Love the Lone Star State? In January 2009, the Texas license plate will get a makeover, and there's still time for YOU (anyone can vote - not just Texas residents) to vote on the new design.
There are five options to choose from, with images ranging from blue bonnets to the cliffs of Big Bend to a cityscape. (And that cityscape is of Dallas, no less!)
Voting ends at 12 p.m. on Monday, February 11th. CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY.
Would you believe that I'm really not all that into the Oscars? I've never even watched the Oscars. In fact, I don't even know when the Oscars are happening. (Though I suspect it's sometime soon.) And while, in general, I like watching movies, let me go on record here: I've never seen ANY of these nominated films.
That said, I have at least HEARD of all of them. So that's something, right?
[Editor's Note: Actually, I just watched one of these movies ("Atonement") this weekend, but it was totally unintentional and it was after I began writing this entry. My husband and I meant to watch another film, and at the last minute we changed our minds. This was mainly because Roger and I were both interested in seeing different movies, and when I came up with the idea that he see his movie and I see my movie, and then we reconvene afterward, he wasn't having any of it. Apparently, "that's not a date." So my original statement about having never seen any of the nominated films is now only partially true. Roger, on the other hand, has seen almost all of them. Maybe. I actually don't know, so I'm not really a credible source of information about my own husband. Onward!]
As such, I thought I should cast my totally uninformed ballot for the Oscars.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Choices include:
* George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”
* Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood”
* Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
* Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah”
* Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises”
Chirky votes for:
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Choices include:
* Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
* Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men”
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War”
* Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild”
* Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton”
Chirky votes for:
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Choices include:
* Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
* Julie Christie in “Away from Her”
* Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose”
* Laura Linney in “The Savages”
* Ellen Page in “Juno”
Chirky votes for:
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Choices include:
* Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There”
* Ruby Dee in “American Gangster”
* Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement”
* Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone”
* Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton”
Chirky votes for:
Best animated feature film of the year
Choices include:
* “Persepolis”
* “Ratatouille”
* “Surf’s Up”
Chirky votes for:
Best motion picture of the year
Choices include:
* “Atonement”
* “Juno”
* “Michael Clayton”
* “No Country for Old Men”
* “There Will Be Blood”
Chirky votes for:
Achievement in directing
Choices include:
* “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Julian Schnabel
* “Juno” Jason Reitman
* “Michael Clayton” Tony Gilroy
* “No Country for Old Men” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
* “There Will Be Blood” Paul Thomas Anderson
Chirky votes for:
And that's it. Seven. Seven? Is that all the categories there are? I feel like something's missing.
Anyway, I hope you'll play along, too. Leave a comment telling me if you think I'm right or wrong, and if you're feeling wordy, tell me why. Or give me your own list of who/what film you think will win. Or create your own list on your own blog, and leave a link so we can all compare notes.
I've played those games in the car, or sitting around the campfire, or wherever -- and you probably have, too -- that go something like this: "Name your top five _______." The blank is something generic, like "genres of food" or "favorite colors" or "pieces of clothing."
For "places you want to travel," mine went something like this:
1. Bangkok
2. Maldives
3. Istanbul
4. New Zealand
5. Ireland
Of course, each of the places named above would be more than just a trip to that city, and each of the destinations listed above are places I've not yet traveled. Ideally, Bangkok would be part of a six-month stint around Southeast Asia. Other stops would include the Thai islands and Chiang Mai (Thailand), Hoi An, Hanoi and Saigon (Vietnam), Bagan and Mandalay (Burma), and Siem Reap (Cambodia), as well as many little towns that we would pass through while traveling. And then of course there would be Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing, with stops in Shanghai (to visit friends) and Nanjing (to show Roger around my old stomping grounds).
(Note: For the sake of time, and space, I'll stop naming cities. Unless you really, really want to know. And then I'll happily inform you, but beware: am long winded on the subject of travel.)
I'd love to visit Japan, but I'm getting the feeling that six months for the places I've already listed would barely scratch the surface for this type of trip. Japan will need to be another trip, maybe mixed with South Korea. The most time I've ever spent in South Korea was eight hours in an airport, six of which I was sleeping in the hotel that was actually INSIDE the international wing. Also during that trip, I paid seven dollars for a can of Sprite.
The Maldives would include visits to India, both the north and the south, as well as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Istanbul would include Greece, Romania, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria.
New Zealand would require Australia, as well as a Great Barrier Reef dive, because of all that time in seventh grade that I spent daydreaming about being a marine biologist. I'd probably also hop north to visit Indonesia and Malaysia while touring the Great Outback.
And then, the dramatic cliffs of Ireland. London and Scotland would be involved, as would Iceland. For a very, very long time I've wanted to visit the baths of Iceland.
So, you see, by naming five cities to visit, I really get to tie in more than 30 other cities and/or countries, as well. That works for me.
It seems as though the New York Times is doing something similar. In December, the publication complied an article highlighting 53 places to visit in 2008.
I'm happy to report that very few of the places I want to visit are on this list. That's a good thing, since that means when I travel to those places, there will be that many fewer people to congest the streets and beaches and various attractions. I'm kind of selfish that way, though I have to admit that the New York Times article made me curious about a few places I've never considered before, like Mauritius and Essaouira, among others.
Since the New York Times peaked my curiosity about these different places, it got me thinking: Perhaps you know of or have visited some cities/countries that I'm overlooking.
If you've stayed with me this long, tell me: What are YOUR top five?
Before you pick up that hotel drinking glass, let me warn you: It may
not be as clean as you assume it is.
After watching this video, I think I'm going to have to ask Santa for
some lightweight travel cups.
I never wanted to be a starving artist. You know: those people who stand in a walkway, pretending to paint a picture and hoping you’ll buy it, or bent over on a crowded side street squeezing out a tune from a gleaming saxophone. Inevitably there’d be a hat turned upward and discarded on the pavement, indirectly begging for any amount of change, though dollar bills were preferred.
Through high school and college, that’s what I equated with writing. It was fools’ gold, something that you could only do if you never expected to have a mortgage or regularly pay your bills. So I earned my degree in Technical Writing and Editing, since I figured that would be the only way to get to do what I loved, writing, and still earn a salary. (Somehow journalism didn’t occur to me, and I’m still not sure how that is possible considering how many hours I spent with my academic advisor, laboring over the decision to apply for an English degree or to choose something more practical, like Business Management.)
For the last several years I’ve worked in mergers and acquisitions. I handled the legal side, drafting contracts and researching the companies whose assets we were purchasing, and for the most part, it was fairly interesting. Then a year ago, on a whim, I started interviewing outside my field. I just thought there had to be something more – something better suited to me – out there somewhere. Turns out there was.
I’ve taken a writing position with a subsidiary of one of the largest travel agencies in the world. That subsidiary’s headquarters is here in Dallas. And today was my first day.
For a long time, Roger and I thought we were moving out of Texas – that maybe we’d settle in Seattle or San Francisco – and that may still happen in the future. But for now, we’ve found our treasure. And it’s every bit as real as we’d hoped it would be.
I suppose it would be unfair to say that, politically, I don't identify myself with any one party. I do. I am a conservative, I always have been, I probably always will be. I don't always agree with Republican platforms. I don't always agree with Democratic platforms. I usually fall into the "Undecided" category, weighing my options based on which issues are more important to me and voting for the candidate whose platform is most harmonious with my own. This year, however, I know nothing about ANY of the candidates, other than:
- Rudy Giuliani has a hard last name to spell
- McCain is kind of pasty-looking
- Hillary Clinton scares me a little
Is it in poor taste that, upon hearing that Paris Hilton was sent back to jail kicking and screaming (literally), I started giggling? Aloud?
(Yeah -- I didn't think so, either. But I still feel kind of bad about it.)
I'm fascinated by odd news stories, which is why I sometimes post links to reports from around the world, like the Chinese woman who was pregnant with at least five children or the Sudanese man forced to marry a goat.
What about our own little corner of the world? Yesterday, as luck would have it, Benjamin Carpenter's wheelchair got stuck in the grill of an eighteen wheeler while Benjamin was crossing a street.
Once the stoplight turned green, the semi truck began barreling down the highway, unknowingly pushing the 21-year-old along for about four miles at 50 mph before Benjamin was rescued. The police sergeant at the scene commented, saying, "The man spilled his soda pop, but he wasn't upset."
It's obvious where the officer's priorities lay: Someone get Benjamin a Dr Pepper, stat!
Photo Source: AP
I've told you before about my disdain for cockroaches, or at least I've given you creepy facts guaranteed to make your toes curl. Today is no different. I've got another piece of trivia for you, courtesy of my local pest control company newsletter:
"Cockroaches have been known to chew off the eyelashes, eyebrows and toenails of humans."
Question: Would you let a cockroach sit on your face and chew your eyelashes? How was this study done? Was this information discovered during an episode of Fear Factor? Inquiring minds want to know.
In jest, I posted a comment on Jonniker's website a while back with an image of Manuel Uribe. He's an obese man (weighing in at 1,200+ pounds) in Mexico who, several months ago, made an on-air plea regarding his weight loss.
I'm not really sure how that went, since I never heard the plea, but how can he make a plea regarding his own weight loss? Isn't he the only one who is like, you know, responsible for it? I mean, what can his audience do about it?
Since then, he has apparently lost 200 pounds following a strict high-protein diet. Is that the same thing as the Atkins Diet? Because I'm a professional dieter and all, but not eating bread (and biscuits and rolls and crepes and English muffins and bagels and such) sounds like pure hell to me.
You might as well eliminate dessert, too. And then life is no fun and you can't sit around on a cold wintry day roasting marshmallows on the fire. And what are fires for, if not to roast marshmallows? That's what I want to know.
When I glanc at that picture of Manuel, I can't tear my eyes away from his thighs. Those aren't thighs! They are TREE TRUNKS. (And what mine might look like soon if I don't stop eating marshmallows.) What about his feet? Does he have his shoes custom-made? Or, maybe he doesn't even wear shoes. That's possible.
I realize my comments may seem harsh, but I feel qualified to talk about Manuel Uribe's obesity only because I used to date a guy who was extremely obese - probably more than 500 pounds - before I knew him. I couldn't believe it because when we dated, he was a body builder. He won competitions that were based entirely on his physical fitness, and seeing pictures of him when he was so extremely heavy was a juxtaposition of reality.
He told me that he just woke up one day, upset about his weight and tired of the disgusted looks he would get in public. He started dieting on his own, reading fitness magazines and exercising. And he did it. On his own, naturally, without stimulants or steroids. And THAT's why he competed, because he was so proud of what he had accomplished.
And also because girls would hit on him, and he would love it, and then he would get frisky with them, which totally led to us breaking up, but that's another story for another day.
So that is why I don't get Manuel Uribe's plea for help. Shouldn't he help himself?
Each year, Miss USA is chosen by a panel of judges based on the swimsuit and evening gown competitions, as well as a personal interview.
"Miss USA must conduct herself as a role model, and behavior such as underage drinking is prohibited, a Miss Universe Organization spokeswoman said."
Tara Conner, Miss USA 2006, has been reportedly conducting herself as anything but a role model. News reports claim she had been drinking underage, tested positive for the use of cocaine, and seductively kissed Miss Teen USA Katie Blair in public, among other things.
Now: I don't care that she kissed Katie Blair. The underage drinking hasn't bothered me so much, either. Rather, I'm disturbed by imagining Miss USA hunkered over lines of coke in some dimly lit back alley (because this is how I imagine all cocaine use takes place), overhead light flickering.
As a gesture of good faith, Donald Trump (who jointly owns the Miss USA Organization with NBC) decided to let her keep her title after she agreed to enter rehab and undergo random drug testing.
I'd give you my opinion about this, but I'm not exactly sure what it is yet. Part of me wants to be a good soul, to rally behind the premise of second chances, to support Trump's decision to allow Tara Conner to keep the Miss USA title. The other part of me wants justice, damnit. I want to see consequences beyond a slap on the wrist. I want her to be stripped of her title so that those for whom she acts as a role model, and so that those who are named Miss USA in her wake, will realize that the role is serious and demands to be held by someone with high morals and character.
I'm sitting on the fence, so I want to know: What do you think? Vote below by (a) choosing your response and (b) clicking on "Vote!"
Sources: ABC News, NY Daily News
I'm constantly aware of how much Roger and I have, and how much we take advantage of what we have. In the west, we live like kings among the paupers of the world, and it breaks my heart. We've been wanting to get involved in a project that has a lasting impact in this world, a project that fits a tangible need among those whose needs are much greater than our own.
In light of this, and in light of this upcoming Season of Giving, I'm brining you a public service announcement about an effort that has Roger and I both very exicted.
What if this was your drinking water?
If you lived in Sudan, it would be.
One in every four children in Southern Sudan dies before the age of 5; nearly half of those deaths are caused by water-related illnesses. --U.S. Agency for International Development
Roger and I have decided to partner with an organization called Water is Basic that is raising money to purchase drilling equipment and provide training to Sudanese leaders. The goal is to enable the Sudanese nationals to drill a water well in every village, providing, in some cases, more than 2000 residents in each village with clean water. Drilling wells in these communities will forever transform the living conditions of the people of Sudan.
In a country where over 42 percent of the population has no access to safe water, and only 36 percent have a toilet, clean drinking water is a desperate need. According to the UN, waterborne diseases kill four children worldwide per minute (one child every 15 seconds). The Sudan is no exception.
On average, a home in the west uses over 100 gallons of water each day. In contrast, an entire African family uses about five gallons of water each day. Just one flush of a toilet in the West uses more water than most Africans have to perform an entire day's washing, cleaning, cooking and drinking.
Roger and I are excited about this project and what these wells could mean to the people of Sudan. What's more, our hope is that this organization will branch out from Sudan once the country's water needs are met, and continue this relief effort throughout the continent of Africa and then the world.
If you would like to join Roger and I in supporting this effort, please visit the Water is Basic donation page, where you can give money online and/or learn creative ways to help raise money. (All gifts are tax-deductible.)
BUTTONS
If you would like to post a button on your website, please email me or download the images from this site.
Y'all knew it would happen sooner or later. More to come. Maybe. Or perhaps I'll go home tonight and forget all about this, since it obviously won't affect me to the same degree as Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey's split. I still haven't quite recovered from that one.
I recently read an article about donations. EGG donations.
And I'm interested to know what you think, Internet (which is completely understandable considering that I'm beckoning you to run my life).
Do you think it is immoral for women to donate their eggs? Is $5,000 for an egg too little a value for the price of a child? What about women who are able to carry a child, but whose eggs are sterile? Is it immoral for them to purchase the egg? Should women demand the right to visit the child who was born as the result of their egg donation? And if no such right is given, how would you react if you, while walking down the street, saw a child who was unmistakably your own?
For those of you who don't regularly check the news during your workday (but who do check my blog, which is the obvious choice).
Clicking on the image will redirect you to the news story. You may also want to visit CNN for developments in the story.
Technorati: manhattan, new york city, airplane, aircraft
Not many people can make a smooth segue from a cute little snuggly baby-kuns to a man marrying a goat.
I'll do it here for you:
This guy? In Sudan? He was caught having sex with a goat. And then he was forced to marry it.
Quick! Cute picture of my niece to soothe you!
What - that wasn't enough? You want more? Of the story? Gah, dude. You're sick:
Sudan man forced to 'marry' goat
A Sudanese man has been forced to take a goat as his "wife", after he was caught having sex with the animal.
The goat's owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders.
They ordered the man, Mr Tombe, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi.
"We have given him the goat, and as far as we know they are still together," Mr Alifi said.
Mr Alifi, Hai Malakal in Upper Nile State, told the Juba Post newspaper that he heard a loud noise around midnight on 13 February and immediately rushed outside to find Mr Tombe with his goat. [Sounds like a bit of pre-Valentine's Day lovin' to me.]
"When I asked him: 'What are you doing there?', he fell off the back of the goat, so I captured and tied him up".
Mr Alifi then called elders to decide how to deal with the case.
"They said I should not take him to the police, but rather let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife," Mr Alifi told the newspaper.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4748292.stm
Published: 2006/02/24 16:40:00 GMT
© BBC MMVI
[italics mine]
When I was little, I watched countless episodes of Wheel of Fortune with my grandma. She loved Wheel of Fortune (as I've discovered numerous elderly people do), crossword puzzles, and cooking.
Last night, Roger and I went to the last taping in Dallas of Wheel of Fortune – Family Week. I was given VIP tickets by a friend, which meant (a) we didn't have to stand in line with all the losers other folks waiting to get in, (b) we were ushered directly to our seats and (c) we had GREAT seats.
Before the gameshow started, the film crew used the arm-crane-extension-thing to float the cameras above the crowd and shoot us while we clapped and cheered and acted as though we were excited to be there. We all pretended that Vanna and Pat were coming out on stage while the crew forced us to clap and cheer and act enthusiastic for a full ten minutes. In case you've never clapped and cheered in a continuous pattern for ten minutes, I should tell you that it gets old after about twenty seconds.
And then they came out, and we cheered again, except not as loud (nor as long) because we were all worn out. Especially the elderly people.
I didn't have high expectations for Vanna White because I think her head is disarmingly large for her body. Apparently that's just how she appears on camera though, because in person? She is heavenly. And I want to wear all her clothes. Seriously. She's got some style!
Or, more accurately, all the designers who send her free clothes to wear? THEY have style. We weren't allowed to bring camera or cell phones into the studio, so I drew a picture of her wearing my favorite dress. (Vanna and Pat changed in the middle of the taping to make it seem like it was the next day. And the only good part about that? We didn't have to clap for an eternity when they came back on stage again.)
At one point an enormous camera was directly to the side of Roger and me, filming us clapping. Roger was great. And me? Gah. I was a moron. I started nervously laughing and looking at the camera only every so often, trying to pretend as though it wasn't there, one inch from my face. And then I would look away and continue pretending to clap, because by then my palms were sore and bruised and I could no longer press my palms together without a look of anguish coming across my face, and that look just wouldn’t be pretty for the camera.
After he stopped filming us, I got upset with myself because THAT WAS MY MOMENT TO BE DISCOVERED. Why didn’t I ham it up? Why didn't I flirt with the camera and blow it kisses? Why did I ignore it and pretend it wasn't there?
AM STUPID. THAT'S WHY.
I, however, was very pleased with my performance compared to the woman who was caught picking her nose, ON CAMERA. And after several seconds of digging, when she finally figured out that everyone was howling with laughter at her and watching in horror as she unknowingly humiliated herself, she blushed and hid her face.
Yes, sir. Here in Dallas we's got usself some fiiiinnnee folks.
I would do more than blush if I was caught on national TV picking my nose. I would call a plastic surgeon and schedule a facial reconstruction. No amount of hiding can redeem that act.
We'll be on the air November 16-17, 2006. Go get your grandma and watch for us. We'll be the ones in blue, ignoring the camera and pretending to clap.
I just read a movie review and started sweating and swearing. My stomach leapt toward my heart and my hands were shaking. It is rare that I become so emotionally involved in reading something that I actually get mad - but in this case, it took only one sentence: "[Hounddog]...written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier...calls for [Dakota] Fanning's character to be raped in one explicit scene and to appear naked or clad only in "underpants" in several other horrifying moments."
I read elsewhere that both Dakota Fanning's mother and her agent are urging her to do this movie because they both believe it is "Oscar worthy." I also read that Dakota was somewhat traumatized by the role. Why do the reviews of this film not mention the outcome: does the movie at all address the psychological affect upon the victim of such a crime? And at what point do we make a stand for morals rather than escalate our own fame and wealth?
The premise of Hounddog resonates deeply with me. I don't discuss much of my past on this site, but now seems to be a fitting time for me to speak out against our culture's apathy toward sexual, emotional and physical violence.
Eight and a half years ago, I was raped. It was a time of fear, of embarrassment, of not knowing exactly what to do with myself. I felt shame. I felt responsibility. My best friend - someone that I trusted at the time and who made a grave mistake in the advice she gave me, advice which still makes me hot with anger - told me that "it happens to a lot of girls, it's not a big deal or something to get upset about."
Continue reading "Provoking Mixed Emotions About Rape Since 1997" »
Qiao Yubo, who is pregnant with at least five babies, walks with her husband, right, in Songyuan, in China's northeast Jilin province, Sunday, June 11, 2006.
Qiao, who is 1.67 meters (nearly 5'5") tall, has a waistline measurement of 1.75 meters (nearly 5' 7.5"), five months into her pregnancy.
Qiao's excessive bulk is causing difficulties in getting around (you're not kidding), with taxi drivers too afraid to take her in their cars. Her clothing is all custom-made and she eats up to seven meals a day. (AP Photo/EyePress)
UPDATE: It was later announced that this story was a hoax. Qiao's made up the story after suffereing two miscarriages and each day stuffed quilts and blankets inside her clothing.
(Italics my own)
I just read the teaser for an online news story, and the teaser alone gripped my heart:
Married at the age of four, an Afghan girl was subjected to years of beatings and torture, finally escaping to discover that within all the world's cruelty, there is also some kindness.
Her father died when she was young, and her mother re-married a year later. Her new step-father didn't want her, so her mother gave this precious girl away in a promise of marriage to the thirty-year-old son of a neighbor.
