Quotes, URL's, Links And References-by:older Femmes, Butches, Ftms, Mtfs, Queer, Etc. [Archive] - Page 13

sweetlady

12-09-2006, 10:41 AM

:| But it was the smaller, scrappy players that got them back in the game.

By Tim Siglin

December 5, 2006 Streaming Media

At the final Supercomm, held in Chicago last year, Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers gave a great presentation. Besides telcos in the audience, there were also MSOs (cable operators) and pure-play IP startups. All heard the message loud and clear: Chambers unequivocally stated that video was The Next Big Thing. No longer would voice over IP be Cisco's core focus; instead it was setting its sites on the larger, more complex puzzle of moving video around the world, through the enterprise, and into the living room.

For those who missed that Supercomm presentation, Cisco reiterated the message earlier this week with a series of announcements at the ITU Telecom World show in Hong Kong. With a nod to "carriers of all types and sizes," Cisco is rolling out what it touts as the "Connected Life" for those who are willing to rely on Cisco's next generation network (see this page on Cisco's website for more details).

What exactly does Cisco's version of the connected life look like? Fairly close to today's life but with lots more services coming down the pipe. These include more than just broadband to the home, although Cisco doesn't differentiate between slow broadband like ADSL available in the U.S. market and the screaming fast XDSL available in the Asian market where the show is being held.

Industry analysts agree that it's not just about the pipe or basic store-and-forward video services. "Delivering the 'Connected Life' is about much more than just broadcast and on-demand video," said Mark Bieberich, vice president, communications infrastructure for Yankee Group in a Cisco press release. "It's about personalized IP service bundles that integrate video, VoIP, internet access, messaging, gaming, and audio entertainment applications requiring dynamic multicasting, advanced QoS, and policy management. The delivery of personalized service bundles that include video requires a new approach to service control at the network edge. The Cisco IP NGN architecture is a solid foundation upon which to develop these new service offerings and business processes."

Several of the concepts that are being rolled out on Cisco's laundry list for the Next Generation Network have been attempted before-with varying degrees of success-but one that stands out as a practical and hopefully successful attempt is what Cisco touts as its Rapid Channel Change (RCC) and video error repair technologies, branded by Cisco as VQE or Video Quality Experience technologies.

The reasons that these two issues are important lie at the heart of consumer viewing patterns.

First, consumers expect a TV-like simplicity and consistency in their TV viewing, regardless of whether it's over the air, via cable, or delivered by IPTV. In short, they expect to be able to change the channel in IPTV as easily-and quickly-as they change the channel for analog television. Technical complexities aside, they really don't care about whether it is more or less difficult to set up and tear down an IP stream for a particular "channel" of video entertainment; they just want it to work like the technology it's replacing but offer more options, preferably at a lower price.

For its video error repair, it's uncertain if Cisco will resort to packet flooding the way that videoconferencing companies did in the early days of H.323 to guarantee temporal delivery of packets for very time-sensitive data. Nor is there any indication that Cisco might be stealing a page from satellite IP's playbook by putting forward error correction algorithms in place. Regardless of how Cisco implements it, the fact that they're tackling the problem shows both that an industry giant knows one of the Achilles heel's of the IPTV market and that the same industry giant is validating IP entertainment delivery in a way that draws significant attention.

Cisco has made great strides into video since its acquisition of Scientific Atlanta, a company that's moving from its roots in satellite set top boxes to become a leader in the IP set top box marketplace. And the move to make Scientific Atlanta the showcase end user product in Cisco's lineup will create some interesting dynamics with another technology giant who has chosen to move into the video space: Texas Instruments.

Much has been written about TI's DaVinci technology and its move from a supplier of DSPs that development partners had to slog through learning to a provider of analysis tools and-in more recent days-bundled deals with codecs and even integrated/embedded Linux deals that assist developers in cranking out video-related products.

Thursday, Dec. 7, Texas Instruments hosted a web seminar with a variety of participants, providing perspective on what it sees as the Next Big Thing: transcoding. TI's willingness to host this discussion seems to be a step in the right direction.

Which brings us back around to Cisco. Scientific Atlanta is one of TI's customers; now that it's a Cisco shop, though, and now that TI begins to beat the drum for transcoding content into any format the consumer wants at any point on the network (and even encouraging industry discussion on how to do this transcoding), it will be interesting to see how the two titans see the market forming up around what Cisco is dubbing Video 2.0 in a nod to the social networking Web 2.0 technologies that have made significant inroads over the last 12-18 months.

One thing's for certain: with the big boys back on track, understanding and touting the message that video startups have been championing for the past decade, video is here to stay. We're past the hype and back into meaningful dialogue about how to consistently address problems that have plagued the entire "Video 2.0" value and supply chain over the past few years. And all of you in smaller video startups should realize that it has been your tenacity and innovative approaches to solving these problems on a smaller scale that has attracted attention once again from the major companies in the industry.

(y)8-| (y) 8-| (y)8-| (y) 8-|(y)8-| (y) 8-|(y)8-|

:) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:16 PM

(y) (y)

Brad gets Wright gift for birthday

Jolie takes Pitt, an architecture buff, to Fallingwater

Saturday, December 09, 2006

By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

What's the perfect birthday present for one of the world's most famous couples? Why, a visit to one of the world's most famous houses, of course. Thursday, Angelina Jolie treated Brad Pitt to an afternoon at Fallingwater.

"Brad said he had wanted to experience Fallingwater ever since he took an architectural history course in college," said Cara Armstrong, Fallingwater's curator of education. "He and I talked quite a bit about design and art. He was incredibly well-informed about architecture."

Ms. Armstrong and Fallingwater's events coordinator, Edna King, picked up Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie at the Latrobe Airport and spent an hour talking to them in the car before Ms. Armstrong led them on a two-hour private tour of the house. Ms. Armstrong described the couple as "very gracious and very engaged in the house. As we say in the Midwest, you could tell their mothers raised them right."

Ms. Armstrong and Ms. King met the couple, who were traveling alone, on the airport tarmac at the request of Ms. Jolie's assistant. They drove to Fallingwater in an SUV with tinted windows, with the celebrity couple in the back seat, Ms. King driving and Ms. Armstrong telling them about the house Frank Lloyd Wright designed in Mill Run.

"We thought they might not have enough time to hear about the house before the tour," Ms. Armstrong said. They had arrived by private jet after bad weather canceled a helicopter ride. The couple said they had to be back in Brooklyn by early evening.

"Brad said he had a visual sense of Fallingwater but experiencing it in person, hearing the sound of the waterfall cascading under the house and smelling the wood from the fireplace, was better than anything he could have imagined," Ms. Armstrong said.

"I knew he was an architecture geek kind of guy, and I knew he had tried coming a few years earlier, but I was shocked," she said when she first learned they were coming. "At first we thought it was a joke."

Mr. Pitt will be 43 on Dec. 18.

"I was just impressed by how interested in architecture he was," said Ms. Armstrong. "He was talking about Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel and Zaha Hadid and Greene and Greene. He was trying to explain the Golden Mean and proportion and flow of space to Jolie, and he was getting it right. It was fun to see somebody that interested in and excited about architecture and design."

Ms. Jolie had arranged to have champagne and caviar sent in after the tour, and the couple shared that in a brief private birthday celebration in Fallingwater's living room. Afterward, they invited the staff to join them.

Arrangements for the visit began about a week before Thanksgiving, when staff at Fallingwater received a call from Ms. Jolie's personal assistant in Asia. The assistant was reluctant to provide the names of the couple but relented when Ms. King assured her she would be discreet.

During their visit, the couple commented on the beauty of the winter landscape of the Laurel Highlands.

"They didn't behave like celebrities," Ms. Armstrong said. "They were just people coming to see great architecture and wanting to know more about it."

"He's so hard to buy for," Ms. Jolie told her.

Shortly after the story hit the Post-Gazette's Web site yesterday -- where it quickly zoomed to the top of the most e-mailed stories list -- e-mails began pouring in from readers convinced the photograph of the pair standing in front of Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic house was a fake.

For the record, it isn't.

"No way! I took that photo myself, and I am proud of it!" Ms. Armstrong said.

In the photograph but out of camera range, Ms. Jolie is wearing Ms. King's shoes.

"We were going to [the] overlook to see that iconic view of Fallingwater, and she had the most elegant shoes on you could imagine," Ms. King said. Realizing that wearing high heels on the rustic stone steps might not be the best idea, Ms. Jolie said she would wait in the car while Pitt went down for a look.

"I said, 'What size shoes do you wear?' and she said '9.' I said I wear 9 and a half; you can wear mine.' I thought that said a lot about her, that she would wear a stranger's shoes. They were very humble and down to earth."

Mr. Pitt's latest movie, "Babel," is now in theaters, and he's recently been filming "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in Louisiana.

Ms. Jolie, 31, has been filming "A Mighty Heart," based on a memoir written by Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain journalist Daniel Pearl. She also appears in "The Good Shepherd," due Dec. 22.

The couple have three children: Maddox, 5, Zahara, 2, and 7-month-old Shiloh.

After the tour, a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce took the couple back to the Latrobe Airport.

Fallingwater, whose own fame was well-calculated by its owner and its architect in the late 1930s, has long been a celebrity magnet, most recently attracting actors Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Dennis Miller and Randy and Dennis Quaid.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06343/744876-42.stm

(k) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the napping Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:18 PM

:)

Star-studded audience turns out for Nobel ceremony

Security was tight around the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on Sunday. No wonder, when the roughly 1,000 people in the audience featured high-ranking government officials, movie stars and a sprinkling of royalty.

A helicopter whirred overhead and police were stationed at all entrances to Oslo's City Hall for hours before the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony got underway at 1pm. Commando vans and police cars were parked all over downtown, and plain-clothes security guards were also out in force.

December 10th is always a big day in Oslo, because that's the day set aside every year for the actual awarding of the Peace Prize under the terms of Alfred Nobel's will. This year was no exception.

Flags flew all around the City Hall and ceremonial torches around the perimeter were lit. Inside, at least 12,000 flowers, many of them red anthuriums, added color to the mural-adorned walls of the building's main hall, which is often used for special occasions.

The annual Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is the most special of them all. This year it attracted royalty in addition to Norway's own: Spain's Queen Sophia was in the first row, seated next to one of prize winner Muhammad Yunus' daughters. The queen of Spain was among those invited by Yunus himself, because of her interest in his work.

Norway's King Harald and Queen Sonja were, in line with royal protocol, the last to be seated at precisely 12:59pm, followed by Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, to the strains of the royal fanfare. The four arrived just after the Norwegian Nobel Committee members and the prize winners Yunus and Mosammat Taslima Begum, who represented Grameen Bank.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was also there with his wife, diplomat Ingrid Schulerud, and members of his government. Seated just behind them was Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Norwegian Prime Minister who went on to lead the UN's World Health Organization.

Seated several rows behind Yunus' daughters and brothers was Hollywood film star Sharon Stone, who will co-host this year's Nobel Concert on Monday evening along with Angelica Houston. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullman was also in the audience, and she posed with Sharon Stone outside City Hall when the ceremony ended.

And seated right behind Stone was Svein Aaser, the soon-to-retire chairman of Norway's biggest bank, DnB NOR. He was seen listening intently to Yunus' Nobel Lecture, in which Yunus criticized commercial banks' reluctance to lend to the poor, believing them to be not credit-worthy.

Yunus' Grameen Bank has proven them wrong, citing a high repayment rate even among the 85,000 beggars who were lent the equivalent of USD 12, interest free. Aaser joined everyone else in the huge room in giving Yunus a standing ovation.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1564650.ece

(y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:18 PM

(h)(h)(h)(h)(h)

http://www.marquise.de/en/themes/hut/hut3.shtml

:) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:21 PM

(p) (h) (h)(p)

http://www.baronhats.com/eliza_d_praise.htm

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:22 PM

:D

http://www.audrey1.com/articles/articles6.html

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:23 PM

:)

Definitely the "Breakfast at Tiffany's" hat but the others are nice too:

http://www.annemoore.com/fall1.htm

(l) (l) (p) I love the "Upturn Classic" : http://www.annemoore.com/fall2.htm

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:23 PM

(h)(h)

http://www.back-in-style.com/customer/home.php

(y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:25 PM

:)

(y) (y) (y)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Hepburn

Outstanding opener! http://www-scf.usc.edu/~kristena/

http://www.katharinehepburn.net/

(k) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:26 PM

(y) (p) (y) (p) (y) (p)

http://katehepburn.tripod.com/kate017.jpg

http://www.born-today.com/Today/pix/hepburn_kate2.jpg

http://www.katharinehepburn.net/gallery/kate13.jpg

http://sege.blogspot.com/kate%20hepburn.jpg

http://alexanderthegreat9.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/kate004.jpg

Carpe Diem,

SWeetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:27 PM

(y) (p) (y) (p)

http://adorocinema.cidadeinternet.com.br/personalidades/atores/audrey-hepburn/audrey-hepburn04.jpg

http://www.leninimports.com/audrey_hepburn_gallery_9.jpg

(l) (p) (l) (p) GALLERY: http://www.leninimports.com/audrey_hepburn_gallery.html

http://www.perkydesigns.com/audrey-hepburn-hat1.jpeg

Have fun!

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:28 PM

:o :o

:)

http://www.babbonyc.com/travel.html

;)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:29 PM

(y) (y)

http://www.hotelcongress.com/

(k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:30 PM

:o :o :o

:) :)

http://www.edgeofthebay.com.au/

(y) (y) (y) (y)

(k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:31 PM

:) :) :)

http://www.vilayatours.com/

Carpe Diem,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:33 PM

:D

http://www.thecrossingsaustin.com/

(l) This is what I'm talking about: R&R Packages for Womyn:

http://www.thecrossingsaustin.com/personal/index.php?sec=4

1. Working Women’s Half-Day of Wellness

2. 9 to 5 Pampering Package for Women

3. Girlfriend Getaway

4. The TLC Retreat

;) <contented sigh>,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:34 PM

:o :o :o

:)

http://www.birdwingspa.com/

(f) (f) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:35 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

http://www.nationalwestern.com/

:D :D eeeeeHaaa!

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:35 PM

:)

http://www.doorcounty.com/

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:36 PM

(8) (8) (8) (8) (8)

(y) (y) (y)

http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/composer/szymanowski.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karol_Szymanowski

http://www.amazon.ca/Songs-Fairytale-Pricess-Karol-Szymanowski/dp/images/B000HC2NJM

http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/artykuly/os_szymanowski_karol

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:37 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

Julie White and Tom Everett Scott play a scene together in "The Little Dog Laughed.:

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/11/14/theater/photoessay2180364.shtml

:) :)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:38 PM

:| :| :|

http://www.365days365plays.com/

(y) Quite an amazing feat.

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:41 PM

:s :s :s

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/55ABE840-AC30-41D2-BDC9-06BBE2A36665.htm

:o If one is relentless enough, one can find the truth.

Well, if reading "alternative", progressive, overseas-based and news web sites such as the one above, one can become more aware of the closest approximation of the truth.......;)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:44 PM

(f) (f) (f) (f) (f)

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11644671

(f) (f) (f) (f) (f) (f)

:-#:-# I hope the truth comes out about these Russians who were killed for criticizing their government or who defected to the UK.

:| :|

Anna: Rest in Peace. (f)

Sweetlady

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:46 PM

:s :s

http://www.eurotrib.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2006/11/19/20439/209

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6180682.stm

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/16192466.htm

(n) (n) 8o| GRRRR. Shame on Putin and his cronies. +o( +o(

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:48 PM

:D :D

http://www.randbrand.com/

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:49 PM

:| :| :| :| :| :| :|

http://www.gizmag.com/go/3691/

http://www.research.philips.com/technologies/display/mrrordisp/mirrortv/index.html

+o( +o( Don't think I'd want of these. ;) ;)

Adieu,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:50 PM

:) :)

Geologists believe that the multi-layered semi-precious gem stone believed to be found only in the Cayman Islands was formed between sixteen and twenty-five million years ago, during the Oligocene-Miocene epoch. The various-colours result from different metals. Black and grays from Manganese, the red hues from iron, blue, and green from copper, and so on.

Caymanite is an extremely hard material and must be worked with special tools including diamond-tipped cutting wheels and grinders. Entensive polishing after the piece is carved results in a brilliant, marble-like finish. The art of working and shaping Caymanite is very specialized, and only after many years of practice is one able to produce items that are suitable for resale.

http://www.handmade.com.ky/index.htm

(p) (p) Gorgeous! http://www.caymanspirit.gov.ky/pls/portal/docs/1/866311.JPG

(p) Looks like from the U.S. Southwest to me:

http://www.yourgemologist.com/caymanite4.jpeg

(f) (f) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:51 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

http://www.nature.org/popups/images/irp_header.gif

I am a member. Are you? http://www.nature.org/

Adieu,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:52 PM

(f) (f) (f) (f) (f)

Restoring Australia’s Botanic Wonderland
By Ron Geatz

Smooth, white-barked eucalyptus trees rise from ochre soil, topped by umbrellas of brassy-olive leaves. Silvery saltbush hugs the ground, sheltering goanna lizards. The hot white surface of a dry salt lake glistens in the distance. The screech of black cockatoos draws attention skyward, summoning visions of pterodactyls soaring overhead.

This 3-billion-year-old landscape in southwestern Australia has over the past 250 million years gone largely undisturbed by catastrophic events such as volcanoes, earthquakes and glaciers. It is flat, infertile, leached of nutrients and laden with salt. The result, bewilderingly, is a botanic wonderland.
In this isolated and seemingly inhospitable landscape, native plants—about half of which exist nowhere else—adapted and evolved intriguing methods of survival. Some became carnivorous; others established symbiotic relationships with hardier neighbors; still others developed bizarre root systems to scavenge sparse sustenance. And as the climate changed over millenniums, identical plants just meters apart evolved into distinct species—estimated to be some 8,000—as did the animals that depend on them.

“This is a rare part of the world where evolution has proceeded apace,” explains Keith Bradby, coordinator of Gondwana Link, an ambitious effort to conserve this landscape. “And it still can if we give it a hand.”

The “hand” the land needs is substantial. It was post-World War II government policy to clear “a million acres a year” and transform the region into Australia’s breadbasket. Yet much of this geography has proved unsuitable for traditional crops and grazing. Mallee—the thirsty, deep-rooted eucalyptus shrub that once covered much of the terrain and drew heavily from the underground water table—is perfectly adapted to the salt-laden soil. But as nearly two-thirds of the mallee and other native groundcover was cleared and supplanted with shallow-rooted annual grass and grain, the groundwater rose, dissolving ancient salts that then were drawn to the surface. In some places, the semiarid landscape is now drowning in saltwater.

It is in this crazy quilt of wheat farms, primeval plants, orderly vineyards and vibrant wildflowers that The Nature Conservancy has inspired five Australian conservation organizations to think bigger than they ever have. Gondwana Link is a visionary effort to reconnect and restore a 1,000-kilometer swath of native bush land from the desert edge of Australia’s Outback to the tall-tree forests of the Southwestern coast. The initiative takes its name from Gondwanaland, the prehistoric landmass from which most of the Earth’s southern continents broke apart and drifted away.

“To heal this land, as much as a third of this region will need to be revegetated, possibly much more,” says Bradby. “But the mix of plants changes, acre by acre, across hundreds of kilometers. To effectively reveg, you need to collect seeds from the plants on or next to each property.”

Thus the partners find themselves pioneering restoration on an acre-by-acre basis at places like Yarrabee, a 2,300-acre former sheep ranch where a duo of tractors tills the sandy soil and sows a mix of native seeds painstakingly collected from the immediate vicinity. This, the most recent acquisition of Greening Australia and the Australian Bush Heritage Fund—two of Gondwana Link’s lead partner organizations—is the largest single ecological planting ever undertaken in Australia. Once restored, the ranch will form a key part of the crucial habitat link between the region’s two largest protected areas, the Fitzgerald River and Stirling Range national parks—or the Fitz-Stirling, as the area is known locally.

Conservancy matching funds, created to encourage new strategic endeavors in Australia, helped to purchase Yarrabee. The same matching funds helped the Gondwana Link project get off the ground four years ago. Since then, more than 13,000 acres on seven properties have been purchased or placed under conservation easements in the Fitz-Stirling. Nearly half of the land targeted for conservation is currently on the open market, creating an unprecedented opportunity to buy and restore or restructure farms to make them ecologically and economically sound.

The Gondwana Link approach in this sparsely populated corner of the world involves, by necessity, a Conservancy-style push to invest in local partnerships and grass-roots experiments—knowing that collectively they can make large-scale restoration a reality. Town-dwelling elders of the aboriginal Noongar people, eager to reconnect their youngsters with the country while the stories and memories of earlier times still survive, have become part of the cultural and ecological restoration. Some local farmers are cultivating native plants, such as sandalwood, which can be sold for use in cosmetics and incense. Others are looking at planting native hardwoods that can yield sturdy support poles for the grapevines of the burgeoning Australian wine industry. And corporations have noted with interest that restored mallee is particularly effective at sequestering carbon—making it a potential tool to offset greenhouse-gas emissions elsewhere.

If humans can adapt themselves to the dictates of the land, Gondwana Link may just succeed.

As the traditional farming population steadily declines, there is a growing desire by those remaining to create sustainable livelihoods and sustainable communities. “We are crazy enough to think we can achieve our ecological goals while strengthening the region’s social fabric,” says Bradby. “As we restore the landscape, we also want to help restore people’s relationship to and respect for the land and its needs. There is increasing awareness here of how rich and fragile this seemingly harsh geography really is. Ultimately, healing the land means healing ourselves.”

http://www.nature.org/magazine/autumn2006/features/index.html

(f) (f) (f) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:54 PM

(f) (f)

Rediscovering a long-forgotten native plant rekindles childhood memories

Sunday afternoons in late fall, we packed into the family car with our buckets and sacks and drove into the Iowa countryside in search of hickory nuts and native bittersweet. I loved the drives down dusty gravel roads on those golden days when the sun shone brightly against the azure sky and the treetops were ablaze with red, yellow and orange leaves. But it was the wispy vine with the brilliant red-orange berries and pale husks tangled in the fence lines that fascinated me most.

This was in the 1950s, before fence-to-fence planting and roadside spraying and mowing. You did not need to drive far into the country to find bittersweet. It climbed up fence posts, slithered gracefully along old wire fences, entwined roadside bushes, crawled up tree trunks. These were less hurried times, when families still did family things. At the end of the day, we returned home to crack the nuts with a hammer on the basement floor, while Mom decorated the living room with the vine that we prized—a symbol of the changing seasons. As surely as tulips meant spring, green grass summer and pine trees winter, bittersweet meant fall.

Four decades ago, American bittersweet grew abundantly in the Mid-west. For generations, it withstood summer drought, winter ice and everything else nature could throw at it. It endured everything, it seemed, except the influence of man. In time, it disappeared from the fence posts, barbwire and roadsides.

As an adult, I no longer saw the bittersweet that so captivated me as a youth. I came across the fake version in craft stores where they sell plastic plants. I wondered if the imitation, so lacking the brilliance and delicacy of the real thing, was all that remained.

Then a couple years ago, I built a new home in South Dakota, near a nature preserve. Behind my house lie acres of cottonwood and cedar, native prairie grasses, and scrub brush. Here, coyotes, deer, foxes, turkeys and badgers roam undisturbed, and songbirds thrive.

One November day, peering deep into the woods, I noticed them—the brilliant red-orange berries. They hung in thousands of clumps, as far as I could see. The vine climbed cottonwood trunks and curled around small shrubs; it graced the tops of short trees and threaded through the branches of the wild cedars as if guided by the hand of a father decorating a Christmas tree. If there was a bittersweet heaven, this was it.

Unlike its Oriental cousin, which can choke a forest with a kudzulike vengeance, American bittersweet complements the woods, and lives in harmony with other species. Here, protected from poisonous spray, the blade and fire, this plant still thrives.

I stop by the woods frequently to study it. The brilliant berries cling tenaciously from fall until spring. Some are eaten by small mammals, birds and deer. I have seen robins
flitting from tree to tree in the early spring when the snow is still on the ground, tugging furiously at the faded berries until, at last, they give way. By mid-April, the last vestiges are gone, and the vine prepares for new growth.

Happily, I have discovered anew the mystical vine of my youth. By some wonderful quirk of fate, in my own back yard, I am surrounded by it—the vine that remains inextricably entwined with the memories of my childhood. Bittersweet memories, rekindled in these bittersweet woods.

—William Kevin Stoos

http://www.nature.org/magazine/autumn2006/people/art18696.html

(l) (l) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 01:57 PM

:) :) :)

1. Hells Canyon Country: Wildlife and Landscapes

and

2. Alaska: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Base Camp.....

sounded like great trips.<:o) <:o) <:o)

http://www.nature.org/aboutus/travel/

(S) (S) Have a lovely Monday evening and peaceful dreams tonight.(S) (S)

(k) (k) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 02:01 PM

:D :D :D

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iconfactory/sets/72157594406897342/

(h)8-| (h)8-| (h)8-| (h)8-|

;) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 02:02 PM

:D :D

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/the-japanese-super-safe-wii-safety-manual-218939.php

:o :o :)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 02:04 PM

:o :o

Gorgeous too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh_qn62zny0

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-11-2006, 02:06 PM

;)

Q U O T E D

"One could do deep-ocean research for SpongeBob SquarePants. That doesn't make it science."

-- Idaho State University professor Douglas P. Wells posits some new fields of study for Sasquatchologist D. Jeffrey Meldrum

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bigfoot10dec10,0,1835284.story?coll=la-home-headlines

:D :D Well, I thought this one was hilarious. ;)

Adieu,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 02:45 PM

:| :| :| :|

:o :o :o

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2805081

:) :) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 02:47 PM

:D :D :D :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQg0JNaKeVM

:D :D :D

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 02:48 PM

:D :D :D :D

http://www.radarmagazine.com/features/2006/12/toys.php

:) 's.

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 02:52 PM

:o :o

Q U O T E D

Heart rate quickens

Increased sweating

Furious clicking of the mouse

Simultaneous clicking and cursing the screen

Bashing the mouse

-- The UK's Social Issues Research Center lists the first 5 signs of Mouse Rage, a syndrome inspired by badly designed Web sites.

http://search.sys-con.com/read/313221.htm

:| :| :|

LONDON, December 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Study Identifies the Five Key Factors of a Badly Designed Website That May Have Negative Effects on the Immune System, Cardio Functioning and the Nervous System

According to a report published today by the Social Issues Research Centre and commissioned by Rackspace Managed Hosting, the UK's most recommended hosting specialist (1), there are five key IT flaws in the way websites are designed and hosted that may lead to harmful health effects.

The study combined data from a YouGov poll of 2,500 people with physiological tests on a separate sample of internet users, who were asked to find information from a number of different websites. The tests measured the physical and physiological reactions to website experiences, looking at brainwaves, heart-rate fluctuations, muscle tension and skin conductivity. Results indicated that badly designed and hosted websites cause stress and anger, leading to the term "Mouse Rage Syndrome" or MRS being coined.

The Top 5 website failures that lead to Mouse Rage

- Slow to load pages

- Confusing / difficult to navigate layouts

- Excessive pop-ups

- Unnecessary advertising

- Site unavailability

Damaging health and reputations

The test results indicate that users want Google-style speed, function and accuracy from all of the websites they visit, and they want it now. Unfortunately, many websites and their servers cannot deliver this. The result - consumers seeking alternative websites in a bid to avoid undue stress and Mouse Rage.

The SIRC report states: "When the test participants came to the 'problem' sites that we had deliberately chosen as comparisons for the 'Perfect Website' evaluation exercise [a prior study], responses changed quite dramatically in most, but not all, cases. While a few managed to stay calm and simply 'rise above' the problems presented by crazy graphics and slow-loading pages, others showed very distinct signs of stress and anxiety."

The report went on to state "Some changes in muscle tension were quite dramatic...While this was happening, the participant's faces also tensed visibly, with the teeth clenched together and the muscles around the mouth becoming taught. These are physically uncomfortable situations that reduce concentration and increase feelings of anger."

The first signs of Mouse Rage:

- Heart rate quickens

- Increased sweating

- Furious clicking of the mouse

- Simultaneous clicking and cursing the screen

- Bashing the mouse

Jacques Greyling, managing director of Rackspace Managed Hosting comments, "We believe that businesses that are selling online have a duty to their customers to ensure that the experience is as stress free as possible. The public has shown that it wants to buy online, as it has been forecast that over GBP4m(2) an hour will be spent in the UK in the run up to Christmas. The message is clear, businesses need to provide simple and easy to navigate layouts, whilst focusing on speed and uptime."

References:

(1) Vanson Bourne research, May 2006

(2) IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group)

(o) Maybe the usually-reserved Brits are more prone to this? ;)

:o :o

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 02:56 PM

;) ;)

http://www.verizonfails.ytmnd.com/

8o| 8o| But then, don't ALL tlecommunications' services companies?

;) ;) ;) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 02:58 PM

:s :s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiQXgmVVGNA

|-) |-) So what? Guy feet with genius toes? ;)

Season's Greetings!

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 03:03 PM

:| :| :| :| :|

;) ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYVlHqCC4Qo

(y) (y) Must be that I never had or wanted kids, but I thought this one was hilarious! :) :)

(ip) Warm Thoughts (ip)

Sweetlady & wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 03:05 PM

:| :|

http://www.suck.uk.com/product.php?rangeID=55

;) ;)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 03:07 PM

;) ;)

You can't put frosting on manure, although I'm sure Yahoo would like to do just that with new comScore data that claims News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media has surpassed it to become the top U.S. Web property in page views. According to comScore , Fox Interactive Media's total U.S. page views increased to 39.5 million from 38.7 million during November, while Yahoo's page views declined to 38 million from 41.6 million. "We've seen some very strong growth from Fox Interactive Media ever since the MySpace acquisition was completed," explained comScore analyst Michael Rubin. "We've seen over the last year tremendous interest in social-networking sites. It's only natural that their page views would be increasing."

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/16224731.htm

http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=20173&hed=Yahoo+Dethroned+By+MySpace

Yahoo, which has been having a decidedly tough time of it lately (see " Hey Terry, ever hear the one about the CEO and the three envelopes?") did its best to put a positive spin on the news, blaming the decline in traffic on Web 2.0 tech and pointing out that Yahoo shareholders still have a few things to be happy about. "Yahoo continues to be the overall Web audience leader with the largest number of unique users and most time spent online. The page view change in November is related to the use of Ajax and other Web 2.0 technologies across the Yahoo network," said spokeswoman Nissa Anklesaria. "These technologies enhance the overall user experience, but do not either generate a page view or qualify to be counted as a page view while the user is engaged with the product."

http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2006/12/yahoo_added_som.html

(y) (y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 03:11 PM

(y)(h)(y)(h)(y)(h)(y)(h)(y)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Of_mna-Rs

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 03:14 PM

:D :D :D :D :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDiiUSdnPwA

;) ;) 's and ({)(}) ({)(}) ({)(}) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 03:20 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/sao_tome_e_principe_works_with_technology_4043.asp

:) Although not as ruggedized as I would like my USBs to be, these *are pretty.

HO, HO, HO (and no, I am not standing on a digital street corner...) :D

(k) (k) 's,

SL & WTB

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 03:32 PM

:s :s

MIND

It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.

- Sally Kempton
Courtesy of David Allen "Getting Things Done"

:| Make me nod in wise agreement and smile to myself. This insight could apply to anyone in one's past though.

(y) Got another "A" on my 23rd grad course. There is one last but not least course left to take starting in Jan., 2007. One last elective. I need to decide before then - which independent study to take as my last course. And then? Comprehensive exams........:) And *then*..... dissertation. 8-|8-|8-|8-|8-|

As Roseanne Rosannadanna on SNL during the early 1970s always used to say, "It's always something."

:) I'm grateful to have enough brain cells left to work and get those "A's" as well as continuing to move forward towards that PhD. It seems only yesterday (well, not really) since I started my Master of Science in April of 2003. 8-)8-)

(f) (f) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-15-2006, 03:42 PM

:D :D :D

http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/chile/image/wilt2.jpg

http://www.new-mexico-catalog.com/assets/images/848L.jpg

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/310552/2/istockphoto_310552_red_chili_pepper_ristras.jpg

Very (h) (p) 's!!

(l) (l) Imagining myself and Wyatt the Boxer in NM smelling the pinyon pine in the kiva fireplaces, luminarias glowing on adobe buildings' roofs and chile pepper ristras hanging every place. (sigh) (l) (l)

(l) Feliz Navidad!

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-17-2006, 01:52 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

The Problem With Allen Iverson

He wants to win, but he doesn't know how.

By Nathaniel Friedman

Posted Friday, Dec. 15, 2006, at 2:11 PM ET

In the days since Allen Iverson has been put on the trading block, it seems like every team in the NBA has lined up to make an offer for the Philadelphia 76ers guard. Meanwhile, fans and writers have ridiculed the Sixers for failing to make it work with a once-in-a-lifetime talent. On ESPN.com, Bill Simmons wrote, "How could a coach-killer who allegedly monopolizes the ball, hates to practice and can't sublimate his game double as one of the most revered, respected players in the league?" While that's an appealingly complex idea—a misunderstood Iverson done in by incompetent coaches and executives—the truth is much simpler. The Sixers may have mishandled their star player's career, but it's Iverson's style of play that's set up the team—and him—for disappointment.

For better or worse, Iverson is synonymous with the NBA Dark Ages of the later 1990s. Probably the best player under 6 feet tall in the history of the league, Iverson's intensity and heart made him one of the sport's most popular figures. On the other side, his freewheeling play, clashes with coaches, and brushes with the law made him the poster child for the sport's post-Jordan decline. If Jordan defined his era by being an icon everyone could agree on, then Iverson's divisiveness defined his.

Yet Allen Iverson is much more of a traditionalist than he's made out to be. He routinely takes the floor with serious injuries and gives his all in seemingly meaningless contests. When so many of his peers thought nothing of switching teams in free agency, he stuck with Philly for 10 up-and-down seasons. He often spoke of wanting to retire as a Sixer and didn't ask out for years despite repeated attempts by management to show him the door. And even when fans in Philadelphia criticized him, he loved his city unconditionally. San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Minnesota's Kevin Garnett have practically been sainted for devotion to their respective franchises. Iverson is rarely given the same recognition.

But there's an important difference between Iverson and stars like Duncan and Garnett: They're team players, and he is not. Duncan and Garnett are unselfish, versatile, and almost deferential to their teammates. Iverson shoots relentlessly, disrupts any attempts at team strategy, and has proven incompatible with just about every kind of complementary scorer. The Sixers may never have given him a competent starting five, but he never achieved any kind of chemistry with above-average players like Chris Webber, Jerry Stackhouse, Andre Iguodala, Larry Hughes, Matt Harpring, and Keith Van Horn. Whenever the team succeeded, it was because of his individual efforts. Conversely, when Iverson clanked his way through an off-night, there was no alternative the Sixers could turn to.

When Michael Jordan was at his peak, half the country identified as Bulls fans. Yet while Iverson's jersey remains among the league's top sellers, most people couldn't care less about the uninspiring Sixers. It's not a stretch to say that since he's been on the team, the Philadelphia 76ers have thrived only as a platform for Allen Iverson.

Iverson was willing to take an entire franchise on his back for a decade, and the Sixers' fairly regular playoff trips made this seem like a viable approach. That he was capable of this is nothing short of astounding; that he was willing to do it smacks of high-stakes narcissism. As big men, Garnett and Duncan are conditioned to trust the coach and work within his plan. Iverson, a darting, improvisatory ball handler, seems to trust only himself. He plays the game like it's personal, his moves guided by a combination of indignation, hunger, and suspicion. Perhaps because of his lack of size, or because he plays so hard, Iverson's teammates, bosses, and fans have all embraced the fact that the Sixers have been a one-man team for so long. Never has such a self-centered player been so celebrated.

To his credit, Iverson has mellowed some over the last few years. He finally relented and agreed to play point guard, that most magnanimous of positions. He upped his assist totals, improved his shot selection slightly, and cut down on his turnovers. Chances are, wherever he goes next he'll be expected to develop further in this direction. In Philadelphia, though, he dug himself too much of a hole; no team could ever coalesce as long as he held the franchise in thrall. As long as the Sixers organization identified itself with Iverson, it could continue to rely on his superhuman play and feed off of his charisma.

It remains to be seen if Iverson will ever be able to settle into a team, or if he can only excel on his own terms. He might ultimately end up a tragic figure—a player who desperately wants to win but is too uncompromising to fit in with the other four guys on the court. Allen Iverson is clearly passionate about the name on the front of his jersey, but the way he plays means that the world only notices the back. He probably doesn't mean to overshadow the franchise—it just happens when he's trying to do right by it.

Nathaniel Friedman is a frequent contributor to the basketball blog Free Darko.

Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2155512/

(y) (y) (y) Why the owners of the 76ers wasted SO many years on a gifted athlete who squandered his opportunities by getting several felonies - including gun possession, beating his wife and then throwing her out - naked :| :| of their expensive home - just to name a few of them. AND the jerk was ALWAYS hurt. (Or so he claimed.)

A.I thought that he did not need to go to practice. Definitely NOT a team player in the least, in my view.

+o( +o( I have been asking myself the past six years since moving back east - "What the hell is the big deal with this basketball player - who sets such a poor example for kids and young people? And why is he, after so many run-ins with the law - STILL making millions in salary and perks?"

This has been LONG overdue and I am delighted he's gone. (y) (y) (y)

+o( +o(

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-17-2006, 01:57 PM

:) :)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2507539,00.html

;) I guess Kate reconsidered her turning down Prince William's proposal last year - when she said that she did not wish to "live in the constant lime light". From the photos of this event and her outfit? I'd say that she got WAY over it. ;)

;) ;) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-17-2006, 01:58 PM

(y) (y) (y)

December 13, 2006

Op-Ed Columnist

Learning to Keep Learning

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

I recently attended an Asia Society education seminar in Beijing, during which we heard Chinese educators talk about their “new national strategy.” It’s to make China an “innovation country” — with enough indigenous output to advance China “into the rank of innovation-oriented countries by 2020,” as Shang Yong, China’s vice minister of science and technology, put it.

I listened to this with mixed emotions. Part of me said: “Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to have a government that was so focused on innovation — instead of one that is basically anti-science.” My other emotion was skepticism. Oh, you know the line: Great Britain dominated the 19th century, America dominated the 20th and now China is going to dominate the 21st. It’s game over.

Sorry, but I am not ready to cede the 21st century to China yet.

No question, China has been able to command an impressive effort to end illiteracy, greatly increasing its number of high school grads and new universities. But I still believe it is very hard to produce a culture of innovation in a country that censors Google — which for me is a proxy for curtailing people’s ability to imagine and try anything they want. You can command K-12 education. But you can’t command innovation. Rigor and competence, without freedom, will take China only so far. China will have to find a way to loosen up, without losing control, if it wants to be a truly innovative nation.

But while China can’t thrive without changing a lot more, neither can we. Ask yourself this: If the Iraq war had not dominated our politics, what would our last election have been about? It would have been about this question: Why should any employer anywhere in the world pay Americans to do highly skilled work — if other people, just as well educated, are available in less developed countries for half our wages?

If we can’t answer this question, in an age when more and more routine work can be digitized, automated or offshored, including white-collar work, “it is hard to see how, over time, we are going to be able to maintain our standard of living,” says Marc Tucker, who heads the National Center on Education and the Economy.

There is only one right answer to that question: In a globally integrated economy, our workers will get paid a premium only if they or their firms offer a uniquely innovative product or service, which demands a skilled and creative labor force to conceive, design, market and manufacture — and a labor force that is constantly able to keep learning. We can’t go on lagging other major economies in every math/science/reading test and every ranking of Internet penetration and think that we’re going to field a work force able to command premium wages. Freedom, without rigor and competence, will take us only so far.

Tomorrow, Mr. Tucker’s organization is coming out with a report titled “Tough Choices or Tough Times,” which proposes a radical overhaul of the U.S. education system, with one goal in mind: producing more workers — from the U.P.S. driver to the software engineer — who can think creatively.

“One thing we know about creativity is that it typically occurs when people who have mastered two or more quite different fields use the framework in one to think afresh about the other,” said Mr. Tucker. Thus, his report focuses on “how to make that kind of thinking integral to every level of education.”

That means, he adds, revamping an education system designed in the 1900s for people to do “routine work,” and refocusing it on producing people who can imagine things that have never been available before, who can create ingenious marketing and sales campaigns, write books, build furniture, make movies and design software “that will capture people’s imaginations and become indispensable for millions.”

That can’t be done without higher levels of reading, writing, speaking, math, science, literature and the arts. We have no choice, argues Mr. Tucker, because we have entered an era in which “comfort with ideas and abstractions is the passport to a good job, in which creativity and innovation are the key to the good life” and in which the constant ability to learn how to learn will be the only security you have.

Economics is not like war. It can be win-win. We, China, India and Europe can all flourish. But the ones who flourish most will be those who develop the best broad-based education system, to have the most people doing and designing the most things we can’t even imagine today. China still has to make some very big changes to get there — but so do we.

(y) (y) Amen.

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-17-2006, 02:06 PM

:s :s :s

December 15, 2006

Reversing Trend, Big Drop Is Seen in Breast Cancer

By GINA KOLATA

Rates of the most common form of breast cancer dropped a startling 15 percent from August 2002 to December 2003, researchers reported yesterday.

The reason, they believe, may be because during that time, millions of women abandoned hormone treatment for the symptoms of menopause after a large national study concluded that the hormones slightly increased breast cancer risk.

The new analysis of breast cancer rates, by researchers from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and presented at a breast cancer conference in San Antonio, was based on a recent report by the National Cancer Institute on the cancer’s incidence.

Investigators cautioned that they would like to see the findings confirmed in other studies, including, perhaps, in data from Canada and Europe, and they would like to see what happens in the next few years.

“Epidemiology can never prove causality,” said Dr. Peter Ravdin, a medical oncologist at the M.D. Anderson center and one of the authors of the analysis.

But, he said, the hormone hypothesis seemed to perfectly explain the data and he and his colleagues could find no other explanation.

Donald Berry, head of the division of quantitative science at the cancer center and the senior investigator for the analysis, called the connection between the drop in rates and hormone use “astounding.”

Over all, for women of all ages and all breast cancer types, the incidence of the cancer, the second leading killer of women, dropped by 7 percent in 2003, or about 14,000 cases, the researchers said. It was the first time that breast cancer rates had fallen significantly, something experts said was especially remarkable because the rates had slowly inched up, year by year, since 1945.

But the decrease was most striking for women with so-called estrogen-positive tumors, which account for 70 percent of all breast cancers.

In July 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative, a large clinical trial looking at the use of one menopause drug, Prempro, made by Wyeth, found that women taking the drug had slightly higher breast cancer rates. The study’s findings were a shock to many women and their doctors. Until then, many had assumed that Prempro simply replaced the lost hormones of youth. Within six months, the drug’s sales had fallen by 50 percent.

Scientists knew that hormones could fuel the growth of estrogen-positive tumors, which carry receptors for estrogen on their cell surfaces. The hypothesis is that when women stopped taking menopausal hormones, tiny cancers already in their breasts were deprived of estrogen and stopped growing, never reaching a stage where they could have been seen on mammograms.

Other cancers may have regressed, making them undetectable. And, possibly, without hormones, cancers that would have gotten started may never have grown at all.

“This could well be the study of the year in cancer,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, director of the Georgia Cancer Center at Emory University. He added that it also might help explain why breast cancer rates were lower for black women than for white women — blacks, he said, were less likely to use hormones for menopause.

Dr. Brawley also said the findings might explain why cancer in black women was more lethal. Hormone-initiated cancers, he said, might be less deadly than those that arise on their own.

Candace Steele, a Wyeth spokeswoman, said in an e-mail message that “breast cancer is a complex disease and the causes are not known.

At this point, she said, “it is simply inappropriate to make any speculative statements” based on the analysis.

And, she added, “clearly, more studies are warranted.”

Dr. Berry said that the biggest effect overall was seen in women ages 50 to 69. That, he added, is the group most likely to have been taking menopausal hormones. In them, the incidence of breast cancer, including the type that grows in response to estrogen and the one that does not, fell by 12 percent in 2003, the latest year for which data is available.

The findings of the new analysis were supported by a separate study in California. That study, published in the Nov. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found an even bigger drop in rates in that state and a correspondingly bigger drop in hormone use starting in July 2002.

Other researchers, who saw Dr. Berry’s analysis in advance of its presentation yesterday, said they found the hypothesis convincing.

Susan Ellenberg, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania, said the work was provocative. And, she added, “I certainly don’t see any obvious thing that says, ‘Oh, this can’t be right,’ or any obvious flaws.”

Until 2002, as many as a third of American women over age 50 were taking menopausal hormones. The drugs could relieve symptoms like hot flashes, and were thought to protect against heart disease. Because the pills were known to slow bone loss, some women used them to prevent osteoporosis. Some women and doctors also believed, without any good evidence, that the pills could keep skin youthful, preserve memory and make women energetic.

The use of estrogen to treat menopause took off in 1966, when a doctor, Robert Wilson, wrote the best-selling book “Feminine Forever” and flew across the country promoting it. He insisted that estrogen could keep women young, healthy and attractive. Women would be replacing a hormone they had lost at menopause just as diabetics replace the insulin their pancreas fails to make.

Before long, the menopause drugs, and in particular Prempro, from Wyeth, a combination of estrogen and progestins, became one of the most popular drugs in history.

The reversal of fortune came in July 2002 when the Women’s Health Initiative was halted. Its accumulating data indicated that Prempro was associated with a slight increase in breast cancer and in heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. The drug slightly decreased the risk of hip fractures and colon cancer, but those benefits were not enough to overcome its risks, the researchers said. Health authorities cautioned that similar pills must be regarded as having the same risks as Prempro until proven otherwise.

The very next year, 2003, the National Cancer Institute reported recently, there was a huge decline in breast cancer incidence. It was, Dr. Ravdin said, the largest decline for a single cancer in a single year that he was aware of. He and his colleagues wondered what was going on. The cancer kills an estimated 40,000 women a year and any decline in incidence can be important.

“We looked at all the possible explanations,” Dr. Berry said. He ticked them off: less mammography screening. But there was no sign of that. Increased use of drugs like tamoxifen that can prevent breast cancer; no evidence of that.

“There was some notion that it might be statins, but that was essentially debunked,” Dr. Berry said.

After July 2002, Dr. Berry said, the rate “dropped each month and it is exactly where you would expect it to be” if the declining use of menopausal hormones were the reason.

Dr. Barnett Kramer, the associate director for disease prevention at the National Institutes of Health, said that hormones were certainly the most plausible explanation for such an immediate effect on incidence. Most breast cancer is fueled by estrogen and studies have found that removing estrogen, with drugs like tamoxifen that block the hormone, sharply reduces breast cancer rates within a year.

That was also the conclusion of Christina Clarke, an epidemiologist at the Northern California Cancer Center, and her colleagues, when they analyzed the cancer’s rates in California. The investigators used data they had collected for a National Cancer Institute’s program and data from Kaiser Permanente, the health insurer.

Dr. Clarke said that they had data through 2004 and so could ask whether the decrease in cancer incidence in 2003 continued the next year. It did, she said, although it slowed somewhat, as might be expected.

The investigators found that the breast cancer incidence fell even more in California than in the rest of the country — the overall drop was 11 percent in 2003, compared with 7 percent nationally. And, Dr. Clarke said, more women in California also had been using hormone therapy than women in other states.

Kaiser Permanente’s prescriptions for hormone combinations like Prempro fell by two-thirds in 2003 and prescriptions for estrogen alone dropped by one-third, Dr. Clarke and her colleagues reported. (Estrogen without progestin can cause cancer of the uterine lining so should only be used by women whose uteruses have been removed. While there is some question about whether estrogen alone increases breast cancer risk, the Women’s Health Initiative did not find such an effect.)

The heaviest users of hormone therapy were women in affluent places like Marin County, where high breast cancer rates had long troubled women and researchers. Women in those areas also largely abandoned the treatments after the 2002 report and their cancer rates declined accordingly, Dr. Clarke said.

Dr. Marcia Stefanick, a professor of medicine at Stanford University and chairwoman of the steering committee for the Women’s Health Initiative, said she found the hormone argument persuasive and felt it helped clear up the mystery in Marin County.

“Everyone kept saying, What is it? What’s in the environment?” she said. Now, she said, it is becoming clear. “The best explanation is hormone therapy.”

:D :D :D What great news. After saying "no" each year to my doctor about going on HRT, I am definitely one grateful lady who suffered through the daily symptoms of "estrogen withdrawal" - otherwise known as that "change of life".;) ;) Eleven years and counting but I'm still not going on any hormones - this study proves the risks are not worth it. And things are improving this past year.

I cannot wait until I freeze in the cold like some womyn claim! It's a bummer feeling hot and what a crimp that causes in my wardrobe choices! :| :| :)

I'll simply buy more lace-trimmed hankies and gorgeous fold out fans if I need to. :) But I think the worst is over.:D

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-17-2006, 02:08 PM

:o :o

Mom-and-pop shops feel 'big-box' pressure

By SARAH J. BOGGAN TRIBUNE

East Valley Tribune

Ed and Margie Chavez are struggling in Queen Creek's changing business climate. The business owners are one of many mom-and-pop shops that make up a majority of the town's economy - but that's changing. With Queen Creek's soonto-be developed town center, an influx of "big-box" retailers will be coming to town and competing directly with the town's traditionally small, homegrown business community.

The Chavezes have owned QC Carpet and Blinds for two years and say the new Home Depot on Power Road in Queen Creek is affecting their business, but they have always competed with home improvement stores in neighboring towns.

Though customers can sometimes find items for less money, Ed Chavez said people don't realize that by not buying from local businesses, they also are making an impact on their community.

"We think small businesses are the backbone of the community," Chavez said. "We give back to the community, and we have a hard time doing that if people aren't supporting us."

Margie Chavez said they compete by offering personalized customer service and by keeping prices low and offering different, high-quality products that aren't always found at more generic, national retailers.

The shift in the Queen Creek business community was foreshadowed when planned commercial developments such as Queen Creek Marketplace and Cornerstone at Queen Creek began the development process several years ago, said the town's economic development director Doreen Cott.

Both projects, scheduled to break ground next year, are part of Queen Creek's planned town center northwest of Ellsworth and Ocotillo roads and are expected to bring in large-scale retailers such as Wal-Mart Supercenters and a Super Target.

Other commercial projects going through the development process now are Queen Creek Fiesta, south of the southwest corner of Rittenhouse and Ellsworth roads, and The Shoppes Indigo Trails Projects at the southeast corner of Ocotillo and Rittenhouse roads.

"Like everyone else, we're watching this shift occur," Cott said. "We're seeing a good mix of projects, and that's the shift that's been in motion: Queen Creek being primarily residential to now offering retail, services and employment opportunities."

Cott said a national retail presence could benefit smaller businesses by attracting passthrough traffic to stop and shop in Queen Creek.

"I think there's a place for both types of businesses in the community - a place for the larger retailers and the small, independent businesses," she said. "One complements the other. Hopefully larger retailers will help drive activity to smaller businesses and help increase their sales and visibility."

Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce president Vince Davis said most chamber members are mom-and-pop companies with five or fewer employees, but he has been seeing more interest from larger corporations.

Davis also said there is a misconception when it comes to the nationally recognized corporate names.

"The interesting things about national retailers is that some are franchises so they're still mom and pop," Davis said. "Just because they have a national type name, doesn't mean they're not mom and pop."

The Chavezes' store needs to set itself apart to survive, Davis said, noting that they are on the right track by focusing on service and carrying a unique selection because they don't have marketing support from a mother company.

The chamber works with smaller businesses on marketing education and support.

"We encourage them to look at other options and approaches - help them find a niche," Davis said. "You have to find a weakness in the competitor and supply what they're not."

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16237073/

(y) (y) (y) Mom and pop stores are my primary sources of retail purchases.(f)

Season's Greetings,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-17-2006, 02:24 PM

:) :)

http://www.erikhenne.com/images/leavenworth%20on%20christmas%20lights%20light%20fe stival%20winter%20snow%20washington%20sledding%20n ight.jpg

http://www.pansophist.com/osmch7.jpg

http://www.christmas-day.org/gifs/christmas-lights.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/christmas/images/pantperthog_house4_400x300.jpg

http://www.christmasonknobhill.com/Christmas0107.JPG

(l) (p) Beautiful:

http://brucearmstrong.net/new/Christmas%20Lights%20-%20Including%20the%20garage.JPG

(h) http://img1.travelblog.org/Photos/142/2425/t/7570-Christmas-lights--Medellin-0.jpg

http://www.swedenfreezer.com/avr/images/AVR%20CHRISTMAS%20LIGHT%20TRAIN.jpg

(l) I want to BE HERE:

http://www.tsof.edu.au/projects/aissalanguage/aissa2004T2/sonjaaissa2/images/A%20visit%20to%20Germany/christmas%20lights.jpg

Lights on a Tiny Tree in the Forest:

http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/FogStock/Christmas-Lights-on-a-Tiny-Tree-in-the-Forest-Photographic-Print-C11851120.jpeg

Amazingly lovely: http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/shenews/images/germ.jpg

Pretty: http://www.pfcona.org/images/17001_Jigsaw.jpg

Geneva: http://myswitzerland.igougo.com/photos/journal_photos/ChristmasLights.JPG

:) Enjoy! Have a wonderful Sunday evening and start of your week. (f)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-17-2006, 02:32 PM

(l) (l) (l) (l)

http://images.worldofstock.com/slides/TAU2519.jpg

http://www.genepeach.com/sf/i/2.jpg

http://fivezerofive.com/main/media/1/20051223-luminarias.jpg

http://katy-alejandro.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/lumin.jpg.w180h112.jpg

BREATHTAKING Evening Sky:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/tomas/photos/springbreak2005_baldy/aan.jpg

(k) (k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:36 PM

(*) (*) (*) (*) (*)

(~) Little Voice 1998

Telephone repairman Ewan McGregor and music promoter Michael Caine play second fiddle to Little Voice (Jane Horrocks), a young woman whose beautiful pipes could pack a thousand cabarets. Trouble is, she can only sing along to records in her room. This British charmer was a sleeper hit among the indie set thanks to its winning mix of romance, hope and humor.

Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Jane Horrocks, Ewan McGregor, Philip Jackson, Annette Badland and Michael Caine!

Review:

I fell in love with "Little Voice" when I saw it in the theatre with a friend. What a complete delight to be able to see it again on DVD and fall even deeper in love with the story of a painfully shy and very talented girl LV (Jane Horrocks) who lives with her brassy, coarse, vulgar mother Mira (Brenda Blethyn). Into their lives comes snake-oil salesman Ray Say (Michael Caine) who only wants some easy "slap and tickle" and his ticket to the big time entertainment sweepstakes. Ray hears LV sing an astonishing array of cabaret tunes including Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Bassey and knows this is his ticket out and up. He manipulates both mum (who has no idea how to relate to LV) and daughter into giving him what he wants, a performance on the stage at the local show palace (Mr. Boo's) owned by the greasy Mr. Boo (Jim Broadbent). But of course, nothing ever goes as planned. In the meantime, shy telephone man and homing pigeon trainer Billy (Ewan McGregor) meets and falls in love with LV. She reciprocates in the way that only a extremely shy person can. Special kudos to Annette Badland who portrays the great lumbering neighbour untalkative Sadie with sensitivity. Sadie "gets" LV but Sadie's not quite sure why. She steps in to offer support expressing her confusion and concern through her very expressive eyes and face. Jane Horrocks did all her own impressions for the movie, showing a dramatic range of skill heretofore hidden behind the ditzy Bubbles in the BBC's Absolutely Fabulous series. Her blow up with her mother near the end had me applauding and giggling. Her interaction with Ewan McGregor is touching, as they reach across the distance of shyness to make contact. The very talented cast of this movie makes it one to watch repeatedly, giving you the chance to fall in love again and again.

**********************************

Jane Horrocks (who plays the role of Little Voice and can she impersonate the great DIVAS!!):

http://images.google.com/images?q=Jane+Horrocks&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/highlights/001027_horrocks.shtml

http://film.guardian.co.uk/Player/Player_Page/0,,41864,00.html

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800019129&cf=bios&intl=us

That this actress *sings* and I could swear that whoever she's "impressioning" - is in the room! 5 stars! (again and again)

Enjoy!

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:37 PM

:) :)

Dazzling Holiday Lights

Nothing celebrates the spirit of Christmas like a blazing display of holiday lights. Whether they're strung across a front porch or illuminating the Empire State Building, the bright colors and warm glow of these lights bring cheer to all.

On Air (et/pt):

DEC 21 2006
@ 01:00 PM

DEC 22 2006
@ 07:00 PM

DEC 23 2006
@ 02:00 AM

http://travel.discovery.com/tvlistings/episode.jsp?episode=0&cpi=117556&gid=0&channel=TRV

<:o) <:o)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:38 PM

:) :)

http://www.nationalchristmascenter.com/

(y) (y)

(k) 's and Have a Cool Yule,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:43 PM

:| :| :| :| :|

:) :) :)

http://usa.hermes.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10202&catalogId=10052&langId=-1&categoryId=10714&productId=19703&leftCategoryId=10707&topCategoryId=10702&nbItem=0

http://usa.hermes.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10202&catalogId=10052&langId=-1&categoryId=10742&productId=25937&leftCategoryId=10707&topCategoryId=10702&nbItem=0

Wide enamel bracelet in silver and palladium plated (2.5" diameter):

http://usa.hermes.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10202&catalogId=10052&langId=-1&categoryId=10796&productId=17055&leftCategoryId=10769&topCategoryId=10702&nbItem=0

DOG COLLAR:

http://usa.hermes.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10202&catalogId=10052&langId=-1&categoryId=25451&leftCategoryId=25451&topCategoryId=10980&nbItem=0

(y) (y) (y) Most of the above items are over the top such as the dog collar - but I could see spending $350 for a gorgeous scarf, especially one that I'd wear often.

:) Many years back, someone explained to me how to pronouce Hermes correctly....."it is like saying "air mess", (as in when two air planes collide). Yikes! But I never forgot how to pronouce it either. ;)

Warmest holiday wishes,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:47 PM

;) ;) ;)

WONDER LAND

By DANIEL HENNINGER Wall Street Journal

The F-Word Finally Falls From Favor

December 15, 2006; Page A20

The most positive trend of 2006 (surely there had to be one) was described in The Wall Street Journal earlier this month by Jeff Zaslow in a piece titled, "Comedy Comes Clean." Notwithstanding the fact that the movie "Borat" was a "scatological sensation," Mr. Zaslow described stand-up comedy's new turn toward humor passed through a sieve of normal decency. My favorite, from comedian Michael Jr.: "Someone asked me if I'm pro-gay. I'm not pro-gay or amateur gay. I didn't even know they had a league."

For some comics it was a business decision. Cleaner comedy is an easier sell at corporate events, theme parks, cruise lines and the like. Others felt that younger audiences had by now marinated for so long in the verbal sludge served at comedy clubs and on cable television that they found straighter comedy to be, well, new.

Admittedly, this trend is swimming against a strong tide. Then Michael Richards exploded, and the bad-word wars escalated.

Until recently, Michael Richards would have lived unto eternity as Kramer, the physically befuddled scarecrow on "Seinfeld." Now Mr. Richards will lug a fat, unfunny footnote through life. As we all know, he's the guy who went off at a black patron at the Laugh Factory club in L.A., yelling at some length from the stage about the "nigger." This in retrospect is being explained as an uncontrolled extension of his comic "rage." Of course it ended up as a video on the Web.

Now if Mr. Richards had managed to limit his put-down to 25 or 30 well placed f-words, none of this would have been a problem. No one would have noticed. But like Mel Gibson in the wee hours, Mr. Richards had allowed a really and truly bad word to come out of his mouth -- a forbidden word. His verbal trespass was so great, so mortal, that he sought absolution from one liberalism's cardinal confessors, Jesse Jackson.

In the wake of Michael Richards's bad outing, some comedians said they would no longer use the n-word. The owner of the comedy club announced a ban on the word and said any comedian using it could be exiled or even fined. This in turn produced a pro-n-word backlash from comedian Dick Gregory, author of an autobiography called "Nigger," who said a ban would "destroy history."

The rules of the conversational road have been under a lot of pressure for at least 30 years. On the one hand, it was handed down that certain language and words were "hurtful" to some people, so colleges and others created speech codes. Paradoxically, this organized suppression of language happened alongside a simultaneous "liberation" of street language, specifically the f-word. Not to mention the c-, d-, a-, m- and s-words. (Is there a u-word?)

One of the great books on language is Eric Partridge's "A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English," first published in 1937. Within it one may find all the famously lettered unconventional words. Usage of the f-word dates to at least the 15th century, suggesting that the f-word is useful. And it is. Or was.

Until Eddie Murphy killed it.

In 1987 Eddie Murphy released a movie version of his comedy act, "Eddie Murphy Raw." Forget George Carlin. Forget David Mamet. "Raw" was the Hiroshima of dirty words. Resistance stopped.

One may find a large sampling from "Raw" on the Internet Movie Database. "Raw" was very funny. In fact, Mr. Murphy during the act even reflected, so to speak, on the way he was using these words. He both included some mockery of Bill Cosby for presumably objecting to the act's excessive profanity but also satirized its use on the street.

Now the f-word was really out of the barnyard, where it had had its uses for 500 years, and was running around in public, where it didn't belong. Comedians may only reflect the world around them, but they also "popularize" that world, make it seem normal. Like the man who came to dinner, Eddie Murphy's words wouldn't leave. It became possible for 13-year-old girls to sit next to grandmothers on subways, discussing, say, a bag of potato chips, as "s---." This wasn't progress.

Comedians will do whatever works, so if they are now saying toilet humor isn't even fit for toilets, we have to believe them. I know who to blame for this, too. Not hip-hop. HBO.

Watching "The Sopranos" on HBO a couple seasons ago, it became apparent that these once-powerful, four-letter exclamation points had become the characters' entire vocabulary. Paulie Walnuts, Tony, Christopher, even Carmela seemed to be "communicating" in some arcane f-language. I had no idea what they were talking about. And so stopped watching. Someone said, "You should check out 'Deadwood' on HBO." I won't, but there is a Web site that undertook the challenge to do an f-count of "Deadwood," concluding that the average number, per episode, in one season was 87.5. Call it deadword.

Can we blame this verbal morass on the Supreme Court? Maybe. Back in 1973, in Papish, the court ruled on a college that tried to ban a student newspaper showing a cop raping the Statue of Liberty. The college had a rule that students should observe "generally accepted standards of conduct." It lost, 6-3.

Chief Justice Warren Burger's long-forgotten dissent is relevant to a society today that vulgarizes simple conversation while euphemizing or banning its darker thoughts. Justice Burger defended the right of students to criticize their school or government "in vigorous, or even harsh, terms." But he called the student publication "obscene and infantile." A university, he suggested, is " an institution where individuals learn to express themselves in acceptable, civil terms. We provide that environment to the end that students may learn the self-restraint necessary to the functioning of a civilized society and understand the need for those external restraints to which we must all submit if group existence is to be tolerable."

"Tolerable." That's an interesting, old-fashioned word. It's not quite the same as "tolerant," is it? As t-words go, I think I prefer "tolerable" to the current alternatives.

(y) (y) (y)

(f) (f)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:48 PM

:s :s

Regifting: A Scrooge Move No More?

Web Sites Aim to Cash In On Now-Acceptable Practice Popular With Young People

By ERIKA LOVLEY Wall Street Journal

December 19, 2006

"Regifting," once a furtive practice, has become socially acceptable -- and a slew of Web sites have sprung up that offer advice and seek to profit from the trend.

The phenomenon -- which consists of giving an unwanted gift to someone else -- has become particularly popular among young professionals.

"We don't always have as much money as we'd like to, but we still want to give nice gifts," says Vicky Steel of Hoboken, N.J. The 27-year-old event planner gave a manager an unused pair of Swarovski crystal candleholders when her budget was too tight for Christmas presents last year. She had received them from a friend.

"I had just done a career transition and was looking for any way possible to put money toward my apartment rent," she says. Besides, "I didn't have any place to put crystal candleholders."

Cutting costs and long work hours, along with pressure to participate in office gift-giving, are among the reasons young professionals cite for shopping in their closets rather than at the mall.

Many holiday office parties include Secret Santa or Yankee swaps, requiring each participant to anonymously contribute a gift. These traditions are prime occasions for young people to unload unwanted items, such as bottles of wine and fondue sets. Vases, paintings and picture frames are popular regifts, too, according to a survey commissioned by Braun's Tassimo Hot Beverage System, a unit of Procter & Gamble Co.

Christen Brown, 25, of New York gave a co-worker a fancy mirror compact from Saks Fifth Avenue that she had received from a friend. "I already had a mirror in my purse, and I just didn't have a need for it," she says. "It saves money if you can't use a gift that's nice and can give it to someone else."

A number of Web sites are selling regifting-themed items. NoRegifting.com links to gifts, such as personalized iPods, that merchants claim "will never be regifted." Swapgift.com allows customers to buy, sell or swap unwanted gift cards from more than 800 merchants. FrugalVillage.net offers advice on setting up a "gift closet" of presents you intend to give to others.

YouNique Wares, an online gift store (www.youniquewares.com), offers a joke Regift Bag for $3.99. Dubbed "The Bag That Keeps on Giving," it comes with a name list to keep track of who the gift (and the bag) was given to before. Online booksellers including Amazon.com Inc. and Barnes & Noble Inc. offer -- in time for Christmas delivery -- "The Art of Regifting," a paperback by Barbara Bitela on the do's and don'ts of the practice. Also cashing in on the craze is a country band called the Regifters, who release a Christmas-themed album every year.

Some analysts contend that retailers indirectly fuel the regifting trend by adopting stricter return policies. Some prominent retailers, such as Best Buy Co., are charging 15% restocking fees and shortened return times. Without a receipt, most gifts are returnable for store credit only, encouraging customers to hold on to the item for a later celebration.

Retailers will lose about $3.5 billion in fraudulent returns this holiday season, and 8.8% of holiday gifts are expected to be returned, according to the National Retail Federation.

Regifting went public in 1991 when Kitty Kelley's biography of Nancy Reagan -- a regifter -- appeared, and was given its name in a 1995 "Seinfeld" episode. The trend has become an acceptable social practice -- and has picked up speed with younger people.

Six in 10 people between the ages of 25 and 34 report they have regifted before and plan to regift in the future, according to the Tassimo survey. Nearly three-quarters say they regifted because they felt the item was perfect for the new recipient. Three in 10 say they lacked money to buy a gift or simply ran out of time. The survey, conducted in early August, interviewed 1,505 U.S. adults ages 25 to 55.

Regifting serves to make gift-giving -- a highly inefficient custom, economists say -- a little more economical. "People choose the wrong things for gifts. From the recipient standpoint, gift-giving is a terrible way to allocate resources," says Joel Waldfogel, chairman of the Business and Public Policy Department at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, who has studied gift-giving.

:| :| :|

:o :o

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:50 PM

|-) |-) |-) |-) |-)

TIME Names `You,' User-Generated Content,Person Of The Year

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

December 16, 2006 9:02 p.m.

NEW YORK (AP)--Congratulations! You are the Time magazine "Person of the Year."

The annual honor for 2006 went to each and every one of us, as Time cited the shift from institutions to individuals - citizens of the new digital democracy, as the magazine put it. The winners this year were anyone using or creating content on the World Wide Web.

"If you choose an individual, you have to justify how that person affected millions of people," said Richard Stengel, who took over as Time's managing editor earlier this year. "But if you choose millions of people, you don't have to justify it to anyone."

The magazine did cite 26 "People Who Mattered," from North Korean dictator Kim Jon Il to Pope Benedict XVI to the troika of U.S. President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

And Stengel said if the magazine had decided to go with an individual, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the likely choice. "It just felt to me a little off selecting him," Stengel said.

The 2006 "Person of the Year" package hits newsstands Monday. The cover shows a white keyboard with a mirror for a computer screen where buyers can see their reflection.

It was not the first time the magazine, owned by Time Warner Inc. (TWX) went away from naming an actual person for its "Person of the Year." In 1966, the 25-and-under generation was cited; in 1975, U.S. women were named; and in 1982, the computer was chosen.

"I always love it when it's a person - and it is a person, not a computer or something like that," Stengel said. "We just felt there wasn't a single person who embodied this phenomenon."

Last year's winners were Bill and Melinda Gates and rock star Bono, who were cited for their charitable work and activism aimed at reducing global poverty and improving world health.

(n) My opinion is that TIME wimped out. ;)

(f) (f)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:53 PM

:| :| :| :|

:o :o :o

EBay Steps Back From Asia, Will Shutter China Site

By VAUHINI VARA and LORETTA CHAO Wall Sreet Journal

December 19, 2006

EBay Inc., in its second big pullback from Asia, is shutting down its main Web site in China and replacing it with a site that would be largely run by a Beijing-based Internet company, say people familiar with the matter.

The San Jose, Calif., company plans to announce as early as today that it is taking a 49% stake in the new site in partnership with online portal and wireless operator Tom Online Inc., these people say. Tom Online would hold the other 51%. Up until now, eBay had operated its own auction site in China.

Because of the potential for growth, China had been an important market for eBay, an early darling of Silicon Valley that has recently undergone an aggressive international expansion. But eBay's experience highlights how difficult it is for U.S. companies to adapt to different consumer cultures and to compete with savvy local rivals. China is the world's second-largest Internet market by users behind the U.S., though eBay's China site represents fewer than 3% of its total listings, according to Deutsche Bank.

While eBay has seen some success in Europe, its Asian expansion has been rocky. EBay expanded into Japan in 1999 but was five months behind rival Yahoo Inc., which launched its own auction site that year in partnership with Japan's Softbank Corp. EBay never caught up with Yahoo and left Japan in 2002.

In China, eBay acquired online-auction company EachNet for $150 million in 2003, after making an initial $30 million investment the previous year. Last year, it invested another $100 million to further its ambitions in China. But it ranks second to the TaoBao unit of Alibaba.com Corp., a closely held Internet company based in Hangzhou. TaoBao had 67% of the Chinese auction market for the first six months of the year, compared with eBay EachNet's 29%, according to China Internet Network Information Centre, a quasigovernmental agency. Yahoo last year paid about $1 billion for a 40% stake in Alibaba.

In September, Martin Wu, chief executive of eBay's Chinese unit, resigned abruptly. An eBay spokesman said at the time that Mr. Wu completed the tenure that he had been scheduled to be at the company.

"Working with Tom should be a good thing for eBay, so they have a company in China that understands the local market," said Henry Yang, chief executive of research firm iResearch Consulting Group. He said eBay has had a hard time gaining market share from rival Alibaba's TaoBao, which he said is "doing the best in online auctions" in China.

EBay will initially contribute $40 million to the venture, and Tom will contribute $20 million.

According to eBay's data, its international business last year accounted for 50% of the total value of goods sold through its sites, but the value of goods sold on the China site grew more slowly than on most of its other overseas sites.

Like other onetime Internet stars, eBay has struggled the past few years with slowing growth as new competitors have emerged. To be sure, eBay's growth is still strong: It reported third-quarter revenue of $1.45 billion, up 31% from the previous year. But growth has slowed from the torrid rates of the '90s and early '00s. So far this year, eBay's shares are down 25%.

The new Tom-eBay Chinese Web site will launch in 2007, says a person familiar with the situation. EBay will maintain its own site for "cross border" trading, for Chinese users who are selling to buyers outside of China. Tom CEO Wang Lei Lei will be CEO of the joint venture, and Jeff Liao, CEO of eBay EachNet, will hold an unspecified management role at the joint venture and will also continue to run the site for cross-border trading. EBay doesn't plan any layoffs.

8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:56 PM

;) ;)

First Jobs

Celebrity salad days

You never forget your first job (although some of us would like to). With this amusing time-waster, you try to match the celebrity with their maiden voyage in employment. You think Donald Trump started out with a paper route?

You want fries with that?

http://googolplex.cuna.org/21654/cnote/firstjob/start.htm

:) :)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 03:57 PM

:o :o

Guinness World Records

Fastest, biggest, weirdest

The world's greatest repository of pointless knowledge and bar bet fodder is now online. Who's jumped the highest, grown the longest hair, flown the fastest, eaten the most hot dogs, and more—it's all here.

Bet ya didn't know... http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/default.aspx

(y) (y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:00 PM

:) :)

Game: Snowball Fight

Mittens on?

OK, like, it's winter—cool! Players are taking sides, and you're on the red team—yeah! Your job? Pummel the green team with as many snowballs as you can. Excellent! Woo-hoo! Now...go be a kid again.

You guys are gonna get snowed!

http://snowball-fight.freeonlinegames.com/

(y) (y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:01 PM

:D :D

FBI Files

J. Edgar & you

Locked away for years and out of sight form the public, now you can search for and view real FBI files of celebrities, famous events, and unexplained phenomena. Not too sure about Jimmy Hoffa, but you're bound to be able to dig up some stuff on Elvis.

Flashlight on, Scully

http://www.fbi-files.com/

:) :)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:02 PM

;) ;)

Wooden Nickel

Grandpa wasn't making it up...

Learn about America's storied wooden nickel—first "minted" during the Great Depression when local banks failed—and order your own custom-made currency from San Antonio, TX, home of "The World's Biggest Wooden Nickel" as seen in Ripley's Believe it or Not!

Have money to burn!

http://www.wooden-nickel.net/

:) :)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:04 PM

;) ;)

http://mdewtree.com/

:o

|-)

;)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:06 PM

:| :| :| :| :|

http://www.willitblend.com/videos.aspx?type=unsafe&video=ipod

:o :o What folks won't try. :)

Happy Holidays!

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:09 PM

:s :s :s

Q U O T E D

"Google users are dweebs. Yahoo users are horndogs. And AOL users are geezers."

-- "Does IT Matter?" author Nick Carr extrapolates a baseline demographic from the Google, Yahoo and AOL zeitgeists.

http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/12/dweebs_horndogs.php

^o)^o)^o)^o) VERY strange article, indeed! I don't agree with this guy either based primarily on his simplistic assumptions and generalizations. |-) |-)

Ho, ho, ho....I mean ho, hum. |-)

Carpe Diem,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:14 PM

;) ;)

Q U O T E D

"As the interview was commencing, the event was attacked by a "griefer," someone intent on disrupting the proceedings. The griefer managed to assault the CNET theater for 15 minutes with--well, there's no way to say this delicately--animated flying penises."

-- CNET News.com describes the old school metaverse welcome given Second Life land magnate Ailin Graef during her interview with the publication.

http://news.com.com/2008-1043_3-6144967.html

:| :| :| :| :|

^o) There is just no excuse for bad taste, eh?...... ;)

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:20 PM

(h)(h)(h)(h)(h)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM

(y) (y) HilARious! And I just love this baroque tune. Enjoy!

(f) (f) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:24 PM

:o :o

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/video-worlds-first-color-changing-led-faucet

(h) This could quite possibly be the world’s first color changing faucet — built-in LEDs change colors based on the water temperature. There is also “precise control” for baths, sinks, and showers.

+o( As long as the color is not yellow - definitely would pull my hands away! ;) ;)

;) ;) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:38 PM

:o :o

With 52% of more than 10,000 votes cast, Goodyear won the 6th annual online "Grinch of the Year" election sponsored by National Jobs with Justice. Nominated by the United Steelworkers, the company is criticized for forcing 15,000 US workers out on strike on October 5th. Despite concessions given by workers in the last round of contract negotiations that led to a billion dollar turn-around, Goodyear wants to close plants, off-shore jobs, and gut retiree health insurance.

"Goodyear truly is the Grinch Who Stole Christmas from working families this year" said Fred Azcarate, Executive Director of National Jobs with Justice. "15,000 families have been living on strike pay and their savings for almost three months, and their health benefits are set to expire on January 2nd."

Smithfield Tar Heel Division Chairman Joseph Luter III came in second place with 39% of the vote. Smithfield was nominated by the UFCW for paying workers poverty wages, failing to provide adequate medical care to injured workers, and suppressing workers' right to organize a union. The additional 9% of votes went to write in candidates. The most popular write-in candidates were Wal-Mart (winner of the 2005 and 2004 Grinch elections), the Bush administration (2003's Grinch winner), McDonalds, and Starbucks.

The 'Grinch of the Year' awards began locally with Jobs with Justice Coalitions around the country highlighting the greedy grinch in their hometowns. That tradition has remained in many areas with the Valley Park Board of Alderman winning the St. Louis Area Grinch of the Year Award for their anti-immigrant ordinance and Tacoma Macy's Vice President winning the Pierce County, WA Grinch award for promoting credit-card debt, failing to raise most workers' wages for 3 years, shifting health care costs to workers, and yelling at workers for excercising their legal right to organize a union.

Jobs with Justice is a national campaign for workers' rights. Around the country, local Jobs with Justice Coalitions unite labor, community, faith-based, and student organizations to build power for working people.

On Saturday, December 16th, Jobs with Justice coalitions in 25 cities across the country participated in a day of action at Goodyear tire stores. Nationally, more than 75,000 people joined striking Goodyear workers at 150 tire stores.

About 15,000 Goodyear workers, members of the United Steelworkers, have been on strike since October 5th. Goodyear refuses to back away from its contract demands that include shutting its third U.S. plant in four years and gutting retiree health care. The storefront demonstrations were designed to spotlight the unreasonable contract demands Goodyear is making despite posting huge profits. The actions also protested the elimination of U.S. manufacturing jobs by Goodyear and other corporations.

United Steelworkers (USW) members and retirees gave concessions in 2003 to insure that Goodyear remained in business, contributing to a billion dollar turnaround at Goodyear;

Despite concessions in the last contract and a profitable business, Goodyear is now insisting on additional plant closings and even deeper concession in this round of bargaining.

Goodyear wants to turn their backs on the USW retirees who built their company;

Goodyear is now recruiting and using scabs to staff their plants even though experts say that tires built by scabs contributed to the 271 deaths associated with rollovers of Ford Explorers;

Goodyear wants to outsource more American jobs to China where Goodyear workers earn only 42 cents an hour;

Goodyear is abandoning America’s workers, retirees and communities.

Earlier this month, JwJ turned out to support Goodyear workers at the NASCAR Awards Dinner in New York City. Goodyear makes all of NASCAR’s tires, and a spirited group of 300 labor and community activists turned out to let Awards Dinner attendees know about the strike. Led by USW District 4 Director Bill Pienta and USW National Rapid Response Director Tim Waters, more than 20 of the striking Steelworkers from across the country were joined by key labor leaders from the NY AFL-CIO, AFSCME District Council 37 and the United Auto Workers. Rev. Dave Dyson from the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church represented the religious community support for the strikers. Charlie Kernaghan from the National Labor Committee exposed Goodyear’s outsourcing of jobs to China. Fred Azcarate, Executive Director of National Jobs with Justice made clear to the strikers and to Goodyear that the Steelworkers have the support of Jobs with Justice Coalitions across the country.

Hearing the stories from Goodyear Strikers, many of whom are 2nd and 3rd generation Goodyear workers was truly inspiring. They each spoke of how they sacrificed in 2003 to help the company and now when the company has returned to profitability it wants to turn its back on workers and retirees.

The fight at Goodyear is a critical one not just for the 15,000 strikers at Goodyear, but for their families, their communities and working and poor families everywhere fighting for good jobs and a decent standard of living.

http://www.jwj.org/news/updates/2006/12.html

(y) (y) I didn't know any of this, and definitely support workers who have to work for a corporation to make a living. Personally, I'd like to delve a little deeper into any potential links to fundamentalist right wing religious groups though.

:| :| :| For example, did you know that Curves, the work-out place for middle aged ladies is run by a very mysogynistic, VERY fundamentalist christian right wing nut? It's finding out who the key players are behind any businesses I currently, might in the future or have friends who do business with - that prods me to research many of these firms.

Stay away from CURVES - your dues (check it out and research it yourself) go towards anti-gay, anti-transgendered people, anti-abortion and other causes.

I guess the solution is googling and using other search engines to get the backgrounder on the firm's owners' values and in this case, extreme biases.

(au) I have Goodyear tires though right now and am not changing them until they get worn.

(au) I am absolutely DELIGHTED to say that my SUV got its first detailing today. Then the annual state inspection, oil change, etc. tonight and I pick it up tomorrow morning. I can't wait! (au)

(au) My free loaner is a new van and Wyatt stood between the two bucket seats all the way home from the dealership earlier today. He really seemed to enjoy being right next to me rather than standing in the back of my SUV where the back seats are down and he has the whole back for himself.

<:o) Clean wheels tomorrow! <:o)

Have a lovely evening! (f) (f)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 04:50 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

December 20, 2006

Women CIOs: How To Smash the Glass Ceiling

By Anna Maria Virzi

Do women have a decent opportunity of getting promoted to chief information officer?

Though statistics on the number of women CIOs are hard to come by, one thing is certain: There are not all that many. "It's still a pretty small number, but it seems to be growing," says David Leighton, president of Women in Technology International, an organization focused on providing role models for women and helping businesses understand the value of female leaders. That value, Leighton says, includes the ability to excel at cross-departmental or horizontal leadership.

Women are severely underrepresented in all top corporate leadership positions, according to a July 2006 report by Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that is working to increase the proportion of women in all top jobs. Although the group did not break out CIOs in its numbers, it found that women occupied 9.4% of all jobs higher than vice president at Fortune 500 companies in 2005, up from 7.9% in 2002.

Don't let the numbers spook you, say five women interviewed by Baseline magazine, including three CIOs, an executive recruiter and a global consultant. More important, don't give up on yourself.

These executives offered the following tips for rising up to the CIO's position:

Manage by facts: Cora Carmody, CIO of engineering and technology services firm SAIC

Be someone who people want on their team: Loyola University Chicago CIO Susan Malisch

Understand power and politics: Ogilvy CIO Atefeh Riazi

Learn from mentors: Judy Arteche-Carr, consultant to global companies

Know Your Incompetencies: Judy B. Homer, executive recruiter

(*) (*) (*) Gold Mine of Links: http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,2075060,00.asp

(*) (*) Or better yet? Don't fight a glass ceiling. Be a diamond. Diamonds cut glass. Start your own business like I did 14 years ago. ;)

Have a relaxing evening,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the napping Boxer (S) (l) (&) (l) (S)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 07:42 PM

(g) (g) (g) (g) (g)

1. December 22, 2006: Stonehenge:

http://www.new-age.co.uk/images/winter-solstice-stonehenge-daybreak-l.jpg

2. http://www.realfestivalmusic.co.uk/winter-solstice-2001/sunrise-at-stone-henge-winter-solstice-2001-10.jpg

3. http://www.realfestivalmusic.co.uk/winter-solstice-2001/sunrise-at-stone-henge-winter-solstice-2001-12.jpg

4. Winter Solstice Rainbow: http://static.flickr.com/62/191022862_9bb645382a_m.jpg

5. BEAUTIFUL!!

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lsmstoneman/winter.html?mtbrand=AOL_US

6. SOLSTICE SUNRISE, DOUBLE RAINBOWS AND OTHER LOVELY PHOTOS:

http://www.jchristophergalleries.com/other_photography/view_photo.php?id=10086

7. Winter Solstice in Sydney, Australia and one of the most breathtaking photos I've ever seen:

http://sydneywebcam.smugmug.com/photos/76828746-L.jpg

8. Northern Lights, just beautiful: http://www.kriss-kringle.com/images/northern_lights.jpg

9. http://www.new-age.co.uk/images/winter-solstice-1a-2003-l.jpg

10. (sigh): http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/newgrange/winter-solstice-3.jpg

11.(l) I want a copy of this one:

http://www.sydenhambrucetrail.ca/images/pictures/wintersolstice.jpg

12. Can you imagine being here? http://www.michaelringer.com/Winter_Solstice_FS.jpg

13.
http://www.mythicalireland.com/photos/ireland-photos/images/Winter%20Solstice%20sunrise%20at%20Baltray.jpg

14. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/05/images/021220_solstice.jpg

15. Machu Picchu at the Winter Solstice:

http://img1.travelblog.org/Photos/16612/69074/f/435100-Machu-Picchu-at-the-Winter-Solstice-sunrise-0.jpg

16. (l) (Gasp): Winter solstice Sunset:

http://www.cattailpress.com/DTWP/Dcp_2832_wl.jpg

17. http://blogimg.com/docisin/winter_solstice.jpg

18. http://blueridgeblog.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/winter.jpg

19.(l) http://www.buffalorising.com/home/archives/DelParkBoys.jpg

20. (l) EXQUISITE!(l)

http://duckhenge.uoregon.edu/io/images/cache/750-http___duckhenge.uoregon.edu_io_images_story_solst ice.jpg-orig.jpg

(S) (S) 21. And last but not least what is it?

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/WinterSolstice.html

Ancient Origins: http://www.candlegrove.com/solstice.html

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/wintersolstice1.html

(g) (g) Have a lovely Thursday, December 21, 2006 evening sharing warmest Winter Solstice celebrations with loved ones. (f)

Namaste,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 08:01 PM

:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

The Solstice Project is a non-profit
organization dedicated to the study
of ancient cultures of the American
Southwest. The Project was founded
in 1978 by Anna Sofaer to study,
document and preserve the remarkable
Sun Dagger—a celestial calendar of the
ancient Pueblo Indians—and other
achievements of ancient Southwestern
cultures.

http://www.solsticeproject.org/

http://www.solsticeproject.org/about.html

http://www.solsticeproject.org/research.html

http://www.solsticeproject.org/links.html

(p) Photos and Laser Scan: http://www.solsticeproject.org/fajada.html

(p) Equinoctial Full Moon Event in Chaco Canyon, September 17, 2005:

http://www.solsticeproject.org/equinox.html

(p) Teaching with Kirby Gchachu and Students from the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI):

http://www.solsticeproject.org/teaching.html

(ap) I wish that I could have been out here today. Even if I had planned a little better to make travel plans, things are quite busy. The weather in the west has been definitely supporting a white christmas but challenging for stranded travelers.

Perhaps next year or the next. Chaco Canyon surely is not going anyplace. And Winter Solstices will continue. (S) (S)

Peace,

SL & WTB (S) (l) (&) (l) (S)

sweetlady

12-21-2006, 08:20 PM

:) :) :)

1. http://www.graphics-by-celeste.com/holiday_graphics/snoglobe.html

2. :D :D Make sure you turn your speakers up a little and a CW (coffee warning):

http://ww12.e-tractions.com/snowglobe/globe.htm

3. (h) Snow Globe + Mouse= MouseGlobe: http://www.i4u.com/article7380.html

4. (l) Really sweet: http://users.1st.net/teddi/christmas.htm

5. 8-| For the Propeller-heads: http://www.brendandawes.com/sketches/snowglobe/

6. Snow Globe in Photoshop 6.0 (COOL):

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshop/l/blsnowglobe1.htm

7. These artists have definitely been smoking some weed in my opinion ;) :

http://www.martin-munoz.com/recent/index.html

({)(}) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 05:46 PM

:) :)

http://www.villagevoice.com/gallery/0652,06yearend,75368,30.html

(au) (au) .....(ap) .......(au) Whew! finally got back from travels with Wyatt.

Feels wonderful too - to get back to peace and quiet, that is.

Hope everyone's had/still having a cool Yule......(h) <:o) (h)

(f) 's,

Sweetlady & wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 05:54 PM

:| :| :|

Repeat After Us: I Will Stop Eating Candy in 2007

She gave up her addiction to strawberry laces and Milk Duds, and lived to tell the tale

by Jessica Jones

December 26th, 2006 12:07 PM Village Voice

I am lurking in a stall in the bathroom at work, preparing to feed my addiction. Wait. I hear someone. They're washing their hands. I pause, keeping quiet.

My mouth begins to water. What's taking them so long? You just need to squirt a drop of soap into your hands and rinse. Squirt and rinse. And wipe. OK, squirt, rinse, and wipe. There's nothing difficult about that procedure. But to any junkie attempting to scratch an itch, no one seems capable of getting it right.

When the coast is clear, I eagerly dip my hand into the pocket of my long, blue trench coat. I grasp a box, yank it out, and then spew a portion of the contents into my hand. I shove the pieces in my mouth.

As they cascade down my esophagus, I feel the substance disperse into my bloodstream. An unmatchable state of euphoria ensues. The high lasts about 45 seconds. Once the feeling begins to subside, I exit the stall and look in the mirror. That was one good pack of Milk Duds, I think as I gaze at my reflection. Time to get back to work.

I'm addicted to candy. It's my best friend and worst enemy. I've been teetering on the brink of addiction since birth. When I was little, I used to suck on sugar cubes as if they were a part of the five food groups. As a result, I have cavities in every tooth except the front four. I even had two of my wisdom teeth yanked because they had rotted away to stubs (and, yes, I brush my teeth twice a day).

A week has passed since my bathroom binge. I am wandering around Brooklyn chomping on a rope of red licorice. A flyer stops my snacking. It reads, "Suffering from the sugar blues? If you are constantly craving sweets and want to understand why, or if you want to gain control without willpower, please join." The advertisement is for a free lecture given by a holistic health counselor.

It's an omen. I know I'm out of control; if I don't stop soon, I may end up with a bad case of diabetes—not to mention dentures. The class is just what I need to regain control of my life.

At the workshop the next week, I scan the crowd as I take a seat on one of the foldout chairs. I see an older man and his daughter, a middle-aged woman with glasses, and a young couple. The instructor, 27-year-old Felicia Desrosiers, welcomes me to the group and informs me that we are going around the room sharing what our favorite sweets were as children, what our favorite sweets are now, and how sweets make us feel.

Licorice, I reveal, was my favorite sweet growing up. It still is.

"My intention for this afternoon is to permanently change your relationship with sugar," says Desrosiers.

I'm not sure I am ready for that. Most of me wants to end my unhealthy relationship with sugar, but a deplorable part of me knows that it makes me happy. And it's not just the instant high I get from eating candy that I don't want to give up. Similar to a smoker, a candy addict has an oral fixation on the sweets. Much of the joy I get from eating Jujyfruits is hearing my jaw click as I smack those rebellious suckers into submission.

But after listening to what Desrosiers has to say about how sugar will ruin your life, I change my mind. I'm ready. The thing that affects me the most about her talk is a simple diagram she creates about how sugar affects your blood. She starts by drawing a horizontal black line. This is what your blood sugar is supposed to be like—an even keel. She then draws a spike in the line and tells us that this is what happens to your blood-sugar levels when you eat refined sugars (candy, sweets, white bread, pastas, etc.). She says that in order to get it to come back down, your body produces insulin.

She brings the spike back down under the original line. We learn that if you eat sugar throughout the day, you put your body through a roller-coaster ride. Do it for too long, she says, and you may develop hypoglycemia. Do it for a lifetime, she continues, and diabetes might ensue.

By the end of the lecture, Desrosiers has scared me straight. I leave the class vowing not to eat refined sugars for the rest of my life.

I made it a week.

The day of my relapse, I'm out shopping with my roommate in the East Village. After a two-hour walk, we grab a bite to eat. The meal fills me, but my roommate suggests we get some rice pudding for dessert.

"Rice pudding?" I ask. "What's that? It sounds gross."

Amazed by the fact that I have never had rice pudding, she insists we go. I tell her that I can't eat any because I haven't eaten any sugary substances for a whole week.

"Come on, it's Sunday," she begs. "Every- one deserves a break on Sunday."

No, they don't, I think, but opt to take one anyway. We share a bowl of the cookie-dough flavor. My mouth doesn't like the mealy morsels of rice swimming in the ultra-sweetened creamy substance. Nevertheless, with one bite the candy freak in me is unleashed. Immediately after leaving the pudding shop, we stop off at the closest Duane Reade so I can buy packs of gummy bears and Twizzlers. They are inhaled.

Every day after work, once I get off the C train, I pass a Super Foodtown grocery store. Now, this isn't just any grocery store. The important thing to note about this store: It sells strawberry laces. Each coiled lace contains an artificially flavored abundance of sweet goodness.

Thus, the journey home creates a constant battle. Should I stop off and buy a pack of the laces? Or can I muster up the courage to fight my craving? My only motivation to fight it is knowing that when I do give in, I usually fall victim to a tragic overdose, which leaves me shriveled up on the couch in a bout of paralysis. I didn't intend to make the stop today, but the laces wouldn't stop calling me.

Once I commit to giving in to my wanton craving for the tantalizing sweets, I become impatient. By the time I make it into the store, I'm so eager to consume the candy that I run to the metal shelves where the laces are stored and I eat a few on the spot. On my walk home from Super Foodtown, which is only two blocks, I've consumed 20 of the 50 laces. As predicted, exactly one hour later, the box is history. So am I.

I decide to hit up Dr. Richard K. Bernstein, the medical director of the New York Diabetes Center and author of Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars and The Diabetes Diet: Dr. Bernstein's Low-Carbohydrate Solution. If anyone can scare me into giving sugar up, it's him.

Bernstein assures me that it is quite possible to be addicted to sugar. He tells me about a two-decade-old study that found that if rodents were fed carbs, the serotonin levels in their brains increased.

"[Sweets] raise serotonin levels in your brain and make you feel better," he says. And they are fast-acting.

Bernstein reminisces on a time 40 years ago when sugar addiction wasn't as prevalent in our society. He remembers riding with a cab driver who used to get excited when he stopped at red lights.

"He liked to look at the girls," Bernstein says. "He especially liked it when the sun shone through their skirts."

But now most of the people he sees on the street are obese. The diabetes epidemic is proof of our addiction to sugar, he says.

"And it's not just sugar. It's things that get rapidly converted to sugar, the happy things that raise your serotonin levels—bread, pasta, and carbs."

I guess they call them "simple sugars" for a reason. America has become so fixated on instant gratification that, at the moment we begin to feel pain, we numb it with a spoonful.

By this point, it's pretty evident that I need professional help. There is only one option: Desrosiers's services. She offers one-on-one counseling to help you kick your sugar addiction. I schedule a session with her.

Two weeks later I arrive at her castle-like brownstone. She greets me with a warm hug.

First we go over my diet history. She asks me questions like "What kinds of things did you eat growing up?" and "How often do you exercise?" I notice that I remain defensive throughout the session. She'll inquire about what I ate for lunch and I'll blurt out that I had pizza every day this week, but I usually don't do this and it has just been a really, really bad week, so give me a break, OK? Then I remember she was only asking what I ate for lunch.

Later, I let her know that I have pangs of hunger every hour or two. If I don't eat, the right side of my stomach hurts immensely. She suspects that I have already developed hypoglycemia. I tell her that this can't be. She tells me that it can.

It's the end of the session, and once we discuss the price of her services, I realize I will not be able to complete the program. Her six-month solution costs $1,500—which is $1,350 more than I can afford. I inform her of my low funds and she lets me know that we can work out some sort of payment plan. I entertain the thought, but realize that a payment plan doesn't work if I don't have any money.

So I'm at it alone again. The only difference between my situation now and my predicament of two weeks ago is that I know what not to do. For example, I'm aware that vowing never to eat candy again isn't going to work. If I want to stay clean, I must come up with a goal and a plan to get there. The first thing I give myself is a date to work toward. If my goal is only to stay clean for a select amount of time—instead of eternity—then I'm less likely to freak out and relapse. Once I reach that goal, I will be reluctant to throw all my hard work away and eat sweets again. (I am sticking to eliminating all refined sweets because they are bad for you, too.) It's a kind of reverse psychology.

I stash a chocolate chip cookie in my desk at work. If it is still there in three weeks, then I win. (Note: I don't particularly like chocolate chip cookies, but I know that if I become desperate enough, I will eat anything short of Splenda—and I have even tried that.) Halloween, of course, will also be a test.

The next part of my solution includes shopping at the beginning of the week for groceries. I usually don't buy groceries in advance; I just take it one day at a time (which pretty much means purchasing my meals from newsstands). But if I stock up on alternatives to candy, I just might stand a chance. For example, if I feel a craving coming on, I can try to combat it by eating a piece of fruit instead.

My journey starts the next day. I go to the Super Foodtown. Unfortunately, this is place that sells those strawberry laces. They whisper sweet nothings in my ear as I stroll by them, telling me that I should walk on over and rescue one of them from confinement. I saunter over, look at them, and contemplate taking "just one." But I can't let them win. I tell them to shove it and add kiwi, Asian pears, apples, and black seedless grapes to my cart instead.

The first couple of days are the worst. During this period of withdrawal, I often find myself getting up from my desk to stare at the bevy of beauties that the vending machine offers. Today they have Skittles. They haven't had Skittles since I've worked there. They're even in two slots—D4 and E0. I imagine what it would be like to "taste the rainbow." Eventually, I remember my diet and return to my desk.

I wake up Halloween morning knowing that I need to put my game face on. Trick-or-treating didn't stop for me until I was 18.

That afternoon, my co-worker and I head over to an office party. It's at another location, so we have to walk four blocks to get there. On our walk, we spot a couple of people who are just leaving. One of the ladies pats her sweater pocket, which is loaded with candy.

"Make sure you get a pocketful of candy while you are there," she exclaims.

We get to the party, and just as I anticipated, mounds of candy are spread over the orange-cloth-covered tables. My co-worker goes straight for the gold: a pack of Starburst. She eats one and offers me the other. I decline. To divert my attention from the luxurious piles of Dots, M&M's, and Skittles, I paint a pumpkin. Ten minutes later, after I realize that the attempt at diversion isn't working, I ask my pal if she's ready to go. She takes a few pieces of candy for the road. I take nothing.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle in getting over an addiction isn't your enemies; it's your friends. That night, my crew and I go to the annual Halloween parade in the Village. Before joining the masses, we stop off at a grocery store to load up on snacks. They all buy sweets. One purchases yogurt-covered pretzels. The white delicacies look glorious, peering through the plastic container. My friend pops open the top and sticks the container in my face.

"No, thanks. I can't eat sweets," I murmur.

Five minutes later, the container is in my face again. I shake my head.

"Uh-uh," I say.

Ten minutes go by, and I am being offered the treat a third time.

What's the harm in tasting one, I wonder. I mean, really, there's a pretzel underneath. That has nutritional value. But before I can grab one, my mouth blurts out, "No." Thank God for my mouth.

My next obstacle: Every Friday at 4 p.m. we have a gathering at work we call "cookie time." It's an opportunity to celebrate the week's being over with conversation and cookies in the conference room. Today is special because cake has replaced the usual cookies. There are two kinds: chocolate and carrot. The carrot looks especially delicious. It's laced with orange and green carrots made of frosting.

As people enter the conference room, they pick up small plates of cake and gather in groups to chitchat. I bring in a cup of water. I find myself staring at a spot of carrot cake that has fallen from someone's plate onto the table. I imagine what it would be like to lick it off.

By this point, it is evident that I can't hang with the cake eaters. There's too much heartache. I go back to my desk and nibble on the leftover broccoli and potatoes I brought for lunch. They're good for you, I tell myself.

The day before the three-week mark is absolutely dreadful. From the second my alarm clock wakes me up, I long for a pack of Red Vines. By the time I get off work, I'm in dire need of a boost. My first inclination is to run into the grocery store, go straight to the candy aisle, rip open a bag of licorice with my teeth, stuff my face into it, grasp as many vines as I can fit into my mouth, and run. But not only is that stealing, if I go that route I will have thrown away two weeks (and six days) of being clean.

I scan the streets looking for a solution. The first thing that I focus on is the Popeyes across the street. A buttery biscuit with gooey honey and jam just might suffice.

"I'll take a biscuit with honey and jam," I tell the woman behind the Plexiglas window.

She turns around to wrap one up.

"Wait," I say. "I'll take two."

She adds another biscuit to the bag.

"Can you throw in another pack of honey and jam while you're at it?"

She follows directions and hands me my purchase. My hands sift through the contents of the bag. They wrap around a pack of honey. My teeth rip it open. I unravel the soft, hot biscuit and squirt the honey onto the top. I moan as I take the first bite. It's so moist, so succulent. I let the contents melt in my mouth. The bliss lasts for about 30 seconds. After the sixth bite, I realize that this might have been a mistake. My stomach begins to ache as I near the biscuit's end.

In a strange way, eating that bite of sugar (in the form of gooey honey and jam) reminds me that sweets really are the root of all evil and that, without them, I can possibly live a better life. Sure, eating candy feels good for 30 to 45 seconds, but after the initial high is over, I feel miserable. I guess I finally understand what Desrosiers was preaching—that the short high you get from eating the candy simply isn't worth it.

So now I've made it. I'm at the end of week three.

Total number of times I wanted to give up: 99.

Total number of urges I had to hit myself in the face with a baseball bat to divert my attention from sweets: 57.

Total number of minutes spent staring hopelessly at vending machines and newsstand displays of candy: 16.

But let's also look at the bright side of things:

Total packs of candy eaten: Zero.

Total amount of sweets consumed: Nada.

Total times I relapsed: Borscht.

Well, I guess if you want to get technical, you might consider the luscious piece of carrot cake I had last Saturday at 11:46 p.m. to celebrate my success a sweet. But that doesn't count. That was a reward.

http://villagevoice.com/nyclife/0652,jones,75389,15.html

:o :o I've never eaten in a bathroom....yuk! +o( However back in my younger days, there were times when the cravings for chocolate were a daily thing - in my 20's and 30's..

:| :| C'mon, Have YOU ever eaten a whole bag of M&M's in one day? ;)

(a) (a) I still love the once a blue moon piece or two of dark, bittersweet chocolate from my favorite candy maker. I hate to admit it, but it is a French company. :o I wouldn't otherwise be interested in anything French, but this one company is too good to give up.

:) (l) (l) (l) :)

Sweetlady & Wyatt, (an extremely tired and sleeping) Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 05:59 PM

:'( :'( :'(

December 27, 2006

Polar Bears Need More Protection, U.S. Says

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 6:23 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Polar bears are in jeopardy and need stronger government protection because of melting Arctic sea ice related to global warming, the Bush administration said Wednesday.

The Interior Department cites thinning sea ice as the big problem; outside the government, other scientists studying the issue say pollution, overhunting, development and even tourism also may be factors. Greenland and Norway have the most polar bears, while a quarter of them live mainly in Alaska and travel to Canada and Russia.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Wednesday proposed listing polar bears as a ''threatened'' species on the government list of imperiled species. The ''endangered'' category is reserved for species more likely to become extinct.

''Polar bears are one of nature's ultimate survivors, able to live and thrive in one of the world's harshest environments,'' Kempthorne said. ''But we are concerned the polar bear's habitat may literally be melting.''

A final decision on whether to add the polar bears to the list is a year away, after the government finishes more studies.

Such a decision would require all federal agencies to ensure that anything they authorize that might affect polar bears will not jeopardize their survival or the sea ice where they live. That could include oil and gas exploration, commercial shipping or even releases of toxic contaminants or climate-affecting pollution.

Kempthorne, however, said his department's studies indicate that coastal and offshore oil and gas exploration -- heavily promoted by the Bush administration, particularly in Alaska -- shouldn't be curtailed.

''It's very clear that the oil and gas activity in that area does not pose a threat to the polar bears,'' he said.

Similarly, Alaskan natives and other people who depend on hunting the bears as part of their subsistence diet probably will not be affected, Kempthorne said.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the incoming head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the polar bear's plight reflects the health of the planet.

''Global warming is melting polar ice at an alarming rate and we are now beginning to realize the consequences of this,'' she said. ''This news serves as a wake-up call to the U.S. Congress and the administration that we must quickly begin to address global warming through legislative action.''

Environmentalists hope that invoking the Endangered Species Act protections eventually might provide impetus for the government to cut back on its emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping ''greenhouse'' gases blamed for warming the atmosphere.

The proposed listing also marks a potentially significant departure for the administration from its cautious rhetoric about the effects of global warming. Kempthorne cited the thinning sea ice brought about by global warming as the main culprit, although he said his department wasn't required by the endangered species law to study climate change.

President Bush's steadfast refusal to go along with United Nations-brokered mandatory controls on carbon dioxide, the chief global warming gas, has contributed to tensions between the United States and other nations.

Polar bears, an iconic and cold weather-dependent animal, are dropping in numbers and weight in the Arctic. In July, the House approved a U.S.-Russia treaty to help protect polar bears from overhunting and other threats to their survival.

That vote put into effect a 2000 treaty that sets quotas on polar bear hunting by native populations in the two countries and establishes a bilateral commission to analyze how best to sustain sea ice. It also approved spending $2 million a year through 2010 for the polar bear program.

The Polar Bear Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union, based in Gland, Switzerland, has estimated the polar bear population in the Arctic is about 20,000 to 25,000, put at risk by melting sea ice, pollution, hunting, development and even tourism.

The group lists the polar bear among more than 16,000 species threatened for survival worldwide, and projects a 30 percent decline in their numbers over the next 45 years. It says sea ice is expected to decrease 50 percent to 100 percent over the next 50 years to 100 years.

The decision from Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees endangered species, coincides with a court-ordered deadline. In February 2005, the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace petitioned Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the polar bears. After Fish and Wildlife officials missed a deadline for deciding earlier this year, the groups sued and agreed on Wednesday's deadline.

''This is a victory for the polar bear, and all wildlife threatened by global warming,'' said Kassie Siegel, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity. ''There is still time to save polar bears but we must reduce greenhouse gas pollution immediately.''

------

On the Net:

Fish and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/endangered

World Conservation Union: http://www.iucnredlist.org

Center for Biological Diversity: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd

({) POLAR BEARS (}) :

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Polar-Bears.html?hp&ex=1167282000&en=90000674b0d4e31c&ei=5094&partner=homepage

(l) (l)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the napping Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 06:02 PM

(h) 8-| (h) 8-| (h) 8-|

What's ahead in the world of technology in 2007? No one can say for sure, but that doesn't make the tradition of making predictions any less enjoyable. More than many other areas, technology is all about transition. And the year ahead promises transitions in tech that are nothing short of dramatic.

-- Windows Vista uptake slow

Microsoft's much-ballyhooed Windows Vista operating system will be available to everyone early in 2007, but don't expect the earth to move when it's released.

People are tired of upgrading - especially when the benefits of doing so are difficult to articulate or uninspiring. That's the problem with Microsoft's Vista operating system in a nutshell.

When you hear talk of Vista, the focus is on a pretty new interface. Is that enough to tempt the masses to disrupt their current setup and face the inevitable incompatibilities and loss of productivity that switching to Vista will entail? It's a tough sell - except to those who enjoy technology for technology's sake. For the rest of the population, though - those who actually use computer to accomplish tasks - Vista is a yawner.

--- Spyware and malware

Forget computer viruses. The real threat to your productivity in 2007 and beyond will be spyware and malware, which will come at you from every corner of the Internet and threaten to slow your work to a halt - not to mention steal your identity and financial account information.

The antivirus software makers, focused as they are on traditional computer viruses, have been slow to respond - and when they have, their solutions have fallen short. So currently users are forced to rely on a smattering of programs like the free Ad-Aware that root out these Internet-borne threats. Expect the spyware problem to get worse before good tools come along to fix the mess.

--- Spam under control

Spam won't be going away in 2007 - far from it. One recent report indicated that spam now accounts for over 90 per cent of all e-mail messages that e-mail users receive.

But because spam catching technologies are becoming close to fool- proof, you'll probably see less spam if you take reasonable measures to circumvent it. And even if you don't, the amount of spam that reaches your inbox should decline in 2007. That's because e-mail authentication technologies used by Internet service providers have changed for the better how spam is identified. And once spammers are identified, the strict policies in place at most service providers can be used to clamp down on spamming activities.

--- User-based content is king

Traditional news media are already reeling, trying to cope with the loss of readership and ad revenue as the sources of news and information proliferate on the Internet. Google's YouTube and the myriad blogging sites around the Internet have put individuals in control of "creating" news and information of interest to the public. You can expect such sites to continue to gain popularity in 2007, further intensifying the competition for readers' time.

--- Wi-fi gets serious

The dream of "Internet everywhere" is going to come a good deal closer to reality in 2007, as the global rollout of wi-fi hotspots picks up steam. Offering wireless Internet connectivity is good for everyone - for municipalities whose citizens benefit from it, for businesses that attract customers and good-will by offering it, and certainly for the roaming masses that use it.

On the home front, wi-fi products that conform to the new, speedy 802.11n wireless transmission standard will hit the market, offering wireless speeds that truly rival today's wired networks.

--- It's all about the Web

As Internet connectivity becomes ubiquitous, the Internet itself will be host to more of the applications we use on a daily basis. 2007 will see the clear emergence of that trend. Web-based word processors, spreadsheets, collaboration tools, wikis, blogs, and user-generated applications will begin to blur the distinction between what's on our PCs and what's on the Web. Already Google has trotted out a host of Web-based office applications. Expect to see other companies follow suit.

--- No clear winner in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray wars

Right now in the world of video and television, it's all about high definition. But whose version? That's the question. Right now when it comes to high-def DVDs, there are two competing standards: HD-DVD, championed by Toshiba and others, and Blu-Ray, championed by Sony and others. Only foolhardy consumers with lots of money are choosing sides at this point - since DVD players that use either standard are expensive and, of course, not compatible with the other standard.

In 2007, expect no clear winner to emerge out of this battle of standards. The reason: the highly available and reasonably-priced "upconverting" DVD players, which take today's DVDs and upsample them for the high-def televisions, are plenty good enough for most people. That leaves the high-def DVD standard bearers fighting it out for a public that is increasingly apathetic about who emerges victorious.

If the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray goes on long enough, another solution or option altogether is likely to emerge to make the standards war meaningless. ^o) ^o)

http://www.playfuls.com/news_05626_The_Year_Ahead_Tech_Predictions_For_200 7.html

Stay Tuned....;)

:) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 06:11 PM

:s :s :s

December 19, 2006

Personal Health NYTimes

To Avoid 'Boomeritis,' Exercise, Exercise, Exercise

By JANE E. BRODY

An apology to all baby boomers and beyond: I'm afraid that in our efforts to get everyone to become physically active, we've sold you a bill of goods. A 30-minute walk on most days is just not enough. There is much more to becoming — and staying — physically fit as you age than engaging in regular aerobic activity. (Of course, the same applies to those younger than 60.)

In addition to activities like walking, jogging, cycling and swimming that promote endurance, cardiovascular health and weight control, there is a dire need for exercises that improve posture and increase strength, flexibility and balance. These exercises can greatly reduce the risk of injuries from sports and endurance activities, the demands of daily life, falls and other accidents.

Musculoskeletal injuries are now the No. 1 one reason for seeking medical care in the United States. And falls, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month, have become the leading cause of injury deaths for men and women 65 and older.

Unless you do something to slow the deterioration in muscle, bone strength and agility that naturally accompanies aging, you will become a prime candidate for what Dr. Nicholas A. DiNubile, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania , calls "boomeritis."

"By their 40th birthday, people often have vulnerabilities — weak links — and as the first generation that is trying to stay active in droves, baby boomers are pushing their frames to the breakpoint," Dr. DiNubile said in introducing a November press event in New York sponsored by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the National Athletic Trainers' Association.

"Baby boomers are falling apart — developing tendinitis, bursitis, arthritis and 'fix-me-itis,' the idea that modern medicine can fix anything," he said. "It's much better to prevent things than to have to try to fix them."

Dr. DiNubile pointed out that evolution had not kept up with the doubling of the human life span in the last 100 years. To counter the inevitable declines with age, we have to provide our bodies with an extended warranty.

Assess Your Fitness

In their recently published book, "Age-Defying Fitness" (Peachtree Publishers), two prominent physical therapists, Marilyn Moffat of New York University and Carole B. Lewis of Washington, D.C., provide the ingredients to help you make the most of your body for the rest of your life: a quick quiz and a five-part test to assess the status of your posture, strength, balance, flexibility and endurance, followed by five chapters with step-by-step instructions on how to safely improve the areas in which you are lacking.

The therapists describe what happens to these "five domains of fitness" as you age. Posture begins changing as early as the teenage years, the result of activities like prolonged sitting, carrying a heavy purse or briefcase, or working at a computer.

Strength declines as muscle fibers decrease in size and number and as the supply of nerve stimulation and energy to the muscles diminishes. Balance deteriorates as muscles tighten and weaken and joints lose their full range of motion.

Flexibility declines because connective tissue throughout the body becomes less elastic. And endurance falls off because of reduced flexibility, weakened muscles, and stiffer lungs and blood vessels.

Still not convinced you need to work on your fitness? See how you do on the therapists' quiz:

Are you not standing as straight and tall as you once did?

Is walking up a flight of stairs a strain at times?

Are you getting up from a chair more slowly than you used to?

Is it getting harder to look to the left and right while backing up?

Do you get stiff sitting through a long movie?

Is standing on one leg to put on your shoe difficult or impossible?

Do you trip or lose your balance more easily?

Does walking or jogging a distance take longer than it used to?

As a daily exerciser I consider myself a physically fit 65-year-old, and I did well on the quick quiz, but I flunked the tests for balance and flexibility. So I've added exercises to my weekly regime to improve these two domains of fitness.

"The antidote to aging is activity," the therapists wrote. "Inactivity magnifies age-related changes, but action maintains and increases your abilities in all five domains."

No Time to Waste

Dr. Vonda J. Wright, a sports medicine specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said at the New York meeting that "boomers are 59, and we must intervene now to head off what happens to those who age in a sedentary way."

Injury and arthritis are the main reasons people stop exercising, she said. She urged those in need of a joint replacement not to postpone the surgery, which she likened to repairing a pothole.

Marjorie J. Albohm, a certified athletic trainer affiliated with OrthoIndy and the Indiana Orthopedic Hospital in Indianapolis, cautioned against "cookbook recipes" for exercise. "The key to a good workout is customization," based on a professional assessment of flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, strength and balance, she said. "The goal is to minimize symptoms and prevent new injuries," Ms. Albohm said, and she urged people to listen to their bodies to avoid making things worse.

Ms. Albohm emphasized flexibility, saying it is "not optional" as you age. "To prevent stiffness and maintain joint mobility you should stretch daily for 15 to 20 minutes," she said "using slow, controlled movements, before or after your exercise program."

For cardiovascular endurance, she recommended alternating between weight-bearing (walking, jogging) and non-weight-bearing (swimming, cycling) aerobic activities three days a week for 30 to 45 minutes each time.

Muscle strength, Ms. Albohm noted, can be increased at any age, even in one's 90s, to protect against falls, maintain mobility, prevent new injuries and empower individuals. Especially important is strengthening the muscles in the front and sides of the thighs, which help support the knees, and strengthening core muscles of the trunk (back, buttocks and abdomen) to protect the spine and support the entire body.

Finally, we need to worry about our bones. At least 1.5 million "fragility fractures" occur annually in the United States. These are breaks that result when someone falls from a standing height or less, trips over the cat or lifts something heavy, and they affect men as well as women, Dr. Laura Tosi, an orthopedic surgeon at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., said at the New York event.

"A history of a fragility fracture is far more predictive of future fractures than a bone density test," Dr. Tosi said, adding that a major cause is a shortage of vitamin D, which lets calcium into bones.

"The current standard for vitamin D is not adequate," she said, and predicted it would soon be raised to perhaps 1,000 International Units a day. Vitamin supplements are crucial, because adequate amounts of vitamin D cannot be absorbed through diet and sunshine
alone.

(y) (y) (y) Stay on top of your "Boomer Game". (and live longer and much more enjoyably).

Get off your butt! :D

:| Simple :|

As the Bill Cosby joke about Noah talking to the "The Lord" telling him to build an ark?

"Right!"

;) ;) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 08:00 PM

:| :| :| :|

December 24, 2006

Op-Ed Contributor | A Work of Fiction

A Real Gem

By SARA GRUEN

Thanks to cutting-edge technology and a patented process, the newly bereaved no longer need to say goodbye. For a reasonable price, the compassionate and caring consultants at Eternal Love Gemstone Inc.® will transform the carbon of your loved one into a beautiful, gemologist-certified diamond mounted in any one of our wide variety of jewelry settings. True love is eternal. So is a diamond.

THERE'S no question my wife, Marsha, is batty, but this time I think she was on to something. Not that I would have agreed to the idea if she'd run it past me ahead of time: I had plenty of notions about the afterlife, but they usually involved angel wings and St. Peter at the heavenly gates. Never did I imagine this.

It took me a while to clue in to what was happening. Being dead is disorienting enough: one minute you're cleaning out the eaves and reaching a little farther than maybe you ought and the next someone is zipping you up in a bag. And the bedside manner of that mortician left something to be desired, bouncing around to that horrible hip-hop and ramming things into me like nobody's business. It's disrespectful is what it is. Would it have killed him to play a little Brahms? Then in the crematorium — everything went so dark for so long I was terrified I'd been put in the ground or sealed in an urn. And the pressure! Lord help me. It wasn't until that fellow plucked me out of the squeeze thing and held me up to a jeweler's loupe that I finally understood what was going on, and that's only because I remembered that story on NPR.

I guess Marsha remembered it too. At the time I thought the whole concept was nuts and said so. Marsha just sat quietly and listened. My only complaint is that the place she sent me also does pets. Did she check how well they clean their equipment? For all I know I've got dog residue in me. Speaking of which, she'd better not be planning on doing this with that sloppy mutt of hers. I'm guessing this wasn't cheap, and Barney's no purebred.

When Marsha cracks open the box and looks in at me, she holds her hand to her chest. I gather it's Christmas. Gift-wrapping me seems a bit over the top, but I suppose she was excited at my reappearance. Like I said, Marsha's a little on the ditzy side. Lord only knows what she's been up to while I've been gone. Probably run up all the credit cards, and I'll bet she hasn't checked the car's oil once.

She looks different — thinner, and her hair is blond. She's also wearing makeup, something I never approved of. She looks ridiculous for a woman her age, slathered in orangey-pink mousse with her eyelids painted blue. Talk about mutton.

She holds me up to the light, letting me dangle in a most disconcerting way before finally fastening me around her neck. It's a strange view. Life as Marsha sees it, only 10 inches lower. She may be a ditz, but I'll tell you what: she was using her head when she had me set in a pendant rather than a ring. Just watching how much her hands move makes me want to vomit. I'm dizzy enough nestled on the relative calm of her throat. I think it's the facets: I suppose I'll get used to them, but I feel like a housefly coming around after an anesthetic.

Marsha sips her coffee and patters into the kitchen. I'm still woozy, but I can see that she's preparing a turkey breast rather than an entire bird. I assume this means our hippie son decided not to come home for Christmas. Still following that wife of his around, I suppose. Doctors Without Borders indeed. And what is he? Her scrub nurse? Apparently he was too good for the shoe business. Fifty years I worked so I'd have something to leave him and he'd rather go traipsing around Afghanistan. Children, they rip your heart out.

Marsha wanted more, but I was thinking of her when I laid down the law. Think of all the heartache I saved her. She never saw it that way, but this proves me right. Would it have killed Justin to invite his mother for Christmas? I know Karen never warmed to us, but this year at least you'd think she'd make the effort.

Marsha is humming "Little Drummer Boy" and poking stuffing under the turkey breast. Her fingers are coated with bread crumbs, butter and sage. That huge yellow beast of a mongrel is standing on his hind legs right beside her licking the counter, and she's doing absolutely nothing to stop him, just humming and stuffing, humming and stuffing — meanwhile his great pink tongue and dirty toenails are inches from the food. I probably ate dog slobber every meal of my life since the moment she talked me into letting her keep him, never mind what he brought in on his feet. But I'm lonely with Justin gone, she said. I'm not ready to be an empty-nester. What was I going to do? Dollars to doughnuts she lets him sleep on the bed now. I always suspected she let him up on the furniture the second I left for the store.

Marsha puts the meat in the oven and rinses her hands with water only, no soap. I'm surprised I didn't die of E. coli. When she moves into the dining room, she doesn't even try to make Barney get down, just leaves him scrounging on the counter. She circles the table, arranging two place mats, two napkins, two china plates — oh God. Justin is coming home. Karen must have left him. I knew she was no good. I told Marsha right from the beginning, but would she listen? Oh no. Give the girl a chance, she said. Only a very special person could do that kind of work. Now who's right? Eh, Marsha? I'm just surprised he's not back living in the basement.

O Lord, please tell me he's not back living in the basement.

When the phone rings and Marsha hurries back to the kitchen, she doesn't seem remotely fazed to find Barney standing with all four feet on the kitchen table. "Oh, Barney, you're impossible!" she says with no conviction whatever. She might as well have said, "There's a good boy." Barney grins at her for the space of a couple of wags with his legs splayed, and then goes back to the business of dragging his grotesquely long tongue across the table's surface.

Marsha plucks off an earring — I haven't seen those before, did she get her ears pierced? — and reaches for the phone.

"Hello?"

I'm close enough to hear every word: "Merry Christmas, Mom!" Justin and Karen chirp, immediately before launching into a bad rendition of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." They have half a nerve. I suppose he thinks a phone call will make up for leaving his mother alone on her first Christmas of widowhood. She should hang up on them, but she won't. She always coddled Justin. Let him get away with murder, just like the dog.

"Oh, goodness!" says Marsha. "That was lovely! Sounds like you're having fun."

"We're fine, but I still think you should be here with us," Karen says.

Marsha's hand waves dismissively in front of her, as though they can see her. "Don't worry so much."

"It's not good to be alone on Christmas. Especially this one. You should be with family," says Justin.

"I'm fine, sweetheart."

"Do you want us to come get you?" Karen asks. "Justin could be there in a couple of hours. The bird is huge. Pack a bag, stay a few days."

"No, really. I have plans."

"Plans? Are you going out?"

"I'm having someone over."

"One of your girlfriends?"

"No," Marsha says.

"Oooooh," trills Karen. "Anything we should know about?"

"Not yet."

Not yet? Not yet?

"Well, if you're sure you're O.K. ..."

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Oh — there's my doorbell. Must dash! Love you!"

Marsha kiss-kisses into the receiver and hangs up. She pauses to clip her earring back on (thank God she hasn't completely lost her mind) and stops in front of the hall mirror long enough to fluff her hair. When she opens the door, my business partner is behind it.

Morty? What does Morty want with my wife on Christmas? He's Jewish, for crying out loud.

Morty struggles out of his coat and drapes it across the hall chair in an overly familiar gesture. When he leans in to kiss her and dangles his stubbly neck wattle over me, I want to throw up. He has Old Spice stink lines rising off him. "Merry Christmas to my beautiful business partner!" he says, pressing a wrapped gift into her hands.

His bug eyes flash. He reaches out and mauls me with fat sausage fingers. Hey, Marsha? You want to get a clue? The bastard's looking at your cleavage. Which you apparently powdered.

"So that's him, is it?"

"It is."

"I thought you said it was a diamond."

"It is a diamond."

"It's yellow."

"They come in yellow, blue, or red. I liked the blue better, but it takes longer and I'd already waited 26 weeks."

"Diamonds are supposed to be clear."

"It has something to do with the remains."

"Huh," Morty ponders. "How big is it?"

"Just under a carat."

"Really? I'm surprised. Norm wasn't exactly a small man ..."

And just who's talking, Mr. Porkster? Checked a mirror lately? You haven't missed a meal in 76 years.

"The longer the remains are in the press the bigger the diamond, but I wanted it for Christmas. It's the only jewelry I ever got from him."

I beg your pardon? Are you forgetting your wedding ring? Maybe it's not the biggest, but it's all I could afford at the time. I know I said I'd replace it one day, but by then we were married and I figured I didn't need to impress you anymore. O.K., O.K., maybe I should have replaced the diamond. But can you please not complain to Morty, of all people? Sweet Jesus, woman.

She shows him into the kitchen and ladles steaming mulled wine into garish mugs with snowmen painted on them. From the Home Shopping Network, no doubt. Barney crashes down from the table and greets Morty, who goes to great pains to pretend to like him, even crouching on the floor. He struggles to his feet when Marsha hands him a mug garnished with a cinnamon stick.

I had forgotten just what a bore Morty could be. Through the rest of the preparation and halfway through dinner he hardly lets her get a word in edgewise, what with yammering about his condo in Florida, his sons and their children, his sailboat, the marvelous life he's built. Just when I'm finally managing to tune him out the old son-of-a-gun comes up with, "We could be more than business partners, Marsha."

I want to kill him. I want to leap from her throat and wrap around his and twist, twist, twist until his eyes pop and his tongue swells blue and his skin is black.

Marsha drops her eyes. "Please, Morty. It's only been six months."

Yes. That's my girl —

"My Becca's been gone four years. Life is short, and let's face it, we're not getting any younger." He reaches across the table and snags the tips of my wife's fingers. She doesn't pull away. "Becca always said that if she went first she wanted me to find someone else. I'm sure Norm wouldn't want you to be alone."

Speak for yourself, Buster! And Marsha! For God's sake, we played bridge with Morty and Becca for 40 years! He's after the other half of the business is what. He doesn't want you.

"I could get you a real diamond. A clear diamond." He raises one of those Donald Trump eyebrows, and I suddenly realize Marsha is not the only one dyeing her hair.

Marsha withdraws her hand. "Goodness." She folds her hands in her lap, where Barney's massive head is resting. Then she rises. "I'll be right back."

"Marsha —"

"I have to check the pudding."

IN the kitchen, she stands in front of the microwave, staring at her reflection in the glass. She brings her hands to her cheeks and holds them there, breathing heavily.

I could kill him for upsetting her. He's my business partner, for crying out loud. You don't go after your partner's wife. I know she's lovely. She always has been. I can't say I care for the blond hair, but she could still pass for 60 in the right light. I hope I told her enough. I think I did, but what do I know? I never knew she held a grudge about the diamond, and now Morty's in my dining room putting the moves on her. All these years you think you know someone.

Marsha drops her hands so they cup the back of her neck. Then she tips her head back and closes her eyes. Poor ditzy Marsha — probably thought she was doing a good deed, inviting lonely old Mort over on a holiday, never even thinking that for him it isn't a holiday.

All of a sudden I'm swooping down toward the counter. It takes me a moment to process that she's taken me off — I'm still getting used to the facets, and to complicate matters she covers me with her hand. Oh, and she's set me in a puddle of congealed gravy. Nice.

"I'm sorry, Norm. I don't want you to see this," she whispers.

Say what? You don't want me to see what?

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. For a moment I think she's going to put me back on, but then she straightens her dress and disappears around the corner.

I hear the scraping of table legs across the floor and the muffled sounds of conversation. The pitch rises and falls: he pleads, she responds, and not with as much conviction as I'd like, either. I'm trying desperately to make out the words but it's hard because stupid Barney's nails are click-click-clicking toward the kitchen. He's roaming unattended.

And here he is, and I do mean right here — the broad yellow forehead, the disgusting nose, the dopey eyes and eraser-pink tongue swooping, arcing past and rasping against the dried gravy. Then all is a jumbled, swirling riot of rank, metallic breath, browned teeth and wet mucosa.

I'm halfway down before I realize. My chain must be trailing because he gags — his throat muscles contract around me and I wonder briefly if this is what birth feels like — and then I'm enveloped by churning blackness.

Behind the monstrous symphony of Barney's guts is a muffled trill of laughter, and the tinkle of cutlery on fine bone china.

Sara Gruen is the author, most recently, of "Water for Elephants.''

:| :| :| :|

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/opinion/24gruen.html?em&ex=1167195600&en=7838d0f597c1cd91&ei=5070

:) :) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the sleepy Boxer (S) (l) (l) (S)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 08:09 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

December 24, 2006

Questions for James Webb

The Freshman

By DEBORAH SOLOMON

Q: As a 60-year-old novelist, screenwriter and military man who served in the Reagan administration but had never run for elected office, you beat the incumbent, George Allen, for a Senate seat from Virginia this year. Have you seen him since the election?

No. We had a pretty gracious phone conversation, but I have not seen him.

You have seen President Bush, with whom you had a famously tense exchange at a White House reception shortly after the election.

I think that was vastly overblown.

Bush, according to the story, asked you about your son, a marine serving in Iraq. You replied that you'd like to get the troops out of Iraq, prompting Bush to say: "I didn't ask you that. How's your boy?"

I think what I said was appropriate.

Yes. I was surprised that it erupted into a national debate about manners and etiquette, which seems so trivial compared with the issue of ending the war.

This was something that emanated from the White House. I did not say anything about this for two weeks. I said nothing publicly at all.

Why would the White House release the information so long after the event?

Probably as an attempt to try to define me between the election and the beginning of the Congress. And that's all I am going to say.

You previously belonged to the Republican Party and held two big positions — assistant secretary of defense and, later, secretary of the Navy — under President Reagan.

I am very proud to have served in the Reagan administration. He had the ability to inspire people in this country in terms of how they viewed themselves as Americans.

Why did you decide to switch and become a Democrat?

A lot of people have left the Republican Party because they went over there like me on national-security issues and were never comfortable on other issues — social issues or issues of economic fairness — and now are beginning to see that the Democrats can have a stronger position on foreign policy.

Can the Republicans ever regain your trust on national-security issues?

I have no comment about that.

Why not?

You sound like you want me to be this combative person.

Hardly. Let's talk about your books, the latest of which is a well-reviewed work of history, "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America." Will you continue writing as a senator?

I will always write. My prototype would be Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He was able to write a number of books while he was in the Senate.

Being in Congress could provide you with some juicy material.

Let me say this very clearly: You will never find anything that I've written that reveals an internal conversation I've ever had with anyone.

I'm sorry to hear that. You just became a father again this month.

Someone sent me an e-mail saying it makes you feel younger. And I said, No, it keeps you awake.

As a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, do you have a timetable in mind for getting us out of Iraq?

I have a totally different view of timetables than most people. What we need before we start withdrawing large numbers of troops is some sort of a diplomatic environment in which we can decide how to withdraw our troops.

Right, most Americans seem to agree that we need to involve other countries.

What has been missing for the last couple of years is the aggressive diplomatic approach that would then allow you to withdraw your troops. We have been doing this backward by putting the cart before the horse.

What do you want for Christmas?

The day off.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/magazine/24WWLN_Q4.t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin

(y) (y) (y) Da village idiot had no right asking about this Senator's son and how he was doing serving his country in Iraq. GOOD for this Virginia Senator to tell POTIS to "go pound sand" as it related to how his son was.

To tell the truth - anyone who speaks their mind about how much of a COMPLETE idiot America's current president is - is a hero/heroine in my view. There is a Marianas Trench deep differnece when compared with J.F.K and his brother Bobby. (google the term if you haven't read a previous posting on it....)

Ah, JFK and Bobby - NOW - THOSE were the days of promise that if history were altered - in if they has lived - would have resulted in a dramatically different world today.

Think about it.

Okay - off the soap box....;)

For now.

:) :) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 08:15 PM

:| :| :| :| :|

:o :o

December 24, 2006

The Way We Live Now

Snowed

By WALTER KIRN

Last December, as I do every year, in honor of what most parents know down deep is the true purpose of the holidays, I set out to find a new way to dupe my children about the existence of magic in the world. My son was 4, my daughter was 7 and the job of enchanting them with winter myths, from toy-maker elves to peace on earth, was getting more difficult. It wasn't just that they were growing older; the problem was that I was aging, too. Twice divorced and in my 40s, I'd learned that deception, no matter how well intentioned, is really a form of moral layaway. Our lies are like gifts we've put on hold at Macy's: the day always comes to pick them up and pay for them. Still, because I had a pretty good trick planned, I suppressed my qualms and drove into town to a crafts store for supplies. I picked out a strip of raw leather, a few tin bells and a bolt of red felt. Back home, in my garage, I got busy turning them into props for the illusion that I'd dreamed up: a sleigh crash.

The scenario had a slightly morbid feel, but given recent world events, which had a profoundly morbid feel, a touch of darkness seemed appropriate. And it wouldn't be a disastrous sort of accident, just a minor mishap in the snow. "St. Nicholas must have drunk too much punch," I'd quip as I showed my children the debris field. If the illusion was convincing, my kids would bend down and touch a dented sleigh bell, a tattered length of rein or a torn corner of Santa's suit, and they'd think to themselves: This is a wonderful life. Our dad's been telling us the truth!

Some parents, I reflected as I worked, scratching the leather with a nail and bashing the bells with a hammer, did tell their children the truth at Christmastime. (The cool parents, we called them when I was growing up.) Their kids then disillusioned the rest of us: The North Pole is really Target. This made these kids seem cool as well — it gave them a swagger. But it gave me a stomachache. Their theory made sense, and there was evidence for it, but what did this say about my parents, I wondered? That they'd never matured and really believed in elves? Or that they understood the facts full well but deemed me incapable of handling them? Whatever my parents' reasons for misinforming me, I concluded that it was wisest not to catch them at it. If I unwrapped a present and glimpsed a Target sticker that they'd forgotten to peel off, I'd pretend not to see it. Then, when they weren't looking, I'd peel it off myself.

I spread the bells, cloth and leather around the yard, remembering how it felt at Christmas to have to show wonderment on command. The skill with which I'd learned to play the fool, to gamely roll over for others' frauds, beginning with those perpetrated by my parents, had not served me well as a person, I decided. Maybe, I thought, I should make another plan.

It was only 8 at night, and I wouldn't be picking my kids up from their mother's house until 11 the next morning, so there was still time to start over, to stop the cycle. Instead of staging a sleigh crash for my kids and forcing us all to dwell in falsehood, I could, perhaps, prepare a talk on art. "Christmas is a work of art," I'd say, "and art is a lie that tells the truth." How complicated. And did I really want to give my children literary criticism for Christmas?

Still unsure about my course, I left the bits of wreckage in the yard, since I could always retrieve them in the morning. Then I went to bed. I didn't dream of sugarplums — I didn't dream at all. I crashed, which I tend to do when problems loom. And when I woke up the whole thing seemed unimportant, at least when compared with wrapping presents, baking up a tube of cinnamon rolls and bringing the kids back to the ranch.

(The ranch. I should have mentioned that. I live in Montana, on a ranch, and residing with me part time has taught my children a lot about how animals — deer, specifically — really live and die.)

"What's that stuff?" my daughter said as we neared the house, all cheery from singing carols in the car.

It snowed in the night but not enough to hide the evidence of Dad's insanity. I stood very still and eyed the impact site, which I'd half-decided to clean up but hadn't gotten to in time. Then I glanced over at Charlie, my little boy. He seemed confused and apprehensive. He stayed by my side as his trusty older sister, a bright, inquisitive girl, investigated.

"These could be pieces of sleigh," she finally said.

I couldn't help feeling gratified by this, since I'd put in a lot of effort on my scheme. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing after all, just a bit of lively Christmas mischief that would be remembered someday with smiles.

"Like maybe a reindeer crash?" I said.

"Maybe it is," my daughter said. She cast a look at Charlie, who was suddenly showing signs of coming undone and possibly even "going No. 3" (my daughter's term for throwing up). I could see in her eyes comprehension and then compassion — compassion not only for her anxious brother but also for her aging, conflicted, deceitful father. "Except that if it were a real crash, there'd be blood," she said. "Blood and fur. So I guess things are O.K."

And things were O.K. that Christmas — or, at least, as O.K. as things can be.

"Come on, you little angels — inside," I said. "Let's go find out what Santa brought from Target."

Walter Kirn, a frequent contributor, is the author of "Up in the Air," among other novels.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/magazine/24wwln_lede.t.html?ref=magazine

|-) |-) |-) I cannot imagine being a parent (of a kid, not a canine angel) and doing this stupid stunt. What was he thinking?:| :|

But then again - it was an amusing article for some. :)

Wonderful dreams and a most restful sleep tonight,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 08:27 PM

:D :D :D :D :D

1. http://www.tomgpalmer.com/images/New%20Year%20Fireworks%20HK.jpg

2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/islandblogging/blogs/005169/images/fireworks_edinburgh.jpg

3. http://www.wellington.govt.nz/about/international/images/fireworks02.jpg

4. http://homepage1.nifty.com/sukusuku/photo/fireworks/fireworks-1999-8-1-s2.jpg

5. http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/d30-3/new-years-fireworks-2.jpg

6. GORGEOUS!!

http://www.freedesktopwallpapers.net/places/new-year-fireworks-hong-kongb.jpg

7. http://icons.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/n/ncglass/1.jpg

8. http://vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/pub/pics/NY.06/LJ05_54.JPG

9. http://www.fenichel.com/Firework-KR21-3.jpg

10. http://www.shoutbox.ch/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/fireworks1.jpg

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! <:o) <:o) <:o) <:o) <:o)

(l) (l)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l)(&) (l)
.

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 08:34 PM

;)

http://www.worldwidechocolate.com/shop_cluizel.html

(k) (k) Big chocolate kisses! (k) (k)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 08:42 PM

:) :) :)

http://carissasahli.nomadlife.org/uploaded_images/Swiss%20Cheese%20Fondue-781956.jpg

http://www.gourmet-service.ch/grafiken/Fonduefoto.jpg

http://www.kraftfoods.com/images/recipe_images/Swiss_Cheese_Fondue.jpg

(l) (l) (l) http://www.myhouseandgarden.com/recipes/swiss_cheese_fondue.htm

(l) (l) "Fondues From Around the World"
by Eva & Ulrich Klever : http://www.christianchefs.org/newsletters/2004/04recipe.html

http://www.christianchefs.org/newsletters/2004/04recipe.jpg

http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/corbis/DGT078/CB063008.jpg

(l) (l) Yummy!!

Sweet Dreams,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-28-2006, 08:50 PM

;) ;)

An Irishman, a Mexican and a Blond guy were doing construction work on
scaffolding on the 20th floor of a building.

They were eating lunch and the Irishman said, "Corned beef and cabbage! If
I get corned beef and cabbage one more time for lunch, I'm going to jump
off this building."

The Mexican opened his lunch box and exclaimed, "Burritos again! If I get
burritos one more time I'm going to jump off, too."

The Blond opened his lunch and said, "Bologna again! If I get a bologna
sandwich one more time, I'm jumping too."

The next day, the Irishman opened his lunch box, saw corned beef and
cabbage, and jumped to his death.

The Mexican opened his lunch, saw a burrito, and jumped, too.

The Blond guy opened his lunch, saw the bologna and jumped to his death.

At the funeral, the Irishman's wife said tearfully "If only I'd known how
really tired he was of corned beef and cabbage, I never would have given
it to him again!"

The Mexican's wife also wept and said, "I could have given him tacos or
enchiladas! I didn't realize he hated burritos so much."

Everyone turned and stared at the Blond guy's wife, who said, "Don't look
at me. He always made his own lunch."

:D :D :D

Adieu,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-29-2006, 08:14 AM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

Linda McQuaig writes for the Toronto Star, and is the only journalist
whose analysis of the Iraq Study Group report made me sit up and take
notice. Presented as a grenade in Bush's lap, it's in fact a plan for the
U.S. to maintain rigid control of Iraq's oil.

http://www.rabble.ca/columnists_full.shtml?x=55516

(*) (*) (*) (*) (*) This lady incisively eviserates and illuminates. (y) (y)

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 07:51 PM

:) :) :) :) :)

BRRRR!

(p) (p) (p) 's:

http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/31/travel/hermitage_650.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/31/travel/statue_650.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/31/travel/choir_650.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/31/travel/sailor_650.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/31/travel/greenstatue_650.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/31/travel/torsos_300.jpg

(l) BEAUTIFUL! http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/31/travel/cars_650.jpg

(l) One of MY FAVORITES!

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/31/travel/hermitage_close_300.jpg

Have a wonderful New Year!!

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

Warmest wishes,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 07:58 PM

:) :) :)

(y) (y) (y)

December 31, 2006
Surfacing
For Lesbians, the Party Never Stopped in Bangkok
By MEGAN COSSEY

ON the night of Sept. 19, military leaders in Thailand suspended the constitution, seized control of Bangkok and imposed martial law. Someone forgot to tell the lesbians.

Several nights after the nonviolent coup, a crush of cheering women crowded around the stage at Shela, a lesbian nightclub near the city's major downtown park, Lumpini, where a popular singer, Palmy, was performing. Fans crammed the balcony, imported whiskey was flowing at every table and a lone tom, local slang for a butch lesbian, was dancing by herself behind the pool table.

Coup or not, it was just another night out for Bangkok's puying rak puying, or women who love women.

Five years ago, this scene would have been unthinkable. Lesbians either met each other at non-gay establishments or through word-of-mouth parties and restaurants. But thanks to the rapidly expanding Thai Internet, and a growing number of younger, more self-possessed lesbians, two nightclubs and several weekly parties catering exclusively to lesbians have opened in Bangkok in the past two years.

The grandmother of lesbian parties is Lesla, held every Saturday at the Chit Chat Club, a hangar-sized beer hall in Bangkok's sprawling northern outskirts (Soi 85, Lad Phrao Road; 66-089-218-9119 or 66-2-618-7191 or 7192; www.lesla.com). If you show up after 11 p.m., you might find Munthana Adisayathepkul, the party's exuberant organizer, at the top of the balcony, throwing stuffed toys to the masses below. The hours are 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., with a 200-baht cover charge (less than $6 at 36 baht to the U.S. dollar) that gets you a bottle of Heineken.

While Lesla is still going strong, smaller bars have opened in the more convenient downtown area. Shela (106 Lang Suan; 66-2-254-6463, www.shelacorner.com) is among the most popular, and its candlelit, modern décor attracts a sophisticated 30s-and-over crowd. It's hours are 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., with no cover.

Younger lesbians, meanwhile, are heading to Zeta (29 Royal City Avenue; 66-2-203-1043 or 1044; www.zetabangkok.com). It's at the slightly uncool end of Royal City Avenue, but don't tell that to the trendy 20-somethings who cram the smoke-filled room to split a bottle of whiskey and flirt. To keep things going, the house band, Mister Sister, plays Western and Thai pop music. Hours are 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., with no cover.

The new lesbian scene isn't limited to bars and clubs. Zub Zip (674 Soi 101, Lad Phrao Road; 66-081-734-2759), an airy restaurant in northern Bangkok, opened in October and caters to older toms and dees, femme lesbians. The owner, Priyanan Bupa, greets visitors with a motherly smile, Chinese-Thai fusion food and, at least on a recent visit, fresh oranges. Two hundred baht will get you a heaping plate of Hong Kong noodles and a large bottle of Singha beer.

And the party keeps growing. Numerous Web sites have popped up to help local lesbians and travelers stay current. Among the best is in English, the Lesbian Guide to Bangkok (www.bangkoklesbian.com). The Web site's creator, Caitlyn Webster, 27, arrived from New York City a year ago with her girlfriend, Jett Charnchoochai.

“In New York, everyone has to be cool,” Ms. Webster said. “Here, they're just being cute.”

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/travel/31surfacing.html?ref=travel

(k) (k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:03 PM

(y) (y) (y)

December 31, 2006
In Transit
New Surveys List Gay-Friendly Favorites
By JENNIFER CONLIN

What do gay travelers want? According to two recent surveys, pretty much one thing. As Aretha Franklin might put it: R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Nearly half of all gay men and lesbians surveyed by the Travel Industry Association — in conjunction with Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications, a gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (G.L.B.T.) strategic marketing and communications agency — said a destination’s “gay friendliness” was the key factor in planning a vacation.

Also high on their list — safety, specifically a place where they will not feel intimidated or threatened if they publicly hold their partner’s hand. The online study also revealed they want places that are “culturally welcoming” and “support diversity and G.L.B.T. civil rights.” Given those results, it was hardly surprising that panelists named San Francisco; Key West, Fla.; New York; Fire Island, N.Y.; and Provincetown, Mass., as their top five “gay friendly” United States destinations.

More interesting, perhaps, are the results of a second study, conducted by Community Marketing in its 11th Annual Gay and Lesbian Travel Survey. While favorite destinations included Las Vegas, London, Palm Springs, Calif., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and even China and South America, interest in the Caribbean, the survey reports, “appears to be waning.” While the study points to the bad reputation some Caribbean islands have received after isolated gay-bashing incidents in the last few years, one company specializing in gay travel, Atlantis Events, thinks it may have more to do with the fact that the Caribbean has a “been there, done that” feeling for many high-end travelers.

“A lot of our clients have been to the Caribbean and are looking for a new experience,” said Stephan Roth, director of guest relations for Atlantis, adding that the group’s Baltic cruise, scheduled for this summer, sold out in a week and a half.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/travel/31transgay.html?_r=1&ref=travel&oref=slogin

(*) (*) RESPECT. That's all we all want, regardless of preferences and identity, right?

Peace,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:06 PM

:) :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/travel/31popular.html?ref=travel

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

(k) (k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:08 PM

;) ;) ;)

September 10, 2006
The Magnificent Obsession of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail
By PAUL SCHNEIDER

Correction Appended

THE northern boreal forest once stretched unbroken from Maine to Minnesota, a vast, mossy sea of trees, punctuated only by archipelagoes of rocky mountaintops and thin ribbons of water. To early European visitors who came in ships to its fringes, the great north woods were even more impenetrable and mysterious than the real ocean of water they had just crossed to get to it.

But impenetrable and unbroken did not mean it was trackless, or even a pure wilderness. The Algonquins, Iroquois and others who lived there traversed the region in canoes and on foot, and the paths they used to carry their boats between major water systems — from the Hudson River to Lake Champlain, say, or over the so-called Indian Carry from the Raquette River to the Saranac Lakes — were worn more than a foot deep in places by centuries of traffic. It was all a part of the Great Longhouse, as the Iroquois of upstate New York called it. It was home.

Toward the end of the 20th century, after a half millennium of change left not much of either the forest or its network of watery trails intact, three recreational paddlers — Mike Krepner, Ron Canter and Randy Mardres — came up with a seemingly audacious idea. Calling their project Native Trails, they set out to recreate what they could of those ancient routes, charting for modern travelers a new contiguous water trail from the top of Maine to the bottom of New York’s Adirondack Park.

This past June, after a decade and a half of exploration, infusions of cash and new partnerships, the officially designated 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail was finally dedicated. With festive ribbon-cuttings in four Northeast states, the event was a bit like a blockbuster art opening that redefines a genre. The major segments were familiar to paddlers: some, like the Adirondacks and the Allagash, are legendary. But when entwined with lesser known pieces, like Lubber Lake and Pensioner Pond in Vermont or the two short dips into Quebec, a new singularity emerges that seems both obvious and brilliant. The canoe trail, which some have compared to the Appalachian Trail, is more closely akin to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, the Everglades Wilderness Waterway in Florida or the Maine Island Trail for kayakers. As such, it may be the most important thing to happen to the northern eco-tourism trade since the invention of gorp.

Not long after the official opening, I paddled out onto Middle Saranac Lake on a breezy summer afternoon, having been driven to the put-in by the folks from St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in the town of Saranac Lake, where I had traded my rental car for a rental kayak. There were plenty of reasons to choose the heart of the Adirondack Park for a launch.

As a purely practical matter, this is the portion of the trail best equipped with guides and outfitters capable of supplying travelers with as much or as little as they may need in the way of boats, equipment, food or even instruction, making it relatively simple to put together a comfortable voyage.

As a purely personal matter, it was a chance for me to revisit the scene of voyages I had undertaken during the writing of my first book, a history of the Adirondacks, and fill in a few blanks in my own map of the park as well. The Adirondacks are where Americans in the 19th century invented the idea and language of wilderness recreation as both a business model and a restorative activity. The park is New York’s greatest environmental (not to mention bipartisan) achievement, a place bigger than the entire state of Massachusetts where “forever wild” forests range over high and low peaks and right down to the water’s edge in the form of great gnarled giants clinging by serpentine roots to boulders left by long gone glaciers.

It is the birthplace of eco-tourism, a treasure that The New York Times in an 1864 editorial called “a tract of country fitted to make a Central Park for the world.”

“Ask you, how went the hours?” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in his poem about “the philosophers’ camp,” a trip he took to the Adirondacks in 1854 with the scientist Louis Agassiz and eight other luminaries. “Up with the dawn, they fancied the light air that circled freshly in their forest dress made them to boys again.”

With no intention of making it all the way to Maine, I whiled away happy hours poking up into deserted coves, pushing up streams to the foot of beaver dams, lunching on sunny rocks, trolling for fish and pulling up sweet memories of other trips and other times. Upper, Middle and Lower Saranac Lakes are not the wildest stretch of the Adirondacks, but they’re surely among the most beautiful. There are constant views to the high peaks and, in stretches where the protected Adirondack Forest Preserve gives way to private land, I paddled silently past the huge and fanciful twiggy great camps of bygone financiers and industrialists.

In the late afternoons I pitched my tent on thimble-size islands that I had all to myself and was not at all offended to find that the state had provided a little firewood and, down a short path, a tidy outhouse. The idea of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, after all, is not to go where no one has gone before. Along its way, the trail incorporates some waters well known and well traveled by local paddlers. The 347 miles in Maine include the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the West Branch of the Penobscot River and the Rangeley Chain of Lakes. The 72-mile New Hampshire section includes portions of the Androscoggin and Ammonoosuc. In Vermont there is a fairly long open passage on Lake Champlain that can be full of sailboats. One night on Lower Saranac Lake I heard the sounds of a family of campers on another island, but more often it was only a bona fide loon singing like a madman across the water.

Passing through the rustic locks at the bottom of Lower Saranac Lake, which were built to allow the passage of steam-powered ferries up to the great camps of the upper lakes, I made my way along the lesser camps and summer places that line Lake Flower and paddled into the center of the town of Saranac Lake. One of the goals of the trail is to tie together the villages along the route, encouraging inns, restaurants, Chambers of Commerce and the like to cater to through-paddlers. This approach, alternating tenting with town life, makes for an extremely civilized way to get away from civilization.

The course of civilization is often winding, however, and for the first decade of its existence, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail hovered somewhere in the dark woods that stretch between “a great idea” and “a great achievement.” During those years, Mr. Krepner, Mr. Canter and Mr. Mardres navigated obscure waters, studied old maps and assembled blueprints for the route, but ultimately none of them had the time or money to undertake the organizational effort required to turn the fruits of their hobby into a marked and maintained route of interconnected rivers, lakes and portage trails.

In the late 1990’s their work was taken up by Rob Center and Kay Henry, who owned the Mad River Canoe Company at the time. “Did we have any idea that making the trail a reality was going to completely consume us for five years of our lives? Well, no,” Ms. Henry said recently. “But it was a great project, and it’s becoming a great resource for paddlers and as importantly for local communities along the way that want to get more involved in taking care of their rivers and lakes.”

From their position in the heart of the paddling industry, Ms. Henry and Mr. Center were able to line up a Who’s Who of outdoorsy corporate sponsors to help support the work, including Timberland, L. L. Bean, REI, Thule, Old Town and Eagle Creek. Local guides and other experts lent a hand in creating 13 detailed waterproof maps that can be bought individually or in state-by-state sets at the Web site (www.northernforestcanoetrail.org). Teams of volunteers from towns along the route were dispatched to make sure that trees hadn’t fallen across the trail and to plant signs and markers from Old Forge, N.Y., to Fort Kent, Me.

The town of Saranac Lake is making progress in its long effort to recapture some of the tourist trade from nearby Lake Placid. There’s music in the streets at night and a decidedly local feel to the shops compared with those at its Olympian neighbor. “The best thing about doing a trip like this here in the Adirondacks is that you get a little bit of almost everything the canoe trail has to offer in terms of paddling conditions and traveler accommodations,” Dave Cilley said over lunch. Mr. Cilley owns St. Regis Canoe Outfitters and had a hand in developing the Adirondack section maps for the trail. “You get the lakes, the river, the white water and the town.”

Oh yes, as if I had forgotten, the white water. “You should have no trouble with the first two rapids, but definitely get out and scout the Permanent Rapids,” said Mr. Cilley. “They should be running pretty well with the rain we’ve had.”

Thinking about the Permanent Rapids and how many years had gone by since the last time I navigated a similarly angry stretch of water, I almost stayed in Saranac Lake a second day. It occurred to me that if I skipped the Saranac River below, I’d have time to climb tall mountains and visit the Robert Louis Stevenson cottage, where he wrote a remarkably dark little novel, “The Master of Ballantrae,” while recovering from tuberculosis at the famous Trudeau Sanitarium. But pride got the better of me, and by midmorning the next day I was back in my little boat heading out of town toward the Permanent Rapids. Toward the rapids, that is, and, I hoped, beyond.

THE river heading out of Saranac Lake was lazy at first, winding in oxbow curves through relatively flat land that alternated from agricultural to woodland. The lonely peak of Whiteface Mountain acted as a sort of pivot around which I and the river were slowly circumnavigating, and I ate lunch onboard while sliding easily off the continent. Some of the camps along this stretch look more Appalachian than Adirondack, though never quite to the point where you might wish you had Burt Reynolds paddling in the stern with a loaded crossbow.

But when the river turned decisively back into the deep woods, the mountain and camps disappeared. As Mr. Cilley had predicted, one small Class II riffle was easily navigated without even scouting, then another. The third, though, was the beginning of the Permanent Rapids, and when I saw the island that marked its entrance, I got out soon enough to scramble up onto a mossy outcrop and look the thing over and mumble unkind things about my friends who had bailed out on coming along to the Adirondacks at the last minute.

Down below, the Saranac River that had been winding peacefully for miles through pastures and woodlands now squeezed itself between steep walls on its way out of the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. It was positively hurtling toward Lake Champlain over a series of ledges and boulders, piling itself up into standing waves two, or even three feet high. But on the whole, it looked much more doable to me than the alternative, which was to haul both boat and gear around the outside. I strapped on my life vest.

Pulling, tugging and generally yee-hawing, I made it into the channel past the island. The standing waves soaked, but didn’t swamp me. The rock I hit — O.K. there were two rocks that I hit — alarmed but didn’t upset the boat. They just slid under the forgiving plastic hull, giving me another reason besides flashlights, bug stuff and periodic inns and pizza to be glad that I wasn’t, in fact, an Iroquois trapper in a birch-bark boat. As quickly as it all started, I was beyond the Permanent Rapids, soaked and wishing I had the energy to drag the boat back up to the start so I could have the ride again. Then it was back to camping on a private island — this time in Franklin Falls Pond — where I dived from rocks and ate reconstituted freeze-dried black-bean tortilla pie in lieu of that big trout that I had failed to catch and wrap in foil to roast in the low coals. Happy and stuffed, I watched the last bit of sun catch the distant top of Whiteface Mountain and turn it a surprising salmon pink.

Like me, most travelers on the trail will not choose to do the entire route in one great push (typically from south to north). Most won’t ever do the entire trail, even in pieces. But even for less goal-driven wanderers like me, somehow just knowing that I could paddle all the way to Fort Kent, if I ever really wanted to, added a bit of grand adventure to that portion I did travel.

And, you know, you never know. When I got back home, I dug out a yellow highlighter and filled in on the map those portions of the trail I’ve completed over the years, both on this trip and others. Rangeley, the Connecticut River, the West Branch of the Penobscot are all filled in, as is the entire Adirondack section from Old Forge to the Permanent Rapids. Yes, that little yellow band of personal achievement goes right over the little hatch marks on the Saranac River indicating the Class III Permanent Rapids. It stops right before the little hatch marks indicating the Teft Pond Falls. That’s a Class V rapid and will have to wait for another trip, with other friends, perhaps in another life.

VISITOR INFORMATION

THE BASICS

Along its 740 miles the Northern Forest Canoe Trail incorporates many of the crown jewels of Northeast paddling — the Adirondacks, the Allagash, the Rangeley Lakes, the West Branch of the Penobscot, the Adroscoggin and Ammonoosuc — and most short and midlength adventurers will probably gravitate toward one of these. The place to begin any voyage on the trail, however, is www.northernforestcanoetrail.org), where you can find an overview of the entire trail and plenty of suggestions for trips of varying lengths. You’ll also want to call the organization’s office in Vermont (802-496-2285) for help finding local outfitters and accommodations, or more up-to-date information on conditions along the trail.

If you choose to paddle in the Adirondacks, which at a drive of six to seven hours is the closest section of the trail to New York City (multi-leg flights to the Saranac Lake airport will take almost as long), start with Dave Cilley at St. Regis Canoe Outfitters (518-891-1838, www.canoeoutfitters.com) in Saranac Lake. He can outfit you for as long or short a voyage as you’re up for, with or without as much assistance in the way of cooking, car ferrying or guiding as you might need. You will need to reserve campsites on the Saranac Lake Islands through Reserve America (800-456-2267, www.reserveamerica.com).

LODGING

When you go into the town of Saranac Lake for a shower and a layover, the Doctor’s Inn (888-518-3464, www.docsinn.net; $85 to $100) is the good kind of bed-and-breakfast where the owners live in a house next door rather than downstairs. It’s about a mile from downtown, however, so if you want to be in the heart of Saranac Lake, consider the grand old Hotel Saranac (518-891-2200, www.hotelsaranac.com; $85 to $205), which is run by Paul Smith’s College. Finally, if you want to fish, you’ll need licenses from the various states.

Paul Schneider, a frequent contributor to the Travel and Escapes sections, is the author of “The Adirondacks: A History of America’s First Wilderness.”

Correction: Sept. 12, 2006

An article in the Travel section on Sunday about the new Northern Forest Canoe Trail linking New York and Maine gave an incorrect Internet address for information on the trail. It is www.northernforestcanoetrail.org.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/travel/10northcanoe.html

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

carmin

12-30-2006, 08:12 PM

'Magnificent Obsession'...does anyone remember that movie? Rock Hudson & Jane Wyman...what a tear-jerker - I just love that movie!! :) (y)

;) ;) ;)

September 10, 2006
The Magnificent Obsession of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail
By PAUL SCHNEIDER

Correction Appended

THE northern boreal forest once stretched unbroken from Maine to Minnesota, a vast, mossy sea of trees, punctuated only by archipelagoes of rocky mountaintops and thin ribbons of water. To early European visitors who came in ships to its fringes, the great north woods were even more impenetrable and mysterious than the real ocean of water they had just crossed to get to it.

But impenetrable and unbroken did not mean it was trackless, or even a pure wilderness. The Algonquins, Iroquois and others who lived there traversed the region in canoes and on foot, and the paths they used to carry their boats between major water systems — from the Hudson River to Lake Champlain, say, or over the so-called Indian Carry from the Raquette River to the Saranac Lakes — were worn more than a foot deep in places by centuries of traffic. It was all a part of the Great Longhouse, as the Iroquois of upstate New York called it. It was home.

Toward the end of the 20th century, after a half millennium of change left not much of either the forest or its network of watery trails intact, three recreational paddlers — Mike Krepner, Ron Canter and Randy Mardres — came up with a seemingly audacious idea. Calling their project Native Trails, they set out to recreate what they could of those ancient routes, charting for modern travelers a new contiguous water trail from the top of Maine to the bottom of New York’s Adirondack Park.

This past June, after a decade and a half of exploration, infusions of cash and new partnerships, the officially designated 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail was finally dedicated. With festive ribbon-cuttings in four Northeast states, the event was a bit like a blockbuster art opening that redefines a genre. The major segments were familiar to paddlers: some, like the Adirondacks and the Allagash, are legendary. But when entwined with lesser known pieces, like Lubber Lake and Pensioner Pond in Vermont or the two short dips into Quebec, a new singularity emerges that seems both obvious and brilliant. The canoe trail, which some have compared to the Appalachian Trail, is more closely akin to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, the Everglades Wilderness Waterway in Florida or the Maine Island Trail for kayakers. As such, it may be the most important thing to happen to the northern eco-tourism trade since the invention of gorp.

Not long after the official opening, I paddled out onto Middle Saranac Lake on a breezy summer afternoon, having been driven to the put-in by the folks from St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in the town of Saranac Lake, where I had traded my rental car for a rental kayak. There were plenty of reasons to choose the heart of the Adirondack Park for a launch.

As a purely practical matter, this is the portion of the trail best equipped with guides and outfitters capable of supplying travelers with as much or as little as they may need in the way of boats, equipment, food or even instruction, making it relatively simple to put together a comfortable voyage.

As a purely personal matter, it was a chance for me to revisit the scene of voyages I had undertaken during the writing of my first book, a history of the Adirondacks, and fill in a few blanks in my own map of the park as well. The Adirondacks are where Americans in the 19th century invented the idea and language of wilderness recreation as both a business model and a restorative activity. The park is New York’s greatest environmental (not to mention bipartisan) achievement, a place bigger than the entire state of Massachusetts where “forever wild” forests range over high and low peaks and right down to the water’s edge in the form of great gnarled giants clinging by serpentine roots to boulders left by long gone glaciers.

It is the birthplace of eco-tourism, a treasure that The New York Times in an 1864 editorial called “a tract of country fitted to make a Central Park for the world.”

“Ask you, how went the hours?” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in his poem about “the philosophers’ camp,” a trip he took to the Adirondacks in 1854 with the scientist Louis Agassiz and eight other luminaries. “Up with the dawn, they fancied the light air that circled freshly in their forest dress made them to boys again.”

With no intention of making it all the way to Maine, I whiled away happy hours poking up into deserted coves, pushing up streams to the foot of beaver dams, lunching on sunny rocks, trolling for fish and pulling up sweet memories of other trips and other times. Upper, Middle and Lower Saranac Lakes are not the wildest stretch of the Adirondacks, but they’re surely among the most beautiful. There are constant views to the high peaks and, in stretches where the protected Adirondack Forest Preserve gives way to private land, I paddled silently past the huge and fanciful twiggy great camps of bygone financiers and industrialists.

In the late afternoons I pitched my tent on thimble-size islands that I had all to myself and was not at all offended to find that the state had provided a little firewood and, down a short path, a tidy outhouse. The idea of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, after all, is not to go where no one has gone before. Along its way, the trail incorporates some waters well known and well traveled by local paddlers. The 347 miles in Maine include the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the West Branch of the Penobscot River and the Rangeley Chain of Lakes. The 72-mile New Hampshire section includes portions of the Androscoggin and Ammonoosuc. In Vermont there is a fairly long open passage on Lake Champlain that can be full of sailboats. One night on Lower Saranac Lake I heard the sounds of a family of campers on another island, but more often it was only a bona fide loon singing like a madman across the water.

Passing through the rustic locks at the bottom of Lower Saranac Lake, which were built to allow the passage of steam-powered ferries up to the great camps of the upper lakes, I made my way along the lesser camps and summer places that line Lake Flower and paddled into the center of the town of Saranac Lake. One of the goals of the trail is to tie together the villages along the route, encouraging inns, restaurants, Chambers of Commerce and the like to cater to through-paddlers. This approach, alternating tenting with town life, makes for an extremely civilized way to get away from civilization.

The course of civilization is often winding, however, and for the first decade of its existence, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail hovered somewhere in the dark woods that stretch between “a great idea” and “a great achievement.” During those years, Mr. Krepner, Mr. Canter and Mr. Mardres navigated obscure waters, studied old maps and assembled blueprints for the route, but ultimately none of them had the time or money to undertake the organizational effort required to turn the fruits of their hobby into a marked and maintained route of interconnected rivers, lakes and portage trails.

In the late 1990’s their work was taken up by Rob Center and Kay Henry, who owned the Mad River Canoe Company at the time. “Did we have any idea that making the trail a reality was going to completely consume us for five years of our lives? Well, no,” Ms. Henry said recently. “But it was a great project, and it’s becoming a great resource for paddlers and as importantly for local communities along the way that want to get more involved in taking care of their rivers and lakes.”

From their position in the heart of the paddling industry, Ms. Henry and Mr. Center were able to line up a Who’s Who of outdoorsy corporate sponsors to help support the work, including Timberland, L. L. Bean, REI, Thule, Old Town and Eagle Creek. Local guides and other experts lent a hand in creating 13 detailed waterproof maps that can be bought individually or in state-by-state sets at the Web site (www.northernforestcanoetrail.org) (http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org)). Teams of volunteers from towns along the route were dispatched to make sure that trees hadn’t fallen across the trail and to plant signs and markers from Old Forge, N.Y., to Fort Kent, Me.

The town of Saranac Lake is making progress in its long effort to recapture some of the tourist trade from nearby Lake Placid. There’s music in the streets at night and a decidedly local feel to the shops compared with those at its Olympian neighbor. “The best thing about doing a trip like this here in the Adirondacks is that you get a little bit of almost everything the canoe trail has to offer in terms of paddling conditions and traveler accommodations,” Dave Cilley said over lunch. Mr. Cilley owns St. Regis Canoe Outfitters and had a hand in developing the Adirondack section maps for the trail. “You get the lakes, the river, the white water and the town.”

Oh yes, as if I had forgotten, the white water. “You should have no trouble with the first two rapids, but definitely get out and scout the Permanent Rapids,” said Mr. Cilley. “They should be running pretty well with the rain we’ve had.”

Thinking about the Permanent Rapids and how many years had gone by since the last time I navigated a similarly angry stretch of water, I almost stayed in Saranac Lake a second day. It occurred to me that if I skipped the Saranac River below, I’d have time to climb tall mountains and visit the Robert Louis Stevenson cottage, where he wrote a remarkably dark little novel, “The Master of Ballantrae,” while recovering from tuberculosis at the famous Trudeau Sanitarium. But pride got the better of me, and by midmorning the next day I was back in my little boat heading out of town toward the Permanent Rapids. Toward the rapids, that is, and, I hoped, beyond.

THE river heading out of Saranac Lake was lazy at first, winding in oxbow curves through relatively flat land that alternated from agricultural to woodland. The lonely peak of Whiteface Mountain acted as a sort of pivot around which I and the river were slowly circumnavigating, and I ate lunch onboard while sliding easily off the continent. Some of the camps along this stretch look more Appalachian than Adirondack, though never quite to the point where you might wish you had Burt Reynolds paddling in the stern with a loaded crossbow.

But when the river turned decisively back into the deep woods, the mountain and camps disappeared. As Mr. Cilley had predicted, one small Class II riffle was easily navigated without even scouting, then another. The third, though, was the beginning of the Permanent Rapids, and when I saw the island that marked its entrance, I got out soon enough to scramble up onto a mossy outcrop and look the thing over and mumble unkind things about my friends who had bailed out on coming along to the Adirondacks at the last minute.

Down below, the Saranac River that had been winding peacefully for miles through pastures and woodlands now squeezed itself between steep walls on its way out of the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. It was positively hurtling toward Lake Champlain over a series of ledges and boulders, piling itself up into standing waves two, or even three feet high. But on the whole, it looked much more doable to me than the alternative, which was to haul both boat and gear around the outside. I strapped on my life vest.

Pulling, tugging and generally yee-hawing, I made it into the channel past the island. The standing waves soaked, but didn’t swamp me. The rock I hit — O.K. there were two rocks that I hit — alarmed but didn’t upset the boat. They just slid under the forgiving plastic hull, giving me another reason besides flashlights, bug stuff and periodic inns and pizza to be glad that I wasn’t, in fact, an Iroquois trapper in a birch-bark boat. As quickly as it all started, I was beyond the Permanent Rapids, soaked and wishing I had the energy to drag the boat back up to the start so I could have the ride again. Then it was back to camping on a private island — this time in Franklin Falls Pond — where I dived from rocks and ate reconstituted freeze-dried black-bean tortilla pie in lieu of that big trout that I had failed to catch and wrap in foil to roast in the low coals. Happy and stuffed, I watched the last bit of sun catch the distant top of Whiteface Mountain and turn it a surprising salmon pink.

Like me, most travelers on the trail will not choose to do the entire route in one great push (typically from south to north). Most won’t ever do the entire trail, even in pieces. But even for less goal-driven wanderers like me, somehow just knowing that I could paddle all the way to Fort Kent, if I ever really wanted to, added a bit of grand adventure to that portion I did travel.

And, you know, you never know. When I got back home, I dug out a yellow highlighter and filled in on the map those portions of the trail I’ve completed over the years, both on this trip and others. Rangeley, the Connecticut River, the West Branch of the Penobscot are all filled in, as is the entire Adirondack section from Old Forge to the Permanent Rapids. Yes, that little yellow band of personal achievement goes right over the little hatch marks on the Saranac River indicating the Class III Permanent Rapids. It stops right before the little hatch marks indicating the Teft Pond Falls. That’s a Class V rapid and will have to wait for another trip, with other friends, perhaps in another life.

VISITOR INFORMATION

THE BASICS

Along its 740 miles the Northern Forest Canoe Trail incorporates many of the crown jewels of Northeast paddling — the Adirondacks, the Allagash, the Rangeley Lakes, the West Branch of the Penobscot, the Adroscoggin and Ammonoosuc — and most short and midlength adventurers will probably gravitate toward one of these. The place to begin any voyage on the trail, however, is www.northernforestcanoetrail.org) (http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org)), where you can find an overview of the entire trail and plenty of suggestions for trips of varying lengths. You’ll also want to call the organization’s office in Vermont (802-496-2285) for help finding local outfitters and accommodations, or more up-to-date information on conditions along the trail.

If you choose to paddle in the Adirondacks, which at a drive of six to seven hours is the closest section of the trail to New York City (multi-leg flights to the Saranac Lake airport will take almost as long), start with Dave Cilley at St. Regis Canoe Outfitters (518-891-1838, www.canoeoutfitters.com (http://www.canoeoutfitters.com)) in Saranac Lake. He can outfit you for as long or short a voyage as you’re up for, with or without as much assistance in the way of cooking, car ferrying or guiding as you might need. You will need to reserve campsites on the Saranac Lake Islands through Reserve America (800-456-2267, www.reserveamerica.com) (http://www.reserveamerica.com)).

LODGING

When you go into the town of Saranac Lake for a shower and a layover, the Doctor’s Inn (888-518-3464, www.docsinn.net; (http://www.docsinn.net;) $85 to $100) is the good kind of bed-and-breakfast where the owners live in a house next door rather than downstairs. It’s about a mile from downtown, however, so if you want to be in the heart of Saranac Lake, consider the grand old Hotel Saranac (518-891-2200, www.hotelsaranac.com; (http://www.hotelsaranac.com;) $85 to $205), which is run by Paul Smith’s College. Finally, if you want to fish, you’ll need licenses from the various states.

Paul Schneider, a frequent contributor to the Travel and Escapes sections, is the author of “The Adirondacks: A History of America’s First Wilderness.”

Correction: Sept. 12, 2006

An article in the Travel section on Sunday about the new Northern Forest Canoe Trail linking New York and Maine gave an incorrect Internet address for information on the trail. It is www.northernforestcanoetrail.org (http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org).

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/travel/10northcanoe.html

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:13 PM

:) :) :) :)

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/20061210_wheretogo_map.html

(*) (*) Have fun exploring!!

Happy New Year!

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:17 PM

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

December 31, 2006
Choice Tables
In El Paso and Juárez, Elegant Surprises on Both Sides of the Rio Grande
By HENRY SHUKMAN

WHAT is it about borders? Why are they inherently exhilarating?

El Paso likes to say that it and Ciudad Juárez form the largest cross-border city on earth, with a combined population of about two million, and there's a constant buzz in the air. This is the mother of frontiers, the Berlin Wall of the Americas: On one side of the Rio Grande lie the towers and comfortable houses of the wealthiest imperial power, and on the other, across a razor-wired canal of brown water, 50 yards and a trillion dollars away, the cheap homes of the developing world.

When the Rio Grande became the border in 1848 after the Mexican-American War and El Paso del Norte found itself in America, the usual evolution happened: the poorer side became the shadow city, where you could find delights denied at home. Liquor and prostitution mostly, but also drugs and donkey shows (don't ask).

It remains much the same, with Cuban cigars and drink for college kids too young to imbibe in America. Every other store along the Avenida Juárez strip is a cut-price dentista or a farmacia selling prescription drugs (without prescriptions).

And Juárez still has bars whose heyday was the '30s, offering the oak-bound authority and peace that only decades of decorous drinking confer — places like the Kentucky Club. Once graced by Ernest Hemingway and William Carlos Williams, it is now tragically blighted by wide-screen TVs, but still serves the best and tartest margaritas on the planet, little cupric charges of lucidity.

But the area has been a focus of interesting cross-border cuisine, too, and on either side of the river there are restaurants offering the old-school bon-vivant elegance of Mexico as well as some excellent culinary innovation. A couple of months ago, I sampled a few of them.

Billy Crews Dining Room

In “El Paso City,” Marty Robbins sang about “a city with a legend,” but when I lived in nearby Las Cruces, N.M., a few years ago, the real legend of El Paso was the wine list at Billy Crews. Before crossing the river into Mexico, my friend David and I fortified ourselves with a visit to this institution in the El Paso suburbs, just across the state line in New Mexico.

Mr. Crews is a modest man, and part of the strange charm of his restaurant is its understatedness. There's a liquor store at the back, for example, along with a bar that can get rowdy at weekends — hardly what you'd expect in an establishment selling Pomerols and Pauillacs whose vintages go back four or five decades.

There's nothing like a restaurant that does only one thing but does it perfectly. A few daunting hunks of well-aged steaks — rib-eye, New York strip, porterhouse — wait on a butcher-block bar where you can choose your cut. If you go with the standard dinner package, you'll get a small plate of shrimp with a squeeze of lemon, then a salad delivered in the outer leaves of half an iceberg lettuce.

Yes, in a way it's that kind of place: iceberg and ranch dressing. But that's not the whole story. The steaks are very, very good, and the wine list, which runs to 112 densely typed pages, has been winning national awards for decades.

Even more remarkably, you don't have to spend a lot. An eight-ounce filet mignon sets you back $12. Wines that would go for $400 in New York City restaurants can be picked up for something much closer to liquor store prices. Indeed, nothing irks Mr. Crews like the standard restaurant wine markup.

“There's nothing worse,” he told us as we discussed the wine list with him. “Why? Everyone knows what the prices are.”

After our shrimp and salad, we tried some euphemistically named calf fries — deep-fried bullocks' testes — which I felt obliged to order just because they were on the menu. One is enough. But our two steaks, a filet mignon and a rib-eye, were perfectly à point (which our waiter called “rare plus”) in a peppery jus — the ideal foil for our 1995 Lynch-Bages ($187).

To come to an oasis of fine, underpriced wines in a desert and not choose something good would be morally, fiscally, spiritually wrong. And anyway, this is hardly a wine you can get anywhere. Our young waiter, who had been itching to pour the bottle finally had his moment — and we ours with this dark and complex wine.

There's something almost strange about finding such an oasis of viticultural heritage at the edge of a cowboy city. Here Crews is, a stone's throw from the shanties of Juarez, with a cellar worthy of the Ritz.

Misión Guadalupe

As soon as you walk across the Santa Fe Bridge and find yourself in Mexico, there's the immediate pleasure, dismay and comfort all at once of being back in a culture that values the street and the pedestrian, rather than the freeway and the automobile. Everywhere, you're hit by small-scale marketing: stalls selling nopal and guava juice, shoeshines, hats and tobacco, and beggars hawking their penury. Cab drivers loiter, calling out: “Whatever you want I got it. Chicas? Coca?”

But Juárez also offers more sedate pleasures, especially since one of the best new restaurants for hundreds of miles, the Misión Guadalupe, opened in 2004. Run by two young prodigies from the Culinary Academy in Mexico City, with impressive track records in American restaurants, it is spearheading the expansion of sophisticated, authentic Mexican food.

Mexicans possess a cuisine every bit as elaborate as the best of Europe's, but the news has been late in reaching the rest of the world. Only now are the false stereotypes of the Mexican plate — burritos and tacos smothered in chili and cheese (more Tex-Mex and Southwestern) — beginning to yield.

Misión Guadalupe is chic, modern and comfortable. Three alabaster plinths define the space, along with a glowing backlighted bar of the same stone. A cellar beneath the bar holds a fiercely patriotic and reasonably priced array of Mexican wines.

“Mexico always had better wines than Spain,” Sergio Remolina, who was the general manager but has since left, told me. “At independence, the Spaniards burned as many vineyards as they could, to prevent competition on Spanish soil, but over the last 50 years, the wines of Baja California especially have been coming back fast.”

Indeed, the 2002 Santo Tomas barbera we tried was very good and a great value at $30.

We started with a few excellent appetizers: superb smoked marlin in green spinach tortillas, achiote-marinated shrimp panuchos from the Yucatan (tiny deep-fried tacos with mashed black beans) and quesadillas with wonderful huitlacoche (corn fungus). Then came cabrito — succulent kid cooked with wine, lime, jalapeño and avocado, and served on banana leaves — and rare seared salmon with chili, salt and corn relish, and shrimp in adobo (a sauce of dried chili, vinegar, garlic and spices).

But the highlight was the beef tenderloin with chichilo negro (“ashes sauce”), a thick black sauce made with avocado leaves and oja santa, the leaf of the sarsaparilla plant integral to root beer. This is one of the seven moles of Oaxaca, which are in turn just some of Mexico's many different moles.

“Mole is the chief expression of the Baroque epoch in Mexico,” said Alejandro Dimakis, the chef. “The churches of that period are complex and exaggerated — mole, too. Many things go into it.”

Some moles have over 25 ingredients and require that each element be prepared separately before combining (“mole” means something like “blending”). Mr. Dimakis declared that Mexican cuisine had a different language and ingredients from European cooking but is every bit as sophisticated, and his dishes made it hard to disagree.

Martino

In this timepiece of a place, where you could imagine Cary Grant having a good time, being a waiter is not just a job but a career. This place has that deep-sprung air of repose, of the well-oiled fluency of a restaurant that knows exactly how to do what it does — a sense largely bestowed by the ancient and skillful waiters in their white coats and crimson bowties.

The menu is from another time, too: cordon bleu cuisine: oysters Rockefeller, escargots, chateaubriand au poivre, tenderloin medallions flambée, filet tornedos, steak tartare, frog's legs, halibut sautéed in butter and garlic. This once-traditional haute cuisine has become so rare it'll surely sooner or later be the new nouvelle.

At the next table an elderly couple had a Beefeater martini each, shaken tableside by one of the septuagenarian waiters with great fluency and economy of movement. It seemed a good way to start, but it was lunchtime and we resisted.

Instead, we began with guacamole in an avocado skin, then cream of elote, or corn, soup — delivered whether you order it or not, along with a dish of green chili salsa strong enough to bring out a small bloom of sweat on the forehead. Then a platter of hot, briny, sweet oysters Rockefeller.

For main dishes, we had slim bass fillets grilled to a faint brown, dusted with chili and garlic, along with one of Martino's flaming swords, this one of shrimp doused in blue-flickering brandy.

It's the kind of rich, slow-paced meal that sends one out into the afternoon with a glow.

Café Central

Then it was over the bridge and back into America, for an adventurous cross-border revival. Café Central occupies the ground floor of a grand old Art Deco building in the Deco heart of downtown El Paso. The décor is Art Deco, too — zebra-striped chairs, black table linens and a long low bar shimmering at the far end.

Why are restaurant linens always white? I like black. It feels glamorous, like a 1940s nightclub. Which is appropriate, since the Café Central began its life in 1918 on the other side of the border, when Juárez was a small precursor of Las Vegas. Then after decades near Martino, it moved north to El Paso in 1980.

Two items survive from the original menu, and we tried both. The first was a smooth rich cream of green chili soup: memorable. Other starters we sampled were escargots, dripping in melted butter, shaved parmesan, garlic and herbs; cumin-rubbed tuna sashimi, brought to life by the spice; and dark-gold deep-fried Dungeness crab cakes, with an herb remoulade.

The other original dish is puntas de filete. As a lifelong devotee of Worcestershire sauce, I was delighted to find it in a 1918 Juárez recipe. Floppy medallions of steak fillets and rubbery strips of fresh green chili come in the Worcesterhire with capers and a roasted jalapeño. There's a pleasing unfussiness about the dish; it would go well with Studebaker running boards and wide gangster lapels on 1930s suits. Another good main dish is shrimp tacos — deep-fried corn tortillas, not too crispy under the fork, but bursting open between the teeth — with sweet and spicy shrimp and guacamole, and a drum of chipotle rice on the side.

Innovative Mexico and old Europe: there are tastes of both on either side of the border. In a way, for the diner, the two cities are one, even though this is not the case for the teeming populace.

VISITOR INFORMATION

All prices are for one person, without drinks or tip.

Billy Crews Dining Room, 1200 Country Club Road, Santa Teresa, N.M.; (505) 589-2071; www.billycrews.com. Dinner, $20 to $30. Wines from $15 to $600.

Café Central, 109 North Oregon Street, El Paso; (915) 545-2233; www.cafecentral.com. Lunch, $20 to $35; dinner, $35 to $60. Closed Sunday.

Martino, 643 Avenida Juárez Norte, Ciudad Juárez; (52-656) 612-3370; $15 to $25.

Misión Guadalupe, 445-3 Avenida Jose Reyes Estrada, Pronaf, Juárez; (52-656) 611-2210; $18 to $30.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/travel/31Choice.html?ref=travel

:) :)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

carmin

12-30-2006, 08:18 PM

With all due respect...who cares about the 2007's...I'm still in the 1930's, 1940's, & 1950's...and for music, maybe 1960's & '70's, but that's as far as I'll go!! :)
:) :) :) :)

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/20061210_wheretogo_map.html

(*) (*) Have fun exploring!!

Happy New Year!

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:26 PM

December 30, 2006

Elder-Care Costs Deplete Savings of a Generation

By JANE GROSS

To care for her ailing 97-year-old father over the past three years, Elizabeth Rodriguez, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, has borrowed against her 401(k) retirement plan, sold her house on Staten Island and depleted nearly 20 years of savings.

The money has gone to lawyers’ fees ($50,000) to win a contested guardianship. It has gone for home-care equipment like the mattress for his hospital bed (about $3,000 in all) and for a food service to deliver meals ($400 a month).

It has gone for a two-bedroom rental apartment big enough for herself, her dad and a home aide ($1,600 a month more than a one-bedroom apartment in the same building), and for a wheelchair-accessible van to get him to doctors’ appointments ($330 a trip).

Asked to tally the costs, Ms. Rodriguez, 58, said she had no idea how much she was spending. “A shower chair, body cream with no alcohol, new shoes,” she said. “You don’t stop and calculate. You just buy what you have to buy.”

Ms. Rodriguez is among the legion of adult children — more than 15 million, according to various calculations — who take care of their aging parents, a responsibility that often includes paying for all or part of their housing, medical supplies and incidental expenses. Many costs are out of pocket and largely unnoticed: clothing, home repair, a cellular telephone.

Adult children with the largest out-of-pocket expenses are those supervising care long distance, those who hire in-home help and those whose parents have too much money to qualify for government-subsidized Medicaid but not enough to pay for what could be a decade of frailty and dependence.

The burden is compounded by ignorance, according to a study by AARP, released in mid-December, which found that most Americans have no idea how much long-term care costs and believe that Medicare pays for it, when it does not.

Families have always looked after their elderly loved ones. But never has old age lasted so long or been so costly, compromising the retirement of baby boomers who were expecting inheritances rather than the shock of depleted savings.

“There is a myth out there that families abandon their frail elders,” said Dr. Robert L. Kane, a geriatrician at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. “Instead, across the income spectrum, children are sacrificing to care for their parents to the limit of their means and sometimes beyond.”

Researchers have documented the time spent by adult children, and others, caring for ailing relatives. But data is woefully inadequate on how much they actually spend, health economists say, because most people do not keep itemized entries as they write checks, use their credit cards or pocket money to meet the demands of the day.

“When you’re in the middle of the forest, with so many things coming at you, you can’t really see the trees,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “But each one of those trees has actual dollars connected to it.”

Costs are astronomical for long-term, low-tech care, the sort most often needed by those who linger with Alzheimer’s disease or are too frail to get around on their own. Medicare is of almost no help, since it covers only acute episodes like a heart attack, cancer or repair of a broken hip.

That means the elderly and their families are left to pay for assisted living (which averages $35,000 a year), nursing homes ($74,000) or home health aides. Only the very poor receive Medicaid, which pays nursing-home bills nationwide but home care in only a few states (New York among them), and nothing toward assisted-living rent.

Nor does Medicare cover equipment like grab bars for the shower and incontinence supplies, which alone can run $2,000 a year, or travel expenses for an adult child responding to medical emergencies.

Marilyn de Leo, for instance, has made two trips from New York City to Los Angeles since September, when her mother fell in the bathroom and broke her neck and both ankles. Ms. de Leo, 62, an associate director in the development office of Mount Sinai Medical Center, spent $800 on airfare for the first frantic trip , plus $50 a day on taxis, since she had left her eyeglasses behind in a mad dash to the airport and therefore could not rent a car. Ms. de Leo has no savings left, and is $5,000 in debt. When asked about her own future, she said, “I’ll have to work till I drop.”

Only one authoritative survey, in 2004, has even asked adult children how much they contribute to their parents’ support. Half said they did, and the average monthly expenditure was $200. Respondents who looked after their parents at least 40 hours a week said they spent an average of $324 a month.

But those figures were based on “quick, top-of-the-head estimates,” said Gail Hunt, president of the National Alliance for Caregiving, which conducted the survey.

Knowing the extent of these expenses might inform public policy, some experts say, calling attention to a gap in the government safety net for the elderly.

“Should this burden fall solely on the individual and the family?” asked Judy Feder, dean of the Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University. “And can we really expect this arrangement to keep doing the job as a larger and larger population comes to grips with it?”

Congress recently passed a poorly financed bill that would help family members who need a break to pay for substitute care of an ailing loved one. But the Bush administration, to date, has preferred a private sector solution, recommending long-term insurance and reverse mortgages.

For spouses, most expenses are tax-deductible if they exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income. But children cannot claim parental expenses unless they pay more than half of a parent’s support, which is often not the case when the parents are on Medicaid, likeMs. Rodriguez’s father, or have savings, like the Schoengood family.

The elder Schoengoods, both 86, own a home in Yonkers and a condominium in Florida and have assets enough for round-the-clock care, which can cost $100,000 a year. Still, their son, Matthew G. Schoengood, 49, vice president of student affairs at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, has kicked in at least $1,000 a month since 2005, when his mother had the first of two strokes.

Mr. Schoengood flew his family nanny to Florida, for example, to look after his father. Now that his parents are permanently up north, Mr. Schoengood orders their groceries online along with his own. “As a child, it’s just something you do,” he said. “Mostly you don’t even think about it.”

His father makes a half-hearted effort to pay him back, but Mr. Schoengood always says, jokingly, “I’ll put it on your tab, Dad.” Typical of their generation, his parents fret about every penny. His father asks, incessantly, “Do we have enough?” Mr. Schoengood tells him not to worry.

For sure, he hopes his own children will do for him what he is doing for his parents, but he cringes at the prospect of burdening them — one reason long-term care insurance is becoming attractive.

Mr. Schoengood’s out-of-pocket spending is not sensible, elder-care experts say, but the result of the awkward minuet of preserving a parent’s pride.

If families behaved logically, said Steven Schurkman, an elder-care lawyer in White Plains, all expenses would be paid from the parents’ money, which if depleted would entitle them to Medicaid. “What most of us do isn’t sound financial planning,” Mr. Schurkman said. “But it’s healthy for the family dynamic.”

Carol Levine, director of the Families and Health Care Project at the United Hospital Fund in Manhattan, said that paying for her mother’s needs required delicacy, even subterfuge. When Ms. Levine went shopping, her mother would say, “Take $5 out of my purse.” Her daughter would return with 10 bags of groceries, and both would pretend that was all she had spent.

Both Mr. Schoengood and Ms. Rodriguez say their out-of-pocket expenses will not ruin them. Others are not so lucky.

Take Patrice B., 47, who returned to her childhood home in Jacksonville, Fla., seven years ago to move in with her mother, 84, who has Alzheimer’s disease, and her father, 86, who has congestive heart failure. (They requested that the family’s last name be omitted so neighbors would not know their plight.)

In their African-American culture, Ms. B. said, putting her parents in a nursing home would have been shameful. Plus, they could pay for some home care out of pensions as well as military disability checks. She, on the other hand, after years of sporadic part-time work and untallied out-of-pocket expenses, is broke.

She has catastrophic health insurance, but it will not pay for the hysterectomy she needs. She has lost her credit cards after accumulating $20,000 in debt. “Honestly,” Ms. B. said, “I’ve got nothing anymore. I go from very angry to very depressed.”

Kate Mesmer, a single mother in Northern California who had always worked for nonprofit organizations, was living paycheck to paycheck when her mother had a stroke in 2001. Ms. Mesmer took a tenant into her house so she could contribute to her mother’s $6,000-a-month rent at an assisted living center.

Then Ms. Mesmer lost her job and had to move her mother to a board-and-care home. A second stroke forced her mother into a nursing home, where she qualified for Medicaid. That is where she died last year, with nothing left but an $18,000 I.R.A. The State of California is seeking that, contending the $18,000 should have gone toward nursing-home fees.

Given what she learned in the final years of her mother’s life, Ms. Mesmer said: “I have a panic attack at least once a day. It’s frightening to think about our generation and what’s going to happen to us.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/us/30support.html?em&ex=1167627600&en=e854f7a808296ba4&ei=5070

(l) (l) (l) Prayer and thoughts to all in this category.

(l) (l) (l) (l)

SL & WTB (l) (&)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:33 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

December 30, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Gerald Ford’s Affirmative Action
By JEFFREY TOOBIN

GERALD R. FORD kept his distance from political controversy after leaving office, but he retained a special interest in the workings of his alma mater. In 1999, the 86-year-old former varsity football star decided to make a public stand in support of affirmative action at the University of Michigan.

He wrote an Op-Ed article on this page titled “Inclusive America, Under Attack.” A pair of pending lawsuits, Mr. Ford wrote, would prohibit Michigan and other universities “from even considering race as one of many factors weighed by admission counselors.” Such a move would condemn “future college students to suffer the cultural and social impoverishment that afflicted my generation.”

As it happened, on Sept. 15, 1999, a month after the article ran, Mr. Ford had dinner with James M. Cannon, one of his former White House aides, in Grand Rapids, Mich. The men were in town to hear a speech at Mr. Ford’s presidential museum by his only nominee to the Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens.

By that point, Justice Stevens had long since proved a great disappointment to conservatives. But his nomination remained one of Mr. Ford’s proudest achievements as president, for Justice Stevens’ moderate-to-liberal record reflected Mr. Ford’s own later views, as his stand on affirmative action illustrated. At the dinner, Mr. Ford encouraged Mr. Cannon to do what he could to help the university in the lawsuit, which was heading for the Supreme Court.

Mr. Cannon had served on the Board of Visitors of the Naval Academy, and both he and Mr. Ford knew how important affirmative action was to the military, especially its officer corps. Mr. Cannon had been told many times by the Navy’s top brass that they did not want ships full of enlisted men, who tended to be heavily minority, to be commanded exclusively by white officers. Affirmative action wasn’t social engineering, it was military necessity; and Mr. Cannon and Mr. Ford wanted to make sure the justices heard that message.

Active-duty officers could not take a stand on such a controversial issue, but Mr. Cannon, prompted by Mr. Ford, sought out the next best thing: retired military officers. In time, the University of Michigan defense team recruited Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, Gen. Hugh Shelton, Adm. William J. Crowe Jr. and two dozen others eminences to sign a friend-of-the-court brief in support of affirmative action written by a Washington lawyer, Carter G. Phillips.

The first case was argued at the court on April 1, 2003, less than two weeks after American and allied forces launched their invasion of Iraq. In this initial period, the war looked like a tremendous success; as a result, the military was held in especially high regard in the nation and at the court, and that attitude was reflected in the justices’ many questions about the brief by the military retirees.

To the lawyer representing the plaintiff, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “May I call your attention in that regard to the brief that was filed on behalf of some retired military officers who said that to have an officer corps that includes minority members in any number, there is no way to do it other than to give not an overriding preference but a plus for race.”

Justices Stevens, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter and Sandra Day O’Connor followed up with similar queries. When Theodore B. Olson, the solicitor general, who was expressing the Bush administration’s opposition to the Michigan program, rose to speak, Justice Stevens quickly interrupted: “Just let me get a question out, and you answer it at your convenience. I’d like you to comment on Carter Phillips’s brief. What is your view of the strength of that argument?”

In the end, the court voted to uphold the affirmative action program at Michigan’s law school. Justice O’Connor’s opinion quoted Mr. Phillips’s brief at length and then, in an extraordinarily rare tribute, adopted its words as part of the court’s opinion: “To fulfill its mission, the military ‘must be selective in admissions for training and education for the officer corps, and it must train and educate a highly qualified, racially diverse officer corps in a racially diverse setting.’ ”

The court, Justice O’Connor said, agreed with Mr. Phillips that “ ‘it requires only a small step from this analysis to conclude that our country’s other most selective institutions must remain both diverse and selective.’ ”

In all, considering the statements at the oral argument and Justice O’Connor’s opinion, the submission from the retired officers, as set in motion by Mr. Ford, may have been the most influential amicus brief in the history of the Supreme Court.

By Mr. Ford’s later years, as the Michigan affirmative action controversy illustrated, the former president had fallen out of step with the strong conservative drift of the Republican Party. But more important, the Michigan case, and Mr. Ford’s role in it, suggest that his views remained where they had long been — in the center of the country, politically and geographically — and by staying true to his beliefs, he left a quiet and powerful legacy for the university and the country that he loved.

Jeffrey Toobin, a staff writer at The New Yorker and legal analyst for CNN, is the author of the forthcoming “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/opinion/30toobin.html?em&ex=1167627600&en=16fa1f8a6b3566ab&ei=5070

(*) (*) (*) Pay Attention to the Important Stuff, Eh???

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:40 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

December 31, 2006

Are You My Mother?

By MADISON SMARTT BELL

I had hired the new Hungarian florist in town to do the flower arrangement,” the narrator of Vendela Vida’s new novel says of her father’s funeral. “A mistake. A ruby banner hung diagonally, like a beauty contestant’s sash, across a garish bouquet near the casket. In large silver lettering: BE LOVED.” This tone of dark whimsy suffuses the whole book and accounts for much of its peculiarly biting charm. You’ve seen it before, in movies like “Little Miss Sunshine” or “The Royal Tenenbaums” and in books like — well, maybe there aren’t any other books that walk this very fine line between high-camp comedy and the lyrical seriousness that Vida’s title portends: “Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name.”

Clarissa, the novel’s heroine, is an ordinary alumna of an ordinary American childhood in Rhinebeck, N.Y. — except that her younger brother, Jeremy, is so severely impaired from birth that he has never spoken a word to anyone; her mother disappeared when Clarissa was 14; and her father wasn’t her father after all, as she learns from the birth certificate she finds in his papers after his unexpected death at 66. Instead, Clarissa descends from the Sami, an aboriginal Lapland tribe. Although she’s visibly of a different ethnicity from either of her American parents, the difference doesn’t seem to arouse any doubts about her parentage before her father dies — but that is just one small wobble in a narrative that generally manages to be both eerily surreal and fundamentally credible.

Vida has a little sly fun with the idea of what’s typically American nowadays. When the story begins, Clarissa is engaged to the boy next door, Pankaj, whose mother, Gita, rings a little bell in her “swami closet” every morning as a way of honoring the dead. But Clarissa’s unsettling discovery about her parentage blows up the relationship, mostly because she learns that Pankaj (thanks to a confidential friendship between their mothers) has known the secret for 15 years and never told her. At that, Clarissa bolts for Lapland without so much as leaving a note, in quest of either or both of her biological parents in the Sami regions of Finland and Norway. In her family, whatever her family may turn out to be, the art of vanishing may be hereditary.

The story is loaded with creepy quaintness. Clarissa tracks her mother to an ice hotel, “constructed entirely of snow and ice ... like an architect’s version of a child’s dream fort.” And before her disappearance from his life, Clarissa uses a clothes hamper to block Pankaj’s way into their (formerly) shared bedroom in their New York apartment; if he were to ask why it’s there, she thinks, she would reply, succinctly, “To hamper you.” The poignancy lingering behind the wit is in some ways reminiscent of Anne Tyler, so expert in probing the hedgehog heart of an eccentricity that looks charming from the outside. Stylistically, though, Vida’s novel has more in common with Joan Didion’s bitter little masterpiece, “Play It as It Lays,” with its brief, stabbing episodes and its air of parched emotional aridity.

Clarissa’s experience of mothering is also studded with quirks, but it is more openly, frankly heartbreaking. The mother is thinly described but invested with the kind of unwitting charisma that makes everyone fall in love with her; thus Clarissa is at the end of a very long line. But wherever her mother is becomes an ice hotel. The kindest thing she teaches Clarissa is to comfort her hands in her own armpits, “the warmest part of your body.” Other lessons: Clarissa’s mother named her after Samuel Richardson’s novel “with the hope that you’d rewrite history” or “If a man tries something on you, force yourself to pee. Use your legs — that’s where your weight is. Gouge his eyes with your fingers. Punch his ears with your fists.” Clarissa’s mother does have her reasons for her aloofness, it turns out, and if they don’t command a lot of sympathy, sympathy is probably not what she wants. “When I gave birth to you,” she tells her daughter, “it felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife.” When Clarissa is 15 minutes late to meet her at a mall bakery, her mother permanently vanishes, leaving this message with the attendant: “She said to tell you she got tired of waiting.”

Vida sustains a bleakly comic aspect of this excruciatingly sad story, as Clarissa blunders around the Arctic Rim, accosting strangers in the manner of that hapless lost chick in P. D. Eastman’s children’s classic, “Are You My Mother?” “Together they could raise me,” she thinks of a Laplander couple who rescue her from a frozen river. “When you believe anyone could be your mother, you begin to think anyone could be your brother, your lover, your son.” If her “real” mother is ready to flee to the very end of the earth, Clarissa is ready to pursue her there, though her reward is frosty. “You poor thing,” her mother says finally. “You always tried so hard to get a reaction from me.”

This emotional core makes the book much more than an Edward Gorey comic strip. Take away the exotic setting and circumstance and you have a relentlessly believable story of a child’s futile struggle to, well, “be loved.” Enough children have to make their way through the world without nurture for this tale to strike a common chord, although Vida’s declared motives are a bit more abstract. In a brief afterword, she acknowledges “Against Narrativity,” an essay by Galen Strawson, as an inspiration for this novel; it made her “curious about the kind of person who would see their past as unconnected to their present.” Finally we understand that Clarissa’s mother is acting out a refusal to be a victim of her history. In the end, Clarissa does the same, almost — but, crucially, not quite — as ruthlessly. A Sami shaman who turns out not to be her father tells her of the northern lights, “We believe they are our ancestors.” Whatever sense Clarissa wins of her origins is just as brilliant, and as distant, as that.

Madison Smartt Bell’s biography of Toussaint Louverture will be published next month.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/books/review/Bell.t.html?_r=1&ref=review&oref=login

(*) (*) (*) Carpe Diem,,

SL & WTB (l) (&)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:44 PM

(y) (y)

Q U O T E D

"You can fake being cool, but you can't fake being good. That's the musical potentiality of YouTube: It allows us to see elements of musicianship that are difficult to hear (even though hearing is supposed to be the whole idea). It could make a handful of people recognize (and care about) virtuosity in a way that hasn't happened since the fall of King Crimson."

-- Esquire's Chuck Klosterman says YouTube is inspiring a renaissance in guitar wankery.

http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2006/061105_mfe_December_06_Klosterman.html

|-) |-) |-) |-)

(f) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:46 PM

;) ;)

http://frogreview.com/

(k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:47 PM

;) ;)

http://cityrag.blogs.com/main/2006/12/the_50_greatest.html

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:51 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

Any year that begins with Bill Frist and Tom DeLay running the Capitol and ends with Frist out of politics and DeLay headed for trial gets high marks from this quarter. Throw in the polls that show the American people are now firmly in the anti-war camp, the fact that even Republicans are starting to suggest that the best word to describe the president's policies may be "criminal, the prospect that those policies will soon be under the scrutiny of House and Senate committee chairs who have actually familiarized themselves with the term "checks and balances" and 2006 ends on the best note of any year since George W. Bush and Dick Cheney launched their co-presidency.

The voters deserve a lot of credit for the taming of the shrews. But elections do not occur in vacuums. Good election results do not come about by luck or chance. They follow upon bold gestures and smart strategies by elected officials who choose to lead rather than follow, organizations that take chances and individual citizens who understand why Jefferson said that all power should rest with the people.

Here are this one columnist's picks for the Most Valuable Progressives of 2006:

* MVP – U.S. SENATE

Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold cinched the title in March when he proposed that Senate censure President Bush for repeatedly authorizing domestic wiretaps on American citizens without first obtaining a legally required court order. "This conduct is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors," explained Feingold on ABC-TV's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." Republicans cried foul. Democrats ran for cover – with the commendable exceptions of Iowa's Tom Harkin and California's Barbara Boxer. But Feingold was right, as he was right when he called for setting a date for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, built a bipartisan coalition to block renewal of the worst sections of the Patriot Act, traveled to Africa to focus attention on the need to address poverty and disease as part of a broader strategy to combat the appeal of Islamic fundamentalists, sponsored legislation urging state and local governments to establish a system to assure that every eligible voter who wants to vote is able to cast a ballot, and when he came out unapologetically for gay marriage. He was even right when he decided that, rather than mount an uphill bid for the 20087 Democratic presidential nod against better-known and better-financed contenders, he would instead focus on turning the key Foreign Relations and Judiciary subcommittees he will chair on the immediate task of challenging the Bush-Cheney administration's policies.

It is a measure of how far Feingold stands ahead of the rest of his own party that some of his stiffest competition for the MVP title came from Republicans: in particular, Nebraska's Chuck Hagel, who bluntly compared the Iraq imbroglio to the Vietnam War in which he served and who recognized long before the Iraq Study Group completed its report that talks with Syria and Iran and a renewed focus on resolving disputes between Israel and Palestine were essential steps on the path to peace in the Middle East. Credit, as well, is due Oregon's Gordon Smith for describing the president's Iraq policies as "deeply immoral" and potentially "criminal," and to outgoing Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee for finishing his Senate tenure by blocking efforts to make permanent the president's recess appointment of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

* MVP – U.S. HOUSE

Barbara Lee and her co-chair and fellow California Democrat, Lynn Woolsey, renewed the Congressional Progressive Caucus by hiring an able full-time staffer, staking out a clear set of stances that defined the left wing of the possible, holding forums and hearings on the Iraq War and developing strategies for aiding progressive contenders in House races around the country. The approach paid off. The Progressive Caucus will be the largest ideological grouping in the new Democratic House, and it has the ear – if not always the full agreement – of incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Progressive Caucus members – such as John Conyers, Charlie Rangel, George Miller and Henry Waxman -- and their allies are moving into key committee chairmanships. (Bet on Waxman, who will guide the House Government Reform Committee's investigations of Bush to be a contender for MVP next year.) Lee gets especially high marks for her dogged insistence that Congress go on record in opposition to permanent bases in Iraq – she actually got the Republican House to approve her amendments to prohibit their development. And Lee, who has made the fight against HIV/AIDS a prime focus of her congressional service capped the year off by leading a high-profile move by leaders of the African-American, Latino and Asian-American communities to get tested for the virus on World AIDS Day in order to emphasize the importance of regular testing to fight the spread of the disease.

Tips of the hat, as well, to New York Democrat Maurice Hinchey for repeatedly challenging Dick Cheney to come clean about his role in exposing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame – as part of an effort by Cheney's office to punish Plame's husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson, for exposing the administration's misuse of intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – and to another New York Democrat, Jerry Nadler, for his absolute commitment to the Constitution. Nadler, the senior Democrat on the Constitution subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, has been uncompromising and unrelenting in his calls for hearings on warrantless wiretapping, illegal detentions and a host of other Bush administration assaults on civil liberties. Now, he will be able to chair those hearings.

* MVP – EXECUTIVE BRANCH

David Kuo joined the Bush administration as an actual compassionate conservative, serving in the White House for two-and-a-half years as a Special Assistant to the president and then as Deputy Director of the Bush's Faith-Based Initiative. Horrified by the cynicism of the administration, and the barely-cloaked disdain of key players in the White House for the president's religious base, Kuo came clean. He condemned the administration for failing to deliver on its promises to the poor, noting that when issues related to the supposed compassionate-conservative agenda of the president arose: "The White House legislative affairs office rolled their eyes while others on senior staff yawned." In the end, Kuo explained, "From tax cuts to Medicare, the White House gets what the White House really wants. It never really wanted the ‘poor people stuff.'"

* MVP – STRATEGIC VISION BRANCH

The Democrats actually made more progress on the state level than the federal level in 2006, winning a majority of governorships and an overwhelming majority of state legislative seats. A lot of the credit for those victories, which are essential to the long-term progress of the party, goes to Progressive Majority, the five-year-old multi-issue political action committee (PAC) that was established to enhance the political effectiveness of the progressive movement. Working on local and state-legislative races, Progressive Majority has recruited, trained and steered resources to dozens of candidates – with a special focus on women and people of color – who form the "farm team" for future statewide and congressional campaigns. The dramatic Democratic advances in Colorado – where the party took full control of state government for the first time since John Kennedy was president – Wisconsin, Washington, Ohio and Pennsylvania were a byproduct of Progressive Majority's smart and effective grassroots approach. Indeed, Progressive Majority has been so successful in the seven states where it has operated that party leaders and activists in other parts of the country are clamoring for the group to come into their states.

* MVP – ACCOUNTABILITY BRANCH

When Russ Feingold moved to censure Bush, the activists of the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition – who had been pushing for the better part of a year for a congressional inquiry into the administration's warping of intelligence to fit its Iraq War goals – adjusted their focus to promote an even broader and more aggressive critique of the Bush presidency. Nancy Pelosi may have tried to take impeachment off the table, but the AfterDowningStreet.org crew, led by the indomitable David Swanson, kept forcing it back on. Their coalition's website remains the "go-to" place for the latest on investigations, inquiries, subpoenas, legal actions and every other move to hold this president and vice president to account. And their passion for empowering citizens to promote "impeachment from below" and other accountability initiatives has forged a loose-knit but very real national movement. Watch for this movement to get a lot more attention in March, when a drive organized by Newfane, Vermont, town selectman and impeachment impresario Dan DeWalt and others will see dozens of town meetings endorse articles of impeachment.

* MVP – CITIZEN BRANCH

Thomas Jefferson said when left the presidency that he was retiring to a higher position: that of citizen. And it is as a citizen that another former president, Jimmy Carter, continues to make profound contributions to the nation. Increasingly frustrated by the failure of both the Bush administration and Democrats in Congress to take seriously the duty of U.S. officials to operate as honest brokers in the festering dispute between Israel and Palestine, Carter penned the most important book ever written by an ex-president: Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (Simon & Schuster). Carter's frank assessment of the history and current character of the Middle East peace process has earned him vilification from those who would maintain an untenable status quo. Old friends and allies have abandoned him because of his willingness to echo the sentiments of Israeli peace activists by declaring that: "Palestinians must live in peace and dignity, and permanent Israeli settlements on their land are a major obstacle to this goal." Carter has been let down by a U.S. media that is supposed to encourage open debate and discourse. And, yet, he has persevered in explaining to true friends of Israel and Palestine the need to recognize that a lasting peace, while possible, will not be achieved until the United States and other powerful nations get serious about promoting sincere negotiations. "An overwhelming majority of citizens of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine want peace, with justice for all who live in the Holy Land," argues Carter. "It will be a shame if the world community fails to help them reach this goal." As a citizen who happens to have a Nobel Prize for Peace on his mantle, Carter is doing his part to avert that shame.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

John Nichols' new book, THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT: The Founders' Cure for Royalism has been hailed by authors and historians Gore Vidal, Studs Terkel and Howard Zinn for its meticulous research into the intentions of the founders and embraced by activists for its groundbreaking arguments on behalf of presidential accountability. After reviewing recent books on impeachment, Rolling Stone political writer Tim Dickinson, writes in the latest issue of Mother Jones, "John Nichols' nervy, acerbic, passionately argued history-cum-polemic, The Genius of Impeachment, stands apart. It concerns itself far less with the particulars of the legal case against Bush and Cheney, and instead combines a rich examination of the parliamentary roots and past use of the "heroic medicine" that is impeachment with a call for Democratic leaders to 'reclaim and reuse the most vital tool handed to us by the founders for the defense of our most basic liberties.'"

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=152347

(S) (S) (S) Sweet Dreams,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-30-2006, 08:59 PM

:) :)

http://www.nica.org/

Have a delightfully wonderful NEW YEAR!!

Peace,

SL & WTB(l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 07:44 AM

(y) (y) (y)

I *never* thought that I would support cable MSOs:

The Federal Communications Commission approval of new regulations that could give telecoms like AT&T and Verizon a competitive advantage in the video marketplace is not going over well with incumbent cable TV companies. Not in the least. In a year-end conference call with the press, National Cable and Telecommunications Association president and CEO Kyle McSlarrow called the rules an "astonishing step backward" and upbraided FCC for pushing them through. The Commission has "a fundamental misunderstanding of what the cable industry is doing," he said. "It's almost [as though] they are viewing it through a time warp. I just think there's a disconnect between the rhetoric of free markets and deregulation and the reality of the proposals that are being proffered by the leadership of the Commission. What I see, when you put all of these dots together, is an agenda that really represents one of the most sweeping examples of regulatory micromanagement." Sounds to me like a legal challenge is in the offing ...

http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003524703

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=113208&site=cdn&WT.svl=news1_3

(*) (*) The good news in my view is telcos and cable companies will become so fiercely competitive - it will be CONSUMERS who will benefit from the price wars for various levels and types of service - such as digital television and cable modems for Internet.(*)

Bottom line? Who wouldn't want lower telephone and cable bills? ;)

(c) (c) Ah, nothing like fresh Sunday morning coffee.

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 07:49 AM

(l) (l) (l)

By Brian Lavendel

National parks within the fragile Great Lakes ecosystem face serious environmental threats. But there’s still hope for this vital resource, which provides recreation and sustenance to millions.

Ryan Koepke has fished Lake Michigan for most of his life. He first dropped bait and hook into the Great Lake with his dad at the tender age of two.

Today, he and his brother regularly take their young kids out fishing. "You get out there and it takes your breath away," he says of the vast beauty. He hopes his five-year-old daughter, Alexandria, will get to experience the same joy he did growing up as a child on the shores of Lake Michigan. But Koepke, who works in the visitor information center at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, is not certain that she’ll always have that opportunity.

Now, the Great Lakes and the parks within the Great Lakes Basin face a combination of threats—from occasional sewage system overflows, to mercury contamination, to invasive exotic species, and more. These disturbances are harming ecosystems that have already suffered heavy blows. In the words of some scientists, we may be near a "tipping point" with the Great Lakes, in which a combination of ecological disturbances could send the natural system out of balance. Koepke hopes that won’t be the case. But to head off such irreversible damage, he and other observers agree, will take concerted effort.

This is not the first time the Great Lakes have faced serious threats. In the early 1900s steel mills, oil refineries, and chemical plants discharged enormous quantities of waste into these waters. One historian wrote that skies near Chicago and Gary, Indiana, "glowed red at night from iron oxide particles spewed by open-hearth ovens. Slag from blast furnaces was used to fill swampy land and extend the lakeshore, while coal tars from coke plants and acids from finishing mills coated the Grand Calumet River."

At the same time, overfishing caused precipitous declines in fishery harvests. Intensive logging on the shorelines and along rivers and streams poured mountains of sediment and debris into the lakes. Raw sewage sometimes found its way into the lakes, because of poor or nonexistent water treatment systems.

Today, the dangers facing the Great Lakes are less obvious, but perhaps no less threatening. Although industrial and sanitary wastes, fishing, and logging are more closely monitored and managed today thanks to legislation passed in the 1970s, the Great Lakes are still under duress. The 18 national park units within and around the Great Lakes face these same threats, to varying degrees, on the basis of their location within the Great Lakes Basin.

Along the southern shores of the Great Lakes, less than an hour’s drive from downtown Chicago, lies Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore—15,000 acres of dunes, wetlands, woodlands, and beaches stretching along 25 miles of Lake Michigan's shoreline. Last year, more than 2 million people visited the park—more than visited Glacier National Park in Montana—but sadly, day-trippers and out-of-town tourists can’t always swim at the sandy beaches or eat the fish they catch from the shore.

"Our sewer systems are old," explains Wendy Smith, an educator at the Great Lakes Research and Education Center at Indiana Dunes. When heavy rain comes, the sewers "can’t accommodate all the storm water, so some of the mix goes straight into the waterways without being treated." That sometimes means park authorities must post signs advising visitors not to swim in Lake Michigan. Anglers, too, must exercise caution before putting the day’s catch on a dinner plate. Visitors are advised not to eat large fish. "There are a lot of fish in this region that you don’t eat, period, because of the accumulation of toxic contaminants," reports Smith. Many fish species harbor unsafe levels of PCBs—a leftover from industries decades ago.

Fortunately, sewage and industrial waste are better controlled today, and beach closings are less frequent. Meanwhile another dire threat has emerged: the introduction of alien fish, animal, and plant species. Researchers say at least 170 aquatic invasive species currently live in the Great Lakes Basin—and a new species is introduced on average once every eight months.

Lake Michigan has already been hit hard by invasives, according to Koepke, who warns that if the next looming threat—Asian carp, already discovered in the nearby Mississippi and Illinois Rivers—gets into the Great Lakes, it could portend the end of the fishery altogether. Like an underwater vacuum cleaner, the Asian carp can filter up to 18 liters of water per hour, removing vital life-giving plankton from the lakes every minute.

Other invasive species that have caused severe ecological disturbance include the fecund and ravenous zebra mussel, the adaptable and voracious round goby, and the parasitic, blood-sucking sea lamprey. These and other invaders alter the food chain and contribute to sharp declines of lake perch, lake trout, and other fish. "Twenty-five years ago you could go out there and catch an entire bucket of perch," recalls Koepke. Not today.

As zebra mussels filter lake water, water clarity increases and aquatic plants grow in number and size, causing problems for recreational boaters and swimmers, and even blocking water-intake pipes during storm events. Meanwhile invasive plant species threaten to out-compete rare and endangered native species. Such is the case in the northwest corner of the Great Lakes Basin, where Apostle Islands National Lakeshore—an archipelago of 21 emerald islands surrounded by the cold, deep waters of Lake Superior—faces green invaders.

The rugged, rocky shores here harbor old-growth forests, sandstone bluffs, sea caves, more than 100 bird species, 800 plant species, and 35 mammal species. But native plant species are threatened by invasives such as hawkweed and spotted knapweed—an invader that could "raise havoc" in the park’s sandy areas, according to Julie Van Stappen, a natural resources expert at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

At the Apostle Islands, ecologists have attempted to restore the native vegetation by propagating native plants and planting them in denuded or trampled areas. It’s an effective strategy but it’s time-consuming and expensive—a difficult combination in an era of tighter and tighter budgets. "Our staff is getting cut," reports Van Stappen, and without staff, she says, she won’t be able to monitor the natural systems as well as she would like.

Yet another threat to this pristine park comes from above. The skies over Lake Superior drop contaminants such as mercury into these waters. Mercury, explains Van Stappen, forms from power plant combustion and the burning of waste. Like many toxic substances, mercury becomes more concentrated as it moves up the food chain, a process called bioaccumulation.

Van Stappen says the park's inland lagoons have "extremely high" levels of mercury. Not surprisingly, park researchers testing blood samples from eagles and hair samples from otters have found high levels of mercury. Fish and other animals can take in mercury through direct contact from their environment and by consuming organisms that are already contaminated with the substance. The higher a creature is on the food chain, the greater the impact, whether that creature catches its prey with claws, talons, or a rod and reel.

This combination of threats confronts an ecosystem that has already suffered heavy blows, some of which have affected the lakes for nearly a century, such as overfishing, urban and agricultural runoff, and toxic dumping.

In the past, the lakes had a better ability to cope with these disturbances. But the continued effects of these events combined with the loss of wetlands, the degradation of shorelines, and invasive species, have caused the Great Lakes to lose much of their ability to handle environmental stress.

It may not be long before water becomes a global priority and Americans begin to appreciate the value of the largest fresh-water system in the world So researchers are calling on policymakers to improve shorelines and wetlands; limit existing sources of pollution; halt new exotic species from entering the lakes; and protect less-developed areas by adopting sustainable land-use practices.

Legislation passed by the U.S. Senate in July would devote $20 million to grant programs to restore fish and wildlife in the Great Lakes, reauthorizing legislation originally enacted in 1990 and then again in 1998. Sixty-five projects have been funded since then, focusing on habitat restoration, habitat assessments, and the impact of non-native species.

"We’ve inherited a lot of problems from the previous generation," says Cameron Davis, executive director of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. "We owe it to the next generation not to hand those down and, in fact, to correct some of those problems today. The Great Lakes may face irreversible damage unless we act now."

http://www.npca.org/magazine/2006/fall/coast.html

(l) (l) (l)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 07:52 AM

(l) (l) (l) (l) (l) (l) (l)

By Krista Schlyer

Thousands of feet above the Mancos and Montezuma Valleys of southern Colorado, piñon pine and juniper trees cast a blanket of evergreen upon a sandstone plateau. Eighteenth-century Spanish explorers named this dramatic landscape the Mesa Verde or “Green Table.” But centuries before, around A.D. 600, an early Pueblo culture had made its home on this land and in the sandstone cliffs below. There they developed a style of architecture that melded their practical and spiritual needs with the natural design of the earth. These people perfected the craft of pottery and managed to live for more than 700 years off a land whose skies were not often generous with rain. But in the late 1800s, mere decades after stumbling upon the remains of this civilization, European settlers threatened to destroy all the Puebloans had left behind.

This was the reality that greeted a bold young newspaper reporter from the East when she first visited the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde in 1882. Virginia McClurg was working as the Colorado Springs correspondent for the New York Daily Graphic when she took an assignment to write about the “buried cities.”

Word of the cliff dwellings had spread eastward throughout the 1870s. The first photographs were circulated in 1874 and clay models were displayed two years later at the National Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia. The buzz had drawn McClurg to this long-quiet spot in a remote land, and what she found there changed the course of her life, and the future of the prehistoric ruins.

McClurg arrived in Mancos by way of a freighter’s wagon, the heavy ankle-length dress required of women in those days probably billowing over the vinegar barrel where she was perched. From there, she rode a dusty horse trail to the seat of a civilization that spanned seven centuries and left no apparent clue as to why it had vanished.

The few clues that remained were diminishing daily: Pot hunting had become the local pastime. Locals organized Sunday picnics around digging for souvenirs. Some tossed dynamite into the dwellings before they entered, perhaps as a measure against rattlesnakes or to provide better light and access for pot hunting. Visitors took what they could find and left a bit of themselves behind in the form of discarded garbage or gear, or names carved into the stone walls of the dwellings.

Economics drove excavations of the ruins. A collection of relics—from pots to tools to the very bones of the Ancestral Puebloan people—could sell for $3,000, more than ranching or farming could provide in a decade, according to Duane Smith, author of Women to the Rescue, a history of the founding of Mesa Verde National Park.

Consequently, information about the earliest inhabitants of Mesa Verde was disappearing a little more each day—destroyed, unearthed, or packed off to places like Chicago, Denver, and as far as Europe.

McClurg’s first visit was short, but four years later she returned for an expedition that cemented her devotion to the preservation of Mesa Verde. A handful of insightful individuals before her had sounded a call to protect the site, but until McClurg signed on, none had the devotion, moxie, and endurance required to erode the indifference of the federal government, thousands of miles away.

To change that, McClurg began lecturing widely and passionately about the importance of the archaeological record left at Mesa Verde. She motivated her listeners to sign a petition demanding protection of the ruins, and she lobbied Colorado Senator Edward Wolcott to present it to Congress. Wolcott obliged; Congress did not.

McClurg, however, was not one to be dissuaded.

“She was like a bull dog,” says Tracey Chavis, executive director of the Mesa Verde Museum Association. And it was her tenacity and audacity that made things happen for Mesa Verde, Chavis says.

Words like “indomitable” and “indefatigable” invariably accompany McClurg’s name in historical accounts. And so, despite frequent failed attempts to gain the attention of those in power, McClurg continued her campaign undaunted. She appealed for reinforcements from the 5,000-member Colorado Federation of Women’s Clubs, which responded by establishing a committee, which eventually became the Colorado Cliff Dwellings Association. That group ramped up McClurg’s efforts by sponsoring public-information campaigns, funding the mapping of Mesa Verde, and building the first wagon road to the dwellings.

While McClurg and the association worked to raise awareness in Colorado, the association’s vice-regent, Lucy Peabody, lobbied hard for the cause in Washington, D.C. In 1901, their combined efforts paid off when a bill was introduced in Congress to designate the cliff dwellings as a national park. The bill died quickly, but it symbolized that the ruins had at last become a national issue. More than that, it officially entered the work of McClurg and the association into a wider discourse on the importance of prehistoric resources. The discovery of sites like Mesa Verde in the Southwest lay at the heart of a burgeoning awareness about the value of historical preservation in a young nation that had recently celebrated its 100th birthday.

In the ensuing five years, four separate bills were introduced for the protection of Mesa Verde, all of which failed. But eventual establishment of a national park appeared to be quite likely. At this point, McClurg made a decision that ever after clouded her role as founder of Mesa Verde National Park: She took a public stance against the creation of a park to be administered by the federal government, favoring, instead, a state park that would leave the Colorado Cliff Dwellings Association in control. McClurg’s motivations are subject to historical interpretation, but many have called it pure ego. It had become an obsession of hers, says Smith, but it was clearly that passion that allowed McClurg to persist as long as she had. As to her reasons for rejecting federal control, it’s impossible to be certain, because she didn’t record her thoughts for posterity.

McClurg had worked so hard for the protection of Mesa Verde, it’s possible she did not want the land controlled by a government that offered women no political voice. National parks generally refused to hire women rangers until well into the 1960s. But McClurg had seen the successful precedent set by Ann Pamela Cunningham and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, who had preserved George Washington’s historic home in Virginia. The association continues to maintain and operate it.

With this model in mind, McClurg bitterly resisted federal control of the cliff dwellings. But the movement she had begun had since taken on a life of its own. On June 29, 1906, Congress passed, and President Theodore Roosevelt signed, a bill creating Mesa Verde National Park.

Because of her stance against the federal government, her work of nearly a quarter of a century went largely unheralded up-on creation of the park. But the legacy of McClurg’s devotion to Mesa Verde lies in the fruits of her labor.

Along with leading to the creation of a federally protected park—the first one established for its cultural significance—her campaign prompted a national debate that yielded one of the United States’ most important pieces of preservation legislation: The Antiquities Act of 1906 began a federal policy of natural and cultural resources protection that remains to this day.

http://www.npca.org/magazine/2006/winter/mesa_verde.html

(h) 8-| (h) 8-| (h) 8-|

(k) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 07:58 AM

:D :D :D

http://www.npca.org/explore_the_parks/safari/

(y) (y) (y)

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 08:01 AM

(y) :D (y) :D (y) :D

http://www.npca.org/explore_the_parks/safari/alaskas_parks/

(*) Beyond beautiful slide show in a state where scale has no meaning.....(p)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 08:07 AM

(l) (l) (l) (l)

http://www.npca.org/explore_the_parks/safari/canyonlands/

(l) (l) Offering some of the darkest night skies of all national parks, Canyonlands allows visitors to gaze at the same stars that ancestral Puebloans viewed more than 700 years ago. But proposals to conduct air tours over the park threaten the quiet, serene skies, while oil and gas exploration on adjacent lands would result in increased air and light pollution.

http://www.npca.org/explore_the_parks/safari/canyonlands/?page=2

(l) One of my favorite places where I have visited a dozen times or more:

http://www.npca.org/explore_the_parks/safari/canyonlands/?page=10

({)(}) ({)(}) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 08:11 AM

(l) (l)

http://www.npca.org/explore_the_parks/safari/grand/?page=5

Winter (p): http://www.npca.org/explore_the_parks/safari/grand/?page=1

“The glories and the beauties of form, color, and sound unite in the Grand Canyon—forms unrivaled even by the mountains, colors that vie with sunsets, and sounds that span the diapason from tempest to tinkling raindrop, from cataract to bubbling fountain.” —Major John Wesley Powell, who made the first successful journey through the Grand Canyon by river in 1869 on an expedition to record geographic and geologic data.

(p) : http://www.npca.org/explore_the_parks/safari/grand/?page=2

(f) (f) Enjoy the last day of the year!

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 08:27 AM

:) :)

What could be more solid, more firmly rooted, than real estate?

A house stands while occupants come, hopeful and expectant, and go, transferred, perhaps, divorced or just in search of something better. But people leave their marks. They knock down walls and tile the bath; they plant poplars in the backyard. A house becomes a statement of taste and priority and a daily source of pride or rebuke. ''A most simple majesty'' is how Franklin Hata, the emotionally-constricted protagonist of Chang-rae Lee's ''Gesture Life,'' described this sensation of dominion over real estate. Hata also saw in a house ''the shape of one's life, how it has transformed and, with any luck, multiplied and grown.''

We are our houses, in other words, and over the last decade, as prices have soared to impossible heights, real estate has occupied a much larger part of our conversation. This week, we devote an entire issue to the topic of real estate and how it changes us. Some of these transformations are about broad economic forces: how Bushwick, one of the most crime-ridden places in New York, began to be populated by trendy restaurants and artists' lofts; how an accidental tax deduction came to be thought of as the foundation of homeownership in the United States; and one economist's surprising views on why housing prices are so high in some cities.

We also chronicle the exploits of people who, in one way or another, are trying to put their marks on property: the couple who constructed the most environmentally sensitive house they could; the billionaire trying to buy fabulous vacation resorts for the superwealthy; and the speculator who has the confidence -- some would say audacity -- to bet large on his vision of a real-estate boom in the wrecked city of New Orleans.

What these people will see in their creations is, of course, impossible to know. Franklin Hata was ultimately dismayed by what his Tudor house, renovated to perfection over the years, conveyed of the shape of his life. Most of us hope for better.

But even if we fail to give our own houses a desirable shape, the houses will still be standing, waiting for the next occupant.

(l) (l) Amsterdam House; This Very, Very Old House (l) (l)

By RUSSELL SHORTO

Published: March 5, 2006

In 1625, a carpenter named Pieter Fransz built a house on the outskirts of Amsterdam. He was young, ambitious and lucky enough to belong to one of history's greatest generations: his life spanned the course of his country's golden age, when tiny Holland became an empire and Amsterdam grew into Europe's wealthiest city. Fransz walked the streets with Rembrandt; he saw a forest of masts grow in the harbor, as ships returned from the East Indies laden with pepper and nutmeg, a sack of which could make a man wealthy for life. He and his family prospered along with the city; 17 years after building his house, he was rich enough to buy the one next door, into which his daughter and her husband moved. In 1683 he was still listed as the owner of both properties. Happiness isn't registered in municipal archives, but the image of this one not terribly consequential human life that remains on the palimpsest of time speaks of contentment: a man who has lived beyond the normal life span of his era, surrounded by family, financially successful.

Most of us leave no lasting traces that recall our stay on the planet, but through accident and fate, Fransz left something that has endured the centuries. His house -- an elegant redbrick step-gable, its facade ornamented with sandstone bands and wooden cross-framed windows, a building that has more of the Renaissance than the Baroque about it -- still stands. Napoleon and Hitler conquered Amsterdam in their separate centuries; later, postmodern architects and the sex and soft-drug industries made their marks. Pieter Fransz's house withstood all.

The Dutch have always been meticulous recordkeepers, so it is possible to follow this house, and others nearby it on Amsterdam's famous Herengracht, or Gentlemen's Canal, as they make their way through the centuries: to watch the succession of doctors, diamond cutters, confectioners, merchants and politicians move in and out, to glimpse the births and deaths, to watch careers and families unfold. More to the point, it's possible to follow the successive property transactions in this area of Amsterdam from the time it was developed to the present.

In itself, this isn't exceptional: other European cities have land registers that date to the Middle Ages. What makes Pieter Fransz's neighborhood unique -- and uniquely interesting to some economists who are studying today's global real-estate boom and wondering whether the bubble that has been expanding for the past decade and more is in the process of bursting -- is what real-estate experts call a constant quality index. Cities change over time; neighborhoods fall out of favor, and new ones come into vogue. Comparing property values in Greenwich Village a century ago with those of today might be interesting as part of a study of a changing neighborhood -- the transformation of a low-rent, working-class community into a tony and sophisticated enclave -- but not as a way of understanding how real-estate value changes over time.

From the time the Herengracht was developed in the early 17th century, however, it has been Amsterdam's prime real estate, the place where power brokers -- 17th-century merchants dealing in spices and slaves or 21st-century bankers and international consultants -- have chosen to base themselves. Looking at real-estate transactions over four centuries on this canal on which Pieter Fransz built his home gives a quality constant of unparalleled duration.

This is what attracted Piet Eichholtz, a professor of real-estate finance at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, to study the Herengracht in the 1990's. Eichholtz's work -- the so-called Herengracht index -- has become a touchstone in recent discussions about real-estate prices. He began with a sense of frustration. ''If you look at most research on real-estate markets,'' he said, ''papers will typically say they are taking 'a long-run look,' and then they go back 20 years. I wasn't impressed with that. I thought you had to go back further to get a really good picture of what a housing market performs like.''

Eichholtz's study of the Herengracht came to international attention when the Yale economist Robert J. Shiller relied on it in the second edition of his best-selling book ''Irrational Exuberance,'' which was published in 2005. After the first edition came out in 2000, Shiller became famous for predicting, correctly, that the stock market's explosive rise was about to end. The book's title -- a phrase made famous by the former Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan -- referred to Shiller's argument that the market's rise of the 1990's was based more on herd mentality than on common sense.

In the new edition, Shiller applies the same thinking to global real-estate prices and argues that the phenomenal increases of recent years -- especially in places like New York, San Francisco, Sydney, London and Paris, but also more broadly -- amount to another instance of irrational exuberance. Taking the long-range view, he says, led him to conclude that real-estate prices are destined to fall. ''The data just are not there to support the idea that housing prices will continue to soar out of sight,'' he said.

Not everyone agrees with Shiller's irrational-exuberance thesis. ''I just don't see it that way,'' said Richard Peach, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and an author of a study in 2005 that concluded that the sharp rise in home prices is in line with economic conditions -- that it indicates not a skewed vision of reality but a strong economy. In fact, Peach says, in the past 20 years family buying power has grown faster than housing prices. ''We sometimes wonder why home prices haven't increased much more, given the tremendous increase in the size of mortgage the average family can finance,'' he said.

Like-minded experts include Christopher Mayer of Columbia University and Joseph Gyourko and Todd Sinai of the Wharton School, who focus on what they call ''superstar cities,'' places so desirable that they not only are not headed for a correction but they also can sustain ''ever-increasing'' prices compared with less-sought-after cities.

What such optimists are missing, Shiller says, is a long historical perspective. ''The fundamentals that they cite in support of their reassuring assessments are surprisingly weak at explaining historical prices,'' he writes in a recent paper. Reading the data as an economist leads Shiller to conclude that the market will go south. In addition, he says that studying the erratic but rhythmic rising and falling of prices over time -- in other words, acting more like a historian than an economist -- reinforces this conclusion. ''Looking at the Herengracht data is very instructive,'' he said to me, ''because you can see 50-year intervals of growth, then it turns around. That's more realistic than the superstar-cities argument.''

Piet Eichholtz says he doesn't think the long-term data alone necessarily suggest that a collapse is coming. But at the same time, like Shiller, he is skeptical of those who claim that property values can continue to increase ad infinitum. ''Some people say economies in the past were very volatile and didn't have safeguards that we have now, so we aren't likely to experience any major crises that will causes prices to crash,'' he said. ''I'm doubtful.'' Looking through the history of the Herengracht, he says, you can see similarly rosy assessments made over and over, which are then quashed by circumstances.

Eichholtz's Herengracht index turns on one of the basic questions of the discipline of history: how applicable is the past to the present? What can a study of one small part of the world centuries ago say about actions in a 21st-century global economy? Or, put another way, just how special are we today?

The Herengracht index begins with one of history's great building booms. In the 1620's, the Dutch Republic was in the first stage of its rise to global power. The Dutch had become the middlemen of commerce between European nations and had a monopoly on trade with Japan and the East Indies. The world's first major stock exchange came into being around this time in Amsterdam, and the Dutch developed or perfected the commodities and futures markets. With money pouring in and the population doubling in 20 years, the city leaders finally broke an old taboo against building outside the medieval city walls and authorized one of the earliest and most far-reaching urban-planning schemes in history. They mapped out three concentric canals that would arc around the city and divided the land along them into housing lots. It was a massive undertaking that would more than double the size of the city and involved diverting the river, digging miles of canals, driving tens of thousands of piles dozens of feet below the shifting soil and building scores of bridges, not to mention thousands of brick houses. It took 50 years to complete.

From the beginning, the master plan earmarked the Herengracht, the new canal closest to the city center, as the choicest; lots there were larger than others, and the practice of noisy, smelly or otherwise ''intolerable and dangerous'' trades was prohibited. Wealthy burghers and upwardly mobile tradesmen like Pieter Fransz snapped up the lots, built their little mansions, each with a garden in back, and settled in with their families. In the five-year period between 1628 and 1633, as the economy soared, the real, inflation-adjusted prices of houses on the Herengracht doubled. (By comparison, for the period 2000 to 2005, real home prices increased nationally in the U.S. by 38 percent, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. For a city-to-city comparison, between 1997 and 2005 real home prices in Boston rose 93 percent.)

Then two things happened almost simultaneously: tulip mania and the plague. As their country became the center of international finance, the Dutch had taken to speculating on everything from tobacco and spices to tulip bulbs, and it wasn't only professional traders who gambled on the prices of goods but ordinary citizens, with much of the trading taking place outside government regulations. After a one-month period of manic speculation in tulip bulbs, in which the price for one variety --Witte Croonen or White Crowns -- shot from 64 guilders per half-pound in January 1637 to 1,668 guilders (the price of some houses in Amsterdam) in February, the bottom dropped out of the market; White Crowns later stabilized at about 38 guilders.

The collapse of the tulip market was not in itself the cause of a wider financial collapse, but more likely a component. The plague had begun to sweep through the country in 1635; in Amsterdam alone more than 17,000 people -- 14 percent of the population -- died of the plague in the year 1636. Peter M. Garber, an economist at Deutsche Bank, in his book ''Famous First Bubbles,'' speculates that this ''death threat'' may have resulted in a ''gambling binge'' on tulip futures.

In the wake of these twin calamities, house prices dropped 36 percent. Piet Eichholtz says that this sort of episode -- in which unpredictable disasters combine unpredictably -- has relevance for today. ''It's true that economic and social conditions were different back then,'' he said. ''But major crises do happen, and we can't necessarily predict them. Will bird flu be a major disaster? Will there be more hurricanes? I don't know. Nobody knows.''

To this, Richard Peach of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York counters, quite reasonably, ''I'm not in the business of forecasting the next international calamity or outbreak of the plague.'' Economists look at economic data and create economic models. And not all calamities are followed by a drop in real-estate prices, at least not in the short term; home prices have soared in New York City since Sept. 11, 2001, for instance. But if there is one clear lesson that emerges from history, it's that life can be messy.

Another lesson is that the word ''bubble'' may be a misnomer. If the housing market in Amsterdam plummeted in the late 1630's, it quickly stabilized: by the early 1640's prices had surpassed their previous heights. ''The bursting of a bubble is the wrong metaphor for what housing prices do over time,'' Eichholtz says. ''What you see is rising and falling, sometimes dramatically, depending on whether the city had a stable economy or became hostage to outside forces. That's not a bubble bursting -- it's volatility.''

''Volatility'' is indeed the watchword as the buying and selling of homes on the canal unfurls against the backdrop of modern history. In the 1650's and 1660's, the Dutch Republic reached the height of its golden age, and prices rose sharply. With money came changes in architectural fashion: new gable types and, on the Herengracht, larger houses built along classical Italian lines. The Fransz family still lived at the oldest end of the canal, but now the mansions farther along, with their clean facades, made the blocky, busy Renaissance style of their home look dated. Where houses sold in the 4,000-guilder range in earlier decades, they were now fetching 9,000 to 15,000.

Then, once again, the bottom falls out. In 1672, France and England declared war on the Dutch Republic. The English strangled Dutch shipping; Louis XIV invaded by land. From 1670 to 1677, houses on the Herengracht lost 56 percent of their value.

Then the cycle begins all over again: from that low point, prices head back up.

But what does ''up'' mean? The most surprising thing about Eichholtz's study is that it contradicts a maxim of the real-estate profession. ''There is a myth which says that real-estate values go up significantly over time, and that this is especially true for central city locations,'' Eichholtz said. ''When I began to study the Herengracht, I didn't know what I would find, but the data ended up challenging that myth.''

That is to say, where everyone from your wise old uncle to the broker who sold you your house holds it as gospel that real estate is one of the best long-term investments, this longest of long-term indices suggests that, on the contrary, it sort of stinks. Between 1628 and 1973 (the period of Eichholtz's original study), real property values on the Herengracht -- adjusted for inflation -- went up a mere 0.2 percent per year, worse than the stingiest bank savings account. As Shiller wrote in his analysis of the Herengracht index, ''Real home prices did roughly double, but took nearly 350 years to do so.''

The house that Pieter Fransz built is a case in point. In 1855, an estate agent named Robertus van Zoelen bought the house for 6,850 guilders. In 1881, his children sold it to a carpenter, Johann Diederich Brinkmann, for 12,100 guilders -- an increase of 93 percent in real terms. But when Brinkmann sold it in 1888, it was for 10,000 guilders: a net loss. The next sale, in 1899, at 9,600 guilders, was also at a loss. Fifteen years later, with World War I looming, a real-estate agent named Georges Jean Josef Salen bought it for 10,000 guilders: again, a loss in real terms. And when, in 1955, a woman named Grietje Uitentuis bought the house, the 15,000 guilders she paid was, after adjusting for inflation, less than what the house sold for in 1855. Over the course of a century, Pieter Fransz's house actually lost 30 percent of its value.

This sort of thing isn't surprising to Shiller, who says he believes that the notion that real estate is a terrific investment comes in part from the long-term nature of most purchases. You know that your grandmother paid $15,000 for her house in 1951, and it's now worth $250,000. That sounds grand, but most of the increase is simply matching inflation. An analysis Shiller made of home prices in the U.S. going back to 1890 showed an average annual increase of a meager 0.4 percent. By way of contrast, Jeremy J. Siegel of the Wharton School of Business has calculated that over a 200-year period, the stock market had an average annual real rate of return of 6.8 percent. It's only in recent years, Shiller says, that huge increases in real-estate prices have become the norm and that people have come to expect them.

It's worth noting, however, that rocketing prices aren't everything. The word ''value'' has many meanings. Buying a home gets you tax deductions that you wouldn't get from renting. And no economic analysis can diminish the other kind of value that comes with homeownership: the fuzzy kind, the sense of place and rootedness.

Beyond that, probably few homeowners in 2006 are worrying about how much the value of their homes will have increased by 2206 or 2406. It's 2 or 5 or 10 years down the road that matters, and neither Shiller nor Eichholtz is willing to go out on the limb of making definitive short-term predictions. The value of studying a really long term housing market would seem to be less in revealing the how and when of downturns as in underscoring their inevitability. Really bad stuff happens, and when it does, there is often a collapse in real estate.

On the face of it, Amsterdam doesn't seem the most apt model to apply to other cities, particularly American cities. For one thing, the Dutch have a turbulent history. The Low Countries were invaded or occupied many times by foreign powers, with subsequent collapses in the housing market. Also, notes Shiller, ''Amsterdam -- with tulip mania and the birth of the stock market -- is the home of speculation. If you look at, say, Milwaukee, you don't see the same degree of volatility. In a place like that, price is driven by land availability and construction costs, which is the tradition.''

But then, volatility is more prevalent in world history than stability, which, as far as Eichholtz is concerned, makes the Herengracht data more, rather than less, widely applicable. ''The financial literature has been dominated by America,'' he said. ''And most models are created using post-1950 U.S. data, which give a biased picture of reality. There has been no other country like America, and there has been no other period like that in terms of stability. So I would say that in global terms, Milwaukee is the exception, not Amsterdam.''

Besides which, speculation has now gone global -- and with speculation comes instability. ''Today we see bubblelike activity even in places where there is no land constraint, such as Phoenix,'' Shiller said. ''They have miles of available land, so there's no justifiable reason for the kinds of increases you see there.'' So while it may have been true in the past that the ups and downs of the Herengracht index would make it a less-than-perfect model for American cities, that's not necessarily the case anymore. As Shiller says, ''It's plausible that the sort of volatility we see now will make the rest of the world look more like the Herengracht index.''

Amsterdam also turns out to be a pretty good model of recent history. After it had its 17th-century heyday, it settled into a poky, second-tier status among European cities. It was slow to hitch onto the Industrial Revolution, and of course the world wars hit hard. Real-estate prices lagged far behind those in larger and jazzier cities -- until recently. The last time that Pieter Fransz's house changed hands was in 1983, when a Hungarian financial adviser and his wife, an English actress, sold it to a pair of doctors for 440,000 guilders. Today, prices on the Herengracht run from one million euros for family houses to three million or more for mansions (the Dutch currency was converted in 2002 at a rate of 2.2 guilders per euro). Even assuming that the house would sell at the low end, and accounting for inflation, this means that after taking three and a half centuries to double its real value, the house has tripled in value in the last 22 years.

The reason, of course, is that Amsterdam is part of the global housing boom. To get an idea of recent history, I asked Babs Persoons, owner of Babs Persoons BV, one of the premier real-estate agencies in Amsterdam's center city, to reminisce for me. ''It started in 1998 -- prices just went up amazingly,'' she said as she sat in her office on the Prinsengracht, another of Amsterdam's three grand canals. ''For a while, every agent had a queue in front of their houses, and many were selling for more than the asking price. We didn't know that phenomenon in Holland before.''

But if this description of the past few years typifies the brave new world we live in, putting it into the perspective of time -- rise, fall, rise, fall -- leads us back to what may be the oldest history lesson of all: it tends to repeat.

Russell Shorto is a contributing writer and the author of ''The Island at the Center of the World,'' a book about New York's Dutch beginnings.

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12-31-2006, 08:32 AM

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By FLORENCE WILLIAMS

Published: March 5, 2006

There are some people who define a vacation house by the number of yards from the beach or the proximity to decent lattes. Then there are those who harbor a secret hankering to rope calves or shovel the rocks out of an irrigation ditch on their days off. For them, shared-ranch properties offer a way to have your ranch and leave it too. For around a million dollars and upward, it is now possible to buy into any of the West's several new ''integrated ranch developments.'' Among the many amenities: wide-open spaces, horses on demand, cows masticating by the house, huge trout leaping out of private streams, fences to fix when and if homeowners feel like it. They can play in the mud in their Carhartts, or not.

''Our slogan is this is a working ranch without the work,'' says Russ Maytag, the developer of the Maytag Mountain Ranch in south central Colorado, near the town of Westcliffe. Buyers of the Maytag's 27 home sites of more than 3,000 acres each will share ownership of a 250-head herd of red angus cattle. Annual homeowners'-association fees of about $8,000 not only cover salaries for two professional ranch managers and pay to maintain 1.5 miles of reconstructed trout stream; they also get each shareholder a quarter side of beef.

Maytag, a great-grandson of the appliance magnate, has ranched the scenic property with his wife for 25 years. He wanted to sell some of the valuable land, but he also wanted it to stay in production. (Typically when ranches are subdivided, they are split into 35-acre fenced parcels, knocking off cows and wildlife.)

Now the Maytags own one parcel, they have sold 10 others (so far, buyers tend to be successful urban professionals on the younger end of the baby-boom curve) and 16 more are still for sale, ranging in price from $895,000 to $1.5 million.

The Pitchfork Ranch, near Meeteetse, Wyo., offers even vaster views and more river miles. At 100,000 acres, including leased federal and state grazing allotments, it's a size Ted Turner might feel comfortable in, but seven owners will share the costs and the trout. It's not a subdivision: each owner will enjoy perpetual recreational-use rights over the entire place, as if it were all his alone.

''Here, it's almost the opportunity of what the zillionaires have,'' says Rob Rogers, the architect and site planner, ''but it's all available to you at a fraction of the cost.'' The parcels are priced from $1.25 million to $5 million.

Meanwhile, the Marabou ranch, which is being built just outside Steamboat Springs, Colo., will offer 62 home sites and open space for grazing, haying, dry-land crops, a sharptail-grouse breeding ground , a winter elk range, riding trails and horse facilities. It will also have two Olympians on staff to improve residents' skiing if they don't feel like riding the herd.

After all, ranching is hard work. As one Maytag buyer, Jim Johnson of Colorado Springs, puts it, ''I see myself pitching in to mend fences, but I don't want to get a call at midnight that a cow has broken through.''

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sweetlady

12-31-2006, 08:49 AM

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By S.S. FAIR NYTimes

Published: October 10, 2004

Santa Fe in August is a whirlwind of Native American art shows and ethnographic antiques, where everyone's celebrating the cult of relics, including some relics that still walk and talk. It's like the Grand Prix in Monaco or Palio time in Siena, but here the traders are doing a booming business during the festivities.

You might assume the Samurai Shopper went to Santa Fe mining for deep discounts, but no; samurai do not obsess over rock-bottom prices, and besides, the price of authenticity is steep. Antiques freaks are a discerning lot, highly competitive, pouncing on items of homely eloquence, redolent of faraway lands where sandstorms are the special of the day. Everything I admire is as much as a single share of Berkshire Hathaway. But that doesn't mean the Samurai Shopper can't shop.

In the same way that wanting isn't getting, shopping isn't buying. Shopping can exercise the imagination, refine judgment, hone the mind's edge by concentrating on pure form, color, light, texture. For all this, Santa Fe delights; peering intently into the nature of an object can nullify the need to own it. That is true samadhi: a state of selfless, concentrated absorption.

Still, the Samurai feels a tug for something more substantive than a tacky souvenir. Surely, there is some impeccable design source that welcomes people of ordinary income. Luckily, I have played Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with a friend and have found a citizen of Santa Fe who volunteers to guide me, a woman who knows what's where in the decorative-arts epicenter. Her name is Ali MacGraw. Yes, that Ali MacGraw, and there will be no lame jokes about never having to say you're sorry.

Ali is like Zen, a finger pointing at the moon. She puts me onto several of the more remarkable dealers in this town. Ann Lawrence, Joe Loux and Patricia La Farge are all brilliant field rats devoted to combing the less-settled corners of the world in search of the miraculous. Their antiquarian collections grew from wanderlust, and their bounty is the ultimate in wabi-sabi -- wabi, perfect imperfection; sabi, beauty that comes with age. None of this has anything to do with green horseradish. Much of what I see belongs in a museum; much belongs in my apartment. Did I say I wasn't going to buy? That was two whole paragraphs ago.

People who shop Ann Lawrence, like the designers Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren, already know she has an eye for the stupendous and the eccentric. ''People come here on a mission. We're on the tour, we're a destination,'' says Ann, a trim, pretty bundle of firing neurons. ''If you're looking for an ordinary couch and a table lamp, don't come to me,'' she says. ''You come here for the frosting and the fluff.''

Some frosting, some fluff: mother-of-pearl inlay and teak chests, Murano glass wall sconces from the 40's with a matching chandelier fit for a ballroom -- in Transylvania. Every inch is packed with dynamite: an Adirondack grandfather clock; vintage Mexican tableware; majolica; lace, lace and more lace. ''Lace is my addiction,'' Ann admits. ''The first time I met it, I had to have it. Those Italian candelabras go with lace, the Moroccan mirrors do, too. Everything in here is tactile, embroidered, embellished. It all began with lace.''

Ann's coiled energy is true New York. She was a dress designer on Seventh Avenue and before that a Pan Am stewardess, as well as an N.Y.U. arts student. Her New York career started with a hand-painted silk organza bubble dress and ended in the early 90's. Long story short, she began her Santa Fe business in 1997.

We pass large wicker shelves packed with textiles. ''These are rallis,'' she says, ''from India, Pakistan, some suzanis from Uzbekistan, hazaras from Afghanistan'' -- things to make into pillows or clothing or to use as bedding and throws. ''I like to build beds,'' Ann says. ''One piece as a center, two side panels sewn together, Continental-size pillows stuffed with 90/10 down, tassels on the corners.'' The Pakistani rallis -- handstitched blankets -- are stunning; some are acid-toned eyepoppers; others are less rock star, more me. Though the Samurai wears an imperturbable expression, Ann already knows she has one ralli sewn up.

If Ann Lawrence builds beds, then Patricia La Farge has built me a new arm. It started innocently enough, in the deepest recesses of her incredible Latin American folk-art collection. The Samurai Shopper was greeted by a silent, giant bodhisattva statue sitting at the entrance to what looked like a fun house. ''This disciple of Buddha works here at the moment, carrying my molas and celluloid toys from the 40's,'' Patricia says by way of introduction. The Samurai looks kindly on people who behave as if matter were animated by spirits. We proceed through a color riot of religious art, ornate tin reliquaries, a pole with Ecuadorian shigras (bags) floating like sisal plants in midair. There are retablos, milagros, reversible-glass paintings, Yalalag crosses and other things with names that trip the tongue. It's like moving slowly through a rain forest where you're sure that the garrulous papier-mâché parrots will soon direct you down a rabbit hole and into the face of the Queen of Hearts.

Patricia takes me to a small corner cleared away for a little mano à mano. Raised in California, Patricia lived like Eloise in the Plaza Hotel in New York for a time as a teenager. She graduated from Harvard and worked for a while in Taxco, Mexico, as a price analyst, putting her stay there to good use by starting what must be the finest collection of Latin Americana anywhere, including the Museum of International Folk Art, which has just published its 2005 calendar with her stuff as the pinups. She's fluent in Spanish and understands a couple of Indian dialects, but I prefer her talking numbers, since I'm swooning over her silver bracelets and want to wear all of them at once. There are times when shopping is a hunger, when the delectables so stimulate the brain that not indulging seems a sin.

Patricia and her Chihuahuan assistant, Marta, begin building my arm with rich burnished silver up to but not including the elbow: coils, links, webs, chains, plaidlike weave, bling-bling and more bling. Patricia has never heard that term but immediately grasps its onomatopoetry. We have built one arm out of enchanted circles of silver and are working on the second, all the while chatting, laughing, enjoying one another's company. Abruptly, the Samurai realizes enough is as good as a feast. I don't so much buy the bracelets already on my arm as refuse to take them off. Patricia is most accommodating, and says that when I am ready to build my other 17 arms, she'll bling me to Mars. It's a deal. Both buyer and seller walk away delighted, and the numbers be damned.

I get to Joe Loux last, and by that time I'm tapped out. But for all of you out there with an infinite supply of local currency, Joe has what Ali MacGraw calls ''a dead eye.'' In his home, 12th-century Cambodian mirrors, lacquered suits of armor, Bronze Age earrings and ceremonial capes are arranged according to the Japanese use of asymmetry and white space. Trader Joe is 35 and worked in the Peace Corps, whence he got his wanderlust. The Samurai bows to the Buddha nature in Joe, takes his business card and promises to continue her quest for the best just as soon as the Brinks truck turns the corner.

There are shopping side trips in Santa Fe, but when you've seen the best, it's hard to get pumped about all the rest. I can't resist the Salvation Army, though, where I find a green Buddha candle, a holographic picture of what looks like Chichen Itza and a printed silk souvenir scarf of Holland. The Samurai enjoys the crazy global joke of buying a silk scarf made in China printed with Dutch sights in Santa Fe, as much as she enjoys phone tag, and Six Degrees of Wabi-Sabi.

DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SANTE FE?

Seven thousand feet above sea level, Santa Fe threatens to become a major shopping detour on the way west. Or east. So much merchandise, so little oxygen.

I did my homework catching up on the text and texture of textiles at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, at 40 West 53rd Street. You should, too. Then you'd be able to speak Uzbek suzani to the Santa Fe dealers.

Bring along Hali magazine, the tribal bible and last word on textiles, rugs and Islamic art. Go to www.hali.com.

Whitehawk Associates has sponsored the Annual Antique Ethnographic Art Show in August for more than 20 years. It also sponsored the Fine Arts of the America West Show this year. Everything happens at the Sweeney Center, at the corner of Grant and Marcy. Book your hotel early. Go to www.pueblopottery.com/whawk/htm.

Ali MacGraw volunteers at the Ethnographic shows for the dealer Federico Jimenez, of Venice, Calif. (310-458-4134). She's the long, cool woman in a black dress; no sooner does she put on pounds of turquoise and Silver Age jewelry than women whip out their checkbooks and sign their autographs.

Barry M. Cohen promotes the superb Historic Indian and World Tribal Arts Show. For information, go to www.b4rtime.com.

Canyon Road is to Santa Fe what Rodeo Drive is to Beverly Hills. You know the expression ''off the beaten path''? This is the beaten path that's hard to get off.

Ann Lawrence Antiques contains fabrics, furniture and the finest froufrou in the West. 805 Early Street; (505) 982-1755.

For treasures of the Far East, check out Joe Loux. By appointment; (505) 992-0736.

Touching Stone Gallery offers a taste of the homeland for the Samurai Shopper, with Japanese aesthetics in tranquil surroundings: shifu art, tanba pottery, shibori textiles, everything wabi-sabi. 539 Old Santa Fe Trail. Go to www.touchingstone.com.

Patricia La Farge's private gallery is Que Tenga Buena Mano. Ai-yi-yi-yi candy by the ton. By appointment; (505) 983-2358.Seret & Sons is winning the war on rugs. There is also Tibetan furniture and Indian art. 224 Galisteo; (505) 983-5008.

At Bosshard Furnishings and Ethnographics, John Bosshard is the Buddha man par excellence. He had a jones for mountains, and spent time in the Himalayas and the Buddhist monasteries of Katmandu, where he sharpened his third eye. 340 Read Street; (505) 989-9150.

The owner of the William Siegel Galleries spent 15 years in Bolivia collecting textiles. His current collection is startlingly modern -- think Missoni or Mark Rothko, only prehistoric. Gorgeous. 135 West Palace Avenue; (505) 820-3300.

Coyote's Paw carries Indigo cloth from Mali and tribal dresses from India. Every piece of bric-and-brac is a slam dunk. 227 Don Gaspar Street; (505) 820-6191.

Santa Fe has metalsmiths galore. Go for the gold at Dell Fox, at the Sanbusco Market Center on Montezuma Avenue; and at Michaelangelo Stanchi, in the Counter Culture's food cafe. Sip a Thai tea, and get a wedding ring five feet away. 930 Baca Street.

(l) (l) (l) (Sigh) I wish Wyatt the Boxer and I could be up there right now, at 7,500 feet - to celebrate the New Year. After a couple of days, bodies acclimate to the high altitude and heavy breaths aren't needed to get enough air..

I might stay at the El Paradero B&B, or perhaps at one of the many others in and around town. I just love this place, especially in the Winter when the air is so clear and dry cold; that mental cobwebs are blown away and there is such awesome stillness in the night air.

(l) Yes, this is one of my few spiritual places - especially just outside of town as I gaze on the thousands of luminarias winking on the adobe walls or up at the very dark sky where rarely have I seen so many stars!(*) (*)

Warm Virtual Hugs,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 09:02 AM

(h) (h) (h) (h)

Appearances; For Mature Audiences

By MARY TANNEN NYTimes

Published: January 22, 2006

Brace yourself. Very soon in beauty and fashion ads you will be seeing faces of women who are actually in their 40's -- or even older. If you look closely, you may even see a wrinkle or a line or two. Granted, these are not ordinary faces: Kim Basinger in the new campaign for Miu Miu; Sharon Stone, the image for Dior Beauty. These are extraordinary, storied, famous, perhaps even infamous, faces. Faces with staying power.

M.A.C. cosmetics spearheaded the trend three years ago with its Beauty Icon campaign, inviting women of a certain style -- and a certain age -- to collaborate on a limited-edition makeup collection. This year's M.A.C. Beauty Icon is Catherine Deneuve. Because fashion has a time-warping ability that would baffle even a string theorist, Deneuve has over her 62 years developed the look that is of the moment -- classic and impeccable, especially when fronting for independent behavior. Deneuve has herself managed to flout a few conventions in the course of her legendary life while never losing her cool. (The M.A.C. team reports that she had definite opinions when working with it and was so charming and knowledgeable that she usually got her way.)

The 47-year-old film star Sharon Stone is another strong-minded woman who has been making up the rules as she goes along. Now her face will appear in international print ads introducing Capture Totale, a new cream from Christian Dior that promises to do it all: smooth, revitalize, tone and clarify the mature complexion. Although this is the first time a Dior ad for wrinkle cream has featured a model who is of an age at which she might actually use the stuff, according to Pamela Baxter, president and C.E.O. of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Dior's parent company, there was ''no discussion of age'' when Stone's name came up as a possible face. Instead, the comment was: ''Oh, she's so sexy, so hot. Do you think we could get her?'' And in fact, she adds, ''we pursued her for quite a while.'' Baxter, an attractive brunette who herself looks far younger than her 56 years, says, ''I'm hoping Dior will be the first of the companies that realize women over 40 are not over the hill.''

As it happens, Miuccia Prada has been having similar thoughts, having signed the 52-year-old actress Kim Basinger to star in Miu Miu's print campaign. Sprawling across a bed of satin velour, fondling purses and flaunting shoes, the actress could be a high-priced hooker with an accessory fetish and an ambiguous relationship with the 19-year-old actress Camilla Belle, who sometimes appears with her. Prada, who took over her family company in the late 1970's and turned it into a fashion leader, then established a younger, second line called Miu Miu after her own nickname, is just a few years older than her chosen model. ''I never thought of Kim Basinger in terms of age,'' she says. ''For me she embodies woman with her subtleties and intricacies. She's sensual and intellectually engaging, elegant with a very strong personal style.''

Nice as it would be to believe that older women in high places (and a few enlightened men) are at last recognizing the allure of the post-Edenic Eve, that is, a woman with experience who knows what she wants and how to get it, some hard economics may also be wooing the cosmetic and fashion industries away from their long love affair with youth. M.A.C., whose edgy self-image seems made for the young, admits that almost a quarter of its customers are over 40. Dior reports that 65 percent of women using antiaging skin care are over 40 and that antiaging accounts for half of the company's total treatment business. What is more, expenditures of that mature age group are growing at 20 percent a year. A spokesman for Miu Miu says only that the appeal of the label is ''psychographic, not demographic.''

The elephant in the room is the free-spending, self-inventing boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1964. They are all over 40. Half of them have passed the 50 mark, and unlike previous generations of over-50's, they are still shopping. Indeed, people who are 50 to 60 control $1 trillion of spending power per year. Not surprisingly, the me generation likes to look at faces that look like them. Lori Bitter of J. Walter Thompson Worldwide's Mature Market Group explains, ''They want role models of their own generation.'' Bitter predicts that ''there's going to be more emphasis, not less'' on this trend and points to the success of ''Desperate Housewives,'' the television show featuring sexy, machinating and gorgeous over-40's.

In spite of what the boomer ladies like to think, they are not the first women of a certain age to preserve their juices. There are plenty of desperate housewives in the stories of Updike and Cheever. Mrs. Robinson was positively predatory, and whatever you may say about the Medea of Euripedes, she was not lacking in passion. Women acquire depth and complexity with age. They can be perplexing and -- when cornered -- even dangerous. Some cultures burn them at the stake, clap them into chadors, ship them off to nunneries. But right here and right now, these dames have their manicured hands on the purse strings, and never have they looked so desirable.

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

:D :D

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 11:23 PM

:) :)

http://newyears.earthcam.com/

<:o) <:o) <:o) <:o)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 11:25 PM

:D :D :D

http://uncommonjourneys.com/07_us_grandcanyon.htm

(y) (y) (y)

(k) (k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 11:30 PM

:D :D :D

http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/

(p) (p) Webcam: http://airport.sedona.net/

Contacting Your Spirit Guides and Angels:

http://www.mysteriesmagazine.com/events/other.htm

Red Rock Fantasy is a festival of more than a million lights providing a man-made marvel within the scenic beauty that has drawn visitors for the past one hundred years. Now in its sixteenth year and boasting forty-five displays created by families from the Southwest, the festival promises never-before-seen marvels of light that leave children in wonderment and move adult minds to enjoy the holidays as they did when they were young. It is a magic that can bring cartoon favorites to life, challenge children to scavenger hunts within the displays, or illuminate a 25' swan in dazzling, blue moonlight (a 2003 winner). That is the magic that has made Red Rock Fantasy a favorite among Arizonans and visitors to the state alike.

http://www.redrockfantasy.com/

Monument Valley: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0907246.html

<:o) <:o) Happy New Year!! <:o) <:o)

(l) (l) (l)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

12-31-2006, 11:38 PM

(a) (a)

From Angels in America:

http://images.movie-gazette.com/albums/20041117/angels-in-america-04.jpg

http://www.sagebrushmall.com/jpegs/angels.jpg

http://it.stlawu.edu/~koon/cr/10%20Cemetery/25%20Two%20angels%20carrying.JPG

Angels Landing of Zion National Park:

http://www.zion-national-park.info/angels-landing.htm

http://www.shela-nye.com/shu/docs/angels%20L.jpg

(l) (l) http://bjcrystalgifts.com/images/angels.jpg

http://www.intouchmag.com/Images/angels%202.jpeg

Happy New Year! <:o) <:o) <:o)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-01-2007, 07:58 AM

:) :)

Sun Dec 31, 2006 5:21 AM GMT14

By Andrew Stern

CHICAGO (Reuters) - It would be "awesome" if "TomKat" and other combined nicknames for celebrity couples "went missing" in the New Year, a Michigan university said on Sunday in its annual list of clichés deserving banishment.

Lake Superior State University's 32nd annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness featured such linguistic gems as "Gitmo" for the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; euphemisms such as "undocumented alien"; and such Internet-inflected synonyms as "pwn", as in the phrase "I pwn (own) you".

The Sault St. Marie, Michigan, university's public relations staff culled its list of 16 clichés from 4,500 submissions, many of which demanded that something be done to stop the onslaught of the word "awesome".

"Overused and meaningless," complained contributor Robert Bron, writing to the list-makers from Pattaya, Thailand. "'My mother was hit by a car.' Awesome. 'I just got my college degree.' Awesome."

The list gave short shrift to media shorthand for celebrity duos such as "TomKat", for the union of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and "Brangelina", for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

How would "Lardy" have sounded as a nickname for long-ago comedians Laurel and Hardy, or "BogCall" for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, the list's compilers asked.

Media bashers also welcomed banishment of the phrases "gone missing" or "went missing".

"It makes 'missing' sound like a place you can visit, such as the Poconos," wrote contributor Robin Dennis of Flower Mound, Texas.

The same goes for a robbery "gone bad", which raises the question of whether a theft could go well and good, the list-makers said.;) Similarly, reporters covering the immigration issue should try again after coming up with "undocumented alien", which was compared to euphemistically calling a drug dealer an "undocumented pharmacist".

The list also decried the use in everyday speech of the Internet typographical error "pwn", as used when a game-player tells his defeated opponent "I pwn you", instead of own you.

"Truthiness", popularised by comedian Stephen Colbert as truth unencumbered by the facts may have been named one of the top U.S. television buzzwords of the year in August by Global Language Monitor. But on this list, it has overstayed its welcome.

The list also suggested that the partners of pregnant women might save some embarrassment by avoiding, "We're pregnant", when only one of you is, the list said. :|

As for those enticing real estate advertisements that "boast" of amenities, contributor Morris Conklin, writing from Portugal, noted the ads never say "'the bathroom apologises for cracked linoleum', or 'kitchen laments pathetic placement of electrical outlets'".

Finally, contributor Joy Wiltzius of Fort Collins, Colorado, wanted to correct the "sounds healthy" comment in reference to a nutritious lunch, such as a fish sandwich. "If my lunch were healthy, it would still be swimming somewhere. Grilled and nestled in salad greens, it's 'healthful.'"

(y) (y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-01-2007, 08:14 AM

:o :o

January 1, 2007

Op-Ed Contributor

Another Last Chance to Change Your Life

By PASCAL BRUCKNER

Paris

IN one of his last books, Romain Gary tells how, as a lover at 59 of a Russian woman of 20, he decided to end the relationship because of the age difference. But, deeply in love, he hesitated. In the cafe where he went to write a letter breaking off the liaison, the server asked him what he wanted. “Je prendrai une décision,” he said, I will have a decision. As the server, philosophically, waited for him to place his proper order, he corrected himself. “Je prendrai une infusion,” I will have an herbal tea.

The practice of making New Year’s resolutions is growing rare in France, perhaps because we spread them out from January to December, a demonstration of a delicate balance between good will and willpower. Descendants of the spiritual exercises of the ancients, resolutions are both educational and therapeutic.

In declaring resolutions, if possible before witnesses, we nourish the illusion that changing our lifestyles will change our lives: “This year, I will read Proust.” “This year, I will not invade Iraq.” “This year, I will be faithful to my wife.” “This year, I will reduce unemployment in France.” Or, more prosaically, “I will exercise three times a week, I will finally try to stop smoking, I will cut back on sugar,” etc. It’s a sort of collective drunkenness for people to make vows that nobody expects to keep.

Westerners are athletes of introspection — we never stop analyzing ourselves. “It is never too late or too early to care for the well-being of the soul,” Epicurus said, and so we make our lives a study of ourselves. We need a moment in the year when we look at ourselves, weigh our good and bad habits, evaluate our conduct as a doctor evaluates our health during an annual examination, so we can strive for a way of life that is wiser and more responsible.

There are two types of resolutions: those that are reasonable, and those that are not. The day I took communion, when I was an adolescent and still believed in God, I would decide to be good to everyone, to smile at my family, to spread charity and goodwill. This love for my neighbors, even the ones who annoyed me, lasted two days, and then I returned to being an ordinary human, neither good nor bad, with my moods and my preferences. I could not make myself someone I was not.

Similarly, to declare that in 2007 we resolve to be happy is unreasonable. We can’t determine to be happy: it is in our power to avoid certain evils, to stay away from conflict, to not bankrupt ourselves, to not throw ourselves out the window or under a train, but we can’t order up happiness as we order a dish in a restaurant or command a dog to come at our call. Happiness eludes the rendezvous we fix, arrives when we least expect it, disappears when we think we have it in hand.

In other words, those people who are unhappy about not being happy forget that happiness has a knack for indirection, coming in the middle of the most ordinary day or disappearing at the height of one’s career. It is a matter of luck, almost of grace, a visitor who enters the house unexpectedly and vanishes on tiptoe. “I recognize happiness by the sound it makes when it leaves,” said the poet Jacques Prévert.

In contrast, let’s imagine someone who sets out on Dec. 31 to ruin his life. It’s not certain that ruin will arrive easily: it is no less difficult to destroy one’s life than to improve it. Catastrophe is a delicate art that also requires chance. Hell is just as hard to get into as heaven.

If the end of the year brings a flood of resolutions to change, it is because we are faced with an existence that is invaded by the routine, by the rush of demands. We can’t bear it. We know that another life exists, more beautiful, more passionate, one that laziness and apathy keeps us from attaining.

I have to break with time to overcome my obstacles, to rediscover myself, to be myself in all innocence. I can change my life, at least in some small way. Making resolutions demonstrates optimism, the desire to make oneself better, a faith, naïve and beautiful at once, that declarations can spontaneously become actions, that saying means doing.

Oh, the glorious day of making a resolution, the belief that starting tomorrow I will be the pilot of my existence, that I will stop being the plaything of external circumstances, that I will govern myself. I’m better than I seem to be — a person obsessed by little irritants, addicted to talking nonsense — and I’m going to prove it to the world. The certainty that soon, thanks to my willpower, I will no longer be someone who is habitually late, a slave to my cellphone, a glutton, a distracted driver... that can galvanize me, prompt me to change, tear away my imperfect personality. Real life starts now; I can immediately free myself of my neuroses, correct myself. I can rid myself of the fear of failure and of the specter of the failures of the past.

Knowing that you can change your behavior, even by an iota, is essential for holding yourself in esteem. We’re often cynical about how resolutions are never kept, but we shouldn’t be. Resolutions are perhaps lies, but they’re lies of good faith, necessary illusions. As long as we can make them, we are saved, we can control the chaos of destiny; it doesn’t matter that we break them and that others view us with skepticism. Every resolution is good simply because it is declared. It is a comedy, perhaps, but it keeps us sane.

Pascal Bruckner is the author of “The Temptation of Innocence: Living in the Age of Entitlement.” This article was translated by The Times from the French.

8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

Happy 2007! <:o) <:o)

SWeetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-01-2007, 08:19 AM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

December 28, 2006

Op-Ed Columnist

Lessons Never Learned

By BOB HERBERT

It would not be easy to find two men more different than Gerald Ford and James Brown. But I had a similar reaction to each of their deaths — a feeling of disappointment at some of the routes the nation has traveled since their days of greatest prominence.

Both men were important figures, symbolically more than substantively, at crucial periods in postwar American history — Mr. Brown at the crest of the civil rights movement in the mid-1960s and Mr. Ford in the trough of the “long national nightmare” of Watergate.

Both were unlikely harbingers of the new. Mr. Brown, with his gleaming (and anachronistic) pompadour, became the very embodiment of black pride, a troubadour exhorting his followers to “Say it Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud” at a time when schoolhouse doors were opening and unprecedented opportunities were beckoning to black Americans after centuries of almost unimaginable degradation.

Mr. Ford was more than just the designated healer after Watergate. The U.S. was also in the final throes of the long national nightmare of Vietnam. And it was stuck in a protracted energy crisis. The nation was looking for a way forward.

My disappointment stems from the opportunities never seized and the lessons never learned from those two periods, which were all but bursting with possibilities.

Mr. Brown’s message was relentlessly upbeat and optimistic. Despite the continuing plague of racism, there were dreams in the 1960s of fabulous days ahead for black Americans, days in which the stereotypes and degradation of the past would be erased by a new era of educational, professional and cultural achievement.

Those dreams did not include visions of an enormous economically disadvantaged population that would continue to live in poverty, or near-poverty, more than 40 years later; or a perennially ragged public school system, largely segregated in fact, if not by law, that would turn out generation after generation of educationally deprived children; or a black prison population so vast and so enduring it would come to seem normal to legions of black youngsters, actually dictating to a great extent their tastes in fashion, art and music; or a level of sustained violence that has condemned thousands upon thousands of black youngsters to an early grave.

Oh, there have been plenty of strides since the mid-1960s. That’s undeniable. But one would have to be blind not to notice that there is much cause for disappointment, as well.

James Farmer, who helped create the Congress of Racial Equality on Gandhian principles of nonviolence, once told me that even as the civil rights movement was racking up its stunning successes, its leaders made a grave error.

“We did not do any long-range planning,” he said. “So we were stuck without a program after the success of our efforts, which included passage of a civil rights bill and voting rights legislation. We could have anticipated the backlash that followed. We could have asked ourselves what the jobs prospects would be for blacks in the ’70s, the ’80s, the ’90s, and later on. By and large we didn’t do that, except for affirmative action. We should have had a plan.”

It would be foolish to suggest that the United States as a whole hasn’t made tremendous progress since the 1960s and ’70s. But it’s impossible to reflect on the presidency of Gerald Ford, who formally ended U.S. participation in the war in Vietnam, and fail to notice that his defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and chief of staff, Dick Cheney, were among the chief architects of the current calamity in Iraq. There were lessons galore to be learned from Vietnam. But Mr. Rumsfeld and Mr. Cheney, like frat boys skipping an important lecture, managed to ignore them.

The trauma of the 1973 oil embargo actually spooked the country into action on the energy front. Fuel economy standards for automobiles were ratcheted up and improvements were made in the energy efficiency of refrigerators, air-conditioners and other household appliances. But those successful early efforts, instead of being strengthened, were undermined by the conservative political tide of the past several years.

Now we’re confronted with the dire threat of global warming, and as usual there is no plan.

If history tells us anything, it’s that we never learn from history. We could have stepped back from the war in Iraq, and stepped up to the challenge of global warming. We could have learned something when James Brown was on the charts and Gerald Ford was in the White House.

Maybe next time.

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-01-2007, 08:36 AM

:| :| :| :| :|

by Lynn Yaeger Village Voice

I'm pulling a beaded velvet chemise over my head and I'm going out tonight, but I'm not exactly sure where. Maybe I'll start the evening at the 300 Club at 151 West 54th Street, where the proprietress, Texas Guinan, is famous for greeting patrons with a loud, "Hello, Suckers"; or maybe I'll go downtown, to the Pirates Den at 8 Christopher Street, which features waiters disguised as 18th-century pirates, who stage scenes from Treasure Island, fire shots, and clash cutlasses. I might even check out Country Farm, a new place on East 9th Street that is run by the same guy who owns the Pirates Den, only here instead of pirates there are kiddie cars and picket fences.

It's the mid 1920s, and the nightlife is sizzling as it hasn't sizzled since the days of ancient Rome (well at least I think it must have sizzled in ancient Rome), but that doesn't mean I can cadge a cocktail legally at any of these joints. Now illegally—that's a different story.

Paul Morand, taking the measure of the times in 1930, floated the following numbers: "Nobody knew how many speakeasies there were in New York; one estimate put the number at 100,000 by mid-decade. . . .Some speakeasies are disguised behind florists' shops, or behind undertakers' coffins. I know one, right in Broadway, which is entered through an imitation telephone-box; it has excellent beer; appetizing sausages and Welsh rabbits are sizzling in chafing-dishes and are given to customers without extra charge; drunks are expelled through a side-door which seems to open out into the nether world. . . .

"An intelligent lady remarked to me once that Prohibition was very pleasant. 'Before it,' she said, 'no decent woman could go into a bar, but now nobody is surprised at our being there.' "

Would anyone be surprised if I put on my imitation ermine and pearls, stuck a nickel in a turnstile, and went up to Harlem tonight? According to a contemporary report in Variety, "Harlem has attained pre-eminence in the past few years as an amusement center. Its night life now surpasses that of Broadway itself. From midnight until after dawn it is a seething cauldron of Nubian mirth and hilarity. . . .

"[Harlem] has eleven class white-trade night clubs: the Cotton Club, Connie's Inn, the Nest, Small's Paradise, Barrons, the Spider Web, the Saratoga Club, Ward's Swanee, the Catagona, the Bamboo Club and the Lenox. With a population of 250,000, the majority of whom are frequenters of night resorts, the actual number of colored cabarets of lower ranks exceeds 500. . . .

"Five out of every seven cigar stores, lunchrooms and beauty parlors in Harlem are 'speaks' selling gin. More chop suey joints in Harlem than any other district of similar size in the country . . . Dancing permitted in all, however, to radio or phonograph. The dancing is plenty hot. The district between 132nd and 138th Streets and Fifth Avenue is the hottest sector for vice in Harlem. It is called 'Coke Village.' Many of the be-ermined and high-hat white gentry entering the area are on the bay for 'hop.' "

But me, I never touch the stuff. I'd rather spend my money on clothes. In the last 10 years, I have thrown out my heavy corset, my shirtwaist blouses, my mud-scraping woolen skirts, and my sturdy lace-up boots in favor of a host of flimsy silken garments and a pair of slippers so light they would suit an elf or a fairy—but they're also good for dancing on nightclub tables. Of all the revolutions of the early 20th century—the sexual revolution, aided and abetted by the advent of the automobile, which made canoodling in cars a welcome alternative to the prying eyes in the parlor; the radio, bringing Fred and Adele Astaire and news of Lucky Lindy into that very parlor you've just fled—it's the clothes that have made the biggest difference, at least for me.

Here is how Bruce Bliven, writing in The New Republic in 1925, describes the typical outfit of a woman he calls Flapper Jane, and whose clothes are just like mine: "Her dress, as you can't possibly help knowing if you have even one good eye, and get around at all outside the Old People's Home, is . . . cut low where it might be high, and vice versa. The skirt comes just an inch below her knees, overlapping by a faint fraction her rolled and twisted stockings. The idea is that when she walks in a bit of a breeze, you shall now and then observe the knee (which is not rouged—that's just newspaper talk) but always in an accidental, Venus-surprised-at-the-bath sort of way. This is a bit of coyness which hardly fits in with Jane's general character."

Truth be told, I ordered the dress I'm wearing tonight from the Sears, Roebuck catalog—and you would hardly describe it as coy—in fact it's so gossamer it's almost invisible. And my hat? In the words of Zelda Fitzgerald, it resembles nothing so much as a flattened bathtub.

Maybe I'll see Zelda tonight! I saw her once, at 4 a.m., in the lobby of the Waldorf. Well, I'm pretty sure it was her: I had checked in for an astronomical $6 a night because I was too blotto to make it home to my cold-water flat in the Village.

It's cheap, but not cheap enough for me to afford a phone. No matter. The kid at the candy store lets me use theirs and he even takes messages for me, which is how I just found out a friend of mine wants to see a show before clubbing. I pick up a newspaper—two cents—to see what's on—the Gershwins' Oh Kay! is at the Imperial; Vincent Youmans's Hit the Deck at the Belasco—then check the contents of my Whiting & Davis metal mesh evening purse to make sure I have half a buck for the cheapest ticket.

Well I never! What do you know? I'm flat!

So it'll be another night of besotted mirth on someone else's dime, earning my drinks with my witty retorts and my dimples, drinking martoonies and pink ladies with fellows who jingle when they walk.

One thing is certain, in my own private New York, October 1929 will never come. The stock market will never crash; the dizzy, giddy party that is my imaginary 1920s will never end, and I will be dancing in my satin shoes on speakeasy tables forever.

http://www.villagevoice.com/bestof/2006/essays/yaeger

(y) (y) Great essay! :)

;) One of my New Year's resolutions is to continue finding laughter in life's absurdities - and throughout the day too. Yep - laughing, smiling, chuckling, giggling, etc. several times every day seems like a great way to live in my view. :D :D

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-01-2007, 08:42 AM

:) :)

http://www.myboutiquehotel.com/boutique-hotels/boutique-hotels-london.php

(y) (y)

(k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-01-2007, 08:45 AM

;) ;)

by Aefa Mulholland

2007 is rapidly cantering toward us. Make a resolution to make it a night to remember this New Year's Eve.

Our five top picks for the final night of 2006 include getting down to the sounds of gay musical icons the Pet Shop Boys (with hottie Robbie Williams) with half a million new friends at the foot of Edinburgh Castle, to sizing up some serious seasonal action at sizzling hot gay New Year's bashes in Berlin,New Orleans, Montréal and San Francisco.

Sanctuary New Year's Weekend, San Francisco
Dec. 29, 2006-Jan. 1, 2007

Men should line up at The Factory for New Year's Eve Weekend frolics. Highlights include New Year's Eve's 12-hour dance marathon, Sanctuary (www.guspresents.com), starring Kevin Aviance, Roland Belmares and Rob Kaftan, Boy Bar kickoff party, Underworld underwear party and Recovery T-dance party. Gay men.

Gay New Year's Eve, New Orleans, La.
Dec. 31, 2006

Darren Thomas, Jayskee and Brendan Thompson are among the hands on deck at this longstanding seasonal treat at the nicely notorious Bourbon Pub/ Parade (801 Bourbon St.; www.bourbonpub.com). A $1,000 balloon drop, complimentary champagne, videos and a performance by Miss Gay America 2006 are a few added incentives to snap up tickets for this incendiary celebration.

Le Bal des Boys, Montréal
Dec. 31, 2006-Jan. 1, 2007

Scorching-hot parties are planned for icy-cool Montreal. Le Bal des Boys, Bad Boys Club of Montreal's (www.bbcm.org; 514/875-7026) thrilling New Year's Eve celebration, is held at Stereo (858 Ste-Catherine E.; 514/286-0325; www.stereo-nightclub.com). A seething rush of multimedia shows, hot dancers and men in and out of tuxedos (black and white is the suggested dress code) will pack the club from 10 p.m. till 5 p.m. the next afternoon. Giving just enough time to slip into another fantastic outfit, It's Not Over, another throbbing BBCM event kicks into action 10 p.m. Jan. 1.

Sylvester at the Homohof, Berlin
Dec. 31, 2006

New Year's Eve, Sylvester in German, sees some serious carousing take place in hip hood Kreuzberg, one of Berlin's main destinations for gay goings-on. Venues SchwuZ, Café Sundström and Aha -- three gay/lesbian venues situated in the Homohof (Mehringdamm 61; +49-30/629-088; www.schwuz.de), as the gay-frequented courtyard complex they all inhabit is called, offer a sum total of five dance floors and seven DJs for New Year's Eve revelry.

Concert at the Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland
Dec. 31, 2006

Renowned as one of the world's best places to meet the new year, Edinburgh's Hogmanay is a huge, hectic event that spans four days and attracts half a million high-spirited Scots and international partygoers. Although the Scottish capital's alcohol-sodden celebrations are predominantly straight events, the Concert at the Gardens (West Princes Street Gardens; www.edinburghshogmanay.org) headliners the Pet Shop Boys, who will be joined on stage by the charmingly cheeky Robbie Williams, are sure to ensure a significant contingent of gay carousers. A music and fireworks spectacular at the foot of Edinburgh Castle; tickets include entry to the Royal Bank Street Party as well.

:) :) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-01-2007, 09:02 AM

;)

by Aefa Mulholland

From the Winter 2006 issue of The Out Traveler

Hogmanay, Scotland

Toast: A wee dram of whiskey greets New Year's Day (and, let's face it, most other days) in Scotland.

Countdown: Clutching whiskey, shortbread and lumps of coal, Scots greet (or, as they call it, "first-foot") neighbors after midnight. Shortbread symbolically feeds the household, coal provides warmth and, whisky offers its own special warming effect.

Nochevieja, Spain

Toast: Cava, the native sparkling wine, is the festive beverage of choice.

Countdown: At the stroke of midnight, Spaniards gobble one grape for each of the clock's 12 chimes. If they manage to eat all 12 before the chimes finish, they're set for 12 months of good luck.

Le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre, France

Toast: It has to be champagne.

Countdown: The French feast at this midnight gathering, with a holiday spread that includes foie gras and other delicacies.

Nytårsaftensdag, Denmark

Toast: Boiled cod is a New Year's Eve standard. Champagne and marzipan ring cake are more-tempting treats.

Countdown: Danes pile smashed dishes on friends' doorsteps. The more popular people are, the bigger their smash stash.

Shogatsu, Japan

Toast: Toshikoshi soba noodles, washed down with otoso (a sweet herb sake), sets the Japanese up for luck and longevity.

Countdown: Bonenkai parties are thrown to leave the previous year in the dust. The sound of 108 temple bells is followed by revelers' peals of laughter chasing away bad spirits.

Songkran, Thailand

Toast: Thais snack on foods such as peanut-brittle-esque tua and the crunchy rice treat krayasad.

Countdown: New Year's Thai-style is wet 'n' wild. Thais soak everyone in sight with water by the bucket-, hose-, and water pistol¿load during the splashy April celebration.

Año Viejo, Ecuador

Toast: Champagne accompanies 12 grapes, each representing a monthly wish.

Countdown: The burning of a life-size effigy symbolizes the purging of the year's detritus (such as unwanted exes and politicians!). Stuffed with fireworks and bad memories, the effigy is burned at midnight.

Festa de Iemanjá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Toast: Grapes and the cocktail known as caipirinha (which includes cachaça, an alcohol made from sugar cane) provide celebratory sustenance. Leave some room for lentil soup or lentils with rice in the morning -- dishes that assure financial good luck.

Countdown: Boisterous Brazilians leap over seven consecutive waves for good luck, and also hurl flowers and other offerings into the water to get their wishes from Iemanjá, the goddess of the sea in the Umbanda religion.

(c) for me. Ah....nothing like making a fresh cup in a Keurig. :)

(um) (um) Raining buckets overnight and deep puddles of water everyplace when Wyatt and I went for a (short) walk earlier this morning. We're both dry and warm now - Wyatt's entertaining himself with a chew bone. (of course it is the healthy kind.)

It is very peaceful and quiet as the neighbors are away. (Yes!) (y)

Hmm, I am thinking about making Eggs Benedict but may make something simple for breakfast or brunch.

(8) (8) Putting on some gentle music - including Native American flute.

(t) (t) (mp) (mp) Go down my list of folks to call and wish a Happy New Year, and then?

(~) Watch one or two netflix films and think about my resolutions for 2007.

Then? |-) |-) Take a nap.|-)

Solitude is a much-embraced state of grace today. And for that I feel extremely grateful.

Warmest wishes for a special New Year's Day!

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-02-2007, 08:32 AM

;) ;)

This may come as a surprise to those of you not living in Las Vegas, but
there are more Catholic churches than casinos.

Not surprisingly, some worshipers at Sunday services will give casino
chips rather than cash when the basket is passed. Since they get chips
from many different casinos, the churches have devised a method to sort
the offerings.

The churches send all their collected chips to a nearby Franciscan
monastery for sorting, and then the chips are taken to the casinos of
origin and cashed in.

Naturally, this work is done by the chip monks.

(You didn't even see that one coming, did you.)

:D :D

Have a stellar Tuesday! (*)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer Pup (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-02-2007, 08:34 AM

:) :)

An Irishman, a Mexican and a Blond guy were doing construction work on
scaffolding on the 20th floor of a building.

They were eating lunch and the Irishman said, "Corned beef and cabbage! If
I get corned beef and cabbage one more time for lunch, I'm going to jump
off this building."

The Mexican opened his lunch box and exclaimed, "Burritos again! If I get
burritos one more time I'm going to jump off, too."

The Blond opened his lunch and said, "Bologna again! If I get a bologna
sandwich one more time, I'm jumping too."

The next day, the Irishman opened his lunch box, saw corned beef and
cabbage, and jumped to his death.

The Mexican opened his lunch, saw a burrito, and jumped, too.

The Blond guy opened his lunch, saw the bologna and jumped to his death.

At the funeral, the Irishman's wife said tearfully "If only I'd known how
really tired he was of corned beef and cabbage, I never would have given
it to him again!"

The Mexican's wife also wept and said, "I could have given him tacos or
enchiladas! I didn't realize he hated burritos so much."

Everyone turned and stared at the Blond guy's wife, who said, "Don't look
at me. He always made his own lunch."

:D :D

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-02-2007, 08:40 AM

(y) (y)

Mary Cheney

The politics of a pregnancy. The WEEK

12/15/2006

Pregnancy can be a time of great anxiety in a woman's life, said Louis Bayard in Salon.com. It must be even more trying, though, when the mom-to-be is the lesbian daughter of a "right-wing zealot." Just ask Mary Cheney, 37, the vice president's daughter, who announced last week that she and partner Heather Poe, 45, are expecting a child. Cheney's father has always accepted her, but the Republican Party's social conservative base has regarded her with cringing embarrassment. Now that she and her girlfriend are having a baby, that base is turning on her with a vengeance. Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America called Cheney's decision to have a baby "unconscionable," while Robert Knight of the Media Research Institute accused her of promoting a "culture of sexual anarchy."

Liberals may find this issue funny, said Focus on the Family chairman James Dobson in Time, but fatherless children are no laughing matter. Thirty years of social science research has shown that without a parent of each gender, kids have a tough time figuring out their own identities. No insult to Mary Cheney, but deliberately choosing to bring a child into the world without a father is both selfish and wrong. "Traditional marriage is God's design for the family," and its worth has been proven by more than 5,000 years of human experience. The desire of same-sex couples to have children does not justify our society's embarking on a "far-reaching social experiment" whose results won't be known for generations.

Old prejudices sure die hard, said Ruth Marcus in The Washington Post. But die they do, and Mary Cheney's pregnancy will "turn out to be a watershed in public understanding and acceptance" of gay parenting. She and Poe have been a couple for 15 years, and they're both committed and devoted to each other. Their child will be raised in a home with "two loving parents." Is that really a tragedy? The Cheneys certainly don't need any lectures about the importance of the family, said the Houston Chronicle in an editorial. When the 16-year-old Mary told her father she was a lesbian, he replied, "You're my daughter and I love you and I just want you to be happy." And when she announced she was pregnant, the vice president and his wife simply said they were looking forward to having their sixth grandchild. This, quite obviously, is a family in which love trumps politics, trumps sexual orientation, trumps everything—and those are the kind of "family values that really do make this country stronger."

(y) Congrats and best wishes to Mary and her partner. I wonder if the Cheyney's were reallt that loving and supportive - and if so - what a tremendous gift that is!(g) (g)

Sun Thoughts,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-02-2007, 08:45 AM

:) :) :)

The Greatest Christmas Story Ever Told

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is the quintessential yuletide tale, read and rehashed the world over. Why has it been so perennially popular?

12/22/2006

Why did Dickens write A Christmas Carol?
He needed the money. In 1843, though only 31, he was comfortably well off, thanks to such celebrated works as Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. But his latest novel, Martin Chuzzlewit, hadn’t been the triumph he had hoped for. So, determined to keep his bank balance up, Dickens produced A Christmas Carol in only six weeks.

Did he have another motive?
Indeed he did. On Oct. 7, 1843, Dickens gave a speech at the Manchester Athenaeum that stressed the need for education, regardless of wealth. The audience responded so warmly, he recalled, that he considered writing a pamphlet called An Appeal to the People of England on Behalf of the Poor Man’s Child. Ultimately, he decided instead to spin a fictional yarn that would indirectly convey his plea to help the wretched victims of the Industrial Revolution.

How did he write it?
By expanding an episode from his first popular success, The Pickwick Papers. In it, a narrator tells the tale of Gabriel Grub, a misanthropic gravedigger who silences a noisy Christmas caroler by bopping him on the head with a lantern. Goblins then visit Grub, drag him underground, and show him visions of impoverished families who derive comfort from their love of one another, after which he mends his mean-spirited ways. Taking long walks through London, sometimes up to 20 miles a night, Dickens rapidly fleshed out the new story in his mind and raced to get it into print before Christmas. It was published as a book on Dec. 19—his first work not serialized in a magazine.

How real were the characters?
Several were based on people from Dickens’ life. The desperately poor Cratchit family echoed the author’s own family—his father spent time in a debtors’ prison. Tiny Tim in particular was based on Dickens’ own frail nephew, who died in 1849. Jacob Marley’s name came from Dr. Miles Marley, who practiced near Dickens’ home. Ebenezer Scrooge’s namesake was Ebenezer Scroggie, an Edinburgh town councilor. Unlike his miserly fictional counterpart, Scroggie was actually a charitable and jovial libertine who had once gotten a servant girl pregnant and publicly pinched the bottom of the Countess of Mansfield.

How was Dickens’ timing?
It was perfect. Almost 200 years earlier, England’s dour Puritans had determined that Easter would be the biggest day in the Christian calendar; they hated Christmas frivolity so much that in 1647 they banned its observance altogether. But by Dickens’ time, Christmas was cautiously making a comeback. “It was changing from a religious festival,” said Dickens’ great-great-grandson Gerald Charles Dickens, “and it was becoming a lot more overt with the decorations and the gift giving and card sending.” The first Christmas card appeared in the same year as A Christmas Carol, and Prince Albert brought the first Christmas tree to England at about that same time. It was also an era in which urban industrialization was wreaking havoc on millions of lives. In the midst of this vast social upheaval, Dickens recast Christmas as a warm, family-oriented event. He even replaced the familiar phrase “Happy Christmas” with “Merry Christmas.”

What was the reaction?
It was overwhelmingly positive. The London Sunday Times declared A Christmas Carol “sublime,” and William Makepeace Thackeray called it “a national benefit.” The cranky Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle’s wife recalled that the moment he finished the book, her husband was seized with a “perfect convulsion of hospitality and arranged two dinner parties.” One American factory owner was so inspired that he gave his workers an extra day off; the Queen of Norway sent toys bearing the inscription “With Tiny Tim’s Love” to the children of London. In its first year in print, A Christmas Carol sold 15,000 copies.

Was Dickens pleased?
Only up to a point. He insisted on a lavish format for the 66-page book, including hand-colored plates, colored end papers, and a blue-and-red title page. These expenses drove up the cost to five shillings a copy, the equivalent of $5—a lot of money at the time. That held sales down, and Dickens’ profits from the first printing came to only 250 pounds. He told his literary agent he’d been hoping for “a thousand clear,” and angrily ended his relationship with his publisher, Chapman & Hall, because he thought it had deliberately run up the expenses to deny him a fair profit.

Why the enduring popularity?
A Christmas Carol appeals to both religious- and secular-minded readers, and offers one of the most popular themes in myth and fiction: redemption. There is a little Scrooge in us all, and it is gratifying to see him transformed into a man who empathizes with the less fortunate. As Dickens’ biographer Peter Ackroyd wrote, “Beyond the hearth were the poor, the ignorant, the diseased, the wretched; and do we not enjoy the flames of the Christmas fire more because of the very shadows which it casts?” Besides, everyone loves a good ghost story.

What impact has it had on Christmas?
It accelerated the commercialization of the holiday. For all its piety, the underlying message of Dickens’ story is that a little greed is good. “Essentially, Dickens is making the argument that it’s okay to really like shopping, to really like having parties and enjoying the materialistic part of Christmas,” said James Krasner, a professor of English at the University of New Hampshire. “In the end, Scrooge doesn’t become a monk who gives away his money. He buys things for people.”

Spreading the Word
In its first year of publication, A Christmas Carol inspired no fewer than nine London stage productions. It was Dickens’ own favorite among all his works that he read aloud; for his public performances he would impersonate 23 of its characters. The very first movie version appeared in 1901, with countless incarnations since then. Although many consider the 1951 version starring Alastair Sim to be definitive, Dickens’ great-grandson David Dickens’ personal favorite is the 1984 TV movie with George C. Scott. Despite its mere 60-minute length, the best musical version may well be the animated Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, with songs by Broadway legend Jule Styne. Probably the darkest take was Carol for Another Christmas, a 1964 TV movie written by Rod Serling and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz. Designed to promote the United Nations, it stars Sterling Hayden as a bitter, modern-day industrialist who is awakened to the need for disarmament and humanitarian intervention.

(y) (l) (y) (l) (y) (l)

Carpe Diem,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 05:56 PM

:| :|

:) :)

"This is not one of those places where you pretend to be close to nature":

This is DEEP in the Maine woods! :o http://www.outdoors.org/

(y) (y)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer(l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 05:57 PM

:o

http://www.pearl-ice.com/

http://www.pearl-ice.com/buyit.htm

The third one down reminds me of something Hannibal would wear.... :| :|

;) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 05:58 PM

(h)(h)

"This is nothing less than the 'Whole Earth Catalog', that hippie bible, retooled for the iPod generation."

http://www.worldchanging.com/

Cool. (h)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:00 PM

:) :)

1. www.PAsecrets.com

Sephora is pretty cool since I have used beauty products from their stores in the past.

2. www.Myopenwallet.blogspot.com

3. www.Yelp.com

Very cool.

:) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:04 PM

:)

Web cam: http://www.ds-shanghai.org.cn/webcam/webcam.html

***************************

8 Things I Wish I Had Missed During The China Internet Blackout

January 3rd, 2007

Positive solutions did a post on the things he missed when the Internet in China went back to the dark ages. A nice angle and I will blatantly copy his idea and spin it into telling you what I wish I had missed in this period.

1. Staring at my browser for ages hoping that the other half of the page will make it through

2. Being punished daily by having to read the China Daily and the Shanghai Daily as my sole information source. This gave me also the insight what it must be like to be condemned to only Chinese language mainland websites.

3. Clicking a banner on the People’s Daily about the 100-days campaign against piracy and finding out it ended in October 2006. I wondered what happened on day 101

4. Reading the relationship section of the Shanghai Expat forum out of utter boredom and for the entertainment value of course.

5. Re-organizing my files on the computer until even the last byte was put in the right place

6. Watching the 3d season of Desperate Housewives, probably released in China on aformentioned day 101. Well, actually that was kind of fun.

7. Watching CCTV 9 and being bombared with an item on burning European made shoes that didn’t pass the quality control. I chekced on the available China Daily website they burned a whoopie 200 pairs. Something to do with the 16.5 per cent anti-dumping tariff on Chinese manufactured leather shoes the European Union has imposed maybe…

8. Having to explain to people abroad that China may be an emerging power but that doesn’t mean the concept of back up cables has made inroads here yet

There you have it, the lucky 8 things I wish I had missed and now go on and read the 10 things Positive Solutions missed.

http://www.chinasnippets.com/

**********************

(p) (p) VERY UNUSUAL CITY SKYLINE:

http://www.stanford.edu/~wgupta/images/china%20-%20shanghai.jpg

Wiki Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai

(ap) (ap) Been to Hong Kong a few times and not many places in mainland China. The web cam looks kind of smoggy - as bad as Los Angeles - in my view. :o :o I re-checked the link and I think the camera lens is dirty....

I have been procrastinating taking a Mandarin language course. ;) Being able to speak and write what I know about high tech and apps in Mandarin would come in handy for sure in business as well as on-line coaching and teaching. (y) (y)

(k) (k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:07 PM

(y) (y)

http://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Screw%252dIn-Self%252dCharging-Smoke-Alarm/dp/B000H43VBY

(y) Nice back-up to the wall-mounted ones.

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:08 PM

(y) (y) (y)

http://www.stowe.com/

(y) (y)

:) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:09 PM

:o :o

"Whip across the Elderado National forest like nature's biggest snowblower", producing some of the highest snowfall levels in the country."

http://www.kirkwood.com/winter0607/

:D :D EeeeeeeeHAAAAA!!!

(y) (y) Been here many times in the 1980's and more recently and it is STILL a great place. Just a bit of a long drive alone though.

Carpe Diem,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:10 PM

:) :)

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/glacier/default.asp

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/glacier/index_e.asp

"Some of the best backcountry ski terrain in North America..."

:D

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:12 PM

:| :o

:| :| This is pretty bad when you get to this URL and set that the web site is for sale (not to mention that they list links to OTHER ski resorts!):

http://www.tellurideskiresorts.com/

(l) I prefer the 1880's settlement and history of a down-to-earth Victorian town. (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:14 PM

:| :| :| :| :|

http://www.gulmarg.org/

http://www.adventuretoursofindia.com/adventure-destinations-india/gulmarg-travel.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulmarg

(p) (p) Web site includes a beautiful photo:

http://www.jktourism.org/cities/kashmir/gulmarg/index.htm

(n) Not me....too close to conflict between Pakistan and India. :|

(k) 's,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:15 PM

(h) (h)

http://www.railtrails.org/index.html

Arizona:

http://www.traillink.com/TL_Active_Pages/TrailSearch/default.asp?State=AZ&Action=StateSearch

Gorgeous! Magazine (on-line version of the paper one that I just received):

http://www.railtrails.org/newsandpubs/magazine/index.html

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy:: Destination:: Arizona:: Prescott Peavine and Iron King Trails: Slide Show:

http://www.railtrails.org/galleries/destinations/2007Winter/destination_arizona_01.html

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:16 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

http://www.nature.org/

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

:) :)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-03-2007, 06:17 PM

:) :) :)

At age 80, Paul Schipper has skied one mountain daily for 23 winters. Learn the price he’s paid in this Nature Stories Podcast. (it is free as well as lots of other podcasts.)

http://support.nature.org/site/PageServer?pagename=podcast

(y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:09 AM

:s

In a first-of-its-kind study published in the research journal Ecology Letters, scientists from The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund recently posed a deceptively simple question:

Are we losing ground?

Conservancy scientist Jonathan Hoekstra, lead author of the study, reveals the surprising answer and sheds light on why it's the habitat that counts.

Are we losing ground? Conservationists often ask this question, but what they usually mean is, are we losing species? The answer, not surprisingly, is yes — especially in places rich in species, such as tropical rain forests.

But when my colleagues and I at The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund posed the question, we meant something else entirely. We wanted to know, quite literally, the extent to which we are losing ground — the lands and waters that support life on Earth. Are we protecting the habitats that species ultimately depend on?

To answer this question, we analyzed data for 13 major terrestrial habitat types, such as boreal forests, and tropical grasslands and savannas — distinct areas defined by climate, geology and ecology. For each habitat, we compared the amount of land that has been converted (to farmland, cities and the like) with the amount of habitat that has been protected. Our analysis marked the first time anyone had compared these two measures for the entire planet.

We found that land conversion exceeds land protection in many habitats. However, the worst cases are not the usual suspects, such as rain forests, but rather little considered habitats such as temperate grasslands. In fact, of the more than 300 terrestrial regions that may be in crisis, only about 50 percent are targeted for protection by major conservation organizations.

How did entire categories of habitat fall through the gaps? For some places, the habitat loss predated the rise of the conservation movement — it was gone before we had a chance to protect it. For others, though, people simply failed to recognize the problem. For a long time, conservation groups have set priorities according to where species are most concentrated or endangered. This, in turn, focused the lion's share of attention on species-rich places like tropical rain forests, at the expense of other habitats like grasslands and estuaries, which sustain fewer species but represent equally important ecological diversity.

But humanity has the tools to maintain healthy grasslands and estuaries — and other neglected habitats. That doesn't mean conservationists should stop working in rain forests. Rather, those efforts must be combined with a strategic investment in habitats that contain the forgotten parts of the planet's diversity.

That's what the Conservancy is working on: My team is assembling the information that will enable the organization — and partners, governments and funders — to rebalance priorities and make informed choices about where resources are most needed. The Conservancy's mission to protect the diversity of life on Earth remains the same. What's different is that suddenly we can see, better than ever, which parts of that diversity need help now.

Are We Losing Our Lands?
The world is losing key terrestrial habitats, but not the ones you might think. In tropical rain forests, for example, land conversion exceeds habitat protection by a ratio of 2 to 1. We have protected only one acre of land for every two we have lost. That's worrisome.

But in Mediterranean habitats — dry scrublands such as those found around the Mediterranean Sea, along the central and southern coasts of California, and around the tip of South Africa — the disparity is 8 to 1. We have protected only one acre of land for every eight we have lost.

And in temperate grasslands — places like the Great Plains of the United States and the Argentine pampas — we have protected only one acre for every 10 we've lost. Half of such crisis ecoregions — those habitats classified as critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable — receive little or no conservation attention.

Are We Losing Our Waters?
The world's underwater habitats are suffering astonishing losses. Although scientists can't say precisely what percentage of each freshwater and marine habitat has been converted, the overall trends are unmistakable.

More than half of the world's 292 major river systems have been substantially fragmented by dams, but few rivers receive any protective management. Nearly half of the world's coastal mangrove forests have been destroyed, and once-extensive shellfish beds in temperate estuaries are all but gone. Yet less than 2 percent of the world's coastal waters, where these habitats occur, have been afforded protection.

http://www.nature.org/magazine/winter2006/features/art19267.html

(u)(u)(u)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:10 AM

:o :o

Forgetting Oneself

No Matter How Well You Know a Forest, It Pays to Remember Your Place in it

These days, few of us face any chance of getting eaten. My opportunity came as I was climbing down from a treetop in the Sangkulirang Mountains of Borneo. I’d spent several days in this tree hoping to photograph wildlife in the neighboring fig, staking out a personal aerie. I’d conquered the canopy with the help of Dayak climbers and a ladder of lianas. I’d taken up residence with hornbills and eerily singing gibbons. I’d spied the far edges of the forest, made up silly songs and dreamed away the midday lulls, rocked to sleep by wind.

But I was jolted awake one afternoon by a terrifying roar. It filled the forest and rumbled through my heart like a subwoofer. Next came the screech, shrill and even louder. T. rex vs. Velociraptor in surround sound? Damned understory! I couldn’t see a thing. But the barks, growls and grunts finally settled it: Malayan sun bear versus bearded pig in a vicious barroom brawl. Their arena was hotly contested fig litter at the peak of a forestwide famine. It was also my route home. I had no flashlight and would be racing nightfall back to camp.

The omnivorous Malayan sun bear is armed with huge canines, sicklelike claws and a big chip on its shoulder. Though not nearly as large as the average person and with a diet including only rodent-sized animals, sun bears have been known to attack humans, more frequently in recent years. Researchers around Gunung Palung National Park reported a sudden rash of attacks in 2000 and 2001, about the time that illegal logging peaked in the area.

The bearded pig, like all swine, is an herbivore and a scavenger. But this boar uses its long tusks for more than rooting out truffles. In Sumatra, bearded pigs can hold their own against tigers. And in Seram I watched one, caught off-guard by a local hunter, charge instead of flee. He knocked the hunter flat like a bowling pin and removed a chunk of his calf.

Inching higher in my tree, I felt an unexpected awe for these earthly creatures, like I might feel for alien invaders. A mixed sense of “we are not alone” and “we are diddly squat.” Over 10 years exploring Southeast Asian forests, I’d come to feel at home in them, safer than in most cities. The worst hazard here in this treetop, I’d figured, was insanity due to sweat bees. Clearly insanity had set in. Why had I never worried about the fearsome Malayan sun bear—a far better climber than I? Another growl, a scream, some crashing—then silence. Menacing, uncertain silence. The silence of me and a thousand forest creatures holding our breaths. A heavy blue dusk settled deeper.

At last, a dove whispered “Coo,” which was echoed by a friend and contradicted by a crow, unleashing the regularly scheduled evening chorus.

Taking my cue, I gripped a woody vine, leaned back and groped a foot down, down, down, down, down. Trembling and swaying, colorfully praising the Dayaks for their economy with ladder rungs, I presented a pitiful sight and prayed it wasn’t for a bear. Near the bottom, where the Dayaks had run out of rungs and the forest was running out of light, there was a scuffle, un-identified but moving away. I had no choice but to shimmy down and make a dash for it.

The forest was black by the time I found my way to its edge. At dawn I’d be racing back to my aerie, but it would be less mine. In this forest island, all creatures converge and have their chance to feel precarious.

—Djuna Ivereigh

Djuna Ivereigh is a freelance writer and photographer based in Bali, Indonesia.

http://www.nature.org/magazine/winter2006/people/art19272.html

(y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:11 AM

:) :)

Up Close with John Karges

By Courtney Leatherman

Nature Conservancy conservation biologist John Karges talks about life in—and the allure of—West Texas, his ability to bring donors to tears and his respect for roadkill.

Everything I know about West Texas I’ve learned in the past 24 hours. Can you take me there?

Let me see if I can paint a picture. We live in what’s called the Trans-Pecos—west of the Pecos River. It’s in the northeast corner of the Chihuahuan Desert, characterized by desert lowland, scrub, vast open vistas, some remnant grasslands. And our mountain ranges are much like the sky islands of southwest Arizona and southeast New Mexico.

You’re responsible for making biological inventories on some 200,000 acres there. What does that mean? If land becomes available for conservation, I get to go out and see if it has merit for action by the Conservancy. Does it have ecological values—species—or ecological integrity, like the health of the ponderosa pine forest in the Davis Mountains?

I’m told the area can be harsh—even downright bleak. And yet you moved here in 1991 as the Conservancy’s first land steward in the region. What attracted you? Two of my most memorable childhood vacations brought me to West Texas. I remember trips to the Big Bend region in 1967, when I was 13, and again in 1972. Just me and my mom, and we were terrified of the desert but intrigued by it. We worried about car trouble on a remote desert road. Were there bandits out there that might harm us? But we just had to see it.

Why? The mystery. The intrigue. The fact that it’s in our home state but so different from the Fort Worth area that I grew up in.

And then you returned when you were studying vertebrate biology in college.

I would come out here snake hunting for the museum at the university. I never dreamed I’d be working the landscape professionally; I thought I was going to be a professor. Once when I was working on the Conservancy’s Independence Creek Preserve, I went back to my old field notes from college in the ’70s. And what a reunion and revelation it was to realize I’d been here 20 years before.

You’ve kept your field notes from college? It’s the archive of my life. I keep daily field notes. I probably have 40 journals. They go back to 1976 and up to a dead gray fox I saw today on my commute.

Why record roadkill? It’s archival history: What did a place look like 100 years ago, what did it look like 50 years ago, what lived there? That may be useful to future land stewards. Some of it helps drive the Conservancy’s thinking. What have we lost and what can we reasonably, practically restore or save? I’ve actually been approached by the American Museum of Natural History in New York about ultimately depositing my field notes there.

That would be quite an honor. Absolutely.

I hear you also know how to tell a good story. Once at the Conservancy’s Diamond Y Spring Preserve—a Godforsaken-looking place replete with oil and gas rigs—you brought donors to tears when you described the restoration effort. And that’s in spite of the smell of crude oil in the air. That was magical. If somebody were just to go out to Diamond Y, they would look around and go, “Why here?” But we have a pupfish that occurs nowhere else on the planet, another fish that’s equally rare, a federally threatened plant and four other species of plants that are rarer than the federally threatened one. Diamond Y is not scenic. It’s not a postcard place, but it absolutely is important and imperiled.

You seem smitten with this place and its wildlife. I’m smitten with everything that moves. One time I was asked which is my favorite preserve. I said “The one I’m on.” The same is true when someone asks, “What’s your favorite bird?” I say, “The one I’m watching.”

But you’re pretty partial to roadrunners. It’s a fascinating animal. I can imitate their vocalization, and I had this one track me down the riverbank when I was canoeing, and we exchanged calls. I don’t have any idea what I was saying in roadrunner-ese, but it certainly elicited a response.

And this talent is not limited to roadrunners, right? You’ve called in kit foxes, gray foxes and lots of different birds. Yeah, I’ve called in zone-tailed hawks by doing a territorial whistle. One time I was with this rancher who is not particularly fond of the Conservancy. I did that on her ranch. She got the best view of a zone tail, and I have a standing invitation to return anytime.

So she’s warmed to the organization? I think she’s just fascinated that I could show her something neat about the very piece of land she’s lived on all her life. And she is a bit more receptive to talking about long-term conservation.

But she hasn’t done a deal with the Conservancy yet? No, it wasn’t a deal sealer, but it certainly was an icebreaker.

http://www.nature.org/magazine/winter2006/people/

(f) (f)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:12 AM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

http://www.bearmountainlodge.com/

(l) (l)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:13 AM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/saf/jof/2004/00000102/00000003/art00009

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/pennsylvania/news/news2147.html

(y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:14 AM

:| :| :| :| :|

http://www.joonpens.com/

My Favorite (well, one of them...): http://www.joonpens.com/display_collection.php?qcolorid=763&id=864&brandid=59

:s :s $4, 500. for a PEN? Must be some pen.;)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:15 AM

;) ;)

December 10, 2006

Tushology

By REBECCA SKLOOT

David A. Holmes did not wake up one morning and say to himself, Today I’m going to come up with an equation to measure the perfect human posterior. He didn’t think to quantify backsides until a horseracing public-relations person called to ask if he could scientifically calculate what the perfect behind for a jockey would be. Holmes, a psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan University, knew it wasn’t so simple. “There’s an awful lot more to bums than you might think,” he says.

The equation that describes the quality of the female rear end, according to Holmes, is (S + C) x (B + F)/T - V, where S = Overall Shape (“including tendency to droop”), C = Circularity, B = Bounce Factor (not to be confused with “wobble”), F = Firmness (with perfect being “like a comfy bed”), T = Skin Texture and V = Vertical Ratio (the goal: “on the top-heavy side of symmetrical”). For the male rear end, the equation replaces bounce, circularity and vertical ratio with M (Muscularity), L (Leanness) and O (Overall Symmetry).

The numbers you plug in to the equation come from a list of descriptions. To calculate B for Bounce: “After one flick it wobbles for 30 secs” gives you a 2, whereas “during aerobics it doesn’t even quiver” gives you a 5. And so on. For Holmes, judging posteriors is very serious: “If I can draw attention to people’s backsides, they may actually take their overall health more seriously. Because you can dress yourself up in a suit, you can put on your makeup and cover up all of nature’s ills and pretend you’re in great shape, but if you stand naked and stare backward into the mirror, you have to confront reality.”

There’s not much debate over the perfect male behind. (Brad Pitt’s is pretty much the callipygian ideal.) But the female rear end is a different story. “There is a massive — and I mean massive — disagreement among the public between the larger, motherly, 1950s womanly bum and the impossible small, pert, athletic, rounded one,” Holmes says. He calls it “the J. Lo bum verses the Kylie bum,” after Jennifer Lopez and the singer Kylie Minogue (who scores close to the ideal). Holmes’s personal bottom line: “The J. Lo bum is more feminine and more representative of Woman; the Kylie bum is actually very close to the perfect male bum — it’s far more androgynous than people would like to admit.”

And jockeys? “They do have wonderful, strong upper thighs,” Holmes says, “but their bums tend to be sat on a lot.”

:) For the love of Mike. Yikes!

;)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:16 AM

:o :o :o :o

http://www.intervent.co.uk/

(y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:17 AM

:s :s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2IoNygc-K0

December 10, 2006

Spit Art

By WM. FERGUSON

Albert Reyes shows his paintings and prints in small galleries, and his designs have a cachet in the arcane world of art T-shirts. But this year, it’s his spit that has drawn the most attention.

The discovery of spit art was a happy accident. Reyes and a girlfriend were out walking, and when he spilled his drink on the sidewalk, they were astonished: it looked just like a chicken. I can do that, Reyes thought. It was like graffiti without consequences. Reyes’s spit-art performances now regularly accompany his openings; he commandeers a sidewalk in front of the gallery, takes a mouthful and begins. The ubiquitous jug wine at these shows also provides Reyes with his favorite medium, which he prefers to water. “I can make a very fine line with white wine,” Reyes says. “It’s like a sharpened pencil.”

But the finished image would be nothing without the process. “I’m down on my knees, stuff’s coming out of my mouth — people usually think I’m sick,” he says. By the end of a spit-art performance — five minutes of Reyes gamboling around the pavement with his face inches from the ground, dribbling a line of water between gulps from a bottle — a picture will emerge: a 10-foot-tall face executed in a confident, unbroken line. It’s a bit of a parlor trick, and the crowd reacts to that. But it’s also a rare moment of public art that feels communal and generous. Reyes accepts tips, if they are offered, and goes on his way.

As he darts around his picture, dropping to his knees for details and popping back up to let a car pass, he bears a resemblance to Jackson Pollock in motion. Spit art, though, isn’t likely to share the legacy of action painting. For one thing, it evaporates by morning. Yet spit art is not completely without commercial potential. Reyes has designed a T-shirt commemorating the ephemeral moment: an illustration of himself in the middle of a spit picture.

+o( +o(

;)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:19 AM

:o :o :o

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/08/business/wbideas.php (International Herald Tribune)

December 10, 2006

THE 6th ANNUAL YEAR IN IDEAS; Return of the Corporate State

By GARY J. BASS New York Times

Karl Marx wrote that the state was nothing more than the executive committee of the bourgeoisie. But in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has stood Marx on his head: the state dominates many of the most important businesses, not the other way around. A new hybrid of country and corporation has been created, fusing the public and private sectors together to serve the Kremlin. Andrei Illarionov, who in December 2005 resigned as an economic adviser to Putin, calls it ''a corporate state.''

This goes way beyond mere cronyism. Dmitri Medvedev is both a deputy prime minister and the chairman of the gigantic state gas monopoly Gazprom, which controls one-fifth of the world's natural gas reserves. Igor Sechin, Putin's deputy chief of staff, was appointed chairman of the sprawling state-owned oil company Rosneft. The Kremlin has also tightened its control over other industries. In February, Putin consolidated Russia's aircraft makers into one state-owned corporation. Last month, the secretive state arms trader Rosoboronexport grabbed a controlling stake in VSMPO-Avisma, the world's largest maker of titanium, with Rosoboronexport's director, Sergei Chemezov, becoming the company's chairman. As Illarionov put it, ''There is no free economic space remaining anywhere in Russia.''

The corporate state is more than a way for Putin apparatchiks to get rich -- although it's certainly that too. According to Keith Darden, a Russia expert at Yale, it's in large part a solution to an enduring political headache for authoritarian rulers: how can you maintain enough of a market economy to generate wealth without allowing the creation of independent businesses that could grow powerful enough to challenge your government's authority? First, Putin cracked down on oligarchs who dared cross him. Now the Kremlin seems to be consolidating control over the remaining potential bases of opposition. And the corporate state shows no signs of withering away: Medvedev, the Kremlin's man at Gazprom, may well be Putin's pick to be Russia's next president.

(n) (n) Here we go again - back to the Dark Ages of the Cold War....or worse. :o

Peace,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:20 AM

:| :|

http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/ed-boygenius.html

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/06/23/immature_hum.html?category=human&guid=20060623110030

December 10, 2006

Psychological Neoteny

By CLAY RISEN

The next time you see a mother of three head-banging to death metal or a 50-year-old man sporting a faux-hawk, don’t laugh. According to Bruce Charlton, a doctor and psychology professor at Newcastle University in Britain, what looks like immaturity — or in Charlton’s kinder terms, the “retention of youthful attitudes and behaviors into later adulthood” — is actually a valuable developmental characteristic, which he calls psychological neoteny.

In a recent issue of Medical Hypotheses, a journal he edits, Charlton argues that unlike previous, more settled societies that could afford to honor a narrow and well-defined worldview (that is, a “mature” one), modern life is tumultuous and ever-changing. Accordingly, it rewards those who retain a certain plasticity of mind and personality. “In a psychological sense, some contemporary individuals never actually become adults,” he writes.

Charlton’s argument is still just a hypothesis, but it makes intuitive sense. For one thing, he notes, education in the modern era — which now routinely extends into an individual’s 20s — rewards a mental openness that could once be safely discarded in the midteens. As he explained in a recent e-mail message, a “likely cause” of the widespread delay in the onset of maturity today was “more prolonged higher education for ever more people, leading to an increase in the ‘unfinished’ personalities that are adaptive to learning.”

Furthermore, he argues, social roles have become less fixed in modern society. We are expected to adapt to change throughout our lives, both in our personal relationships and in our careers, and immaturity, as Charlton added, is “especially helpful in making the best out of enforced job changes, the need for geographic mobility and the requirement to make new social networks.” In fact, he speculates, the ability to retain youthful qualities, now often seen as folly, may someday be recognized as a prized trait.

:o :o :) :)

;)

SL & WTB (l)(&)(l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:22 AM

:D :D :D :D

December 10, 2006

N.C.A.A. Psyop

By JOEL LOVELL

In March, the University of California at Berkeley men’s basketball team played its final home game against the University of Southern California, whose team was led by its star guard, Gabe Pruitt. Pruitt was in the midst of a terrific year for U.S.C., averaging about 17 points a game, and for Cal, as the U.C. Berkeley team is known, the game was a must-win if it was to get a bid to the N.C.A.A. tournament. Cal needed to figure out a way to keep Pruitt from having another monster outing.

The solution to how to neutralize Pruitt came not from a game plan of X’s and O’s but from military-style psychological operations. In the week leading up to the game, members of Cal’s Rally Committee, who earlier obtained Pruitt’s Instant Messenger screen name, created an I.M. account for a fictional U.C.L.A. coed named Victoria. “Victoria” began flirting with Pruitt, sending him photos of herself (pictures of a very attractive woman that the Cal students had taken off the Internet) and telling him that she and her friends wanted to party with him and his teammates back in L.A. after the game against Cal. Pruitt responded in kind, writing, “You look like you have a very fit body” and “Now I want to c u so bad,” and eventually giving her his phone number and agreeing to get together when he returned from the game.

On game day, when Pruitt went to the foul line for the first time, Cal students began chanting: “Victoria! Victoria!” and reciting Pruitt’s phone number. Pruitt, a 79 percent free-throw shooter on the season, missed both shots and had one of his worst games of the year, shooting 3 for 13 from the field. Cal won the game by 11 points and went on to the N.C.A.A. tournament.

After the loss, Pruitt said of the Psyop tactic: “I’ve never seen anything like that, that big. It’s up there.” He then added, “My dad got a kick out of it, but he kind of told me to be careful.”

:D :D

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:25 AM

:o

December 10, 2006

Money-Circulation Science

By RICHARD MORGAN

Not long ago, Dirk Brockmann, a theoretical physicist, was chatting with his friend Dennis Derryberry, a cabinetmaker, about his interest in human travel patterns — the types of paths that people trace as they move around by foot, by car, by train, by plane. The problem, Brockmann explained, was how to find data about such voyages. Derryberry suggested Brockmann take a look at Where’s George, a popular Web site that tracks the location of U.S. bills. As a result, this year, in a January issue of the journal Nature, a new-and-improved science of human travel was born.

In the era before modern travel, when people did move about, they did so in a relatively limited manner. Nowadays, the patterns of human travel are presumably far more varied and erratic, but until the paper by Brockmann (which he published with two colleagues), scientists hadn’t been able to generate a reliable model of just how varied and erratic.

The creators of Where’s George weren’t paying attention to human beings, but they unwittingly amassed valuable data about the millions of journeys that we make from point to point. Here’s how the site works: you select a bill from your wallet and enter the denomination, series and serial number, as well as your ZIP code, into the Web site, which registers the date of entry. The more you do this — and the more others do this with the same bills at later dates — the better the record of where the bills (and by rough proxy, their various spenders) have traveled. The site has millions of users, and Brockmann’s paper analyzed 1,033,095 reports submitted on the dispersal of 464,670 bills.

In the end, the authors were able to create a model that allowed them to predict the probability of a bill staying within a 10-kilometer radius over a period of time — as compared with drifting 100 or 1,000 kilometers over the same period. This was more than a mere academic accomplishment: in order to understand, say, the spread of avian flu, you need to understand the patterns of mobility by which the disease will likely be spread.

:| :| :| :| Better yet? Use an ATM or credit card rather than cash - and always use an antibacterial product such as Purell.;)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:26 AM

:D

December 10, 2006

Homophily

By AARON RETICA

In the 1950s, sociologists coined the term “homophily” — love of the same — to explain our inexorable tendency to link up with one another in ways that confirm rather than test our core beliefs. Those who liked Ike, in other words, liked each other. The term didn’t catch on, but the concept is now enjoying a renaissance, in part because it has been repeatedly invoked to explain the American electorate’s apparent polarization into equally self-regarding camps.

“Similarity breeds connection,” the sociologists Miller McPherson, Lynn Smith-Lovin and James Cook wrote in their classic 2001 paper on the subject, “Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks,” and “the result is that people’s personal networks are homogeneous.” This year, other academics have cited homophily in elucidating everything from why teenagers choose friends who smoke and drink the same amount that they do to “the strong isolation of lower-class blacks from the interracial- marriage market.” Researchers at M.I.T. even published “Homophily in Online Dating: When Do You Like Someone Like Yourself?” which showed that you like someone like yourself most of the time, online or off. So much for “opposites attract.”

The Web site O’Reilly Radar, in its continuing discussion of technology trends, raised the question earlier this year of how to get opposites back into the equation. In “Homophily in Social Software,” Nat Torkington, a trend spotter for O’Reilly Media, argued that “homophily raises the question for social-software designers of how much they should encourage homophily and how much they want to mix it up.” Social-software designers are the people behind Web sites like Facebook and MySpace, which tend to bring birds of a feather together. Meanwhile, chains of recommendations (“if you liked . . . ”) on sites like Amazon reinforce our original preferences even as they claim to expand our horizons.

To counter the seemingly universal trend toward homophily, Torkington invited his readers to figure out how to create “serendipity.” One information-technology specialist described a feature he would add to Facebook called “the Stretch,” which would help students “find a group of people a little different” from themselves. Someone else brought up the online book cataloger LibraryThing’s UnSuggester, which identifies the book least likely to share a library with the book you mention.

(y) (y) Things that initiate or provoke refllection......I like that! (l)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:29 AM

:o :o

December 10, 2006

Empty-Stomach Intelligence

By CHRISTOPHER SHEA

Hunger makes the best sauce, goes the maxim. According to researchers at Yale Medical School, it may make quadratic equations and Kant’s categorical imperative go down easier too. The stimulation of hunger, the researchers announced in the March issue of Nature Neuroscience, causes mice to take in information more quickly, and to retain it better — basically, it makes them smarter. And that’s very likely to be true for humans as well.

A team led by Tamas Horvath, chairman of Yale’s comparative medicine program, had been analyzing the pathways followed in mouse brains by ghrelin, a hormone produced by the stomach lining, when the stomach is empty. To the scientists’ surprise, they found that ghrelin was binding to cells not just in the primitive part of the brain that registers hunger (the hypothalamus) but also in the region that plays a role in learning, memory and spatial analysis (the hippocampus).

The researchers then put mice injected with ghrelin and control mice through a maze and other intelligence tests. In each case, the biochemically “hungry” mice — mice infused with ghrelin — performed notably better than those with normal levels of the hormone. The finding was startling, but “it makes sense,” Horvath says. “When you are hungry, you need to focus your entire system on finding food in the environment.” In fact, some biologists believe that human intelligence itself evolved because it made early hominids more effective hunters, gathers and foragers.

Horvath says we can use the hormonal discoveries to our cognitive advantage. Facing the LSAT, a final exam or a half-day job interview? Go in mildly hungry, not carbo-loaded for endurance, and snack to maintain that edgy state. Such advice, applied on a national scale, might help save our schools. Since overweight kids have suppressed ghrelin levels, Horvath theorizes that perhaps the obesity epidemic has contributed to declining test scores and other American educational woes.

(y) (y) Makes good sense to me.

:) I'd also add another suggestion - never consume any type of dairy products before you speak at a conference or in front of a group of people.

Carpe Diem,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:36 AM

:| :|

December 10, 2006

Digital Maoism

By STEVEN JOHNSON

Karl Marx famously predicted that industrial capitalism’s individualist ethos would engender its opposite: a new collective consciousness that would ultimately fuel the socialist revolution. But the old dialectician would probably have been shocked to see how much collectivism has flowered in the hypercapitalist Internet economy of late. First there was open-source software — large-scale digital engineering projects miraculously executed by groups of programmers contributing their intellectual labor for the sheer reward of participation. Then Google took on the seemingly insurmountable problem of organizing the Web’s information by tapping the collective wisdom embedded in the links between Web sites. Then Wikipedia applied the open-source model to encyclopedia production, and — against all odds — built a genuine challenger to Britannica in four short years.

But all the hype over the powers of the so-called hive mind was bound to provoke a reaction, and in May of this year, it arrived in the form of a thoughtful — though controversial — essay by the artist and computer scientist Jaron Lanier. “What we are witnessing today,” Lanier wrote on Edge.org, “is the alarming rise of the fallacy of the infallible collective. Numerous elite organizations have been swept off their feet by the idea. They are inspired by the rise of the Wikipedia, by the wealth of Google and by the rush of entrepreneurs to be the most Meta. Government agencies, top corporate planning departments and major universities have all gotten the bug.” Lanier dubbed this newthink “digital Maoism.” Against this collectivist mythos, Lanier tried to carve out a crucial space for the insight and creativity of the individual mind.

Unlike most counterrevolutionary manifestoes, however, Lanier’s essay aimed not so much to topple the dominant regime as to limit its application. “There are certain types of answers that ought not be provided by an individual,” he wrote. “When a government bureaucrat sets a price, for instance, the result is often inferior to the answer that would come from a reasonably informed collective. . . . But when a collective designs a product, you get design by committee, which is a derogatory expression for a reason.”

In the essay, Lanier grouped everything from his personal Wikipedia entry to “American Idol” under the umbrella of digital Maoism, and many of the responses to the article by assorted Internet luminaries observed that Lanier had elided important differences between these systems to make his point. The entirety of Wikipedia, for instance, is most certainly a collective undertaking, but many articles are written and edited by small numbers of individuals. Wikipedia may be not too far from the historical reality of Maoism itself: a system propagandized with the language of collectivism that was, in practice, actually run by a small power elite.

In any case, culture and technology are increasingly reliant on the hive mind — and whatever its faults, Lanier’s broadside helps us consider the consequences of this momentous development. A swarm of connected human minds is a fantastic resource for tracking down software bugs or discovering obscure gems on the Web. But if you want to come up with a good idea, or a sophisticated argument, or a work of art, you’re still better off going solo.

(y) (y) (y) "Loners Unite!" Or maybe "Mavericks Innovate!" (l) (l) One of my favorite books is "The Loner's Manifesto". (l) (l) Absolutely superb group of essays. Preferring solitude or solitary activities *is* normal for some people, including myself. Crowds invade my "space" not only physically but energetically and I feel anxious.:s

(y) (y) In any event, I strongly agree with Lanier's ideas on Digital Maoism. (y) (y) (y)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:37 AM

:) :)

December 10, 2006

Creative Shrinkage

By BELINDA LANKS

For decades, depopulated Rust Belt cities have tried to grow their way back to prosperity. Youngstown, Ohio, has a new approach: shrinking its way into a new identity.

At its peak, Youngstown supported 170,000 residents. Now, with less than half that number living amid shuttered steel factories, the city and Youngstown State University are implementing a blueprint for a smaller town that retains the best features of the metropolis Youngstown used to be. Few communities of 80,000 boast a symphony orchestra, two respected art museums, a university, a generously laid-out downtown and an urban park larger than Central Park. “Other cities that were never the center of steel production don’t have these assets,” says Jay Williams, the city’s newly elected 35-year-old mayor, who advocated a downsized Youngstown when he ran for office.

Williams’s strategy calls for razing derelict buildings, eventually cutting off the sewage and electric services to fully abandoned tracts of the city and transforming vacant lots into pocket parks. The city and county are now turning abandoned lots over to neighboring landowners and excusing back taxes on the land, provided that they act as stewards of the open spaces. The city has also placed a moratorium on the (often haphazard) construction of new dwellings financed by low-income-housing tax credits and encouraged the rehabilitation of existing homes. Instead of trying to recapture its industrial past, Youngstown hopes to capitalize on its high vacancy rates and underused public spaces; it could become a culturally rich bedroom community serving Cleveland and Pittsburgh, both of which are 70 miles away.

Youngstown’s experiment has not gone unnoticed. Williams’s office has already fielded calls from officials in a few of the many American metropolitan areas that have experienced steep population drop-offs. When cities hit rock bottom, it seems, planners can find new solutions for urban decay — if they are willing to think small enough.

(y) (y) (y) (y)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:39 AM

:s :s

December 10, 2006

Consumed

Trend Wrap

By ROB WALKER

‘Phads’

One of the things that have changed in the last few years is the number of people saying that lots of things have changed in the last few years. There are more of them, and what they have spotted are trends. Many trends. In fact, Reinier Evers has taken to saying that “trends are the new trend.” He says this with a bit of a wink, but still, he’s in a position to know: he is the founder of a company called TrendWatching, which by his reckoning has identified more than 60 trends since 2002. Each is backed by examples culled from a far-flung network of trend tipsters, and each has a name, like “Tryvertising,” “Life Caching,” “Transumers” (not to be confused with “Twinsumers”) and “Youniversal Branding.” Moreover, TrendWatching’s coinages compete with those of futurists, bloggers, business-book authors, advertising agencies, consulting firms, freelance gurus and even magazines. From “IDvidualism” to “Crowdsourcing” to “the One Life trend,” these new concepts are legion.

TrendWatching’s story is a good way to understand the trend boom. Evers, who is 36 and based in Amsterdam, worked at an advertising agency and took part in the dot-com trend as an entrepreneur. Looking around for the next big thing to get in on, he saw an opportunity to build a company that collects information about potential next big things “and then somehow sells it,” he says. He distributed trend reports free online, to build name recognition, and leveraged this into paid speaking engagements and consulting gigs, then $300-a-person seminars and, most recently, incredibly detailed trend reports for those who crave even more trend info and are willing to spend $500 to get it.

And despite the mild jokiness of his “trends are the new trend” remark, he’s not exactly kidding. TrendWatching is a consultant for a variety of name-brand companies, and their trend appetite is ferocious, he says. Like all trend watchers, Evers is careful to say what he’s not doing: predicting the future, issuing fashion-industry-like pronouncements about what “the new black” will be or cataloging “cool stuff.” Instead, he says, “what we’re trying to do is spot changes in consumer behavior and naming those changes.” But since we tend to think of a trend as something deeper and more durable than a mere fad, have there actually been, as Evers contends, 60 “trends” in the last four years? Maybe not, he concedes, although depending on how you look at it, you could say there have been hundreds. But what the trend audience is looking for is a spark: a fresh way to think about eternal human needs — recognition, status, love — in the context of, you know, selling stuff.

This is why the trends cannot simply be spotted; they must be named. Tryvertising, for instance, “which is all about consumers becoming familiar with new products by actually trying them out,” sounds suspiciously like the free sample. But the right coinage, he says, “creates something people can really rally around, or easily refer to, or find intriguing.” Evers also has a sense of humor about some of those coinages, which he freely admits can be “ridiculous.” Tryvertising might sound silly, “but somehow it resonates.” This is the goal for anybody in the trend business: to resonate. Evers says TrendWatching’s biggest-resonance hits have been “Pop-Up Retail” and “Massclusivity.” (The latter refers to “exclusivity for the masses” and was thought up at the same time that Boston Consulting Group coined the similar “Masstige,” he says.)

It’s easy to be skeptical about all this, and from time to time someone comes along and tries to declare the ultimate trend: the end of trends. That, however, is a fool’s game. Whatever these things are that make up the trend trend, they call out not for a rebuttal but for a catchy name. Let’s call them “Phads.” The raw stuff of the Phad can be ephemeral or eternal. The Phad is inherently synthetic and is less about observation than authorship: no Phad exists until it is named, and it persists only as long as its name does. It is the conversion of some consumer behavior into a form that can itself be consumed, largely by people who are trying to figure out the consumer. Like the trend boom, the Phad is a function not of supply (lots of confusing changes are happening) but demand (lots of companies are confused). It may turn out that “trends” are a fad. But Phads, surely, are a trend.

:| :|

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:43 AM

(h) (h) (h) (h) (h)

geoGreeting, which lets you send short notes that arrive spelled out in images from Google Earth:

http://www.geogreeting.com/

(h)(h)(h)(h)(h) I hope you have as much fun as I did! (y) (y)

:) :) 's,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-04-2007, 08:48 AM

:) :)

http://www.geogreeting.com/view.html?zk05dVPQ+p$89ixa+m

You might have to copy and paste this link into your browser but I promise that it is not only very cool but truly amazing as well. And then the web site lets you create a message to send to folks as well.

(f) (f)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 09:16 AM

:) :)

Q U O T E D

"People fall in love with their Roombas, too. They dress them up in outfits."

-- Caleb Chung, creator of Pleo, a robotic dinosaur, says the Roomba is the Chihuahua of mobile mechanical companions

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.01/alive_pr.html

(y) (y) (y) I loved this!

(um) (um) Have a delightful Friday, wherever you might be. <humming "Singing in the Rain"......>

:D

Sweetlady & Wyatt the curious-and-into-everything-right-now Boxer (^) (l) (&) (l) (^)

P.S. Wyatt is 14 months old today! (^)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 09:23 AM

:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj2Z1wYCM7Y

(y) I must admit that this "artist" seems to be the best - at least from the few balloon artists that I've seen at state fairs or carnivals over the years.

If you get about two minutes into the mini-documentary ((p) (p) note to butches - the film- maker who introduces the piece might be considered a hottie....;) ), the flower that was created with balloons impressed me. This guy must be pretty good if he does corporate parties (not kiddie ones). ;)

(um) (um) Sun Thoughts,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 09:27 AM

:s :s

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4024457809967804989&hl=en

;) Funny, in a twisted way. Definitely not for watching for those with kids or with kids around.

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 09:29 AM

;)

http://spluch.blogspot.com/2006/12/piggy-bank-with-life.html

:)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 03:03 PM

:s :s

;)

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=562848&tstart=15

:D :D

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 03:07 PM

:D :D

Ever since primitive home computer users discovered that they could use a sophisticated database program to catalog the ties in their closet, one of the prominent functions of personal technology has been to keep track of stuff, and the advances continue apace. Yesterday, Garmin introduced a gadget designed to answer the age-old question, "Where's the dog?" The Garmin Astro features a GPS transmitter that gets strapped on to your hound and a handheld receiver so you can track his every move just like he was a sex offender on probation. The primary market is hunters, who need to know whether their dogs are tracking, pointing, treeing, loitering, reloading or whatnot, or home users who for whatever reason need a precise record of Cubby's path from the sofa to the food dish to that sunny spot that moves across the dining room floor.

http://www.uberreview.com/2007/01/garmin-gps-is-for-the-dogs.htm/

"Release the Hounds and know what they're up to": http://www.garmin.com/astro/

Another age-old question that supposedly is begging for a technological answer is "What's in the fridge?" (I suppose you could use your Astro to make sure it isn't the dog), and we have long been promised and/or threatened with smart, networked iceboxes that would track our comestibles. The latest effort is reportedly coming from Samsung sometime in the next couple of years -- a fridge that uses RFID chips in food packaging (oh yeah, that has to happen first) to monitor the contents, supply and expiration dates of your food, automatically send a shopping list to your cell phone and even offer recipes based on what's on hand. Frankly, I've got my doubts about the technology's ability to distinguish the amount of half-flat tonic water in a bottle at the back of the shelf or its usefulness when it comes to things like leftovers, where an accurate identification system is sometimes badly needed. If you really can't expend the energy to just open the refrigerator door and look, the simpler answer may be transparency.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/04/samsung-prepping-rfid-enabled-refrigerator/

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/25/invisible-appliances-on-display/

(h) 8-| (h) 8-| (h) 8-| (h) 8-|

:)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 03:11 PM

(h) (i)

In the run up to next week's Macworld Expo conference in San Francisco, Apple analysts are again caught up in a favorite January pastime: the futile guessing game. The latest handicapper to weigh in: Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who says Macworld will see the release of the iTV home entertainment appliance as well as the announcement of the long-rumored Apple-branded cell phone. "Despite all of the talk regarding new product announcements, or lack thereof, at Macworld, we continue to believe that the announcement of an iPhone would be positive for Apple shares and no sign of this product would be a negative," he wrote. "Apple waited several years to enter the MP3 market, we believe the company is well-positioned to enter the phone market now that early music-enabled handsets have tested the waters." Munster went on to comment on some other rumors about Apple's product roadmap for 2007, attributing a handy "certainty" ranking to each so we can hold him to them later in the year. They are as follows:

Almost Certain (in the next 2-6 months):

1. iPhone entering production phase of 12m units (Certainty rank: 9 out of 10)
2. iTV ($299) release at Macworld with some improvements from September debut (10 out of 10)

Likely (in the next 6-12 months):

3. iPhone with candy-bar form factor (9 out of 10)
4. Widescreen iPod with touch-sensitivity and wireless features (7 out of 10)
5. Second smartphone iPhone model with integrated keyboard (7 out of 10)
6. iSight camera, 4GB or 8GB storage on the iPhone (7 out of 10)
7. Multiple carriers as iPhone providers (vs. Cingular only or MVNO (6 out of 10)

A Stretch (possibly in the next 12-18 months):

8. Ultra-portable 12" MacBook Pro (4 out of 10)
9. Radio-transparent material used for iPhone casing (3 out of 10)
10. iPhone to feature 'iChat Mobile' video and instant messaging (2 out of 10)
11. OSX 10.5 Leopard release at Macworld (3 out of 10)

http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/01/04/analyst.on.mwsf.keynote/

(h) (i)(h) (i)(h) (i)(h) (i)

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 03:12 PM

:D :D

Q U O T E D

"I don't know if there's a Wikipedia definition for 'control freak' but when they do that entry, Steve's picture should be next to it."

-- Alan Deutschman, author of "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs."

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fi-apple3jan03,0,675106.story?page=2&track=mostviewed-homepage

:D

(um) SL & WTB (l) (&) (l) (um)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 03:18 PM

:o :o :o

The next-generation DVD optical media standard is really forked now. Hoping to ease a transition to high-definition DVD already hopelessly stymied by the battle between rival Blu-ray and HD DVD standards (see "Blu-ray, HD DVD consortiums plan two-disc special edition of Betamax wars"), Warner Brothers today announced a third standard that will combine the two. Dubbed Total HD, the format supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD players, ostensibly freeing consumers of the need to choose between two -- a decision that could severely limit their choice of entertainment given the decision of several major studios to support only one of the standards. "The next best thing is to recognize that there will be two formats and to make that not a negative for the consumer," Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer told the New York Times. "We felt that the most significant constituency for us to satisfy was the consumer first, and the retailer second. The retailer wants to sell hardware and doesn't want to be forced into stocking two formats for everything. This is ideal for them." I suppose. But is the best solution to the pitched battle between two equally supported standards really a third standard? Meanwhile, LG Electronics has its own answer -- a DVD player that can handle both Blue-ray and HD DVD discs, to be unveiled at next week's Consumer Electronics Show. If you're determined to jump into high-def DVDs right now, that might be the way to go.

http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2005/08/bluray_hddvd_co.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/technology/04video.html?_r=3&ref=technology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/16383302.htm

^o) ^o) Anyone betting/preferring on one format that will reign supreme or a combination/collaboration of two formats into one DVD player?

:) I have my own opinions in my grrl-propeller-head but will keep them to myself for now....;) :)

Have a relaxing evening and weekend,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 03:22 PM

:o :o :o :o

The Federative Republic of Brazil certainly does have a broad view of Brazilian sovereignty, doesn't it? A Brazilian court this week ordered YouTube shut down until it removes a video clip of model Daniela Cicarelli in seaside indiscretion with boyfriend Tato Malzoni. Cicarelli has sued YouTube three times over the clip, which, because of its popularity among Brazilian YouTubers, is promptly reposted to the site every time YouTube removes it. But though she's gotten satisfaction from a Brazillian court, she probably won't get any from Google, which is unlikely to comply with an order from a distant jurisdiction. It's worth noting here as well that little dust-ups like these would be more easily avoided if YouTube had actually delivered on its promise to implement the "content identification system" it promised by the end of 2006 (see "YouTube's slow leak").

Brazil court orders YouTube shut on celeb sex video:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2007-01-04T133143Z_01_N04473895_RTRIDST_0_GOOGLE-BRAZIL.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna

YouTube Software Threat to Google Plans: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16398962/

YouTube's Slow Leak":

http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2006/12/youtube_best_ge.html

:) :)

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-05-2007, 03:28 PM

:| :|

Are you an engineer with turbopump or propulsion experience on large cryogenic engines or some structure experience on something like, say, a Delta IV or Atlas V? Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would like you to work on his rocket ship. As part of a hiring campaign, Bezos has lifted the veil slightly on his secretive Blue Orgin project, started in 2000 with the aim of developing a vehicle for commercial, sub-orbital space trips. On a new public site, Bezos has posted photos of the Goddard, a stubby, cone-shaped, vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing development vehicle, along with video of its first test launch in mid-November, showing the craft rising 285 feet, then settling back to earth in a cloud of dust. Just the sort of thing to get an engineer's juices going, but the mildly interested need not apply. Aside from technical expertise, the top criterion for hiring is this: "You must have a genuine passion for space. Without passion, you will find what we're trying to do too difficult. There are much easier jobs." Blue Origin's coat of arms, by the way, features a pair of turtles reaching for the stars over the credo "Gradatim Ferociter," roughly "Step by step, boldly."

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/03/26062.aspx

http://public.blueorigin.com/index.html

"You must have a genuine passion for space.": http://public.blueorigin.com/jobs.htm

(y) (y) Despite Bezos' involvement (I'd prefer Paul Allen's money invested in this venture), goals for "reaching places in space" are much more likely to be realized by private firms than by a HEAVILY-LADEN organization like NASA.

(y) (y) (y) I *do* greatly admire the requirement for extreme PASSION in their adverts for employees! Without it, little is accomplished, in my view.

WEP (with extreme passion),

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-07-2007, 03:34 PM

:D :D :D

(On an infant's shirt): Already smarter than Bush.

1/20/09: End of an Error

(Also, 1/20/09: Hang In There, America!)

I Hated Bush Before it was Cool

That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway

Let's Fix Democracy in This Country First

If You Want a Nation Ruled By Religion, Move to Iran

Bush. Like a Rock. Only Dumber.

You Can't Be Pro-War And Pro-Life

If You Can Read This, You're Not the President

Hey Bush Supporter: Embarrassed Yet?

George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight

Nice War, Jackass

America: One Nation, Under Surveillance

They Call Him "W" So He Can Spell It

Which God Do You Kill For?

Cheney/Satan '08 (also Cheney/Voldemort '08)

Jail to the Chief

George W. Bush Deserves a Fair Trial

Who Would Jesus Torture?

No, Seriously, Why Did We Invade Iraq?

(over a map of red states) I See Dumb People

Bush: God’s Way of Proving Intelligent Design is Full of Crap

So Many Christians, So Few Lions

When Fascism Comes to America, It Will Be Wrapped in a Flag, Carrying a Cross (Sinclair Lewis)

It Takes More Than a Chrome Fish, Pal

Bad President! No Banana.

We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language (Buck
Henry)

We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them

Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Blood

Is It Vietnam Yet?

Bush Doesn't Care About White People, Either

You Elected Him. You Deserve Him.

Frodo Failed. Bush Has the Ring.

Impeach Cheney First

W=Nixon 2.0

When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46

Already Against the Next War

Pray For Impeachment

The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century

What Part of "Bush Lied" Don't You Understand?

Bush Lost Iraq. Deal With It

Bush Never Exhaled

Nixon Resigned.

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

:D

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-07-2007, 03:36 PM

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y)

January 6, 2007

Op-Ed Contributor

Mr. Ford Gets the Last Laugh

By CHEVY CHASE

IN recent days, I’ve been bombarded by requests to comment on my relationship with President Gerald Ford. Until now, I’ve tried to say nothing — any remarks from me during the Ford family’s private time of grief would have been inappropriate.

The requests were understandable, I guess. You see, I made a reputation for myself 30 years ago on “Saturday Night Live” in part because of a number of sketches and “Weekend Updates” that I wrote or appeared in ridiculing Mr. Ford for his apparent “stumble-bumbling” (though he was perhaps the best athlete to have been president) and making fun of his presidency.

Luckily for me, Mr. Ford had a sense of humor.

I’ve often thought how odd it was that we became linked together. It’s not like we had a lot in common. After all, Mr. Ford had never been helped for any problems with “self-medication” in a facility that has helped so many throughout these past decades. And he had never been castigated by the press for such atrocities as “Oh! Heavenly Dog” or “Cops and Robbersons,” among other slightly awful films I had made in Hollywood.

But linked together we were. And not just in the obvious ways. If it hadn’t been for the courage of Mr. Ford’s wife, Betty, for admitting to an alcohol problem, I would never have received the help I needed in the early 1980s at the Betty Ford clinic, located not far from the Ford residence near Palm Springs. During my short stay there, I often saw Mrs. Ford personally surveying the clinic and generously offering a helping hand to those who were lucky enough to face their problems and, with the learned help of the clinic staff, appraise their behavior and their lifestyles.

One day when my wife, Jayni, came to visit me at the clinic, the Fords invited us to lunch. As it happened, Mrs. Ford had become so beloved and respected by many for her earlier openness about breast cancer and her alcoholism that a television network was in preproduction on a special bio-pic about her. Mr. Ford suggested that while we ate lunch, the four of us could view the videotape of various performances by actors being considered to play the part of the president.

Seated at a small table set for four in a simple dining room also containing a somewhat complicated videotape recorder and TV set were the former commander in chief and I making friendly small talk before lunch was brought in. And on all fours, literally on their hands and knees in front of the bulky and confusing tape machine, were Mrs. Ford and Jayni trying their best to figure out the wiring of the playback machine and the way the whole system worked, so we could watch the screen tests. Noting the effort the ladies were putting into getting the VCR to work, I suggested to Mr. Ford that perhaps we might help them out.

As I began to stand up from my chair, he took gentle hold of my arm, sat me back down and said: “No, no, Chevy. Don’t even think about it. I’ll probably get electrocuted, and you’ll be picked up and arrested for murder.”

We both laughed.

I’ll never forget that moment. My laughter was hearty and genuine.

Chevy Chase is an actor and a writer.

(y) (y) (y) I think it was classy (unusual I know) of Chase to wait until all of the media frenzy was over before he provided his input - this Op-Ed piece showed a side of Chase I wasn't aware of as well as a different side of President Ford as well. I enjoyed reading this very much and hope you will too.

Peace,

Sweetlady & Wyatt the Boxer (l) (&) (l)

sweetlady

01-07-2007, 03:37 PM

(y) (y)

January 6, 2007

Op-Ed Columnist

Monkey on a Tiger

By MAUREEN DOWD

Washington

There was a touch of parody to the giddy Democrat takeover this week: Nancy Pelosi indulging her inner Haight-Ashbury and dipping the Capitol in tie-dye, sashaying around with the Grateful Dead, Wyclef Jean, Carole King, Richard Gere, feminists and a swarm of well-connected urchins.

The first act of House Democrats who promised to govern with bipartisan comity was imperiously banishing Republicans from participating in the initial round of lawmaking. Even if Republicans were brutes during their reign, Democrats should have shown more class, letting the whiny minority party offer some stupid amendments that would lose.

Perhaps the Democrats’ power-shift into overdrive is a neurological disorder, or neuropolitical disorder.

If free will is an illusion — if we are, as one philosopher put it, “nothing more than sophisticated meat machines,” doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over — that would explain a lot about the latest trend in which everyone is reverting to type.

William James wrote in 1890 that the whole “sting and excitement” of life comes from “our sense that in it things are really being decided from one moment to another, and that it is not the dull rattling off of a chain that was forged innumerable ages ago.”

But in Science Times this week, Dennis Overbye advised Dr. James to “get over it,” observing that “a bevy of experiments in recent years suggest that the conscious mind is like a monkey riding a tiger of subconscious decisions and actions in progress, frantically making up stories about being in control.”

As Mark Hallett of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke told Mr. Overbye, “Free will does exist, but it’s a perception, not a power or a driving force. ... The more you scrutinize it, the more you realize you don’t have it.”

That would explain why, after voters insisted that the president wrap it up in Iraq, he made a big show of pretending to listen, then decided to do a war do-over.

Is this just the baked-in stubbornness of one man, or is W.’s behavior evidence that he has no free will? Is the Decider freely choosing another huge blunder or is he taking instructions from his genetic and political coding, fearing that if he admits what a foul hash he’s made of Iraq, he’ll be labeled a wimp, as his dad was?

If W. is trapped on a tiger, he’s not the only one.

John McCain can’t get beyond seeing himself as a maverick now that he’s become a nonmaverick, a right-wing Republican urging an escalation of a hopeless war, even though he’s already lived through an escalation of a hopeless war.

“There are two keys to any surge in U.S. troops,” Senator McCain told an appreciative audience at the American Enterprise Institute yesterday. “It must be substantial, and it must be sustained.”

With the letter she and Harry Reid wrote to the president yesterday, warning him that “we are well past the point of more troops for Iraq,” Speaker Pelosi tried to exert her free will to stop the Surge. But the Democrats aren’t willing to take real action and cut off money for the Surge. They’re predetermined to want to have it both ways: not to be blamed for the war and not to be blamed for pulling the plug on the war.

Iraq has become a snake pit of factions failing to escape fate. Shiites and Sunnis have been fighting and killing each other for about 1,400 years over who was the rightful heir to Muhammad, and yet the entire American high command was somehow taken aback that Shiites and Sunnis can’t muster the free will to keep their country from disintegrating.

Could it have been kismet that there were Shiites taunting Saddam at his hanging? Maybe it was preordained back in the days when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and the British diplomat Gertrude Bell drew the boundaries of the modern Iraq that a security guy with a cellphone would capture the spectacle.

Despite all the talk back in the 2000 campaign about a robustly experienced foreign-policy dream team, it may have been destined that the Bush administration would be asleep in the run-up to the insurgency, just as it was asleep in the run-up to 9/11, to Katrina, to the occupation and to the refugee crisis in Iraq. Either all that was predetermined, or the administration was preternaturally negligent.

Arthur Schopenhauer, the German philosopher who said a man can do what he wants but cannot will what he wants, would have understood W.’s nonsensical urge to Surge.

We don’t know if human beings have free will. We just know that human beings in Washington appear not to.

(y) (y) Definitely.

Carpe Diem,

SL & WTB (l) (&) (l)