One man’s trash …
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RE: Sarah Palin: YOU GO, GIRL!!!
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It must be boring as hell …
… to be the person who sends out “Breaking News” emails on a slow news day. How else to explain this email from CNN:
– Sen. Hillary Clinton tells convention delegates: “Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president.”
Never let it be said that CNN passed up an opportunity to shove Obama down our throats.
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One of the places on my “to go” list …
… is Alaska and I’m hoping that I can convince some of my relatives to join us for a cruise up that way in the next couple of years. Maybe this will help.
This 26-minute film from Princess Cruises called “The Heart of Alaska” won the “Best Cinematography” award at the NY Independent Film & Video Festival.
The Heart of Alaska” is a high-definition documentary that showcases the Princess cruise-tour experience by depicting the land, wildlife and people of Alaska. The 26-minute film, photographed and directed by Princess video producer Scott Martin, features interviews with some of the people who tell their stories of life in Alaska’s interior.
Viewers meet rangers from both Denali and Wrangell-St. Elias national parks, Alaska natives, homesteaders and dog mushers who share an insider’s perspective of life in the 49th state. Other voices include a bush pilot, a captain from Fairbanks’ iconic riverboat and a mountain climber. The film also brings the audience up-close to the wildlife of Denali National Park, including bears, moose, Dall sheep, and caribou. Soaring photography takes viewers high above the world’s tallest peaks, including Mount McKinley.
It is a beautiful (and interesting) film and makes me want to book that cruise. Anybody want to come along?
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Sorry, Barry …
… but most of us really don’t care all that much who you pick. The mainstream media is dying to know, but the rest of us are like … yeah, whatever. And so when you say stuff like this, you sound like a pompous ass. Or a five year old with a secret. (”I know something you don’t know. Nah nah nah nah nah!”)
Not terribly presidential, dude.
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R.I.P. Acres of Books in Long Beach, CA
Oh, my, the hours I spent there! Happy trails, Jackie and Phil.
[L.A.Times] After 74 years in business, the independent bookstore giant with an inventory that topped 1 million volumes is closing down to make way for a redevelopment project. The two-story brick building will be transformed into a mix of housing and art galleries as part of the city’s plan to connect downtown with its East Village Arts District.
Acres of Books opened on Pacific Street in 1934 and moved into the current building in the 1940s, taking over from a country-western bar and dance hall. Back then, Long Beach Boulevard was a hot spot for the Navy, packed with bars, tattoo parlors and mom-and-pop shops.
Founder Bertrand Smith and his son, E.P. Smith, worked more than a year to move into the site, shuttling hundreds of thousands of books in the back of a pickup. Over time, the downtown strip, starting from the shoreline, has given way to an arts renaissance and a 21st century economy of condos and Starbucks shops.
“We knew eventually it would catch up with us,” said Jackie Smith, 68. She and her husband, Phil, plan to retire and travel. They’ve had time to say goodbye to the store, after selling their building to the city for $2.8 million three months ago.
Smith said she and her husband searched for months for a new location but didn’t find one that met their needs for a large space on a modest budget. Once they sell their inventory, which in less than two weeks has gone from 700,000 to 500,000, they will join the list of independent L.A. area bookstores that have been ousted by sluggish sales or redevelopment.
“I hate to see it go,” said Smith, whose husband inherited the store from his grandfather. “If we would have been able to hold on, we would have probably been here until we turned to dirt. But that’s not possible.”
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Tired of paying $4.00 per gallon for gas?
Watch this video and then visit PickensPlan.com.
… is currently playing: Drivin’ from the album Simple Things by Richie Havens.
In some families she would be considered a black sheep.
The L.A.Times ran a story the other day about a 77 year old woman named Doris Payne who spent 50+ years stealing jewelry from retail stores.
Her formula was simple: Pick a nice store and look like you belong there. Make sure your well-cut outfit has deep pockets.
She was good, but not good enough to never get caught. In fact, she has been convicted of grand theft several times and has spent most of the last decade in prison. She should be free by the time she is 81, if she lives that long.
Her story is interesting and would probably make a good movie. But the most interesting paragraph in the lengthy article (IMO) is this:
“It took me a while to become proud of her,” said Ronald, of Louisiana. Now 61, he was born when his mother was a teenager. He was raised partly by his grandparents. “I realized she was very good at what she does and had fun doing it.”
So Ronald is proud of his convicted felon mother who was so busy stealing what probably amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stuff that she couldn’t be bothered to raise him because, after all, SHE WAS A GOOD THIEF and she ENJOYED HERSELF while she was stealing.
Loving her in spite of her flaws would be one thing. But being proud of her?
What a world.
… is currently playing: Steal Me Blind from the album Alf by Alison Moyet.
Why would you change the name of your company …
… from NORWEGIAN COASTAL VOYAGE (which conjures up such lovely, relaxing images) to HURTIGRUTEN???
is currently playing: Ain’t That Peculiar from the album Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye by Marvin Gaye.
I ***LOVE*** Hello Kitty …
… I really do … but I must admit that they is something really creepy/scary about a six foot tall person in a Hello Kitty costume.
