Open Thread
I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.
~E.B. White
(Author of Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan)
December 16, 2024
Thursday, August 3, 2023
The Quitter Returns! -Monday, March 21, 2022
Putting the goober in gubernatorial -Friday, January 28, 2022
I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.
~E.B. White
(Author of Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan)
I so needed to comment and my server is kaputt on and off me thinks )o: It keeps doing a zero and my email addy….? I am not even attempting my email and it turns white and does that at me so – quick I love guys, Irish made me laugh re: Bristol/Vanna.
AKM – I love the E.B.White quote. It explains me to my father and keeps me going XXXXXOOOOO
Plus a bushel and a peck (o:
Here is the Web site to vote for the Wheel of Fortune—-Vanna for a Day. Vote until Feb. 7.
http://www.wheeloffortune.com/vannaforaday/
Irish Girl—-Thanks for the web site—-Bristol to take Vanna White’s place on Wheel of Fortune.
I don’t understand this, as on the Wheel of Fortune web site, there were about 4 or 5 girls one could vote for Wheel of fortune for a day. Bristol was not one of the final contestants.
I watch this show everyday, and if it is true that they are going to hire Bristol—-I don’t think I can stomach her.
Sounds like everyone is having the same problems with the big blizzard yesterday. We got our share here in Iowa. The blizzard started at 10:00 am and ended around 10:00 Pm. We had very high winds which caused drifting throughout Appanoose County. All road in the country are inpassable. We were lucky to not lose power. With the high winds we didn’t want to build a fire in the fireplace. Scary!!!!!!
Lacy lady…that link was satire. I didn’t realise it at first either. So I think you can safely watch the show. Sorry if I misled you.
Stay safe in the storm. (((hugs))).
Have an awesome happy birthday truebluegirl!!!
Thanks, Califpat! Working on it as we speak.
Today is my birthday, and my gift to myself is to leave behind some of the blogs I visit daily, culling them down to short list of the essential and of incomparable, of which Mudflats is at the top – having placed in both categories I must say. We are iced in here in north Texas, plenty of time for reflection, and I feel very fortunate at 57 to have found my way to this site more than two years ago now! (Just finished Spencer Quinn’s third novel in his Bernie and Chet series, and I recommend it. Hard to top a mystery with a detective dog named Chet on the trail of an elephant named Peanut.)
Happy Birthday to you TrueBlue. have a great day and thanks for the tip. i love mysteries.
All three are good, written in the “first dog” perspective, but with some surprising depth of character and interesting plots
Happy Birthday. Best wishes from Ireland.
Thanks, Irishgirl! Ireland is the only place I’ve traveled outside of the US. In 1992 I had some consulting work in Dublin for two weeks, then had a week on my own which I used to strike out by train for the west coast, then by car to Galway and ferry to the Aran Islands – in August, so it was alternately lively and serene. Really loved the bed & breakfast experience – what a breakfast! it was a lovely experience, and a truly lovely place.
I also wish you a very happy Birthday and he res hoping-you have many more
Happy birthday, TrueBlueGirl, and many happy returns of the day. 🙂
{{{{{{{{{ TrueBlueGirl }}}}}}}}} Happy 57th. I’ll join you there at the end of June. May your 57th year be filled with health, peace, prosperity, love, joy, and every blessing.
Happy Birthday True! I’m older than you are!
The UK watches as more conservatives speak out about snowbillie:
http://politico-junkie.blogspot.com/2011/02/uk-waiting-for-anti-palin-conservatives.html
I have a horrible feeling that OMG and I can’t stay quiet this month. Sorry, AKM.
At least I’m not using its name.
Hehe…
Can someone direct me to information about Red Dog Mine and environmental impact. What I could find wasn’t much help. Mostly curious as to efforts to rehabilitate area. Thanks in advance.
Spouse called this morning to say the power crews were heading to a staging area at Kings Island after the overnnight ice storm. Something like 200,000 customers in Ohio woke up to no power.
The crews are working in sub-freezing temps, snow flying and wind gusting up to 45 mph.
Haven’t heard from spouse since 8 am.
Those folks are definitely the unsung heroes of storms like this. They work all day in dangerous, freezing conditions and are under tremendous pressure to restore power. I salute them and I thank them for what they do.
Justa!!! How’s that 3 legged Beauty doin’ ?
Hey, I’ve got a question for you Alaskans. How come its so warm in Anchorage? I spent three years there in the late sixties and we would average 20 below this time of year. Whut happened?
I moved here, so it warmed up!
This is funny. 🙂
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/02/palins-phrenology.html
And it was realistic.
Here’s a petition to sign from Moveon.org opposing the bill in Congress that redefines rape as only involving force, so that Medicaid funding for abortion can’t go to a woman who, for instance, was drugged and raped, or statutory rape of a young girl by an older man. It’s truly disgusting. Another case of “I got mine, screw the poor,” as with both premium health insurance and a base salary of $174,000, members of Congress can well afford to pay for abortions out of pocket if needed.
http://pol.moveon.org/smithbill/?id=25976-15417780-fp2NvWx&t=1
Iris Girl @ 4
Thanks for the link. I haven’t seen or heard Alan Colmes in a long time, as I don’t watch Fox news.
After reading this article and the comments that follow, I don’t think I will ever want to tune in. Wow!
O’Rielly is a snake in the grass.
Alan and Hannity were on together several years ago, and Alan never had a chance to speak his mind, as Hannity always cut him off.
I pray for the people in Egypt . It is ironic to see the museum near this scene, which holds the treasures of Tutankhamun .
I had the opportunity to see some of these treasures when the show came to Chicago many years ago.—-It blew my mind.
Jumping to the defense of their queen:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2011/02/the_right-wing_conspirosphere.html
and this one:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/48687.html
Yesterday people were talking on the radio about what to call our wild storm. They decided Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse were already used for the east coast storms so we needed something all our own.
My three favorites were: “Oh Sno she di ‘ent”; SnOprah.” and SnOMG!”
You’re famous.
I love your choices!
SnOMG has to be my favourite.
I have just responded to this call for action against “Stupak on Steroids”, HR 3.
Initial notice: “Nancy Keenan, NARAL Pro-Choice America” <[email protected]
Response to me from NARAL:
"Hey –
I told my representative to stop "Stupak on Steroids," a bill that could jeopardize abortion coverage in the private insurance market and even redefine rape.
This bill is a clear assault on a woman's right to choose – and if we don't speak out now, anti-choicers will think their attacks will go unanswered in the new Congress.
Anti-choice groups are lobbying Congress right now, so you need to contact your representative right away! You can find more information – and take action – here:
http://bit.ly/g1lDxK
Thanks!"
Sent the message. I’m also calling Kevin McCarthy’s local office. Let’s tie up their lines over this outrage.
PS. This is the same bill that redefines rape.
Sent a question to my new Rep. Hannah (R) asking how he’d vote on HR3. No reply yet.
Enjoying the world – peace, love and harmony!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R3C-jhmEoM
What a great video!
My nephew went to Ithaca for music so I have a soft spot for that program. I have also seen other videos of the choir from PS22 and the music teacher does just amazing things with them. We need more music teachers like him and we need to make sure that music programs are not eliminated or cut in the public schools.
E. B. White has for many, many years been just about my favorite writer. He was able to express so much with a minimal amount of word fuss.
It’s been a difficult week for many of us so far, between the terrible weather and the chaos in Egypt, so I thought it would be nice to share this story. We don’t often hear positive stories about teenagers these days but these two young men have become local heroes and have been deservedly honored as such by the media and the county legislature.
* * * * * * *
Last week, 17-year-old Nicole Bean, was in the grocery store with her boyfriend. The boyfriend hugged her and then, suddenly and inexplicably, pulled out a knife and began to viciously stab her in the face and head. The few witnesses who saw the attack were stunned and froze, unable or unwilling to help. However, Christopher Patino, 16, and his friend Mustafa Said, 19, were nearby and heard the girl’s screams. They raced to the aisle and, when they saw what was happening, decided to do something to help. Said was able to grab the knife, despite the tendons in his hand being severed by the blade, injuries which will require surgery to repair the damage. He was able to get Nicole to safety while Patino subdued the attacker and held him, with the assistance of another witness, until police arrived.
“He just kept constantly stabbing her,” Said said. “It was time for me to act. … I don’t have the kind of heart to stand by and watch as a girl gets killed. I can’t just stand there.”
The Sheriff’s Department deputies who responded were absolutely convinced that the victim would have died if these two brave and selfless young men had not intervened to help a stranger. She was taken to the hospital and treated for multiple stab wounds but released several days later.
The two young men were honored last night by the Monroe Country legislature and yesterday was declared Christopher Patino and Mustafa Said Day by the County Executive.
http://www.waynepost.com/latestnews/x896129699/Christopher-Patino-Mustafa-Said-honored-for-aiding-Wegmans-attack-victim
Good for them! I hope this gets picked up and goes national.
Another reason I would like this to get much wider press than just Rochester, NY is for the visuals. I can remember my grandparents saying a LOT of really unkind things about black people, I have family there right now who have unkind things to say about Muslims, too.
These two young men are the visual embodiment of people too many of my family would regard and declare “other”. No. They’re us.
Admittedly my grandparents and extended family muted themselves when there was the family addition who is “melanin enhanced”. But I am not thoroughly convinced that they lost their bigotry. At least they stopped displaying it in front of my family.
D@mn it. I want a white hot, a daisy ham and cheese with hot sauce (*sniffs* Grandpa no longer makes it [death slowed him down]) and onion rings.
Wegman’s gave both of the boys $5000 scholarships. AWESOME!
“Wegman’s has rewarded two teenagers who saved the life of 17-year-old Nicole Bean. Mustafa Said and Christopher Patino each received a $5,000 scholarship, $500 giftcard and a job offer.”
Hot damn. Well done Danny. I’m forwarding this to my dad, who was a classmate of Danny Wegman’s (McQuaid Jesuit).
loved your description “melanin enhanced”. sweet.
Yes, I did too. What brave young men they were…they deserve all the accolades and scholarships they get.
However, I’m still worried about the poor young girl that was stabbed. I hope she has not been disfigured.
It’s nice to know Wegman’s honored these young men. Wegman’s is a great store and generally gives back to the communities it sells in. I love hearing about the good in our world, not just the mean and the horrible.
Glad to hear this happened.Our youth need to be appreciated when they do good and shown that they are.
brave young men. many kudos for them. hope Said gets well very soon.
So do I. I hope his parents have a good insurance policy. If not, I hope a great hand surgeon donates his expertise. I also hope Nicole’s not disfigured. Good on both the boys!
We need to take care of each other and those two show one way of doing this.
OMG….what is the world coming to? I don’t whether to laugh or cry.
“In an unprecedented move that’s shocked the television world, Wheel of Fortune has replaced its long standing hostess Vanna White and named Bristol Palin her temporary replacement…….
Some now wonder if the young Palin is the best candidate to replace the ever popular Vanna White. The Wheel of Fortune job responsibility requires more than looks and charm. It also requires a familiarity with the English language, something Bristol’s mother Sarah Palin hasn’t always demonstrated. Show officials insist Bristol Palin is qualified for the role on Wheel of Fortune. “She knows all 26 letters of the English alphabet,” said ABC President Ben Sherwood, “Not just the letters E.P.T.” ”
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7709670/bristol_palin_to_replace_wheel_of_fortunes.html?cat=39
I got punked. Apparently it’s satire. 🙂
Ha ha! I was just getting ready to ask if it was April 1st already!
You can never tell these days 🙂
thank heavens. i don’t watch the show, but as i was reading the blurb i literally could not believe it.
Good morning! It’s a miracle that I still have power. I am off work today so not to worry about me driving on ice. Stay safe all you wonderful mudpups!
during the day i am mild mannered and amiable Bubbles. it is at night when i go to sleep that i conquer the world and become boss of everybody and everything. it is a wonderful life.
What a gal! We love you Bubbles!
Like all superheros, bubbles has a secret identity.
Do you wear a spandex suit with a giant B on the front and a matching cape?
Super Bubbles!!!
(Don’t forget to wear those fake glasses with the black rims during the day. Wouldn’t want your secret identity to be uncovered!)
I was sick at heart this morning to read this story. 100 sled dogs were murdered in Canada post-Olympics, as tourism slowed down. I could hardly believe my eyes.
http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1354856
WARNING: Do not click the link unless you need a good cry, or have to know the truth.
This happened in Whistler. The only reason I knew there was such a place is because I watch Hell’s Kitchen (the Gordon Ramsey reality show where contestants battle to become executive chef at a restaurant), and Whistler was the location of the prize restaurant one year.
Yes it was a terrible, terrible thing and Canadians are NOT taking this lightly. I hope and expect criminal and cruelty charges to be brought.
I think changing the world for the better IS enjoying the world. It’s great fun to make things better. But I understand E B White’s dilemma.
I agree. I have the most fun with my volunteer work.
I truly would not want to spend my life laying on beaches, playing golf, skiing… after a week, it gets old and boring. Different personality types. I like a high-octane adventure to break it up once in awhile.
Good morning Mudpups! It’s 10.09 am in Chicago on Wednesday and we are snowed in! Wow, what a storm! I saw an estimate so far of 19.5 inches of snow. It started around 2.30 pm on Tuesday and got progressively worse as the day wore on. It took me 2.5 hours to get home – and I was expecting 3! We hunkered down, prayed for the electricity to hold and watched shows we DVR’d to entertain ourselves =D
Everything is closed today – work, schools and I imagine some of the smaller stores. The bigger ones will probably open late given it will be hard for people to even get in to work this morning. I’ve never seen a snow storm this big. We are grateful for the heat and the electricity to still be on as thousands are going without right now.
Well……I have some work to do which I will get to in a second but it won’t last all day so I guess I’m forced to….relax?? The idea! =D
I’ve been reading about it in the news. Incredible! Hope you can stay warm, and don’t need to go anywhere. When I first moved to Alaska, it was very important to have a woodstove in one’s home, in case of power outages (for heat & to cook on).
Still in bed in Milwaukee. Snow Days are the best, though at some point I have to dig out.
Enjoy your snow day. I always loved snow days because I saw them as an unexpected gift. Glad to hear you are warm and dry.
My daughter did make it home from her 3rd shift job but because of the drifting in the driveway she barely managed to pull the van in far enough to be off the road..The drifts were very high.Took half a day to get it cleared out.
Love!
The Egyptian revolt has become violent, and ugly. Mubarak thugs are inciting violence. Rumor has it that CNN’s Anderson Cooper was punched 10 times in the head.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020202762.html
Who knew the unwieldy members of the Tea Party were in league with Mubarak supporters? Who’s more anti-American now? Beating dissent. Propping up straw-man outrages perpetrated by the “left” that warrants physical and violent rhetoric?
oh no! if it is true i am sorry. i like him.
Yes he was hit, but they say everyone, including Anderson is alright. Roving bands of pro-Murbarak supporters are actively seeking out reporters and attacking them.
I saw some scary video on ABC news tonight. Christianne Amanpour was chased out of the area by some very angry people. As she was leaving, someone threw a rock at the car she was in, shattering the windshield and showering glass on the driver (who was, thankfully, not hurt). David Muir was also chased out of the square and said he and his crew had to escape down a small alley, hiding their equipment as best as they could.
Bad news for snowdrift snooki:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/ppp-poll-palin-presidential-nod-could-cost-gop-sd-ne-for-first-time-since-1964.php?ref=fpb
Interesting…the ‘rights’ democracy freakout:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-01/glenn-becks-egypt-freakout-how-the-uprising-splits-us-conservatives/?om_rid=DPSO97&om_mid=_BNSWFLB8YIC1at
RE;
The Alaska Legislature has decided to honor Ronald Reagan for his 100th birthday.
My proposal: for 100 hours, every hour on the hour we read aloud the names of 100 children, women and men who died of AIDS because the SoB Reagan could not, would not even SAY the word AIDS aloud. And the band played on.
We should never forget.
*Stands up and applauds wildly*
me too.
Imagine how many lives could have been extended or saved had he had to guts to admit there was a problem that needed attention. Of course, if no one wrote it on cue cards, how would he have known?
He lumped “them gays” into the same “they’re not really our sort of people, dear” box that inner-city youth who were falling prey to the crack trade in the 1980’s. Too many people said, “Those gang-bangers will just kill each other off. Problem solved!”
Yeah. Right.
He conveniently overlooked US citizens in his presidential calculus.
“All animals are created equal. Some are more equal than others.” I have a feeling that he felt more comfortable with that sentiment than not.
Wet and windy Wednesday in the forest.
Off to the library to see what new learning awaits me.
Yesterday I learned that the F5 key is my friend on my school ‘puter. (Never had cause to use it on teh MACs!)
later, sweet potaters
thatcrowwoman
This is for you, thatcrowwoman, and for all of us who love the corvid family (you know who you are). It’s about what makes your New Caledonian relatives so special:
“Their bills are also exceptional, “more like a human opposable thumb than the standard corvid beak,” said Dr. Gray.
The bills “appear specialized to hold tools,” said Anne Clark, who studies American crows at the State University of New York at Binghamton but who also has observed New Caledonian crows in the field. “When I was watching them, they seemed to grab a stick whenever they appeared unable to figure something out,” she said, rather as a mathematician has trouble solving a problem without a pencil in hand.”
There’s more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/science/01angier.html?pagewanted=1&ref=general&src=me
Quietly saying, waak, waak, waak (you’ll understand once you’ve read it). 😉
Very cool, Zyxomma, and waak waak waak back atcha, also, too. 🙂
Michelle who?
*snort!*
“Bill O’Reilly and Monica Crowley were in fine patriotic form last night (2/1/11) as they “proved” conclusively how much they love America by dishing out a segment full of hate and scorn toward their fellow Americans. The targets this time were Sam Donaldson, who had the nerve to praise Al Jazeera for its coverage of the Egypt uprising, and “the far left,” because – well, just because. Bravo to Alan Colmes for clearly and unequivocally pushing back and telling his sister-in-law Crowley that calling the left “anti-American” was “disgusting” and “sickening.” Shortly thereafter, O’Reilly blew his top.”
http://www.newshounds.us/2011/02/02/oreilly_loses_it_as_alan_colmes_stands_up_to_his_the_left_is_antiamerican_rhetoric_on_fox_news.php#more
Wow Irishgirl them folks are loonie tunes. The flood of garbage information coming from these people will always over come our chance to speak truth.
Thanks for the link. O’Reilly never disappoints…he is always out of line and disgusting.
Mr. Colmes is a ‘brave’ Anti-Anti-American. To read what viewers want to do to him. . .shudder. As much as I dislike Bill, Glenn and even our Sarah, I would never fantasize about anyone beating their head in until brain matter shows. That is just disgusting.
I think all they proved was their unending idiocy.
I cannot stand that B*tch and that B*tch has been in MY HOME, enjoying my fine cooking. We live in NYC, hubby in Media, before FOX she floated around town looking for a career. She looks hard now, like the other FOX women. Not that all women should have to be Democrats, but women do have an innate nurturing instinct that must have to be suppressed to be that mean and cold about life, day after day, for a paycheck. Takes a toll.
The comments under the article made me want to puke.
I also find the joy. Everyday there is something.
I chose to enjoy the world. Watching the Egyptians find their own path is a joy. The snow that gently falls out my door is a joy. I am afraid this world is to short to not find joy.
Dana Milbank on his withdrawal symptoms. He says he is using Michelle Bachmann as his methadone. 🙂
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2011/02/post_10.html
Hilarious!
Oh lord, the trolls. Senator Palin? LOL. Not for Alaska. Arizona maybe. . .
I know I saw that and though good God I would hope not a senator from any state.