to have while she was in school--NOTHING would get her out of bed! But then, nothing was as annoying as THIS would be.
While Angelina Jolie has been in the news--again--for adopting--again--another foreign child, her brother gave an interview to a newspaper. Among the brilliantly wonderful things he had to say was this:
"One of the saddest things in my life happened when I was 16, which is when you can get your permit to drive in LA. I did not have a car in High School and neither did Angelina.
Try to imagine. You go to Beverly Hills High, one of the wealthiest High Schools in the nation. Even the cheapest car that anyone has is brand new. All my friends are well off. I have a movie-star father and no car.
It was debilitating. I did not to go to the prom [the social highlight of an American high school career] because I felt uncomfortable that Dad would have to drive me. It's an embarrassing thing."
Do we all want to get together and cry over his abusive upbringing? Poor baby! I guess this shows that SHE isn't the only one in the family that isn't all there. If you want, here is the link for the entire article. It just is very weird.
When I was about three-years-old, I walked into the kitchen where my mother was. I stood in front of her, crying, with a mouthful of hair/fur. When she asked me what I was crying about, I said, "The dog bit me, so I bit him back!" (True story.)
I just read one of the best quotes I have seen in a long time. While describing someone who whines and 'martyrs' him/herself, someone said, 'Get down off the cross, someone needs the wood!' I know way too many people I could say that to!
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There is a new alarm clock in town. It is called 'Clocky.' It looks like this:
'Clocky' will ring and if you press snooze after the first time it goes off, and you DON'T get up, it will 'jump' down to the floor and find a place to hide. It will ring again and you have to find it in order to turn it off. You can read more about 'Clocky' here. This would have been the perfect thing for my youngest to have while she was in school--NOTHING would get her out of bed! But then, nothing was as annoying as THIS would be.**********
While Angelina Jolie has been in the news--again--for adopting--again--another foreign child, her brother gave an interview to a newspaper. Among the brilliantly wonderful things he had to say was this:
"One of the saddest things in my life happened when I was 16, which is when you can get your permit to drive in LA. I did not have a car in High School and neither did Angelina.
Try to imagine. You go to Beverly Hills High, one of the wealthiest High Schools in the nation. Even the cheapest car that anyone has is brand new. All my friends are well off. I have a movie-star father and no car.
It was debilitating. I did not to go to the prom [the social highlight of an American high school career] because I felt uncomfortable that Dad would have to drive me. It's an embarrassing thing."
Do we all want to get together and cry over his abusive upbringing? Poor baby! I guess this shows that SHE isn't the only one in the family that isn't all there. If you want, here is the link for the entire article. It just is very weird.
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When I was about three-years-old, I walked into the kitchen where my mother was. I stood in front of her, crying, with a mouthful of hair/fur. When she asked me what I was crying about, I said, "The dog bit me, so I bit him back!" (True story.)
75th Career Shutout
Dominik Hasek helped the Wings win against Anaheim by getting the 75th shutout in his career. Only one goal was scored, by Datsyuk. After losing four games in a row, this win seemed like a loooong time coming. Anaheim brought their physical game to Detroit, but the Wings pushed right back and didn't let them get the upper hand. A pretty good game.
With the Wings clinching a playoff spot again this year, this is the 16th consecutive year for them to make it to the playoffs. This is the longest playoff streak in North American professional sports. The New York Yankees are second with a 12-season playoff streak.
Chris Chelios was honored tonight for playing more NHL games (1542) than any other US born player.
Brett Lebda is still out because of the concussion he suffered on Saturday when St. Louis' Nieminen drilled him into the boards. Many say that Nieminen is a dirty player--and it might be so--but he actually went to the hospital to apologize to Lebda. Nieminen was tossed out of the game after the incident and got to the hospital to see Lebda before the game had even ended. Dirty player or not, it definitely was classy of him to show up--in person--to see how Lebda was. If Lemieux had been as classy ten years ago, there probably would never have been the great 'blood feud.'
With the Wings clinching a playoff spot again this year, this is the 16th consecutive year for them to make it to the playoffs. This is the longest playoff streak in North American professional sports. The New York Yankees are second with a 12-season playoff streak.
Chris Chelios was honored tonight for playing more NHL games (1542) than any other US born player.
Brett Lebda is still out because of the concussion he suffered on Saturday when St. Louis' Nieminen drilled him into the boards. Many say that Nieminen is a dirty player--and it might be so--but he actually went to the hospital to apologize to Lebda. Nieminen was tossed out of the game after the incident and got to the hospital to see Lebda before the game had even ended. Dirty player or not, it definitely was classy of him to show up--in person--to see how Lebda was. If Lemieux had been as classy ten years ago, there probably would never have been the great 'blood feud.'
Ten Years Ago
It has actually been ten years since (as so many people would say) the greatest hockey game ever was played. Yes, I'm talking about THE game between Detroit and Colorado--the game of retribution for what Lemieux did to Draper the previous year. To those who don't know hockey, this video can look like a bunch of thugs beating on each other--but it was much more than that. On May 29, 1996, Draper was hit with a sucker punch by Lemieux--this ended Draper's season and left him with broken bones to his nose, jaw, cheekbone and eye socket. Five teeth were bent backward toward his throat. He needed 40 stitches to close cuts around his eye and in his mouth. His jaw was wired shut for five weeks. Lemieux never apologized for what he did and actually came very close to belittling anyone who saw this for the terrible tragedy it was. This was the night that the six-year 'blood feud' was born between the Red Wings and the Avalanche. Almost a year later, on March 26, 1997, the tension, media sniping, and bad blood came together and produced the night no hockey fan will ever forget. Here is the 'highlight' video of the game. This is good, old-time hockey! The Wings won the game AND the Stanley Cup. And they won the Cup the following year, too.
April 6 Sneak Attack By US Forces On Iran Planned - Russian Military Sources Warn
WASHINGTON DC -- The long awaited US military attack on Iran is now on track for the first week of April, specifically for 4 AM on April 6, the Good Friday opening of Easter weekend, writes the well-known Russian journalist Andrei Uglanov in the Moscow weekly "Argumenty Nedeli." Uglanov cites Russian military experts close to the Russian General Staff for his account.
The Secret White House Communication System
GWB43 is the name of an internet server owned by the Republican National Committee.This story by Joseph Cannon deserves the widest possible circulation. Patrick Fitzgerald needs to see it.
The White House has its own internal email system, ending in the .gov suffix, as mandated by the Presidential Records Act. The law requires that public business be conducted on a public server.
Yet documents made public in the course of the U.S. Attorney Purge scandal reveal that key Administration figures used such email addresses ending with "gwb43.com."
This is from World Net Daily! The conservative are turning on Gonzales.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, both already under siege for other matters, are now being accused of failing to prosecute officers of the Texas Youth Commission after a Texas Ranger investigation documented that guards and administrators were sexually abusing the institution's minor boy inmates.
Among the charges in the Texas Ranger report were that administrators would rouse boys from their sleep for the purpose of conducting all-night sex parties.
Sex with young boys! I knew the Gonzales case was lacking something.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, both already under siege for other matters, are now being accused of failing to prosecute officers of the Texas Youth Commission after a Texas Ranger investigation documented that guards and administrators were sexually abusing the institution's minor boy inmates.
Among the charges in the Texas Ranger report were that administrators would rouse boys from their sleep for the purpose of conducting all-night sex parties.
Sex with young boys! I knew the Gonzales case was lacking something.
Blues 3, Red Wings 2
Okay, what is going on with the Wings? Here we go:
--The season is way too long and they are plain tired. Several years ago, the playoffs would just be winding down about now--there still are 7 games for the Wings to play before the first round of the playoffs!
--Injuries. At one time they had seven players out with injuries.
--Zetterberg has been gone too long. Zetterberg is one of the best players in the NHL and he was relied on way too much! They just can't get it together without him.
--The officiating has been lousy. Yes, that is a whole song-and-dance that is always used as an excuse, but... The last few games have been terrible in the officiating department and then the shoot-out calls today! Well, case made. (Not that I believe in conspiracy theories, mind you! ;))
--They still are not over Yzerman retiring. I think that is a given. Lidstrom is a great player and leader, but he ISN'T Stevie.
--Babcock is no Scotty Bowman. DUH!!
--They have one of the worst--if not THE worse--travel schedule in the NHL. The majority of their away games are played 2-3 time zones away. Now, just think how you feel when changing to/from Daylight Savings Time. Now imagine being in a plane for hours. Now imagine having to do your job--a VERY physically taxing job--and doing it well. And now, imagine doing that several times a month! Yes, that would put you off for awhile.
--The normal hot and cold streaks of players. They all have times when they aren't playing to their potential, but when you have two or more on the same team having a bad spell, it is hard to compensate for that.
--The lines are constantly changing. With injuries and new players, the make up of the lines HAVE to change. But when a player is used to playing with the same person day after day and he suddenly isn't there... It just must be hard.
--New players. Both Calder and Bertuzzi have been assets, but it takes time to get used to having someone completely new on the team. And there is no training camp for everyone to be together and get used to each other in the middle of the season.
--They just can't catch a break! When the announcers say over and over and over again, '***** shoots! And it hit the post!', or, '***** shoots! And it hit the crossbar!', you have got to wonder what is going on! And this has been happening with almost every shot on goal lately. It's as if there is a magnet in the puck and it's getting pulled away from the netting and toward the goal posts. Just unbelievable.
I could go on, but why. Talking about what has been going on isn't going to change anything--the games have been played and that's that! If they don't get past the first round of the playoffs, oh well--at least it has been one exciting season. I am going to enjoy the rest of this year and (probably have to) hope for better things for next year. I really, really am going to try to look at things positively and not complain. I mean it! :)
--The season is way too long and they are plain tired. Several years ago, the playoffs would just be winding down about now--there still are 7 games for the Wings to play before the first round of the playoffs!
--Injuries. At one time they had seven players out with injuries.
--Zetterberg has been gone too long. Zetterberg is one of the best players in the NHL and he was relied on way too much! They just can't get it together without him.
--The officiating has been lousy. Yes, that is a whole song-and-dance that is always used as an excuse, but... The last few games have been terrible in the officiating department and then the shoot-out calls today! Well, case made. (Not that I believe in conspiracy theories, mind you! ;))
--They still are not over Yzerman retiring. I think that is a given. Lidstrom is a great player and leader, but he ISN'T Stevie.
--Babcock is no Scotty Bowman. DUH!!
--They have one of the worst--if not THE worse--travel schedule in the NHL. The majority of their away games are played 2-3 time zones away. Now, just think how you feel when changing to/from Daylight Savings Time. Now imagine being in a plane for hours. Now imagine having to do your job--a VERY physically taxing job--and doing it well. And now, imagine doing that several times a month! Yes, that would put you off for awhile.
--The normal hot and cold streaks of players. They all have times when they aren't playing to their potential, but when you have two or more on the same team having a bad spell, it is hard to compensate for that.
--The lines are constantly changing. With injuries and new players, the make up of the lines HAVE to change. But when a player is used to playing with the same person day after day and he suddenly isn't there... It just must be hard.
--New players. Both Calder and Bertuzzi have been assets, but it takes time to get used to having someone completely new on the team. And there is no training camp for everyone to be together and get used to each other in the middle of the season.
--They just can't catch a break! When the announcers say over and over and over again, '***** shoots! And it hit the post!', or, '***** shoots! And it hit the crossbar!', you have got to wonder what is going on! And this has been happening with almost every shot on goal lately. It's as if there is a magnet in the puck and it's getting pulled away from the netting and toward the goal posts. Just unbelievable.
I could go on, but why. Talking about what has been going on isn't going to change anything--the games have been played and that's that! If they don't get past the first round of the playoffs, oh well--at least it has been one exciting season. I am going to enjoy the rest of this year and (probably have to) hope for better things for next year. I really, really am going to try to look at things positively and not complain. I mean it! :)
Most of the names in Howard Hunt's confession to his son (yesterdays post) are long time suspects. David Atlee Phillips was the subject of the very first post of this blog. Cord Meyer's role is news. Meyer was a senior CIA official. His ex-wife Mary was a free spirit who knew Timothy Leary and had an affair with John Kennedy.
The day after Kennedy's assasination, according to Timothy Leary in his book Flashbacks, Mary phoned him and said: "They couldn't control him any more. He was changing too fast. He was learning too much... They'll cover everything up. I gotta come see you. I'm scared. I'm afraid." Mary Pinchot Meyer was murdered on October 12, 1964, apparently a professional hit.
Author C. David Heymann in his book The Georgetown Ladies' Social Club wrote:
Asked to comment on the case, by the current author (C. David Heymann), Cord Meyer held court at the beginning of February 2001 - six weeks before his death - in the barren dining room of a Washington nursing home. Propped up in a chair, his glass eye bulging, he struggled to hold his head aloft. Although he was no longer able to read, the nurses supplied him with a daily copy of The Washington Post, which he carried with him wherever he went. "My father died of a heart attack the same year Mary was killed , " he whispered. "It was a bad time." And what could he say about Mary Meyer? Who had committed such a heinous crime? "The same sons of bitches," he hissed, "that killed John F. Kennedy."
The day after Kennedy's assasination, according to Timothy Leary in his book Flashbacks, Mary phoned him and said: "They couldn't control him any more. He was changing too fast. He was learning too much... They'll cover everything up. I gotta come see you. I'm scared. I'm afraid." Mary Pinchot Meyer was murdered on October 12, 1964, apparently a professional hit.
Author C. David Heymann in his book The Georgetown Ladies' Social Club wrote:
Asked to comment on the case, by the current author (C. David Heymann), Cord Meyer held court at the beginning of February 2001 - six weeks before his death - in the barren dining room of a Washington nursing home. Propped up in a chair, his glass eye bulging, he struggled to hold his head aloft. Although he was no longer able to read, the nurses supplied him with a daily copy of The Washington Post, which he carried with him wherever he went. "My father died of a heart attack the same year Mary was killed , " he whispered. "It was a bad time." And what could he say about Mary Meyer? Who had committed such a heinous crime? "The same sons of bitches," he hissed, "that killed John F. Kennedy."
Rolling Stone: The Last Confessions of E. Howard Hunt
They are going to attack the credibility of his son, which will not be difficult to do as he has a past history of drug abuse, but this seems very plausible to me.
St. John still has the memo -- "It has all this stuff in it," he says, "the chain of command, names, people, places, dates. He wrote it out to me directly, in his own handwriting, starting with the initials 'LBJ' " -- and he's decided it's time his father's last secrets finally see some light, for better or for worse.
E. Howard scribbled the initials "LBJ," standing for Kennedy's ambitious vice president, Lyndon Johnson. Under "LBJ," connected by a line, he wrote the name Cord Meyer. Meyer was a CIA agent whose wife had an affair with JFK; later she was murdered, a case that's never been solved. Next his father connected to Meyer's name the name Bill Harvey, another CIA agent; also connected to Meyer's name was the name David Morales, yet another CIA man and a well-known, particularly vicious black-op specialist. And then his father connected to Morales' name, with a line, the framed words "French Gunman Grassy Knoll."
Later that week, E. Howard also gave Saint two sheets of paper that contained a fuller narrative. It starts out with LBJ again, connecting him to Cord Meyer, then goes on: "Cord Meyer discusses a plot with [David Atlee] Phillips who brings in Wm. Harvey and Antonio Veciana. He meets with Oswald in Mexico City. . . . Then Veciana meets w/ Frank Sturgis in Miami and enlists David Morales in anticipation of killing JFK there. But LBJ changes itinerary to Dallas, citing personal reasons."Even if it is true that Howard Hunt declined to take part in the conspiracy, and I am doubtful, he still knew that it was going to take place, and he knew who did it.
David Atlee Phillips, the CIA's Cuban operations chief in Miami at the time of JFK's death, knew E. Howard from the Guatemala-coup days. Veciana is a member of the Cuban exile community. Sturgis, like Saint's father, is supposed to have been one of the three tramps photographed in Dealey Plaza. Sturgis was also one of the Watergate plotters, and he is a man whom E. Howard, under oath, has repeatedly sworn to have not met until Watergate, so to Saint the mention of his name was big news.
In the next few paragraphs, E. Howard goes on to describe the extent of his own involvement. It revolves around a meeting he claims he attended, in 1963, with Morales and Sturgis. It takes place in a Miami hotel room. Here's what happens:
Morales leaves the room, at which point Sturgis makes reference to a "Big Event" and asks E. Howard, "Are you with us?"
E. Howard asks Sturgis what he's talking about.
Sturgis says, "Killing JFK."
E. Howard, "incredulous," says to Sturgis, "You seem to have everything you need. Why do you need me?" In the handwritten narrative, Sturgis' response is unclear, though what E. Howard says to Sturgis next isn't: He says he won't "get involved in anything involving Bill Harvey, who is an alcoholic psycho."
After that, the meeting ends. E. Howard goes back to his "normal" life and "like the rest of the country . . . is stunned by JFK's death and realizes how lucky he is not to have had a direct role."
They are going to attack the credibility of his son, which will not be difficult to do as he has a past history of drug abuse, but this seems very plausible to me.
The Bush administration's firing of the eight US Attorneys may or may not be illegal but they are sure as hell hiding something. It is apparently routine to replace all the US Attorneys when a new administration takes over, and replace them with people of your own political persuasion, but it looks like these eight were not partisan enough. There has got to be a point at which politicizing the Justice Department, and interfering with the activities of US Attorneys, would be illegal but it remains to be seen if the Bush administration passed that point. But they are hiding something.
This story might provide a clue:
Several former voting rights lawyers, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of antagonizing the administration, said the division's political appointees reversed the recommendations of career lawyers in key cases and transferred or drove out most of the unit's veteran attorneys.
This story might provide a clue:
Several former voting rights lawyers, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of antagonizing the administration, said the division's political appointees reversed the recommendations of career lawyers in key cases and transferred or drove out most of the unit's veteran attorneys.
Again?!?!?!
Detroit lost to Columbus 2-1. This, after being completely scoreless through the first two periods. And being tied after overtime. And having to go through SIX rounds of the shootout. Words fail.
On to a brighter note: Bertuzzi played tonight. Now, he didn't set the world on fire, but he DID play over 16 minutes and did fine. He played a solid enough game and I think will definitely be an asset as time goes on. As he said, he only got to practice 10 minutes with the line they put him on before the game, so...(I HOPE he was kidding!) Actually, he got right into the swing of things: he got a cut on his chin that required stitches during the first period and got a penalty in the second! Cleary also came back tonight. It is good to see the injured back and playing. From what the announcers said, Zetterberg HAS skated, so there is some hope he may return before the season is over.
For the seventh season in a row, Detroit has had a 100 point (or better) year. But, because Nashville tied tonight--ultimately losing in overtime--they got a point and now have 101 points, staying in first place. Right now the only thing for the Wings to play for is who they will play in the playoffs and home-ice advantage. And as to the who they will play, THAT probably won't be determined until the last game of the season is over! It is getting close.
On to a brighter note: Bertuzzi played tonight. Now, he didn't set the world on fire, but he DID play over 16 minutes and did fine. He played a solid enough game and I think will definitely be an asset as time goes on. As he said, he only got to practice 10 minutes with the line they put him on before the game, so...(I HOPE he was kidding!) Actually, he got right into the swing of things: he got a cut on his chin that required stitches during the first period and got a penalty in the second! Cleary also came back tonight. It is good to see the injured back and playing. From what the announcers said, Zetterberg HAS skated, so there is some hope he may return before the season is over.
For the seventh season in a row, Detroit has had a 100 point (or better) year. But, because Nashville tied tonight--ultimately losing in overtime--they got a point and now have 101 points, staying in first place. Right now the only thing for the Wings to play for is who they will play in the playoffs and home-ice advantage. And as to the who they will play, THAT probably won't be determined until the last game of the season is over! It is getting close.
ALERT! IMPORTANT INFO!
I hope everyone else wasn't as much of a slacker as I have been! K asked me earlier if I had checked our cat food to see if it was part of the recall--and I hadn't. Somewhere I got it in my head that it was dry dog food that was recalled--don't ask me where THAT came from--so I was going to ignore it all. Anyway, at least half of the food we have has been recalled! So, here is the link that will tell you if your dog OR cat food is on the recall list.
LA Times story: Two of E. Howard Hunt's sons say he knew of rogue CIA agents' plan to kill President Kennedy in 1963.
"He told me in no uncertain terms about a plot originating in Miami, to take place in Miami," said St. John. He said his father identified key players and speculated that then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was responsible for moving the venue to Dallas, where the Texan could control the security scene.
But the memoir's published passages about the assassination have an equivocal tone. Hunt provides only a hypothetical scenario of how events in Dallas might have unfolded, with Johnson atop a pyramid of rogue CIA plotters.
The brothers insist their father related to them a detailed plot to assassinate Kennedy. Hunt told them he was approached by the conspirators to join them but declined, they say.
St. John, who sports a mustache and longish graying coif combed back from a receding hairline, has a more personal reason to believe in his father's disclosures. He said he was instructed by Hunt in 1974 to back up an alibi for his whereabouts on the day Kennedy died, 11 years earlier."
I did a lot of lying for my father in those days," St. John said.
Charles Harrelson dead
Charles Voyde Harrelson - the killer-for-hire who prompted the biggest FBI investigation ever to probe El Paso by assassinating a federal judge - died last week at a federal prison in Colorado, the San Antonio Express-News reported this morning.When he was arrested Harrelson confessed to the murder of Judge John Woods and President John Kennedy but later retracted the second claim. According to this site:
Harrelson, 69, who was the father of actor Woody Harrelson, apparently died of a heart attack in his sleep on March 14 in a maximum security facility, according to the Express-News story.
A reporter for the Dallas morning news by the name of Chuck Cook interviewed Harrelson on the judge Wood case and subsequently asked him about his claims of murdering the President, Cook said that Harrelson ‘got this sly little grin on his face, Harrelson is very intelligent and has a way of not answering when it suits him’(6). At a later interview Cook brought the subject up again and at that point Harrelson became very serious, Cook quoted Harrelson as saying "Listen, if and when I get out of here (prison) and feel free to talk, I will have something that will be the biggest story you ever had" and added "November 22, 1963. You remember that!".
Hump Day
--K is on his last night shift--he will have a couple of days off before having to head back to work. That will be nice, as the weather is supposed to be okay--temps in the 40s. Before he left for work, he mentioned the possibility of doing burnt offerings one of these days. YAY! Grilled brats, hot dogs, and hamburgers! I always love the first time we grill for the year.
--Last night K called home and asked me to write a note for him. This usually translates as: 'I want you to do something for me, but don't want to ask you, so if I ask you to write a note you might be guilted into doing what I should have asked you to do in the first place.' Anyway, he wanted me to write a note reminding him to go to the store and pick up strawberry shortcake 'fixings.' Last summer he bought a couple of flats of strawberries and I froze them so that we could have them over the winter--I haven't fixed shortcakes at all since then. My bad. So he felt that we should use the berries before the new crop is ready for harvest. (See, just like I told you, trying to make me feel guilty.) Well, long story even longer, I took strawberries and Cool Whip out of the freezer and decided to make my own shortcake biscuits. Not the best idea I have ever had. I am very good at cooking and baking--I rarely screw things up badly, but these were very close to being a total disaster. First, they didn't seem to be finished baking at the designated time, so I left them in the oven a little longer. Bad move. The bottoms were thisclose to burning--but, if you scrape off the dark part, they shouldn't be too bad. The thing that might make you stop before eating one is the general appearance of the biscuits: they are smaller and lighter in color than a hockey puck, but they are about the same weight and hardness of a frozen puck. I don't know what went wrong, but they are still sitting there, waiting to be eaten. (Actually, I ate one and aside from the fact that it was a touch on the dry side, it didn't taste that bad.) So, my question is this: can Bisquick go bad?
--C called today and to say she was having a bad day was putting it mildly. She was mad at her kids, perturbed at her hubby, disgusted with studying, and generally in a foul mood. The reason she called me? She wanted ME to be in a bad mood, too, so she wouldn't feel alone and would have someone to bitch with her! You know, someone to commiserate with her. To accommodate her, I worked up an attitude of my own and put myself in a foul mood, too. What we mothers won't do for our kids, I tell you. (I mellowed out as soon as I got off of the phone with her--my mood WAS manufactured, after all.)
--A year ago we were getting ready to go to Niagara Falls for A's wedding. It is so hard to believe so much time has passed. Is it getting older that makes it seem as if time passes so fast, or is it the time we are living in? Just a rhetorical question--no one needs to answer that one if they don't want.
--Tomorrow I really need to go shopping to pick up a few things: anniversary card, birthday card and gift, milk. Maybe I will give the 'Do you happen to have a Wii?' phone calls a try again. One of these days I WILL manage to get my hands on one!
--Last night K called home and asked me to write a note for him. This usually translates as: 'I want you to do something for me, but don't want to ask you, so if I ask you to write a note you might be guilted into doing what I should have asked you to do in the first place.' Anyway, he wanted me to write a note reminding him to go to the store and pick up strawberry shortcake 'fixings.' Last summer he bought a couple of flats of strawberries and I froze them so that we could have them over the winter--I haven't fixed shortcakes at all since then. My bad. So he felt that we should use the berries before the new crop is ready for harvest. (See, just like I told you, trying to make me feel guilty.) Well, long story even longer, I took strawberries and Cool Whip out of the freezer and decided to make my own shortcake biscuits. Not the best idea I have ever had. I am very good at cooking and baking--I rarely screw things up badly, but these were very close to being a total disaster. First, they didn't seem to be finished baking at the designated time, so I left them in the oven a little longer. Bad move. The bottoms were thisclose to burning--but, if you scrape off the dark part, they shouldn't be too bad. The thing that might make you stop before eating one is the general appearance of the biscuits: they are smaller and lighter in color than a hockey puck, but they are about the same weight and hardness of a frozen puck. I don't know what went wrong, but they are still sitting there, waiting to be eaten. (Actually, I ate one and aside from the fact that it was a touch on the dry side, it didn't taste that bad.) So, my question is this: can Bisquick go bad?
--C called today and to say she was having a bad day was putting it mildly. She was mad at her kids, perturbed at her hubby, disgusted with studying, and generally in a foul mood. The reason she called me? She wanted ME to be in a bad mood, too, so she wouldn't feel alone and would have someone to bitch with her! You know, someone to commiserate with her. To accommodate her, I worked up an attitude of my own and put myself in a foul mood, too. What we mothers won't do for our kids, I tell you. (I mellowed out as soon as I got off of the phone with her--my mood WAS manufactured, after all.)
--A year ago we were getting ready to go to Niagara Falls for A's wedding. It is so hard to believe so much time has passed. Is it getting older that makes it seem as if time passes so fast, or is it the time we are living in? Just a rhetorical question--no one needs to answer that one if they don't want.
--Tomorrow I really need to go shopping to pick up a few things: anniversary card, birthday card and gift, milk. Maybe I will give the 'Do you happen to have a Wii?' phone calls a try again. One of these days I WILL manage to get my hands on one!
Calgary 2, Detroit 1
Where do you even begin to explain the last two games Detroit has played? They are within 1 point of their seventh-straight 100-point season and they missed it again tonight. Of course, with nine games left to play, they WILL get to 100 (let's hope I didn't just jinx it), but there is really no reason for it to not have happened during this road trip.
Even though I wouldn't mind watching the Wings play 12 months of the year, I am beginning to wonder if the season they do play isn't too long. Maybe part of the reason for the last-month slump is just plain tiredness. (They didn't play great the last month of last year, either.) If the season was shortened by 10 games, it might be much better all around--except for the owners, of course. They would be in the play-offs already and probably be done with it all before summer got rolling along. But, I don't really think the powers-that-be will shorten the season.
The Wings had a problem with penalties on Saturday, but Vancouver had quite a few, also. It all boiled down to who actually took advantage of the power play. Tonight, the officiating didn't seem to be fair, at all. (And yes, it is always an excuse: blame the officials.) The reason I say this: the Wings had 5 penalties against them in the first and second periods and Calgary had NO penalties until the third period--then they received only one. A little lopsided, and yes, there were a few that were quite blatant that were not called. A reason for Detroit's poor showing? Maybe. Maybe not.
West coast road trips seem to be especially hard on the Wings--and you really can't blame them for that. After all, they bounce three time zones to play on the west coast. Even still, this was a fairly short road trip--Saturday in Vancouver and tonight in Calgary. And they didn't have to play back-to-back games, either. So, is THIS an excuse for losing two in a row? Hmmm.
Again, all the talk is about when Bertuzzi will play his first game. Right now 'they' say he will either play on Thursday or Saturday. I certainly hope it is on Thursday: I will be able to watch that game--no one is broadcasting Saturday's game, so I will be sh*t-out-of-luck if it is then. 'They' continue to say that Zetterberg is feeling better every day, but he STILL hasn't skated. 'They' are hoping he will be able to come back for the last five games of the season--HA! I don't now what 'they' are smoking, but I just might like to have some of what 'they' are having.
Even though I wouldn't mind watching the Wings play 12 months of the year, I am beginning to wonder if the season they do play isn't too long. Maybe part of the reason for the last-month slump is just plain tiredness. (They didn't play great the last month of last year, either.) If the season was shortened by 10 games, it might be much better all around--except for the owners, of course. They would be in the play-offs already and probably be done with it all before summer got rolling along. But, I don't really think the powers-that-be will shorten the season.
The Wings had a problem with penalties on Saturday, but Vancouver had quite a few, also. It all boiled down to who actually took advantage of the power play. Tonight, the officiating didn't seem to be fair, at all. (And yes, it is always an excuse: blame the officials.) The reason I say this: the Wings had 5 penalties against them in the first and second periods and Calgary had NO penalties until the third period--then they received only one. A little lopsided, and yes, there were a few that were quite blatant that were not called. A reason for Detroit's poor showing? Maybe. Maybe not.
West coast road trips seem to be especially hard on the Wings--and you really can't blame them for that. After all, they bounce three time zones to play on the west coast. Even still, this was a fairly short road trip--Saturday in Vancouver and tonight in Calgary. And they didn't have to play back-to-back games, either. So, is THIS an excuse for losing two in a row? Hmmm.
Again, all the talk is about when Bertuzzi will play his first game. Right now 'they' say he will either play on Thursday or Saturday. I certainly hope it is on Thursday: I will be able to watch that game--no one is broadcasting Saturday's game, so I will be sh*t-out-of-luck if it is then. 'They' continue to say that Zetterberg is feeling better every day, but he STILL hasn't skated. 'They' are hoping he will be able to come back for the last five games of the season--HA! I don't now what 'they' are smoking, but I just might like to have some of what 'they' are having.
Was the Osama bin Laden confession mistranslated?
On 20 December 2001, German TV channel “Das Erste” broadcast its analysis of the White House’s translation of the OBL video that George Bush has called a “confession of guilt”. On the show “Monitor”, two independent translators and an expert on oriental studies found the White House’s translation not only to be inaccurate, but “manipulative”.
Patrick Buchanan calls Nancy Pelosi AIPAC's Girl
If George W. Bush launches a pre-emptive war on Iran, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will bear full moral responsibility for that war.
For it was Pelosi who quietly agreed to strip out of the $100 billion funding bill for Iraq a provision that would have required President Bush to seek congressional approval before launching any new war on Iran.
Day of the Chipmunks
Sunday was--to put it mildly--very interesting around here. Actually, this story starts on Saturday, so here goes.
Early Saturday evening I went into the basement to start some laundry. When I got to the machines, I noticed that the dryer hose didn't look right. When I looked at it closer, I saw a hole in it--and it looked as if it was a CHEWED hole, not a break. I called K down to take a look-see-- and in preparation for a new hose, he turned the dryer on to dry out the old hose. Almost immediately a chipmunk came shooting out of the hole. As soon as we regained our composure--we both jumped about three feet in the air--we searched for the creature. At one point K got it trapped in the bathroom, but it escaped. We tried everything we could think of to catch the thing, but it wasn't happening. K then went to the store to get some of the 'sticky' traps. They were placed in the basement, we came back upstairs, closed the door, and tried to forget about it. I DIDN'T get the laundry done.
When K went in the basement on Sunday morning, he found two trapped and one loose. The loose one found its way upstairs and proceeded to the pantry. Thankfully K was able to catch it and get it out of the house before it got into any of the food. Later in the day, two more were trapped. We haven't seen any more, but we ran out of traps, sooooo....
We still are not sure how these things got into the basement. We thought we had that taken care of last summer, but I guess not. I think they, somehow, managed to get into the dryer vent and came in through the hose. Of course, once they were in, they had no way out except by chewing through the hose. I keep telling myself this is the explanation! We will have to put out some more traps just to see if we got all of them--I figure we will be safe if no more are caught in a 48 hour span. This just may be another long summer.
And I finally got the laundry done on Sunday.
Early Saturday evening I went into the basement to start some laundry. When I got to the machines, I noticed that the dryer hose didn't look right. When I looked at it closer, I saw a hole in it--and it looked as if it was a CHEWED hole, not a break. I called K down to take a look-see-- and in preparation for a new hose, he turned the dryer on to dry out the old hose. Almost immediately a chipmunk came shooting out of the hole. As soon as we regained our composure--we both jumped about three feet in the air--we searched for the creature. At one point K got it trapped in the bathroom, but it escaped. We tried everything we could think of to catch the thing, but it wasn't happening. K then went to the store to get some of the 'sticky' traps. They were placed in the basement, we came back upstairs, closed the door, and tried to forget about it. I DIDN'T get the laundry done.
When K went in the basement on Sunday morning, he found two trapped and one loose. The loose one found its way upstairs and proceeded to the pantry. Thankfully K was able to catch it and get it out of the house before it got into any of the food. Later in the day, two more were trapped. We haven't seen any more, but we ran out of traps, sooooo....
We still are not sure how these things got into the basement. We thought we had that taken care of last summer, but I guess not. I think they, somehow, managed to get into the dryer vent and came in through the hose. Of course, once they were in, they had no way out except by chewing through the hose. I keep telling myself this is the explanation! We will have to put out some more traps just to see if we got all of them--I figure we will be safe if no more are caught in a 48 hour span. This just may be another long summer.
And I finally got the laundry done on Sunday.
UFO Shot Down in Iran
A bright object was sighted in the sky of Arak, Iran’s Central Province, Friday night, and was shot down by the Iranian anti-aircraft missiles, BAZTAB reported.
The Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was completely destroyed by the country’s new air defense system, the report said. BAZTAB has learned that the bright object might have been a pilotless drone.
Few months ago, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) confirmed reports that its drones were conducting reconnaissance flights over the Iranian sky.
Some sources, however, claimed that the operation could have been part of an exercise to test the combat alertness and power of Iran’s air defense system. BAZTAB – March 17, 2007
Vancouver 4, Detroit 1
How many times and how many ways can you use the word 'inconsistent' before it becomes redundant? After they played two fantastic games with Nashville, the Wings come up with tonight's fiasco. I just don't know what to say. Granted, they were short-handed for around 15 minutes for the game--they had 32 penalty minutes assessed to them tonight--but that still should not be an excuse for their poor showing.
There is so much talk about Bertuzzi joining the team next week--probably--that you have to wonder if they are just sitting back and waiting. I sure hope he won't be a disappointment after all of the hype that has been building.
FINALLY they mentioned Zetterberg and said he is coming along. Now, what does THAT mean? They have admitted that he has an inflamed disk, but on one of the message boards someone said it is a herniated disk--and I believe that is what Bertuzzi had surgery on! I really wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it back for the rest of the year. I hope I'm wrong and just being my old pessimistic self.
There is so much talk about Bertuzzi joining the team next week--probably--that you have to wonder if they are just sitting back and waiting. I sure hope he won't be a disappointment after all of the hype that has been building.
FINALLY they mentioned Zetterberg and said he is coming along. Now, what does THAT mean? They have admitted that he has an inflamed disk, but on one of the message boards someone said it is a herniated disk--and I believe that is what Bertuzzi had surgery on! I really wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it back for the rest of the year. I hope I'm wrong and just being my old pessimistic self.
FBI File links Robert Kennedy to Marilyn Monroe's Death
Read the FBI Files The document described in the story begins on page 18.
BOBBY KENNEDY'S affair with the screen idol Marilyn Monroe has been documented, but a secret FBI file suggests the late US attorney-general was aware of - and perhaps even a participant in - a plan "to induce" her suicide.How Bobby betrayed Marilyn
The detailed three-page report implicates the Hollywood actor Peter Lawford, Monroe's psychiatrist, staff and her publicist in the plot.
While studying these unclassified files for a film, I came across one explosive document, to my knowledge never previously noted in media accounts, that gives life to decades of conspiracy theory. This extraordinary document is dated as having been received by the FBI on October 19, 1964, is designated "Enclosure 61-9454-28", and is titled "Robert F. Kennedy". This is 16 days before the 1964 presidential election and 11 months after the assassination of President Kennedy. It was circulated to five top FBI officers, including Hoover's right-hand man, Clyde Tolson.Note that this is clearly unauthenticated information. The FBI files also contain information about an alleged lesbian affair and a sex tape depicting Marilyn involved in "unnatural acts with an unknown male."
It was forwarded by a "former Special Agent" working in the governor of California's office.The agent, whose name is deleted, advises that he does not know the source and cannot evaluate the authenticity of the information. The report outlines a conspiracy involving Robert Kennedy, the actor Peter Lawford and others to induce Monroe to "suicide".
Read the FBI Files The document described in the story begins on page 18.
The Sibel Edmonds Case Again
The heroin trade could not exist and prosper without high-level corruption in Pakistan, in Turkey, and in the United States. We need Congressional hearings into the case of Sibel Edmonds. We need to push for a special prosecutor to examine the connections between the illegal arms trade, the drug trade, illegal money laundering, and corruption in Washington.
Sibel Edmonds has said that all these areas lead to the same network of people. It has been reported that Al Qaeda is involved in the drug trade. Are these people doing business with the enemy--and, if so, how far back does it go? This is only speculation but does this lead back to 911?
Sibel Edmonds' case is about the intersection of illegal arms trafficking, heroin trafficking, money laundering, terrorist activities and the corruption of many "highly-recognizable, highly-known names" in and around the US government. Sibel says that the people involved will go straight to prison if we can get hearings into her case. Richard Perle, in prison. Douglas Feith, in prison. Dennis Hastert, in prison. Marc Grossman, in prison.This is a story that has almost entirely been ignored by the mainstream media. The media has the ocassional piece on the opium farmers in Afghanistan, and Taliban involvement in the heroin trade. They run stories about the impact of drugs on people in this country. But in between Afghanistan and the United States there is a black tunnel.
According to Sibel, the best place to begin trying to understand the case is a recent article by Phil Giraldi in the American Conservative. Sibel says"Giraldi has it 100% right; this I consider the most accurate summary of my case."
The heroin trade could not exist and prosper without high-level corruption in Pakistan, in Turkey, and in the United States. We need Congressional hearings into the case of Sibel Edmonds. We need to push for a special prosecutor to examine the connections between the illegal arms trade, the drug trade, illegal money laundering, and corruption in Washington.
Sibel Edmonds has said that all these areas lead to the same network of people. It has been reported that Al Qaeda is involved in the drug trade. Are these people doing business with the enemy--and, if so, how far back does it go? This is only speculation but does this lead back to 911?
How Is Your Life?
The other night I came thisclose to getting myself a Wii. I had to go and do some grocery shopping--my refrigerator echoed when I yelled into it--so I decided to call around to the usual places and see if any of them had gotten any new shipments of Wiis. Wouldn't you know, Shopko was selling their LAST ONE as I was talking. Damn! I'm thinking that I just may have to become someone's newest, bestest friend in order to get one before I am old enough to retire!
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While I was in WalMart, I noticed something very strange: MOST of the shoppers were male. And there were A LOT of them. While this isn't an unusual occurrence just before Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, I can't explain why so many were there the other night. There were big ones, little ones, old ones, young ones, ugly ones, and some I wouldn't have minded looking at a lot longer! It was as if every male from the entire county--except K--was there. Strange.
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Most people will get spring fever at this time of year--I get new car fever. This usually comes about because of the new car show/sale that we have here in town. I can keep the fever in check if I don't actually get to the show, but this year K has decided we will go. I LOVE seeing the shiny paint jobs and the sleek new models. I love to slide behind the wheel of a Corvette or fully-loaded SUV. I love imagining myself driving down the highway in a brand-spanking new vehicle. I hate imagining the monthly payments...
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C is determined to get the three-year-old potty trained. It is not going so well. The other day, C found a pair of pee-soaked panties in the middle of the coffee table. The little 'brat' removed them herself because she doesn't like feeling wet. This happened just after C asked if she had to use the potty and was told 'No!'
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I finally decided to catch up on my email. I got around to answering one that I received in November. Does 'better late than never' apply here?
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It snowed off and on all day today.
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I remember my dreams so rarely that, recently, when I recall something, I have to stop and think whether it really happened or did I dream it. It is NOT a good feeling.
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I have to figure out what I'm going to do with myself once hockey season ends. That is so sad.
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Finnish-American
I am 100% Finn. All of my ancestors came from Finland and I still consider it to be my ancestral homeland. (I am, first and foremost, an American, however.) I am very proud to be of Finnish descent. Because the US doesn't have a large, or widely dispersed, population of Finns, many people don't know a lot about the country or its people. Here are some things to know about Finland and Finns:
--16% of the population of the UP of Michigan is of Finnish descent. The UP has the largest concentration of Finns outside of Europe.
--The UP of Michigan is very close in climate and geography to Finland. This is one of the reasons so many Finns settled here.
--Finland has about 5.2 million people.
--According to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006.
--Finland is home to the world's leading mobile phone company: Nokia. (Guess what kind of cell phone I own! :))
--In the Finnish language, every letter of every word is pronounced. The first syllable of every word is accented. The rules of pronunciation are consistent. The Finnish language is quite easy to read--I was able to read it when I was in elementary school--but it is a difficult language to understand and speak.
--Finland is the only/first country to pay its war debt to the United States.
--Finland has a woman president.
--Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.
--Reindeer are herded by the Sami (Lapp) people of northern Finland (Lapland.)
--Some famous Finns:
--Linus Torvald, creator of the Linux computer operating system.
--Paavo Nurmi, Olympic champion long distance runner.
--Jean Sibilius, composer.
--Alvar Aalto, architect.
--Eero Saarinen, architect.
--Renny Harlin, director and producer.
--While Finland has an ancient history, it has embraced the modern world in many ways. Much of the architecture and design is very modern. Marimekko Corporation is a leading textile and clothing design company. Bright colors and bold designs are 'very Marimekko.'
--Iittala is another company that produces very modern design items.
"Iittala creates objects that are thought through in form, function and quality. Objects with a clear thought, created to achieve long lasting everyday use and inspiration. Whether in metal, wood, porcelain or glass, Iittala design objects are tools for contemporary living."
My favorite Iittala design is Ultima Thule. Gorgeous!
--The Finnish sauna is a very big part of Finnish culture. The first thing built when a Finn had his piece of land was a sauna. Here is a very good article on the sauna--much of it I can relate to. And, no, entire families DIDN'T sauna together when I was growing up--nor do they today. :)
--There are 40 or more Finnish born NHL players.
--Both Sweden and Russia 'owned' Finland during its history.
--Finland declared its independence in 1917.
--Finnish and Swedish are both official languages of Finland.
--16% of the population of the UP of Michigan is of Finnish descent. The UP has the largest concentration of Finns outside of Europe.
--The UP of Michigan is very close in climate and geography to Finland. This is one of the reasons so many Finns settled here.
--Finland has about 5.2 million people.
--According to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006.
--Finland is home to the world's leading mobile phone company: Nokia. (Guess what kind of cell phone I own! :))
--In the Finnish language, every letter of every word is pronounced. The first syllable of every word is accented. The rules of pronunciation are consistent. The Finnish language is quite easy to read--I was able to read it when I was in elementary school--but it is a difficult language to understand and speak.
--Finland is the only/first country to pay its war debt to the United States.
--Finland has a woman president.
--Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.
--Reindeer are herded by the Sami (Lapp) people of northern Finland (Lapland.)
--Some famous Finns:
--Linus Torvald, creator of the Linux computer operating system.
--Paavo Nurmi, Olympic champion long distance runner.
--Jean Sibilius, composer.
--Alvar Aalto, architect.
--Eero Saarinen, architect.
--Renny Harlin, director and producer.
--While Finland has an ancient history, it has embraced the modern world in many ways. Much of the architecture and design is very modern. Marimekko Corporation is a leading textile and clothing design company. Bright colors and bold designs are 'very Marimekko.'
--Iittala is another company that produces very modern design items.
"Iittala creates objects that are thought through in form, function and quality. Objects with a clear thought, created to achieve long lasting everyday use and inspiration. Whether in metal, wood, porcelain or glass, Iittala design objects are tools for contemporary living."
My favorite Iittala design is Ultima Thule. Gorgeous!
--The Finnish sauna is a very big part of Finnish culture. The first thing built when a Finn had his piece of land was a sauna. Here is a very good article on the sauna--much of it I can relate to. And, no, entire families DIDN'T sauna together when I was growing up--nor do they today. :)
--There are 40 or more Finnish born NHL players.
--Both Sweden and Russia 'owned' Finland during its history.
--Finland declared its independence in 1917.
--Finnish and Swedish are both official languages of Finland.
Valerie Plame Testifies Before Congress
Update: One of the main wingnut talking points (also known as "lies") on the Plame affair is that she was not covert, and therefore there was no "underlying crime". I know that a few wingnuts read this blog and so I would refer them to the following article:
CIA Director Hayden: ‘Wilson Was Covert’
I'm grateful for this opportunity to set the record straight. I served the United States loyally and to the best of my ability as a covert operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency.Valerie: thank you for your service to this country. Dick and Karl: I hope that you are thankful that you are not going to prison.
I worked on behalf of the national security of our country, on behalf of the people of the United States until my name and true affiliation were exposed in the national media on July 14, 2003, after a leak by administration officials.
Today, I can tell this committee even more. In the run-up to the war with Iraq I worked in the counter proliferation division of the CIA -- still as a covert officer whose affiliation with the CIA was classified.
I raced to discover solid intelligence for senior policymakers on Iraq's presumed weapons of mass destruction programs.
While I helped to manage and run secret worldwide operations against this WMD target from CIA headquarters in Washington, I also traveled to foreign countries on secret missions to find vital intelligence.
Update: One of the main wingnut talking points (also known as "lies") on the Plame affair is that she was not covert, and therefore there was no "underlying crime". I know that a few wingnuts read this blog and so I would refer them to the following article:
CIA Director Hayden: ‘Wilson Was Covert’
During House hearings today, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) announced that CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden recently told Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) that there was no doubt Victoria Plame Wilson was covert. Cummings — relaying what Waxman had told him — said that Gen. Hayden expressed clearly and directly, “Ms. Wilson was covert.”
Cummings also asked Wilson to respond to the specific claim, made by Victoria Toensing and others, that Plame had lost her covert status because she “had not been stationed abroad within five years.” Cummings asked, “During the past five years, Ms. Plame, from today, did you conduct secret missions overseas?” She answered, “Yes I did, congressman.”
I think this settles it.
