Rookie needs the stick!

Role call:

Who has seen a person expire (die) here?

is the a use by date?

i guess there were no takers for my 'halal gamey hindqt. of troll.' will i have to pay to have it sent to land fill?

re: #2 RTLM

Role call:

Who has seen a person expire (die) here?

?

The reason I ask is that I have and my young son has too.

I watch his friends play the shoot'em up video games in his company and they laugh and giggle when they "kill" someone.

It makes my boy cross/sad and they tease him. I'd try to explain, but they wouldn't understand and it might further embarrass my son. We talk about it later.

Point being that those who have seen a death have a greater appreciation for life than those who have not.

when i was 14 i saw my father die, not going to make a joke about dieing way too many memories for me on that subject.

re: #5 RTLM

I have. In a clinical and in a hospice setting.
I can agree with that.

re: #2 RTLM

I have.

/why?

re: #5 RTLM

The reason I ask is that I have and my young son has too.

I watch his friends play the shoot'em up video games in his company and they laugh and giggle when they "kill" someone.

It makes my boy cross/sad and they tease him. I'd try to explain, but they wouldn't understand and it might further embarrass my son. We talk about it later.

Point being that those who have seen a death have a greater appreciation for life than those who have not.

Sorry, but I don't get that from this...

Role call:

Who has seen a person expire (die) here?

re: #5 RTLM

Yes.
And it doesn't have to have been a human. Seeing old Trusty, the family dog, go out has changed LOTS of my friends for whom death was just... a 'game' before that...

re: #10 Karridine

Yes.
And it doesn't have to have been a human. Seeing old Trusty, the family dog, go out has changed LOTS of my friends for whom death was just... a 'game' before that...

RTLM said "here". We are at LGF, so LGF means "here" to me.

a cyber 'here' vs a 'here' in place

re: #1 AmeriDan

Rookie needs the stick!

Stop begging.

Btw, care to explain why ?

even the death of a human doesn't always have the same impact a person who has been sick all her life doesn't have the same reaction as a person who appears to be young and healthy and dies suddenly.

re: #5 RTLM

Point being that those who have seen a death have a greater appreciation for life than those who have not.

Wrong. In Afganistan, Iraq etc they see death every minute and seems they don't have enough. Too much death makes you immune. Same with video games.

re: #12 yochanan

Yo, the 'here' was modifying 'Has anyone (here) seen someone die?'

/it was a lumpy construction, English-wise, but not out of bounds

re: #12 yochanan

a cyber 'here' vs a 'here' in place

All I know is I have never seen anyone die here at LGF.

There may have been a member or two pass away, but I doubt they died here- in real time- at LGF.

Another quote attributed to Bronte, which seems somehow fitting for these times:

Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow firm there, firm as weeds among stones.

re: #15 Rookie

Rookie, he didn't assert MANY deaths, just 'a passing, A death'...

You're right, seeing too much can inure one to death, but likewise NEVER being in the presence of a sentient being dying CAN (doesn't HAVE TO) make one insensitive to dying, as if it were a game...

re: #5 RTLM

You have excluded those, like myself, who have been way too close to death, twice. I would make the argument that these people would have just as great, if not a greater appreciation of life. But I understand your comment and agree with the spirit of it.

re: #17 AmeriDan

You have a shrewd sense of humor, Dan! :D

Hey You and you know who you are

re: #9 AmeriDan

I'll relate my experience.

May of 1986 at the Evergreen, CO carwash. Got done hosing/brushing off my '77 Firebird and pulled out of the stall to let a county dump truck in. I was drying my car off with the .50 cent paper towels.

They went to work cleaning and climbing all over the huge truck. One kid got up on top of the edge of the wet dump truck bed edge and slipped off, doing a perfect head stand in the air from 12 feet and landed inverted. I heard a clang from some tool he was holding. When I saw him, his eyes were obscured by a dark film. His friend was there before me and he ran to the gas station and called 911.

I didn't really try to help. I just looked at him, understood that he was dead and got in my car and drove off.

Not one of my prouder moments.

re: #14 yochanan

Tell that to the person dying. The difference, in your example is the addition of grief for the perception of what the person "would have/could have" been. It is conjecture at best.

I have not witnessed the violent death of a young and healthy person. But I can tell you that many cling to life end stage because of their relationships and the people that they love.

It is useless to attempt to weigh the value of a life. Every life matters. The loss of it matters little to the deceased - but to those who have survived.

re: #23 RTLM

This does not really support your earlier argument... it does NOT say to me, "RTLM has no appreciation of life...", especially as I can understand your feeling of helplessness and finality when you saw him.

It was over. There was nothing you could do, and he was NOT your family or your responsibility... there was little that hanging around, watching, could have contributed....

re: #16 Karridine

Yo, the 'here' was modifying 'Has anyone (here) seen someone die?'

/it was a lumpy construction, English-wise, but not out of bounds

Okay, fine, but as other comments have shown... most people have seen someone else die... in real life and for many reasons.

If the complaint is against violence in video games. I agree, but it's not something I can control in other people's kids.

If I had a child, my child would not be playing those kind of games. I think there are many parents here that would say that too.

So there would be no need to have that talk with them.

I've had a gun shoved in my face twice and been the victim of a violent crime under threat of death... I can tell you that my mind raced to find a way to survive. That was paramount...continuing to breathe.

re: #13 Rookie

Stop begging.

Btw, care to explain why ?

Heh, it's gonna be fun watching you get piled on before saying something even more stupid than you did in the last thread, and getting the boot.

re: #15 Rookie

Have you?

re: #18 freetoken

Bronte is wrong on this one. The most hateful people on this earth, the ones who's ideas or actions leads or will lead to millions of deaths, were/are educated people:

Marx, Lenin, all nazis, Stalin, Mao, Dinnerjacket, Obama...

Educated people are capable of doing much worse.

re: #23 RTLM

That's very sad, and I feel for you. This is an open thread so feel free to share. But your first comment, and the second, were really round about ways to get there.

re: #7 The Albatross

I have. In a clinical and in a hospice setting.
I can agree with that.

Same here. My mother, ten years ago, at home. I was taking her pulse at the time.

I have faced loaded guns, with one in my hand. But her death was something entirely different.

I'm not sure I've ever gotten over it. I'm not sure if I ever will.

Hell, I'm not even sure I ever want to.

This is why I don't make jokes about death. Or in other words, when I comment that some foreign dictator, etc., is likely to "receive Excedrin Headache Number 7.62" after a coup, etc., I'm not trying to be funny- just facing facts.

But then, I've never been accused of having a sense of humor, either.

eon

re: #20 ethanxxx

You have excluded those, like myself, who have been way too close to death, twice. I would make the argument that these people would have just as great, if not a greater appreciation of life. But I understand your comment and agree with the spirit of it.

.

Looks like the Certificate of Birth for the messiah is posted on his "fight the smears" site now..

[Link: my.barackobama.com...]

re: #15 Rookie

Wrong. In Afganistan, Iraq etc they see death every minute and seems they don't have enough. Too much death makes you immune. Same with video games.

I disagree. I have had the honor of knowing many men who have fought on the field of battle and watched men die. Without exception, they all have a greater appreciation of life and never want to experience or bring about the horrors of War again.

re: #29 RTLM

Have you?

I was not present on the actual moment, but I had my share of dealing with dead people on close proximity. Relatives or not.

From what I rkmow from various books written by survivors of death camps / POW, after a while you don't see death as impressive as it is for us, now. Depends of everyone heart in the end, I guess.

Regarding the really violent games (like GTA), the only thing you can do is keep your kid out of them. The parents of the other kids should do the same.

re: #32 eon

I have attended to end stage at various times and full codes. My focus shifts completely to the person, I do not think of myself or my own experience often until weeks or months later.

I viewed it as a way of honoring the person...to assist someone until they leave this world. Most caregivers do. It is an expression of love.

re: #35 ethanxxx

*ding*

re: #26 AmeriDan

Uhm, maybe most people posting here,
tonite,
on the dead thread,
have witnessed a dying... but American culture these days is NOT generally set up for dealing with death, Dan

In Grandma's day, GreatGranma would have had people beside her as she died, AND she would have been the Corpse-of-Honor at a 1-2 day wake... kids would have seen her empty shell, and they'd have helped in the killing and cleaning of chickens, pigs, cattle and other farm animals, deeply respectful of their food and leather value...

But the general observation that, "Americans don't get exposure to death" is pretty accurate, despite tonite's sampling...

re: #35 ethanxxx

I did not reffer to American or Nato soldiers. I referred to the local population killing each other for decades, now.

re: #39 Karridine

Uhm, maybe most people posting here,
tonite,
on the dead thread,
have witnessed a dying... but American culture these days is NOT generally set up for dealing with death, Dan

In Grandma's day, GreatGranma would have had people beside her as she died, AND she would have been the Corpse-of-Honor at a 1-2 day wake... kids would have seen her empty shell, and they'd have helped in the killing and cleaning of chickens, pigs, cattle and other farm animals, deeply respectful of their food and leather value...

But the general observation that, "Americans don't get exposure to death" is pretty accurate, despite tonite's sampling...

I would have to agree with that. Morning folks - how's things?

Wow.
It is a dead thread.

But
Having seen children and mama sans run over by large military truck conveys,
and no one stopping that gave a shit.

And weapons of war tearing people to pieces.

I have been tugged at many times.

and that is all I will say about that.

I can't agree that the general observation that, "Americans don't get exposure to death is accurate".

They do or they will. It is inevitable and certain. Perhaps you mean that they don't get exposure random, senseless violent deaths. There I would agree.

re: #40 Rookie

I did not reffer to American or Nato soldiers. I referred to the local population killing each other for decades, now.

Ah!
Then you have introduced (inadvertently, perhaps) the CULTURE underlying that kill-kill-kill phenomenon, Rookie...

I, for one, will not argue that Muslims or Afghanis or other non-American cultures see 'killing for MY tribe's honor' as something mechanical, and 'not respecting death' as a characteristic pandemic, endemic and everpresent there!

re: #39 Karridine

Very good point. I'm from an old family, and at 43, the "baby", but I just didn't see where RTLM was going with the first and second post.

re: #39 Karridine

In Grandma's day, GreatGranma would have had people beside her as she died, AND she would have been the Corpse-of-Honor at a 1-2 day wake...

Is still happening in Eastern Europe. I do not want to give any details, but staying 3 days around someone you loved is pretty hard stuff. But I think is a necessary process.

Just get rid of the person as soon as it dies seems barbaric to me.

re: #43 The Albatross

Okay, I'll note the agreement and quiet my yapping trap, Albatross. :D

re: #30 Rookie

Well, if you insist on arguing with a quote...

Note that Bronte was female in the early part of the 19th century. Being born of an Irish father while being Anglican she would be living in an age when religious and ethnic tension meant something. It was also an age of death by disease at young years, to which her sisters succumbed. She was a woman in a man's world (publishing). Slavery was practiced in many countries at that time.

It was also an age when many people had little formal schooling.

You might want to judge her words from within her context.

re: #42 ibmkeyboard

You've said plenty.

re: #35 ethanxxx

Wrong. In Afganistan, Iraq etc they see death every minute and seems they don't have enough. Too much death makes you immune. Same with video games.

I disagree. I have had the honor of knowing many men who have fought on the field of battle and watched men die. Without exception, they all have a greater appreciation of life and never want to experience or bring about the horrors of War again.

Agreed. By the same token, there are some people for whom death, or more exactly the power to inflict it on others, becomes the ultimate "high". Call the roll of the worst dictators and monsters in history, from Vlad Tepes to Pol Pot, and Gilles de Rais to the BTK Killer, and you find a strain of madness running through the human experience which holds that being able to kill, having someone else at their (never to be granted) mercy, is to these twisted individuals a feeling of almost godlike power.

This is why I strongly oppose any attempt to deprive ordinary citizens of the means of personal defense. The idea that "the government will protect you" is meaningless when it is the government, acting as the agent of a madman, which seeks to end your life. Tell the people of Iraq that Saddam's government was "protecting" them when Uday and Qusay were raping women and small boys at random, and feeding people into woodchippers feet first- while they were still alive. (IMHO, the only thing wrong with the way those two bought it was that it was too merciful compared to what they'd done to others for over two decades.) Again IMO, when a government offical tells me that I cannot be trusted to protect myself from even the random nuts who roam our streets (thank you, President Carter- not), I cannot help but wonder what he'd like to do to me if he thought he could get away with it.

The fact that leaders (like our present President) who are willing to trust us to protect ourselves at need are held in contempt by our "enlightened elites" I think tells us more about those "elites" and their secret (or not so secret) yearnings than they are probably comfortable with us knowing.

eon

Forgive me, my insomnia got me into the middle of something (obviously)... can we have a more upbeat topic for this open thread so that I won't go out into the great wide 3D and be morose?

re: #46 Rookie

Ah! NOW you're saying something, and it pertains to a LOT of America.

When someone OLD dies, closed coffin (IF there's a wake at all) and WHISK the geezer off to the cemetery! All very clean, very un-messy...

re: #42 ibmkeyboard

Wow.
It is a dead thread.

But
Having seen children and mama sans run over by large military truck conveys,
and no one stopping that gave a shit.

And weapons of war tearing people to pieces.

I have been tugged at many times.

and that is all I will say about that.

*rolls eyes*

Here we go again.

"Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time; as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing, warm and racy: its after-flavor, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation as if I had been poisoned."

— Charlotte Bronte

"Revenge is a dish that is best served cold...."

-- Sicilian Proverb

To add to the discussion: yes I have witnessed death, and violence, and violent death- all in "real life". Anybody who thinks such things are proper subjects for amusement or entertainment is a fool.

/Good Morning everybody!

re: #47 Karridine

I like your yapping trap Karridine. Alas I have woken to a rather literal frame of mind.

re: #46 Rookie

Is still happening in Eastern Europe. I do not want to give any details, but staying 3 days around someone you loved is pretty hard stuff. But I think is a necessary process.

Just get rid of the person as soon as it dies seems barbaric to me.

One of my favorite professors was from Eastern Europe, a brilliant chemist who seemed to never sleep. I did a summer internship with him the year that he arrived and he had the dickens of a time understanding that I could not work from dawn until midnight because I had children to care for. He would get a very quizzical look and wonder where my mother was, that I had to care for my own children.

re: #51 The Albatross

Forgive me, my insomnia got me into the middle of something (obviously)... can we have a more upbeat topic for this open thread so that I won't go out into the great wide 3D and be morose?

Sooo, how bout them Celtics?

How's the weather at your place?

Hey, Albatross!

You ever read any of The Village Idiot's Apprentice's comments here at LGF?

Well, I had the pleasure of meeting him yesterday, outside Bangkok! Straight shooter, intelligent, engineering wizard, and patriotic American!

/UPBEAT, much? :D

re: #37 The Albatross

I have attended to end stage at various times and full codes. My focus shifts completely to the person, I do not think of myself or my own experience often until weeks or months later.

I viewed it as a way of honoring the person...to assist someone until they leave this world. Most caregivers do. It is an expression of love.

You have my respect. The hospice caregivers who helped with my mother were incredible. (Pancreatic cancer; her prognosis was six months- she was gone in 96 days.) Nothing makes it easier, but they made it possible to cope with.

As I said to them then, I say to you now; Thank You.

eon

re: #54 CIA Reject

Anybody who thinks such things are proper subjects for amusement or entertainment is a fool.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winnah.

Good morning back at ya.

re: #40 Rookie

I did not reffer to American or Nato soldiers. I referred to the local population killing each other for decades, now.

Then you would be right. Many a Muslim Leader, including OBL, have stated that they embrace death the way Americans embrace life. I personally don't understand it and never will, but I don't mind exploring options that will give these hysterical self-righteous book burning carpet chewing Muppet's with s**t for brains what they want.

re: #61 ethanxxx

Elegant quote! :)

/you oughta attribute it, though
"...hysterical self-righteous book burning carpet chewing Muppet's with s**t for brains..."

77 degrees at 6 am here on the Emerald coast of NW Florida. The day is sultry.

Who are the celtics? Heh, just kidding.

Karridine, I haven't met a lizard 3D... but I certainly would like to.

re: #42 ibmkeyboard

Wow.
It is a dead thread.

But
Having seen children and mama sans run over by large military truck conveys,
and no one stopping that gave a shit.

And weapons of war tearing people to pieces.

I have been tugged at many times.

and that is all I will say about that.

I'm positive you aren't implying that our American military would do such a thing. Since you are talking about "mama sans" (racist term by the way) you must mean the Japanese army - like maybe at Nanking.

re: #61 ethanxxx

Then you would be right. Many a Muslim Leader, including OBL, have stated that they embrace death the way Americans embrace life. I personally don't understand it and never will, but I don't mind exploring options that will give these hysterical self-righteous book burning carpet chewing Muppet's with s**t for brains what they want.

Well said!

re: #50 eon

Vlad Tepes lived in 15th centuries. It was as cruel as any of the people living at that time, I do not think it was much more severe in punishment than other rulers.

And the stories about him - there is much exaggeration due to German writings. He was a brave soldier. Without him, maybe Columbus could not have the time to travel West with Otoman armies all over Europe.

Putting him in the line with Pol-Pot, who killed millions of his own people, is not fair.

re: #50 eon

I sit, and will now stand, in perfect agreement with you. My cache is large and my powder is dry. I hope I never have to use it, but... there it is.

re: #58 Karridine

Hey, Albatross!

You ever read any of The Village Idiot's Apprentice's comments here at LGF?

Well, I had the pleasure of meeting him yesterday, outside Bangkok! Straight shooter, intelligent, engineering wizard, and patriotic American!

/UPBEAT, much? :D

Oh, you did meet up then? Good. He was saying yesterday that he hoped to be able to get together with you.

Karridine, I envy you. You have no idea what I wouldn't give for some decent Thai food.

re: #63 The Albatross

I got his email at 1015 Thursday, and by 12 noon I was on my way to the bus station out of BKK, because he's leaving tonite...

Yeah, a chance to meet a Lizard 3D... well, I couldn't pass that up, 'Tross! Specially being here in Thailand! :D

re: #59 eon

Thanks really. You gotta have unshakable conviction to do the work, I burned out in 9 years but am ready to put my whites back on as soon as my immune system is ready.

re: #62 Karridine

I know... What's his name? From the UK, wears glasses... HELP.

re: #56 galloping granny

Yes, the grandmothers are usually taking care of the nephews. Not a very good thing after me, you cannot work all day long and neglect the kids.

re: #68 galloping granny

EETCHER Hardowt, Granny!

I married my Lao-Thai wife for eminently SELFISH reasons... tongue, tummy... and she's a GOOD mother to our sons! :D

I am lucky, I get excellent Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean and Phillipine eats... have various good friends in our Asian community here. Since the husband is a sportsman, we share the venison and antlers. I would love to visit Thailand and Vietnam one day.

re: #71 ethanxxx

Dang! I can see him, too, but pulling up a name is NOT happening! :(

re: #73 Karridine

EETCHER Hardowt, Granny!

I married my Lao-Thai wife for eminently SELFISH reasons... tongue, tummy... and she's a GOOD mother to our sons! :D

You sound like a smart man, Karridine. How are the boys? Any more problems (I heard a while back that someone was trying to kidnap them?)

re: #63 The Albatross

77 degrees at 6 am here on the Emerald coast of NW Florida. The day is sultry.

Who are the celtics? Heh, just kidding.

Karridine, I haven't met a lizard 3D... but I certainly would like to.

If I can work out my schedule this summer- which I always manage to do- I'll be passing through that way in a month or two. I loves me some Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral.

On another topic-

Here in Central OH, Columbus, the state capital, got hit with a major storm last night. Flooding in several parts of the city (notably near the Scioto River, which runs right through it), with several thousand American Electric Power (AEP) customers blacked out, and power not expected to be back on until this evening at the earliest. Not even close to the catastrophe that Cedar Rapids, IA has experienced, but it's been a long time since Central OH saw anything similar to this.

The thunderstorms that caused it are expected to continue well into late tomorrow, dumping even more rain on the area.

/watching how the local and state governments react should be interesting, to say the least

cheers

eon

re: #71 ethanxxx

I know... What's his name? From the UK, wears glasses... HELP.

Harry Potter?

re: #75 Karridine

Dang! I can see him, too, but pulling up a name is NOT happening! :(

Found it!

Pat Condell

re: #74 The Albatross

Then you'd better GET MOVING, Albie, before its all KFC and 7-11-ated!

Really, the metro areas are RAPIDLY becoming Thai-style extensions of The Mall Environment....

re: #74 The Albatross

I am lucky, I get excellent Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean and Phillipine eats... have various good friends in our Asian community here. Since the husband is a sportsman, we share the venison and antlers. I would love to visit Thailand and Vietnam one day.

You are lucky. We have a couple of Chinese restaurants where they have dumbed everything down to suit "American" tastes. Yuck. I did get into Boston a couple of months back and had lunch at a marvelous Malaysian restaurant (not moslem - pork on the menu). That was some fine Mango Chicken. Could have licked the plate. And not a coca-cola in sight anywhere.

re: #79 AmeriDan

Harry Potter?

Good one!

re: #77 AmeriDan

I'm east of Pensacola.

re: #76 galloping granny

Someone was, and we deal with that on a daily basis. Thanks for asking.

My father died last week, and I posted a Note In Passing...

Other than that, we're fine. And that link was the basis for a 1-hour remembrance when his grandsons returned from school...

/scroll down to the pictures

re: #83 ethanxxx

Good one!

Broken watches being right twice a day, etc.

re: #80 ethanxxx

Yes! Thanks! The good Pat! :D

re: #85 Karridine

Someone was, and we deal with that on a daily basis. Thanks for asking.

My father died last week, and I posted a Note In Passing...

Other than that, we're fine. And that link was the basis for a 1-hour remembrance when his grandsons returned from school...

/scroll down to the pictures

I saw that too and posted telling you how wonderful that was and that you have my sympathies. I suspect you might have been a bit too upset to notice. It is very hard to lose your parents - even if you weren't all that close.

I'll be getting that call over my Dad one of these days. He is very fragile, almost a shadow of what he was even just a few years ago. And I'm afraid I will have some of the same issues that you do, as Dad and I have been mostly at odds for many decades now.

re: #81 Karridine

We've got a long time friend, Thai, who is building his home there and working here. He'll be retiring there and we'll look forward to being able to visit. I'm not exactly sure where in Thailand, but I know it's rural and away from the coast. Not near a major city.

re: #66 Rookie

Vlad Tepes lived in 15th centuries. It was as cruel as any of the people living at that time, I do not think it was much more severe in punishment than other rulers.

And the stories about him - there is much exaggeration due to German writings. He was a brave soldier. Without him, maybe Columbus could not have the time to travel West with Otoman armies all over Europe.

Putting him in the line with Pol-Pot, who killed millions of his own people, is not fair.

According to the Catholic Church, which investigated his area, Vlad killed roughly 40% of his own subjects in two areas, with no help from the Turks. I agree with you that he was a great military leader, and a serious thorn in the sides of his (Islamist) enemies, and came from a different time with different standards.

That doesn't change the fact that, by any times' standards, there was something seriously twisted in his psyche. The fact that he even horrified his contemporaries who were (nominally) on his own side is a strong indication that all was not well in his mind.

/just saying

cheers

eon

re: #88 galloping granny

Do not fear it, Granny.

Its the reward, the payoff, the pot-o-gold at the end of life's rainbow...

...and fearing it cannot set it back even ONE day, My Friend.

/yes, I read your thoughtful, caring comments. Thank you.

re: #89 The Albatross

We've got a long time friend, Thai, who is building his home there and working here. He'll be retiring there and we'll look forward to being able to visit. I'm not exactly sure where in Thailand, but I know it's rural and away from the coast. Not near a major city.

In that case, Albie, you should know that if he spends $50,000 on house and land, he will have a palatial palace on a palatial estate!

YES! It is still THAT cheap over here, but the window is closing, Kiddo!

re: #85 Karridine

I am so sorry for your loss. My father passed away 3 years ago from a broken heart, 6 months after my mother passed away, so I know that there is little that I, or anyone, can say to you that will heal your pain.

re: #91 Karridine

Do not fear it, Granny.

Its the reward, the payoff, the pot-o-gold at the end of life's rainbow...

...and fearing it cannot set it back even ONE day, My Friend.

/yes, I read your thoughtful, caring comments. Thank you.

Oh, I don't fear it Karridine. I lost my dear mother many years ago, so I know what it is all about. What I "fear" (and I don't really, since fear is a useless emotion most of the time) is the fact that this will leave me the matriarch, the oldest person in the family. I spent many years of my life in the position when my mother was so ill and my dad so busy with her. It isn't something I relish.

It also makes me more than a little sad that the differences between my father and I will never be solved. I have learned to ignore them for the most part, but it will leave an empty place with no hope of healing.

re: #84 The Albatross

I'm east of Pensacola.

Let's keep in touch and I might be able to swing by for a coffee on my way down to Cocoa.

Or you could just come to Memphis.

Aussie DogfightAtBanksTown is featuring one of Carl in Jerusalem's links about Obama. I like Dogfight and Carl...

Carl's article is here: Al-Qaeda terrorist's son an Obama fundraiser

re: #77 AmeriDan

If I can work out my schedule this summer- which I always manage to do- I'll be passing through that way in a month or two. I loves me some Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral.

Ever go to Bunky's on A-1A?

I love it -

Sen. Obama was going to ride into Washington aboard a white horse and clean out the stables, except his high horse keeps coming up lame.

[Link: www.ibdeditorials.com...]

re: #92 Karridine

My Cambodian friend is doing the same in Quebec... bought in cheap and will be retiring in Canada. Has himself a beautiful bit of dirt and is commuting to build a really impressive home as well.

Me? I got my bit o' dirt uphill from pristine Holmes River Creek. A lot of locals have bought places in Mexico and have retired there.

re: #96 The Albatross

Aussie DogfightAtBanksTown is featuring one of Carl in Jerusalem's links about Obama. I like Dogfight and Carl...

Carl's article is here: Al-Qaeda terrorist's son an Obama fundraiser

Heh! The guy is just dirtier every single time you look at him.

re: #94 galloping granny

THAT speaks to the heart of MY situation, Granny...

11 years ago, my youngest son and I went Stateside to say goodbye to my mother and my father... Mom still lives, but if she can't see you, she doesn't think of you... out of sight, out of mind...

Dad was the conscious one, and he cared for Mom... whom I believe WILL know that he's gone, and will go soon to be with him...

But while I was there, a long-standing rumor was turned into reported reality by other family members, and Dad was NOT prepared to come clean or talk about it, so my last day with him was ... strained, as he knew that I KNEW... and our parting later that day was etched into my mind, him unable to say 'I love you' or 'I will miss you...'

And now its passed...

re: #95 AmeriDan

Bookmarked your site... only been to Memphis once, on my way to Cleveland. I'm a regular here, so when you think you're heading out let me know. I'll give ya some local hospitality to set you straight.

OK... This thread is in need of some Comedy relief. This is from my good friend at LGF, Noamsayin.

A duck walks into a bar
Looks at the bartender an says
Got any bread?
Bartender says, no
The duck asks
Got any bread?
bartender says
No, I just told you, we don't have any bread
duck asks
Got any bread?
bartender says
NO... No bread!
the duck asks
Got any bread?
bartender says
Damn it duck, if you ask me one more time if I have any bread I'm going to nail your beak to the bar
the duck asks
Got any nails?
bartender says... No! No nails either
The duck asks
Got any bread?

re: #97 CIA Reject

Ever go to Bunky's on A-1A?

Is that a barbecue/burger place near the town that you would pass an Air Force base to get to from Cocoa? Can't think of the names of all the towns at the moment. If it is, I have eaten there. Good stuff.

Favorite Florida place to eat... The Red Cabbage

Okay, din-dins calls, and I must help Wifely One prepare our repast...

CUL, gang!

Later Karridine... have a good one.

re: #90 eon

According to the Catholic Church, which investigated his area, Vlad killed roughly 40% of his own subjects in two areas, with no help from the Turks.

Seeing that Tepes was at odds with Catholic Church (he eventually converted in prison in Hungary), as the population was Christian Orthodox, I have my doubts of the accuracy of that report. Of course it's very hard to verify this things. Also, I agree he was not well, and probably it got worse with time.

But usually, the way a ruler was treating his own people will be reflected in the popular tales. There is no resentment in those about Tepes, and someone should expect this after so many killings.

Anyhow, whatever he did bad, it was dwarfed in the centuries to come.

/I had posted today more than in two years. Time for me to leave.

re: #104 AmeriDan

Is that a barbecue/burger place near the town that you would pass an Air Force base to get to from Cocoa? Can't think of the names of all the towns at the moment. If it is, I have eaten there. Good stuff.

Favorite Florida place to eat... The Red Cabbage

Patrick Air Force Base. Spent a few summers there. Loved it... especially in the early morning when the Sun is coming up and a light breeze is blowing in from the ocean.

re: #103 ethanxxx

Heh. I'll bite....
Pierre and Boudreaux went on a camping trip.
After supper and several beers they both laid down for the night, and went to sleep.

Some hours later, Boudreaux woke up and nudged Pierre.

Boudreaux says, "Pierre, look up at de sky and tell me whatchu see."

Pierre replies, "I see millions and millions of stars."

Boudreaux says, "What does dat tell you?"

Pierre ponders for a minute, den says ... "Astronomically, it tells me dat dere are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe dat Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce dat de time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see dat God is all powerful and dat we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect dat we will have a beautiful day tomorrow."

Well, despite all of de amazing information coming from Pierre, Boudreaux is not impressed. Boudreaux asks, "Mais Pierre, but *what* does dat tell you?"

Pierre is silent and puzzled, and doesn't answer.

Boudreaux slaps Pierre across de head and says, "Pierre, you idiot. Someone has stolen our dam tent!"

re: #85 Karridine

I must have missed your note. Please accept my sincere condolences, as well.

I can't help but think of the line from Star Trek II; The Wrath of Khan;

How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life.

-Admiral James T. Kirk

Whether the death is that of someone we love, or our own inevitable demise, it's all the same. As Captain Spock said, each of us will respond according to our individual gifts- and, yes, limitations.

And it is always "This is no drill".

/Just something I think about when this subject comes up

Well, it's about time to do errands for the weekend- before we all get drenched here again.

As always, it has been enlightening- in ways those who have never been here (to LGF) will probably never understand.

Have a great, and safe, day, Lizards.

God bless.

cheers

eon

re: #101 Karridine

THAT speaks to the heart of MY situation, Granny...

11 years ago, my youngest son and I went Stateside to say goodbye to my mother and my father... Mom still lives, but if she can't see you, she doesn't think of you... out of sight, out of mind...

Dad was the conscious one, and he cared for Mom... whom I believe WILL know that he's gone, and will go soon to be with him...

But while I was there, a long-standing rumor was turned into reported reality by other family members, and Dad was NOT prepared to come clean or talk about it, so my last day with him was ... strained, as he knew that I KNEW... and our parting later that day was etched into my mind, him unable to say 'I love you' or 'I will miss you...'

And now its passed...

See, that is the thing Karridine. I won't miss him. If anything I guess I will be relieved. And that makes me very, very sad.

re: #109 The Albatross

Ha! God, I love a good laugh in the morning.
Here's another quick one.

I got my drug test results at work back today... it was negative.
That's good but... my dealer sure has some explaining to do.

re: #110 eon

You too. Careful... Friday the 13th.

re: #113 ethanxxx

You too. Careful... Friday the 13th.

Friday the 13th has always been a pretty good day for me.

re: #102 The Albatross

Bookmarked your site... only been to Memphis once, on my way to Cleveland. I'm a regular here, so when you think you're heading out let me know. I'll give ya some local hospitality to set you straight.

Sounds good to me. You Florida folks- except, ironically, the people in the tourist biz of west-central Florida- sure can make a person feel at home.

The website is under construction and will be used as a place to plan a meet-up between Mid South Lizards in Memphis.

I'm sure chaos will ensue. Heh.

Good morning, Lizards.

re: #114 galloping granny

Friday the 13th has always been a pretty good day for me.

I am buying 13 lottery tickets for the 13th
LOL

re: #104 AmeriDan

Is that a barbecue/burger place near the town that you would pass an Air Force base to get to from Cocoa? Can't think of the names of all the towns at the moment. If it is, I have eaten there. Good stuff.

Favorite Florida place to eat... The Red Cabbage

Bunky's Raw Bar - on A-1A in Satellite Beach about mile south of Patrick AFB. Great if you're into clams, oysters, etc. They have a "beers of the world" thing where the put your name on the wall when you drink one each of their whole collection. If you're not into raw shellfish right next door is the Cove Diner - great burgers, steaks, chops and breakfast.

Also there's "The Heidelberg" a little German place right in the middle of Cocoa Beach that is a real hoot - you can almost see Werner von Braun and his crew sitting at the bar...

Of course this is all from 17 year old memories that are "Pre-Andrew" so it could all be gone now. I hope not though...

Never been to the Red Cabbage - where's that?

re: #111 galloping granny

I hear ya granny. My own relationship with my father was rough and conflicted. But as he was making ready to leave this world, I set aside my emotional turmoil and did my best to honor him.

There isn't much I miss about my father either, but the man was frank and candid. Aggressively, ruthlessly, and most often cruelly so. I do miss that. Not the cruelty... but his ability to cut through the crap and speak truthfully. I did right by him as best as I was able.

That's good enough to me. As long as I can look myself in the eye every day knowing that my intentions are fair, kind and good... I got to give him credit for his influence in making me the person I am today.

re: #114 galloping granny

Friday the 13th has always been a pretty good day for me.

Me too! In fact, the number 13 has been lucky also.

re: #108 ethanxxx

Patrick Air Force Base. Spent a few summers there. Loved it... especially in the early morning when the Sun is coming up and a light breeze is blowing in from the ocean.

I knew it started with a P! Thanks

re: #116 goddessoftheclassroom

Good morning Goddess

re: #120 ethanxxx

Heh. Same here. When given a choice, I always pick 13.

I participated in a 4 star General's retirement ceremony at Patrick... Order of the Sword. Beautiful place.

re: #117 LeftJustAintRight

I am buying 13 lottery tickets for the 13th
LOL

That's an idea. :)

re: #112 ethanxxx

One day Boudreaux went to the doctor to get a check up. Boudreaux says to the doctor, "Mais you know something doc ... my wife Clotile, she's having trouble wit her hearing."
De doc say, "Well Boudreaux, how bad is it?"

"Mais doc I don't know how bad it really is but she don't seem to hear me at all. Whats de best way to find out how bad her hearing is?"

De doc say, "Boudreaux, when you get home stand about 20 feet behind Clotile and say something in your regular voice. If Clotile don't respond then move up 10 feet and try again. If you don't get any response again move up 5 feet and try, then if you don't get any response move right up behind her and try."

When Boudreax got home, Clotile was wash dem dish in de sink so he get about 20 feet back and say, "Clotile what we havin for dinner?"

Mais there was no response, so he move up 10 feet and say dat again. Still no response so he move up 5 feet and try. Nothing...

"Hunh, it worse dan I tought," Boudreaux say to himself.

He move right up behind Clotile now and ax her one mo time, "Clotile, what we havin for dinner?"

Clotile turned, looked at him and said, "for the fourth time, I said we havin' chicken and rice!".

Good morning on a beautiful Friday the Thirteenth. Now if I could only find my goalie mask ...

Morning Goddess and Lucius

re: #118 CIA Reject

That's it. I'm not into seafood, so I just remembered the barbecue and burgers. I've been there for many a fine eating time.

The Red Cabbage is in a town near Cocoa on the bank of the St Johns river. Right beside a bridge going over to (I think) Merritt Island.

I have friends that do the driving once I get there so I just go with the flow.

The Cajun Fiddle.... Aiyeeeeee!

Heh get a load of dem rinestones.

re: #127 Lucius Septimius

Good morning on a beautiful Friday the Thirteenth. Now if I could only find my goalie mask ...

You're so bad!

(Lucius Septimus}

Good morning, {ethanxxx}, {The Albatross}, {galloping granny}, {LeftJustAintRight}, {AmeriDan}, {CIA Reject}

Damn, it IS Friday the 13th. Snuck up on me. I have a golf tourney today, who's got the unlucky house ?

re: #124 The Albatross

I participated in a 4 star General's retirement ceremony at Patrick... Order of the Sword. Beautiful place.

Rumor has it that there is a real party type topless bar there in Satellite Beach too. Or so I heard.

re: #131 goddessoftheclassroom

I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way.

re: #61 ethanxxx

Then you would be right. Many a Muslim Leader, including OBL, have stated that they embrace death the way Americans embrace life. I personally don't understand it and never will, but I don't mind exploring options that will give these hysterical self-righteous book burning carpet chewing Muppet's with s**t for brains what they want.

I would have doubted that these Islamists were actually so enthusiastic about dying, excepty they provr that they are.
Suicde bombers & guys screaming in court rooms to be Martyrs is a clue.
They do fear though how the die. Black Jack Pershing understood that putting down a Muslim insurrection in the Philipines. Bacon fat, dipped bullets! His problem went away.

Doh... via MEMRI.... Islamic Republic of Iran News Network TV Documentary Traces Zionist Themes in Hollywood Films, from Disney to DreamWorks – With Special Focus On 'Chicken Run'

"Iranian film critic Sayyid Abu-Alhassan Allawi Tabatabai: "These people never make a film without a premeditated motive."

Disney? Aw come on.

re: #129 AmeriDan

That's it. I'm not into seafood, so I just remembered the barbecue and burgers. I've been there for many a fine eating time.

The Red Cabbage is in a town near Cocoa on the bank of the St Johns river. Right beside a bridge going over to (I think) Merritt Island.

I have friends that do the driving once I get there so I just go with the flow.

OK, I think I know where it is but I've never been there- I spent most of my free time beachside in Cocoa Beach or farther south.

re: #131 goddessoftheclassroom

And Good Morning to you Goddess!

re: #134 Lucius Septimius

I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way.

Classic!

I'm going to have to surrender and turn on the AC. I'm just not effective at anything when I'm too hot.

re: #133 AmeriDan

Wouldn't know, but wouldn't doubt it.

re: #132 SasquatchOnSteroids

Just do what I do.... there's two Friday the 13th's so I never pay attention to which one is supposed to be bad luck.

re: #139 goddessoftheclassroom

Classic!

I'm going to have to surrender and turn on the AC. I'm just not effective at anything when I'm too hot.

Ours has been on for at least a month, but with the humidity here the house gets pretty musty otherwise, even with a dehumidifier.

Yesterday it only got up to 86 -- was actually a really nice day.

Baby is really getting spoiled by his older brothers.

I heard yesterday that Michelle Obama went on some TV program very recently and again repeated her comment that Obama would "require us to work" and that we "wouldn't be able to eat all we wanted." Has anyone run across a report of this - or better, a video clip?

That comment set off warning bells the first time she said. Twice is not an accident.

re: #143 galloping granny

I heard yesterday that Michelle Obama went on some TV program very recently and again repeated her comment that Obama would "require us to work" and that we "wouldn't be able to eat all we wanted." Has anyone run across a report of this - or better, a video clip?

That comment set off warning bells the first time she said. Twice is not an accident.

Hey Michelle -- I work. For real.

Gulags for the enemies of Change. It's only a matter of time.

OK, I think I know where it is but I've never been there- I spent most of my free time beachside in Cocoa Beach or farther south.

Ah, my Florida vacation never offically starts until I have my "beer on the pier" at Cocoa Beachre: #137 CIA Reject

re: #144 Lucius Septimius

Hey Michelle -- I work. For real.

Gulags for the enemies of Change. It's only a matter of time.

That is pretty much the message I took from that too. You might be interested in the link up above tracing Obama's Communist ties. Wish the author had put in a link to the full report.

re: #143 galloping granny

I heard yesterday that Michelle Obama went on some TV program very recently and again repeated her comment that Obama would "require us to work" and that we "wouldn't be able to eat all we wanted." Has anyone run across a report of this - or better, a video clip?

That comment set off warning bells the first time she said. Twice is not an accident.

The media has now circled the wagons around Michelle Obama, to declare criticism of her off limits.
I would agree if she was not out there saying such provoctive things.
She is not just a campaign prop, but a major player. She is fair game.

re: #146 galloping granny

That is pretty much the message I took from that too. You might be interested in the link up above tracing Obama's Communist ties. Wish the author had put in a link to the full report.

Oh he's a commie, there's no doubt about that. He's a very dangerous man with a much more dangerous coterie than Billary had.

re: #140 The Albatross

Wouldn't know, but wouldn't doubt it.

I'm just passing along idle rumors. Word on the street type things.

/lying

re: #147 opnion

The media has now circled the wagons around Michelle Obama, to declare criticism of her off limits.
I would agree if she was not out there saying such provoctive things.
She is not just a campaign prop, but a major player. She is fair game.

Yes, they certainly have taken Obama's instruction to leave his wife alone to heart, haven't they. Even so, if she is going to be out there campaigning and making statements, then she is fair game. She is interviewing for First Lady.

We need that clip I think.

re: #143 galloping granny

I'm beginning to think both Barry and Michelle need psychotropics.

I think someone nailed it when a web blogger somewhere nic'ed her Eeyore.

re: #148 Lucius Septimius

Oh he's a commie, there's no doubt about that. He's a very dangerous man with a much more dangerous coterie than Billary had.

Agreed. Ten thousand percent. And frankly, I am dumbfounded that the democrats are moving heaven and earth to foist him off on the United States of America. Unless they figure that if they can shoe-horn him into office, they will never lose the White House again.

re: #148 Lucius Septimius

Oh he's a commie, there's no doubt about that. He's a very dangerous man with a much more dangerous coterie than Billary had.

The Clintons among other things are grifters.
Even if they did not like their county as college students, they at least modified as they aged.
The Obamas are hard core. Hate for America just rfeeks off of them.

Charlotte clearly does not realize that vengeance is an acquired taste.

Good evening, y'all!

re: #150 galloping granny

Yes, they certainly have taken Obama's instruction to leave his wife alone to heart, haven't they. Even so, if she is going to be out there campaigning and making statements, then she is fair game. She is interviewing for First Lady.
.

And at a certain stage in the game, they won't be able to resist, no more than they could resist displaying the absurdities of Theresa Heinz Kerry.

"News" is theater now, and the more theatrical the performance, the more curtain calls it will get. They may be leftards, but they can't resist a good show.

Its Lone Cabbage Fish Campre: #118 CIA Reject

re: #152 galloping granny

Agreed. Ten thousand percent. And frankly, I am dumbfounded that the democrats are moving heaven and earth to foist him off on the United States of America. Unless they figure that if they can shoe-horn him into office, they will never lose the White House again.

I'm beginning to think that the kingmakers believe that Obama will be putty in their hands. They don't WANT a strong leader; they want a puppet they can control.

re: #156 somecallmetim

Its Lone Cabbage Fish Camp

That's it!

Thank you.

re: #157 goddessoftheclassroom

And that "puppet" has his own hordes of dis/misinfo zombies (no relation of course, to zombie.) to ensure everything's "all right."

re: #155 Lucius Septimius

And at a certain stage in the game, they won't be able to resist, no more than they could resist displaying the absurdities of Theresa Heinz Kerry.

"News" is theater now, and the more theatrical the performance, the more curtain calls it will get. They may be leftards, but they can't resist a good show.

That is probably right. The same media thyat adored the Clintons flipped on them & it can happen to the Obamas, but not know.
Example, Jay Leno in his monolouge last night, set up that 'Barack Obama has vowed to campaign in all 50 states." I expected him to say something about the gaffe whe Obama did not know how many states are in the Union. I was wrong. The punchline was 'Senator McCain vowed to campaign in all 13 colonies"
Funny line, but not at Barry's expense

re: #147 opnion

The media has now circled the wagons around Michelle Obama, to declare criticism of her off limits.
I would agree if she was not out there saying such provoctive things.
She is not just a campaign prop, but a major player. She is fair game.

Bingo. Ding up.
She's dangerous. Who's really in charge ?

re: #161 SasquatchOnSteroids

Bingo. Ding up.
She's dangerous. Who's really in charge ?

My nine-year-old saw that picture and went "boo! He's a Democrat!"

Raised Right.

Good morning LGf friends! We dodged the tornadoes last night, thank God. My heart goes out to those in Iowa this morning.

There's a subdivision garage sale opening up in about an hour near me. I have my dollar bills and my quarters all ready to go. How are all of you this morning?

re: #157 goddessoftheclassroom

On a different tack, Goddess, how do you define a "paragraph" for your students?

re: #163 mama winger

Morning Mama

re: #163 mama winger

Good morning LGf friends! We dodged the tornadoes last night, thank God. My heart goes out to those in Iowa this morning.

There's a subdivision garage sale opening up in about an hour near me. I have my dollar bills and my quarters all ready to go. How are all of you this morning?

{mama winger}
I'm so glad you're safe. You and all who are in danger in the Midwest are in my prayers.

re: #162 Lucius Septimius

Keep up the good work.

re: #163 mama winger

I'm ok, but it's still early. Mixed feelings about the Cubs win over the Braves last night. Like the Braves, but a born Cub fan. Could this be the year for a Chicago Subway Series?

"My Barry lies about his donors,
My Barry lies about his wife -

My Barry lies about his motives,
So Barry, I'll run for my life ........"

(sung to My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean) - with apologies to buzzsawmonkey :)

re: #151 The Albatross

I'm beginning to think both Barry and Michelle need psychotropics.

I think someone nailed it when a web blogger somewhere nic'ed her Eeyore.

I'll tell you one thing Albatross - I went looking the other day for a picture of Obama Sr. after I noticed that Obama looks remarkably like his mother. It just so happens that every time I needed an easy fill in class, what happened to be available was psychology, so I've ended up with enough psych classes for a undergrad major in psych. What I saw looking at the pictures of Obama's youth was very disturbing.

Forget his earliest life. At 10 or 11 (fifth grade) he was shipped off to the grandparents in Hawai'i while mommy remained in Indonesia with the husband and new baby sister. No matter what the reasons, children that age see this kind of thing as abandonment, especially if it is a long-term separation. And then there is this picture -

[Link: www.kansasprairie.net...]

The caption reads -

Barack Obama Sr. poses with his son in the Honolulu airport during Obama Sr.’s only visit to see his son while he was growing up in Hawaii. Young Barack was in the 5th grade when the photo was taken.

Add Grandpa's nasty comment about poor Grandma being scared of black men, that even today affects Obama so much he will throw dear Grandma and her entire race under the bus.

This is a man that according to virtually everything that we know about child psychology could not help but be a pretty messed up individual, to put things very mildly. Enough to make me wonder if the reason he won't release his medical records is because they might include some psychiatric info he does not want known.

Glad the tornadoes missed ya mama.

re: #168 Lucius Septimius

I'm ok, but it's still early. Mixed feelings about the Cubs win over the Braves last night. Like the Braves, but a born Cub fan. Could this be the year for a Chicago Subway Series?

The town would rock

Good morning Lizards........

re: #168 Lucius Septimius

I'm ok, but it's still early. Mixed feelings about the Cubs win over the Braves last night. Like the Braves, but a born Cub fan. Could this be the year for a Chicago Subway Series?

This is the year the Cubs are going to the series. So, this is also the year I will have to stock up on Depends and prepare for my heart attack. It's worth it. I've been waiting since 1958.

re: #172 opnion

The town would rock

If the Cubs go to the World Series, Chicago will seriously shut down and have a massive community stroke.

re: #162 Lucius Septimius

My nine-year-old saw that picture and went "boo! He's a Democrat!"

Raised Right.

Outstanding. Helps me keep the faith in our next generation. My family is wall to wall liberals and or moonbats.

I need hope, and not Obama's kind either.

re: #171 The Albatross

Glad the tornadoes missed ya mama.

Thanks sweetie :) How are you today ?

re: #164 Lucius Septimius

On a different tack, Goddess, how do you define a "paragraph" for your students?

A formal paragraph (as opposed to informal paragraphs in personal, not academic, writing) is a clearly stated idea (topic sentence) supported by 2-3 examples (supporting details) and completed with a conclusion (concluding sentence) that either 1) explains the importance of the idea or 2) provides a transition to another, related concept.

That's off the top of my head...

We're off to see John McCain this morning...and then our daughter graduates from high school tonight.

What a day!

re: #166 goddessoftheclassroom

Thanks goddess. This spring has been something else, I tell you. I sleep with my windows open just so I can hear the sirens go off.

re: #179 DistantThunder

We're off to see John McCain this morning...and then our daughter graduates from high school tonight.

What a day!

CONGRATULATIONS !

re: #175 mama winger

If the Cubs go to the World Series, Chicago will seriously shut down and have a massive community stroke.

No doubt, but a Sox/Cubs Series would have drop dead drama.
It would actually be the most fun that you could have.
I would love to see it

re: #174 mama winger

This is the year the Cubs are going to the series. So, this is also the year I will have to stock up on Depends and prepare for my heart attack. It's worth it. I've been waiting since 1958.

I haven't been waiting that long, but long enough.

More rain in store for you today?

re: #165 AmeriDan

Morning Mama

Hi there Dan! How are you doing today ?

re: #179 DistantThunder

We're off to see John McCain this morning...and then our daughter graduates from high school tonight.

What a day!

Sounds like a wonderful day!

re: #170 galloping granny

Yeppers, and ripe for radical indoctrination... will the real "Manchurian Man" please stand up. He's got all the earmarks. A follower and not a leader at any rate. The DNC's malleable puppet.

re: #181 mama winger

CONGRATULATIONS !

Yes, we just got the urgent call from dear daughter to hurry and bring her cap gown for the class picture. Third one to graduate - 4 to go.

Son just received some medical clearances to continue with his application to the airforce.

re: #178 goddessoftheclassroom

A formal paragraph (as opposed to informal paragraphs in personal, not academic, writing) is a clearly stated idea (topic sentence) supported by 2-3 examples (supporting details) and completed with a conclusion (concluding sentence) that either 1) explains the importance of the idea or 2) provides a transition to another, related concept.

That's off the top of my head...

And a swell head it is ...

Thanks -- that's more or less what I've operated from. You'd be amazed (or not) of the number of college students I see who have no idea what a "topic sentence" is.

re: #187 DistantThunder

Yes, we just got the urgent call from dear daughter to hurry and bring her cap gown for the class picture. Third one to graduate - 4 to go.

Son just received some medical clearances to continue with his application to the airforce.

What a proud time for you--and, I imagine, a bit wistful, too.

re: #183 Lucius Septimius

I haven't been waiting that long, but long enough.

More rain in store for you today?

I'm not sure - I'm afraid to check the forecast. The other day we had to evacuate the Vet Clinic because of tornados, take all the pets and go hide in Doctor's basement. You should have seen us - with IV bags and catheters and sedated dogs ---- what a sight we were :)

re: #177 mama winger

Got no complaints. Working my ass off, but hey I'm breaking even so it's all good. Gotta jet in a few for another durn shot.

re: #186 The Albatross

Yeppers, and ripe for radical indoctrination... will the real "Manchurian Man" please stand up. He's got all the earmarks. A follower and not a leader at any rate. The DNC's malleable puppet.

He's a post turtle, could never have gotten up there on his own

re: #187 DistantThunder

Yes, we just got the urgent call from dear daughter to hurry and bring her cap gown for the class picture. Third one to graduate - 4 to go.

Son just received some medical clearances to continue with his application to the airforce.

that is wonderful - you must be very proud of your clan!

re: #179 DistantThunder

Congrats.

re: #188 Lucius Septimius

And a swell head it is ...

Thanks -- that's more or less what I've operated from. You'd be amazed (or not) of the number of college students I see who have no idea what a "topic sentence" is.

I know you're not kidding, but WOW.

The hardest part for me to teach is the effective concluding sentence. The kids tend to simply restate their topic sentence, which is fine in third grade, but I try to get them to ask themselves, "So what? What does it matter that Samwise shows three unexpected examples of courage (for instance)? What does this PROVE?"

Yep - I just checked the forecast - more storms coming this afternoon. gah

re: #184 mama winger

I'm doing great. Close to bed time though, so I'll pray the storms stay away from you this day.

And since I don't have a favorite MLB team, I'll sign off by saying GO CUBS!

Good Night to all.

re: #197 AmeriDan

I'm doing great. Close to bed time though, so I'll pray the storms stay away from you this day.

And since I don't have a favorite MLB team, I'll sign off by saying GO CUBS!

Good Night to all.

You sir are my new favorite friend ! hahaha - goodnight :)

re: #145 AmeriDan

re: #156 somecallmetim

re: #158 AmeriDan

Ah, now you've got me waxing nostalgic... and thirsty! :-)

Got to get ready to let the podiatrist harvest my corns...

BBL

I'm still looking for a good name for my fish camp... I wanted Pollywog Creek, but there's a blog by that name and it just seems like it would be a rip off.

re: #200 goddessoftheclassroom

Yikes. Later Goddess, have a great day!

re: #195 goddessoftheclassroom

I know you're not kidding, but WOW.

The hardest part for me to teach is the effective concluding sentence. The kids tend to simply restate their topic sentence, which is fine in third grade, but I try to get them to ask themselves, "So what? What does it matter that Samwise shows three unexpected examples of courage (for instance)? What does this PROVE?"

I keep telling you goddess, you have no clue what a treasure you are. You really remind me of my mother, who was the same kind of teacher you are in her later years.

re: #189 goddessoftheclassroom

What a proud time for you--and, I imagine, a bit wistful, too.

Nervous and wistful. She's headed off to SDSU where I'm sure they will try to indoctrinate her. I hope that because she has listened to Rush since she was was a toddler, she'd developed some immunity.

The First Thing I would do as President is to sign the Freedom of Choice Act - Obama

re: #193 mama winger

that is wonderful - you must be very proud of your clan!

Proud and relieved...there are days I wonder.

re: #204 DistantThunder

Nervous and wistful. She's headed off to SDSU where I'm sure they will try to indoctrinate her. I hope that because she has listened to Rush since she was was a toddler, she'd developed some immunity.

I hope that she is not going to one of those "universities" where if you do not toe the party line you are pretty severely penalized.

Spinning off some retro...

Devo Freedom of Choice

UZBEKISTAN: "The government is trying to stir up Muslims against Christians"

Uzbek state-run television has repeated a film shown in May promoting intolerance of religious minorities, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. This time the one hour and twenty minute broadcast, entitled "In the clutches of ignorance", was shown in Russian, in contrast to the previous showing in Uzbek. The timing of the broadcast was designed to attract the largest possible audience, being shown on the evening of Monday 9 June on the national Sport channel before live coverage of two matches from the Euro 2008 football championship.

The film attacked religious communities conducting unspecified "illegal missionary activities," described as "a global problem along with religious dogmatism, fundamentalism, terrorism and drug addiction." The film claimed that Uzbek citizens' "low political awareness and legal culture make them an easy target for the missionaries." Sharing beliefs with others is a criminal offence in Uzbekistan, breaking the state's international human rights commitments

re: #192 opnion

He's a post turtle, could never have gotten up there on his own

And he makes you wonder what idiot(s) put him there (and why).

re: #195 goddessoftheclassroom

The hardest part for me to teach is the effective concluding sentence. The kids tend to simply restate their topic sentence, which is fine in third grade, but I try to get them to ask themselves, "So what?

That is a tough one. I either get that or what really should be the topic sentence for the next paragraph, which ends up starting in media res. I usually try to stress that the topic sentence is essentially a hypothesis -- an unproven assertion -- whereas the conclusion is proven but modified on the basis of the examples. Or something like that.

My pet peeve is this sort of topic sentence:

"In Snorri's book, he says .... " with the "he" intending to refer to Snorri.

re: #205 mama winger
From the article...

""FOCA creates a new and dangerously radical 'right,' Burke wrote in a commentary about the legislation. "It establishes the right to abortion as a 'fundamental right,' elevating it to the same status as the right to vote and the right to free speech, which unlike the abortion license, are specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution."

"Critically, the U.S. Supreme Court has never (in Roe v. Wade or any subsequent decision) defined abortion as a fundamental constitutional right," Burke said. "FOCA goes beyond any U.S. Supreme Court decision in enshrining unlimited abortion-on-demand into American law."

Scarey stuff.

re: #210 CIA Reject

Heh... it's a conspiracy.

re: #212 The Albatross

From the article...

""FOCA creates a new and dangerously radical 'right,' Burke wrote in a commentary about the legislation. "It establishes the right to abortion as a 'fundamental right,' elevating it to the same status as the right to vote and the right to free speech, which unlike the abortion license, are specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution."

"Critically, the U.S. Supreme Court has never (in Roe v. Wade or any subsequent decision) defined abortion as a fundamental constitutional right," Burke said. "FOCA goes beyond any U.S. Supreme Court decision in enshrining unlimited abortion-on-demand into American law."

Scarey stuff.

Ack. Since I can't spell, I really must be going.

Have a great day lizards!

*poof*
/gone

re: #212 The Albatross

Scarey stuff

Indeed.

Former Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins, convicted in the 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate, could soon be released from prison because she is near death, authorities said.

Atkins, 59, is terminally ill and being considered for so-called "compassionate release," state corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. She gave no details of Atkins' illness, but said a doctor had determined she had less than six months to live.

The corrections department was reviewing the request, which if approved would then be passed to the state Board of Parole which has the power to release Atkins under state law so they can die with loved ones, at their expense.

Such releases are relatively rare—only 10 of the 60 requests made last year were granted, Thornton said. The prisoners must have family members willing and able to care for them.

Atkins, now a gray-haired, matronly looking woman, was one of cult leader Manson's ersatz hippie "family" of young killers who burst into a Beverly Hills home 39 years ago and killed Tate, the pregnant wife of filmmaker Roman Polanski, along with four others. The following night they stabbed to death a wealthy couple in their Los Angeles home.

Atkins has been denied parole 11 times, most recently in 2005.

WOW... Reading through last evening's threads... Incredible... Charles really has a difficult position and does it with authority...

I will once again state that no right thinking American will side with fascist or white power groups, regardless of their sides in th War on Terror... The American people are smarter than that...

There is no place for fascism, on the right or left, in this world... Sadly, there seem to be large numbers of people who do not agree... Pity...

Again, kudos to Charles...

Best frogs legs on the St Johns river (I'm told)
re: #199 CIA Reject

Well, all the kids are up, so dad duties are ramping up. Hopefully I can stop in later. In the meantime, have a great day.

re: #213 The Albatross

Heh... it's a conspiracy.

Yes, but fortunately I have one of THESE So HA! I am protected!

/Right!

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Friday the Supreme Court ruling on Guantanamo detainees would not affect the trials of enemy combatants. A divided court ruled decided suspected terrorists have the right to go to federal court to seek their release from indefinite detention.

Speaking at a Group of Eight meeting of justice and home affairs ministers in Tokyo, Mukasey said, "I'm disappointed with the decision, in so far as I understand that it will result in hundreds of actions challenging the detention of enemy combatants to be moved to federal district court."

He added: "I think it bears emphasis that the court's decision does not concern military commission trials, which will continue to proceed. Instead it addresses the procedures that the Congress and the president put in place to permit enemy combatants to challenge their detention."

re: #221 mama winger

I heard the terrorists at Gitmo have lawsuits written up an ready to go at this point... They will try to bankrupt the US into submission...

re: #209 mama winger

Very nosy people with bone in their brain.

/Borat ftw. VERY NICE!

re: #218 somecallmetim

Best frogs legs on the St Johns river (I'm told)

Ah, I wouldn't know....

/Tastes like chicken!
//*BARF*

Good morning all y'all - from a warm (72 degrees, going up to 93 degrees) bright and sunny Charlotte!

How is everyone doing this fine morning?

re: #216 mama winger

OK, but I have trouble working up any sympathy for her. That's just me.

re: #216 mama winger

Former Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins, convicted in the 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate, could soon be released from prison because she is near death, authorities said.

I'd like to ask the parole board members if Sharon Tate or her fetus got compassion.

re: #226 Nevergiveup

OK, but I have trouble working up any sympathy for her. That's just me.

Me too. I'm fresh out.

re: #227 MandyManners

I'd like to ask the parole board members if Sharon Tate or her fetus got compassion.

Exactly.

I'm off to hit the garage sales - see you all later and have a swell day!

re: #205 mama winger

The First Thing I would do as President is to sign the Freedom of Choice Act - Obama

That fellow's got a busy first day planned.

Different Topic

Human death in an urban, modern Western setting is something done in a clinical environment, with beeping machines and bustling medical staff.

Not so very long ago in rural American folks died at home, with family and friends. My great-uncle Hubert was terrified of going to the hospital towards the end. He didn't want to die in a strange place. My wife's grandfather died in our back seat as we took him to the doctor. His wife, widowed after almost eight decades, commented that she sure missed her husband and went to her room and died about fourteen months later.

I'm not so certain that there is a good place to die, but I'm coming around to the position that I'd not like to go in a hospital, either.

re: #225 realwest

Oh, the usual. Not exactly an unlucky Friday the 13th for me though. :3

Heads up -

Fox top headline:

'Time to Start Praying'
Midwest overwhelmed by epic 500-year flood

Weather Service issues extraordinary warning that 'historic hydrologic event is evolving' as thousands flee

re: #227 MandyManners

I'd like to ask the parole board members if Sharon Tate or her fetus got compassion.

Absolutely. In fact, we should perhaps write to the California Parole Board and ask them just that.

re: #215 mama winger

Indeed.

Explain to me exactly what you would do with the women who have had or will in the future have abortions. If you are not willing to track them all down, try them for murder, and incarcerate them for life, then you are tacitly admitting that you know damn well it is not murder but instead something of which you do not approve and which you are eager to try to eliminate so long as you don't have to face the wrath of the millions of families who would be shattered if you acted consistently on your claim of "murder".

re: #231 razorbacker

That fellow's got a busy first day planned.

Different Topic

Human death in an urban, modern Western setting is something done in a clinical environment, with beeping machines and bustling medical staff.

Not so very long ago in rural American folks died at home, with family and friends. My great-uncle Hubert was terrified of going to the hospital towards the end. He didn't want to die in a strange place. My wife's grandfather died in our back seat as we took him to the doctor. His wife, widowed after almost eight decades, commented that she sure missed her husband and went to her room and died about fourteen months later.

I'm not so certain that there is a good place to die, but I'm coming around to the position that I'd not like to go in a hospital, either.

I will die in a cardboard box before I will die in a hospital or worse a "home" or "hospice."

re: #230 mama winger

I'm off to hit the garage sales - see you all later and have a swell day!

Happy hunting!

re: #225 realwest

Good morning all y'all - from a warm (72 degrees, going up to 93 degrees) bright and sunny Charlotte!

How is everyone doing this fine morning?

Morning real. Chilly. You?

re: #233 galloping granny

Heads up -

Fox top headline:

As I was winding down last night, I saw a piece of CNN blaming the fires in California, the drought in Georgia and the tornadoes and floods in the mid-west on global warming. I quickly changed my channel instead of reaching for my Desert Eagle.

Gee downtown Cedar Rapids IA does look a tad wet.

re: #234 galloping granny

Absolutely. In fact, we should perhaps write to the California Parole Board and ask them just that.

I still don't understand what possessed those people to do what they did.

Oh, wait. Evil. No need for complicated theories. Just plain evil.

re: #239 MandyManners

As I was winding down last night, I saw a piece of CNN blaming the fires in California, the drought in Georgia and the tornadoes and floods in the mid-west on global warming. I quickly changed my channel instead of reaching for my Desert Eagle.

AccuWEather's Joe Bastardi was on with O'Reilly last night... Bastardi is very much of mindset that man made GW nuts are simply nuts and don't understand science... Anyway, he said the basic issue is that it is cooler than normal in the Northwest and warmer than normal in the Southeast... Thus, systems are unfortunately forced over the Midwest and are not forced out by the jet stream... It's a pattern that sets up during strong La Nina years...

re: #236 galloping granny

I will die in a cardboard box before I will die in a hospital or worse a "home" or "hospice."

I don't know. My grandmother died in a hospice after a massive stroke. The staff were wonderful. The setting was peaceful.

re: #232 laZardo
Morning and why is it not an unlucky Friday the 13th for you?
Actually, Friday the 13th has always been (knock on wood) my lucky day - took and passed first drivers test on a Friday the 13th, got laid to meet a sweet young woman on a Friday the 13th, took and passed last day of bar exam on a Friday the 13, and so on!
So what's with you and Friday the 13th?

re: #244 realwest

I finally got my hands on a copy of this game, and played (and enjoyed) it. (:

For once, I actually have something to look forward to so I can dull the pain of the eventual collapse of society.

re: #242 tfc3rid

I'm having fun explaining to The Kid how thunderstorms form. Makes me glad I took atmospheric sciences.

re: #238 galloping granny Good morning to ya! I'm not cold and not warm, feeling just alright! How cold is it up by you this morning?

re: #242 tfc3rid

AccuWEather's Joe Bastardi was on with O'Reilly last night... Bastardi is very much of mindset that man made GW nuts are simply nuts and don't understand science... Anyway, he said the basic issue is that it is cooler than normal in the Northwest and warmer than normal in the Southeast... Thus, systems are unfortunately forced over the Midwest and are not forced out by the jet stream... It's a pattern that sets up during strong La Nina years...

Watching live coverage from Cedar Rapids IA. Seems that they evacuate residents and there is no looting and rioting? How come?

Good Morning Lizard Nation!

Imagine my surprise when the BF woke me up at 12:30 this morning to tell me that the Celtics had come back to BEAT L.A.!

re: #236 galloping granny

I will die in a cardboard box before I will die in a hospital or worse a "home" or "hospice."

Death has been much on my mind these past two years. With absolutely no training, and against my will, I find myself in the sad position of being the 'elder' of my particular family branch.

I'm not ready for it, I don't want it, but here I am.

I'm as surprised as the day that I realized that my wife and I were now as old as our parents had been when we married. And astounded that those people had been so old at the time while we were so young.

That perception thing is mind wobbling.

re: #245 laZardo AHA!
Gee it must be nice to be young enough to get such a kick out of a video game, but sad, too to be young enough to watch the collapse of Western Civilization! LOL!
Just kidding - I'm glad you got it and that you LOVE IT!

re: #207 galloping granny

I hope that she is not going to one of those "universities" where if you do not toe the party line you are pretty severely penalized.

I think it depends on your field of study.

The party line may just be an annoyance in Chem 101; it may be a condition for passing English Lit with the wrong prof.

I hope she finds some inspiring teachers in her new school. I did, even though I did not know it at the time.

I would like to say that politics were less polarized and nasty back the, but I really don't think they were. I took a "C" in a Poli Sci class that I like to think was because I bucked the prof (called him out on the Falklands War and was proven right), but in retrospect it may have been a lousy paper. I would not want to be forced to read it now. ;)

This is too weird to just be a coincidence. One day after LGF again points out the crazed Muslim radicals overruning Northern Virginia (and I'd know, I get to see it every day), the Washington Post comes out with a whitewash of the mosque that harbored 2 of the 9/11 terrorists.

[Link: www.washingtonpost.com...]

Va. Mosque Reaches Out, Joining Immigrant Fabric

Friday, June 13, 2008; Page A01

For years, the Dar al Hijrah mosque was an isolated, slightly mysterious presence in Falls Church -- a stark stone building hidden behind a row of trees, rarely visited by non-Muslims in the multi-ethnic Culmore neighborhood, and known mostly for traffic jams on Leesburg Pike as worshipers arrived for Friday prayers.

These days, the mosque bustles with visitors chattering in Spanish and Vietnamese as well as Persian and Urdu. Immigrants from a dozen countries gather there each Thursday, many with toddlers and baby strollers, to pick up donated chicken, bread, fruit and vegetables.

On weekends, the doors are thrown open for community blood drives or mental health fairs. At night, mosque officials often attend meetings at nearby churches, synagogues or social agencies, including a monthly brainstorming session called Culmore Partners.

"The average person here has had no interaction with Islam. They may even think we are the enemy, especially after September 11th," said Abdulkareem Jama, a network engineer from Somalia who is president of the mosque's board. "The more we open up and interact, the more we demystify things and seem normal to each other."

90 per cent of pandas in jeopardy after China earthquake:

[Link: www.timesonline.co.uk...]

So is Bush to blame for this also?

re: #230 mama winger

I'm off to hit the garage sales - see you all later and have a swell day!

If you find a nice garage at a bargain price, be sure and come back to brag!

re: #251 realwest

The placebo effect is worth it.

And no, I am not joking.

re: #248 Nevergiveup
That's because they're not Typical Angry White People Clinging to their Guns and Faith!
Did I get that right?!
Oh and good morning to you!