Cavalock Unleashes The Geek Within

Finally, I'm in the epi-centre, nexus, the ground zero of animeville and all things cool and electronic, Akihabara. Spent the early part of the day there. Well, I managed to find some missing Gashapon figures plus a bunch of other cool stuff, that I'll put up in a later post.Some shopping tips for anyone shopping for figures, gadgets, etc.. Shop around! Far as I know or can see, there is no fixed price on most of the stuff unless it's a brand new just-released-today thing. Spotted at least a thousand yen difference on the new PSP in different small shops. So shop around, don't buy it at the first place you see it. Enjoy the sights, explore the smaller shops and hidden corners. And there's always time for food even if it's just a snack. This here's from the Akihabara branch of the famous local donut chain Mister Donut. Unfortunately I think they ran out of their new moshi donuts. Got their signature lumpy one instead. Very light yet chewy, I like it! And you know how most donut places smell of all that oil and stuff? Well, there's hardly any of that here.

Montana Lesson Plans

Montana is going to be a very short lesson for us. Ellie has been sick for 4 days so we still need to finish up South Dakota plus we have plans for a picnic with friends and a scout meeting this week. So we will only be spending 3 days on Monday: 1 social studies day, 1 science day, and 1 general review/overview day.Social Studies (Tuesday)Intro to Glacier National Park: Glacier National Park is in northwestern Montana, along the border with Canada. You can see glaciers along the Going-to-the-Sun Highway, which runs through Glacier National Park. But what are glaciers?Read Icebergs, Ice Caps, and Glaciers (Rookie Read-About Science) by Allan Fowler.Prior to activity, freeze gravel and small rocks into ice blocks so they will have a rough bottom when they start to melt. Visit a sand box and have kids form mountains and river valleys in the sand. Have the kids draw a picture of the way the valley floor looks before a glacier comes through. Use the ice blocks with the gravel and rock side down to slowly bulldoze a path down the river valley. You should be able to see gouging and land changes taking place in the sand as the glacier moves. Have kids draw the the valley floor after the glacier went through. What changes took place?Explain that the same way our minutes glaciers changed their valley, real glaciers changed the land that we live in. The Appalachians are a prime example of rounded mountains from when ice scraped over them thousands of years ago. Sharp pointed peaks are a giveaway to where the ice level was; if a peak is still jagged then a portion of it always remained above ice line. Use map key to identify different land forms while completing Daily Geography lesson, week 5.Science: Group lesson with girl scouts following the Fossils and Dinosaurs Lesson Plan .

Happy Earth Day As Ina Picnics...Plus Salt In Batter And Obsessive Cookie Shaping

The Barefoot Contessa with Ina GartenPack And Go PartyPita Stuffed with Tabbouleh and Shards of FetaRoasted Shrimp SaladUltimate Ginger CookieWhat could be more fun than going on a picnic with Ina? AND in her own back yard. (Do you think she and Jeffrey might set up the tent later?)I can’t wait to see what she’s making. And I really hope TR is one of the guests. Just imagine him all stretched out on the picnic blanket…I like how she often counts things off at the beginning of an episode. This time it’s what picnic food should be:SimplePortableAlways DeliciousI LIKE the music. It’s jazzy.Ina asks if anyone REALLY likes fancy parties. SHE prefers casual get-togethers. She starts with her Ultimate Ginger Cookies. (I guess Tyler hasn’t gotten around to these yet.)She measure 2¼ cups flour into a sieve over a bowl. She stirs it lightly first. Ina tells us as not to tamp down the flour as we measure. Good point. If you pack the flour into the cup, you’re increasing the amount of flour - possibly even by spoonfuls. So handle the flour gently as you measure. As I think about it, the only ingredient you ever want to pack into a measuring cup is brown sugar. Oh, chocolate chips too, so you don’t have to feel bad about sampling them on their way to the mixing bowl.To the flour, Ina adds 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons “really good” cinnamon. 1½ teaspoons cloves, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, (this is going to be some spicy meatballs, I mean cookies) and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, WHICH SHE DOESN’T GRATE FRESH…which I will never understand.Ina says the balance of spices is important and you don’t want one spice to overwhelm the others. She adds ¼ teaspoon salt, which she says brings out the flavor in sweet things the same way that it does in savory. Ina sifts all the dry ingredients together.I KNOW that noone else on the planet agrees with me and that I’m the only one in the universe who doesn’t add salt to sweet things, but I don’t care. I can TASTE it and I don’t like it. Actually, now that I think about it, it is funny because I love sweet things with savory stuff. I could eat a prune in any stew or orange juice in any reduction. But I cannot abide salt in sweet baked goods. Yet when I taste others’, I’m not as bothered as when I add it to my own…Go Figure!In another bowl, Ina adds 1 cup of brown sugar to ¼ cup of flavorless oil. I would use safflower oil here, which I always keep in the fridge to prevent it going off. In fact, the only oil I DON’T keep in the fridge is my tasteless light-colored supermarket-quality olive oil that I use when I want to extend my beautiful Spanish olive oil.Ina adds 1/3 cup of unsulfured molasses and beats that together. She breaks an egg onto the counter (uck! egg all over the counter) and then into a separate little bowl. She pours that into the running mixer. Then, on low speed, she adds the flour and spices. Ooh, she’s adding a surprise in the middle – crystallized ginger. She chops it into a small dice. She’s using 1¼ cups of crystallized ginger! She beats it into the batter.Ina scoops out the dough with an ice cream scoop and rolls it into a ball and then into sugar. She places the balls on the cookie sheet and presses them flat. They will bake at 350°F for 12 minutes. I always use an ice cream scoop too. It ensures that each cookie is the same size. I have a lovely friend, who takes a much more casual approach than I do to cooking – and life. HER kids don’t run screaming from the room when asked if they want to help with the baking. She keeps cookie dough in the freezer and can’t be bothered to defrost it. I was present one time when her kids hacked off pieces of the frozen dough and threw them on a baking sheet. (And not a proper baking sheet either – it was the bottom of a broiler pan that comes with some ovens.) There were blobs of cookie dough; there were triangles and misshapen lumps! They were all different sizes and shapes. I had to put my fist in my mouth to keep from exclaiming over the haphazard nature of the baking that was going on! And when they came out, some were crisp, some were chewy, some were a bit burned and…the kids just loved them! I understand the need for freezing cookie dough, but I approach the whole thing a little differently. I would scoop the dough into identical balls, open-freeze them and then pack them into a plastic bag to be used as needed. Um, I better stop now, because I know I’m sounding more and more like Martha Stewart every minute. (The bad parts of Martha Stewart, not the good ones.)Back to Ina, she calls her friend Barbara (on her blackberry) and asks if she can pick up some peaches from the farm stand, which will go perfectly with her cookies. (Conveniently, there is a camera standing by Barbara when her phone rings.) Oh, she’s bringing individual bottles of champagne too.Ina takes out the cookies. Gorgeous. AND every one is perfect. She has a little taste. Hmmm.Ina grates orange zest on her microplaner for the shrimp. She adds that with 2 tablespoons of orange juice to a bowl. She adds a cup of “good” mayonnaise. It’s not necessary to make your own, Ina says. IF you are serving this outside, I would NEVER use a homemade mayonnaise. Few things are as perishable. You need something that has a few stabilizers and, yes, preservatives.Salt (I would add less) and pepper go in with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. She stirs that all together. Next, she adds prepares a ¼ cup of chopped red onion and ¼ cup of chopped dill with 2 tablespoons drained capers and sets that aside.Barbara had found the peaches. They’re HUGE.Ina thought to roast shrimp for shrimp salad after they began roasting chicken for the chicken salad at the Barefoot Contessa shop. Good thinking!She peels and deveins the shrimp. (She has nice hands.) Ina puts 2½ pounds of 16/20 count shrimp on a baking sheet. (It’s just as well that she’s having a picnic in her backyard, because after buying all that shrimp, she won’t be able to afford a vacation.)She “drizzles” over olive oil and sprinkles over salt and pepper. She mixes that together well and spreads the shrimp out in a single layer and roasts them at 400°F for 6 to 8 minutes until pink and firm and barely cooked through.Ina puts the shrimp in a big bowl while still warm (not hot). She spoons over most of the sauce. She notes that she always adds the sauce to the shrimp not the other way around. That way she can moderate the amount of sauce she uses. And it’s good to have a bit of extra to add just before serving.Using an enormous spoon, she mixes the shrimp with the sauce and then adds most of the vegetables. She “holds a little bit of the vegetables back” to sprinkle over the top before serving. She tastes for seasoning - “The best shrimp salad I ever had.”For her tabouli, Ina chops an English cucumber, leaving on the skin. She calls them hothouse cucumbers. She chops one cup of scallions. She uses the white and green parts and adds that to the cukes. She halves 2 cups of cherry tomatoes. (Remember Rachael’s tip?)Ina says she likes the idea of each person having his own picnic bag. It’s the same as when kids prefer individual cupcakes at a birthday party. I get that, but I think it’s just because Ina doesn’t like to share.Ina loves that her friend is bringing individual little bottles of champagne, so each person has his or own. “Now that’s a party!” Barbara has no problem getting them. Those are HALF BOTTLES of Veuve? They’re big. That’s a lot of champers for each person. I really do hope they’re going to camp out after and not get behind the wheel.To finish the tabouli, Ina puts a cup of bulgur wheat into a bowl and pours over 1½ cups of boiling water. She stirs in 1/4 cup of lemon juice, ¼ cup of olive oil and salt and just lets it sit for an hour. She adds it to the chopped vegetables with 1 cup of fresh chopped mint and parsley. She adds more salt and pepper and stirs everything together. Yum!To package the tabouli, she cuts pitas in half. (White ones. I didn’t know anyone still eats the white ones.) She spoons the salad in with big pieces of feta cheese. Fantastic. Plus her nails look sensational.The shrimp salad looks luscious and AMAZING. She has a glossy orange mini-shopping bag for each person. She packages the shrimp salad in Chinese takeout containers. The tabouli pita goes into parchment paper and the cookies – THREE each - into glassine bags.This is such an UN-GREEN presentation that it’s striking. I have no doubt that everything would taste just as good from a single big platter. If she were traveling even a mile or two, I could understand all this. But she basically could throw the food out of her back door into her guests’ mouths, so the need for all this trash eludes me. That goes for the HALF bottles of bubbly as well.She adds a “good” napkin. I think they’re paper. Ina festoons each bag with a perfect piece of parchment paper, billowing from the top. It DOES look festive and grand, but, if it were me, I would grab those pieces of parchment paper 3 seconds after the guests removed them and run them back to the kitchen to be used again...and not as wrapping. (I don’t actually use parchment paper, but I would still try to rescue it.)We learn that she’s packing 6 bags total. Ina puts them all out as Barbara and the other guests arrive. Everyone unpacks his bag – at the table, not on a blanket…no TR in sight. Jeffrey tries to steal some of Ina’s shrimp and she fends him off. I KNEW she didn’t like to share. Then they click champagne bottles (with straws) and the feast begins.Adorable Jeffry says this is the greatest picnic he’s ever had and HE’S going to do the dishes. (Harhar).Maybe I’ll count off a few things I loved about this episode myself:Flawless food.Incomparable Ina.Great pals to share it with.But Leo needs to have a talk with the Contessa…or more likely her producers.

The Aches & Pains of Raising Children

"My friend Vivian's been out of school for two days.""There were 6 people out sick today, Mom!""...hmm...I have a headache. Maybe I have it."Me: stop saying that!"My friend Jessica's been been out of school for two days. She had a 103 fever.""There were TWELVE people out sick today Mom!""Hmm...wonder if I'll get it."Me: Stop saying that!Do they listen? No. Somewhere around 12:30 a.m. I woke up to find Sissy staring at me with huge eyeballs that weren't adjusted to our low lit room. Kinda creepy coming out of a deep sleep...If you're the mom of a kid over 2, you know what I mean.So I wake up to huge eyes staring at me and she says she needs to get to the bathroom STAT, which is never fun. It's pretty standard Mom stuff though; when you're under 15, you never throw up unaccompanied. So we head for the bathroom and - nothing. I coaxed her to bed (in my exhaustion, but she didn't want me to leave. She suggested I "stand there". Nice. Instead, I decided to lay down with her. Bad idea.Next thing I knew, I was in somebody else's house doing who knows what when my leg starts to hurt. It got worse & worse 'til it hurt like nobody's business. After a while I check it out and it's beet red with huge varicose type veins bulging out all up & down my leg! That was pretty scary right there and the pain? Horrific. So I did what any other 36 year old mom would do; called Mom! Too bad Mom & Dad were on vacation. I tried to tell her "But Mom, you don't understand!" in hopes that she'd come rescue me I guess.Then I woke up, relieved it was a dream, but in reality, my leg was trying to tell me that unless I moved, I might do some sort of permanent damage. Who knew that sleeping in your kid's bed and not moving for hours would cause such trauma to a limb? I must have lost all circulation to my left leg and it, was not happy. My hip aches just thinking about it.

Big mouth doll

American capitalism gone with a whimper

Stanislav Mishin
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.
Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.
First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their right to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our democracy. Pride blind the foolish.
Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different branches and denominations were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the winning side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the winning side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.
The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in Americas short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.
These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?
These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.
Then came Barack Obamas command that GMs (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of pure free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.
So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a bold move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UKs Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our wise Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.
Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper&but a freeman whimper.
So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set fair maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.
The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.
The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.
Pravda.ru

New & Improved!

Shortly after I moved into my house, the remote to the garage door opener quit working. Cruising Sears' website, I found out the opener that came with the garage is at least 25-30 years old! I drove 90 miles (round trip) to the nearest Sears repair center (as recommended by the 800-Line) only to find out the repair center ceased existence "a long time ago". Hmmm... Maybe the 800-line needs to be informed? The friendly store clerk suggested I get a $40 universal remote. I can still hear his words now... "It'll work. This works with everything." Uh huh... I bet you can guess it didn't work! So another 90-mile trip to return it.Over the past year and a half, I've been using the wall-mounted control units to open and close the garage door. Yes, it involves getting out of the car to close the garage door... Kinda defeats the purpose of having a garage door opener, doesn't it? LOLLast fall, Farm & Fleet had a grand opening and one of the featured specials was garage door openers. I bought one and it's sat in my garage all winter. I finally opened the box and looked at the instruction manual. Thought to myself: "This doesn't look too hard!" (You know where this is going, right?)All the little parts came in a bag. I dumped them all out and set to work! Work in ProgressGetting ready to attach the chain Attaching the motorI was so proud of myself when I had the entire thing together! All I needed to do was disconnect the old one and install the new. I ran out to my Dad's to get a 2x4, which was supposed to be used to hold the motor up while I bolted it to the supports. While there, he offered to come into town and help me get it installed. Four hours later....A New Opener! A New Wall Control Unit! A New Remote for the Car! And even Safety “eyes” to prevent the door from closing on small children and animals (didn’t have that with the old unit).It shouldn't have taken us 4 hours to get the thing up there, but we had technical difficulties due to (what I think) an overheated motor (as mentioned in the instruction book). Men use some "colorful" language when things don't work they way they're supposed to... and my Dad is no exception. LOL!Revised: See the lightbulb in the first photo? My Dad was unscrewing it as he was doing so, I was saying "That's a new bulb. It's still...." My eyes went from looking above where the bulb was and traveled to the concrete where it shattered into a billion pieces. I then said, "Well, it *was* still good. Not anymore."Later, after we got the new opener up, Dad says to me, "Gotta bulb?" I said, "I *did* have a bulb. You broke it." LOL Then I went in the house to get another one.Amazing how many little pieces a bulb can create when it meets concrete!

Would you accept a job which is not your line but pays high?

I am being offered a job that is too challenging for me as it's totally out of my line. I have no experience and my course was not at all anything related to it. It's more of marketing and very complex. The offer was real good especially considering that I am not even experienced to do the task. But the employer believes so much in me so he insisted that I accept it. Basic salary is way above regular plus there's going to be bonus for each successful proposal. Indeed, an offer hard to resist. Problem is, I will need to learn a lot. My fear is, I might hurt their business if I take the offer. Like going back to school. If you were me, would you accept the challenge?

Biography: Milton Caniff- A Remembrance

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.Milton Caniff with Jack BennyUNCLE MILTBy Harry Grant GuytonI would like to share some of my special memories about my uncle Milton Arthur Caniff.Bunny (My aunt Esther) and Milt never had children, so my older sister, brother and I were their kids for years. But they also adopted many, many other children. One is Hesper Anderson, the screenwriter of Children of a Lesser God. They put a number of young adults through school and college, so in this way they were parents to many. Unfortunately, none of us were artistic in the same sense he was, at least not to my knowledge.I recall that when I was twelve and living in Los Angeles in 1936, Milt gave my sister, brother and I yellow slicker raincoats that he painted large pictures of the characters from Terry And The Pirates on the back of. I believe my sister had a large black drawing of Pat Ryan on her slicker, my brother had Terry and I had Connie. I often wonder what happened to those raincoats.Milton Caniff with Joan Crawford,the inspiration for the "Dragon Lady"Milt had narcolepsy and could- and did- fall asleep anywhere and at any time. In the old days when he was smoking, drawing and watching TV, he would fall asleep, drop his cigarette, and burn his drawing. When he burnt a hole in the strip, he always hoped it was in a spot he could cover; if not, he had to redo the whole strip. Speaking of Milt's smoking, after Milt quit, he always used to light up women's cigarettes so he could get a few puffs.Milt had the habit of falling asleep while talking to you. We were in a chauffeured Limo in Panama. The chauffeur, Milt and I were in the front seat with the girls in the back. Milt, talking, fell asleep and awakened about five minutes later, still continuing the conversation. Needless to say, the chauffeur was amazed. Milt had bought Bun a 1959 Silver Cloud Rolls-Royce for her 1958 Christmas present. When Milt drove, he put the back part of the seat down so far, it appeared he was sleeping. Alas, one day en route to the Racquet Club in Palm Springs, he did fall asleep while driving like this. After that incident, Bunny would not let him drive unless he had just awakened from a nap.Milt and Bunny spent money like it was water. they enjoyed their life and lived it fully. When they lived in Palm Springs, Bun sent their dry cleaning to New York because no one in California could do it right. Bun always had Milt on a diet, such as eating celery and carrots and having just one drink before dinner. In Palm Springs they had a main house and three blocks away they had a duplex. One side of the duplex was Milt's studio with the other side for guests. Milt would spend half of a 24 hour day or more in the studio. The first time we stayed in the guest part, Bun always had "goodies" such as food and liquor in the kitchen. We had a favorite cookie, so she had four or five packages of these laid out on the kitchen counter. The next morning they were gone. While Milt was working, he wandered over, saw the cookies and devoured them. Needless to say, we always left some goodies out for Milt, and no one ever said "boo" about them.Caniff with Bob Crane of "Hogan's Heroes"Milt had the ability to talk to you and remember almost everything you said. He picked the brains of everyone he spoke with and was able to fit almost any conversation into his strip in one form or another. It mattered not if you were a general or a private. He could elicit information from either and use it. When he visited a base and found a military person he liked and wanted to have in the strip, he would use the person's first name as his last name, such as Sgt. Andy Trone became Sgt. Andy. The character Charlie Vanilla was Charles Russhon, a US Army photographer who was on the first US plane to land in Japan. To my knowledge Milton never put any idea down on paper that went into his files. It mostly came from his head and went into the strip as he drew it. I found no notes or other papers that would give a clue as to what Milt had in mind or what future strips would show.Of course Milton Caniff was a stickler for accuracy, but his fans were eagle-eyed. I was with him at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. He climbed into the cockpit of a fighter plane (an F-104 I believe), and spent maybe five minutes in it. That evening, he used it in Steve Canyon. He had committed the control panel in that cockpit to memory, and months later when the strip was published, he received numerous letters saying that had Steve been flying as high as Milt implied in the strip, one of the gauge readings was wrong.He loved to get letters of criticism as well as praise because this meant people were reading the strip. One time an editor who was a friend of Milton's said he had sent back a letter of criticism to the writer. Milt asked him not to do that in the future. He wanted them forwarded to him because maybe he had made a mistake and he wanted to correct it if he had. When he was doing Terry and the Pirates, he had once put Terry's insignia on wrong, and got hundreds of letters pointing out the error. His eyes would twinkle as he said, "See! They're following the strip!"Japanese newspaper cartoonistYoshirou Kato with MiltonMilt told me when he was switching from Terry And The Pirates to Steve Canyon that he had to get William Randolph Hearst's OK on certain aspects of the strip. Milt said he flew to Los Angeles, took a plane to near San Simeon and was driven up to Hearst's "castle". He was shown into the dining room where Hearst sat at the opposite end of a long table drinking a cup of coffee. Hearst asked Milt questions such as what he had in mind for Steve and how much money he wanted. Milt said to himself, "You ungracious bastard!" and told Hearst what he had in mind for the strip, asking for double his present salary and all the fringes- plus ownership of the copyrights to his strip. He related how Hearst said, "You're a high-priced son of a bitch." and got up and left the room. Milt left and two weeks later was informed that Hearst had agreed to the terms.Milt told me that in the early 30s and 40s, he sent his original strips to the syndicates, instead of sending photostat copies. One day they cleared out the storeroom and sent him back what was left. A lot of Milt's original Terry art had been taken from that storeroom by a person or persons unknown. So Milton decided to bequeath his alma mater, Ohio State University, his files, art and memorabilia. Ohio State has a great many of Milt's original pieces that he drew from the beginning of his career. After Milt passed away, when I was going through the file cabinets and belongings in New York, I came across some things that I really wanted to keep but couldn't. I donated everything Milt had to Lucy Caswell and the Milton Caniff Reading Room at Ohio State University, including the #2 pop-up book of Terry And The Pirates which I loved so much.One time whoever took his weekly strips to the photo engravers had lost them and he had to do the whole week over. As I was taking the strips to be copied he jokingly told me, "Do not lose these." When I returned, I told him I was going to wash the Rolls Royce and found the lost strips under the passenger seat. He said, "Since you found them, they're yours." He always gave me strips and items he had done for various organizations, because of the Terry And The Pirates originals that had been taken. He instructed me to not give them away, because someday they may become valuable. So I kept them and forgot I had most of them. Earlier this year John Ellis and I were going through boxes of papers and files and we found them.Dean Fredericks (TV's Steve Canyon),Harry Truman and Milton CaniffDuring the 1954 National Cartoonist's Society convention in Washington, D.C., I had been invited to join the group and was to present the Silver T-Square Award to President Eisenhower and Secretary of the Treasury Humphries. However, there was a military officer who belonged to the NCS who said that since I was only a Master Sergeant, he should be the one to present it. In the end, Milton presented it himself. Walt Kelly was trying to fix me up with any and every girl we ran into. I heard that he and Al Capp got into it, but I was not present when they did and I don't recall what it was about.Here's an interesting side note to all of this... I was stationed at Fort Eustis, Virginia at the time and had been loaned a Major General's plane to get to the NCS convention in Washington D.C. When I reported to Bolling AFB for my flight home, a Lieutenant Colonel was waiting to fly me back to Fort Eustis. As we were walking down the ramp to the plane, a paratroop Major from Fort Bragg, NC with his combat boots bloused and his ribbons shining, asked the Colonel for a ride. The Colonel stated, "You'll have to ask the Sergeant- it's his plane." The Major finally swallowed his pride and asked me if it was OK, I said yes. The Major tried to get into the co-pilot's seat, but the Colonel said. "No way. That's the Sergeant's seat." As we arrived at Fort Eustis, the Major jumped out and ran into Flight Operations. As I entered they were all trying to figure out how a Master Sergeant in the Army could have a Lt. Colonel type fly him around! Milt tried for years to fit this incident into Steve Canyon but couldn't come up with a good story that would fit.Over the years Milton would use my name in the strips, usually on signs or on soldier's uniforms. I always got a big kick out of that. You can see the name "Guyton" clearly in the last panel of the December 24th, 1961 Steve Canyon Sunday page. My son, Terry Wayne Guyton was named after the comic strip Terry. My sister has two daughters who Milt used in Steve Canyon, Dianne was the model for "Doodly Bixenshoos", and Sandra was the model for "Orbs Corbs" in the mid 60s. I had a wonderful relationship with my uncle and saw him usually six times a year. On each visit he would talk to me for hours while drawing and watching sports on TV. He always said I took care of him. Bunny kept him on that diet and I always left treats in the kitchen. Often, I would find a thank you note on the table. Every day with him was a holiday, and I learned a lot. I miss him.If you enjoyed this post, see... Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon Sunday Pages, People On Paper, Byrnes' Complete Guide To Cartooning Part One- Meet The Men Behind the Comics and Part Two- Studying Comic Strips, Dan Gordon's Superkatt, Rube Goldberg's Side Show and Alex Toth Model SheetsSTEVE CANYON TV SHOWFor info on the Steve Canyon TV show DVD, see... www.stevecanyondvd.blogspot.comSTEVE CANYON AT AMAZONFantagraphics has a great book on Caniff's career, and Checker has released year by year reprints of the classic Steve Canyon strip. Caniff was a master storyteller, and the first few years of Steve Canyon are examples of his genius at the height of its powers. Click on the pictures for more info.ThanksStephen WorthDirectorASIFA-HollywoodAnimation Archive"Steve Canyon" is a Registered Trademark of the Milton Caniff Estate.

Flow and Freedom: Journey to the River Sea

Author: Eva Ibbotson (on JOMB) Published: 2002 Penguin (on JOMB) ISBN: 033039715X Chapters.ca Amazon.com Today, our 9 year old daughter, Lucy, tells us why she absolutely adores this beautifully written and inspiring Amazon adventure. Click here to listen to our chat with Eva Ibbotson on her 83rd birthday. Other beloved books by Eva Ibbotson: Which Witch? The Great Ghost Rescue The Secret of Platform 13 The Star of Kazan The Beasts of Clawstone Castle Dial-a-Ghost Island of the Aunts (a.k.a. Monster Mission) Click here for other Eva Ibbotson book reviews by Lucy and click here to see the postcard Eva sent to Lucy and Bayla earlier this year in response to their 84th birthday cards. LISTENER HOTLINE: Chuck Stanley enjoys sharing his childhood love of Fox in Socks (by Dr. Seuss) with his own children. We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Lover doll

Economic Reports 04/12/09

Wholesale Trade FebWholesale inventories fell 1.5%, the biggest percentage drop in 17 years and extending a string of declines as wholesalers scramble to reduce unwanted stocks.Autos showed the steepest draw in wholesale inventories at -7.9% in the month as the auto industry desperately tries to bring stocks in line with sales.Retail Chain Sales MarMany chains posted wide and deepening declines in March though some said the results, given the absence of Easter, were better than expected.Wal-Mart, which by itself makes up more than 10% of general merchandise sales, posted sales increases but the lowest increases in a year.Trade Deficit Feb -$26B vs -$36BThe U.S. trade deficit in February unexpectedly plunged on U.S. import demand falling over a cliff.Exports actually rebounded 1.6% while imports plummeted 5.1%. The improvement in the overall deficit was due primarily to a drop in nonoil imports.The drop in imports was widespread but led by declines in industrial supplies and capital goods excluding autos. Consumer goods and autos also fell.Year-on-year, overall exports slipped to down 16.9% in February while imports worsened to down 28.8%.Import & Export Prices MarThe rise underway in oil is making for higher import prices which rose 0.5% in March to end a very long string of declines. Yoy import prices down -14.9%.Prices for imported petroleum products jumped 10.5% in March following a 5.2% rise in February.But a key number in this report, one that offers indications on price pressures for imported finished goods, is ex-petroleum import prices which fell 0.7%.The third straight 0.7% monthly decline to extend a long streak of declines that have raised major concerns of disinflation/deflation among policy makers.Export prices are also showing contraction, down 0.6% and Yoy -6.7%. Prices for farm exports fell 3.5%, excluding which export prices were down 0.3%.Initial Jobless Claims Apr 4-20K at 654K; 4 week MA -750 at 657K. Continuing claims +95K to a record level of 5.840M; 4 week MA +146K at 5.647M.This serves as onfirmation that jobseekers are having a very hard time finding work.Over the last five weeks alone, 766,000 unemployed workers have been added to the continuing claims list.

Friendship's Garden and Out West

Today I have a simple but elegant card with Asela's new set "Friendship's Garden". A tall graceful plant like this called for a simple layout, and I kept it texture free to mimic the smooth leaves and lily. I love the classic yet modern combo of white, chocolate and green, just says "luxury" to me! Image is colored with Copics, on Gina K Pure Luxury White plus the new Pure Luxury Chocolate Kiss , it is most the beautiful bittersweet brown! The greeting is a peek of a peek, stop back tomorrow! ;) Now, I expect you'll also be seeing LOTS of classic cowboy imagery in our hop today, beautiful Western landscapes, gorgeous saddles and majestic steeds, .... so I thought I'd mix things up a bit... BWAHHHHHHHH!! I couldn't resist putting the horse in boots when I saw the sentiment "Wanna Horse Around?" in our new illustrator Theresa Momber's debut set for Gina K Designs: "Out West". (Can I get a hip hip hurray for my girl Theresa??! I know none of you are surprised she can draw after seeing all the amazing art on her blog) Anyway, Western sets lend themselves to a ton of fun techniques I love, although I've never had one before! and I'm a NATIVE TEXAN, too, go figure! Expect to see me using this set a LOT(most of them using leather paper from Paper Temptress, wait til you see!!) After coloring the images with Copics I did lots of sponging with Ranger Antique Linen ink on Gina K Pure Luxury Ivory to give it this warm patina, distressed the edges, added a woodgrained gate with the Cream White Pad on Chocolate Kiss card stock again and made ridges for the boards with my Scor-Pal (watch Gina's video on how to do this here!) I popped up the right side of the door to look like it's going to swing open and added some brads from the Floral Frenzy kit to the left to look like it was attached the stall. (Don't worry, I didn't have to mask out his hooves, you have just the horse head and separate boots image to play around with to your heart's content. :) Again, can I say how excited I am for Theresa and that we all get to play with her designs?! woo-hoo!) BONUS PEEKS: I had lots of people commenting and emailing hoping for "boy stuff" in the "Wee Tees" set: well, I can't wait til Thursday to let you know I've got it covered (I've got two boys , remember? LOL!), here are just a few more images to tide you over 'til the full reveal! :)Some simple cards with a little "one sheet wonder" action I stamped up to make my own custom little boy DP! How do like those tiny tees? it's the onesie cut in half! So this set can grow with you as the kids get older, I love that! PLUS...one more peek from one of my stamping idols Jen Del Muro, can't wait to see what magic she's worked up with this set! :)Please enjoy more sneak peek samples of "Out West" and "Friendship's Garden" from our team: Asela Hopkins, Carolyn King, Cindy Lawrence, Donna Baker, Emily Giovanni, Erika Martin, Gina Krupsky, Jessica Fick, Joanne Basile, Kurtis Amundson, Theresa Momberplus our "In the Spotlight" Designer Beverly Cole!

Is competition The Force or The Dark Side?

by Alistair BomphrayThere has been some upheaval at my school lately as we attempt to restructure into wall-to-wall academies for next year. As I mentioned in my post from a couple of weeks ago, “My Academy Can Beat Up Your Academy: The Danger of Small Schools,” much of this upheaval is rooted in competition. It’s no mystery. Whenever you create semi-autonomous entities on the same campus—and ask them to share resources, draw from the same student/teacher pool, prove their worth with test-driven data—there’s bound to be some in-fighting.A couple of weeks ago, I asked our readers what they thought about competition in schools. Here are the results:Do you think it’s okay for teachers to use competition in their classes as a motivational tool?Yes 69%No 31%Do you think it’s beneficial for schools to compete with each other for the highest graduation rate/standardized test scores?Yes 29%No 68%Other 3%Do you think it’s acceptable for academies (or small learning communities) within one school to be competitive with each other?Yes 55%No 45%Let me try to wrap my head around this. So it’s okay for me to use competition in my own classes. And it’s even okay for my academy to be competitive with the other academies on campus (although we seem to be a little more conflicted about this). But it’s not okay for schools to be competitive with each other. Doesn’t that seem a little contradictory?Maybe not. Maybe competition within a class or a school can be managed so that it doesn’t deteriorate into savagery. Maybe my use of the words “standardized testing” in question two scared people off. What does seem clear is that on some level we are confused about what role competition should have in our schools. I know I am.To read the rest, go here: http://teacherrevised.org/2009/05/11/reader-poll-results-is-competition-the-force-or-the-dark-side/

Could Wolfram|Alpha dethrone Google? More to the point, does it have verb potential?

And if so, will it make us even stupider? Only one more week until we find out! This could be the datahead's ideal engine: It'll tell you the family, genus, species, and caloric value of an apple, and it'll forecast Apple's stock price, but it won't give you apple pie recipes. It'll tell you the box office take of the first "Star Trek" movie, but it won't tell you the theater where you can see the newest "Star Trek" movie.But a technical audience is still big. This could unlock a lot of data that students, research assistants, lawyers, marketing managers, financial analysts, and scientists might not have readily available. And those folks are important, too--just the kind of influential folks people with Web sites like to reach. (CNET) On the other hand, I don't see "WolframAlpha" becoming a verb anytime soon. "I Wolframed the depth of the Grand Canyon"? "I WA'd the distance to the moon"? "I WAlphed my ex"? I think I make my point. WolframAlpha launches May 18. In the meantime, you can watch the really poor quality demo video after the fold. Read the rest of this post... Read the comments on this post...

Blizzard moves from #47 to #1 in studio rankings

Filed under: Blizzard, News itemsAccording to a recent list by Develop magazine, Blizzard has dethroned Nintendo to become the most bankable game studio in the world. I'm surprised they weren't there already, but I guess it's just this side of possible that Nintendo is hard to budge. Develop's top 100 is compiled by their editorial team and accounts for total sales, reputation within the industry, and a variety of other criteria. When all was said and done, the editors wrote, Warcraft "continues to do the sort of numbers previously reserved for crime syndicates and smaller members of the United Nations." Nicely put, but what I find most bizarre about the list is that Blizzard jumped from #47 to #1 within the space of a year (you'll find Blizzard's 2008 listing on page 82 of a highly annoying-to-navigate Issuu archive). While part of that's due to the merge with Activision, Develop claims that Wrath of the Lich King being the fastest-selling PC game in history was the greatest contributing factor. Hang on. WoW was doing just fine even before Wrath hit, so how did Blizzard manage to get itself ranked behind do-little studios with sales of around $1-2 million per game on the 2008 list?

Lovely Worms

After waiting for the cream worm farm to dry out a tad bit, it was now time to start up the other 2 farms again. No way I was going to be able to move the light coloured farm if the castings were heavy with water.Pat moved his car out of the way so I was able to play safely. The tarp was where the worm castings would be placed, so the working farm could be serviced.I had left the castings in the black farms as most of the worms had died in the water collection trays.Once all the farms had been moved, any weeds were removed and also the soil leveled again.With Pat's help we moved the whole working farm on to the tarp, then the top was removed.How the farm looked once the cream top was gone. Newspaper had dried and with not a lot of moisture in the castings that are full of worms.Once the top layer was removed, moisture was easy to feel and see. Oodles of worms and as I transferred them from the tray to the tarp, a bucket load of castings, worm eggs and worms were placed in the feeding trays of the 2 black farms.Back in April 2007 I set the light coloured farm up with worms, after being used as a compost bin. So I am just stoked with the amount of worms in the farm.Last of the castings on the tarp. I like to think this one survived to help me start the other two farms up again. The worms cost about $60 for a small bucket at the shops.Maybe its karma visiting me after helping wanna be worm farmers out. Lost count on how many people I have started up with worms from my farms.Even with fly wire and the bird wire, worms still managed to get underneath in the water tray. Even managed to fill the tray with castings.Just shy on 2 years worth of castings. This cream farm started with a handful of worms. I didn't have much of bedding in the farm when it was started up.It's compacted here too. When I put the casting back in, they were higher up the sides.Bird wire and 2 pieces of fly wire to try and keep the little buggers out of the water tray and also keep the worm castings out at the same time.Finished and I figured a change is as good as a holiday for them.This was the first serious play out in my garden since late last year after the Dr. told me to slow down with my painful leg/ankle. Really enjoyed the time outside and boy my back was sore after all the lifting. Also I was puffed and needed a sit down to recover. Who said gardening wasn't exercise.?? Not as fit as I once was.Tomorrow will tell me if my leg/ankle is really to get back into the garden...... as I have a family to feed.Until next time....hoo roo technorati tags: worms, worm castings

Dino-Mite!

Here's a quick and different card I created with "Wee Tees" and the little dino image(on of my faves in the set!) I pieced the onesie in some DCWV Spring Stack DP and then added some white spots to his body and spikes (and toes!) with my Inkssentials pen to match the polka dot paper. I also outlined the ribbing in white. Then I inked up the jumbo sponge dauber Gina sells in Certainly Celery and made a spotted pattern on my Pure Luxury White base. Love how perfectly round the sponging comes out with that! Then I framed it with some safety pins (cheap and cute "baby" embellishment!) adhered with glue dots and rounded the bottom of the base with my small corner rounder punch. That's it! Hope you like it! Have great day!

"Another Contender Emerges: Posterous Takes On TwitPic With New API"

via techcrunch.com Much love to the Posterous team (w00t Garry and Sachin!) for this TechCrunch article. Those of you in healthcare following me on Twitter (@jenmccabegorman, @polarwisdom) know I'm completely infatuated with the platform, which lets me post content via email and autopublish to Twitter, Facebook, my 'old school blog' Health Management Rx (via Blogger) and even Flickr. With the pic API Posterous is making another dream come true. I love Posterous because it lets me extend multiple 'tentacles' of communication without any extra time or effort. My sites, my content, should be extensions of my online 'self,' and this is exactly what Posterous enables - one me (or one 'meme') indivisible under www. At Kaiser's Garfield Innovation Center in Oakland, CA Thursday (via an invite for Tech 'Speed Dating' Day from Mike Kirkwood, @mikekirwood, Polka.com), we were asked to share our favorite innovation. Some folks mentioned fitness activities, like Pilates, running, and the treadmill (albeit as an excellent clothes hanger). Some folks mentioned relaxation tools like the hills of New Zealand (!), red wine, and chocolate. Four folks mentioned Blackberries, while two mentioned iPhones. My answer? Communication, enabled by Twitter and Posterous. Innovate away guys. Thanks for keeping it real. And simple. Posted via web from Jen's posterous

I Miss Roscoe

I truly miss my dog, Roscoe. I try not to think about it but the reality is that not a day goes by that I don’t think of that damn dog. It’s virtually impossible not to think about him, because he was apart of my everyday life. Anytime I walked into the living area he sensed my presenses and was at the back door. He knew the sound of my engine, with both the Avalanche and the Nissan, and would already be running at the gate as I drove up the alley. He was always happy to see me.Roscoe was a smart ass dog too. Did you know that I managed to house break him in three days. Seriously, three days. He was the first dog that I ever took time out to teach to sit, stay, walk by my side, come when I actually called. I’m a bit of an Oscar Mattison so it was easier to teach him not to fuck with my shit then it was to teach me to pick up after myself. He didn’t even tear up the trash. I could leave him in the house, when a full trash can and he would not touch it. Even if I left something tempting in it.I hate the fact that I was not there for him during the moment that he needed me the most. I hate the fact that he died alone. I loved my puppy.Every now and again I feel like I should get a new dog, but I’m not sure that I’m ready. If I did get another one I would want to get another Rottweiler. I even have the name set aside for him. No, it’s not Obama. I don’t need people wondering if my dog is Muslim and it preventing him from running for president of the National Kennel Club. Nope, I’d name my new dog Othello. How cool is that? But, no, I can’t replace Roscoe and I don’t think I’m ready to let another dog into my heart.Plus, I am still contemplating paying off this damn house in two years. I was going to do it this year, but since I have a lot of things planned for next year, if God says the same. For example, Manny turns four in June and I want to start our tradition of an annual trek to Disney Land. Plus, since I took the older syblims to New York two years ago for their birthdays. Next year I want to take the twins. We would have done it this year, but Duce didn’t have a job and he needs to be able to pay for his own shit while out there. So, I’m going to wait until January 2010 to pay this bad boy off. Wish me luck. Maybe by then I’ll be ready to bring a new puppy into my life.For now, I am truly alone.-One Man’s Opinion. Peace.

Lectionary Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Fourth Sunday of EasterGenesis 7.1–5, 11–18; 8.6–18; 9.8–13Acts 4.5–12Psalm 231 John 3.16–endJohn 10.11–18Genesis 7.1–5, 11–18; 8.6–18; 9.8–131 Ceiling Cat den said2 Noah, "Liek goes into teh ark, joo and joo kittens, cuz joo coolz an' righteous an' stuff. In dis generashun.2 taek wif u 7 of evry kind ov clean moo cow, male an' its wife, an 2 ov evry kind of unclean moo cow, male an' its mate.3 An' also 7 ov evry kind ov burd, male an' female cuz teh burdz are scaredz of teh commitments, an' also 7 ov evry kind ov burd, male an' female (for teh saem reason) 2 keep their various kindz livin throughout teh earthz.4 7 daiz and frum nao I;m gonna send teh wetness on teh earthz. A little advize, probabliez a gud idea to keep 'em seperatez so teh moo cows don't haev an episode of "PENIS GOES WHERE?" until joo get der.4 For 4ty daiz and 4ty nites, it gon b wet and I gun pwn some n00bs.."5 An' Noah did what Ceiling Cat told im to, and installed dry wall between teh moo cows and his sons and his dawters so dey would not do nething liek to maek cowz go "PENIS GOES WHERE?!?" during teh 4ty daiz.11 In da liek 6 hunderd year of Noah's lief, on teh sevententh dai ov teh second munth-on dat dai all teh spreengs ov teh grate deepz liek spewed teh waterz on teh urf and teh floodgatez ov teh heavenz wuz opend.12 An' teh wetnessez came to teh urf an' it was all wet.13 On dat der dai, teh sons of Noahz, Shem teh Jew, Japheth teh white guy, and Ham teh blak guy wif der wivez,14 Tehy hads evry kind of animal two 'cordin to it's kind, all moo cows 'cordin to it's kind, evry creachur dat mooves on teh grawnd 'cordin 2 its kind an' evry burd 'cordin 2 it's kind, evrythin wif wings too 'cordin 2 all der kindz.15 pairs ov all creaturez dat has teh breath ov life in them came 2 noah an' enterd teh ark.16 teh animals goin in wuz male an' femail ov evry livin ting, as Ceiling Cat had toldd Noah. xcept 4 teh unicornz. And teh drag0nz and stuffs. Ceiling Cat sed 'DO NOT WANT'. and dey stayd out ov teh ark. den Ceiling Cat shut him in, and wuz liek 'k, ttyl'.17 4 4t dais teh flood kept comin on teh urfz, an' as teh waters increasd they liftd teh ark high aboov teh urfz.18 teh watahs rose an' rose and rosed on teh urfz, an' teh ark floatd on teh watrs.6 4ty dayz latrz Noah guy openz teh window he hadz maed inna teh beeg bote7 n senz out blak burd, n teh blak burdee kipz flying n flyn til teh watrz iz all gon wayz from teh beeg sanboks.8 Latrz Noah guy senz out wite burd so can see teh watrz all goes way from beeg sanboks.9 But teh wite burd no can fine no plaze can setz itz feetz cuz stil plenny watrz in teh beeg sanboks; so wite burd go bak to to Noah guy in teh beeg bote. Noah guy grabz teh wite burd n getz bak inna teh big bote.10 Noah guy watz 7 moar daze n senz out teh wite burd from teh big bote.11 When teh white burd iz com bak to him for teatiem, and sez "I can haz oliv leaf? srsly?" Then Noah noes that teh watrz is goan out.12 Noah wuz liek wateing sevvin daiz und sent mudkipz to see teh sandbocks, but teh mudkipz noes com bak.13 Bymby, the watrz iz dried up and teh beeg sanbocks is nrly cleened out. Noah is peekn and seen,14 by teh 20An7 day of teh munf after teh munfmonth the beeg sanbox is ready to youse! srsly.15 und Ceiling Cat sed to teh noah,16 "GTFO, yous and yous wifez and yous sunz and dere wifez.17 mbring out all teh aminalz and all teh crawlies and all teh burds, even the ones taht no fly —and let tehm HARBL GOES WHERE ! and take over teh wurld"18 So Noah cam out to his sunz and wifez and all tehy wifez.8 Ceiling Cat sez to Noah an his kidz:9 “Hay looks, u an me r liek teh bests frenz an I lieks ur baybeez too,10 An' teh aminulz u has: teh burdies, teh caws taht mooes, and teh otehr aminulz, dem gives teh mooves off teh boats, k?11 U and me r liek teh frenz: I no moar makez teh waterz comez; u noe gets wet no moar, k?”12 Teh Ceiling Cat sez: “U noes taht u and me are teh frenz and me and teh animulz r teh frenz forevr n evr becuz dis: cuz Ceiling Cat pwns rpeat...13 Visible Raynbo iz in teh skyz, k? U an me an evrywunz is teh frenz becuz teh raynbo r gr8.Acts 4.5–125 Teh nex day big impowtan kittehs com to Joorusalem.6 OMG! So awsum. Annas teh Haih Preest wuz der, an omg, so wuz Caiapcat, John (anudder wun, lol), Alexander, an odder impowtan kittehs.7 But dey gotz meen an dey demand, "Hai! Yu can has power frum who?"8 An wow! Peter can has teh powah of teh HoverCat an him sed, "Hai!9 We cawlded becuz we wuz so awsum an we madeded lamz0r kitteh ex-lamez0r.10 Mai awthoritah, lemme show yu it. D00d, we did it wif teh naim of teh Baby Jesus who yu mak ded (lol, I keep tellin yu dat!) but Ceiling Cat browt him back, lol. An den dis man be heeled! Rly!11 Baby Jesus is 'teh stown ya bilderz rejec, wich becum teh cownerstone'12 Nobodie els can has giv yu cheezburger. Srsly.more animalsPsalm 231 Ceiling Cat iz mai sheprd (which is funni if u knowz teh joek about herdin catz LOL.)He givz me evrithin I need.2 He letz me sleeps in teh sunni spotan haz liek nice waterz r ovar thar.3 He makez mai soul happian maeks sure I go teh riet wai for him. Liek thru teh cat flap insted of out teh opin windo LOL.4 I iz in teh valli of dogz, fearin no pooch,bcz Ceiling Cat iz besied me rubbin' mah ears, an it maek me so kumfy.5 He letz me sit at teh taebl evn when peepl who duzint liek me iz watchn.He givz me a flea baff an so much gooshy fud it runz out of mai bowl LOL.6 Niec things an luck wil chase me evrydaian I wil liv in teh Ceiling Cats houz forevr. 1 John 3.16–end16 Dis iz how we is be knowing wut luv iz: Jebus Kryzt layd down hiz lif 4 us. And we is b shuld lay down our lifz 4 our broz.17 If Any1 haz materyal pozeshionz and seez hiz bro in need but haz no pity on him, how can teh luv of Ceiling Cat be in him?Da test of belief18 Kittens, luv is wot you duz, not sayz.19 Do dat and Ceiling Cat liek you.20 You OK wif it, Ceiling Cat OK wif you.21 You not OK wif it, Ceiling Cat not OK wif you. It dat simple.22 Wot we ask, we get's, cuz we do wot Ceiling Cat liek.23 Ceiling Cat sayz Believez in Jebus an luvz other kittehs.24 Do that and Ceiling Cat be down wif you. An you knoe dat cuz of Hover Cat be wif you.John 10.11–1811 "i iz gud shepperd. gud sheprd wud diez for teh shep.12 teh wrkr, who iz not sheprd n no ownz teh shep, sees teh wulf n is all liek "O NOES! OMG a wulf! DO NOT WANT!!! run awai!!" n wulf can has his shep n eated them too, n teh rest runz awai.13 becos wrkr iz liek "iz not mai sheep", he runz awai.14 "I iz gud sheprd. i noes mine n dey noes me -15 liek Ceiling Cat noes me n i noes him - n i wud diez for teh shep.16 i gotz othr shepz in othr shepfold. i go getz them 2, n they will b liek, "o hai, i kno ur vois", n all teh shepz wil b togethr n i wil b teh 1 sheprd.17 teh Ceiling Cat luvs me coz i wud diez... nly to RESPON!!18 no d00dz pwns me, i dos it maislf. i has teh powr 2 do it n i has teh powr to respon agn. teh Ceiling Cat sed so. SRSLY!" Weekend Cat Blogging #204 We are stepping in for Miz Mog and Kittiesplease leave your links here: Momma’s blog Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos Amar and Luna are stepping in for Megan and BKC (submit your post here) The Carnival of the Cats #268 - Kashim & Othello and Salome (submit your post here) Visit the Pet Prayer & Praise BlogTechnorati Tags: LOL Cat Church, LOL Cat Bible, Lectionary Readings, Prayer & Praise Blog, Weekend Cat Blogging _/\_/\_

So long a creep

BBC FOUR fires up a time machine to find out what technology has done to us

BBC Four is giving viewers a unique insight into how developments in technology have shaped our lives over the past forty years in Electric Dreams, a new three-part series charting the rise of today's globally-linked, instantly-gratified digital culture.The series will see the world of one ordinary British family turned upside-down as their home is renovated to the standard of a typical house in 1970  the dawn of the digital age  and then fast-forwarded at the rate of a day per year through the technological revolution of the 70s, 80s and 90s. The programmes will reveal the huge transformation that technological change has wrought on British family life over the past 40 years. It remains to be seen how the children will cope when they swap Facebook and Wii for black and white television and vinyl records.Mark Bell, Commissioning Editor for the BBC, said: Electric Dreams is a great project that will show us very entertainingly how far we have travelled in a young persons lifetime. Many of us remember what 1970 was like, yet todays technology makes yesterday almost unrecognisable. It will be much more than a technology show however  it is contemporary social history and asks big moral questions about life in the modern world.Independent production company Wall to Wall has been commissioned jointly by The Open University and the BBC to make the series.Leanne Klein, Head of Factual at Wall to Wall and Executive Producer of the show, said: Electric Dreams is such a rich and exciting project. It doesnt just chart a technological revolution  it also reveals how family life has been totally transformed by that revolution in a very human and entertaining way. There are so many levels on which the show can be enjoyed  it blends nostalgia with rich historical content and breathes new life into the living history genre.Dr Ian Johnston, the Open University academic advisor to the series, said: We are all aware of how technologically based and dependent life is today, but perhaps we have become too accustomed to the pace of change. This project provides a fascinating opportunity to rewind the clock, look at the past forty years again and take stock of where we are and how we got here  and whether all the advances have been beneficial.Electric Dreams will form part of the season IT And Us, to be aired later this year on BBC FOUR.