It's not my fault man

Excerpts from this article are below ...

Is Shrek bad for your kid's health?
May 24, 2007

By MIKE MITCHELL Staff Writer

Shrek might be making your children fat.

Shrek can be seen on boxes of sugary cereals, pops, juice drinks, M&Ms, McDonald's Happy Meals and even Cheetos that make your tongue turn green - all foods that nutrition experts consider major contributors to obesity in America.

The article goes on to talking about kids begging mom for (non nutritional) Shrek cereal.

Now, I don't know about where you go grocery shopping, but where I shop most of the products have nutritional information on labels, which I'm capable of reading. Also, when I get to the check out counter, I am pulling out my credit and spending my money. Shrek ain't there buying my groceries.

So -- I guess what I'm saying is that if it's MY money that's going to buy the groceries (or the Happy Meals or whatever), well then I guess

"the buck stops here."

Dear George, Make up your freaking mind!!!!!

THIS from a speech George W. gave in April .....

President Bush Visits East Grand Rapids, Discusses Global War on Terror
"So no matter how frustrating the fight in Iraq can be, no matter how much we wish the war was over, the security of our country depends directly on the outcome of Iraq. The price of giving up there would be paid in American lives for years to come. ... Success in Iraq would bring something powerful and new -- a democracy at the heart of the Middle East, a nation that fights terrorists instead of harboring them, and a powerful example for others of the power of liberty to overcome an ideology of hate."

President George W. Bush
April 20, 2007

THIS from AP newswire

Gay Arab linguists continue to be discharged

Congressmen seek hearing on specialists dismissed under ‘don’t ask’ policy
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 23, 2007 21:14:27 EDT

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers who say the military has kicked out 58 Arabic linguists because they were gay want the Pentagon to explain how it can afford to let the valuable language specialists go.

Seizing on the latest discharges, involving three specialists, members of the House of Representatives wrote the House Armed Services Committee chairman that the continued loss of such “capable, highly skilled Arabic linguists continues to compromise our national security during time of war.”

*IF* the war is so important to the "security of our country" why are you discharging VALUABLE specialists? It takes a couple of weeks to learn how to point and shoot a rifle, it takes *YEARS* to learn how to be a specialist in a language.

The way I see it, if these folks are not necessary to the conflict, well than it can't be all that important to begin with and

QUIT WASTING MY TAX MONEY!!!!!

I always liked big cats

What is Your Patronus? Version 1

Your Patronus is the Cougar! The cougar is a symbol of power, swiftness and balance. He is one of the most beautiful creatures in North America and will protect you with his powerful claws. Congratulations!That your Patronus is a cougar says that you are a quick thinker who leads a very balanced life. This quick thinking and balance cause you to often be chosen as a leader. Be careful not to let that power go to your head and you will be an excellent witch or wizard!
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V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

One of the things I love about my friend Crem is that I often ask his opinion on topics, and then completely ignore anything that he says. Anyway, during the week of July 16 the minivan will be heading to Branson, Missouri. Branson is a great vacation for the rest of family. There's amusement parks for the kiddies, and shows for the grandparents.

Anyone who has travelled with their family, and anyone who stays in a condo (or other house type unit - you know with a full kitchen and everything) knows that, really it's more of a change of scene for mom than a real vacation. Not that a change of scene is bad, but it's still not vacation. While I'm stuck in Branson there's going to be what I consider an event of epic proportions. The release of the long awaited final book in the Harry Potter series.

Now, I don't want anyone to think that this is significant only to Chip -- I mean it is but it's also something that Ramblingmom is waiting for.

There was a plan. The plan was that the morning after the release the grandparents would wander down to Walmart and get a copy of the book. Then I would spend the rest of the trip sneaking whatever peeks I can at the book. But I started thinking (and we all know how dangerous THAT can be) I don't WANT to wait, and one thought I had was to find a nearby midnight release party and go with Chip. Well, in this case (as far as I can tell) "nearby" means an hour away in Springfield, MO.

So I asked Crem's opinion "what do you think if Chip and I go on a mini road trip of our own." I don't recall his exact response but it was something along the lines of "it's JUST a book."

Yeah, sure, right, and Guinness is "JUST a beer."

So, I guess the new plan is that Chip and I will be driving to a release party, he's then ordered to read to me in the car on the trip back to Branson. The next day I'm not quite sure what exactly the plan is, but I'm thinking that might be a great day to hit the water park. Ramblingmom can find an umbrella and well hopefully Spouse will make sure the kids don't drown.

SIL is the family trip organizer (have fun honey -- it's that important to you go all out) and she was planning what shows the family would go to on what days. The original plan was for the family to go to some show on Saturday. My response

I think of all the shows the only one that would really interest
Chip is the one you have scheduled for Saturday morning. Could
that be scheduled for EARLIER in the week, as I expect Saturday
morning both Chip and I will have our respective noses buried in a
book.

Oh yeah, we're buying two copies of the book. I'm sure others will want to read them when we're done so we'll sell off a used copy. But I don't think it would be in good taste for Chip to come back from vacation bruised because mom keeps beating him up to get hold of the book again.

personal to the guy I was talking to on Sunday

Like I was sayin ....

I'm not yet ready to rule out the possibility of being a grandparent.

I invite you to copy this.

Some questions for us to ponder while awaiting the book!

Which would you prefer for a pet: Hedwig, Crookshanks, Trevor, Fang or Fawkes?

Crookshanks

What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

A peaceful, well organized home.

What subject would be your favorite at Hogwarts? (assume a nice and competent teacher): Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Divination, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures or Defense Against the Dark Arts?

Divination

Which woud be your least favorite?

History of Magic (yeah I know it's not listed)

In which House would the Sorting Hat place you?

Well, I'm not bright (Ravenclaw), I'm not "unafraid of toil" (Hufflepuff), I'm certainly not power hungry (Slytherin), and I am rather strong so I must be Gryffindor.

Could you see Thestrals?

yes

Which Quidditch position would you prefer to play: Keeper, Beater,
Chaser, or Seeker?

Beater.

Which magical object would be most useful to you, Sneak-o-scope, Foe
Glass, Time-turner, Remembrall, or Pensieve?

Remembrall

What would be your preferred Hogwarts sweet: Chocolate Frogs, Bertie's
Every Flavor Beans, Acid pops, Cockroach cluster?

CHOCOLATE FROGS

Pumpkin juice, butterbeer, or elf-made wine?

elf-made wine

Is your best friend more like Ron, Herimone, Luna, Neville, Ginny or Hagrid?

Hmmm, as he reads this I best be careful. Neville -- he's quiet, he seemlingly hangs out in the background, and the depth of his knowledge is often surprising. He would also stand up to his friends if they were wrong.

Is the most toxic person in your life more like Lockhart, Snape, Umbridge, Malfoy, Filch or Fudge?

Snape

Is your most embarrassing relative most like Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon,
Dudley, or Percy Weasley?

I'm not related to Uncle Vernon. The rest of them ... well, I understand the characters, I'm just sayin'

What shape would your patronus take?

Dog

This never happened when I lived in the city.

I grew up in Chicago. Within the city limits. I was living in downstate Illinois for (too) many years, and while I was there people would often ask "so where are you from," "Chicago," "what suburb?" I finally took to saying that I was from "Chicago, city of." Okay, I guess if you look at the population of Chicago and look at the population of the collar counties, odds are that more people come from the Chicago area than Chicago itself. But with around 3 million people there, SOMEBODY has to come from there.

When I lived in the city, I didn't live in one of the really BAD neighborhoods, nor one of the really GOOD neighborhoods. I had issues at times, and places where cars broke down where I'd rather NOT have had a car break down (dang Camaro) but I (obviously) lived to tell about it.

So, the other day I'm in white collar suburb and I'm in my minivan. Cars in front of me are not moving, cars behind me are not moving, there's a line of cars to my right that are not moving, and there are construction cones to my left. So three burly guys come up to Minivan, open the back, and proceed to take about 3 computers, a monitor, and a printer.

And all I could think to myself was ...

"well, now that I'm done at the recycling center, it's time to go to the hazarodous waste drop off."

When I lived in the city I NEVER had people come up and take stuff out of my car.

Of course, when I lived in the city these guys would regularly come and just wander to my basement and remove stuff. OKAY OKAY so it was the boy scouts collecting newspapers.

Sheltie (with brains of a fruit fly) would sit and watch them.

click

Cute picture, huh?

This is a picture from Easter, it's Chip and his "Grandpa" Y. Grandpa Y isn't technically a parent of a parent of Chip - but we call him Grandpa and we love him dearly.

Grandpa Y is INTO origami. Seriously this guy leaves a trail or origami in his wake.

I like this picture, I like "watching" the people I love when they don't know I'm watching. I love watching my children interact with other loving adults. THIS is a picture Crem took that same day.

great minds think alike huh.

Today I have a similar picture -- but unfortunately at the time I didn't have a camera so it's only a picture in my mind.

Chip was in a ice show at the local rink. Crem actually came to watch day 3 of the show. Spouse and Princess went day 1 (when Princess lost her tooth), Princess and I went day 2, we decided that Princess didn't need to go again, so today I went and Uncle Crem (who is as much of an "Uncle" as "Grandpa" Y is a Grandpa) came to watch.

After the show, we had told Chip that he could choose to go someplace for dinner since he had done all the "work" of being in the show. He liked that idea and decided where dinner would be. I asked if he wanted to ride in ye old minivan but he choose to ride with Uncle C. Crem has an electric vehicle and I was following them. (Princess and Spouse did meet us for dinner). We were stopped at a light and I could see Crem talking to Chip and pointing out various and sundry things about his car. I know Crem loves talking about his EV (any EV owner loves to talk about his EV) and it seemed quite like Chip was very interested in the car. Chip is taking after yours truly in his interest in the environment.

Maybe, just maybe someday I'll get Chip and Crem to build me an EV. HEY gas prices being what they are.

News closer to home

Um, does anyone have the email address for the tooth fairy??? Or her pager number?

Irony

Once a month (or so) I run the computer (video) for the contemporary worship service at my church. It's really interesting, and I'm learning a bit about the computer program (Song Show Plus), about my own congregation, and sometimes a bit about the world.

This week Rev. Jerry Falwell died. I have absolutely no deep joy or remorse about this. People get old, they die, life goes on. There are some folks that are (rather) dancing on his grave because he did spew a lot of hate. Me, I'm sure that somebody will take his place. There's always another closed-minded bigot around.

Another thing that was (rather) fascinating this week ... The Phelps gang from Westboro Baptist Church (and I will NOT put a hyperlink to godhatesfags on this blog -- not now, not never, not noway) is going to be PROTESTING at the funeral of Jerry Falwell because

There is little doubt that Falwell split Hell wide open the instant he died. The evidence is compelling, overwhelming, and irrefragable. To wit:
1. Falwell was a true Calvinistic Baptist when he was a young preacher in Springfield, Missouri, and sold his soul to Free-Willism (Arminianism) for lucre.

2. Falwell bitterly and viciously attacked WBC because of WBC’s faithful Bible preaching—thereby committing the unpardonable sin—otherwise known as the sin against the Holy Ghost.

3. Falwell warmly praised Christ-rejecting Jews, pedophile-condoning Catholics, money-grubbing compromisers, practicing fags like Mel White, and backsliders like Billy Graham and Robert Schuler, etc. All for lucre—making him guilty of their sins.

Falwell is in Hell, Praise God!!

UMMMM -- yeah Falwell the ultra liberal???

NOW - how do these two things fit. My doing the computer for worship and Phelps.

Well, this week the theme is "Christian Unity" and the metaphor is "Coming Together."

In my prep work, I dug around on the World Council of Churches website. Grabbed some images from the WCC 9th Assembly. Bishop Tutu was there. Lots of other folks as well.

Falwell never was at a WCC Assembly (they have had a thing or two to say about some of his comments -- not very umm flattering).

I've a hunch that Phelps won't be heading up their next Assembly either.

A few weeks ago, many Koreans were feeling remorseful and apologetic about what happened at Virginia Tech (I know our Associate Pastor, who's Korean, was concerned). I didn't really understand WHY, I mean just because of what some dumb idiot does that shouldn't reflect on what anyone thinks about other people in that race, religion, sex, ....

NOW I get it -- if these idiots are what non Christians think of when they think of the term "Christian" -- I'd want to completely disassociate myself.

Well, at any rate, if the folks at Westboro Baptist Church ARE "right" and those that follow their ways are the only ones getting to heaven -- I'm not thinking it's where I'd want to spend eternity.

I'm just sayin...

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

At least I don't need a shopping list .......

Chip sometimes complains about what I make for dinner (tough noogies). I tell him that if he has any requests he needs to put them in ahead of time.

SO - last night he made a request for today. Cheeseburgers and fries.

HEY -- at least I don't need to write up a shopping list -- it's pretty well stuck in my brain.

10 points to the first person that types in my shopping, AND references the source. I'll be surprised if it's not a lady from San Diego.

Clean AND Green

You can find the original article here.

Hmmmm, I've been looking for a new gig -- I wonder if I can open one of these???

YO CREM!!! You want to fund me in a new business venture. You can do all the interviews.

X-rated nude car wash gets police all-clear
Thu May 17, 2007 11:50AM EDT

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A nude car wash offering an X-rated sideshow and topless cleaning in Australia's tropical Queensland state has been given the all-clear after police and officials said they were powerless to scrub it.

The Bubbles 'n' Babes car wash in Brisbane prompted a flood of complaints with a topless car wash for A$55 ($45) and a nude car wash with X-rated lap-dance service for A$100. "If it was approved for a car wash then I can't imagine how we can stop them," Lord Mayor Campbell Newman told a council meeting with worried local lawmakers.

Professional car washes have boomed in most cities with drought-stricken Australians banned from washing their own cars due to tough water restrictions.

Queensland police denied any cover-up in a state where their image has been dented by past accusations of police corruption and involvement with organized crime.

The raunchy wash, set up by a strip-club owner, was screened from the public and used recycled water to avoid breaching water use restrictions, they said.

"We don't want any traffic accidents caused by people looking at the girls instead of looking at the road," Superintendent Colin Campbell told local media.

© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies

And we need this because???

snopes.com is a truly wonderful, useful site. It is an urban legends reference page. If you get one of those emails from BigBrosWife or whoever the person that *you* get forwards of forwards of forwards from, you can always check snopes.com to see whether you've just (once again) received a load of bunk.

My question of the day is this. Why do we need snopes.com? The following is from this article in the Chicago Tribune.

Child finds marijuana in Happy Meal

The Associated Press
May 16, 2007, 12:25 PM CDT

OTTAWA, Ill. -- A 17-year-old fast-food employee is facing drug charges after allegedly hiding marijuana in a Happy Meal that ended up with a young child.

Ottawa Police Chief Brian Zeilmann said a man and his three children went through a McDonald's drive-through Monday to order Happy Meals.

One of the children, an 8-year-old girl, found a lighter, pipe, and bag of marijuana in her Happy Meal, Zeilmann said. Her father went to the police.

A McDonald's employee, Brandon Scott of Ottawa, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, authorities said.

Zeilmann said the owners of the restaurant cooperated with the investigation that led to the arrest.
Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press

Illinois is a great place to live. We get 10 month old Bubba Ludwig with a gun permit, and an 8 year old picking up pot with her Happy Meal.

Tell me again why we need to make stuff up? Truth proves, once again, to be stranger than fiction.

"But she said she wanted a HAPPY MEAL"

Adults today (you're not going to like this)

There's a lot of talk about "kids today." You know the story "kids today this" "kids today that" "kids, kids, kids." "Back in the day ..." But we've been saying this for quite some years now. I'm sure that Adam and Eve were exasperated with Cain and Abel.

Well, today my mind went wandering (a scary thing, as there's a nonzero chance that it might wander off and not come back) and I started wondering about some things.

"Back in the day" I held the line pretty well. Ah yes, I was not one to wander from the path of righteousness. Because, of course, I was so pure and innocent knew damn well that if I screwed up my folks would know about it before I got home -- and they'd trust whatever any grownup said 100 times more than anything I would say.

One thing I don't remember from "back in the day" (and it could just be because I was young and not aware) was looking for adult help. And I don't necessarily remember the leaders, coaches, etc. necessarily being the PARENTS of my peers. In my 11 years of Girl Scouts, I only recall two years that the leader of the troop was a mom of one of the girls (and man I couldn't WAIT to get out of mom's troop -- I even moved up a year early to get away from mom Of course, mom probably BEGGED Toots & Tommie to take me off her hands).

Now though, it seems that in every activity my kids are in, the adults involved are parents of someone in the group, and in many cases teeth are pulled in order to get the people involved. (Or activities are cancelled).

So my question is this? When you ask "what's the problem with kids today" I'll ask "where are the adults?" Where are the people that are *voluntarily* involved with kids, just because they love kids of a certain age or in a certain activity.

Are we all "too busy"?

And exactly what is it that we are "too busy" doing? (I hate when you ask someone what they're up too and they say they're "busy" are you too dang "busy" to even bother to have a conversation what what you're "busy" doing???)

Now, I know there are single adults out there (or married adults without kids, or adults with adult children) that might take a moment to point out that if they were to start to volunteer with kids, they'd fall under suspicion. What single guy would hang around with a bunch of little kids? So that gives us some other questions, like have we either organized or background checked or otherwise scared off some otherwise interested people? (I remember being a Brownie leader when I was about 20 and someone asking me which kid was mine. I'm like "honey I didn't go having any kids when I was 12")

When the day comes that my kids figure out that mom doesn't have a clue and they can't even bother to talk to me, what other trusted adults will they have to turn to???? I'd much rather have them talk to an Aunt or Uncle or Crem than talk to some other clueless kid.

What on earth is more important than being actively and lovingly involved in the lives of young people? Must be mighty significant cause we're all so dang "busy" doing it.

Yet somehow, I don't feel necessarily safer

Well, I guess we can safely say that he's not a convicted felon.....

Firstcoastnews.com Article
Toddler Given Gun Permit

CHICAGO (AP) -- Bubba Ludwig can't walk, talk or open the refrigerator door -- but he does have his very own Illinois gun permit.

The 10-month-old, whose given name is Howard David Ludwig, was issued a firearm owner's identification card after his father, Howard Ludwig, paid the $5 fee and filled out the application, not expecting to actually get one.

The card lists the baby's height (2 feet, 3 inches), weight (20 pounds) and has a scribble where the signature should be.

With some exceptions, the cards are required of any Illinois residents purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition within the state. There are no age restrictions on the cards, an official said.

Illinois State Police oversee the application process. Their purpose, said Lt. Scott Compton, is to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons, those under an order of protection and those convicted of domestic violence.

"Does a 10-month-old need a FOID card? No, but there are no restrictions under the act regarding age of applicants," he said.

Ludwig, 30, of Chicago, applied for the card after his own father bought Bubba a 12-gauge Beretta shotgun as a gift. The weapon will probably be kept at Ludwig's father's house until the boy is at least 14.

Associate Press

How many girls do you know named Oscar

I was talking to a girlfriend earlier, about girl stuff. And I got to thinking ...

Does it surprise ANYONE (okay -- any FEMALE one) that the following was written by a man??

When I have a brand new hairdo
With my eyelashes all in curl,
I float as the clouds on air do,
I enjoy being a girl!

When men say I'm cute and funny
And my teeth aren't teeth, but pearl,
I just lap it up like honey
I enjoy being a girl!

There are some days (weeks, months, years) that being a girl is just not "enjoy"able.

I mean -- if Oscar Hammerstein wasn't already dead for 40+ years, I might be tempted to hunt him down and shoot him.

I'm JUST SAYIN .....

Morpheus??

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??

Morpheus
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I always knew I was a Hufflepuff at heart

I even TRIED changing a few answers on this one and came up the same.

...and which lesser Harry Potter character are you?

Rather surprised with this result.

Really??? Oh well I was as honest as I could be ...

You scored as Harry Potter. You can be a little reckless and hot-headed at times, but a more brave and courageous friend would be hard to find. Harry Potter 90% Ginny Weasley 85% Sirius Black 85% Remus Lupin 75% Ron Weasley 65% Albus Dumbledore 50% Severus Snape 50% Lord Voldemort 50% Draco Malfoy 50% Hermione Granger 30% Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com

Way Too Frickin' Cool

A few months ago, in Scott Adams Dilbert blog he wrote a post titled Too Frickin' Cool, in which he asked people to comment on technology that is so futuristic that they can't believe they are using it.

Well Scott (who, mostly likely, is NOT reading this)

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I first saw this, I double checked to make sure it wasn't an urban legend. It actually has about all the earmarks of an urban legend, a young child, verge of death (think Craig Shergold).

NOPE -- NOT an urban legend. Just plain too frickin' cool!!!!

GPS helps find boy needing transplant
Associated Press
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Police found a 10-year-old boy awaiting a heart transplant by finding his mother's cell phone with global-positioning technology, a technique usually used to find criminals.
John Paul May, of Harrisville, had the successful surgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh on Saturday night, but came dangerously close to being passed over for the donor heart until police tracked down him and his mother at a university jazz festival.

The hospital called state police Saturday afternoon because officials couldn't reach May's parents to let them know a donor heart had been found. When police couldn't find the boy or reach him by phone, they contacted Sprint to get the coordinates of his mother's cell phone.

"The only time you can use it is life or death, or to track someone wanted in a homicide," state police Cpl. James Green said. Otherwise, police must get a warrant from a judge.

Using the coordinates, state police tracked the phone to a Slippery Rock University building. Police stopped the jazz concert and announced they were looking for May and his mother, Sue.

The crowd of about 500 gave the boy a standing ovation as he left, said Steve Hawk, a music professor who conducted the concert.

"I've been in the entertainment business for 30 years and never had such an emotional, shocking event happen at something live," Hawk said.

May was listed in critical but stable condition yesterday, according to a hospital spokesman.


Find this article at:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/20070509_GPS_helps_find_boy_in_nick_of_time.html

And I will consider this post one of the few that's actually WORTH the cyberspace it takes up if just ONE person runs out today and registers to be an organ donor. You can find out how to be an organ donor in your state by clicking on this link.

(Personal note to Crem -- if I know you've filled this out -- you don't need to worry about Donna Natalie Rothschild).