It's not a good day, but the title of this post is a salute to Paul Harvey, who passed away earlier this evening.
I feel as though a good friend has died, and even though we had never met, I suppose Paul Harvey WAS a good friend.
I had listened to his radio programs for years and years. I used to date a lovely girl who lived a long, long way out on rough dirt roads and would listen to his radio program on the way out there. Even as anxious as I was to see my g/f, I would slow down to make sure I caught all of the show.
RIP
"And now you know...the rest of the story."
February 28, 2009
Good Day!
Cast Away Crowd Coming; Contest Commences
Just noticed where TNT.tv is airing "Cast Away" tonight at 7p.m. (CST). That will most likely mean a modest surge in this blog's traffic from Google, AOL or other search engines for "cast away farmhouse" or "cast away intersection location".
Who would have ever thought this blog would be at the top of ANY listing on the 'net?
To celebrate, ToTG is offering one free chance in our *"Free Gas for a Month" contest to the person who guesses closest to the total number of hits. (from "Cast Away" searches only)
*Details to be announced
Original post was in November '08.
Welcome to the latest batch of Cast Away fans!
Flight 1549: Into the Hudson River
A great reenactment done with animation using the actual radio broadcast between the tower and Captain Sully
One Solution
Earlier this a.m. I "shared" a news article titled "Watch out for unsolicited phone calls" on the Connect Amarillo website.
I've been getting these same calls for weeks now and finally got fed up. The calls are from automated dialers and give you the option of pressing "1" to speak with someone or to press "2" if you are not interested. Up until a few weeks ago I kept up the futile effort of choosing the latter, but the next day would get the exact same sort of call.
The first time I spoke with a representative, I was polite and told them I wasn't interested. I barely finished the sentence when I found I was listening to a dial tone. The second time I got angry and told them to not call me again in the future. I was cursed at and told I shouldn't be pressing "1" if I wasn't interested. I wanted to reply but I didn't even get to even start the sentence before I was hung up on.
Furious, I vowed to get even. I remembered an item out in the garage I thought might get them to stop.
Sure enough, I was called again just yesterday and as before, I pressed "1" to speak with an operator. Before I could say a word, here came the spiel about upgrading my vehicle warranty.
In a whisper, I told the woman on the other line I could barely hear her; she then adjusted her volume level and asked me if I could hear her now. In a bit louder voice, I told her that was somewhat better, but could she please speak up. She turned up her volume and said "That better?" Talking a little louder than I had at first, I replied that it was a little bit better, but still could barely understand. Again she turned up the volume and I allowed that that was much better....and by-the-way, was she using one of those headsets with the microphone attached? She replied that she was and then I broke out my surprise:
I then heard the distinct sound of the headphones being ripped off and curse words that I haven't heard since I roughnecked with a former sailor.
I wonder if I could sell her a warranty on her new hearing aid?
Cats & Laps
If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer.
- Alfred North Whitehead
FunPhotoBox
Make fun photos online at FunPhotoBox!
Easy to do; select effect, upload photo, then save to disk or publish to social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Digg, etc.
Use photos of yourself, a friend or family member for some good-natured fun
OR
You can show some contempt, as I have here:
FunPhotoBox
February 27, 2009
Not the Greeter Type
From the email archives
Unfortunately, as I have gotten older, I have become a little less sensitive. So, after trying my new job as a Wal-Mart greeter, last weekend (a good find for many retirees), I lasted less than a day....
About two hours into my first day on the job a very loud, coyote ugly, nasty woman walked into the store with her two kids, yelling obscenities at them all the way through the entrance. As I had been instructed, I said pleasantly,
'Good morning and welcome to Wal-Mart. Nice children you have there. Are they twins?'
The ugly, nasty woman stopped yelling long enough to say,
'Hell no, they ain't twins. The oldest one's 9, and the other one's 7. Why the hell would you think they're twins? Are you blind, or just stupid?' So I replied,
'I'm neither blind nor stupid, Ma'am. I just find it hard to believe you got laid twice. Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart.'
My 25 year old supervisor said I probably wasn't cut out for this line of work........ soooo maybe I'll go fishing.
February 26, 2009
Language Pwefewences
Click images for larger view.
I was changing some of my Google search preferences and noticed that "Elmer Fudd" was a language option. 
Not a spam one!
Hello.
Please, do not be surprise - this letter is not a spam one.
You will probably be amazed of the fact that I am writing you an e-mail. Yesterday I myself was amazed too, when saw your letter in my e-mail box. The letter was about love and sensations among people. The motto of the letter was like this search for love and you ll become happy. I liked this letter very much. There was a list of e-mails where I found yours. I decided to write you. Maybe you are seeking love too? Maybe it s our destiny?
I do not know actually who was the person that had sent me that e-mail and how did he get my e-mail address.
I think it is not important. The most amazing thing is that I can write you. I would like to know more about you. Providing that it is me who is the first to write, I want to say some words of my personality.
My name is Anastasiya. I am 30 years old. I have never been married and have no children. I am cute, calm, kind and sociable.
I think it is interesting to talk with you and discover new features of yours Discover you as a person. I am a serious woman and I am looking for serious relations. For me it means no deception, no double jokes. I am looking for a real person who will manage to love and respect me. I hope you are searching for your love, too.
I do not think that in love-relations age and appearance have any importance. The chief factor for me is ability to love and respect seriously!
I have lots of hobbies and interests in life. Among them you will find sport, cooking, books reading and definitely music. I am going crazy about housekeeping and house holding. I like tiding up and general cleaning. I am keen on experimenting in my kitchen. I love changes. I am fond of animals and prefer to lead a healthy lifestyle, thus, I do not smoke or use alcohol.
Hey, my new pen-friend. What can you tell me about yourself? I want to learn more about you. In my future letter I will describe my character and my personality more precisely.
Definitely, I will send you some of my photographs. It will help you to understand who I am and where I live. My photos will reveal all parts of my life my happiness, my pensiveness and sometimes melancholy.
Please reply only to my personal e-mail: yaroslavllady1978@gmail.com
I am looking forward to your reply. I am really interested in knowing you better.
Remember of me.
Your new friend,
Anastasiya.
Dear Anastasiya,
I think you're lying to me. You say you're "calm and sociable" then you say you don't drink or smoke. Drinking and smoking keeps ME calm and sociable.
You also said you're going crazy "about housekeeping and house holding". Uh, you might want to think about taking up drinking and smoking. For example, if you smoke while running the vacuum, you don't even have to use an ash tray and there's a lot to be said for doing the dishes while drunk as a skunk.
I'm interested in "experimenting" in the kitchen, too.
On second thought, I bet you were talking about cooking, weren't you?
One thing I believe you on, though; your letter really isn't spam.
It's a crock.
Yours truly,
Mike
P.S. Next letter, when you send those photos, don't reveal your happiness, your pensiveness and sometimes melancholy. Just reveal yourself.
February 24, 2009
What is Life?
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
- Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator, 1890
The Tiny Cabin
From the email archives:
A social worker from a big city in Massachusetts recently transferred to the mountains of North Carolina and was on the first tour of her new territory when she came upon the tiniest cabin she had ever seen in her life.
Intrigued, she went up and knocked on the door.
'Anybody home?' she asked.
Yep,' came a kid's voice through the door.
'Is your father there?' asked the social worker.
'Pa? Nope, he left afore Ma came in,' said the kid.
'Well, is your mother there?' persisted the social worker.
'Ma? Nope, she left just afore I got here,' said the kid.
'But,' protested the social worker, 'are you never together as a family?'
'Sure, but not here,' said the kid through the door.
'This is the outhouse!'
February 23, 2009
You Commie Lovers Love Me!
You really do!
Note: I generally try to not put too many of one type of post on one page or per week, such as music vids, but since the Oscars were last night this quiz needed to be posted to be semi-timely.
You Would Win Best Actor / Actress |
 You are confident and talented. When it's time for you to shine, you step up. You have a strong personality. You love attention, and you can command an audience of any size. You tend to be a bit obsessive. You're the perfect person to immerse yourself in a big role. You're both empathetic and expressive. You understand and communicate well. |
"I just want to thank the little people who have made this possible; Hugo, Mao, Che, Papa Joe, my old pal Pol Pot. Without you guys...."
February 22, 2009
I'm an "F" Word
You Are Factual |
 You are highly intelligent, especially in areas that deal with concrete knowledge and facts. You are amazingly analytical. You can make sense of chaos without involving your emotions. If anything, you tend to be overly logical. It's sometimes hard for you to come to a decision, because you're too busy weighing all the options. People turn to you in times of trouble. They know that they can trust you to give good, well thought out advice. |
Well Connected
Today's quote from the Quote of the Day feed:
We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.
- Herman Melville
The first thing I thought of after reading that was one of the final scenes in Melville's "Moby Dick" movie version where Captain Ahab was entangled in the ropes surrounding the great white whale.
I'd say he was well-connected, wouldn't you?
A thousand fibers might very well connect us with our fellow men, but I try my best to sever *some* of those "ties that bind". I may be doomed to the fate of being lashed to the great beast, but instead of being like Ahab, with his lifeless body seeming to wave with the whale's every breech, I'm hoping rigor mortis extends my middle finger as a parting shot.
(if you think it's aimed at you, it probably is)
Call me Ishmael, why dontcha?
February 21, 2009
What's the Story in Balamory?
Just about my favorite program for kids.
(I don't think there's been anything since to compare to Captain Kangaroo)
I had a thing for Miss Hoolie. (although Josie Jump was pretty hot, too) Edie McCredie could drive me anywhere she wanted.
If you're not familiar with this BBC produced program, here's the Wiki entry.
Goodbye, MSN Groups
Goodbye to MSN Groups, a source of much fun and also much frustration.
My "main" group (because I, like so many other mgrs., had several) would have been ten years old this July. It seems like only yesterday....and sometimes seems light years ago...that my friend elle and I decided we would have a go at running our own group.
I'm not going to miss Groups. Most of my lasting online friends had moved on long ago anyway. I'm certainly not going to miss the over-officious mgrs. of *some* groups. I won't miss the drama queens, nor will I miss the stifling censorship of those same mgrs. I'm sure I don't hold the record for deleted posts, nor for banned Passports, but I certainly had more of those than I deserved.
In all my "non-MSN" experiences, I've had but a couple of posts denied/deleted. All-in-all, I'm satisfied with that. I can't say the same thing about my time in Groups. At times I feel as though the majority of my time spent in Groups was time wasted.
Aw, I could gripe about Groups forever but it's time to move on, forget the past. I'm so pleased to have discovered Blogger and love how it lets me express myself without fear of having this site deleted/shuttered because I posted a graphic of a mooning smiley.
(Blogger lets me make an ass out of myself without getting in trouble for a cartoon one)
So, here's a salute to you, MSN Groups! 
It's definitely "the end".
February 20, 2009
Friendship 7
On Feb. 20, 1962 at 9:47 am EST, John Glenn launched from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 14 to become the first American to orbit the Earth. In this image, Glenn enters his Friendship 7 capsule with assistance from technicians to begin his historic flight.
Glenn rejoined NASA in 1998 as a member of the STS-95 Discovery crew. This 9-day mission, from Oct. 29-Nov. 7, supported a variety of research payloads including deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform and investigations on space flight and the aging process.
Image Credit: NASA
I admire Glenn, but was really angry when he was chosen (or lobbied) to go on the shuttle mission. I think Chuck Yeager should have been selected to make the trip.
Glenn, along with John McCain, was implicated (and both were later exonerated) in the Keating Five scandal and was reprimanded for "poor judgment". It forever tarnished his otherwise honorable career, IMO.
Dots My Word!
Seriously, it's my word. I use it enough, so it's my word. I even had it as a topic label, then decided I'd trim down the list a little bit.
If only I had kept it....
From the Word of the Day feed in the right-hand column:
ellipsis \i-LIP-sis\, noun:
three dots used to show an omission in writing or printing;
the omission of a word or words in text
Trop de sucrerie !
(Too much candy!)
Just about the most adorable thing I've seen in ages.
Too much candy from Capucha on Vimeo.
Pecans in the Cemetery
From the email archives:
On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts.
'One for you, one for me, One for you, one for me,' said one boy. Several dropped from the tree and rolled down toward the fence.
Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard,
'One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.'
He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.
'Come here quick,' said the boy, 'you won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls.'
The man said, 'Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk.'
When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard ,
'One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.'
The old man whispered, 'Boy, you've been tellin' me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord.'
Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord. At last they heard,
'One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done.'
They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the kid on the bike.
SMILE, God Loves You!
PETA Wrote Me!
Dear Mike,
Dogs need your voice right away. Please take a few moments now to send a message directly to the NFL. Michael Vick is going to be released from prison any minute, and in light of recently released government evidence that he enjoyed putting his own family "pet dogs" into the ring with fighting pit bulls, PETA is urging the NFL to make Vick take a test for anti-social personality disorder (ASPD), or psychopathy. Vick seems to fit the profile for ASPD, which includes lying, manipulating others, enjoying others' suffering, and being aggressive and charming. If Vick has ASPD, the NFL needs to know. That's because people who have ASPD cannot be truly remorseful and are likely to repeat the anti-social behavior that pleases them. If he isn't a psychopath, that's fair enough, but if he is, he shouldn't ever be presented to children as a hero. He needs to take the test!
Please help us keep the pressure on by sending an automated letter to the NFL today asking it to require that Vick pass a brain scan for ASPD and the accompanying psychological evaluation before the NFL even considers the possibility of allowing Vick back into the league, where he will be in a position to influence many fans, including countless children. Your letter will be sent directly to the NFL, letting it know that we will not rest until appropriate action has been taken. It is reasonable to try to figure out if Vick can be reformed or not.
Please cross-post this e-mail and forward it to others who might be interested in speaking out against dog fighting. Visit PETA.org for more information about dog fighting and to learn about ways that you can make a difference.
Thank you for your continued support and for all that you do for animals!
Sincerely,
Heather Whidden, Activist Liaison
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
HeatherW@peta.org
Ms. Whidden, I love dogs and like you, also think what Vick did was reprehensible but I also believe that when he gets out of prison, he will have paid his debt to society.
As far as letting him back into the NFL, I have mixed feelings. I agree that there's something fundamentally wrong with a culture that condones fighting animals for sport; it's but one step down from the Romans feeding the Christians to the lions. I understand your issue with Vick being reinstated, but the truth is there are players in the NFL who have barely escaped being tried for murder (of humans) so it seems a bit hypocritical to single out one who has killed dogs.
One thing I can't understand, though. You said:
"Vick seems to fit the profile for ASPD, which includes lying, manipulating others, enjoying others' suffering, and being aggressive and charming."
Seems to me that would also describe the current President and the majority of the Congress of the United States.
It also seems to me that might very well fit PETA.
Sorry, but I refuse to help you because you are an organization that has its priorities all wrong. For example, when your members break into mink farms and release all the animals and then many of the animals die from being hit by cars or suffer agonizing deaths from exposure...when you announce you hope hoof and mouth infects our meat animals...when you start referring to fish as "sea kittens"...when you think animals have more rights than humans...well, it just shows you're a bunch of nutjobs, not worthy of any sane person's consideration, much less their money and support.
Even nutjobs should have priority over animals, but then again, I might need to rethink my position on THAT one.
If times get much worse, we'll be eating dogs before long.
Sincerely,
Mike
P.S. "Dogs need my voice"???
OK, I'll help 'em. "Arf Arf, Woof Woof"
There, I've spoken up for them.
Yuliya Love Me!
If Yuliya only give me a chance:
Another admirer from Russia
Hello!
My name is Yuliya! I am 29 years old.
I addressed in agency acquaintances. When I have specified, how I
search for type of the man. Me have told to approach in 1 week. When I
have again come to agency of acquaintances, to me have told yours
email adress. I am a teacher and i like my work very much.
I work with children and Now I have an opportunity to write to you I am an
interesting, beautiful, kind and single young lady. I want to find my
love, my half and want to marry him. I am looking for a man who will
fall in love with me and I will fall in love with him. I have never
been married but I dream about it. I am fond of children and I dream
about a happy family with the beloved man. I am interested in music,
cooking, reading, traveling and others. I know English very good and
can easily speak!!
If you are interested in me please write me on my e-mail: melkaya999@yahoo.com
Please write me and I will send you my photos.
I wait for your letter very much.
Yuliya.
Dear Yuliya,
Before we continue this relationship, I want to know one thing:
What is the "agency" you're talking about?
The KGB? The CIA?
Maybe I need to contact the FBI, ya think?
"I am interested in music, cooking, reading, traveling and others."
And "others"???? What kind of marriage do you want?
Plus, there's this: "I know English very good and can easily speak!!"
Uh, don't flatter yourself, honey.
Regards,
Mike
February 19, 2009
I'm a Cuppa
You Are Tea |
 You are mellow and reflective. You don't allow yourself to feel in a rush and frenzied. You're likely to appreciated the ideas or connections that come up over a warm cup of tea. While you do enjoy the energy of a caffeine boost, you love that it allows you to take a break. You're not in a rush to do anything. You're content with your life, and in no rush to change it. |
February 18, 2009
LinkBlip
From the website:
LinkBlip is very simple: it's a way to monitor when someone has clicked a link you sent them. Have you ever sent someone an email and never heard back? If you send them a LinkBlip URL, you'll automatically be notified by email when they click on it.
We'll also tell you what city and state they were in when the clicked the link.
How it works
1. You enter a URL and your email address into the above form.
2. We generate a special URL for you, which you can then email to someone.
3. When someone clicks that special URL, you are notified by email with the time they clicked it as well as the city and state they were in. The recipient of the URL never knows the difference.
LinkBlip
The Stimulus Explained
From the (recent) email archives:
Once upon a time a man appeared in a village and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.
The villagers, knowing there were many monkeys, went to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort.
He then announced that he would buy monkeys at $20 each. This renewed the villagers' efforts and they started catching monkeys again.
Soon the supply diminished and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so scarce it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it!
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50 each! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would buy on his behalf.
The man's assistant told the villagers, "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that my boss has already collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when my boss returns, you can sell them to him for $50."
The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys for 700 billion dollars.
They never saw the man or his assistant again, only lots and lots of monkeys.
Now you have a better understanding of how the "stimulus package" works.
Jenny (867-5309) - Tommy Tutone
EDIT: Had to "bump" this up after reading the following article
Now you can have Jenny's number
WEEHAWKEN, N.J. - After five years fielding thousands of calls to one of rock 'n' roll's most celebrated phone numbers, disc jockey Spencer Potter is hanging up on Jenny.
Her seven digits are familiar to anyone who paid attention to pop music in the early 1980s: 867-5309, immortalized by the band Tommy Tutone.
Potter and his roommates requested the number on a lark for their home phone in northern New Jersey. They got it, along with about 30 to 40 calls a day.
The 28-year-old Potter says he's selling his business, A Blast Entertainment, and moving to New York. The business and the phone number are for sale on eBay, where the high bid was about $1,000 by Sunday morning.
I knew I had posted the video, but after finding the audio track had been disabled, had to go find another version.
(I think the music business is shooting itself in the foot with this stuff; after viewing the video last May when I originally posted it, I bought the mp3 from Amazon)
February 17, 2009
Free Album From The Damnwells
Download from Paste Magazine
Requires registration, so it might be a good idea to use a "throwaway" addy.
Back in the USSR - Paul McCartney
Red Square, Moscow 2003
Note: This tune was referenced in my last Russian spammer/scammer post "They Leave the West Behind"
February 16, 2009
Do White Flags Wave?
Underwater?
British, French nuclear subs crash in Atlantic
No news about the French surrender immediately afterward.
They Leave the West Behind!
I just can't seem to shake these Russian women. (although I've been told I have Russian hands, as well as Roman fingers)
Good afternoon!
My name is Elmara. I am alone woman. I am 30 years. I live in Russia.
I search for the serious man for love and a family. I wish to find clever skilled man who can present to me love. My life is boring and senseless now. And I hope, that you can fill my life with love.
I search the husband a long time. But all russian men, whom I met, men are thoughtless and false who want only sex from me. But I am not a toy and I do not wish to play. I want serious relations and family. I got tired to be alone.
I send you my photo. And if you search for serious relations, as I, if you like my photo, I will wait your letter.
Please reply only to my personal e-mail: dearblondwoman@gmail.com
Yours faithfully,
Elmara.
Dear Elmara,
I'm sorry but I can't help you. You see, you want a "clever, serious and skilled man" and I fail on all counts. Also, I am afraid that I am just like the Russian men you have encountered, i.e. "thoughtless, false and only want sex".
We DO have something in common though: both of our lives are "boring and senseless".
Dos vedanya Tovarisch!
Mike
P.S. If you're tired of men thinking of you as a toy, you might consider getting a toy, if you catch my drift. You'll still be alone, though.
February 15, 2009
A Marriage Proposal
See?
Actually, it's not. What it is is the second in an exchange between me and a scammer spammer. I'm sure you've seen them:
Dear Friend,
I am Mary Kaka, the daughter of the former Democratic Republic of Congo, Late chief Anthony Kaka, before the assassination of my father; he deposited the sum of $10.5 million (Ten Million Five Hunderd Thousand Dollars) in Accra Ghana, which i have all the detail about the deposit.
I want to present you as my late father next of kin for the collection of the funds from the security where he deposited the money,because he did not mention any next of kin when deposited the money.
I want you to do your feasibility study on how to invest the funds in a lucrative investment in your country.
After your acceptance of my offer, i will introduce you to a lawyer that will help in getting the change of title in your favour as the beneficiary (afidavid) of the funds and make the shipment of the funds to you in your country. This will enable you to relate directly with the lawyer.
Please if you are interested in helping me, get back to me so that we can start the process of getting the money to your country ASAP.
I await your response
yours faithfully
Mary Kaka
And my reply:
I'll be more than happy to help you.
It will require some investment on your part, however. If you'll wire me $10,000 (US), I'll be glad to get a lawyer to represent you. Of course, my expenses will have to come out of that amount and you'll need to agree to send me more when I require it.
Regards,
Mike
I love to mess with these people's heads. It's so fun to act like I'm taking the bait; I send them stuff like that, then act confused when they write back. They'll then reassure me it's all on the up-and-up. They usually quit after I tell them that I'd rather not deposit it right away in my bank account, telling them the IRS is notified on any transaction over 10k and to just send it General Delivery. When they say that isn't possible, I'll give them a fake routing number on a fake bank.
Waste of time? Sure it is, but I certainly have more time than money and hey! If I'm keeping them busy with my nonsense, it's keeping them from bilking some poor ol' widow woman out of her life savings.
That Mary...she's sure full of Kaka, ain't she?
Here's a little present for ya, Mary: I'm posting your email addy so the spambots can nab it and send YOU some email.
marykaka1@indiatimes.com
Leona Blanche Ray
Leona Blanche Ray
AGE: 79
DIED: February 12, 2009, in Pampa, Texas
SERVICES: 2:00 PM Monday, at Memory Gardens Mausoleum, with Corey Searl, her grandson, who is with Victory Life ministries from Seguin, officiating.
BURIAL: Memory Gardens Cemetery under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors.
BIOGRAPHY: Mrs. Ray was born March 18, 1929 in Dalhart to A. L. and Mary White. She attended schools in Dalhart. She was a seamstress and homemaker. Leona married Robert Ray in 1984. She was preceded in death by her husband: Robert Ray; 2 daughters: Karla Cho and Julie Vinson; 1 son: Hank Vinson; 1 sister: Nello Beth Willoughby; and her parents: Aram and Mary White.
SURVIVORS: 6 sons: Steve Vinson and Scott Vinson, both of Amarillo, Tracy Vinson and Jimmy Vinson and wife Shirley, all of Austin, David Vinson and wife Tracye of Seabrook, and Jeff Vinson of Pampa; 3 daughters: Cheryl Vinson, Terry Searl and husband Danny, all of Pampa, and Kelly Richey and husband Charles of Amarillo; 1 daughter-in-law: Pam Brown of Austin; 22 grandchildren: Andrew Vinson, Ashlee Vinson, Jeffrey Vinson, Sierra Vinson, Jaycob Vinson, Tracie Jolic, Brent Noble, Christy McCollum, Corey Searl, Bryan Vinson, Stephanie Vinson, David Gruber, Lindsey Cho, Matthew Cho, Amanda Richey, Allison Richey, Ryan Richey, Terry Lynn, Stephanie, Brian Vinson and David Vinson; 16 great-grandchildren: Peyton Vinson, Emily Vinson, Gregory Vinson, Tessa Noble, Joshua Noble, Gracie Noble, Haley Jolic, Layla Jolic, Alexandra Jolic, Hannah McCollum, Hope McCollum, Kelly Gruber, Michael Gruber, Thomas Vinson, Chloe Vinson and Haylie Vinson; 1 sister: Doris Dando and husband Jim of Springfield, Missouri; 2 brothers: Ernie White of Houston and Irvin White and wife Lou Ann of Temple.
MEMORIALS: BSA Hospice, 800 N. Sumner, Pampa, Texas 79065, or the Harvest House, 736 S. Cuyler, Pampa, Texas 79065.
This wouldn't mean anything to any casual reader of this blog, and even my friends and family who drop by probably wouldn't recognize the name.
"Mizz Ray", as I called her, was the mother of one of my very best friends I've ever had, Julie, who passed away about five years ago.
Mizz Ray was a lot of fun to be around; she had a good sense of humor and a native intelligence that lent itself to that extremely rare quality: common sense. I often went to her for advice on different things, especially those that I would've had some trouble talking about to my own mother. I was always welcomed in her home and if I was hungry when I got there, I never was when I left.
Even after Julie passed away, I tried to keep up with Mizz Ray and would see her youngest son around town and tell him to tell her that I asked about her. She and I both loved Charley Pride's music and as I sit here, am looking at a "mix" CD that I had made several years ago for her of his best songs. I should've gone by and visited, but it seemed I always had something to do and would forget or put it off until "tomorrow".
RIP Mizz Ray.
pinchbeck
From the Word of the Day:
pinchbeck \PINCH-bek\, noun, adjective:
1. an alloy of zinc and copper used to imitate gold in jewelry-making; by extension, something counterfeit; an imitation
adjective:
1. not genuine; fake
I've never seen this word in print nor have I ever heard it spoken. It's not something I'd use even if I HAD known it, I think. I certainly don't know everything, though.
That's no news to regular readers of this blog.
It fits this blog, though.
"The Pinchbeck Gazette". Sounds good to me.
February 13, 2009
I FAIL
Because I didn't know what "FAIL" meant. Of course I know the word, but I thought "FAIL" was shorthand, like "WTF" or "LOL".
I took this test yesterday and it said I was "OMG".
(that was the very first time I've ever used that particular acronym and find it semi-offensive)
I took the test again and changed an answer to question #3, which really needed to be -- AFAIAC -- "All of the above".
You Are FAIL |
 You love the internet, but it sometimes gets on your nerves. How can so much of humanity be so stupid? Wait, you don't even want to know. While there are some good aspects to being online, you can't help but notice there's so much fail. You liked the internet so much more in the good old days... before all the idiots found out about it! |
Mellow Yellow
They call it Mellow Yellow?
From Reuters:
A hardline Hindu organization, known for its opposition to "corrupting" Western food imports, is planning to launch a new soft drink made from cow's urine, often seen as sacred in parts of India.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Volunteer Corps, said the bovine beverage is undergoing laboratory tests for the next 2 to 3 months but did not give a specific date for its commercial release.
The flavor is not yet known, but the RSS said the liquid produced by Hinduism's revered holy cows is being mixed with products such as aloe vera and gooseberry to fight diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
Many Hindus consider cow urine to have medicinal properties and it is often drunk in religious festivals.
The organization, which aims to transform India's secular society and establish the supremacy of a Hindu majority, said it had not decided on a name or a price for the drink.
Read the rest of the article
I can think of all sorts of names for it, but "Mellow Yellow" sounds good to me.
There's already a theme song they could use:
Look Both Ways!
I guess this Londoner's mum didn't tell him to look both ways before crossing the street...or railway crossing.
His shoe didn't come off because the train hit it; it was because it suddenly weighed several more pounds than the other.
February 12, 2009
Happy Birthday, Christina!
Today is Christina Ricci's birthday, one of my favorite actresses. Even though she's not yet 30, Ms. Ricci has had a long career in movies, some of which are Mermaids, both Addams Family movies, Casper, Sleepy Hollow, Prozac Nation and Monster. She has taken on some very oddball movie roles.
She has an unusual beauty some would say, but I think she's gorgeous.
Wiki entry on Christina Ricci
I noticed it was also Arsenio Hall's birthday, but who cares about him? Not me, and apparently not many others. (well, I bet his momma does, but...)
Reminds me of a joke:
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Arsenio
Arsenio who?
That's show biz!
iSerenity
NOTE to visitors: I've noticed quite a few hits on this post and will have to apologize to all who have found the link invalid. I don't have a clue as to why the website no longer exists.
From the website:
Welcome to iSerenity - ambient sound environments at your desktop for relaxation and solitude. 31 sound and image environments to choose from, and counting.
iSerenity takes you away from your usual desktop setting and delivers you via a variety of sounds and image environments to a tranquil, private and entertaining space. iSerenity offers the capability of a sound machine without the added expense.
I'm not so sure about some of these; a cricket noise makes me nervous, afraid that it will suddenly hop onto my face just as I drift off to sleep. (it's happened!) A hair dryer? I'd be counting the kilowatt hours like sheep as it droned on. The crackling noise of a fire would put me to sleep, but not if it was a fire that was from an overheated hair dryer.
I could probably get to sleep after I threw the typewriter out the window, though.
Visit iSerenity
February 11, 2009
Man vs. Tame
I'm a big fan of the shows "Survivorman" and "Man vs. Wild". The first is hosted by a Canadian man (Les Stroud) who goes off alone into the wild to survive. He lugs his camera equipment in and often leaves one to take a shot of him going off into the distance or climbing a cliff. After he gets done, he has to hike back or climb up or down to retrieve his camera gear.
"Man vs. Wild" stars a guy (Bear Grylls) who was once a member of British special forces. He has a camera crew follow him, so it doesn't seem to be as dangerous as what Survivorman does, but he DOES do some crazy stuff, like eating scorpions or crawling into a dead camel for warmth.
Still, there have been some criticisms of Grylls
February 10, 2009
Fly Swatter Game
Grab the fly swatter then whack as many flies as you can.
Hang it up to get your score.
Almost as much fun as the real thing, but without the mess.
Play Fly Swatter
February 8, 2009
55kg of Love
Hi dear friend =)
I really love having a good time and I'm looking to find someone to do the same with me. I do belive we all are destined to find the perfect match why not try it this way. " I am a great friend so in turn I have amazing friends. I love to laugh and have a good time.
I want to tell you something about myself in this letter. My name is Marina. My height is 173 cm and me weight is 55kg. My eyes are blue. I have blonde hair. Two lives that meld together as one in a wonderful, shining example of true love for and appreciation of each other...a soulmate, a kindred spirit who knows what they are waiting for in life...
Is the beating of your heart lacking the echo of the one who makes it resonate thru your soul and skip a beat when it is held next to the heart of the other who feels the exact same way? If so, you know what to do!
Please reply on my personal e-mail: tremania@yahoo.com
I finish my letter here now. I will wait your answer, do not forget!
With the best regards Marina.
Dear Marina,
Thanks for your recent mail.
Before we get too involved, I'd like to know why you sent me TWO photos, one titled "Marina" and the other "Marinka"? Is that your sin twister twin sister? If it's a two-for-one deal, count me in!
On second thought, I'm not sure I'd like my heart held close to another. That would mean I was dead and it would be a bloody mess, wouldn't you say?
BTW, you call that "blond" hair?
Regards,
Mike
P.S. Next time when you send an email, please misspell some more words or fracture your English a bit more...you make it awfully hard for me to poke fun at you. I was going to write you a poem, but I couldn't think of anything that rhymes with "centimeter".
Nothing I could post on this blog, anyway.
February 7, 2009
Salmonella & Sugar? Sure!
You Are Peanut Butter and Jelly |
 When you're stressed out, you seek food that evokes good memories. More than anything, change tends to wig you out. And during those times, you crave what you know. You take solace in things that remind you of a more innocent, happier time. When it comes to comfort food, there's no such thing as too simple. Peanut butter and jelly totally fits the bill! |
Free Kellogs® Pop-Tarts®
Get your free Pop-Tarts!
The kind you eat, not Miley Cyrus.
Gotta register, though.
Hannah Montana registers pretty high on my annoyance scale, though.
February 6, 2009
Oh, Olga on the Volga!
Man, these Russian chicks are HOT for me!
Hello
My name is: Olga I from Russia city: Permit washing a photo To me 27 years and I very much would like to find second half for very serious relations To me have told that on the Internet is possible will get acquainted with the good person for an opportunity creation of family.
At me a lot of familiar which have got acquainted on the Internet with men have left abroad because loved each other I very much would like to create family. I not when was not married and I have no children.
But me of it therefore very much would be wanted try to find the man of the dream I very much would wish to be friends of you and if it is pleasant to you washing a photo write to me I shall necessarily answer you and to this I shall be very glad.
I very much to wait the letter from you
At us very much a big difference in time but I shall try to speak with you as it is possible is more often
Please write to me on my personal e-mail: otaliya@rambler.ru
It is a lot of kisssss
Yours Olga
Dear Olga,
Thanks for your mail. I have a few questions before we get married, though.
I'm glad you want me for the second half, but what happened to the first half? If I want someone who only shows up for a half, I'll stick to the Cowboys, thanks all the same.
You say you want the "man of the dream". Don't you think you should dream about someone more than once to take such a serious step as marriage?
What was that about men who have left abroad? I left a broad once; met her in a bar, but all she wanted me to do was buy her drinks.
For reply waiting, I am. (damn, now you got me talkin' like Yoda)
Love and kisssss to you too, even some hugggs.
Mike
P.S. Don't worry about washing the pictures; the dirtier they are, the better I like 'em.
Freemasonry and the Church
My friends and regular readers know I seldom get too serious here. There are zillions of other forums in which to do that and I'd rather not offend anyone who disagrees with me on something, at least not here. I always wanted this to be a fun and funny site, informative and entertaining and if you were here during this last year, you'll know I like to poke fun at politicians, no matter what party to which they belong.
Still, sometimes I have to speak out. I frequent a Texas woman's liberal blog and have been doing so since before the primaries. I was looking for some reason, ANY reason to vote for Hillary Clinton, whom I believed would be running against McCain. (to be honest, I didn't find one and since she didn't win her party's nomination, the choice became clearer. Not totally clear, but I did not want to vote for Obama.)
That said, a post in this other blog made me so angry I could spit. This man was railing on about all the popular conspiracy stuff that's been going around....the CFR, the Biderberg Group, Skull and Bones and all that jazz. It was when he brought up Freemasonry and vomited forth how they were a satanic group and bent on taking over as so to kick off The New World Order. It wasn't even that so much that bothered me, but how he was lying about the Masons. It was when I read a few of his earlier posts and found out he was Catholic that I decided to "tear him a new one".
I think I succeeded and managed to give the Church a black eye while at it. They deserve it.
Pot, meet kettle.
Here's my reply:
I've been on the net for about ten years now and have seen hundreds of posts condemning Freemasonry. Without exception, the hatred comes from Catholics, rabid, foam-at-the-mouth evangelicals or conspiracy theorists/nutjobs.
It's one thing to be ignorant, but to be willfully and woefully so is a sin.
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:36-37
I am not a Mason, but my father was and my nephew is, as well as are many of my good friends and not a single one is a satanist. I find your accusation to be highly offensive, but I'll chalk that up to years of Catholic brainwashing.
Your statements about Freemasonry show your ignorance. To learn more about the organization, please do a 'net search on it, but please be honest in your quest for knowledge, not rely solely on anti-Masonic sites. I would suggest Freemasonry for starters. Wiki, while sometimes not the best source for factual information, will elaborate more on why the Catholic Church is so opposed to it.
You will find that Freemasonry is NOT a religious organization but rather a fraternal one. Freemasonry is dedicated to brotherhood, good works and wisdom. It's nothing short of egregious to insist otherwise...but that's to be expected of ignorant bliss.
I've read all sorts of posts about Masonic rituals and that they're proof of satanic activity. I've tried to keep an open mind about that, but it dawned on me that the same condemnation also might very well apply to my h.s. FFA Parliamentary Procedure competition group.
Or the Opus Dei, for that matter.
There are several requirements to being accepted as a Mason, but the first one is that one must believe in God. (pretty much the same as another satanic cult, the Boy Scouts.)
Neither Bush was a Mason; Bill Clinton was in Demolay, a Masonic youth organization. I have a suspicion why Clinton didn't pursue a membership in the lodge but I'll keep that to myself on this, a pro-Clinton site.
Here's a list of Presidents who were Masons: George Washington,James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson,James Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft,Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford.
McKinley became a Mason after observing the exchanges of kindness between Northern and Southern troops during the War of Secession. (wasn't a "civil war", BTW. Look it up)
Truman said being a Grandmaster of his Masonic Lodge meant more to him than being President because the position had been given to him by his brothers. He did not seek it.
A few more "satanists" from history: Paul Revere, John Hancock, Ben. Franklin. I could go on, but I'm trying my best to keep this as short as possible.
In all my research, I've never seen a reputable source for linking Freemasonry to the CFR, Bilderberg, Skull and Bones ... and the reference to the Bohemian Grove nearly made me cramp up from laughing so hard. (worshiping an "idol", a huge OWL? Yet again, that could also apply to my FFA adviser since his place was "here by the owl". )
(and to think my pop was a member of the Illuminati. Sheesh, know a guy for 50 years and not have him try to recruit me, his one and only son, over to the Dark Side...why, it boggles the mind)
This is the sort of thing, being a Ron Paul supporter, that I've grown used to, though. The only reason I didn't dismiss your posts out-of-hand is that you didn't include that you were a 9-11 "truther", the CIA killed JFK and THE FACT that NASA faked the moon landings.
Good Grief.
Your statement that the Masons financed both Hitler and Stalin would be ludicrous if it weren't so pathetically false. If you bother to read, you'll find that Masons were persecuted by BOTH the Nazis and the Communists.
Let's not forget the ol' Qur’an kisser himself, John Paul II. He apologized for some of the wrongs the Catholic Church had done in the past, but if he'd done the Mea Culpa on EVERYTHING the church has done, he'd have needed to have lived for another hundred years.
While visiting a mosque in Damascus he said "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
Hmmm....not a word about coming to God through Jesus, I noticed. Just sucking up to those who want to kill anyone who isn't a Muslim, that's all.
How 'bout this gem of wisdom:
"Membership in the Militia means complete dedication to the Kingdom of God and to the salvation of souls through Mary Immaculate."
Nothing about Christ...again. Remember Christ's words? One would think a Pope would ..."NONE may come to the father except through me"
Through Christ, that's all. Not through the BVM, not the Pope, not Padre Pio. Sounds a little satanic to me....just sayin', that's all.
Granted, ol' JP2 did much to mend the schism between Jews and Catholics...then after he kicked the bucket (or was euthanized, as many believe) the Church picks a former Hitler Youth to be God's sole rep. here on Earth.
Take that, you jooz!
Then there's the recent case of Richard Williamson, the Bishop who denied the Holocaust ever happened. Just another example of rampant antisemitism in the Church.
The Catholic Church is the most critical of Israel than any other non-Muslim entity. They can't seem to get past the "Jews killed Jesus!" mindset.
Back to WWII: You might want to do a search on the percentage of Nazis who were Catholics. I've read figures that claim 80% of German soldiers were Catholics.
Gott mit uns, eh?
Ever hear of the Reichskonkordat? Pretty revealing, that. The Concordat effectively legitimized Hitler and the Nazi government to the eyes of Catholicism, Christianity, and the world. Can't blame 'em for having a sense of self-preservation, of course, but on the other hand it smacks of craven cowardice. (actually, it WAS craven cowardice, no doubt about it)
For a little light reading, you might try "Hitler's Pope" by John Cornwell. If you are too intellectually lazy for that, then do a search on "brown priests", "Vatican ratlines" and the ties between the Church and Hitler, Horthy, Franco, Petain, Mussolini, Pavelic, Hudal and Tiso.
(when you get done with those, lemme know. I got enough to keep you busy reading until the next election...or confession, whichever comes first)
The Church being evil (yes, I said EVIL) certainly didn't begin in the last century; for hundreds of years it burned witches at the stake, tortured "heretics" to death. The Catholic Church murdered Copernicus and imprisoned Galileo for daring to suggest that the earth revolves around the sun.
Study history and see how the Church trod on the heels of the Conquistadors as they wiped out entire populations in order to steal their gold. (the Church may have said "sorry 'bout that" but I noticed they didn't return their loot.)
The Church condoned and participated in slavery because the Bible said it was the thing to do. Must be OK to pick 'n choose what one wants to believe out of The Book.
Dig a little deeper into history and you'll find out how the Catholics meddled in Vietnam and dragged the US into that particular war. Read how the Church sided with Gen. Pinochet in Chile and murdered tens of thousands of Communists.
So much for the "sanctity of life" thing, huh? No abortions, not even if the life of the mother is at stake and Sister Jean Pratin kept herself in the limelight by opposing the executions of the worst sort of human scum.
The evil continues today: Do some research and find out how the Church insists that condoms help to SPREAD AIDS. Not enough Catholics in Africa, don't guess. Still, one would think that they'd care about S. America....
Tell me something: why was it that something like 50% of voting Catholics were hypocrites this last election? Need a source? What Happened to the Catholic Vote? Yep, thanks to the Catholics, we have Obama.
(and please note the source. I wouldn't want to be accused of going to some anti-Catholic site to get the information)
I know this essay and rebuttal has probably made some folk's eyes glaze over and I'm truly sorry I couldn't condense it down any farther, but I did the best I could and in doing so, left out a thousand other Catholic transgressions throughout the centuries.
Getting information on Freemasonry from a Catholic is akin to getting drug counseling from a crackhead.
What I find amusing is the same fundamentalists who side with the Catholic Church on Freemasonry consider the Church to be "The Whore of Babylon". They might have something there, though.
So, you tell me, which is more evil? An organization that shuffles pedophile priests from parish to parish in order to save itself embarrassment and lawsuits for its rapist God's Representatives.... or one that helps little crippled children walk again?
If you're truly a Christian, the answer is obvious.
"Swim the Tiber"? I'd rather go to Hell.
Same difference.
Still, sometimes I have to speak out. I frequent a Texas woman's liberal blog and have been doing so since before the primaries. I was looking for some reason, ANY reason to vote for Hillary Clinton, whom I believed would be running against McCain. (to be honest, I didn't find one and since she didn't win her party's nomination, the choice became clearer. Not totally clear, but I did not want to vote for Obama.)
That said, a post in this other blog made me so angry I could spit. This man was railing on about all the popular conspiracy stuff that's been going around....the CFR, the Biderberg Group, Skull and Bones and all that jazz. It was when he brought up Freemasonry and vomited forth how they were a satanic group and bent on taking over as so to kick off The New World Order. It wasn't even that so much that bothered me, but how he was lying about the Masons. It was when I read a few of his earlier posts and found out he was Catholic that I decided to "tear him a new one".
I think I succeeded and managed to give the Church a black eye while at it. They deserve it.
Pot, meet kettle.
Here's my reply:
I've been on the net for about ten years now and have seen hundreds of posts condemning Freemasonry. Without exception, the hatred comes from Catholics, rabid, foam-at-the-mouth evangelicals or conspiracy theorists/nutjobs.
It's one thing to be ignorant, but to be willfully and woefully so is a sin.
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:36-37
I am not a Mason, but my father was and my nephew is, as well as are many of my good friends and not a single one is a satanist. I find your accusation to be highly offensive, but I'll chalk that up to years of Catholic brainwashing.
Your statements about Freemasonry show your ignorance. To learn more about the organization, please do a 'net search on it, but please be honest in your quest for knowledge, not rely solely on anti-Masonic sites. I would suggest Freemasonry for starters. Wiki, while sometimes not the best source for factual information, will elaborate more on why the Catholic Church is so opposed to it.
You will find that Freemasonry is NOT a religious organization but rather a fraternal one. Freemasonry is dedicated to brotherhood, good works and wisdom. It's nothing short of egregious to insist otherwise...but that's to be expected of ignorant bliss.
I've read all sorts of posts about Masonic rituals and that they're proof of satanic activity. I've tried to keep an open mind about that, but it dawned on me that the same condemnation also might very well apply to my h.s. FFA Parliamentary Procedure competition group.
Or the Opus Dei, for that matter.
There are several requirements to being accepted as a Mason, but the first one is that one must believe in God. (pretty much the same as another satanic cult, the Boy Scouts.)
Neither Bush was a Mason; Bill Clinton was in Demolay, a Masonic youth organization. I have a suspicion why Clinton didn't pursue a membership in the lodge but I'll keep that to myself on this, a pro-Clinton site.
Here's a list of Presidents who were Masons: George Washington,James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson,James Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft,Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford.
McKinley became a Mason after observing the exchanges of kindness between Northern and Southern troops during the War of Secession. (wasn't a "civil war", BTW. Look it up)
Truman said being a Grandmaster of his Masonic Lodge meant more to him than being President because the position had been given to him by his brothers. He did not seek it.
A few more "satanists" from history: Paul Revere, John Hancock, Ben. Franklin. I could go on, but I'm trying my best to keep this as short as possible.
In all my research, I've never seen a reputable source for linking Freemasonry to the CFR, Bilderberg, Skull and Bones ... and the reference to the Bohemian Grove nearly made me cramp up from laughing so hard. (worshiping an "idol", a huge OWL? Yet again, that could also apply to my FFA adviser since his place was "here by the owl". )
(and to think my pop was a member of the Illuminati. Sheesh, know a guy for 50 years and not have him try to recruit me, his one and only son, over to the Dark Side...why, it boggles the mind)
This is the sort of thing, being a Ron Paul supporter, that I've grown used to, though. The only reason I didn't dismiss your posts out-of-hand is that you didn't include that you were a 9-11 "truther", the CIA killed JFK and THE FACT that NASA faked the moon landings.
Good Grief.
Your statement that the Masons financed both Hitler and Stalin would be ludicrous if it weren't so pathetically false. If you bother to read, you'll find that Masons were persecuted by BOTH the Nazis and the Communists.
Let's not forget the ol' Qur’an kisser himself, John Paul II. He apologized for some of the wrongs the Catholic Church had done in the past, but if he'd done the Mea Culpa on EVERYTHING the church has done, he'd have needed to have lived for another hundred years.
While visiting a mosque in Damascus he said "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
Hmmm....not a word about coming to God through Jesus, I noticed. Just sucking up to those who want to kill anyone who isn't a Muslim, that's all.
How 'bout this gem of wisdom:
"Membership in the Militia means complete dedication to the Kingdom of God and to the salvation of souls through Mary Immaculate."
Nothing about Christ...again. Remember Christ's words? One would think a Pope would ..."NONE may come to the father except through me"
Through Christ, that's all. Not through the BVM, not the Pope, not Padre Pio. Sounds a little satanic to me....just sayin', that's all.
Granted, ol' JP2 did much to mend the schism between Jews and Catholics...then after he kicked the bucket (or was euthanized, as many believe) the Church picks a former Hitler Youth to be God's sole rep. here on Earth.
Take that, you jooz!
Then there's the recent case of Richard Williamson, the Bishop who denied the Holocaust ever happened. Just another example of rampant antisemitism in the Church.
The Catholic Church is the most critical of Israel than any other non-Muslim entity. They can't seem to get past the "Jews killed Jesus!" mindset.
Back to WWII: You might want to do a search on the percentage of Nazis who were Catholics. I've read figures that claim 80% of German soldiers were Catholics.
Gott mit uns, eh?
Ever hear of the Reichskonkordat? Pretty revealing, that. The Concordat effectively legitimized Hitler and the Nazi government to the eyes of Catholicism, Christianity, and the world. Can't blame 'em for having a sense of self-preservation, of course, but on the other hand it smacks of craven cowardice. (actually, it WAS craven cowardice, no doubt about it)
For a little light reading, you might try "Hitler's Pope" by John Cornwell. If you are too intellectually lazy for that, then do a search on "brown priests", "Vatican ratlines" and the ties between the Church and Hitler, Horthy, Franco, Petain, Mussolini, Pavelic, Hudal and Tiso.
(when you get done with those, lemme know. I got enough to keep you busy reading until the next election...or confession, whichever comes first)
The Church being evil (yes, I said EVIL) certainly didn't begin in the last century; for hundreds of years it burned witches at the stake, tortured "heretics" to death. The Catholic Church murdered Copernicus and imprisoned Galileo for daring to suggest that the earth revolves around the sun.
Study history and see how the Church trod on the heels of the Conquistadors as they wiped out entire populations in order to steal their gold. (the Church may have said "sorry 'bout that" but I noticed they didn't return their loot.)
The Church condoned and participated in slavery because the Bible said it was the thing to do. Must be OK to pick 'n choose what one wants to believe out of The Book.
Dig a little deeper into history and you'll find out how the Catholics meddled in Vietnam and dragged the US into that particular war. Read how the Church sided with Gen. Pinochet in Chile and murdered tens of thousands of Communists.
So much for the "sanctity of life" thing, huh? No abortions, not even if the life of the mother is at stake and Sister Jean Pratin kept herself in the limelight by opposing the executions of the worst sort of human scum.
The evil continues today: Do some research and find out how the Church insists that condoms help to SPREAD AIDS. Not enough Catholics in Africa, don't guess. Still, one would think that they'd care about S. America....
Tell me something: why was it that something like 50% of voting Catholics were hypocrites this last election? Need a source? What Happened to the Catholic Vote? Yep, thanks to the Catholics, we have Obama.
(and please note the source. I wouldn't want to be accused of going to some anti-Catholic site to get the information)
I know this essay and rebuttal has probably made some folk's eyes glaze over and I'm truly sorry I couldn't condense it down any farther, but I did the best I could and in doing so, left out a thousand other Catholic transgressions throughout the centuries.
Getting information on Freemasonry from a Catholic is akin to getting drug counseling from a crackhead.
What I find amusing is the same fundamentalists who side with the Catholic Church on Freemasonry consider the Church to be "The Whore of Babylon". They might have something there, though.
So, you tell me, which is more evil? An organization that shuffles pedophile priests from parish to parish in order to save itself embarrassment and lawsuits for its rapist God's Representatives.... or one that helps little crippled children walk again?
If you're truly a Christian, the answer is obvious.
"Swim the Tiber"? I'd rather go to Hell.
Same difference.
February 5, 2009
Free Tune from Smashing Pumpkins
The file is named "billy" but the mp3 info says "C'mon". (so do the lyrics, if you can make 'em out)
Whatever the name, download the tune.
February 4, 2009
Neighbors
From the email archives:
There was a little old lady, who every morning. stepped onto her front porch, raised her arms to the sky, and shouted: 'PRAISE THE LORD!'
One day an atheist moved into the house next door.
He became irritated at the little old lady.
Every morning he'd step onto his front porch after her and yell: 'THERE IS NO LORD!'
Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day.
One morning, in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted: 'PRAISE THE LORD! Please Lord, I have no food and I am starving, provide for me, oh Lord!
The next morning she stepped out onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there.
'PRAISE THE LORD!' she cried out. 'HE HAS PROVIDED GROCERIES FOR ME!'
The atheist neighbor jumped out of the hedges and shouted: 'THERE IS NO LORD; I BOUGHT THOSE GROCERIES!!'
The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted:
'PRAISE THE LORD! HE HAS PROVIDED ME WITH GROCERIES AND MADE THE DEVIL PAY FOR THEM!'
Boobs & Bigots
I used to think "KKK" referred to those white supremacists in robes sneaking around at night and burning crosses.
I need to think again.
If she burned her bra, it could heat a small country for a day. There's enough silicone there to caulk all the windows in Pampa.
One thing's for sure: she'll never drown.
Valentine's Day Recipes
Celebrate Valentine's Day with ideas and recipes from Betty Crocker
I'll marry the woman who would bake the Indulgent Brownie Torte for me.
I'd advise her to get a bunch of life insurance on me, though, because the sugar would kill me.
What a way to go.
My Name is Luke
You Are Warm |
 You are as patient, as outgoing, and as nice as you can be. You understand people well, and you mostly enjoy being around them. You are a naturally warm person, but you do have times when you're feeling a bit distant. But even when you're feeling distant, you try to be empathetic. You always go the extra mile. |
Right Down The Line - Gerry Rafferty
No vid, sorry. Such a beautiful song doesn't really need one.
Dedicated to Alison and Chester.
Kickbutt Amped Energy Ballz™
Who in their right mind wouldn't want to try some Kickbutt Amped Energy Ballz™ ???
From the website:
What are kickbutt amped energy ballz™?
kickbutt amped energy ballz™ are a true functional food for instant and sustained energy, providing hours of alertness and vigor – without the ‘crash’ common to many of the energy-enhancement products on the market. kickbutt amped energy ballz™ are formulated with the ideal blend of ingredients needed to deliver a nutritious energy kick that lasts.
They contain:
- high quality whey protein isolates/concentrates
(for endurance,muscle and bone strength)
- complex carbohydrates (for dietary fibre)
- energizing vitamins and herbs
- creatine (preserves muscle mass)
- caffeine (for instant energy)
February 3, 2009
50 Greatest Guitar Solos
50 Greatest Guitar Solos at Guitar World. 
Quite a few of my favorite songs on there, but how they missed "Long Cool Woman" by The Hollies almost invalidates this list for me.
Printable Invitations
Over 100 invitations that you can download and print. Or, download customizable invitations for just $6.
Printable Invitations
I'm sure I've already told this joke, but...I won't let that stop me.
(with all apologies to my new pal, The Local Malcontent)
Did you hear about the Indian chief who drank a hundred cups of tea?
They found him dead the next morning, drowned in his tepee.
February 1, 2009
Spam Nonsense
Received a spam mail yesterday; didn't even know what they were trying to peddle because the main information was on a graphic that was blocked, but the main body text was this:
be sucked i than not but efficient of lamb at to of eat Utah the also am there person i I to is size you make and might say ever a as and it your build For in i next few mess happier have love an two cuddle that so may in people make the mean when etc have sheets dug pine in like when in am will starts if on me and will in on love to best be
I get them like this all the time and know that this gibberish is an attempt to bypass the spam filters. Bob Rankin explains it fairly well on his website:
Spam vs. Anti-spam... the war escalates. This is an attempt by spammers to defeat the content filters that the new generation of spam blockers are using. Spam filters based on Bayesian algorithms try to determine the context of words that may be possible spam triggers.
If an email contains little more than "Enlarge your body parts! Click Here to Buy!!!" then it's pretty easy for a program to score those words and zap the message as spam. But if that text is buried in an avalanche of meaningless text that has nothing to do with anything, the job of determining whether or not a message is good or bad becomes much harder.
Round 'n Round
One of the error messages I had last night. The Pink Floyd song "Brick in the Wall" came to mind: "If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"
Had a BUNCH of trouble over the last couple of days; I had d/l the newest ZoneAlarm upgrade and immediately noticed a slowdown in performance. Opening up Task Manager, I noticed the "vsmon" cycling on and off. Knowing that vsmon was the the ZA app., I then tried to stop the process, but because it kept flitting on and off of the list of running programs, I couldn't click on it to stop the program. While it was doing it, the CPU usage went from 0 to 100%. No wonder this computer was slowing down!
Figuring that something must have corrupted the update, I then tried to uninstall ZA, but it wouldn't let me. Being as how I had, prior to the ZA update, d/l Windows Media Player 11, I thought that might have had something to do with it. I had also just d/l the newest version of Firefox, too.
I despised the WMP "upgrade" anyway, so I tried to follow the online instructions on rolling back to WMP 10. No joy.
After rebooting, I was then faced with only a few necessary processes loading; there were no icons on my desktop, no taskbar, no nuthin'.
Long story short, I suddenly found myself without a browser that would work, neither Firefox or IE. I had internet access because my mail program worked, but couldn't get on the internet to find some info. on the problem. Thinking a reboot might work, I tried that (several times) then started getting "NT Authority" error msgs. and having my computer shut down on its own. -sigh-
Won't bore you with the details, but finally got the bright idea (duh!) to rollback to a date before I d/l the newest WMP. That should've helped, but instead it put ZA AND WMP back on this computer so I had to start all over again.
Finally got it all sussed out; am using the Windows Firewall and got my Firefox back up and running (sans my add-ons) so all is well in Mike's World.
For now.
Maybe a Drop Kick
You Are a Two Point Conversion |
 You are an adept risk taker. You love to go for the glory. You do what others are scared to do, and it pays off! You have no fear, and because of this, you're able to look at the odds rationally. You've taken enough small risks to get ahead in life, even if every risk hasn't panned out. |
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